Andrew interrupts the E3 news flood with some figure reviews.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/34512
E3 is upon us, and what better way to prepare for the annual parade of booth babes than with a look at some beautiful ladies from one of last generation's hidden gems on the Wii?
For those of you out there unfortunate enough to have not heard of (let alone played) Muramasa: The Demon Blade, meet Momohime and Kongiku. Momohime - literally translated as "Princess Peach", clearly no relation - is an Edo period princess who becomes possessed by Jinkuro, a vengeful spirit seeking political power. While blackmailed by her unwelcome guest, she heads out on a journey to reclaim her freedom and her past.
Kongiku is a kitsune yokai (fox demon) who takes a liking to Jinkuro and guides the body-sharing duo on their quest across feudal Japan.
The gorgeous box designs feature multiple windows with petals and leaves.
These two figures were crafted by manufacturer Alter, based on sculpts by Noritaka Fukumoto. While they aren't posable, each comes with a unique little feature allowing you to customize it slightly.
When even the package is a work of art...
...you know you can expect quality.
Momohime comes with an alternate hand to grip her sword sheath and sleeve that changes the angle of her arm slightly, which lets you choose between two poses. She can either wield her katana blade in one hand, or have it partially-unsheathed as she prepares for battle.
Ready to chop some oni heads.
Lovely detail on every surface!
The foxy Kongiku holds a paper lantern, which is illuminated by the human souls she has captured within. You can recreate this effect by twisting and unscrewing the bottom of the lantern and inserting two hearing aid batteries. The bottom of the lamp then works as a switch to turn the light on and off by partially turning it.
Kongiku in her human disguise (she really didn't want to draw attention?)
This picture is focusing on the lantern. Really!
It won't light your room but it's still a cool detail.
Both of these figures are simply gorgeous, the sculpts are true to the art seen in the game down to the finest of details. The painting is flawless, with intricately detailed facial features and simulated textures of rock, cloth, metal and even carefully crafted transparent plastic simulating rushing water. They stand roughly 24cm tall at 1/8th scale of their life-sized estimates, with Kongiku standing a little taller than Momohime just like in the game.
Edo period's most beautiful.
Momohime originally released back in 2010, but due to extremely limited supply she sold out very quickly and was long sought-after. Fortunately due to the extreme demand, she was re-released late last year. Kongiku hit store shelves last month around the same time as the Pit Figma, and no word has yet been given on any further reissues of either figure.
Due to these figures' size and rarity they're a little harder to get a hold of on eBay, but if you're a fan of the game, or at least of pretty girl figures, you can respect and appreciate the detail and effort put into capturing these memorable and beautiful characters.
Thanks for reading as always. I'll be pretty busy with E3 for the remainder of the week, but Justin and I may put together a special E3 swag edition of Mariobilia in a few days if we get time amongst the flood of news.
Until then, check out the gallery below!
Topic: Feudal Figures: Muramasa the Demon Blade (Read 2469 times)
