Monday, October 28, 2013

Play Arts Kai Lightning Part 5 [Final]

Sisters indeed

Another round of action poses from Play Arts Kai Lightning after Part 4 to start off this last posting for the figure, as well as the first double feature review series this year. ^^



With support using Soul Stage Act 5 Action Support Type for Mechanics Clear Ver.















Like I said in Part 4, the figure is beautiful in all the poses adjusted for me. ^^

Pairing up Lightning and her younger sister for a family shot is necessary to reflect their sibling relationships I think. ^^





The 7cm height difference between Lightning and Serah is seemingly accurate on the figures (see character information for Lightning). ^^ Anyhow, the height comparison is definitely more accurate than that between Serah and Cammy as shown in the previous posting. ^^;

Because of very distinctive character designs between the two girls, it's hard to tell that they are actually sisters if one doesn't follow the story of "Final Fantasy' (like me ^^;). Apart from having the same hair color, there's almost no identical trait between Lightning and Serah, and that's one very unique point about the figures that I like very much. ^^ When put together in this double feature, the polar opposites of the sisters in terms of their characteristics can be seen clearer than ever. Lightning's determined look and heavy armors show her seriousness, formality and warrior status; while Serah's smile and near-civilian costume design express her youthfulness, cuteness and the look of an unlikely fighter. She might be as good as her elder sister in combat in the game, but that's certainly unclear to be seen on her figure. ^^

Having such drastic character differences is not uncommon for siblings, and the major character difference between Lightning and Serah seems to fit the usual cliche of serious overprotective elder sister versus cute younger sister who cares for the other just as much. From a completely different universe, the Hawke sisters - Lunamaria and Meyrin exhibit pretty much the same "sibling setting" as well. ^^

Interestingly, Maaya Sakamoto who voices Lightning is also the seiyuu of Lunamaria, the elder sister in the Hawke family. ^^ I like Maaya Sakamoto's portrayal of very strong female characters like Mari Illustrious Makinami in the "Rebuild of Evangelion" movie series, and Motoko Kusanagi in "Ghost in the Shell: Arise". That special strength in her vocal performance is perhaps the key reason she's typecasted to play the elder sister-type characters, at least in "Final Fantasy XIII" and "MS Gundam SEED Destiny" it seemed. ^^

Finally, combined combat poses of Lightning and Serah to take this double feature review series to a formal end. ^^






Serah is supported using Soul Stage Act 3 Action Support Clear Type.





All reviews on Play Arts Kai Lightning:
Part 1: The first lightning strike
Part 2: No option for the left-hander version
Part 3: Trying the best to avoid the usual tradeoff between good look and posability
Part 4: How many poses can you think of for the same weapon?
Part 5 [Final]: Sisters indeed

View full gallery:
Play Arts Kai Lightning

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