Action Figure Review: Sora and Riku Dream Drop Distance Play Arts Kai

 

Packaging: Following the new Kai Arts packaging, both Sora and Riku come in detailed, colorful boxes with snap-open Velcro clasps. The box art is gorgeous and attractive. Props on the packaging, SQUARE!

Paint job: The acrylic look brings a lot of tangibility to these figures. The shading is very reminiscent of the official Dream Drop Distance artwork. I especially noticed this on Riku’s pants. The paint job is something to gawk at. I noticed a few stray paint spatters on my two figures, but I didn’t feel that these detracted from the overall presentation.

Articulation: Quite impressive. Pretty much everything is flexible, which makes for a wider variety of poses than you saw in previous Kingdom Hearts figurine lines. The base of the shoes shifts, for example, which allows you to position the figures in wider stances. Arms are jointed in several places—wrists, elbows, and shoulders—giving you a full range of movement.

A side-by-side comparison of the Dream Drop Distance figures alongside a Sora and a Riku figure from previous Kingdom Hearts Play Arts lines. Notice the size difference.

Accessories: You get three Keyblades and four interchangeable hands with each figure. The paint job on the keys is beautiful and it makes it really hard to decide which one you want your figures wielding each time. Interchangeable hands consist of fisted hands, Keyblade-holding hands, and open palm hands. It can be difficult to get the Keyblades into their respective hands, as you really have to pry the fingers and thumb apart. It’s not impossible, however, and I’ve had no breakages from the effort. The figures each come with the new Kai Arts line stands. These new stands are bulky and transparent. They require assembling and, from my personal experience, just aren’t as effective as the classic black-stands-with-metallic-cinches were. They’re a hassle to put together and they take up a large area of your shelf. The figures can balance just fine without the stands, fortunately, making the stands pretty unnecessary for these particular guys.

Negatives: A few stray paint marks. Stands are bulky and rather pointless, overall (read the above paragraph for more information). Firm fingers make getting Keyblades into the hands a rather tight squeeze. Sora’s leg actually came out of its joint, but snapped back in place easily enough; I assume this is a figure-specific defect. Riku’s eyes are a darker shade of blue than they should be. 

Overall: Be sure to put these guys on your “buy it now” list before they’re gone for good. They’re beautiful—not perfect, but rather close to that, if you ask me. They’re pricy, but considering all that you get along with them, I’d say it’s a pretty good bang for your buck. Final rating: 4 ½ out of 5 stars!

Check out these other images, specially photographed for your convenience!

 

 

 

Do you plan on buying these figures? What figures are on your checklist?