Well, folks, it’s finally happened: we’re down to the last announced member of Kotobukiya’s ArtFX J Yu Yu Hakusho figure line. So far we have taken a look at Hiei (review), Yusuke (review), Kurama (review), and Kazuma (review), which leaves us with only one character… well, actually, this is a character we have already seen before (technically). Kurama got the honor of not one but two figures, because his second form is unquestionably awesome enough to warrant one.
This is the figure I’ve been looking to most in the line, which is no surprise to anyone considering how much I love animal ears/tails and clear PVC. We rarely see these on male figures… in fact, I’m just going to say we never do, because I have 2,000 PVC figures and not a single one is male with these two traits. So of course I was excited as heck for Kurama. Let’s hit the jump and get this kemonomimi party started!
It’s a box! Wow. Look at that box. It didn’t even get soggy when I put it in the super wet leaves, which was obviously a great decision on my part.
Like most of Kotobukiya’s figures, there’s almost no assembly. Free Kurama from layers upon layers of plastic wrap, pop him on the base and voila! All ready for your shelf.
Is Yoko Kurama a wolf or an arctic fox? I’d go with wolf looking at him, but I actually Googled something this time (astounding, I know!) and he’s a kitsune! Which should not be a surprise because this is Japan.
The ArtFX J line is aimed at a broad range of collectors: they make very reasonably priced figures of much-loved characters from older animes and manga. They’re certainly not badly made by any stretch of the imagination (as you’ve seen in our reviews of these guys and the Yu-Gi-Oh crew!), but the budget constraints usually mean we don’t get to see the crazier high-quality sculpting that is on Koto’s more pricy figures. Yoko Kurama, however, is definitely a huge step up from the rest of the crew. Just look at his hair.
IT’S SO PRETTY
AND THE TAIL
It looks so fluffy, I want to pet him. However the edges are kind of sharp so I’d recommend against this. Not that I tried or anything.
The detailed sculpt extends to his robe, which is flowing all over the place. The sculpting is very crisp and ridiculously detailed for his price point.
He’s also got a gorgeous face, with sleek slitted eyes that are far from the norm on an anime figure. They’re also incredibly easy to focus on if you are doing a figure shoot… not that it’s something you need to take into account when purchasing a figure, but I thought I’d throw it out there.
My favorite part of Kurama? His little fox ears, of course! They’re so cute and pink.
PER-SO-NA!
Like the rest of the crew (sans Kazuma), Yoko Kurama comes with an extra display option. His is a gun-hand, which is probably part of an attack but I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of the show so to me he’s pretending to be in Persona 3.
I prefer this option for display, though it comes with one downside: you can see a kind of unsightly seamline on the underside of his arm where it meets his body with this piece in. It melds in when he’s on a shelf and is really only visible up close, but still, the seam is a lot less noticeable with the first display option.
His base is the same as the rest of the line: a simple clear plastic colored disk (in this case, aqua), with a pattern based on his powers. Also it’s so tiny. It makes it so you can display them all together very easily without taking up a huge amount of shelf space.
If you didn’t guess yet, Yoko Kurama is my clear favorite from the line. His sculpt is a huge step up in quality, with some ridiculously awesome hair & tail action going on. Throw in a badass face and his adorable little ears and my heart is melting. I like him just as much as any of my girl figures, which is a rare trait I almost never find in male PVC (unless it’s a character I know and love). Should you get him? HELL YEAH. Did you see the ear shot?!
Thanks to my lovely & talented kitty assistant Samkin, who decided it would be super fun to rub up against Kurama and knock him over at any given opportunity. We’ll be featuring a bonus gallery of kitty fun on the site tomorrow!
Purchase At: KotoUS | Big Bad Toystore | AmiAmi
[Thanks to Kotobukiya for providing Plastikitty with this review sample]