Action Figure #895: STORM Arena Kaoru Hanayama

 Have you heard about Hanayama's tattoo?

 Kaoru Hanayama is the star of my favorite fight in the entire Baki universe: Hanayama VS Speck, so of course I was going to get this guy no matter what.

 The sculpt is downright spectacular. The guy looks beefy, and thick, as if he was ripped straight out of the manga, even his massive fists are as large as his head, much the way they should. While most of his body is white, he has a black wash on his clothes for extra detail, and his hands and head are sculpted with his trademark scars. But let's go back to his suit, he's got the same folds over his angles as Itagaki draws on him, so, really, the entire figure is a work of beauty. My one complaint would be all the soft plastic on his torso, as I fear his chest might tear like Hulk. But then again, STORM has been doing this for a while now, so I might be worrying too much.

 He comes with an extra angry head, and his eyes are pure white with no pupils as he is usually drawn, two gripping hands, for when tearing chunks from his enemies, two glass-holding hands, two open palms, two fists, a tiny pair of glasses, a really cool effect piece for his punch and the ever present stand, although the plastic alternative holding piece seems to have been retired. No big deal, as I usually use the metal gripping prongs.

 Articulation is as fantastic as all the other STORM Arena figures. He has double jointed elbows and knees, swivels on his thighs and biceps, with a pair of very generous butterfly-joints, the range is so extreme that it can leave gaps on his back, but hey, he'll be doing some incredible front-facing poses! His waist and ab crunch are on ball joints with very generous range, and he gets drop-down hips too. The one glaring issue: The neck. His head will pop if you turn it, so you have to actually turn the neck if you want to have him looking to the side. Annoying? Yes. But not a deal breaker. He is quite a bit taller than Baki, and a touch taller than Bucky Cap.

 I'm not going to lie, when I first got him out of the box I hated him. The torso had so much soft plastic, the head would pop every time I turned it(before I realized the neck itself could turn) and so, he seemed kinda lame. But the more I played with him the more I fell in love with it. He is a brilliant action figure, I've already been spamming Instagram with a ton of photos, a few which can be found below!

9.5