D-Arts Terry Bogard Review

Having only really played King of Fighters ’94 and ’99, I didn’t have the biggest urge to grab D-Arts Terry Bogard when he went up for preorder.  In fact, the only real reason I wound up getting him was so I could see the new humanoid body Bandai had been teasing for the Tamashii Nations lines.  While this figure has some good qualities, it’s EXTREMELY hampered by a few things it doesn’t have.  (As always, click the pictures for larger versions.)

Something I noticed about Terry’s faces were that they look a bit anime-ish.  While It doesn’t bother me, someone who’s looking for a truly accurate Terry Bogard figure might look elsewhere.  Terry’s also got two switchable ponytails, which is cool, and while there’s not a huge difference between the two (one for dynamic and one for static poses) it’s still nice to have options.  The head is ball-jointed and the combination of this articulation plus what movement is in the neck actually gives Terry some damn good articulation in this area, something I unfortunately can’t say for the rest of the figure.

Terry’s shoulders are ball-jointed and allow for the arms to be swiveled around and also hinge out laterally.  Unfortunately Terry does not have any type of bicep swivel, which is one of the main reason this figure sucks.  It’s something that’s desperately needed in a toy like this, especially for a character from a fighting game.  I mean come on, Bandai.  The elbows are double-jointed and feel excellent.  It really feels like Bandai stepped up the quality of the joints with the new mold.  They don’t look it, but I get a Figma vibe whenever I move the elbows.  Again, one of the few nice things I can say about Terry’s sculpt.  The hands are also well done, again taking some cues from Figmas in the sense that they plug into the wrist and can swivel around, but bend on a small hinge in the hand.

While Terry does have some torso and abdomen articulation in the chest and waist, it’s pretty pathetic.  You can hardly rotate or bend Terry at the chest and although the wait is a little better, it’s still not stellar.  I’m not even sure how Bandai managed to get Terry in some of the poses on the box.  I was working on getting Terry in a “Power Wave” stance, but I couldn’t get him to stay upright and still have his fist close to the ground.  I even tried to force the abdomen and waist articulation a little further and wound up popping Terry into two pieces.  The only reason “Power Geyser” looks alright is that it’s so big you can’t really see that Terry’s fist isn’t close to the ground.  I don’t know what kind of sick world where Bandai got their hands on a well articulated D-Arts Terry is,  but I want to go there.

His hips are standard for what you usually find in a humanoid D-Arts or Figuarts, using a ball-joint in the leg for the main movement and then plugging into the waist on a hinge for some extra credit.  The knees are nicely done as well being double-jointed and providing some great articulation.  I’m actually a big fan of Terry’s lower body sans the feet (which we’ll get to soon).  Even though Terry’s wearing tight ass jeans, the sculpt manages to look flush while not inhibiting any articulation.

The feet and ankles unfortunately are another bane of this figure.  Due to the jeans going down to almost the bottom of the shoe, the ankle articulation is basically nonexistent, which again sucks because being from a fighting game, Terry needs plenty of articulation here.  It’s really a shame, too.  While this section of Terry looks phenomenal, it just doesn’t make up for the absolutely horrible articulation.  I really find it hard to even get Terry to stand up on his own without the aid of a stand and was convinced that it was outright impossible the first few hours I had him.

 While the base figure of Terry has it’s issues, I will say that he does come with some pretty awesome accessories.  Included are 3 different faces, 4 pairs of hands, 2 ponytails, a hand/punching bag combo, a swappable Tamashii Stage port (small piece that allows for a port to be attached directly), and 3 effect parts.  The effect parts allow for Terry to do some of his signature moves such as “BUURRN KNUCKLLE!” and “POWAA GEYSAA!”  Although there are 4 effect pieces, the two blue ones work together and are used as one.  I love the diversity in the hands, especially the one that allows for Terry’s signature “Fatal Fury” cap to be grasped, but as much as I can say how awesome the accessories are, they still don’t really make up for the rest of the figure’s problems.

Overall, Terry is just a disappointing entry in the D-Arts line.  Sure, you could say it’s a bad toy overall, but I think it’s more disappointing than anything.  Here you’ve got Bandai’s promising new attempt at a sculpt, a new IP for Tamashii to deal with, and some great looking initial product shots.  But instead of winding up with something to write home about, we get something that seems more half-assed than anything.  Unless you’re really bent on getting D-Arts Terry Bogard, or are a huge King of Fighters or Fatal Fury fan, I’d have to say pass on this one and put your money elsewhere.

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The Daytime Ninja

Full-time student, part-time reviewer. You'll find me on thedaytimeninja.com reviewing things I don't need. @thedaytimeninja

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