Play Arts Kai Bootleg Dante - Devil May Cry 3?

Last January 14, 2013 i think i already mentioned anonymous reports of "alleged" bootleg figures of Devil May Cry 3 Dante and Vergil. Someone spotted them two days prior locally at our friendly-neighborhood bootleg haven. I asked for pics from anyone who would personally see them and David (sickout - from blogger as well) responded. David's been hanging around here for a quite a while and we've been exchanging emails about his findings. Props to you bro! All of the photos are credited to David (sickout).

Here are some of the pics of the "alleged" bootlegs together with the "authentic" ones.

The left pic is of the "authentic" Dante and the one the right is the "alleged bootleg" Dante. Just click on the pics to make them larger. notice the different paint apps and the missing shading. The eyes of the left-hand Dante are also more defined compared to the overlapping blue paints on the Dante on the right. The paint on their upper body are also different and once again the shadings are missing. In fact, the right-hand Dante's body paint reminds me of the face paint on the bootleg Battle Dress Snake figure i encountered. 

More findings after the jump >>>

Play Arts Kai Batman (THE Ultimate version)- Arkham Asylum & Arkham City

Years ago (approx. a couple of decades or so) i would pick up a really, really cool action figure, say a G.I. Joe (particularly Mercer) and he would become an instant favorite. Together, eventually, we'll clock in a phenomenal play time log. Later on, however, i would realize that the orange vest and blue pants of his are getting old to my 7 year-old eyes and not really to my liking in the first place. What i would do is tear him limb from limb, get a couple of Joes wearing combat fatigues (say, Hit & Run or Falcon), get all the cool body-parts, then reassemble the figure using Mercer's head and Voila! instant new Joe. It's pretty d@#ned impressive for a kid back then and less complicated. Honestly, i never really grew out of that "idea" and was always looking into it from time to time as you may have noticed while reading my Play Arts Kai Solid Snake review where i mentioned a Snake Eyes custom using Solid and Kaz Miller's alternate head.

Sadly, I never got to develop that skill though i met someone who did. Check out his latest piece.

Photo courtesy of Touya

You're seeing that right, and no that's not factory defect. Blaze a.k.a. Touya, one of the decorated moderators of Final Fantasy Merchandise forums actually concoct a new and better Batman figure using a combination of the Arkham Asylum and Arkham City figures. I refer to it personally as "THE Ultimate" Play Arts Kai Batman though Touya find the reference not really to his liking. Well, i'll take the windfall for you bro so no worries.

Play Arts Kai Yuna - Final Fantasy X FIRST PICS!

Was just randomly visiting forums i frequent a few minutes ago when i stumbled upon this very interesting news from Final Fantasy Merchandise courtesy of GHOST (bless you my friend!). This has got to be one of the best news i've heard in months regarding Play Arts Kai. Take a look at this...

cue the "Hallelujah" Chorus! 

Yes that's definitely her! And here's an ominous prophecy that made itself known to me while i behold the vision of Yuna!

And with Yuna comes Tidus 

and with X comes VII 

and VII begets Cloud, Tifa, Aerith and Sephiroth

That which made VIII exist

Where Squall and Rinoa came to be...

Let the speculation begin - i personally like to see Kefka, Terra, Kain, and the guys from FF 6 below. Seems like we'll see the Kai form of the older Final Fantasy Series characters. As an FF fan who missed out on the older Play Arts line this news is welcome indeed. Details are still up for speculation but seems like, logically, these figures will be in the same scale as the upcoming FF7: Advent Children Play Arts Kai figs. Still hoping that this time they will be bigger, around the scale of Metal Gear Solid PAKs or at the very least in the same scale as the Batman: AC figures. One more pic after the jump.

Play Arts Kai Catwoman - Arkham City

Well, this Play Arts Kai Catwoman review is pretty late already but i guess i got to make up for lost time. I originally intended to pass up the Play Arts Kai Arkham City line in favor of the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises line but an opportunity presented itself and i was able to get my hands on these wonderful figures. Thanks a lot Greattoys Online.

I mentioned a couple of articles ago that the Play Arts Kai Catwoman figure is one of the best Play Arts Kai figures of 2012 and the new "Queen of Kais." I am not going to change my stance now that i've seen her up close. Definitely, she's one of the best we have seen so far though, honestly, i have a few misgivings about her. Let's start with the basics first, shall we...

Trading Arts Kai Mini Vol.1 Yuna - Final Fantasy X & X-2

"Mini" seems to be one of the "In" things these days, from gadgets to figures and everything in between. Trading arts figures by SQEX have been around for some time and they are ripe for a reboot. I guess it's predictable then  that i won't pass the opportunity to grab one of them while on an early-year lull with Play Arts Kai. Predictably also the first figure who really caught my attention was Yuna. 

Why did i passed on Cloud and Squall and chose Yuna? Well, simply because you get 2 figures for the price of one... and she looked so damn cute. I guess my soft side got the best of me...anyway, i love the new packaging.

TOP 5 Play Arts Kai Figures of 2012

With another year gone by and everyone's looking forward to the very interesting releases coming soon, which will be draining our funds for 2013 - Yes! that would be Play Arts Kai Raiden, TTT2 Kazuya and TDKR Batman for me - let's take a look back at the best figures released last 2012. Of course these are based on the humble opinion of Yours Truly and some invaluable insight from my Play Arts Kai brothers-in-arms @ PinoyToyKolektors. Feel free to give your opinion on the comments section. Enjoy. 

5. Play Arts Kai Vergil - Devil May Cry 3

REVIEW HERE. Play Arts Kai translation of noted and well-loved antagonists are somewhat rare and far in between so Vergil is definitely a must-have especially if you already have the currently HTF DMC4 tandem of his brother Dante (if you're not that impressed, as i am, with the DMC3 Dante) and newcomer Nero. It's also good to see he's packaged with his 2 most iconic weapons in the game. Now that something Play Arts Kai Kratos should have done.