Play Arts Kai Batman Variant - DC Universe

Like i mentioned on my teaser post at Play Arts Kai Philippines Trading Group, i fully understand that the latest Play Arts Kai Batman incarnation needs no more introduction being one of the most hyped and anticipated figure for the year. And though i hate the hype I must agree that he didn't disappoint. Perhaps one of the best PAK releases thus far though i wouldn't go as far as brand him the NEW "King of Kais," and for good reasons...well get to that later.

Packaging is one of the finest we've seen from SQEX and though i'm not a fan of the cover flap system the custom artwork stands pretty impressive on display. The inner flap art looks good as well, looks like we have an anime Bruce Wayne in our hands.

Play Arts Kai Raiden Blue Custom Body - MGRR

Well i'd like to consider this acquisition a birthday present to myself. I'm quite happy already with my Regular and White Play Arts Kai Raidens so i'm not really gunning after the other colors. But as fate would have it, i came across a rather interesting post @PTK (to me at least, my wallet doesn't share the same sentiment though, what a bummer!) and i must admit i succumbed to an impulse buy...and here he is...damn...

Needless to say i'm compelled to complete the whole set. Oh, by the way, thanks a lot to Markwin, the founder of One Sixth Republic for hooking me up with Blue Jack.

Revoltech Jinouga Blademaster - Monster Hunter

Is it just me or is Revoltech getting stronger with each new release? Being new to the line i simply can't help but be impressed with the line-up and they just keep pouring it on.

I must say that when i first saw pics of the Jinouga/Zinogre Blademaster i really love to get my hands on one and do a review. The guys of Revoltech Philippines actually made that wish come true and it's an honor doing this review for them though I'll be honest, i never played a Monster Hunter game back in the heyday of PS2, now i heard they have a Wii-U exclusive which means i'll never get to play it as well. Oh well, at least i got this damn fine looking b@d@$$ over here...

Revoltech Vic Viper Review

A very nice surprise greeted me at the office last Friday when i returned after an official business trip. Having seen the Revoltech Vic Viper online i must say i'm pretty excited to get my hands on one especially when i heard that he's going to have a semi-metallic finish, now that i gotta see on a smaller scale figure! You may notice the darker pics i'll be using for this review. That's actually a technique to somehow capture the metallic finish of Vic - something that i hope i achieve to some extent. To Kyle, Harvey and Gladwin of Arigatoys / Revoltech Philippines; you guys are Awesome! Oh, ctach Vic on the following "hangars" if you please:  Big Boy's Toy Store, Filbar's, Metro Toys, Play Giant, New Haven PH.

After a 2-year stint of collecting robots (Transformers) i've considered myself retired from the genre but having seen this guy up here, i can now safely say that i haven't fully outgrown robots, mechs, gears, et.al. or in this particular case an LEV or a "Laborious Extra-Orbital Vehicle."

Play Arts Kai The Joker - The Dark Knight Rises Trilogy Review

I got my Play Arts Kai The Joker figure i bit late than usual, considering this is one of the most anticipated and, as proven later, most sought after among the latest Play Arts Kai releases. Late review but nonetheless justified and timely since Greattoys Online (where i got mine) will be restocking both he and Play Arts Kai Anne Cat-haway later this month. A gleam of hope for those who are still missing the two from their collections and having to deal with the hype and grossly overpriced items being peddled by re-sellers and hoarders. Greattoys Online pegged them at somewhere between 2.5K-2.7K Php so make your reservations now.

Originally, i intended to bash the hype claiming that this Joker is on par with the Hot Toys version which is an absurd, over-your-head claim. He's NOT, by the way, so quit the comparison. They each deserve their own recognition and respect and the Play Arts Kai The Joker stand out in his own way.

Revoltech Raiden Preview!

This just in from Revoltech Philippines, seems like the prototype that Hideo Kojima hinted at some weeks back is this guy...

Nice, i guess, nothing to see here...carry on...wait a sec...is that Jack? Damn! so Revoltech is really serious with the Metal Gear series. Imagine the playability, poseability and accessories on Revoltech Raiden. Another highly anticipated figure for both Revoltech and Metal Gear fans. Can anyone say Solid Snake? I know you could!

Revoltech Danboard Preview

I've been seeing this 'cute' character for the longest time even before i got into Play Arts Kai and stuff. Though i, admittedly, not familiar with the "Yotsuba & !" series i find this little guy very interesting, as a mascot for pictorials perhaps or even your very own figure avatar. I personally find him a 'fresh' (and very welcome!) break for Play Arts Kai collectors like me. I'm hoping to have one when he gets released on August.

Play Arts Kai - Philippines Trading Group Rises!

The Play Arts Kai Philippines Trading Group set up a display during last month's Toycon @ Megamall and it's a huge success. Props to my fellow administrators and members for the very impressive display. A TV appearance c/o Anjo @ ABS CBN hopefully gave birth to an instant celebrity. He and his brother Bernard secured the space for our group.I contributed 3 figures from my personal collection, by the way; White Raiden, Cyborg Ninja and Kratos. Play Arts Kai MGS series particularly look damn good behind that glass cab...even from a half a mile away. It's great to meet other members of the group. MORE PICS AFTER THE JUMP.

Play Arts Kai Isaac Clarke - Dead Space Review

"Good men mean well. We just don't always end up doing well." So sayeth Isaac Clarke, the main protagonist of the Dead Space series who recently debuted as a Play Arts Kai figure. Now, all those following our group @ Facebook - Play Arts Kai Philippine Trading Group - know well enough that i am not familiar with this guy and, honestly, i haven't played a single Dead Space game. Relating it to Clarke's words of wisdom, i mean well with this review - i just hope i don't screw it up... after all I was just encouraged to do this one by a fellow group admin who's really into Dead Space - yes, i'm referring to YOU Anton! This was supposed to be a live review during our group's TOYCON exhibit but having a lot of things going on i'm gonna submit another late review.

You must pardon me if the pics aren't exactly that sharp since i'm using a weaker camera on the exhibit area that time. I just hope to do a quick rundown of what this figure has to offer. Coming from a non-DS3 fan i sure do hope i won't be biased.

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 Raiden White Version - MGRR

Ok, here we go, this review took some time since i'm at the start of a career transition period or, in less fancy terms, "i ain't got access to blogger yet" in my new job/office, lol, if ever i get one. I'm not into exclusives as i may have mentioned before though whenever i get the chance then why the hell not? After all, the wisdom of old Play Arts collectors quips that the Play Arts Kai Raiden is the "new Sora."

I originally intend for this to be a video review but after a bout with a bad cough i got too L-A-Z-Y to do it so let's stick with the basics. I also prefer writing things down real time instead of preparing a script, rehearsing or any other bulls#!t. Every other reviews done up to this point were created using that technique. Anyway, I was taken aback a bit by his price tag but then, he's an exclusive so what do i expect? I may have to sacrifice the upcoming Play Arts Kai TDKR figures at the moment. So if i fail to review The Joker and Catwoman on time we all know who to blame...

Play Arts Kai Liquid Snake and Raiden Painted Prototypes

This might be old news now to PAK collectors lurking around the web over the weekend but we finally have the painted prototypes of Liquid Snake from MGS and Raiden, well, when he's still about 90%  human, from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. All pics are from Mr. Hidemi Matsuzuka of Square Enix.

 More pics after the jump...

Play Arts Kai Bane - The Dark Knight Rises Trilogy Review

I really have no plans of getting the "Caped Crusader's" masked nemesis from the third film of Nolan's critically acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy. In fact, i even made fun of his accent during my review for Play Arts Kai Batman. Hehe. Well, sorry about that Tom Hardy, you just talk funny for such an imposing fellow.  This is an old figure review already but i hope to "influence" some people to get into the Play Arts Kai TDKR Trilogy line. Ahem, so why did i end up getting Bane?

Play Arts Kai Ibuki - Super Street Fighter 4 Review

This is a rare instance of me doing a review of a character i'm not really familiar with so i have to do some research on her. Apparently, Ibuki is a very famous character in Street Fighter since i have reasons to believe that SQEX is using the old "Popularity Poll" to decide which Street Fighter is worthy of a Play Arts Kai incarnation. Considering Ibuki is released on the 3rd Wave with the Play Arts Kai Guile figure and, notably, ahead of Ken and Sakura, she must be very famous, well, at least in Japan. I did not find that surprising since a rather hot "kunoichi" is a sure-fire hit for the guys (Kasumi anyone?).

Play Arts Kai Guile - Super Street Fighter 4 Review

I just noticed that my last few reviews were full of recollections especially the characters from the older games that i know well and though i would like to make an exception for the Play Arts Kai Guile figure, i don't think it's possible. To be honest, Guile is the first Street Fighter character that really left an impression on me. Perhaps because "Sonic Boom" is a more coherent phrase during playtime instead of "Hadouken" and i am a big fan of his Flash Kick which i fondly refer to then as "jack-knife," for some reason only an 11 year old will understand.

The future of the Super Street Fighter 4 Play Arts Kai line doesn't look good after the release of Akuma and Cammy. I actually thought they will discontinue the line when there are no more news of a follow-up and all we got are a bunch of recolors. I was surprised when they displayed a prototype of Guile, Ibuki, Ken and Sakura. The collector in me rejoiced at the news...even as my wallet groaned in dismay.

Play Arts Kai Jun Kazama - Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Review

Oooook, first things first, i'd like to thank bro Anton Aldon of Play Arts Kai Philippines Trading Group  for trading his Play Arts Kai Jun Kazama figure to me, making this review possible. It is only fitting that i prioritize this review over the Play Arts Kai Guile though Guile's pics have been on the waiting area for some days now. Ok, on to the review...

Jun is one of the few characters that i remember well back from the Playstation 1 days of Tekken, maybe because she regularly beat my guys (King & Heihachi) - on a side note, my brother is very fond of using her and her son, (Jin in Tekken 3) who inherited some of her moves so i'm certainly not a newbie going against her. To be honest, i'm not particularly excited to see her on the 1st Wave of Play Arts Kai TTT2 alongside Kazuya, though i imagine it's unavoidable since she's the "Unknown" Final Boss in the game. I have no plans of acquiring her, actually, but after seeing what they did to Kazuya i figured she's worth a try.

Play Arts Kai Kazuya Mishima - Tekken Tag Tournament 2

The Tekken franchise lost it's hold on me over the years, but man, was I a fanatic back in the day. Though i do hold the controller again once in a while i never really used Kazuya (i'm a Ling Xiaoyu guy by the way). I read though that he won the latest Tag Tournament of The King of The Iron Fist. To me, Kazuya is to the old Tekken games what Ryu is to Street Fighter and  I wouldn't miss him for the world. Besides, everybody loves a good anti-hero.

The Tekken line of Play Arts Kai took quite a while to get here after the convention previews last year. Kazuya and his ex-lover Jun Kazama graced the initial wave and i do hope they continue making the rest of the Mishima/affiliates line - Jin, Heihachi, Lars, Devil Jin, et.al.. For one thing, the Play Arts Kai translation of Kazuya is pretty impressive indeed...