Saturday, February 6, 2010
Review: [Max Factory] Asakura Ryoko
Figure Info:
Manufacturer:
Max Factory
Series:
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu
Scale and Height:
1/8 and approximately 20cm tall.
First appearing as a regular, skilled and cheerful class president from Kyon and Haruhi's class. Ryoko tries to talk to Haruhi through Kyon, but as later events (episode shown in order of when it was aired) reveals. Ryoko was revealed to be another humanoid interface or, simply put, an alien made to observe Haruhi as well but was only supposed to be a back up for Yuki, but as she grew tired of observing something that she can't get any information from, she decides to attack and try to kill Kyon as she believes this will trigger a large amount of reaction from Haruhi, thus, supposedly giving her more data to observe, but she was thwarted and deleted by Yuki in the same incident. Some people mistakes her for a Yandere, a sweet person who, when pushed to the wrong circumstances, turns into a psychopath (most often portrayed in different shows using a knife on snapping moments) but Ryoko isn't, she's just an alien with good communication skills, making her look sweet but really is just an observer in any point of view. She later returns in the upcoming film, Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, nut now as a normal person, the said film/arc will also determine her classification as a Yandere or not.
Ryoko is only seen in two attires in the series, the gym and the school uniform...
And for this figure, it's the uniform version, so, here's a little look on Ryoko.
Finally reviewing one of my prized figures from the collection and not to mention my 3rd waifu XD
Box/Packaging:
Pretty simple like other Max Factory Haruhi line release, you see a big H in the back with the preview pic of the character's figure in front, it's pretty portable and is a good space friend when it comes to storing the boxes aside.
Face and Photogenic Appeal:
On first look, this Ryoko is already a surprising winner, really gets Ryoko's expression and captures her character at one look at her face, she's really really nice when it comes to the face, plus with what Max did on her facial expression, there's a nice lighting touch to it. See the photo below:
Yandere-ish effects anyone?
As for photogenic appeal, depending on what angle you've taken, it has a different kind of feel to it, like for example shooting up straight front would give you a normal schoolgirl atmosphere while getting from her left side gives it a somewhat sweet feel like she's springing a well planned "trap" for you. XD
Body and Details:
Max is most definitely one of the big and well-known manufacturers when it comes to static figures (even articulated) so, when you get from Max, you can expect a satisfying result from them. For starters the main difference of Ryoko is her head since Haruhi and Yuki already had their renditions of their school uniform versions from Max, which probably improved already as Ryoko was made. Ryoko's hair is quite remarkable and as I have said, her clothes and other details were probably polished versions of the ones from Haruhi and Yuki already. See below for some detail shots. ^^
Bonus Features:
One distinct feature of Max Ryoko is the option to switch what she is holding, by default, Ryoko's a sweet and innocent looking schoolgirl but BUT... like in the series, Max decided to let fans play with what she is holding by adding an additional hand which carries her trademark combat knife. It's up to you to decide on what to use. ^^
One remark I have in this is that it feels like Ryoko was really made to be in a figure shooting sessions as the paint job on her especially her hair, you will notice mixes of light and dark strokes, which might look awkward at first but once proper light hits her, you'd be amazed on how beautiful Ryoko would look like. :D
Base:
By viewing the image below, she has a big H colored in blue with her figure's information and her name on it. This gives the simple white base a bit more design and it somehow has its own appeal but that much on my part part though. But still, it is a little better compared to plain old boring white round base.
The major plus of this Ryoko is that despite being released years ago, it stands out too well. A really decent piece of sculpt and imagine at that time how much she's priced compared to today's figures which gives you quite small products but at insane rates of prices.
Face and Photogenic Appeal - 10/10
Body and Sculpt - 10/10
Bonus Feature - 10/10
Paint - 10/10
Base - 8/10
Price - 10/10
Average: 9.67/10
Now for some final remarks:
You shouldn't judge everything by its cover XD
Like her personality, this figure is pretty much something you'll begin appreciate once you see it first hand as one of my friends from Otakai said that it was too late for him to recognize the figure's beauty when he saw this as I got it from the riuva sale. If you like Yanderes, even if Ryoko isn't one, this figure is also really good at posing as one. And a my personal opinion, this Ryoko is the second best Ryoko out there right now, with first being FREEing's 1/4 scale Bunny verison.
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