Date Masamune is a playable character from a series of PlayStation 2 games called Sengoku Basara. The games are set in the Sengoku Period of Japanese history wherein Japan was split into many minor states who warred together for power and land. In the game you can play as a number of characters from Japanese history. Sengoku Basara was also made into an anime wherein Sanada Yukimura and Date Masamune are the two main characters and rivals, but who form an unlikely alliance in order to take down the Devil King Oda Nobunaga.
Data Masamune is the ruler of the Date clan known as the Dokuganryū which is the One-Eyed Dragon. He is a cocky and ambitious warlord. He wields a single katana, but can store and fight with six swords at once. Date is often depicted in rivalry with Sanada Yukimura.
In real life Date Masamune was a Japanese samurai from the Azuchi-Momoyama to the early Edo Period. Date was an heir to a long line of powerful daimyo in the Tōhoku region and founded the modern-day city of Sendai. Date Masamune was an outstanding tactician and is famous for having a crescent-moon-bearing helmet, he was also known for his missing eye, some say that he plucked out his own eye or had Katakura Kojūrō his trusted retainer gouge it out for him. This was because he lost sight in it at an early age due to smallpox.
Packaging:
Date comes in a standard Revoltech Yamaguchi box.
On the front is a window for viewing the figure, on the side of the box is a picture of the figure, on the other side is information on the Revoltech joint system, all in Japanese, on the back there are pictures of the figure in various poses and of the accessories, also some more information on the figure, and on the bottom is more relevant information, all in Japanese. Also take note that all figures you purchase have the correct authentication printed or stickered on the box.
Inside the box the figure is held between two pieces of molded plastic, with spaces for their accessories. The stand is stored in plastic bags taped to the back of the main plastic packaging. Figures are usually wrapped with plastic in certain areas to protect the paint. Some figures are even held in place with twisty ties and double layers of molded plastic are placed behind the main piece holding long accessories that don't fit in the first piece of packaging.
Revoltech's also come with a little orange box for storing accessories in, a special coin is also included, which can be used towards purchases from Kaiyodo affiliated shops in Japan or directly from their website, however this offer only works for people living in Japan.
Packaging = 8/10
Stand:
Date comes with the standard Revoltech Yamaguchi stand. Made of clear plastic it has two points of articulation, two Revoltech joints which allow movement forwards and back and turning. The main piece of the stand plugs onto the V-shaped base, a Revoltech joint is then attached to the end, a bent pole is then attached to the other end, and another Revoltech joint to the end of this. The articulation of the stand allows the Revoltech to be posed in a variety of dynamic poses, and to gain some nice height for jumping poses, it is overall a very well designed stand.
The Revoltech Yamaguchi stand also has another feature, it has one small raised peg on one side of the base so that you can plug one of the figure's feet into the stand's base, this is a nice touch by Kaiyodo as it gives the figure added stability and/or another posing option.
The Revoltech Yamaguchi line also now comes with an extra base piece or effects piece which can plug onto the foot of a figure so the figure can stand without use of the main Yamaguchi stand. A very nice and photo-friendly idea by Kaiyodo.
Stand = 8/10
Sculpt:
Date's overall design is awesome, he is definitely a warrior, he is mainly in traditional style armor and clothing but with some modern flare. The look of the Sengoku figures are what originally drew my attention to them, they just look so bad-ass.
Starting from the top, his helmet is nicely designed and sculpted, his face and neck looks great with nice folds in his clothes. The collar of his jacket is soft PVC so as to not restrict movement or break easily, his jacket is nicely shaped and ruffled by the wind, with separate shoulder pieces to keep its design without impinging on movement. His arms has nice shoulder armour plating and his chain-mail is textured very well and looks very realistic, he then has sharp styled bracer's and gloves. The tail of his jacket is made of hard PVC and is nicely windswept. He has very nice upper leg plates and fitted lower leg armour, and once again like Sanada ending in traditional sandals and sock.
Sculpt = 9/10
Paint:
Date's colour scheme is blue, white, gold and black. He looks very cool and calm compared to the fiery Sanada, a nice contrast. His paint job is really good too, with minimal mistakes. The detailing on the back of his jacket is good, and his jacket has a nice blue chrome finish. I really love the use of chrome paint on figures because it gives them a nice luminous quality when taking photo's and under certain light. All his black armour is chrome and he has nice gold-leaf highlights. Overall lovely detail. Oh and he also has a lovely plated gold crescent on his helmet, which he is famous for. Talk about standing out from the crowd.
Date's accessories are very well painted there is nice shading of colour on the webbed parts between his swords sheaths, each sword handle is nicely detailed and all his swords are chrome black with very finely detailed silver tipping to the edge
Paint = 8/10
Articulation:
Date use’s the standard Revoltech Yamaguchi joint system. Revoltech joints are hinge joints with pegs on either end allowing both forward and back movement and rotation.
At the head a Revoltech joint is used at the bottom of the neck allowing the figure to look up and down and then a smaller Revoltech joint is used at the top of the head to allow their head left and right and look up and down more. To change the faces on Revoltech Yamaguchi figures the head is removed from the neck and the facial expression is pulled down away from the head, the next facial expression is then plugged into the head.
A Revoltech joint is used as the shoulder, which allows a full range of motion. Further down a Revoltech joint is used as the elbow and bends in and then out straight and there is some slight rotation for the lower arm to turn in and out. At the wrist the various hands plug into the end of the arm in a Figma-esq way and have a hinge joint allowing movement up and down and to swivel around.
A large Revoltech joint is then used at the waist which allows the figure to bend forwards and back and twist side to side. At the hips each leg is attached via a hinge joint and can move forwards and back, a swivel joint is then used at the upper thigh to allow the leg to turn in and out.
A double Revoltech joint is then used as the knee allowing the knee to bend backwards and then out to straight, and there is some slight rotation for the lower leg to turn in and out. The ankle also is a Revoltech joint allowing the foot to point and flex turn in and out.
Date also has a hinge joint at the back of his helmet so that he can move his head freely but his character design is not compromised, he also has an extra joint at his neck allowing his neck to slide further forward putting him in a hunched position so that he can do his six katana attack pose.
Pose:
Date is therefore highly posable and can be posed in a variety of ways. With the use of the accessories supplied, his six katana's he can be displayed in a number of poses, ready for battle with all his sword sheathed, ready for attack with a single katana, using his special six katana attack, or attacking Sanada Yukimura with his double ended katana attack. However there are a few areas in which articulation is restricted, his back skirt piece is made of hard PVC and stops his legs from moving backwards at the hip, he also cannot be posed with legs together standing straight due to his overall design, instead is always legs apart battle ready, which is not that big a problem but can't help but think he may tire of standing like that, I would! Also his jacket stops his upper leg swivel joint from working properly.
Pose = 8/10
Enjoyment:
I will break down enjoyment into two categories: Accessories and Play Value.
Accessories:
Date comes with two facial expressions; a plain some-what smirking expression, and an angry teeth gritted expression. Date also comes with an assortment of hands; a pair of hands for holding his weapons, a pair of open hands, and the hands already attached to his six katana attack.
Date also comes with an assortment of versions of his katana's. He comes with his six katana attack hands, each holding three katana's, he also has his double ended katana's, where in you slip on his hand and then plug one katana into the end of another, he also has single katana which is slightly large in size compared to the rest, and his hand is simply pushed onto its handle. He also has his katana sheaths one for three katana's and these attach to each side of his hips and are on double jointed Revoltech joints so that when attached they do not interfere with articulation. Each handle of a katana can also be removed from the sheath so that you can have poses more realistic with one or two missing from the sheaths if he is holding one or two swords.
As mentioned before he also comes with an effects base which is semi-clear blue plastic. He also comes with an orange box for storing his accessories and a special coin as mentioned before.
Play Value:
I will break down play value into two categories: Compatibility, with other figures and accessories, and general play.
Compatibility:
Revoltech Yamaguchi figures are generally compatible with each other and Date can use Sanada's weapons and vice versa, also using his holding hands he can hold most Figma and Revoltech Queen's Blade items.
Next up is a height comparison, as you can see he is roughly the same height as a Figma and a Revoltech Queen's Blade, he may look smaller but that is because of his character design so he appears small looking when put next to my girls, however generally he fits in well with the other figures and now the girls have some man-candy!
General Play:
In general Date is an awesome figure, he has style and looks cool. A really great addition to my figure collection. I love his design, love his articulation, and his weapons, and so I recommend him to fans of the games, fans or Revoltech, or just general figure collectors like myself. Oh and I must say the main reason I love this figure is that his six katana attack is not only bad-ass but it is Wolverine-esq and Wolverine is the best X-Men ever!!!!!
Enjoyment = 9/10
Over all Date Masamune scores 8.3/10
