Some of you may remember a post I made last year on whether to purchase one or both versions of a particular figure. The figure in question was of Ruri Hoshino, my all-time favourite anime character and unofficial mascot of Nopy’s Blog. Originating from the 1996 anime Martian Successor Nadesico, figures of her are extremely hard to find, which was why I was elated to hear that a company called Kurushima would be releasing two versions of Ruri, titled “Way Back From Bakery” and sculpted by Keiko. As you can see above, I bought two of these figures, one is the polka-dot dress version and the other is the pink-dress Miyazawa limited version. They come in exactly the same box with only a couple of stickers identifying which version is inside. Each figure retails for 14200 JPY, making them the most expensive in my collection.

Unlike most figures, which are made out of PVC, this line of Ruri figures is made out of cold cast resin. While PVC figures are generally soft and pliable, cold cast figures are hard and brittle, making them extremely fragile. Enough description though, below you can see my review of the actual figures.

Overall Pose and Sculpt

I was originally going to write two separate reviews for each version, but thought that it would be redundant and combined them into one. As such, these comparison photos are not actually of the figures standing next to each other and were taken from slightly different angles.

As you can see from this first pose, Kurushima has generally done a good job delivering production figures that match their promo shots. The polka-dot version features a white dress with light green and magenta dots and matching yellow hair bands and shoes. The pink-dress version has a white and brown stripe near the hem and matching red hair bands and shoes. At first glance, it appears that both versions use the same sculpt, with the only difference being the colour scheme, but the polka-dot version actually has her head tilted down while the pink-dress version has her head slightly higher.

The colour and design of their bakery bags also differ; each one is designed to match Ruri’s outfit. One of the less noticeable differences that you can spot here is the colour of her underdress. In the polka-dot version it’s blue, and in the pink-dress version it’s white.

One of the advantages of cold cast figures like these are that there are no leaning issues. Due to the hard and brittle nature of resin, it will not bend under normal conditions, allowing figures to stand on a single leg.

The sculpting on Ruri’s backside, arms, and legs is smooth with no visible seam lines.

Her dress was also nicely done, with folds around her waist to show that she has just spun around and the waviness of the bottom of her dress adding to her pose.

In general, I was very happy with the pose that Kurushima decided to go with, and the sculpt did not have any major problems. I think that the slightly lowered head of the polka-dot dress version looks better than the pink-dress version, but they’re both still cute. You may have noticed that Ruri seems rather pale in these pictures, that’s not because of the lighting. Ruri is usually described as having pale, almost white skin because she is a result of genetic experimentation and mutation. It’s odd that the promotional pictures show her having more pinkish skin, which does not match her character design or the actual figures.

Face

In the anime, Ruri had very thick and pointy eyelashes. These figures got the thick part right, but her eyelashes aren’t as pointy as they should be. She is still identifiable as Ruri, which is what matters most. I was also happy to see that they decided to give her a happy expression, which is rare for the mostly emotionless electronic fairy (Ruri’s nickname among personnel of the United Earth Spacey and other military groups).

Unfortunately, my pink-dress version came with an obvious quality issue: part of her left eye is missing. The eyes are not painted on, but are on some sort of adhesive plastic film. This means that they can be torn off if you’re not careful. My figure came out of the box like this so there was nothing I could do.

Paint Job

The dots on the polka-dot dress appear to use the same film as the eyes rather than paint. That leaves the pink dress, which is actually painted. There is only a white and brown stripe on the pink dress and no complex pattern, so I would be shocked if Kurushima managed to mess that up.

Sadly, I dropped one of the bags; it does not stay on Ruri’s arm very well. It was then that I discovered that paint does not adhere very well to cold cast figures. As you can see above, a bit of the green paint has chipped off.

Looking at these two figures, I’ve come to the conclusion that while cold cast may offer a cleaner sculpt, it causes major problems when trying to apply an adherent paint or film.

Fine Details

Oddly enough, the most detailed thing on these two figures are the French baguettes that they are carrying. They have amazingly realistic texturing and a superb paint job.

The bows on Ruri’s shoes are decent, but not anywhere near the best I’ve seen. There is also some problems with toenail paint getting on other areas.

One of the big things I look for when judging the attention to detail in a figure sculpt is how accurate the hands and fingers are. If you look at your hand, each finger (minus the thumb) clearly contains three sections with two joints no matter what position you have them in. Ruri’s fingers look like little sticks rather than fingers, which is very disappointing.

Something that I have to mention is what happened with Ruri’s left twintail on both figures: they arrived broken. The fact that this happened with both figures from different suppliers and shipped at different times indicates a problem with Kurushima’s design or packaging. The pink dress version has the twintail partially detached, but it took out a piece of Ruri’s head with it.

The polka-dot dress version had the twintail entirely detached, and it managed to scratch up some of Ruri’s hair as it was tossed around inside the box. I did manage to reattach it without much trouble.

Overall

For 14200 JPY, I expect near-flawless and high-quality figures, but I was very disappointed in Kurushima’s quality issues. While the general sculpt was fine, blocky bows and stick-like fingers show a lack in effort. Figures missing a part of their eye should not make it into a box and the packaging should be designed so that pieces can not rub against each other if they do detach. Good Smile Company, for example, places plastic film in between removable parts. I do not recommend buying this figure from Kurushima unless you are a hardcore Ruri fan like me. If you are a hardcore Ruri ran though, this might be worth your while because Ruri figures like these only come around once per decade.

Related posts:

1. A Vexing Problem and A Look Back at Figure Collecting
2. I’m Back!
3. Back from Japan

One of the things that I like about anime that is largely absent in western cartoons (or it was when I was a kid), is that it’s not afraid to kill off a character in order to drive the story. Sometimes these deaths make viewers cry, other times they create mobs of angry fans. Either way, they completely draw in the attention and bring out the emotions of any viewer, ensuring the series will always have people to remember it. Here are just 10 deaths which I thought were excellently done and helped make the series. The videos are the closest I could find of the actual scenes.

Note: I think this is obvious, but spoilers are below. If you haven’t seen but intend to see Mai-Hime, Death Note, Evangelion, Madoka, Nadesico, Gurren Lagann, Clannad After Story, Katanagatari, Code Geass, or Kodomo no Jikan and don’t want to be spoiled, don’t scroll down. Also, before anyone asks “where’s Spike?” I have yet to finish Cowboy Bebop.

Death #1: Takumi Tokiha (Mai-Hime)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNjxdeS2qKg

Takumi is the younger brother of the main character, Mai Tokiha. He was a weakling with no real fighting abilities and his death was anything but spectacular. What made it so instrumental though, was what happened immediately afterwards. Mai had been the messenger of peace for the entire series up until that point. Once Takumi passed away, she went totally berserk and in a fit of rage, called up Kagutsuchi and set ablaze everything around her before supposedly burning Mikoto to a crisp. Mai was the greatest proponent of pacifism, and when she defeated another Hime, it was as if the world turned upside down and the whole series spiralled into a dog-eat-dog world with no mercy.

Death #2: L (Death Note)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L-aByNGwAE

When L finally kicked the bucket, I think everyone just went silent for a few minutes until rage finally set in. I mean, c’mon, how could you kill one of the players in a 2-person game of cat and mouse? While I’m sure everyone was upset about L, it paved the way for both him and Light to meet their demise without either one being better than the other (since Light never actually discovered L’s name). If either character had “won”, half of the Death Note fan base would have been up in arms.

Death #3: Asuka Langley Soryu (End of Evangelion)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJl0V7GWRqc

Asuka’s method of death by itself was already more gruesome than most people can imagine. What had a greater impact was that Shinji just stood by and did nothing (that bastard) while Asuka was being torn to pieces. At this point, everyone just hates Shinji with all of their heart, which is why the ending felt like such a relief when he finally made 1 good decision.

Death #4: Mami Tomoe (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKx3d_RlGnI

As of this writing, everyone, even those who haven’t seen Madoka, knows of Mami’s death. If this article survives the test of time though, here’s a short explanation. Up until this point, Madoka was a cool mahou shoujo series with bubbly characters and some drama between them. Mami was everyone’s favourite because she was a busty, gun-toting, badass that obliterated witches with a smile on her face. Imagine the shock in episode 3 when out on a typical witch hunt, she gets her head ripped off and you hear munching sounds in the background as a witch devours her body. That’s when everyone realized that no, this wasn’t a happy “let’s hunt some witches for fun” series, it was Kyubeyland.

Death #5: Gai Daigoji (Martian Successor Nadesico)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=didibp-tz2A

Personally, I think the creators of Madoka stole this element from Nadesico. Before Gai’s death, Nadesico was about a wacky, happy-go-lucky crew of a civilian battleship with a mission to go to Mars and rescue any people trapped there after the invasion of the Jovian Lizards. Gai was everyone’s favourite because he was an ace pilot that loved to collect gunpla and made everyone laugh. Imagine the shock in episode 3 when out on a walk through the hangar deck, he gets shot dead by some escaping military prisoners. That’s when everyone realized that no, this wasn’t a happy “let’s go save the world” series, it was a deep drama focused on the human condition, where the greater enemies come from within than from without.

Death #6: Kamina (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGwA3aCMT-c

Kamina, the hero of all heroes, leader of all leaders, and player of all players was taken down in episode 8. For someone so seemingly invincible to be taken out so early was a huge psychological blow to the rebellion in TTGL. It also opened up the anime for the other characters to shine in the spotlight, overcoming whatever is thrown their way and “piercing the heavens.” If Kamina had not died, TTGL would not have seemed as much of an anime about perseverance and GAR because Kamina would’ve just made everything too easy.

Death #7: Ushio Okazaki (Clannad After Story)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IwN67M4UGQ

I had a suspicion that Key wouldn’t actually let Ushio die, but my gosh, when they showed that scene I nearly cried. Imagine having your lover die on you after only a few short years and leaving behind your only child. Not having enough time or money, she gets neglected and falls ill. Then, no matter how hard you try to fulfill her last wishes, she passes away in your arms. This doesn’t have an effect on the characters since it’s only a magical dream world, but it really brought out the emotions. I’m sure Tomoya would make an excellent father with Nagisa there to support him.

Death #8: Togame (Katanagatari)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5ljdfHzZso

There were quite a few scenes in Katanagatari that alluded to Togame’s death, but I was still shocked when it actually happened. I know it had to have happened or else Togame would have killed Shichika later, but I would like to think she would choose love over personal gain. At least it made Shichika go berserk and made some awesome ending fights.

Death #9: Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass R2)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlbKDBz6k6c

Lelouch was my hero in the first season of Code Geass, he was cunning, ambitious, and took advantage of every opportunity that arose regardless of the ethical or moral issues. That’s why when he finally dominated the world, I was utterly speechless to see him plan and carry out his own death, it was absurd. Lelouch was no hero, I think he should have fallen due to his own folly (divine justice), not something that he planned. For me, this is one of the most shocking deaths in anime because of how he died.

Death #10: Aki Kokonoe (Kodomo no Jikan)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpPXVRE8maE

When I saw I liked Kodomo no Jikan, I’m not saying I liked Kodomo no Jikan. I’m saying that I liked episode 6 of the first season, where the teacher doesn’t even make an appearance and Rin is just a minor character. This episode was by far one of the most memorable episodes of all the anime I’ve ever watched and could actually be viewed without watching any of the others. The whole episode focused around Aki ane Reiji, cousins who fell in love with each other. The problem was that Aki was an ill single mother who could barely take care of herself much less her daughter. It was heartbreaking to see Reiji and Aki falling in love with each other even though they knew Aki was running out of time. The scene of Rin folding paper cranes beside her mother’s withered corpse made my heart wrench.

———————————

I’m sure there are some more deaths that deserve mention, but these were the first 10 that came to mind. If you can think of some other good ones, feel free to share.

Related posts:

1. Happy Birthday Miku!
2. Upcoming Spring 2010 Anime
3. Draw With Me

With that in mind, it was only natural that I would purchase this figure of Ruri returning from the bakery in a polka dot dress without a second thought, even with the hefty price tag of 14200 yen. However, I am now faced with a dilemma. A day after this figure of Ruri was put up for preorder, another figure showed up on the front pages of my favourite online figure stores.

It figures that they would post the regular edition Ruri first to give time for rabid Ruri fans like me to buy, then hit us again with the limited edition Ruri. This one comes with a pink dress rather than a polka dot dress, a bread bag with a different design, and different coloured shoes and hair bands. As far as I can tell, everything else is the same. I like both the polka dot dress and the pink dress, so my problem is whether to get both or get one.

There are several problems with getting both. First of all, they are both in the highest price range as far as figures go. I have 5 figures in the $100+ range and each of them was purchased after careful consideration. I wouldn’t mind spending that much for 1 figure, but spending double for two figures that are almost identical seems illogical. Secondly, these are cold cast figures. I haven’t owned or even seen a cold cost figure in person before so I don’t know what they’re like, but the general consensus I’ve found online seems to be that they’re not as good as PVC (few, if any, reasons are given). Lastly, these two Ruri figures are from a manufacturer I’d never heard of until yesterday (Kurushima), so I know nothing about their figure quality.

The good point about getting both is that this is a once in a decade opportunity and I won’t be kicking myself later when the one I didn’t get is sold out. According to MFC, there has only been one prepainted figure release of young Ruri in the past decade, the rest have been of her 16-year-old form. If I decide to get one though, my problem then becomes whether to get the polka dot version or the pink dress version. This problem has got me flustered, so if anyone has any insight they can share on cold cast figures, Kurushima, or these two particular figures, I’d be happy to hear them.

All of this thinking over a figure has got me thinking though, what brought me to the point where I’m actually considering spending $300 on a couple pieces of plastic?

Before I started collecting figures, I thought that figure collectors were wackos. I mean c’mon, what kind of person would buy that many “dolls”? That all changed when I bought my first figure at a local anime convention, a 1/8 Haruhi Suzumiya by Max Factory.

When I first opened it, I thought “wow, this looks nice, it’s so detailed,” but then I noticed something was wrong. I’m sure all of you figure collectors can tell right away from the picture above just what it is. I compared my figure with some promo shots I found online and thought that mine looked rather dull. As a complete newbie to figures, I thought that maybe it was like those McDonald’s commercials where they show you a beautiful burger that looks nothing like the sloppy things they actually serve you. I continued thinking that until I saw pictures of the same Haruhi figure that other people had bought and noticed that they looked way better than mine.

It took a while to come to the conclusion that I had been duped. My very first figure was a bootleg. You can see the difference between the bootleg Haruhi and the real Haruhi below.

The fake Haruhi is made out of a harder (more brittle) plastic, has a poor paint job, has her arms in the wrong position, has a face that it too far in, has a red armband pin, and her base is yellowish and uneven. I was impressed with the figure despite all of the obvious flaws, so just imagine how blown-away I was when I got an authentic Haruhi figure a few months later. The amount of detail and the overall quality of a real Haruhi figure was just mind-boggling to someone like me, whose last experience with a plastic model was a $10 Transformer from a department store.

Between the purchase of my fake Haruhi and the arrival of my authentic Haruhi, I had actually gotten another figure. This was around the time when Good Smile Company/Max Factory was starting to see massive growth and they were experimenting with new things, one of which was nendoroids.

With my Haruhi turning out to be a fake, my very first authentic figure turned out to be this Light Yagami nendoroid.

If you look up Light’s nendoroid number, you’ll find that he’s nendoroid number 12, one of the earliest ones. While nendoroids have changed a lot over the years, the thing that drew me to them in the first place still applies today. They’re just soooo cute. Nendoroids now make up over half of my collection.

Haruhi and Light set the precedent for collecting highly detailed and cute figures, but it was another figure that set the amount of money I was willing to spend on each.

Working with the Haruhi craze of 2006-2007, Freeing released massive bunny girl figures of the characters as their first foray into the world of figure manufacturing. I don’t know if it was due to their size or the use of actual mini fish-net stockings, but these things were expensive.

I had no concept of preordering figures at the time and everyone wanted this particular one, so I had to pay quite a bit more for her. Including shipping, I paid $177 for this Haruhi bunny, the most I have ever spent on a figure. I was a bit disappointed with it when I opened the box. First off, there was a scratch on her right bunny ear. It wouldn’t have been too bad if it was a small scratch that could be painted over, but this one was deep. Secondly, there are some very ugly black splotches all over her legs underneath the fish net stockings. I was so upset with this figure that I decided I would never spend this much on a figure again.

That brings me back to the problem I have now. I was hooked on collecting anime figures after seeing how detailed and cute they could be, but do Kurushima’s Ruri figures have the quality and looks to justify their purchase, and should buying two nearly identical figures be considered the same as spending more than $177 on a single figure. Such is the life of a collector… If any of you aren’t figure collectors and are considering starting, make sure you have a LOT of money.

Note: Some of you may have noticed, but this was a test-run with my new camera and a light box I made. Let me know what you think.

Related posts:

1. June 2010 Figure Acquisitions
2. Figure Splurge
3. Miku Hatsune GSC Figure

Nadesico first aired in 1996 and ran for 26 episodes with 1 movie that came out in If you haven’t been watching anime long enough to know of Nadesico, here’s a quick breakdown of the series from Wikipedia:

The series takes place in the year 2196 and Earth is warring with a race of alien invaders called the “Jovian Lizards”. To combat it, a company called Nergal designs a space battleship, the ND-001 Nadesico. While the ship is powerful and its crew consists of the top civilian experts in their fields, these individuals tend to have “some slight personality disorders”.

The primary protagonist, Akito Tenkawa, is a boy with a mysterious past; once a resident of Mars’ Utopia colony, he escaped its destruction by the Jovian Lizards and arrived on Earth, with no memory of how he got there but a terrible fear of the invaders. He hates fighting and only wants to be a chef, however, he is constantly called on to act as a pilot of one of the Nadesico’s Aestivalis – humanoid combat robots. While on board the Nadesico, Akito has more problems to deal with than just the Jovians; nearly all the female members of the crew, especially the vessel’s captain Yurika Misumaru, seem to be head over heels in love with him, though all he wants to do is cook and watch his favorite anime, Gekigangar III.
 

I think the crew’s “slight personality disorders” is really what give Nadesico its high entertainment value. For example, Yurika’s ditzy and sometimes absent-minded behaviour combined with her role as captain of the Nadesico makes for some comedic scenes as she tries to win over Akito’s heart. However, the heavy industries company, Nergal, which built the Nadesico didn’t choose Yurika to be the captain for nothing. Time and time again Yurika is able to step up to the plate and prove her abilities as captain by overcoming adverse conditions.

Yurika’s moments in the spotlight is also something I enjoyed in Nadesico but find lacking in other anime. Unlike other anime where winning battles depends on how much you believe in yourself/friends/special powers, battles in Nadesico are won with a sound strategy (and sometimes overwhelming firepower). My favourite battle was when the Nadesico was fighting a ship with a new weapon that they couldn’t defend against. After failing to run away, they were able to fight back by shutting off all of their systems (essentially becoming invisible) and playing a game of cat and mouse. I enjoy these types of battles over ones where the protagonists win with no real strategy and only because they now “believe” they can win.

 Very few anime have their characters thought out as well as the characters in Nadesico. In elementary school, I was taught that one of the major components of any story is character development, something that I thought was done pretty well here. Akito, for one, starts off as an apathetic character wanting nothing to do with the war, but with all that’s happening around him, he begins to take on an active role in the fight against the Jovians. The death of a close friend (yes, a main character dies) helps with Akito’s development as a character as he experiences sorrow, anger, and helplessness; and finds a way to overcome these feelings and become stronger.

One little thing that the director of Nadesico, Tatsuo Sato, did which I really liked was that he researched the material he put into the anime. What I mean is that unlike other sci-fi stories where almost everything is made up, the stuff about bosons and time travel might be possible, based on what was known in the 90′s. I actually got interested in that stuff way back and read a bunch of articles on the subject. Thanks to Nadesico, I aced elementary quantum physics in high school. Of course, we won’t know if any of the stuff in Nadesico is actually possible until the Large Hadron Collider gets fixed and is up and running.

Despite all the seriousness in Nadesico, there’s actually quite  bit of humour, mainly from all the girls fighting over Akito, but there is some stuff worked into the story. The Jovians, for example, treat a certain robot anime as their bible and worship the main characters; they even have little mecha figures which you can see in some scenes. There was also one fanservice episode in which an idol competition was held to determine the next captain of the Nadesico. 

Speaking of fanservice, that’s another thing that older series like Nadesico did differently (and I think better). Rather than bombarding viewers with panty shots ever 2-3 minutes, there were 1 or 2 episodes dedicated to dressing up the female characters in swimsuits and whatnot.  I think doing it this way is better since it doesn’t take away from the main plot, but still gives some viewers what they want.

Of course, some people might not agree with me about Nadesico being the best anime ever, but if you haven’t seen it then I suggest you at least watch the first three episodes. If you don’t like it after that, then there’s not much I can do for you. For people that have seen Nadesico, what did you think of it?

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