Play Arts Kai: The Best & Worst of 2013

It's that time of the year again Boys and Girls where we rank the BEST Play Arts Kai releases (for last year, of course) and as an added twist, since i'm feeling kinda like Sid the Sloth (goddamn holidays!) i'll be including the absolutely HORRIBLE and disappointing ones from the depths of the PAK hierarchy - residing beside the Commander Sheps and Sheva Alomars in the bottomless pit. Majority of the entries are personal picks (yeah, so what? write your own article if you disagree, LOL) though i did get some opinions from my comrades @ Play Arts Kai Philippines Trading Group. You'll be surprise that the turnout is pretty much unanimous...minus some which are obviously written down by damn fanboys.

5. BEST - Play Arts Kai Liquid Snake - Metal Gear Solid & Captain Harlock

"Did you like my sunglasses?"

Photo courtesy of Edzy Santiago

It's about goddamn time! The "superior" Twin from the Les Enfants Terribles Project barely made the 2013 deadline but what a photo finish it was. His likeness and details are awesome, typical PAK Metal Gear figure. Do i need to elaborate further or do you want his Stinger to do the talking?

Photo courtesy of Paul Mendoza

As for Harlock i'm including him here to be fair to the fanboys, the figure looks good indeed but sad to say only a handful are really excited with this release (same with the Cowboy Bebop line). It goes to show that not all video game fans are anime fans...like Yours Truly.

WORST - Play Arts Kai Leon Kennedy - Resident Evil 6

I wouldn't really call it a total failure just a huge letdown. One of the most anticipated figures of 2013 turned out pretty disappointing. The old RE5 Play Arts Kai figures are pretty decent detail (except for Sheva's face) and accessory-wise which i, sadly, cannot claim for Leon. His details and likeness are underwhelming and he's sorely under-equipped. Helena escaped this list since i never really expected much from her.   

4. BEST - Play Arts Kai Batman - DC Variants

I'll be honest with you, i don't like this line at all and to be brutally frank about it, i think this is just a passing fad since we don't have a background for these figures (like i said before, no video games, no comics, no cartoons, etc.) but i'd be lying if i claim that this incarnation of the Dark Knight isn't impressive and, also, i could be very wrong about my prediction. Batman's got very solid design, good paint and details and excellent playability and poseability. I would get him again if i get the chance to do so since he can stand-alone in any collection.

WORST - Play Arts Kai Tom Preacher - Medal of Honor: Warfighter

I initially didn't want to include this since it's not a high profile release and i never reviewed him but judging from the pics and articles he's pretty awkward scale-wise and accessories are similar to what Leon is packing. The design of the shoulders is also an eye-sore, if they only made him a 10 incher...oh well, another PAK to dust by...a Modern Warfare 3 Generic SAS figure would have been more appealing IMO.

 3. BEST - Play Arts Kai Lightning - FFXIII-3: Lightning Returns

Photo courtesy of Ralph Anthony Bien

Screw that goddamn prosy review bordering on poor erotica. I suggest you wait for Dynamic Hero's review for a more straightforward approach on Lightning. I would have ranked her higher but i never played the game and i'm biased towards Final Fantasy 7 so here she is at number 3 (sorry Lightning fanboys). I don't have a review of her but yeah, she's a huge improvement from the first 2 Lightning figures in every aspect. I normally don't get figures from lines i did not play (or i don't know much about) but i'm tempted to get her. Imagine her mounted on Odin, would that be a sight? I hereby declare Lightning of Lightning Returns, (and rightfully so) the new Queen of Kais.

WORST - Starship Troopers and Deadspace Isaac Clarke

Figure courtesy of Anton Aldon

Cases of vertically challenged PAKs. What i hate about them is that they look like HALO rip-offs and they are not even in the same league, design-wise, as the new HALO 4 PAKs. Isaac Clarke is pretty fragile also and you don't get much from him.

2. BEST - Play Arts Kai Vincent Valentine - Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children

At number 2 we have one of the famous characters from the greatest Final Fantasy game ever...errr...though yeah, this is his movie version. SQEX revived their romance with their #1 line with the release of the 1st Wave of FF7:AC PAK figures. Vincent Valentine is simply the best in the line (which was an otherwise weak line IMO) and among the best designed PAK figures for the year 2013.

WORST - Play Arts Kai Man of Steel line

Photo courtesy of JC Datinguinoo of Dynamic Hero 

Terrible scale, terrible likeness, terrible paint job in general - seriously guys i applaud (with mingled horror and confusion)  those who collected this line - you must be TRULY SOLID Superman fans.

1. BEST - Play Arts Kai Raiden - Metal Gear Rising Revengeance

Do i really need to explain why? If you haven't seen the pure awesomeness of this figure it's either you're goddamn dead inside or you don't collect Play Arts Kais, if that's the case what the hell are you doing here? Seriously, you simply can't expect it to be perfect (articulation-wise most especially) but as far as the in-game character design is concerned he is the Best of the Best. Dethroning last year's minted King of Kais himself: Solidus Snake. More importantly, how many new collectors jumped the Play Arts Kai ship when Raiden came out? Like i said, whether it's a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen but without a doubt, Raiden and the MGS line owned 2013.