I missed the release of this Ryofu figure in the transitory period between jobs and moving house last winter, and it was much to my chagrin that I discovered her after she’d seemingly vanished from store shelves. A few months ago Amiami must have dug up a couple of copies from a musty corner of their warehouse because she was listed for a short time once again, and I eagerly availed myself of the opportunity to procure her. Word is in from Yamato that she’ll be reissued in October, so if you missed her in the first round she’ll be widely available again soon! While not produced to the absolute best spec possible, this is one of those figures with a certain special something…
Original Design: Shiozaki Yuuji
Sculptor: Ishida Eiichi (Studio DRESS)
Source: Ikkitousen (manga, anime)
Scale: 1/7 (22.5 cm tall)
Materials: PVC, ABS
Release Date: January 31st, 2007 (October 2007 reissue scheduled)
Production: Yamato
Price: 7,140 JPY (tax included)
Current Availability: [KNC] [HLJ] [HS] [TL] [AAA]
Support HD!: [PA] [PA] [JLIST] [YA]
If a picture is worth a thousand words, 131 pictures must be worth 131,000 words, right? That’s a novel in itself, and unless I keep myself in check I’ll find myself hitting the WordPress post character limit in an attempt write another novel full of superlative adjectives expounding on the awesomeness of this kit. First, the facts: the figure is based on the illustration of Ryofu that graces the cover of Ikkitousen manga volume 3:
While little of the harsh, vindictive nature of Ryofu‘s character is captured in this kit, that lack is more than made up for by its sheer physicality. This figure exudes pheromones like very few other PVCs I’ve had the pleasure of coming in contact with, and whether cast off or (skimpily) clothed is one of the most blazing hot 3D representations of a 2D character I’ve ever seen. The figure’s only slight weaknesses are a less than perfect face sculpt and a few production flaws (detailed casting of the hands could be better, the very obvious seam at the right shoulder, a brown paint mark on her left sock and a few minor scuffs from the cast off process); overall nothing that really detracts from her appeal.
This is an item that I would recommend without hesitation to anyone enamored of sexy pieces of plastic, though die hard Ryofu fans may find her neutral expression a drawback; regardless, if you have no social life to speak of and no reason to invite people into your personal dwelling space I can’t think of a good reason not to pick her up. :3
Overall Score: 9/10
++ amazingly sexy sculpt
+ looks great both cast on and cast off, thanks to clever jacket engineering
+ very nice paint job where it counts
o casting and assembly are rough around the edges (hands, shoulders)
o a few unnecessary paint scuffs
- yet another item you’ll have to hide should you be visited by a member of respectable society
As mentioned above, those desirous of losing all traces of decency can preorder Ryofu right now for her planned October reissue. You can help out HD should you be so inclined by ordering from Play Asia, J-List or Yes Asia, but this time around Hobby Search seems to be the most sensible option on the pocketbook.
Yeah…WOW she is a nice figure!!! I think jpg 73 really shows the “flow” of the figure greatly. Very very nice!
I’m already getting the Gothic Lolita one but this one is a nice contender!
Good review!
I like the gothic lolita one as well, especially the multiple layers of castoff potential. I’m looking forward to reviewing her when she comes out… :D
Love picture 87
I’d have to say this is the best looking Ryofu PVC i’ve seen to date. All the great Ikkitousen models are being released around this time — great time to be a fan.
Shall have to order her myself~
Great review, nice pics… just picked one of these up myself on eBay. What I can’t figure out is how to actually do the castoff for her. The skirt is a single piece and way too tight to slide off, and the jacket doesn’t seem to have any seams or anything!
Just picked one of these up myself, though its stashed away till I can find somewhere ‘safe’ to display it.
I didn’t realise it had castoff until I opened the box to see a slightly oddly worded warning inside the box lid.
Having the same problem as ZeroGFrame, can’t see how the castoff works and im a little to scared to start trying to take things apart that arn’t meant to come apart.
I love how these things never come with instructions. ^_^
I can see how to remove her right sleeve; there’s an opening on the inside, so it sort of “peels” off. But other than that, I too don’t want to start experimenting. And while I could probably force the skirt off, I don’t see how it can possibly be put back on again, so again I’m not risking it.
On checking out a few other articles about this figure i’ve managed to work out you can seperate the torso from the legs, the join is just above her underwear.
The skirt is probably removable at that point. I say probably becuase it looks likely you can remove it with a little force, but that not something i’m keen to do. (especially with the warning about paint skuffs on the lid)
The jacket I can see several seems but again its not something im keen to mess around with without some clear guidance. Im also left wondering if once the jacket is off can it be put back on?
>>Gandalf, ZeroGFrame
This kit is a relatively easy castoff job. From the pictures in this review you can clearly see the seam at her waist where her torso is removable from her hips; her skirt can be slipped off quite easily following the separation.
Her jacket is a bit trickier, but is built explicitly to be removed (and replaced); I can document the process in more detail if you’re interested.
>>Shingo
I just got this figure too and would also like to know how to remove the jacket.
Thanks in advance.
Just a note for those curious about the Ryofu castoff process: I’ve explained it in a bit more detail in this post.
Thanks, Shingo, for the explanation! Very helpful! However, I’m still a little hesitant to remove the skirt… it really doesn’t look easy to get it back on. Is there a trick to it, or is it just easier than it looks? ^_^;
>>ZeroGFrame
The only trick with the skirt is pulling the correct side off first, but with some firm but gentle tugging you should be able to figure out where the easiest place is to start – after that it basically pops off (and back on again). Quite a painless procedure, with the copy of the kit I have anyway. I’d imagine the individual variation between them isn’t great enough to make it much more difficult regardless.
Thanks for posting that guide Shingo, it was really helpful.
Skirt was a little tricky to get off, and the left elbow was a serious pain but I got it done in the end :)
Luckily it seems to be made of a very flexible plastic, so there is actually a fair amount of give when taking it off.
Yeah, thanks Shingo! I guess I was unnecessarily overly concerned. ^_^