(Picture taken from SOOM Korea's website)
(Spoiler: it's going to be a very long post XD)
Well, yes... I'm guilty!
I put another big boy on layaway...
As soon as I saw Jethro's teaser on SOOM's website, I knew he had to be mine..
Then, his sale page showed up and I was totally Soomed again!
I noticed that a lot of people can't stand SOOM dolls, especially big boys. Some of them thinks they're ugly, boring and too much 'mainstream'... others simply prefer cute manga girls in frilly clothes. I respect their point of view, by the way I don't care if people approve my choices or not:
I only buy dolls that make me happy!
I don't know how many people out there buys SOOM dolls for their 'status'.
I collect them just because I really love their own style; I don't really care about their monetary value since I don't think I'll ever going to put my dolls for sale.
Soom Staff and I may have some taste and interests in common: that's why I totally adore this company! I hope to be able to go on supporting them for a very long time ( = more sexy dolls for me, HaHaHaHaHaHa! *evil laugh*) ...
Going back to Jethro...
During the last six months I really spent a lot of money on medical fees.
I really hate that feeling of having wasted all my money on doctors and I still feeling sick and awful.
My illness is still here.
There are days I can hardly breathe and I faint a lot of times. I have experienced swoons. I feel debilitated and very weak.
I spent over a month stuck in my bed and I still can't go out for a walk.
I needed something to cheer me up and dolls were always the best option!
If I'll ever die abruptly from this unknown disease (probably a form of anemia), I know I still had some fun... Am I wrong?
I'll be 27 years old in a couple of weeks...
So I asked my family and friends to gift me some money instead of goods.
My moms picked up 'Dream Ripper Heliot' from my wishlist and I can grant you that it was the best gift I ever received in a few years.
I was very happy when I met my Heliot in person, but when Jethro showed up my heart started beating faster.
My friends can tell I have an obsession for horns, hooves and devilish characters.
When I was a teenager I was a HUGE Kaori Yuki fan and Angel Sanctuary is still one of my favorite manga, nowadays. I did some demonology studies because of that. (No, I'm not a Satanist. Demonology is not strictly connected to Satanism. Neither my passion for fictional demons is).
(Lucifer from Angel Sanctuary, picture is property of Kaori Yuki)
Some good reasons I may have a 'horns obsession':
I have a dog called Lucifer after Kaori Yuki's character and once I fell for Tim Curry's role in Legend.
Then I fell for Rhys Ifans in Little Nicky.
One of my favorite Tekken character is Devil Jin.
I really wanted Marilyn Manson's devil outfit in 'The Nobodies' music video.
I totally love Dave Grohl's Beelzeboss role.
I heart goats and sheeps. I find them very cute.
Also, my favorite Japanese musician, J WumF, is often sporting a pair fake horns :3
(a J Wumf fanart I made in 2009)
If you want some proof of my J wumf and devil obsession, I can show you this two pictures of myself. I was celebrating J's birthday with my bro and some mutual friends.
Don't mind my idiotic face, I was acting stupid to make an impression of Sugizo, a Japanese guitarist and fellow band member of J.
(I know that I somewhat look like a boy in drag, lol. That's why I often joke about being Adore Delano's lost twin..)
I also commissioned to a friend (she has a lovely Etsy Shop) three matching Devil Beanie hats; two for me (with different kind of horns) and one for my BJDs:
If you haven't had enough yet, I may add an extra picture of me with my Baphomet pendant:
That's why I always wanted to have a Sard, Night Odyssey version.
I wanted to portray Sataniel, a decayed angel from many ancient legends.
After some years I was able to purchase him secondhand on DoA's marketplace.
He was very pricey.
He's a little yellowed because he is pretty old and he has a custom faceup by me.
He was my Grail.
But something in his appearance wasn't fitting his character as I hoped.
He's damn beautiful and I treasure him a lot.. but he's not very proportionate.
His hooves are massive compared to his head. Horns are beautifully shaped but not as big as I wanted.
I realized I needed a big devil guy with some fiery appearance and a sweet face.
Jethro's facial features are perfect to portray a decayed angel:
he has big soft lips, dreamy eyes, long nails and a faceup in gold tones (demons are often symbol of extreme wealth and avarice).
His healthy-looking tanned skin suits a strong devil warrior better than white skin.
And his horns.. oh man, look at that black ram horns! So big and thick.
I'm also a fan of dolls with nicely shaped teeth.. 
On the other hand I didn't want to spend other money on dolls;
I had just received two dolls I adore to bits (Hyperon and Heliot) and Jethro was an unnecessary dolly expense.
But the most I thought about letting him go, the more I wanted him.
I thought about all the money I had to save to get my Sard.
He was a used doll and came to me naked and blank but his price was very high. If I had the chance to buy him directly from Soom I would have spent less money.
Jethro is a Mega Gem, so he's not probably going to be that popular.
If I ever regret of not getting him I will have to wait him to show up in the secondhand marketplace.
How much will he cost after some years? Will I be able to purchase him, then?
These questions almost drove me crazy.
Then I thought to sell my own Sard to get a Jethro.
I don't really need two hooved dolls in my collection.
But I spent a lot of money on him, so I can't ask less than $$$$ and maybe no one will purchase him now that the marketplace is full of dolls that are still looking for a new home.
I was patiently waiting for a Sard re-release, but Jethro made me realize I don't need any other Sard in my life.
I actually prefer Dia over Sard... the only thing that made me love that sculpt over the Dia was the shape of his hooves and horns.
Sard sculpt is too much feminine for a fierce Demon Lord, that's why I needed Jethro... 
So,
I ordered him but I probably won't be seeing him before the end of July.
Layaways are usually very long, I hope to be able to pay him off....
What I'm going to get:
Romantic Jethro in Brown tan + black horns and hooves (un-blushed), limited makeup (all that gold, so lovely <3), golden wig and horns decorations.
I did not purchase his eyes, because I'm still wondering which color would suit him best. I choose not to get blushing because I really HATE how easily it comes off when you play with your dolls, so it's often a 'no-no' for me. His OE head looks plain boring... and his eyes are way too big for my taste; I decided not to buy it. Same choice with his clothes: nothing special to me, and they doesn't suit his character at all.
-Okay -just like me- some of you may be thinking "I really like it, but.. should I buy it? It looks like some dolls Soom released quite some time ago.. I feel pretty thorn.. "~
What should you do, then?
My last considerations on this doll:
I read some rants over Jethro's hooves. Some people stated they look identical to Chalco's hooves.
This is kinda wrong.
I found this comparative picture on Shelbelly's Flickr: here.
Here you can see Jethro's hooves:
(Picture taken from Soom Korea's website)
If you look closer, they look more like a mixture between Sard's hooves and Chalco's bison legs.
By the way Jethro's legs are more proportionate and not as massive as Chalco's.
He has definitely Calf hooves (like Sard) and not Bison's (as Chalco has).
He's more hairy than Sard but has less hair than Chalco, and this is a feature I strongly like.
I think Soom improved their two best hooved dolls' design and made a new version out of them.
~Is it wrong? I think updates are a good thing. If something works good and you're able to improve its design to make it work better, then do it.
Another rant I read was about his horns.
In my honest opinion, Jethro's horns are the best feature of this whole doll.
Some people pointed out he has same horns as Ender SO.
Let's do a quick comparison:
(Pictures taken from Soom Korea's website)
~ Do they look identical to you?
To me, they don't. Apart from being horns and being both in transparent resin, I don't see too much similarities.
- Jethro's horns are thicker and more rounded; they looks like Aries/Ram's horns.
- Ender's are obviously Ibex/Alpline goat horns.
In Nature, horns come in different sizes and shapes .. but there are animals out there that share similar horn styles. So I won't get mad over it...
Looking at some of his promo pictures, he might resemble Iplehouse Claude a bit, but not that much to bother about it.
Now... If you really love him -as I do- think about giving this guy a chance.
I think he will be worth it.
If you love Sard, he could be your dream doll too!
Disclaimer:
I'm not saying I'm right while other collectors' opinion is wrong. I made this little 'guide' about Jethro for people who -like me- really want to purchase this guy but are afraid to get a boring copy of another Soom doll.
I just wanted to share my own thoughts.
This is what I personally learned analyzing this doll and comparing it to older Soom dolls.
Things I stated may be wrong or change due to people's personal perspective.
I'm just a human being and an avid doll collector.
Thank you for reading this kilometric post !!!
If you liked it, found it useful, or have some suggestions let me know with a comment!
