Misaka Mikoto | Through the Shattered Lens

It may have been awhile since I’ve done an It Figures post, but anyone that’s followed the site with any regularity knows that they’re here to read posts by Lisa Marie Bowman, or maybe Arleigh, but if they’re here to read anything from pantsukudasai56, then they’re in for a long wait in between entries. My latest entry was about a little show called Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, and keeping with that theme, I have the latest figure I’ve received who also happens to be the protagonist of that show, Misaka Mikoto.

First off, this box is big enough to hold an entire Spartan. Is that Master Chief in there? Ok, I really only took this pic as a sort of comparison. My TV is a 55″ screen, so you can see just how big that box is. Incidentally, the show that I’m watching is Yozakura Quartet. All in all it’s a pretty average show, so there won’t be a post dedicated to it, but it’s not like it’s a terrible show. Just one of those shows you watch if you have nothing better to do. Anyways, that’s all I’ll ever mention of the show, and no, Master Chief is not in this box, although he would almost fit (not really) The box winds up being 9180 square inches of space. By far the largest box I’ve ever received from Glorious Nippon, but is this the size of the figure I’m reviewing?

No. There’s two figures in here. Still, two figures for a box this size is pretty impressive. The other figure is of the Princess of the Crystal by Good Smile Company, and she in herself is almost worth a post. But today we’re focusing just on the FREEing Misaka Mikoto (FREEing is also a subsidiary of Good Smile Company, so getting the two in one box makes a certain amount of sense)

Even though it’s not as large as you’d think coming from a shipping box that size, this is still a 1/4 scale figure, which is FREEing’s forte. While they also do the normal 1/6 to 1/8 scale figures, they’re mostly known for doing the larger 1/4 scale figures. For those who don’t quite get what I’m saying, it basically means that if you increased this figure’s size 4 times what it currently is, you’d have a life size figure. For the curious, 1/1 size figures do exist, and they also cost several thousands of dollars. Far more than even this reviewer can afford to spend on a figure, regardless of how awesome it would be to own one.

The first thing I’d like to point out about this figure is a big difference between her and most other figures. A lot of other figure collectors would probably spot this right away, but for the uninitiated, here’s something to look at. She doesn’t have a standard base like so many other figures. That stool is what supports her, an unlike a lot of other figures, she’s not attached to it by pegs or screws. She’s just sitting on it, with most of the figure weight being put directly on the stool, and a small amount being put on her foot which is touching the floor. While this is an interesting choice, it also leads to the possibility that she will not be quite as stable as a figure that has a base that it’s pegged in to. Still, from my experimentation, it seems that she will remain quite stable, so the chances of her falling off the base are fairly slim, unless you live in an area that experiences a lot of earthquakes.

The backside of this figure stays faithful to the bunny girl motif that Japan (and I) so dearly love. FREEing is well known for its bunny girl figures, having done them for highly popular series like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and lesser know but still well loved series like Sora no Otoshimono, so naturally they’re not letting their customers down with this series. This is actually their second figure from the series, with “good friend” Kuroko Shirai already having debuted in a similar outfit. So, they’re no strangers to making sure that their figures look good from any angle.

Dear Jeebus, she had no face! Ok, this is a fairly new thing for the 1/4 scale FREEing figures. Usually with this line, you get what you’re given and that’s that. But for these figures, they’ve given us the option of changing out the faces. The face that I showed you earlier had her smiling. That’s all well and good for most people, but for fans of the series and people that feel they know Mikoto well, that just isn’t good enough.

This face is much more suitable to her. Anyone that has watched the series would know that if Mikoto were to find herself forced to wear a bunny girl outfit, that she would be very uncomfortable doing so. So it’s great that FREEing had the foresight to include a second face that makes Mikoto look as though she is highly embarrassed to be seen wearing such an outfit. Now, to each their own of course, so if you liked the previous face then by all means display her as such. However, for people like myself who feel that Mikoto would normally show a lot more restraint in this situation, this secondary face is a great addition to the figure and I’m thrilled that FREEing gave us a choice.

One other aspect that I’d like to focus on is the stockings. This just goes to show the attention to detail that FREEing made to this figure. It would have been so easy for them to just paint the stockings on and call it good, but that’s not what FREEing is all about. You can’t easily tell from this picture, but I’m here to tell you that those stockings are actual net stockings and not just painted on. What I mean by that is, I can grab a portion of the stockings and pull them off from her legs. Now, granted, you can’t actually removed the stockings entirely, but the fact that they are actual fabric stockings and not just molded plastic means a lot to figure fans. These small attention to details makes a figure like this worth putting in ones collection.

All in all, a big part of FREEing’s draw is the sheer size of their figures. Not many companies make figures larger than a 1/6 size. But regardless, if it was a large sized figure with poorly sculpted features, it wouldn’t matter what size it was. With the inclusion of a secondary face, FREEing tackles any problem I might have had with this figure, and makes it one that would be welcome any any serious collector’s home. This kind of attention to detail is exactly what we all expect when we get a figure related to Good Smile Company.

Hello again all. Technically I’ve been away for awhile. On the other technical hand, anything anime posted here has been because of me since I am Arleigh’s primary anime supply source. So, since I love taking credit without doing any actual work, yay me for bringing all those great AMVs and other anime recommendations. (Also, don’t believe everything I write, especially in these opening bits since they’re usually alcohol influenced) So, even though it’s my birthday today, I’ll be giving you all the gift of a new anime recommendation, Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, or in English, A Certain Scientific Railgun.

I debated recommending this particular title not because it isn’t any good. It’s a very good title that’s quite worthy of being watched. Rather, this is a spinoff from another franchise, Toaru Majutsu no Index, or A Certain Magical Index, and in explores a character from that show, Misaka Mikoto, more in depth. However, while I feel that this show can be easily enjoyed without having seen the main franchise, at some points it does assume that the viewer has seen Index and is familiar with the world that they both share. In both worlds, certain people are born with special esper powers that grant them certain abilities. The protagonist here, Misaka (her first name is actually Mikoto, but I’ve heard it said the Japanese way of family name first so often that it just sounds better to call her by her last name of Misaka) is one of only seven level 5 espers in Academy City, which is where all people who have the potential to become espers are brought. Her particular talent is manipulating electricity and electromagnetic waves, hence she is often referred to as the Railgun. She often uses this power much the same way you’d expect a 14 year old to use a power like that, rather selfishly, such as zapping soda machines to get free drinks. But even though she often does minor things like that, she is a Level 5, and as such is quite capable of doing large scale things, like even controlling every wind turbine in the city!

One of the big draws to this show is definitely the humor, and Misaka’s roommate Kuroko brings a lot of that. Kuroko is a Level 4 esper, so while not quite as powerful as Misaka, she’s still plenty strong in her own right. Her ability is teleportation, not only of her self but of anyone or anything she touches. Kuroko also has a bit of an unhealthy obsession with Misaka. She goes about showing her love in some rather, well, here is a fine example:

And that’s fairly mild, for Kuroko. Yes, she’s that kind of girl, but she is capable of getting serious since this show isn’t all about comedy. In fact, it gets downright dark, especially with the Sisters Arc in the second season. Even events in the first season aren’t all fun and games, but there is certainly a lot more comedy in that one than the second. The first season also see a lot more of two characters who are I believe exclusive to the Railgun series, Uiharu and Saten. They both get a good amount of screen time during the Level Upper Arc, while Misaka takes a bit of a back seat for some of that and their characters are fleshed out more than you’d expect from supporting characters. Saten and Uiharu are also responsible for another of the running gags in the show, where Saten can’t seem to start her day without giving Uiharu a skirt flip.

At its heart though, it definitely gives off more of an action vibe than a pure comedy one, so if juvenile humor isn’t your thing, there’s plenty of other stuff to enjoy, like watching Kuroko use her teleportation abilities to warp spikes at people, or Misaka showing why you shouldn’t piss off a level 5 electromaster. Once you get a feel for the world they’re in, the show is very accessible to anyone, but there are also plenty of little nods to the Index world that fans of both can get a lot of enjoyment out of them too. If you like action, drama, and comedy, then this is the anime for you. If not, then I suppose go watch K-ON. But I’ll tell you this much, K-ON doesn’t have scenes like this!