He’s the spirit that springs back no matter how many times you send him to the shadow realm, the man who wears his ring around his neck rather than his finger, the supervillain who has a hairstyle described as having bunny ears as often as it’s described as having demonic horns, the King of thieves, the collector of Millennium Items…

Prepare yourself, Pharaoh, for THE Yu-Gi-Oh! villain has just arrived.

Ladies and gentleman, allow me to introduce you to…

…Yami Bakura!

Finally, our favourite Yu-Gi-Oh! villain is available in figure form! Yami Bakura (also known as ‘Dark Bakura’ in the manga), is an evil spirit that resides inside the Millennium Ring. After Ryou Bakura acquires the Millennium Ring, his body becomes host to this evil spirit from ancient Egypt. Yami Bakura hates the Pharaoh (Yami Yugi) ever since he saw his family, and entire clan, murdered in order to create the Millennium Items (something that was ordered by Egypt’s royal family at the time). He has been seeking his revenge against Yami Yugi ever since. His presence is prominent in almost every series, making Yami Bakura the most notorious Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters antagonist.

Sculpt and Colour

Tsukuru Shirahige is the sculptor of this latest Kotobukiya Yu-Gi-Oh! release. He has sculpted many of the other Yu-Gi-Oh! characters for Kotobukiya, including Yami Marik, Marik Ishtar, Seto Kaiba, Yami Yugi and the Dark Magician Girl. Yami Bakura was released late March, exactly one year after the release of Marik Ishtar.

One of Yami Bakura’s most defining features is his hair. With complex long layers, jagged pieces of fringe and a unique top layer design, Yami Bakura’s hair may not be as flamboyant as Yami Yugi’s, but it certainly gives the other Yami a run for his money. In the anime the spirit’s hair is portrayed as either a stark white or toned-down grey. On the figure this grey colouring has been achieved with a purplish hue. This isn’t a new thing for Bakura figures, as Kotobukiya’s one coin version was also designed with a purple sheen to the hair. Although not an exact match to the anime, the choice of colour nevertheless provides a recognisable grey to an undoubtedly Yami Bakura hairstyle.

Each long spike has been smoothly and consecutively designed with small amounts of moulding and shading, successfully creating the illusion of thick locks formed by multiple strands of hair. Each spike convincingly bends and curves to match the movement Yami Bakura has been posed into, swaying behind him as he confidently draws the first card from his deck. On the crown of his head is the unmistakable ‘demonic horns’ or ‘bunny ears’ depending on what kind of Bakura fan you are. This specific feature becomes most noticeable during the ‘transformation’ from Ryou Bakura to Yami Bakura. The lifting of these spikes signals the arrival of the evil spirit. Depending of the series depends on what the overall shapes of these spikes are. Indeed the earlier episodes depict these ‘horns’ much thicker than in later episodes. As this figure was based on the Yami Bakura from the Battle City arc, these scythe-shaped chunks of hair are accurately thin, although you’d be forgiven for preferring them a little thicker so there wasn’t as much empty space between them and the fringe.

The fringe frames Yami Bakura’s face nicely, with two long strands on either side of his head and a sharp, edgy fringe to highlight his equally sharp facial features. His eyes are slightly shadowed by hair, creating that sense of an evil villain plotting something harrowing. They are outlined in black and showcase a yellow pupil. This is perhaps not quite as accurate as fans may like, as in the anime Yami Bakura is depicted as having brownish-red eyes rather than yellow ones, although the colouring does benefit the figure in other ways which I will later explain. Between the eyes and on the ridge of Yami Bakura’s nose are darker, skin-coloured shadowing to give the face more expression. This detailing shows that the spirit is displaying a scowl of a smile, that his face is scrunched in a way an animal’s might when catching the scent of prey.

Swinging from the antagonist’s neck is the Millennium Ring. One thing those golden eyes do well is draw attention to this powerful Egyptian item. Covered in the same, slightly lighter, shade of gold, the Millennium Ring displays its own eye (Eye of Anubis) in its centre. Five triangular cones dangle from the ring, each pointed in different directions as they move in reaction to their master. This much more dynamic position certainly makes it more interesting to view than if it were lying flat against Yami Bakura’s chest, and it also reminds us that the Millennium items contain an energy of their very own. They are far from lifeless chunks of metal.

Yami Bakura wears a light blue and white striped t-shirt with a teal jacket. Such familiar clothing reminds us of the host, Ryou Bakura, whose innocent identity has been temporarily stolen by the evil spirit. The outfit flares out behind him as he dramatically raises his left hand. Creases have been moulded into the figure’s form to accurately represent billowing fabric and sudden movement. Some fans were disappointed not to see Yami Bakura in his long black trench coat, and indeed fans may have preferred this choice of clothing to give the figure a firmer sense of identity, one that might separate him a little more from Ryou Bakura. Likewise I wonder, if Kotobukiya do decide to release a Ryou Bakura figure (and I really, REALLY, hope they do) and it is also based from the Battle City arc, exactly how different will the figure look wearing the exact same clothes? Although I suppose they could remove the teal jacket to create some sort of difference.

There are benefits in this choice of clothing however. For example, you could hardly see the wounded state of Yami Bakura’s left arm if it was covered by a coat. The famous scene where Bakura stabs himself in the arm to form a pact with Marik Ishtar is certainly highlighted in this figure. Featuring a tightly wrapped white bandage and large blood stain, this feature peeks from under Bakura’s teal jacket and reminds us how much of a psychopath he really is.

Yami Bakura’s long legs are covered by a pair of light grey jeans. The colour coincides with the tones in his hair, conforming to a matching colour pallet that’s easy on the eyes. Again creases and shadowing have been successfully detailed onto the figure, convincingly making us believe that Yami Bakura is twisting his body and glaring us down from a wide stance. The outfit finishes with a pair of light blue trainers with moulded white laces, this time coinciding with the colouring on his shirt. The base, just like the bases for Marik Ishtar and Yami Marik, has been made to resemble the rubble of Battle City.

Alternative Parts and Bonus Items

Sadly Yami Bakura didn’t come as a limited edition, meaning there are no bonus items like a nice Dark Necrofear card, a Millennium Ring keychain or mini hourglass. There are some alternative parts of the figure that you can switch between though.

Duel Disk – Every Yu-Gi-Oh! duellist figure comes with a duel disk. It simply wouldn’t be Yu-Gi-Oh! without them. It’s nicely painted and perfectly crafted to create a miniature replica of the real thing (and it is a real thing, not just a prop in an anime. You can buy duel disks). The disk does press slightly into Yami Bakura’s jacket however, which is a little bit awkward if you’re one of those people who want to keep their figures in pristine condition. I also want to point out that if Yami Bakura was wearing that black trench coat of his, you most likely wouldn’t be getting him with a duel disk on his arm. If you want your Yami Bakura duel disk free, then the figure also comes with an interchangeable arm that has no duel disk.

Cards – The figure comes with a set of five Yu-Gi-Oh! cards that can be slipped into the left hand, and a single Yu-Gi-Oh! card that can be placed into the right hand. The cards complete Yami Bakura’s intimidating, master duellist persona. Like other Kotobukiya figures, all of the cards are blank on the back and lack the traditional Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters design on the front.

Packaging and Box Art

The front of the box has a large plastic window for you to view the figure without having to remove it from its packaging. In the lower right corner is a portrait of Yami Bakura in a slightly different pose from the figure, but still displaying that same card-drawn stance with an edge of evil arrogance. Next to him is his name in kanji and katakana, along with the ARTFX and certified Kotobukiya logo. In the upper right corner is the Yu-Gi-Oh! logo. The colouring of the box is a mixture of light blue on the upper half that gradually gets darker lower down, and an electric white pattern that again starts brightly on the top and then darker and more faded on the bottom. The colour palette matches that of the Yami Bakura portrait, with the white lightening-like pattern matching the white of the character’s hair (indeed it is a lighter colour than the figure’s hair). The mixture of blues compliment the colours in Yami Bakura’s outfit, and the blurring and darkening of these colours signify that he is far from the pure and innocent character that these light colours commonly represent.

The back of the box displays the ghostly shape of the Millennium Ring, glowing a bright gold against the blues and whites. This reminds us of Yami Bakura’s inhuman qualities, his reason for possessing an innocent teenager, and of course his goal of collecting all the Millennium Items. The triangle of the Millennium Ring that would usually display an eye, instead cleverly shows another window for you to view the figure. Below it is the Yu-Gi-Oh! logo and Yami Bakura’s name in Japanese.

The left side of the box has the same Millennium Ring design but with a short message from Kotobukiya, in both English and Japanese, above it. On the right side of the box is a beautiful picture of the figure with three different close-ups used as the background. The Yu-Gi-Oh! title scrolls from the upper right corner to the lower left in bold font. Just in case you forgot which series Yami Bakura was from!

‘I’m not gay, I’m just British.’

I’ve been waiting so long for this figure. It’s a bit of a dream come true to finally have it siting in my display cabinet. I was slightly disappointed that the figure wasn’t released as a limited edition, especially as Yu-Gi-Oh’s other notorious villain, Yami Marik, did receive one. There were a couple of questionable components, such as the colour of Yami Bakura’s eyes and the shade of his hair, but overall I am very pleased with the quality of this figure. The pose is very dynamic and interesting to look at, more so than some previous figures such as Marik Ishtar, and to have the Millennium Ring swinging from the Yami’s neck is a pleasant addition.

All we need now is a Ryou Bakura figure. Thanks to some clues from previous figures and the release of the Yami Bakura figure, I have some theories as to how this figure may look too! My bet is that, if the Ryou Bakura figure shares the same leg sculpt as Yami Bakura (just as Yami Marik’s and Marik’s Ishtar’s did), then that points to one specific pose by Ryou during the Battle City arc: a Ryou on the verge of collapse. During part 3 of The Dark Spirit Revealed: Yugi Vs. Bakura, Ryou clutches his bandaged arm and eventually falls to the floor on his knees.

I really can’t see how else Ryou is meant to pull off that pose. Although Kotobukiaya haven’t officially said they will be releasing a Ryou Bakura figure, fans are expecting it due to the release of the Marik Ishtar figure soon after Yami Marik. I’m waiting, Kotobukiya! If you haven’t yet got a Yami Bakura figure then you need to move fast! The status of the figure in online stores is constantly changing between in stock and out of stock, so move fast tendershipping Yu-Gi-Oh! fans!