Sephiroth is the main villain in Final Fantasy 7. He starts out as a respectable and admired soldier of Shinra. He is also the result of an experiment, which sets him on a path of revenge. Don’t want to say too much about the character in case anyone does not know the story or has not played the game! He is by far one of my favorite game villains!
The toy is made by Kotobukiya, it is the Final Fantasy VII Play Arts Vol. 2 Sephiroth. This is the gameplay edition and was released 12/2007. Back then I got it for only $22 at Hastings.
Packaging: 9/10
The packaging is typical play arts. Solid colored box, with a large viewing window in the front, and a top flap to open. The back of the box has pictures of the toy, and the other toys in the series. What I really enjoy about the box is that they are not too big to store, and have that nice viewing window in case people do not want to remove the toy from the box to display it. Another notable thing about the box is that the flap is closed with circle tape. If it does not have circle tape it is probably a bootleg, so beware. (note: in the pictures my box is rather crushed because I dropped some stuff on it, it did not come that way).
Stand/Base: 10/10
The base is of the old Play arts style. It consists of a simple black circle with a metal doll like waist holder sticking out of it. I like the base because it is very sturdy, looks classy, and isn’t too noticeable while the figure is displayed.
Sculpt: 10/10
This sculpt of sephiroth is perfection for an action figure. His facial features seem quite distinctive and true to the original art design shown above. Even his bangs are sculpted in a tall cartoon-ish way, which give him that look that he had in the original game. His hair is also quite detailed, with the separate strands having some detail, instead of it being a solid block. Even the coat stays true to the concept art. The figure is also left handed (this is the hand that holds the sword) which stays true to the game and concept art. The advent children sephiroth figure holds his sword in his right, is it that way in the movie? the figure is also quite tall which suits him well.
Painting: 8/10
The painting is all right. His hair is slightly translucent and has a shiny gray paint over it which gives it a nice flowing silver look. However, the paint on the hair chips off very easily leaving only the slightly clear plastic underneath! The outfit is just black and doesn’t have any shading on it. To the figures credit, there are no bleeds in the paint, and all the lines are clean. The face is the best part of the figure, the eyes really look as if they could be mako-infused (mako is a type of energy that the ff7 universe uses). the eyes are a nice aqua color with some light and dark shading. The pupil’s are slits like they are supposed to be (small details like this make the painting so much better than it would have been).
Poseability: 4/10
Ah well, there had to be something wrong with it…Though I don’t really mind that the figure is not very moveable, however, since it is an action figure it should have a broader range of movement. The figure cannot sit or move the legs much at all because of the coat. The legs do have knee joints but as mentioned before the coat restricts any real movement. The hands twist at the wrist, and the arms bend at the elbow. However, even the arms’ movement is limited because of the shoulder armor and cannot be moved above his head.
Accessories: 5/10
Not too many accessories, less than some play arts but more than others. He comes with one extra sword holding hand and his Masamune (his super long katana). The sword looks great and the length seems in proportion to what it was in the game. He has no problems holding his sword initially, but after a year or so the elbow joint does loosen a little if the sword isnt alternated with the open hand every once in a while.
Enjoyment: 10/10
Despite all the flaws of this figure, I still find it a very enjoyable toy and it is one of my favorite play arts, though this may be due to my fangirl feelings towards Sephiroth.
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