NECA DMC1 Dante

        Seven years ago, a gray prototype of this figure appeared on the internet.  And was totally forgotten, I guess.  I'm pretty sure everyone just accepted that it was quietly cancels or accidentally melted or both, particularly after the Devil May Cry reboot, and yet somehow... this actually happened..?  Hey, I won't question it.
        A word before going forward, though: I will forever tease NECA relentlessly.  That is not because I have any ill will toward them, because they do have a lot of cool stuff and take risks that other companies absolutely would not.  But... they are an American toy company.  And I am entirely too used to Japanese action figures.  I've heard people unfairly refer to their toys as "cheap shit", but they are entirely fairly priced collectibles.  Okay?  Okay.

        That said, you can't actually pose the toy like the box art.  I'm just saying.  And oh what box art it is!  Probably my favorite official Devil May Cry 1 artwork.  So of course I cut that flap off to keep.

        Back of the box!  I took 18 pictures and this one is the clearest, so my apologies there.
        That last sentence really doesn't make sense with the capitalization, though.  Or story-wise.  I mean, Devil May Cry is the name of his demon-hunting business, so... it...  Well, anyway.

        Behind the flap!  Though I personally question whether the pose on the left is possible.  Maybe with enough careful stretching of the plastic.  That's not the point, though.  At long last,Dante is about to emerge!

        And then I had to get a picture of the box background, because look at it.  Maybe I should hang this on my wall somewhere.

        He emerges with... an eternally windswept coat!  And accessories!
        Now I have three sets of Ebony and Ivory (the hand guns).  I'm not complaining.  The "firing action" things are kinda neat, more hands are appreciated, and the shotgun is a very appreciated features, but... the sword.  Finally, finally, I have an Alastor.  I've heard many reasons for Alastor not being available in any of the following games or figures before this one, but whatever the truth, I'm just so happy to finally have my favorite Devil Arm in plastic.

        I mean, look at that gorgeousness.  While one of the wings is bent in (argh), it actually appears to have been designed that way for some easier holding/movement.  I kind of find it hard to mind too much, seeing as how the sculpt and detail of this sword are both incredibly good.

        And now to... well, Dante.  My first reaction was admittedly something along the lines of "Um."  Nevermind the black mark on the interior of that wind-swept coat (although I will have to be fixing that), it's the... face.  Well, you'll see.
        The detail is pretty impressive, though.  I mean, it looks good, no question.  There are more paint errors than I'd really like, but I can easily fix those.  The sculpt is decent, most of the joints are reasonably good.  I mean, definitely worth $25.

        But the face.  Dante went a little Gothy.  And some would say that Dante was always a little bit Gothy, but those people never really played Devil May Cry.
        I went back and made sure that I wasn't remembering Dante's face in the original game wrong, and even looked up the HD "remake" screens.  I guess I've grown used to the general "action figure face issue", but this was just a little odd.  And figure hair is always questionable, so that was fine.

        Then I got curious about what was under the hair.  Not bad at all, considering you're never supposed to see it.  He looks as annoyed as I'd expect him to look, anyway.  At least they got the eye color right!

        No fair for the ass cover!  Nice as the coat looks from this angle.

        Ah, there we go.  And again, surprisingly detailed for something that's never "supposed to be" seen.  But I imagine NECA knew we'd look.  How can they not.

        He does have slightly weird knees, though.  Somehow these don't bother me too much, since they look relatively decent and actually work.  They're a little odd from the side, though.  The buckles on his boots are pretty awesomely painted and detailed, though.  Just saying.

        ...But this is what happens when you remove one of the hands to swap it for another.  I have to admit, I had a nice long horrified laugh at that.  Just... what the hell, NECA.
        I do have to complain about these hands, though.  The hands themselves are decent, but this too-short, far too tiny "joint" makes for hands that just sort of drop off.  I spent way too much time trying to get them to stay on, and they definitely do not allow for any decent amount of wrist bending.  At all.  Really annoying when trying to get sword poses.

        Still, Dante's got style as expected.  He can stand on his own, perhaps in spite of his eternally windswept coat,and he can in fact hold up his weapons with a little coaxing.
        Attempting to get him to bend his left elbow more resulted in his hand popping off, then his entire arm popping off.  An easy fix, but... well.  Some poses just aren't possible.  Boo to that.

        That's not to say that there aren't plenty of entertaining options, of course.  And gunfire, oohhh!

        Then I wanted to see just how strong/stiff the coat itself really was as I was switching out his hands again.  I must admit to my surprise.  Also, it looks like he just realized he made a fatal mistake.

        Overall, I am actually happy with him.  I mean, the smell of hot plastic upon opening the box might be responsible for that in part, but also... well, I knew what I was getting.  He met many expectations, and exceeded others.  I'm thrilled to finally have Alastor, the shotgun is a nice touch, and now... I just have to decide where I'm going to put him so I don't have too many Dantes in one place.  It doesn't seem wise.