Reviewtech:: Black Rock Shooter Figma

by Loran

It’s really weird how things seem to get started in Japan these days… Black Rock Shooter is one of those strange examples. She started off as a picture some guy drew, then another guy made a song based off it, then they worked together and made a music video that got over 2 million hits on Nico Nico Douga. After that, an animation studio contacted them , with a contract for a music video and OVA! Not only that, there’s even an RPG in the works! Geez, that’s pretty impressive-seems like if you have some pretty decent creative talent in Japan you can really go places…

This Figma had quite a bit of hype behind her, with everyone rushing to preorder her off just about every Japanese site that shipped to the US. I remember getting a huge chuckle when one pretty much crashed as a result. Those were good times. Like a lot of other Figmas this past summer, she got pushed back a bit, but hey, waiting makes the end product sweeter, right?

BRS has a really pale skin tone. Like, almost ghost-like. But it’s pretty cool and makes for a nice contrast against the black of her outfit. The paint applications are crisp and clean, the typical figma quality. Her scars are all tamographed instead of molded, which works pretty well.

Her coat is made out of the same kind-of-hard/kind-of-soft plastic that the rest of the figure was made out of, though I would prefer if it were all softer plastic. The back of her coat is molded in two pieces which are both attached to figma joints. For what it is, it works, and being all black helps the colors blend in better. Also, the connection port for the stand is on the bottom part of the coat instead of the upper torso like most figmas. I actually like this a lot, and there’s more plastic there for it to stay in more snugly.

She comes with three faces-neutral face, eyes opened, and yelling. She also includes two hair pieces-one regular hairpiece and one with that weird energy thing that would cover the eye. I like that it’s molded onto the hairpiece since it’s the only way it would really work, although it looks really strange if you look at it from any angle instead of head-on. Her ponytails are mounted on figma joints, thankfully, so they can easily be moved up and down without any fear of breakage.

Her accessories are where things start to get odd. My personal favorite, though, is the katana-I love using this one, having her fight Saber Alter with it. But onto the other stuff. She comes with two chains that are really oddly proportioned-they seem way too big for a figure at this scale. I know they’re supposed to represent the scene in the OVA where she gets wrapped up in chains, but nothing on the back of the box or instructions shows what you’re supposed to use them for. I guess I’ll just save them for bondage accessories for Teana and Subaru. :3

But the biggest issue has to be her gun-it’s friggin huge! Seriously, it’s not NEARLY that gigantic in the anime. This thing is so big is needs ITS OWN FIGMA STAND. Not only that, getting her to grip the handle is a HUGE PAIN. It’s a damn shame that they screwed up her signature weapon so badly. I just say give her the katana and give the stand to a figure who’s lost theirs.

However, there’s one thing about her that really stands out-the DVD. Usually I hate getting toys from Japan that come with DVDs because, well, I can’t watch them! But not this time. This one is region-free, and not only that, it has subtitles for 7 different languages, including English! And they’re done well to boot! I’m not going to talk about the episode itself, but hey, it’s nice to see some bright spark in Japan finally taking to the fact that people outside of their country love to buy their crap.

Overall, BRS herself is a decent figma, but her accessories need serious improvement. I’d say she’s certainly worth the money, especially since you get a 50-minute OVA episode in the package, too. Also, some people have had issues with her torso breaking, but I haven’t had this problem. Just to be on the safe side, take care when removing that plastic sheet from there-I’d suggest using scissors. Also, we have her in stock right now, so get to it! Make sure you get to her before somebody else does!