Although this is the first Bootleg Tuesday entry of 2010, I figured we'd kick off this new year of freaky facsimiles by returning to a fad from yesteryear: Yu-Gi-Oh. Actually, I'm not so sure about that -- while the toy aisles these days lead me to conclude that Bakugan is all the rage among kids nowadays, there are still Yu-Gi-Oh toys being released. And Pokemon toys, for that matter. Are the children of today still down with Pikachu? I'm so out of touch.

Anyway, here's the bootleg of the hour: Yugi Mutou! Or at least I think it's Yugi... I never really watched the show, so for all I know he's got a doppleganger or a Pharoah clone or something. In fact, I kinda hope that's the case -- while this might actually be a pretty good representation of some twisted Yugi double, it's a pretty piss poor version of the main man himself. Sure, it's recognizeable, but the hair is the wrong colors (I believe it's supposed to be lined with pink, not red) and I don't recall the character's outfit consisting of a sleeveless vest, Shakespeare shorts, and blue stockings that end in sneakers (although, admittedly, that does sound like a pretty cool garment). Even if you give the colors and outfit a pass, the sculpt is average at best and the figure has a hard time standing due to its awkward kneeless legs. Oh, and it has three points of articulation. Yay.

That said, Yugi here did come with a damned cool accessory: two stacks of tiny cardboard knockoff Yu-Gi-Oh cards! I doubt you could actually play the game with them and they're a bit too big for 6" figures (they might work better with 1/6th scale or larger figures), but even oversized they're great fun for anyone who likes to pose their figures doing atypical things. Get ready, Donatello and Wolverine -- it's time to DUEL!

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