500th Posting: Halloween, Death, Games And Dreams

To mark the 500th post of PowerOfBabel, I thought I'd return briefly to the original subject of the blog and update it with my latest acquisitions of action figures. It covers the last several months.

To begin with we have my latest purchases, some new Peanuts Halloween figures. I got Linus as The Monster, Sally as The Monster's Bride, and Snoopy as The Mummy with Woodstock as an archaeologist. Charlie Brown as The Vampire was included in the set, but I already have one like that from last year. I bought them at CVS Pharmacy, for $6.99 each. They come with cardboard backdrops of the pumpkin patch.

Next pictured are Kisuke Urahara and Toshiro Hitsugaya from the Bleach series. They were $17.99 each with shipping and handling from Entertainment Earth. Kisuke comes with hat, fan, and cane, Toshiro with sword.

Back when the Dragon Quest VIII action figures came out four or five years ago I was interested in them, but not so enthusiastic as to order them cold. Then we got the game for Christmas last year, and it just sucked me in. Now I had to have the action figures; the only place I could get them now was on eBay from sellers in China! Prices for each ranged from about $20 to $30, and then shipping, of course. They include: The Hero, with sword; Yangus, with axe; Jessica, with wand and whip; and Angelo, with rapier. The characters were designed by the same guy who does Dragon Ball Z.

Next is Zidane Tribal from the Final Fantasy games. He comes with two knives and a base. He cost $14.99 with shipping and handling.

Bringing up the rear are the Mad Hatter and Alice, under the aegis of Disney Alice In Wonderland Ultra Detail Figure, made by the Medicom Toy Corporation; the same fine folks, I believe, who brought us the best Planet of the Apes figures ever. I got these at Hastings for $19.99 each. These are very fine, detailed sculpts, with not a lot of action or any accessories (the teacup is forever attached to the Hatter's hand). The card states "Made With Care In Wonderland."

I also got some DC Universe characters for sale prices at Tuesday Morning: (Old) Bruce Wayne, (Tim McGraw) Batman, Warhawk, Lex Luthor, The Shade, and Cheetah. It was $14 for the six figures. I always liked the elderly Bruce Wayne in Batman Beyond; he perfectly embodies the trope of the Old Badass.

Bleach Series Three

Well, yesterday I got the two figures in Series Three of Bleach by Toynami. Here is what their cards have to say about them:

"Byakuya is the captain of Squad 6. He is the head of the noble Kuchiki clan. Rukia is his sister. His Zanpaku-to's name is Senbonzakura."

"Renji is the Squad 6 lieutenant. Both Renji and Rukia grew up in the Rukon District, where they became steadfas friends. His Zanpaku-to's name is Zabimaru."

What the heck is a Zanpaku-to? One of these days I'm going to have to watch this show. In the meantime, these are very well sculpted samurai-style figures, seven inches tall with rather limited articulation. They both come with a base and a trading card. Cost together: $30. The one with the big saw-tooth blade is Renji, the other is Byakuya.

Yasutora 'Chad' Sado and Orihime Inoue

These figures are part of the Hastings bonanza. They are the Series Two run by Toynami from the Cartoon Network Adult Swim anime feature, Bleach. I have the Series One line, comprised of Ichigo and Rukia. Each figure cost $14.99.

From the card of Yasutora Sado: "Nicknamed 'Chad,' this classmate of Ichigo's believes his only asset is his physical strength. He likes small animals and anything cute." He comes with a stand and an Exclusive Score Trading Card.

From the card of Orihime Inoue: "Ichigo's classmate Orihime lost a brother three years ago. She and Ichigo form a bond when she's attacked by a Hollow." She comes with a base and a trading card, but also has a black cat, which I must say is the best sculpt of a cat I've ever seen with an action figure. You can't really tell from this picture, which is a scan off the card.

(By the way, and most of you probably know this: the card is the cardboard backing of the packaging of an action figure, the blister is the plastic bubble the actual figure is encased in.)

The show Bleach has a rich and fascinating mythology which I am not about to attempt to explicate here.