S.H. Figuarts Batman Ninja

I, along with many DC and Batman fans was really excited earlier this year when the new animated film Batman Ninja released. I mean it's hard to go wrong: a new storyline set in Japan, sword fights, and all your favourite Batman characters and villains

Boy, were we wrong. I won't spoil things, but suffice to say there's a bit more than that that takes over the show and makes it a bit too silly. I personally would watch it again to see, but I wasn't as fond of the 3D animation style. The character designs were really neat though, so I knew I was getting the action figures designed by S.H. Figuarts. It's interesting to note that Figma has also made a few characters, but their Batman seems to have far wackier proportions.

Like the movie, I've heard both decent things about the figure and not so great things. Overall, I really the figure, but it does have a few things that I would change if I could.

Bandai - Sasuke Uchiha (2003)

There's nothing more interesting to a collector than finding something in a store that you didn't even know you wanted -- but once you saw it, there was no turning back! I attended an anime convention where I found this figure. A set of 3 figures were made by Bandai in 2003 of the Naruto series: Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke. Now that I found mine at a very reasonable price (given its rarity), I'm pumped to get the other two.

Given that the highly articulated SH Figuarts line didn't debut until 2008, this figure is fairly well articulated and comes with a bunch of neat accessories. AND, it comes with an awesome art scroll of Sasuke with his name at the bottom (Uchiha Sasuke).
I was pleasantly surprised by how articulated this figure is given when it was made, but you can always trust a Japanese toy company to put their all into making figures and collectibles (especially these days).

It is not without flaws since some of the paint and sculpting isn't very clean. So let's dive into some ratings!

NECA Nathan Drake (Uncharted 4)

The Uncharted games were great. A part-time action/puzzler/platformer that had great charming dialogue, characters and while playing made you feel like you were really on an epic adventure of Indiana Jones' style proportions. The title character is Nathan Drake, supposed relation to the great explorer Sir Francis Drake. Using ancient manuscripts and relics, he travels the world with his trusty pilot and co-conspirator Sully, and other characters like Elena, Chloe pop in and out of the game.

This is a superbly well sculpted and painted representation of his appearance in the game. He stands at  7 inches tall, so he kinda fits more with my Arkham collection, but he's a stand-alone for me anyway. I'm not a huge fan of his yelling face for likeness, but the accessories he comes with are awesome.

Now, this is the first time I get a NECA (National Entertainment Collectibles Association) figure. I have always heard warnings and rumours of being careful when removing from the package or handling since they are very susceptible to breaking. So far I've been lucky, no breaks from the grapple, hands or anything else. It is a collectible, and I've had enough experience with stuff breaking from DC Collectibles that this is not a new thing.

Tip 1: Never yard on the smaller parts when bringing them out of the package. Try to cut around the pack to remove it as seamlessly as possible.
Tip 2: Wash your figure when you first get it. It helps loosen up joints and it doesn't hurt the plastic or paint to have some mild soap and water before letting it dry.

DC Collectibles Multiverse - Killer Croc (Arkham Asylum)

Killer Croc has always been more of a fear villain rather than one that makes much sense. Supposedly afflicted with an over-keratinizing skin condition which gives him scaly skin, he suffered abuse and trauma that created a rage which led to..cannibalism! ok!

Eventually, he leads his criminal life into being a cannibal hitman for mobs and becomes one of the eight assassins hired to kill Batman in Arkham Origins. His battle there was a pretty sequential boss fight that requires some waiting and timing. Later he escapes Arkham Asylum and Batman has to race on floating rafts in the sewers to get to a goal while Killer Croc will suddenly rush and attack, forcing the player to throw a Batarang that activates his old shock collar to temporarily subdue him. 

Later he is captured, and in Arkham Knight is heavily experimented on to test his regenerative abilities but it has a negative effect that accelerates his mutation to the point where he grows a tale and becomes more croc like in every way.  If they had made a figure of THAT version I would have also bought it.

For me, my holy grail (read: Way Too Expensive for what they are) figures are the massive hulking figures from the Arkham games. One day, I want, in no particular order: Clayface, Killer Croc, Titan Joker, Solomon Grundy. Now, this figure isn't exactly the killer croc I wanted, but he's a nice stand-in for whenever the other figures aren't like a zillion dollars. He's technically for 4-inch scale figures from the Multiverse line, but he is actually about 7 inches tall, which makes him like a hulking human-sized version of Killer Croc, despite a small head.

The figure is pretty good considering Multiverse, except for recent history, uses DC Classic joints

and poseability. That paint is not bad, though the finish is very gloss-heavy. The articulation isn't anything to write home about, but it's good enough. The head sticks out from his massive shoulders, so it's not possible to turn it without giving him a rather unnatural look. I can say one thing though, despite his mediocrity, he was very cheap! Even compared to his original MRSP.  He's also still better than Suicide Squad Killer Croc by miles. 

S.H. Figuarts Injustice Harley Quinn

Saddened by the loss of Joker, Harley Quinn joins some of the other former villains and heroes to fight Superman's totalitarian regime. In honour of the man she lost, she creates the Joker clan to fight with the Insurgency led by Batman.

Harley Quinn has a couple of skins in this one, and the word skin here is appropriate since, like many incarnations of the character after her creation in the Batman Animated Series by Bruce Timm, she's a bit scantily clad. This Insurgency version shows her with some kick-ass boots, leggings chock full of knives, barest of undershirts, jacket, mask and tied up pig-tails. It's colourful, still uses her theme, and comes with great accessories.

She's got a slim build, and while this would normally make her range of motion greater, there are some limitations in her range on the figure, especially below the waist.

S.H. Figuarts - Injustice Joker

Given that I've missed quite a few weeks due to summer break, here's a second post of the week!

Joker is the starter for the entire Injustice storyline. He begins by drugging Superman to believe that a pregnant Lois Lane is Doomsday. He kills her, and when the haze clears, finds out Joker was behind it. In a very "Man of Steel" grim-dark, kills Joker and realizes that humanity can't take care of itself. This begins the regime of Superman in which Injustice is set.

This Joker is kind of a mix in design from several places. His lapels and coat are a bit longer like the older cartoon Joker or the Arkham version. He uses knives, chattering teeth, a crowbar (a la Red Hood storyline), gas bombs and a very long handgun (inspired by the '89 Batman movie no doubt!).

I am a fan of redesigns of beloved characters because it shows a creativity and a desire to breathe some new life into them, and I think this one works well. He's got the gangly, sharp-edged, colourful villainous look any Joker fan loves. The joints work well, even if some of them are vaguely Figma looking. The figure is pretty great, as is to be expected by S.H. Figuarts, and each detail is super well painted.

S.H. Figuarts - Injustice Batman

Injustice: Gods Among Us is hands down the best story in a fighting game I wasn't looking for. When I initially bought the game, I basically just wanted to match up fights with big-time DC villains and heroes because hey, fighting games are a fun way to pass time without needing a big time commitment to enjoy. What I got instead was an interesting story that was interesting enough to spawn several ongoing comic series and a second game (which I will definitely buy at some point!).

S.H. Figuarts made 4 figures of characters from their appearance: Superman, Batman, Harley Quinn and Joker. I like how each of these characters is a unique take in the game. In fact, the game has two versions of many of the characters: original versions and the alternate reality ones under Superman's One Earth regime, where he is High Councilor and is a pretty hardcore dictator/tyrant. 

In this universe, Batman and many others are sent to an alternate reality (I won't tell you how, no spoilers!), and find themselves under Superman's regime. Some heroes (and villains) have allied themselves with Superman (who is looking kinda sickly!) while other heroes (and former villains?) have joined Batman's Insurgency group. This version of Batman is a bit more ruthless. He's got a bit more obvious armour plating to his suit, but it adds to the more unique world and takes on the characters. He's voiced by Kevin Conroy, so that makes most other things good in my books!

S.H. Figuarts - Gaara

Gaara's first appearance in Naruto is as a very disturbed kid who can manipulate sand imbued with his chakra. His character has many parallels to Naruto's if Naruto had never had friends, became a psychopath, and tried to destroy the Leaf village!

Gaara's tragic past includes having had the One-tailed Shukaku beast put into him, in the same way, that Naruto had the Nine-tailed fox sealed into himself. Upon being defeated by Naruto, he comes to realize a little about others and himself and basically becomes rehabilitated.

He is from the Hidden Sand Village and his father was also a pretty cold-hearted psycho himself. He has a brother and sister how also featured quite a bit in the show. He has the power to manipulate any sand around him, and so he also carries sand imbued with his chakra on his back that instantly protects him from harm. The only one who was able to beat the speed of his protective sand was Rock Lee (see the previous review!).  

S.H. Figuarts - Rock Lee

I absolutely love Lee. He's got the massive bushy brows, an inferiority complex, and one of the best fights ever in the entire Part 1 of 300 some odd episodes (not to mention the most outrageous eyes) As you may have guessed, he's a humorous homage to Bruce Lee. In Japanese, his name sounds like "Blues Lee", so both Rock Lee and his son in the Borut series, Metal Lee, are musical variants of that same pronunciation. He also has a similar hairstyle and jumpsuit to Bruce Lee, as well as the same birthday (yes, in Anime characters have a birthday, even if it is never once mentioned, is always put into their profiles). He's goofy looking but optimistic, and his biggest character trait is his gruelling hard work in the face of tough adversity, which I think we can all admire as a trait. His fight against Gaara and Kimmimaro are easily the best fights in all of Part 1 (300 episodes or so).

In the Ninja world of using chakra (aka magic), there are three primary types of chakra use: Taijutsu (hand-to-hand combat techniques), Genjutsu (Illusion techniques) and Ninjutsu (External mostly, and basically everything else like using the five Natures, etc). Unfortunately for Lee, he is near skillless in Genjutsu and Ninjutsu (which you'd think would mean he'd never pass basics to become a ninja...) however, his martial arts combat skills is so great, alongside his ability to unlock some pretty crazy internal chakra "gates", that he became a ninja on taijutsu alone. I also really like Lee's sensei, Might Guy, who is also a hilarious parody type character that is very endearing and incredibly powerful.

S.H. Figuarts - Madara Uchiha

One of the prime big bad guys of the Naruto Shippuden series: Madara Uchiha, a former co-founder of the Ninja village Hidden in the Leaves. Like Sasuke in the first part, the history is a bit back and forth. At first, Madara and Hashirama, the first Hokage, are friends, then enemies, then they form a truce and bring an end to the violence from their respective clans. When they founded the village, Madara and Hashirama had very different visions of how this would work. Madara's version of peace between the ninja clans was to control others through laws and regulations, where Hashirama's was cooperation between the various nations and villages. Eventually, Madara left with an ominous promise.

Many years later, he later returns and brings the Nine-tail fox to destroy the village. Many die in the attack, including Naruto's mother (Kushina) and father (Minato - see the previous review!). However, his parents manage to seal half of the Nine-Tails inside Minato, and a half into their just-then-born son, Naruto. He possesses powers mostly from his eye, which allows all kinds of space and time manipulation, as well as being a super skilled martial artist and fire technique user.

It's a very long storyline and plot as to the why's and hows, but basically, Madara becomes resurrected into a somewhat obedient zombie form. SH Figuarts included both a cracked/reanimated face and a regular one though, so that's pretty nice!

Speaking of which, the figure is pretty amazing, with only one gripe. The sculpt is fantastic, and most all the armour pieces for the legs and shoulders move freely on their hinges and can detach without damaging parts. The scythe and giant fan connected by real chain pieces are fantastic. The weapons have a nice lightweight that doesn't turn his hand over and looks super impressive given their size.