Some years ago I was collecting Final Fantasy figures like crazy and I wanted to take a small break from doll and pony posts :p
There were two types of these figures. The japanese ones who included Cloud, Sephiroth (both FF7), Yuna, Lulu (both FF10), Rinoa (FF8), Vivi (FF9) and Zack (FF7) as a secret bonus figure. The figures were sold in boxes and you did not know which figure would be inside them...hence the name Trading Arts. In the US (and the rest of the world) only Cloud, Sephiroth, Rinoa and Yuna (I think) were released. They were on cardstock with clear plastic bubble packaging (um...there is a word for it) like most action figures are sold, so you could actually see what figure you were buying.
Well...here is what the japanese boxes look like...I don't know if I still have some of the us packaging somewhere.
A group shot from my figures. Sadly I have neither Zack nor Vivi. The Vivi figure looks very cute though... Yuna and Lulu are from the japanese figures while the others are US ones. The molds are the same, but the paint job is different. The US figures have a skin-colored plastic as base with the clothes and details painted on. The Japanese figures are completly painted. You can clearly see in this picture how the skin-tones differ. Another difference is that the japanese version of the figures need assembly, not much, just a head or arms here and there.
Now, let's take a closer look and start with Lulu from Final Fantasy X :) I have to say I really love the pose they chose for her. It makes her really stand out from the rest. The paint job on the other hand...I don't like so much. The white face and red eye make her kinda creepy looking and the paint on the rest of her body looks smudged. It still looks neat, but with a nicer paint job it would have been such an awesome Lulu figure.
Rinoa...what have they done to you?! And I don't even like the character! I don't know what's up with her stance...she just don't stands up straight. The attempted the knitted look on long vest, but not on the armwarmers. They look really loose and have these strange stripes in a diffrent type of blue that don't make any sense. The boots look lazy and nothing like her original design. Her face looks really off, too. Bad paint job over all. The only thing that looks good is her skirt :/
Just a bit less worse than the Rinoa figure is the one of Yuna. But the only thing that makes her look slightly better is her more detailed design. She has this long neck and tiny face that makes her look really off. Her dress should be longer... but other than that they at least tried on the details like the gradient on her sleeves.
The last two figures look as if they belonged to a different set. Really.... Sephiroth and Cloud look awesome! I don't understand why they couldn't make the others as good as these. And I don't even really like Sephiroth (there! I said it! Don't hit me :p ). For me these two figures look a bit as if they stepped right out of a dojinshi. Especially Cloud looks quite fragile and lookes more feminine than the female figures in the line. Well... I still really like it.
My only complaint is the wobly sword, but better this way than it breaking of at first touch.
Really neat, right!?
There exit FF Trading Art Vol. 2 Figures, but it seems there never was a Vol. 3 released. Instead we got Mini Figures, Dissidia ones and (gasp!) FF Tactics figures.
Well...I hope this was a nice break from ponys and stuff :p
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