Tamashii Nations have been on a bit of a roll recently. Just a couple of weeks ago they unveiled their full-scale working replica of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable antagonist Yoshikage Kira’s terrifying Stand ‘Sheer Heart Attack,’ and just today they have revealed yet another ridiculously cool full-scale replica. Continuing on the Weekly Shonen Jump theme, preorders are now open for a full-scale replica of Yu-Gi-Oh! antagonist Seto Kaiba’s Duel Disk device. You can see it in action below:
Now, if my memory serves me correctly, Duel Disks fashioned after Kaiba’s own in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime have certainly existed in the past. I seem to remember as a kid wanting one very badly, after all. But I’m definitely sure that they weren’t as fully featured as this one.
Not only does the Duel Disk work in terms of playing the actual Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading card game, with places to put all of your differing active cards and a life counter, it also comes with a plethora of special features. When you place down your cards onto the Disk, it lights up and plays a sound effect just like in the anime. Furthermore, there are four BGM tracks loaded into the Disk itself alongside over 40 unique lines from Kaiba himself – truly perfect for when you really want to get into the mood and play some children’s card games. All of this is packed into an (almost) 1/1 full-scale replica.
But here’s the kicker: it costs 21,600 yen. Now, I’m not sure if things are different for kids these days, but back when I played Yu-Gi-Oh! as a kid, I’m pretty sure I didn’t have that much money going spare, not even for my beloved card games. So you do have to wonder: who is Premium Bandai targeting with this? Most adult Yu-Gi-Oh! enthusiasts that I know don’t tend to shout about the fact that they still play a children’s card game, let alone strap a large piece of shouty plastic to their forearm and stage a duel in the middle of the street, just like in the anime.
Nevertheless, if you’re one of the few who is genuinely interested in picking this replica up, definitely head over to the Premium Bandai product page. Unfortunately, the product is strictly Japan only this time, although I’m sure that won’t stop super-fans of the series anyway.
(As a side note, it’s super weird to hear a voice other than Eric Stuart’s coming out of Seto Kaiba’s mouth. I love Kenjiro Tsuda a lot, but he’s just not Kaiba for me.)