Walkaround - Nature Technicolour Clear Rivers in Japan No. 10 (SECRET) - Akame/Japanese Lates (Lates Japonicus)

Finally we arrive at number 10, the last and secret model of the Clear Rivers series, and it is represented by the near mythical fish Akame or Japanese Lates.

Taxonomically, the Japanese Lates is a very close cousin of another legendary sporting fish, the mighty Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) from the waters of Australia and South East Asia. Both can reach well over a metre long and weigh over 30 kilos, although the Barramundi is supposedly can weigh even heavier at 50 kilos. An even bigger cousin of the Akame and Barramundi is another famous freshwater perch, the gigantic Nile Perch (Lates niloticus) which is reportedly can grow up to 2 metres long and 200 kg in weight. That is truly monstrous. Seems like the Lates family is inhabited by giant fishes that garnered legendary status in each of their respective geographic origins.

The name Akame literally means "red-eyes", referring to the red gleam of the fish's eyes when viewed in the darkness. The Barramundi, on the other hand, gleams golden which is not as scary-looking as red. As mentioned, the Akame is a very sought after sport fish in Japan and due to its rarity and size, has acquired an almost legendary status there. I personally remembered playing fishing video games in Playstation and Gameboy all those years ago and the final boss fish is almost always the Akame, such is the reverence the Japanese have for this fish.

My first impression of the model itself was "Wow, how can they manage to put such a big model into such a little capsule??". It is by far the heaviest of all 10 models. The fish itself is divided into two solid blocks of plastic, and when joined together the seam follows the contour of the scales of the fish so not to make it too conspicuous. The right pectoral fin is touching the "rock pedestal" making it a seamless transition. As usual, the details are absolutely spot on : correct number of fin rays and scales, length of the fin ray spines, colour gradation is wonderful, and the red tint on the eyes are just sooo realistic. The one single letdown for me is that my model comes with a broken tip of the second anal fin spine, which is a real shame. Well, you can't have everything perfect, I reckon. Overall though, a most imposing model and definitely worthy of the being the "secret" model of the series.

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Great too :) Thanks for the pics :)

At last the Secret Akame and yes it is again a great hit! thank you again to enjoed us with your excellent topics

Perfect presentation once more and again a very realistic figure!