DEVILMAN VIOLENCE

 Let start the year with something retro, very retro, from 1998 actually and a subject even more retro: Devilman. Its been a long time since i posted something Devilman related but i already review every single piece i have and in the last years pretty much nothing has come out related to the character. Yes, Devilman Crybaby was very popular but it didnt spark any kind of merchadise at all soo the last time we had new Devilman toys was....probablly 15 years ago.

Good thing tough last century leave us an awfull lot of Devilman merchadise to hunt down soo while this figure is not entirelly new but its just a color variant i think its worth adding it to the collection given how rare it is. From Kaiyodo this is part of theyr "Violence Action Figures" series that consist on nly two figures: Devilman and Devilman Lady.

But while the series was pretty small, the color variations made it much bigger. Back in the 90s for some reason color variations in action figures was extremelly popular ocurrence soo every figure came out in 5 or even more color palettes and that made them extremelly tricky to collect since the original color palette was most of the time pretty difficult to find. Thats something i really dont miss from toy collecting in the 90s and beginign of the 2000s.

Soo of course Kaiyodo was no exception for this soo it released 4 different variations of each Devilman and Devilman Lady. I think i got the original version of both....maybe. But last year i was able to find another Devilman lose but in really good condition. Yes i aready got this guy in my collection but up at this point is a good idea to snatch anything related to the character.

He is in standar scale, justlike NECA or McFarlane or Storm soo he fits nicelly with most figures series and he can stand on his own, partially because the articulations on his knees are very lose and make him fall constantly, specially with the wings on soo you need to find the perfect balance but once done, he stays still perfectly. With no wings he stands much much better.

He is articulated on the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, legs and knees and of course, all this articulations are very basic swivels that only let him rotate the waist, head and wrists and the elbows and knees have a basic articulation and given his legs are sculpted very open, moveing them isnt specially usefull or good looking, soo this is a figure fully articulated but with not many options of display.

Sculpt is fantastic, this is Devilman in his most basic shape, just like Go Nagai designed him, with the big smile full of fangs, pointy nose, the anthena and medium size wings on his head and hairy legs, no unnecesary redesign or anything and the muscular buid is really really amazing, he looks like a body builder and he actually have his penis sculpted as well as his nipples.

The paint consist on metalic orange with a black airbursh on his legs and shoulder marks and the wings have the same color aplication. The red inside his mouth dosnt stand too much with all that orange but the yellow eyes looks really nice in contrast with the back section of his head. While the paint on the eyes and fangs is perfectm the whole figure is cast in transluscent plastic soo it catch the light in a pretty weird way mixed along the metalic paint.

The original version is cast on normal plastic and is painted in green, with a lot of details on his muscuature. Here theres no details in the paint at all, just plain orange, but the transparency make his looks more shiny than the original version. There sno accesorys but the wings can be removed but that leave a big hole on his back.

Compared with modertn figures this is abismal. but the articulations and design mixed with the material and the way its painted makes this looks like one of those super expensive vinyl japanese toys and it defifinelty screams "80s-90s". From all the Devilman figures i seen in my life this one is one of the bests to represents the Go Nagai character design and fits nicelly on any anime of horror collection.

I cant remember the last time i got a Deviman figure like this. To a point i think i felt my collection was completelly closed but this guy reminds me it is not, there is a lot still out there related to Devilman and that somehow makes me feel kinda excited.

DEVILMAN VS SIREN ~ SHI NO MA

 

A couple of years ago (time sure flys fast!!) i posted the reviews of my Devilman action figures collection in here, but truth is there is a lot much more about Devilman than that, i still got plenty of figures about the Go Nagai character and i am still missing an awfull lot in my collection. The 80s and the 90s were like a magic fountain for Devilman and sometimes wonder if we will see another influx of popularity like that ever again.

Even Kaiyodo participate on the Devilman fever back then, at the begining of the century, with a collection of four statues made in polystone, showcasing famous scenes from the Devilman manga with a hihg quality sculpt, paint and price too. Out of the fours i got only one, the one tittled "SHI NO MA"

Like i said, this statue is made with polystone soo its really really heavy but sadly.....its quiet tiny as well. Really, with the price i pay back then i was expecting something much much bigger, but this statue is smaller than an average action figure, actually is the same size a Funko Pop (tough is still pretty heavy).

It stands perfectly tough is delicate....it fall once from my shelf on an earthquake and ended with a couple of cracks, mostly due to the incrediblly amount of detail and the small scale, the sculpt is really intrincate.

The figure shows Devilman and Siren battling, Devilman is half underwater with Siren fliying on top of him, holding his arm with her claws soo the base of the statue is water tough is not trabsluscent thanks to the stone material, the paint makes all the trick to make it looks like the water on an illustration.

Again, the sculpt is incrediblly intrincate, with the bodys contorning and twisting around each other as well as the water and wings, the wings of Siren must be my favorite part, the detailsing on the feathers is astoninshing!!!The wings and the waves in the water looks really beautifull.

The body proportions are a little extreme and grotesque looking, but i guess thats thanks to the small scale, you must exagerate proportions to give it moving motion to the piece. 

The paint is also really good, while the faces are kinda hidden, the eyes, mouth and other details are clearlly painted as well as the shadowing and washing on the bodys to highlight the muscles of both demons. Also the paint have a strange pearly quality that makes it shyne. This is specially evident on the water and Siren wings.

The only downside for me was the scale. Most of the time is pretty difficult to discenr wath is happening until you get pretty close and notice all the intrincate sculpting and paint, and even soo, some part are really difficult to see without a magnifiying glass. Its even pretty damn difficult to take pictures of this actually as can be seen in here.

The other statues show Devilman´s ripping of Siren´s wings as well as Devil navigating a logs sea and fusing with Akira, pretty nice and gothic but the scale kill them for me. The price was very high back then and now they must cost a fortune soo this collection will be incomplete for me.

CAMMY

 

Soo years fly and i wasnt able to get the Cammy Bishoujo from Kotobukiya since it got really expensive in a pretty short time. She and Poison are missing from my collection tough theres LOTS of Cammy figures aside of the Bishoujo and i was able to get another one a  few months ago.

The Cammy from Street Fighter Zero "Authentic White Version" from Wonder Showcase Plus. I am not familiar with the brand tough it seems this figure is really old, from last decade and she was exclusive from the WonderFest in Japan (hence the Wonder Showcase name). Sculpted by Mitsumasa Yoshizawa, painted by Yoshinori Yatake, manufactured by Kaiyodo and designed by Akiman, the box of this girl is full of big names.

Actually, it was the box wath got my attention at first, tall, elegant and with a beautifull Akiman illustration in the front and sides, the illustrated cover opens and reveale the figure in all her glry with a histori about it and comments from the creaturs (all in japanese), they call this figure "a Cammy never before seen" since this color scheme is not on any game.

1/6 scale she is really tall, much more than the Bishoujo, tough still not as tall as the GECCO statues and she cant stand at all thanks to the wonky shape of her legs but she comes with a round and very simple blue base with all the info of the figure printed on it.

This is a really beautifull statue with the same proportion she have on the art of Akiman. She is slim, not as strong looking as she is in her older SF 2 version. Her suit have a ceramic like texture and her face is really pretty tough the starnd of hair in front is very delicate as well as the braids. The pose is....well, just like the Bishoujo figures, no human could twist this much her limbs. She looks stylish but from certain angles is kinda painfull looking.

The paint is clean and perfect looking specially on her eyes and her totally white suit. Her skin is bronce looking with some soft shadows here and there and her hair is not yellow but is golden soo hair and skin almost mix each other. This along side her perfectly clean suit makes a pretty neat effect, she looks like a metalic statue.

It seems theres a lot of fuss about this figure and how is the best Cammy figure ever made? I am not sure of its the best since theres way too much of her, for me she looks pretty and the hand of Akiman on her makes it special.

NEZUMI OTOKO

Soo i finally give up and got the Nezumi Otoko / RatMan from Gegege No Kitaro. He was all alone in the store and it seems i am the only one in Mexico who knows this characters (or is willing to buy figures of them).

Part of the Takeya Takayuki series of Revoltech, this guy is kind of smaller than your standar action figures but given his cartoony features, every detail stands out a lot. Like Kitaro and the daddy eye, the paint is incrediblly vibrant and realistic in the rigth elements (like the base) and make him looks like a maquete.

Like with Kitaro, his base comes in tree pieces: the flooer, the buda statues and the postal box (whos owner is actually Kitaro) and while the elemenst are small, they are jamp packed with details, like letter on the postal box and an offering of rice for the statues.

He comes with a collection of extra hands for different gestures and a face with open mouth and closed eyes. The eyes can be removed and swaped actually. He also have a dead fish and a bunch of money. The fish is not special but the money is horriblly detailed and realistic, the impression is actually both painted and sculpted in the small accesory.

The articulations are pretty good, tough is pretty pointless on his legs. Hes supposed to have two sepparated legs with interwinded layes of rags around them but is pretty tricky to move them in a way they looks rigth. This is not Kaiyodos fault tough.

Now i have the full collection. I never liked the Revoltech series too much actually, i think they looks kinda cheap and blocky tough this 3 are a big exception to that rule.

MEDAMA OYAJI

When i got the Kitaro figure from Kaiyodo i was very excited to get the Medama Oyaji figure as well tough he was the hardest to get i was able to get him. I am not sure of the Kaiyodo figures are difficult to find since i dont have too many, but this guy belongs to theyr Takeya Takayuki line that seems to be focused on japanese monsters.

He comes in the same vintage looking box as Kitarou and with a lot of extra hands, a “soup bone” base and the tea cup to take his bath, a cartoonish eye, a realistic eye and a criying eye.

To put him on the cup he needs his torso to be separated from his lower body and insert it on the "water" and the feet must be inserted too. The process is a little delicate thans to the small joints but pretty easy and the details on the cup are really nice since theres even a soft pink on the water to suggest his entire body is there.

The cartoonish eye make him fits with Kitarou but the realistic eye is much much better since it have a pretty impresive depth and reflection.

The criying eye was soo cleaver…i love the dimension it have and it was my favorite accesory alongisde the tea cup.

Hes not in the same scale as Kitarou but hes pretty much scale 1/1 in relation with real life. And unlike his kid, he cant stand on his own thanks to his huge head soo he really needs the bone base with the arm attached to his back.

He is ubber simplistic, i mean, he is totally nude and have absolutelly no texture and no details aside of the paint, a soft pink on his body with some very soft shadows and a totally white head. Yet he is totally fun to play with thanks to all the articulations and how theres nothing to get on theyr way.

The last figure i got was the Nesumi Otoko but i never liked him too much. I would prefer Neko Musume deffinetly but overall, i think this figure is the most amazing and fun from the collection.

KITARO

Years ago i went to a convention. I was looking for Berserk Figma figures of something about Metal Gear. I didnt find anything except this little guy that made me jump when i saw him. Its very rare to see items of him and i wasnt expecting a full action figure at all.

Gegege no Kitaro is an essential part of my childhood; one of the first animes i saw and one of the most disturbing soo far. Maybe is for its time period (the 50s) but this characters manage to be cute, fun and really creppy and dark as well. Something like the japanese version of Tim Burton.

I was in love of this little guy when i saw him. Not only hes fully articulated as a true action figure, but hes soo rich in textures and the paint is soo ghostly and dark (his skin is purplish and his hair is grey) it looks like a 3D illustration from the original manga. The joints get stuck sometimes and dosnt flow as perfect as the Figmas but his range of movement is still pretty good.

Even his base is incrediblly detailed and cartoony and grotesque enough to fit him perfectly as well as the his box that looks pretty ancient and old school even if its brand new. And overall, with base and figure, i dont know if its the colour or the texture material but he almost looks like a pencil illustration.

He can stand on his own perfectly tough beside of his base he have lots of accesoryes. First of all, the base has 3 pieces: the tree, the floor and the tombstone and its pretty easy to assemble it. He also comes with a lot of tiny hands and two extra faces, one angry and one sleeping tough the "eye" piece can be exchanged freely between all faces. And lastly he comes with Medama Oyaji that can sit on his hand or on top of his head.

The brand is Kaiyodo Revoltech and hes from the Takeya Takayuki series. They also have the Nezumi Otoko/ Ratman, wich i dislike a lot…i would prefer the Neko Musume/ Catgirl instead, and the Medama Oyaji/ Daddy Eye wich i really really want because hes literally scale 1/1.

Another grotesque and ghostly toy for my shelve.

DEVILMAN LADY VIOLENCE

Back in 2000, when Devilman was extremelly popular, Kaiyodo released many figures of the character that i am not entirelly aware of, tough the only ones i got was theyr cute named "Violence Action Figure" series that only consisted on two characters: Devilman and Devilman Lady.

While Devilman was pretty close to the original design tough he had a weird color, Devilman Lady is totally different to Go Nagai´s original design. Her face is extremelly feral looking, almost like a werewolf tough she is using beauty make up. Also her wings are huge and shaped differently (both in her head and back side).

She is on the same scale as Devilman but inlike him, she cant stand on her own at all soo they decided to give her an accesory: a base. This base dosnt work too much actually since she likes to fall back even with it, but insted of using a totally generic base they decided to sculpt it like a monster. The monster - or demon, looks like a green manhog with his arm extended to the front while Devilman Lady stand on his shoulder.

The arm of the creature can be removed and show a bone and a blody hole on its place while Lady hold the ripped away arm on her hand proudlly. This base is really good looking for the display tough, like i said, is totally usless.

And just like Devilman, Lady have an extremelly odd color choice that makes her look totally different to the original design. She is cast in transluscent plastic with her body bainted on a nacar white?? Or metalic white? I am not sure how to describe it, but this color make her looks like some kind of statue in a museum or a goodes with the skin of a pearl.

Her fur is purple and her wings have a mix of both colors. I find this purple to give her a very strong femenine wuality and with the plastic texture, the purple kinda shines given her a pretty strange look.

She is articulated on the neck shoulders, elbows, wrists, legs, ankles and knees and while this articulations work good and are very simple, theres not many options to pose her thanks to the sculpt. She is deffinetly much more limited than Devilman and the fact her wings are not removable makes it worst.

I am not sure wath to think about this figure tough, at first i really hated her because how different she looks, but rigth now i can see she have some beautifull quality i didns see before, tough the lack of balance and limited poseability really blows.