Tag: kuroyukihime

Kuroyukihime – Black Dress ver

A small figure for today:

A small chibi figure of Kuroyukihime, from Accel World. With this figure, I like the hair and the outfit, but not sure if the face fits – her face seems to lack the “severity” of Kuroyukihime, as it is rounded and her expression is almost smiling. Just feel it could be tweaked a bit to give off more of a Kuro vibe… However, what is there looks nice for what it is. Her dress is nicely sculpted, and her shoes fit well with the outfit – my only real complaint is that the flower is pretty much covering up the silver butterfly detail at the top. I feel the flower could’ve been a tad smaller so the butterfly could show. 

Mask:

Bendy! Haven’t got around to fixing this – some heat and cold water should fix this, but this figure is going to be prone to this part bending.. Well, better than it breaking tbh. The mask itself looks the part and is painted well.

Left:

Not too much to see from the sides. The hair strands look nice, but not too much detail in her hair otherwise. She has a sculpted ear, which is nice, and her shoes look good.

Right:

Here we get the mast, but it does appear to float from this side, as she isn’t gripping it. 

Back:

Again, not too much to see. I do like the strands on the lower half of her hair though. Just wish there was more to her upper hair so she looks a little less like a billiard ball, though this is fairly typical for chibi figures. At least the shade is nice and compliments her. 

Overall, I find this above average for chibi trading figures, as the design means there isn’t a bunch of paint slop. I don’t think it’s winning any awards for being a Kuroyukihime figure, but in its way, it is a nice figure. Just be prepared to have to straighten out the mask handle. This figure is usually pretty cheap though, if it comes up, so it is good for the price.

Kuroyukihime – Accel World – Incognito Avatar Ver

Whilst there aren’t so many Black Lotus figures, there’s plenty of Kuroyukihime… so here’s one more!

This figure was nicer out of the box than I was expecting. The mask is painted well, the dress has some shading, and her face looks really nice. Also the base isn’t boring and plain.

Face:

The eyes are nicely detailed, and don’t feel as overly heavy in the linework as the ones on the FuRyu one I looked at recently. I love the butterfly attaching her collar to her dress, and the rose is a nice addition. 

Mask:

The colours complement each other well, and are within the lines. Is a really nice piece. 

Base:

These butterflies are silver and are decently reflective. It goes well with the dressed-up party theme. Her shoes do look a bit on the “painted on” side. but aren’t too bad imo.

Left:

Her hair isn’t shaded, but I don’t think it detracts that much from the figure. Having the dress shaded though does make a good bit of difference to the look of the figure and I’m glad they did it. Here you can see the shading they have on the back of her legs – from the side it looks OK, but from the back it looks kind of like she has sunburn. 

Right:

She has a nice armband on this side – butterfly-themed ofc :). I like the way her hands are posed as it gives a sense of motion to her.  Most of the hair is stranded, which makes it look good. 

Back:

Here you can see the sunburn on the back of her legs. Her legs are nicely shaped though, and her hair is sculpted nicely. 

Overall, I really like this figure. I may get the recoloured variant at some point in the future. Super-glad I picked this one up. 

Black Lotus – Accel World – FuRyu

This was a figure I didn’t expect to see, so was really happy when I did. As it wasn’t overpriced, it was an instabuy. So here she is:

There aren’t too many figures of Kuroyukihime in her avatar form, so gotta buy them all :). According to MFC, I have all but two exclusive model kits, which are too rare for me to obsessively track down.

And, as usual, she’s a bit hard to photograph, with her main colour being black. Her finish isn’t too even, and being a flat colour, this is pretty noticeable. Not entirely a surprise though, as she is a prize figure. She is nicely posed though, in her battle mode.

“Face” close-up:

I love that they’ve added all her small, purple details in. The ones in the middle shine more than the others such as the ones on her shoulders. The mask is a nice shade of purple, with the mildest hint of face.

Side of her head:

Here you can see where the finish isn’t entirely even. The purple parts of her head spikes have been included, but these points are prone to bending, which can be seen with her left spike. I may fix this at some point, but it will be a mild pain to do so.

Left:

If you look closely at her arm spike, this presents the largest issue I have with the finish – here you can see the splotchiness I was referring to. And here we get a good look at her support stand, which manages to be not too intrusive. Here we can see where her legs are extended out, showing the purple areas – I do rather like her in this mode. The way she’s posed makes me feel like she means business.

Close-up on the legs:

The translucent plastic is what really makes this figure imo. I think this came out well.

Right:

Not too different from the left. The base is plain, but holds the figure up just fine. Gives a good contrast, if you’re looking at her from an angle that the base is behind her. 

Arm close-up:

This one has a better finish to it than the other one. The trianglar & diamond-shaped parts came out well imo. If the finish was even like this all over, I’d strongly recommend it as a prize figure, but with the finish flaws it draws it more back to average.

Detailing:

More purple! Still loving these litle deails throughout – the one on her am and skirt. 

Back:

Her back is well-sculpted, and she has the fins on the back of her legs. I think she really does have the spiky, slender appearance from the back.

Stand:

The stand goes into a small hole in her left leg. It’s a bit of a fiddle to get in there, but sturdier than I thought it would be. She stands fine, without wobbling, unless you poke her. I like this stand, as I don’t find it too intrusive, and it holds her in the air well. Being metal, they have been able to make it quite thin, so it feels like it stands out less than a plastic clip or pokey stand.Overall, I’d recommend this figure to someone who wants all things Black Lotus, and those who want a cheapish figure as they like the character design. I don’t think I’d recommend her to a general collector, due to prize figure flaws. I’m happy with her though, and glad to add her to my collection. 

Kuroyukihime – Tea-drinking edition

So.. finally! The Japan loot! Which will be coming out in no particular order…. 

(Yes, it has taken me over a month to finally get to this point…)

First up, here we have Kuroyukihime engaging in a suitably British pastime of drinking tea:

She has quite a cute expression on her face. The paint job does a good job of texture, but not one of shading. Her coat does get affected in this photo, but I don’t think it’s as bad irl. Though the buttons are the same colour as the coat, which doesn’t change outside of this photo :P. 

Close-up of her face:

Her face is fairly decent – a bit heavy-handed with the linework. The hair is pretty simple, and is pretty flat where it isn’t stranded. 

The tea:

Yep, looks like a more British brew, than an Asian one. Tea doesn’t quite get to all the edges of the tea surface, so it does leave a bit of a “shallow cup” look to it. Because of the way the tea is angled, you don’t tend to see much of it anyway. 

Left:

This figure shows the figure in a better light, and pretty close to its actual look. If you’re wondering how she sits on this chair, there are a couple of dimples at the front of it, which she rests in.You can still easily nudge her out of them, but they’re good enough for display purposes. Here we can see a little bit of rough painting on the edging on her skirt. It’s a little inconsistent most of the way around. 

Right:

Little bit of a scuff visible in her hair. There are a couple of these. Here we can see the attempt at shading in her hair. It’s fairly abrupt imo, but there’s less of a contrast when looking at it irl, so it’s not too visible. again, the skirt edging is a bit messy. The skirt is folded nicely, but feels a little stiff, as that’s the only crease there is. that isn’t pleats. 

Back:

Slightly roughly-hewn chair XD. Just plain white back here. The chair connects to the base with 4 pegs – these were an absolute arse to get in place. Even with heat they were difficult, and I was a bit worried about breaking them. I don’t think I’ll disconnect the chair from the base, lest I snap a peg or two. 

Chair, no Kuroyukihime:

The front of the chair has some blue shading for the middle bit, though it’s nothing to write home about. On mine, there are stray paint blobs too, which aren’t too visible here. Here we can see the dimples that keep her in place, and why they’re not super-effective at it, being fairly shallow. 

Overall, it’s reasonably decent for a prize figure. I think this is one more for the Kuroyukihime fans than anyone else. From a small distance away, she’s a pretty decent figure, but doesn’t really stand up to close scrutiny. I think she’s a bit hard to find an optimal viewing angle too. I’m pleased to have this figure, even though I don’t think it’ll be winning any awards. 

Kuroyukihime – Accel World – Nendoroid

Normally I don’t buy Nendoroid, but this one is Kuroyukihime so I decided to make an exception based on the subject and the price:

I love this outfit of Kuroyukihime’s and she had her umbrella too, so I couldn’t say no. The figure is painted well, and the shiny butterflies stand out. I also really like the cute, smiling face.

Here she is with Arita in avatar form:

She also has an arm so she can hold Arita in her arms, but I didn’t take a picture of this. I likely won’t display her like that, as she can’t both hold him and her umbrella, and I like the umbrella too much. Arita looks cute and well-painted. I love the fact he is much smaller, as I can imagine him being so in Kuroyukihime’s presence.

Left:

Here we can see her hair, which is less detailed from the side, but this is standard for Nendoroids. It is shaded though, so it doesn’t look bad. I didn’t take a shot of the right, as it’s mostly umbrella, or similar to this if I took it out of her hands.

Back:

Love her wings. The moulding details help them stand out, and the colours chosen are good. Arita has his tail, which is about all you’d expect from this angle.

Umbrella:

The umbrella has some texture to it, which helps show those touches that go into official figures over bootlegs. It helps give it a fabric-y feel. The rim is also painted nicely, which frames it well. The handle for the umbrella is also painted neatly, especially given its small size.

Overall, I really like this Nendoroid and I don’t feel it overdoes the chibi. Some Nendoroids I’m put off by the proportions, but for this one I feel it works. Glad to have another Kuroyukihime in my collection.

Kuroyukihime – Sega PM Figure

Found this randomly on MFC, and decided I ‘needed’ it. So went and found it on Mandarake and ordered it:

image

I love the pose of this figure, and the partially transparent clothes. Not a big fan of the split in her dress on her left side – would’ve preferred this to be whole. Her hair isn’t as dark as it should be imo, but it still looks pretty, if not really accurate. 

Close-up of her face:

She has a cute face, nothing special. Her frills don’t seem to be white, but I think this is for the best as they’d clash with Kuroyukihime’s clothes too much. 

Dress close-up:

The fading is really nice, but the plastic does give off prize figure vibes. 

Shoes:

Love these cute heels and the ribbons around her ankle. They’ve put some of the butterflies on the base, which give it an accent. 

Left:

Here we can see her wings – I think they were a nice idea, but didn’t quite work in execution. The contrast between the colours doesn’t make them blend well and don’t match with the style of the figure, which I think is a bit of a shame. There’s a nod to matching with the fading, but it’s much sharper than the clothing, which doesn’t help it match. A smoother fade would’ve helped them look nicer too imo. 

Close-up of the wings:

Here you can see the fade better – towards the bottom is decent, but not a fan of the upper wing portions. Looking at the lines like this, I much prefer the lower part, where the lines are much thinner and closer to each other, than the scribbled business going on at the top. 

Close-up of her skirt:

Here we can see the clothing break, which doesn’t look realistic, and I rather they didn’t do this. Fade on the back part of her dress probably is best admired without close scrutiny. 

Foot:

Here we get a closer look at the butterflies on the base – simple but effective. Her foot is glued to this part of the base, and this slots into the round disc. 

Right:

Her arms are posed well, and give a good sense of motion. Here we have some derpy black lines at the top of the upper wing. I think Kuroyukihime would’ve spent more time designing her wings to get them looking good than the artist did here. Bottom wing is more Kuroyukihime. 

Back:

The wings are quite striking from this angle. I like the use of colour, but I think the pattern could’ve been neater. 

Close-up of the wing joints:

No real blending here, as they slot into her back as four separate pieces. They were a bit of a pain to get in – you have to be careful to not knock other ones out whilst doing it. Also, don’t be surprised if you have to heat her back up to get them in. Once in, they haven’t fallen out though. 

Overall, I think she’s a striking display piece, who isn’t necessarily character-accurate, but a fun interpretation of Kuroyukihime, that isn’t similar to other versions of her (not including the repaint version). I think this one is more of one to admire at a distance, as close-up scrutiny is likely to reveal paint flaws and little oddities. 

Kuroyukihime & Arita Haruyuki – Banpresto

I saw these appear on an Urban Mine auction some time ago, but I believe that they went for more than I wanted to pay for them.

Then I was just browsing Mandarake randomly – and found they were in the store! And for the grand sum of ¥100! I quickly put a Mandarake order together for these two, and they arrived some time later. 

So here they are:

image

Yay! A cute pair of prize figures. Arita’s avatar form isn’t much to look at, but it has been nicely painted. Kuroyukihime in avatar form though… is nicely detailed and well-painted. Definitely worthy of a B-Prize. Kuroyukihime’s base has her name on, and does have some of a design, but it’s mostly covered up by her dress. I like the way Arita’s base has a curly pink tail on it, and he sits in the middle, but it would’ve been nice to have his name on the base, to match Kuroyukihime’s. 

Left:

image

Here we can see Kuroyukihime’s wings, which have been well reproduced in chibi-form. She has two pegs on her feet and this head stand, so she is stable. The dress is a nice texture, but her hair is on the shiny side. We can also see Arita’s cute, curly tail. 

Right:

Nice amount of strands in her hair on this side, helping it not look flat, though the top of the hair is standard for this kind of chibi figure. 

Back:

Here we can see more of the wings, which have been very nicely done. The paint and detailing is good. The dress also looks really nice, with the purple trim and the folded fabric. Not much to see with Arita, not that anything is really expected. His ears are shaped nicely though. 

Super-pleased with this set. I don’t usually go for these small chibi figures, but I really like this pair. Her hair does suffer from prize-figure shininess, but the rest of her is really well done. Glad I picked these up, especially for the cheap price! 

And just before I finish this blog, a quick addition:

I also bought these with this Mandarake order, but they’re not really worthy of their own blog post XD. Been on the fence about ordering them for some time, but decided to go for it. They’re a nice addition to one of my keychain rails. I think they look better than I was expecting, but I don’t think they’ll be a “favourite thing”. Still happy to get Evangelion loot though :D. 

Accel World – Kuroyukihime

This is an “odds n’ sods” blog of two items. First up, we have a keyring of Kuroyukime:

She’s in her school avatar outfit, which has been rendered nicely in a simplified form. She was added to a Mandarake order, to fill it up to the customs threshold. Glad I added her. 

And another Kuroyukihime in figure form:

This one was in my Suruga-ya order, because she was cute and pouty :P. 

From the side:

Bit of mould markings. The arm with the shirt was a pain – it didn’t want to stay in. Finally got it in and staying though.

Back:

Her hair looks OK for a trading figure. She was pretty much order filler, but she’ll find a space among some of my other trading figures. The paintwork is OK, but she’s nothing special. 

And that’s my random bits featuring Kuroyukihime :). And I think I’ve finally learned to spell her name, with English letters at least.