Rukia Kuchiki by Playarts

From the company that gave us the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts toys comes the Bleach toy line. if you don't know, Bleach is an anime about a boy named Ichigo with the power to see ghosts who gains the power to fight soul devouring monsters known as "Hallows." There's a whole lot more going on in it but I could go on for hours on it. Instead, I'm here to review the action figure of my favorite character from the series. Rukia Kuchiki


If you've seen Playarts toys in their boxes before than this is nothing new. Same window type box as other Playarts figures but as they say; "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
But you see, it's shortly after I open this box that we have our first problem.

That's right. The damn thing's foot broke right out of the package. This was nothing a little super glue couldn't fix and while I know this isn't a figure made to be played with, I still found this ridiculous.



Once I got the foot fixed, Rukia was good to go. Right off the bat I can see great care was put into the details for the figure. (Too bad the same couldn't be said for the damn foot)



Her head is beautifully sculpted and painted. From the eyes, the hair, and the face, This IS Rukia Kuchiki.



Once I got over the fear of more parts breaking, I could see that her poseability was excellent as well. Her joints are pretty tight though so I wouldn't force her to pose too hard. You can also see from this photo in comparison to the first one, that she has interchangeable hands. However, they're a bit of a pain to get in and out so once I got the hands meant for her sword in, I decided I wouldn't be taking them back out.



Another accessory is her sword as it appears making her special attack. A nice extra touch but not something I personally will be displaying were with a lot. Her ordinary sword works fine enough for me. Which by the way I am also happy to mention has a sheath that works. That always scores extra points for me.

She stands at well over 6 inches tall which is odd considering how she's among the shortest people in the show. If they're all going to be in proper scale, Ichigo must be freakin' HUGE!



She also comes with my other favorite character in the series. KON!



(Insert Captain Kirk screaming Kahn joke here)

He doesn't do anything though he IS pose able in the head and arms.

As a big big fan of the character Rukia, I had to own this figure and am very happy with it even with the broken foot I had to fix. If you're a fan of the show and of this character I recommend it. Just be real careful opening it.

Phineas and Ferb action figures

The Disney series Phineas and Ferb has become by far not only my favorite show on Disney Channel/Disney XD (Although knowing their recent track record that's not really saying a lot) but my favorite cartoon currently on TV period. But I was rather surprised when I saw they had started making toys for them. Just because something is popular with kids, that doesn't always mean they'll work as toys. Do these? Let's find out

The toy packaging is nice, colorful, and eye catching. They're sweet and to the point. They have many different sets. There's a Phineas and Ferb with a drag race car, and another with skate boards. There are a few different Perry and Doofensmirtz sets as well but when you look at them hard enough, aside from a couple with Phineas and Ferb in swim suits, they're basically the same figures with different accessories and sometimes different types of arms. I chose these simply because I liked the rock n roll theme more than the drag racing theme, and I wanted a parachuting Perry. Plus, it came with a Lazer-inator! Who doesn't want one of those?


Phineas and Ferb are well made but honestly, their designs in the cartoon translates oddly into three dimensions. Especially Phineas and his big pointy nose.
Perry and Doofensmirtz I believe work better in toy form.


Their features are not in the figures themselves, but in the accessories. Ferb's drum set, when you have Ferb in place, will make Ferb "rock out on his drums" when you press down on him. basically, the drum in the back and the cymbals go up and down.


Phineas, when you attach his wrist to the guitar will strum in when you pull the lever on it.



Dr. Doofensmirtz's Lazer-inator beam spins when you press down on the thing on top.
These are all gimmicky yet kinda clever features that can add to the play value of the toys. But the one that should work but doesn't is Perrys



Perry as I said before comes with a parachute. It attaches to his harness from the back. You're supposed to toss him up in the air and the parachute will open. To put this bluntly... it doesn't. The parachute appears too small and unable to open and properly bring him down so Perry crashes like a rock.




The accessories are all removable but this brings me to my next issue with Phineas and Ferb. With their big heads and tiny feet, it is impossible for them to stand up on their own. Fortunately though, as Ferb demonstrates, they can fit in the GI Joe: Rise of Cobra stands.

But when you have them set up with their accessories and stands, they make great display pieces. And for children who don't really care about display or collectors value, they have some decent play value as well. they're colorful, fun, and based on an awesome TV Show. Especially at only 7.99 a two pack.



This is the Ninja Pirate signing off.