Kotobukiya Bishoujo Sniper Wolf Review

I'm not into Bishoujos from the Kotobukiya line since they look too anime-ish for my taste. In the past, my one and only review for a Kotobukiya Bishoujo figure was that of Tekken's Jun Kazama. But last year i was surprised with a teaser for this character and the hype engine's wheels began to turn: 

I'm a big fan of the Metal Gear line: Play Arts Kai, Hot Toys, Gecco, et.al (and no, i'm not too big on the McFarlane version a decade or so back). You name it! One needed only to backtrack here to check out all the Metal Gear characters i've accumulated and reviewed over the years. We've been aching to get a good version of Sniper Wolf since Play Arts Kai started churning out Metal Gear Solid figures and though we failed on that account, i believe we just got the next best thing.

Play Arts Kai Man on Fire Review - Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

(*ME, talking off camera) Am i supposed to give a SPOILER ALERT warning? What for? Oh, alright...

If for some reason you've been living in a cave for a decade then you would have no idea who this guy is. Either you're a doomsday conspiracy enthusiast who went underground for fear of a nuclear winter back in the 90's or you're a bat - whichever one, it doesn't explain why you have internet access, but anyway... Metal Gear Solid fans caught the scent the moment this bad-a$$ MF made his presence known in the trailer...  

This mysterious adversary has been chasing Medic Snake (Oooops! too late, Spoiler!) relentlessly in the game like a much more flame and steroid-laden Nemesis and/or Tyrant though he's definitely much harder to bring down, well, unless of course you're living near a steady water source... something missing in the jungles of Africa during that mission wherein he'll screw up with your Gunship if you're gonna be too sissy to neutralize him first before attempting to board. And oh yeah, we tried sending him to Mother Base via that cool balloon...

Play Arts Kai Raiden Review - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

As if we haven't had enough of Play Arts Kai Raiden figures last year... Anyway, the human Jack arrived hot on the trail of Liquid Snake and of course, as expected, me and my fellow MGS fans snapped up one for our respective collections as soon as he's out, giving little or no heed at all whether he's a good figure or not. Because of that, this review's pretty much useless already IMO. But then i feel i owe the local PAK community this review of Jack...whether they and YOU like it or not.

The Play Arts Kai Raiden from MGS2: SOL is the 2nd character in this particular MGS storyline and he's got massive shoes to fill in the form of Solidus Snake, one of the best PAK's ever produced.  To be quite frank, i feel i've had enough of Raiden last year so this particular figure wasn't exactly a favorite of mine. I'm not expecting much anyway since i don't think he can match the intensity of the MGRR Raiden figure. In reality, only very few PAKs actually can...

TOP 5 Events: Angels & Summer Year-end Round Up 2013

As the flames of the year die-down to mere embers, let's take a look back at significant events for Angels & Summer blog and the local Play Arts Kai scene in general.

#5. Arigatoys Collectibles Inc. Sponsorship (Revoltech Philippines) & Christmas Toy Fair

Photo courtesy of Arigatoys Collectibles Inc.

Photo Courtesy of Arigatoys Collectibles Inc.

Hot Toys The Boss Review

I've been slacking lately, especially after those three Play Arts Kai reviews for November. I expect to round up the year though with Metal Gear Solid figures, the only Play Arts Kai i'm keeping and the most recent Hot Toys line i'm collecting. Anyway, for my 3rd to the last review for the year, before hibernating indefinitely, i would like to share with you the person whose "ideology" was enough to fuel the whole Metal Gear universe, the "Mother" of the Special Forces, the founder of the Cobra Unit (a.ka. The Joy), the master who mentored goddamn Naked Snake (and therefore responsible for teaching him about 50% of his badassery, not to mention indirectly influencing all his descendants - Les Enfants Terribles), co-developer of CQC, pioneer of the "Bandanna" trend in MGS, the last child of the Patriots and the biological mother of that triple-crossing gun-slinger, goddamn Ocelot! Whew! Her credentials read like a goddamn "SO, You Think You're a Badass?!" list.

She's not really included in my hit list but since i'm a sucker for 1/8 and 1/6 MGS figs i gave her a shot. I was pretty happy i did, she's an iconic figure in MGS universe though her role lasted only one game: Snake Eater. You still can't deny the fact that she's an integral character in the series and all the other complicated twists and turn are, in one way or another, indirectly connected to her.

Hot Toys Naked Snake Review - Sneaking Suit Version

I can't imagine missing this figure being a Metal Gear Solid fan, though, admittedly, i am not really a big fan of the sneaking suit design from MGS3: Snake Eater. I did plan to get this some months back but wave after waves of Play Arts Kai figures pushed him further down the priority list. Previous reviews (and they are quite rare) of this Naked Snake version aren't really reassuring but, what the hell! The MGS fanboy in me won out in the end and I'm glad i was able to "sneak" him into the budget.

Though equally impressive as the rest of the MGS installments i am not a big fan of Snake Eater's character designs (well, except for Adamska a.k.a. Young Ocelot) - Cobra Unit = Meh. Maybe that's the reason why i intended to pass getting into the 1/6 MGS line. However, rumors looming of a possible Solid Snake and Raiden Hot Toys solidified my resolve to get Naked Snake, after all, Snake Eater is where it all technically began.

Revoltech Snake Review

You know, sometimes it pays to have that certain kind of guts (and confidence) to drop a certain company a letter asking if they'd be interested to sponsor your blog. Though i am aware that this blog is kinda very niche and therefore not that heavy when it comes to traffic, i had the cheek to email Arigatoys (Revoltech Philippines) if they would be interested to sponsor my Revoltech reviews... and there are times when the gamble pays off. This will be my first Revoltech review and i'm glad that i'll start with a beloved character from my favorite video game line.

Harvey, Kyle and Gladwin, this one's for you guys.

Indeed, that's Naked Snake donning his sneaking suit. Very appropriate since he's basically the progenitor of the Metal Gear series and this time he's the 1st MGS figure for the Revoltech Yamaguchi line - which was designed by famed sculptor Yamaguchi (gotta check his first name though).

Play Arts Kai Solidus - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Review

You know, you don't always get the chance to grab a Play Arts Kai figure of a President, the 43rd President of the USA in this particular case albeit a fictional one. Therefore, i am honored to introduce to you,  Mr.George Sears or better known as Solidus Snake. Former US President, in fact, the youngest one at 28 years old but largely due to the influence of The Patriots, a prominent figurehead on Mt. Snakemore in Shadow Moses,  instigator of both the Shadow Moses and Big Shell incidents, Raiden's (Jack's) mentor, creator of "Dead Cell" and the "Perfect Clone" of Big Boss. Now beat that, other US Presidents...

And therefore should be addressed as Sir... 

Touya of FFM speculates the meaning of those 2 blind areas...2 upcoming PAKs?

Play Arts Kai Solidus Snake is also the most elaborately packaged and most expensive Play Arts Kai 'human' figure released by SQEX so far. His box is actually bigger than the DMC3 figures though it's much more simpler (i.e. no flaps, back story narration, etc). Didn't think i'd get one but since Greattoys Online is currently keeping their prices highly-competitive here he is and boy, oh boy, he's a very. very impressive figure indeed.

Play Arts Kai Meryl Silverburgh - Metal Gear Solid Review

"Good things come to those who wait" indeed, i have misgivings about the latest SQEX release: Play Arts Kai Meryl Silverburgh from the Metal Gear Solid series so i did not include her in the priority list, (with DMC3 at her heels and Solidus) but then an "unexpected SALE" came up and i decided to give her a shot. 

Play Arts Kai Raiden painted prototype @ SDCC 2012

This seems to be an afternoon full of surprises, word just got to me of the painted Play Arts Kai Raiden @ SDCC 2012. Aside from Play Arts Kai Meryl and Play Arts Kai Solidus this is another figure which i cannot afford to miss.

Finally! Play Arts Kai Raiden. Photo courtesy of Touya of FinalFantasyMerchandise.com

More pics after the jump.

Play Arts Kai Collectors Guide v 2.0

About 7 Months ago i came up with a list of the Play Arts Kai figures that (based on my personal opinion and the collective opinion of my comrades @ pinoytoykolektors.com) newbie Play Arts Kai collectors should include in their "hit lists" and are definitely worth a look or two by would-be/aspiring collectors. After some great releases, and a share of disappointing ones, we would like to present the must-haves and for-your-consideration figures from Play Arts Kai in the past 7 months. But before that, a brief rundown of our Play Arts Kai Collectors Guide v 1.0 last October 2011.

The Essentials - the Must-Haves: Dante of DMC4, Big Boss/Naked Snake Jungle Fatigue and Sneaking Suit versions of MGS: Peacewalker, Gabranth of Dissidia FF, Ezio Auditore da Firenze of AC2.
The Niche - for Fans of the Series: Adam Jensen of Deus Ex: HR, Edward Elric of FMA, Ichigo Kurosaki of Bleach, HALO: Reach line.
Outside, Looking In - Underrated figures: Resident Evil/Biohazard 5 line. 

*Thanks a lot to bro Maykello of PTK for letting me use his awesome pics, you rule bro
** Thanks to the following for their input: andrew, ramir19, tri3dge, hikari03. 

The Essentials - "Must-Haves"

"Can't always be the Living Legend, eh Snake? Oh s#!i i've been spotted!"PHOTO BY: Maykello

Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid - (REVIEW Here)
I've said much about him on my review already which i will no longer repeat here but think about this: Solid Snake is the "face" of the Metal Gear franchise. Not even Raiden can change that. This rendition of him is from the game that revived the interest in the line and the genre. If i'm going to have just 1 Play Arts Kai figure, Solid Snake is my hands down choice.

Play Arts Kai Solid Snake Bootleg?

Hi guys, thanks for dropping by. Play Arts Kai's most recent release, the legendary Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series is greeted with much enthusiasm and doubt. There has been a debate about the authenticity of certain versions that arrived in the market. I have been on the forefront of this issue for quite some time already and though nothing has been proven yet, for the benefit of all I would like to record the differences i have encountered with both the "perceived authentic" Solid Snake figure and the "alleged bootleg" one.

Photo courtesy of sorubeido

It is alarming that authenticity of Play Arts Kai figures is now in question noting how expensive these figures are and how loyal the fanbase is of the line.This record however is still not a basis for authenticity and like i mentioned, unless Square-Enix themselves confirm the existence of bootlegs the debate will just go on. My advice to all of my fellow collectors: be wary, careful and smart with your purchases. Check out the differences i noted below:

Play Arts Kai Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid Review

Play Arts Kai Solid Snake - FINALLY, after a very stressful couple of weeks i finally got him. A 100% authentic one if i must say. I'd like to mention this also: 44 posts even before the actual review?! WOW! guys, thanks for the patronage. Ahem...Here's Snake by the way:

The real me is no match for the legend.

Well i guess this guy needs no introduction anymore, you won't be here reading my review if you are not familiar with the legendary Solid Snake in the first place. If i am not mistaken the only other action figures of Solid are created years ago by McFarlane and Medicom so the Play Arts Kai version is understandably highly anticipated. Anyway, Solid Snake is my favorite video game character of all time. Thought i just mention it...

Play Arts Kai Cyborg Ninja - Gray Fox Metal Gear Solid Review

When i first saw the Play Arts Kai Cyborg Ninja - Gray Fox pics on the web I had goosebumps all over thinking about the path that Konami and Square-Enix is currently taking with regards to their Metal Gear Solid line. We've got Fox right now, Solid is due later this month, Meryl not far behind and we've also seen the unpainted model prototypes of Solidus and Raiden; it is evident that the great people on both sides are really doing their best to bring us the characters that we definitely wanted to see. And, additionally,  "Kojima Kami Nandesu" indeed.

"That's good Snake, do you remember me now?!"

Gray Fox or Frank Jaeger is the only Fox-Hound operative to ever be given the codename Fox because of his skill in the battle-field. He's got a love-hate relationship with Solid Snake, sharing an ally-enemy-ally-enemy kind of camaraderie with him though ultimately sacrificing his life to help Solid defeat Liquid piloting Metal Gear Rex on Shadow Moses. I love the new packaging they employed for this new line. All along i was expecting a dark box typical of the theme used by the Metal Gear Solid game for the PS1 but i was surprised to find a rather minimalist box design for Fox. Take note also of the 25th Anniversary sticker on the lower right side.

Play Arts Kai Scale Guide v 1.0

Inconsistent scale is one of the main issues with Play Arts Kai figures and perhaps most of us collectors (and interested non- or would be- collectors) usually have questions about which figures are in the same scale (height, bodybuild, head-size?, ahem, etc.). I decided to create this post to help others decide, knowing that there is a considerable number of collectors out there that are very particular with figure scale. For display purposes perhaps? Please feel free to refer to this guide for scale inquiries.

Play Arts Kai Kazuhira Miller - Metal Gear Solid - Peacewalker Review

Alright, time for another late review, i just got Kaz last week, not really planning to get him before but with Play Arts Kai Solid Snake and Grey Fox to be released soon (around early 2012) why not get all the MGS characters made available so far? Master  McDonnell Benedict "Kazuhira" Miller's name first came to light during Metal Gear 2 as a member of FOXHOUND then Metal Gear Solid where Liquid assumed his guise to fool Solid Snake. In the series backstory, Peacewalker, he's the deputy chief of Big Boss in the Militaires Sans Frontieres. 

A Gamer's Journal Part 1: 1997-2000 RPGs, et al.

I was rummaging through my old things and i recovered a couple of very interesting pieces of paper that i initially believed to be lost for all time. I haven't really seen them for more than 7 years and finding them just opened a floodgate of memories. I used to be a gamer back in the mid to late 90's when Playstation 1 is in the pinnacle of it's popularity while SNES is on the stage of decline. Oftentimes i play 2-3 RPGs simultaneously which explains why there are "conquered" dates that are very close to each other.

This is the 2nd draft of the list which i re-organized back in 2000 (as indicated by the date above), at least 3 pages are missing though. Apparently, i have a lot of time in my hands back then...

Role playing games are my #1 interest though from time to time a really good game comes along and i pick it up. For every game i invested time on and finished i kept a short entry on a journal of the experience as well as the dates when i actually finished the game. Sadly though, the 2 pcs of paper i recovered are just the starting pages of the journal mentioned, i don't really know what happened to the accounts i have written about the actual games. Also, the entries on the pages i got stopped on 2000, i believe there are still some games i've finished after that date which i will try to check.

"Memories, make me want to go back there..."

Play Arts Kai Collectors Guide v 1.0

This article may seem a bit ambitious since i have only started collecting Play Arts Kai, however, the justification is that who can better understand would-be or potential collectors but a newbie as well? Unlike my older lines (Transformers Classic, Transformers Movie, etc.) i never really started blindly with Play Arts Kai. The reason for this is that i know well enough which figures i would like to get, PA Kai being a relatively new line offering a rather small lineup at the moment, made mostly of characters that i am quite familiar with. As stated by one of my fellow PA Kai collector (orochicoops) from the Pinoy Toy Kolektors forum and i quote:  "I always recommend to go for your favorite character. Sometimes kahit may (even with) minor flaws, you'll let it slide na din (also) because of your love for that character "

I too started with PA Kai with that mindset, as long as the character looks cool to me, dear to me, or from a very memorable game for me i would not hesitate to grab that figure and of course, minor flaws can be forgiven, am i right Ezio?

The purpose of this guide is to promote what our chosen line has to offer, provide insight on the figures (reviews aside) and/or inspire others to pick up the line. Choices vary from person to person but, ultimately, here are some of the figures worth checking out if you are considering starting out with the Play Arts Kai line. *** Please take note that this is purely based on the collective opinion of yours truly and my fellow collectors and in no way we consider this as experts' advice, at the end of the day choices will still depend on you, also, this list comes in no particular order.

The Essentials 

"Get me or...get me, your choice!"

Warning: Play Arts Kai Metal Gear Bootlegs?

I never thought i would be writing a note of Warning regarding collectibles but i just had a close brush with a very suspicious Play Arts Kai figure yesterday. Unfortunately, i was not able to take pictures since the said figure has been with me for only a few hours. Good thing, the seller (whose name i will withhold since he's not a member of the local PA Kai community and probably not really aware of these figures) allowed me a refund but i advise all my fellow PA Kai collectors to gather as much info as possible before getting a Play Arts Kai figure from online sellers.

Older Play Arts - Final Fantasy collectors would be quite familiar with the bootleg PAs by now and could easily spot the tell-tale signs of a bootleg figure even if it's boxed. Of course, the Final Fantasy series is a bootleggers favorite so i was not really surprised to see bootlegs of the PA Kai Final Fantasy Dissidia figures that are now available in the market. However, i was deeply disturbed by the fact that the alleged bootleg figure i got is NOT from the Final Fantasy Series but from Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker.