Storm Collectibles Street Fighter Akuma Arcade Edition figure review

Akuma was always that Street Fighter character I dreaded seeing the computer use. He was like a more powerful version of my boys, Ryu and Ken, and was a nightmare to beat. Storm Collectibles released a Street Fighter V version of Akuma, but I wasn’t feeling the lion’s mane look.

Thankfully, it didn’t take them long to release a more traditional figure with the Akuma Arcade Edition. Let’s see how quickly he’ll try and take down my Ryu and Ken.

Packaging:  I like the colorful packaging for the Street Fighter line. The big portrait with the globe is reminiscent of the menu screen, which is a great touch. It’s also cool to see an animated version of Akuma on the side as the packaging shows different takes on the character.

Storm Collectibles boasts my favorite packaging these days with a very detailed bio and showcase of the various accessories. It’s the best figure presentation you can get these days.

Likeness:  Don’t get fooled into thinking this is largely the same figure as the initial Akuma release. Storm Collectibles didn’t cheat on the details from the arcade look and just re-purpose the Street Fighter V figure. There’s a number of differences between the two from the rope wrist wraps and belt as well as the beaded necklace, which was a beaded strap on the SFV figure.

The figure seems more of a reuse of the SFV Ryu figure, but he’s actually much larger, has a more defined chest and even sculpted removable sandals.

Naturally the most obvious difference is the head sculpt. Akuma still was visiting his barber at this point and keep his pointy hair in check before just letting himself go. I love the stern head sculpt symbolizing Akuma is about to go off and lay the smack down on his opponent.

Scale:  Akuma is appropriate big boss size, clocking in much taller than Ryu and Ken while being about eye to eye to Tekken big baddie Heihachi.

Paint:  There’s not a ton of detail on these figures that require immaculate paint work, but what we get starting with Akuma’s darker skin tone to the right shade of blue on the gi and the shading around his eyes is terrific.

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Articulation:  Storm Collectibles really perfected articulation for this line and there’s not a lot of fighting game stances and poses you can come up with that Akuma can’t hit. If you’re really creative and have the space these guys should lend themselves to a very creative display.

My Akuma had a trickier than normal right leg, which liked to come off more often than I’d like. As usual, the SC figures feature a pop mechanism so joints don’t break off so much as come off and easily attach back on.

Akuma has:

• • neck
  • shoulders
  • elbows (double-jointed)
  • wrist
  • torso
  • waist
  • shoulders
  • knees (double-jointed)
  • ankles
  • feet

Accessories:  Akuma comes with a ton of accessories.

He’s got three additional options with flat palm, grasping and clutching sets. These alternate hands were also more trouble to switch on and off like the other figures

He also has another gi option with his logo on the back. This is for those moments when you want to do his victory taunt pose although I’m pretty sure this will be my default version.

To keep Akuma from getting too stale there’s two other head sculpts. One is a gritted teeth sculpt and the other is an angry yelling expression. I love having multiple options, which really works nicely for fighting game figures.

Also, he’s got a stand to better position his fireballs. Balancing them on the characters’ hands was tricky and this option is a big improvement. He also has two flame lightning effects for his dragon punch.

Worth It?  You can get Akuma for $70. That’s a fair price for a very well done figure.

Rating: 9 out of 10

If the leg stayed in place a little better and the hands easier to swap Akuma would be a 10. He’s still real close though.

Where to Get It:  You can Akuma now from Amazon or Entertainment Earth.