Play Arts Kai Gabranth Part 1

Sure looks awesome for a bad guy
Moving on to the review of a much larger-sized action figure after Revoltech Yamaguchi Gurren Lagann. ^^


This also marks the return of the Play Arts Kai series, some 17 months after the review on Chunli. ^^


Play Arts Kai Gabranth
Production company: Square Enix
Release date: July 2011
Price: 4,800 Yen (exclusive of tax).
Merchandise link

Although "Dissidia Final Fantasy" is shown on the figure's box, Gabranth actually originates from "Final Fantasy XII". Then again, given that the former is a fighting RPG that features characters from different titles in the "Final Fantasy" series, there would be more notable characters that Square Enix could release as Play Arts Kai action figures as compared to if the focus was just on "Final Fantasy XII". However, as far as I know, Square Enix only released three characters as part of the "Dissidia" lineup. ^^; Besides Gabranth, the other two being Cloud, and Squall. Square Enix also put out other "Final Fantasy" characters who are contained within their own title, Serah Farron and Lightning from "XIII-2", Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and many of their comrades from "VII: Advent Children".

As a matter of fact, with Hope Estheim, Sazh Katzroy, and Oerba Yun Fang from "XIII" which came out in April 2010, "Final Fantasy" characters were some of the earliest releases when the Play Arts Kai series was launched.

If all related Play Arts Kai action figures are lumped together as releases from the "Final Fantasy" series as a whole, then the most notable trend to be observed is the figures' marginal size increment accompanied by their steeper prices. ^^; Their design and detailing, especially the face sculpt have been improved as well, and that's one factor to be considered for the price hike, but that's somewhat irrelevant to Gabranth, given that it's a guy with a creepy masked helmet. XD



Character name and emblem of Play Arts Kai on the bottom right corner of the front cover.


The logo of "Dissidia Final Fantasy" and copyright information on the bottom left corner.
My story with Gabranth is very much the same as that with Serah Farron and Lightning from "XIII-2". I knew neither the game nor the character before getting this figure, as I was impressed by its considerable size and intricate armor design. ^^ I only knew that the character was supposedly a villain in the game he originated from when writing up this review, but that didn't change my opinion about the figure in hind sight.

Bad guys usually get the cooler stuff anyway. XD

On the other hand, since the subject of size versus price was brought up just now, Gabranth stands out as an exception as being much larger in size as compared to Cloud, and Squall from the same line, but is (still) priced at 4,800 Yen (exclusive of tax). If Gabranth was a more recent release, its price tag would easily be over 10,000 Yen I suppose. ^^; In that sense, I suppose I should be glad that Gabranth came out in July 2011, and it wasn't downsized to match its price tag. ^^





The figure and all the accessories can be seen clearly through the front window.










Closeups on the content.





Simple design style for the sides, top and bottom of the box.




A few images of the figure on the back of the box.


Preview of Cloud, and Squall from the same action figure line.



Comparison of Gabranth's box to that of Bayonetta.
Bayonetta came out some 13 months before Gabranth, and costs 300 Yen less.


Comparison of Gabranth's box to that of Faora-Ul.



Gabranth looks somewhat bigger than Faora-Ul, even though the latter does have a much bigger box.




Faora-Ul came out some two years after Gabranth, and costs 4,000 Yen more. ^^;


Box open.


Package content.


Front view of the box content.


Package content with the clear plastic cover taken off.

















Closeups on the details.


Rear view of the box content.








Closeups on the details.


A simple backdrop that depicts a lake? ^^
The large character of "Kai" at the bottom is consistent with the design in other Play Arts Kai releases.


The folded instruction sheet.


A super-simple instruction sheet that shows how the option hand should be attached onto the figure. ^^



A straight out-of-box display of Play Arts Kai Gabranth.
More images of the figure coming up in the next posting. ^^