Kaiyodo Amazing Yamaguchi Arkham Knight - Batman: Arkham Knight

 

Amazing Yamaguchi is a line by Kaiyodo of action figures with hyper poseability. So much so that when I read or listen to reviews about them, the largest complaint is how difficult it is to get into poses due to all the joint rotations, but once you do, they look...well, amazing! Using the Revoltech joint system (two pegs with a ball joint swivel), they're able to achieve extreme poses, albeit with exaggerated proportions compared to the source material. 

This figure of the Arkham Knight from the game is pretty cool. Aesthetically, not as bulky or imposing in this scale, but maybe that's because there's no equivalent for this line for Batman himself. This is an expensive import though, and as such the quality is fantastic. The sculpt is so detailed and the colours are vibrant, especially the shiny bits. The figure is solid and fairly easy to pose around, though like many Amazing Yamaguchi figures, there are certain poses that show surreal gaps, especially raising the arms above the shoulders. 

There are so many great accessories here, specifically for switching the figure into the Red Hood version. The weapons are very odd here, and it's something that has put me off buying a lot of McFarlane DC Figures. He comes with a couple of laser swords and two kris knives....which...I gotta say I played the game 3 times and never saw him use a laser sword once or those knives. This is a weird choice, but it's pressured by WB's decision that started with a mandate to remove guns from their figure marketing properties. This effectively means that since February of last year, no figures sold using WB's license can be marketed using guns. I don't know how this decision came to be, but now toy companies are selling figures with trigger fingers that are supposed to use guns, but don't come with them. This makes it a harder decision: Do you buy them and then hope the decision is reversed? Hope McFarlane or other companies sell a weapons pack later? Do you buy them and use your own weapon arsenal to substitute in? For the most part (this figure being the exception), I don't buy them. 

This doesn't affect most figures, but I passed up on the Arkham Knight Red Hood by McFarlane because...well the character isn't much without the guns. The same goes with Hush or a multitude of other characters. I just have those already with guns, so I don't need to buy a newer one that comes with less, you know? 

. 

Sculpt/Paint: 3/3 They do a (I gotta stop using the word amazing so much) superb job of this figure. The sculpting has all the sharp angles and shiny paint required for a proper depiction of Arkham Knight. While I appreciate that Arkham Knight is darker in the overall wash tone, this is just such a cool look for the figure.

Articulation: 3/3 (So many) This figure has more poseabilty than anything I have ever owned, period. The engineering to make this work is crazy. You can shift everything up and around, the twists and crunches and double joints work fantastically. I think with the armor bulk it might impede some range compared to this line's Spiderman figures, but not by much. Crazy good! 

Accessories: 1/1 I guess I would take this down to 0 if it weren't for the interchangeable Red Hood parts and helmet....cause he just doesn't use those other weapons he comes with. 

Fun Factor: 3/3 This is definitely a favorite of mine because I love the game and this villain for Batman. He's super well-balanced and articulated, and with the exception of the lack of guns, which isn't Kaiyodo's fault, great for anyone's collection. 

Verdict: 10/10 Amazing This figure is so great, and I can see collectors not buying it for a couple of reasons, such as price, lack of guns and maybe you don't love the Arkham games. If any of that doesn't deter you, then this is the best I've seen for Arkham Knight! 

Epic posing for the magazine cover

It is stylized here, as are all the AY's, but
it's a cool style!

Back view

Side View

Comparison with the DC Collectibles version.
I only just now realize how bad they did on the paint
for the DC Collectibles one. There isn't much of
any blue or shine to speak of! 

So many accessories

Imagine he has a gun

Radioing in his
minions to take down Batman

He's trying to be sexy like Dick Grayson...
nice try Todd. Also amazing splits and the 
shoulders are crazy on these

Seriously, look at this kick. 
Hard to balance like this? Yes. Worth it? Totally

I've never had an action figure be able to do this
AND look natural.

Swords!

The knives...still looks weird to see the Arkham
Knight handling some silly knives. He's a tactician, not
a gang thug! 

Ok, let's suit up! 

Where to start....

Shin caps. Ok, these are REALLY tricky to get on.
I almost snapped the tiny revoltech joint sticking out of his 
knee trying to get these on and dislocated another (fixed it though).
I do not want to do this often. 

Forearm pieces come out with a
very thin tool but snap in easily.

If I thought the shins were a pain in the ass,
these are 3 times the effort! The bicep comes unplugged
easily out of the shoulder, but to get the elbow out? Had to heat it 
up and took a ton of work to get it off without breaking anything. Again,
don't want to do this transformation too much. 

Happily, the rest of it is easy. The shoulder pads come
with a small ball joint that comes on and off easily but not TOO easily. 

"OH THE AGONY!!!"

This piece is pretty cool! 

and finally the oh so shiny head! 

I decided on the fully Red Hood chestpiece. 
Also good news! He can kinda/sorta hold the 
DC Collectibles Arkham Knight sniper rifle!

Basically his hand is only holding the lower part 
of the grip, but it's better than a knife

Ok granted the DC Collectibles Red Hood guns are a tad
GINORMOUS on hip, but again, with the clawed open hands
he can kinda do it! 

...I gotta get better at closing those shoulder gaps
or moving the camera better to hide them...they look
wonky as hell

ALL the Red Hoods in my collection. They are
oh so pretty.