Sergeant Ryan Whitaker is a minor character from a 2001
American animated movie called Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The movie
follows Doctor Aki Ross and her allies as they battle alien invaders in
the year 2065. No, I have not seen the movie. Or played the video game. I bought this action figure because he was a new-to-me African
American playscale figure.
(Ahem. Yes, he is a keeper because he's cute.
Facepalm. Yikes, I am shallow. Still, how often do we – my fellow doll and action
figure enthusiasts – find African American characters? Well, he is an African
American character or he could pass as such. I do not know what his character
was in the movie/video game, Final Fantasy. His good looks just are an extra bonus.)
What can I tell you about Ryan Whitaker, the action figure? First, he is a ToyFare
Exclusive by Palisades Toys. So he is a limited edition item. He is 11 3/4" tall - yes, just that little bit shorter than Ken. I had considered replacing his body with that of another action figure. But his articulation makes up for that height loss - he not only bends at his elbows and his knees, but his upper thigh, upper arm, and lower arm can twist. He has a pivotal waist AND he can twist his upper torso. His arms and legs can pose akimbo - out from his body.
His handsome face has nice details like five-o'clock shadow and slight stubbling of his partially shaved head. (The eyes are a little
beady, but that is standard with many action figures. Shrug. Must be hard to get eyes just so in basic factory painting.) And his head can tilt to either side although tilting down/forward is NOT an option.
What would I change? Well, he's got multiple color and texture face-body parts. His head is a matte plastic while his arms and legs are another color and type of slightly shiny plastic. His torso is an even shinier material. But the greatest sorrow for me is that he lacks ankles and feet. His boot foot is his body foot. Sigh. When I wrestled one of his boots off, I noticed this problem. Sigh again. Why do action figure manufacturers do that to their figures? I know ... because they are NOT dolls.
Right, she scowls. (She being me.)
Oh, but pictures, you say. Here they go.
Any suggestions for ankle-feet repair welcome. He's still adorable, this Ryan Whitaker action figure. I just wish he had ankles and feet.
(Aside another collector also bought this figure on sale. You can read his post.)
