All my Turtle education comes from the original animated series from the 1980s. So when I was researching females in the TMNT line about 5 years ago, I belatedly discovered this elusive daughter of Shredder. I was impressed, but I also was bummed because I couldn't afford the eBay prices her action figures were fetching. This version of Karai is from the 2012 Nickelodeon cartoon. They changed her character a lot in this series. Most notably is that she is now Splinter's daughter, although raised and brainwashed by Shredder. In a scheme by Shredder to turn the Turtles into snakes, Karai accidentally fell into the mutagen and became a serpent herself - while retaining the ability to revert back to human form at will (albeit with reptilian eyes). This figure was first teased a long long time ago. So long ago that I had given up hope to find her almost a year ago. Then a couple weeks ago I found her in TRU sitting randomly on a shelf in front of the Power Rangers. It was kismet. Let's check out Karai below!
Karai's posing is pretty limited with only five points of articulation: Head, waist, shoulders, and tail. Her snake hands are pliable so then can grip things.
Karai comes in several pieces right out of the package. It should be noted that her snake head is designed like a helmet that fits over her human head (ie.. it's not an alternate head like we see so often with modern figures)
Unfortunately her lower head is always showing from the rear view. I think it could have been designed slightly different so that this would be covered up.
Here are some images of Karai from the show.
Karai's tail can also be rotated forward, but the bottom of the tail is hollow so it looks bad if you're viewing her from a raised angle.
Time for some Comparison Pics!
Here she is with Movie April and modern Cartoon April.
Cheers!
You know, I loved the TMNT line from about 2012 to the end of last year but I really feel like the quality has just dropped like a rock. Karai isn't terrible looking but there just isn't a lot here to get excited about. I was really looking forward to her, to, but I feel like I'd probably pass her up if I saw her at the store.
ReplyDeleteI've only ever been a casual fan on the TMNT line (mainly because there aren't many females), but you're right, the quality does seem to have dropped. I picked up the Newtralizer a few months ago and he's missing some obvious paint apps (like armor being skin color instead of silver).
DeleteI have no particular affinity for the character but she looks pretty cool. I haven't seen her in stores yet. I do have a TMNT CGI movie version Karai figure I found at the flea market a couple weeks ago though so I at least have her in some form in my collection!
ReplyDeleteI like that version of Karai a lot. I'm jealous. It was mentioned (at SDCC i think) that she would be getting a human-form figure in this line if this figure sells well. Although considering she's hardly ever found in the wild I think that would be hard to quantify.
DeleteI have been really underwhelmed with the TMNT line, aside from the Turtles themselves. There have been plenty of good sculpts paired with poor articulation or poor paint, frequently both. It's a real shame as both the 1980s and 2003 series were really good -- this time it feels like Playmates is heavily phoning it in. That said, I've still bought a whole bunch...
ReplyDeleteThat's my most common mantra these days "I don't like it.. but I'm still buying it." I hope they step it up though because all the TMNT reviews I do are met with disappointed comments.
DeleteSo glad they made a toy of her - female characters not only get ignored but made terribly, like April's dorky weird head.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, she is underwhelming. So many missed paint apps! Not just on her, same deal with most villain figures. Still, rare thing to get a snake-girl toy (at least not until Vitruvian HACKS gorgons come out)... so I got her. Plan to repaint her.