Showing posts with label Kaiyodo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kaiyodo. Show all posts

Friday, February 24, 2023

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? 

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Kaiyodo Asian Giant hornet - Revogeo



Occasionally, I'll purchase or be gifted a figure I was not anticipating. This is one of those! I had seen Kaiyodo previously release a beetle and scorpion, thinking they were really cool looking but at the time not sure if my action figure budget could sustain the purchase at the time. Ultimately I didn't have to make that decision because this was a wonderful birthday gift! 

The Revogeo line is a set of realistic animal figures created by Kaiyodo with amazing accessories and moving parts that use the Revoltech joint system. I absolutely love this figure, and it being from my Japanese in-laws, reflects the absolute terror everyone has for the Asian Giant hornet or Suzumebachi (literally "murder hornet". I have personally never seen one (and was slightly disappointed) despite warning signs of them when I was on Miyajima island in Japan. 

This figure has a TON of range in every segment of its body. It has a better abdominal crunch in the thorax end than most humanoid figures, replaceable wings, moving jaw parts and a stinger that can unsheath with some finagling! The stand attachment is good and while this is one of my first Kaiyodo figures, I've heard of the number of extra joints it comes with in case of breakages and that's always a good thing.