The first round of the explosively popular Shuraki multimedia figure series concludes with the appearance of Rize, Italian Shuraki and member of the mysterious White Raven organization. Armed with a massive halberd and clad in a diaphanous blue gown, her design is surely a match for any of her predecessors – but how does she compare in figure form? Read on for the final installment in our Shuraki review series (until the second batch is announced):
Original Design: Yano Takumi (矢野たくみ)
Sculptor: Kaiya Hajime (Acetone)
Source: Shuraki (multimedia figure series)
Scale: 1/8 (20 cm tall)
Option Parts: polearm, damage version blouse, skirt
Materials: PVC
Extras: Illustration Book, Drama CD (74 minutes)
Release Date: May 31st, 2008
Production: Goodsmile, Red Entertainment
Price: 6,800 JPY (tax included)
Current Availability: [HS] [HLJ] [TL] [KN]
Support HD!: [YA]
Related: Shuraki vol. 1 Mishiro, Shuraki vol. 2 Meifeng, Shuraki vol. 4 Nida

Character Description
Translated from her official Shuraki page:
“An Italian Shuraki. 19 years old, 163 cm tall. A member of the Europe-based secret society White Raven. Rize has a dignified yet playful bearing, and a gentle and affectionate personality. She tends not to take things too seriously, which gives her a cold reception from Nida, with whom she’s often paired as a team within the organization.
Her position within the brutal organization is as something of a “mood maker”, keeping things light by interjecting out-of-place comments into a serious atmosphere. She has questions about placing herself into the present bloody conflict, and has been known to chafe against orders from her superiors, but not to the extent of thinking of actively defying their wishes.
In battle she uses a halberd polearm, and is an expert in “fixed-range” combat and keeping enemies out of reach.”
Drama CD Description
Shuraki Drama CD Vol. 5: Stroking the Wings of the White Raven
Starring: Shintani Ryouko as Rizfis Luttiva MenteTranslated from her official CD page:
“The end of the 19th century, in the kingdom of Italy, in the capital Rome. Known as “the daughter of the sun”, a girl named Rizu lived and was loved by the people. Tales tell that the girl became involved in the dark side of society – Shuraki, and became burdened with great sorrow.
That anger and determination surpassed space-time, and became a force that would move the world. “To influence this rotten history, with this hand to prove the change of everything”… The bloody dance of the Shuraki that began in the town of Kabazakura was about to take an astonishing turn!”
Package Contents
The most notable thing about Rize’s package is that it’s big. The size is made necessary primarily by the dimensions of her skirt, but it seems to me they could’ve packed things in a bit more tightly regardless; not really a strike against the kit, and it certainly conveys a feel of impressive finality. I like it when I don’t have to squeeze the box into my lighting setup, though.
Unlike with Nida there were no issues with the printing of Rize’s booklet; all elements of the package were essentially flawless.
For further information on Shuraki (the product) as well as Shuraki (the cosmology and storyline), see our reviews of the earlier entries in the series:
- Shuraki vol. 1 – Mishiro Akatsuki
- Shuraki vol. 2 – Riu (Liu) Meifeng
- Shuraki vol. 3 – Char (Shall) Rhousemann
- Shuraki vol. 4 – Nida (Needa) Schuetlich
Sculpt
Kaiya Hajime has a spotty track record when it comes to PVC releases, but shepherded by the production staff at Goodsmile he has produced not one but two solid hits for them this spring: Rize and Chu Chu Astram. Whether due to the inspiration of strict guidelines and adherence to the provided designs or some other reason he’s managed to create a very fetching figure here, one that fits quite well with the rest of the set alongside the work of sculptors with perhaps more distinguished portfolios.
The original Yano Takumi design for Rize is cute in a sort of generic bishoujo way, but gains significance and individuality in this 3D incarnation both in the fanciful dress sculpt as well as the rather traditional “idol pose” enhanced by the addition of a huge freaken halberd instead of a microphone. This generates two very distinct looks depending on the level of castoff which with the figure is displayed, both of which are quite effective. From the “two for the price of one” perspective this is one of the nicest kits in the series.
Production
Once again Goodsmile does an almost unbelievably phenomenal job here in every aspect of the kit’s production. The cast is very well rendered with crisp details and only the faint ghost of a mold line here and there, and other than the seams required for castoff no others are visible. The paint job presents an amazing variety of shading and subtle finishes from matte to gloss, and use of materials is even more sophisticated than usual with the translucent shell of her dress presenting a new landscape of texture in PVC.
The only minor criticism I have is with the seam around her midsection, which has been the Achilles heel of past Shuraki releases as well. It’s incredibly well done, but the gap is a bit pronounced in places and the skin around the back strap of her bra looks “bruised” – there’s no other way to describe it. Still, a very minor flaw and hardly worth mentioning.
Conclusion
Goodsmile’s Shuraki vol. 5 – Rizfis (Rize) Luttiva Mente figure is a work of art in PVC, and a fitting conclusion to the Shuraki series – a set which must be regarded among the greatest bishoujo figure achievements of the decade. The production and directorial staff managed to keep a consistent vision of quality and design aesthetic throughout, and it really paid off – one of the few times the hype seems to have been completely justified. There’s little else I can say at this point other than this: bring on Shuraki series 2! We’ll be watching closely for news of its official announcement in the coming weeks and months.
Once again a reminder that HD has reviewed the entire Shuraki lineup, and links to our earlier reviews in the series can be found linked above.
Overall Score: 10/10
If you would like to support HD with your purchase, Rize is currently available at YesAsia; other retail options are listed at the top of this post. Earlier figures in the Shuraki series are also available:
Shuraki vol. 3 Char will be in stock at J-List next week.
Looking ahead to a possible second series of Shuraki figures, the most likely candidates seem to be:


- Left: Mizuchi Towako, the distant relative of Meifeng and miko of the Kouryuu Shrine. First appeared in episode 2.
- Right: Monica Dread Olivier, a member of the White Ravens and comrade of Nida and Rize. First appeared in episode 2.
Both were designed by Igarashi Aki (五十嵐明姫) who also designed Mishiro, and as can be seen in the image below both are similarly positioned with the five Shuraki currently released:

We’ll be on the lookout for any concrete news regarding future Shuraki releases, so stay tuned!
Wow, excellent! Rizfis got me interested in the entire Shuraki series a few months ago. I’m happy to see she turned out marvelously in every aspect, and not just in in being a hot girl with a halberd. I can’t wait until my own arrives eventually. I’m poor so she’ll probly be the only one I’ll actually end up owning. I hope everyone survives the storyline though…
dang shingo… you’ve completed the set!!! SHURAKI PART DEUX??? what are some of the characters for the next series?
>>tweeter
I’d say Rize is a great choice (well, any of them are), though I do think quality steadily improved from awesome to astounding through the course of the series. She’s a super-nice figure.
>>Gandolf
I’ve edited the post with what’s currently known about the possible future figure entries in the Shuraki series. Here’s hoping for more information soon!
Simply excellent review Shingo. At first I didnt really care for Rize but reading your review and seeing your pics have changed that. She looks fantastic, her face in particular, shes just too darn cute.
Great review as always Shingo!
I had to cancel Rize but I recently got some extra cash so I’m hoping I can order her when HLJ opens orders. Hobby Search’s EMS shipping kills me since I live in Hawaii.
I’m really looking forward to the next series of Shuraki figures most notably Monica!
Can’t wait for mine to arrive, I had 2, 4 and 5 ship together on Friday.
I hope they do more of them, if only because the quality of the figures is so good. The Shuraki setting itself also seems rife with opportunity for further expansion – I’m surprised they haven’t done a game or anything yet.
@NegativeZero
I can agree with you on the options for expansion on the Shuraki setting. Feels the same for me as the Queen’s Blade series.
I expect for atleast one of these we’ll see a manga adaptation pop up.
Well thanks Shingo, your review has won me over. YES, I love her even more now and YES, I regret canceling my preorder.
@Nyx
Same place where I canceled my preorder from but recently I got a pay rise so hopefully they have a few stocks left when they open their orders just like with Char and Nida.
I hope an anime series will appear in the distant future.
Thanks for the great review as always, Shingo. I have a question though. What sort of box or case do you use to photograph your figures? Is it some sort of light box?
Like so many others, I canceled this pre-order and I’m now regretting it. Time to balance out the checkbook and (hopefully) get this ordered before she’s impossible to find.
Wow nice, been hoping they would do Monica next ever since I saw her in the art book (actually I can’t read Katakana so I didn’t know her name until now, thanks Shingo o/)
Mizuchi is nice too, with yummy Nana Mizuki as her VA!
another Shuraki masterpiece. My Needa has been confirmed to be shipping soon, so here’s hoping that my Rize preorder comes through as well. Awesome.
I don’t really like the way she wields the halberd (do people even wield one like that?), but now that you’ve mentioned it, it does look much better without the weapon attached. Too bad I didn’t have it preordered back then due to how silly she looks with the halberd 。・゚・(ノД`)・゚・。
Hi Shingo & All Shuraki Fans,
The next upcoming Shuraki Volume 6 figure definitely will be Monica Dread Olivier as mentioned in the below advertisement from the following link. http://akibahobby-c1.sakura.ne.jp/image/20080530/r016.html
Is there any news on Char & Nida re-issue? Thanks.
>>Kent
Thanks for the heads up, nicely spotted! I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that photo before in earlier event coverage but it somehow slipped my mind… Now I need to figure out which event it’s from.
There is no news yet regarding Char or Nida reissues that I’m aware of, hopefully some will appear soon.
@desudesu: not halberds specifically, but I’ve seen photos and drawings of people holding a naginata quite similarly so I wouldn’t be surprised if the original artist had based the design off something like that and then just added the extra pointy bits on to make the weapon look more interesting.
>>tCi
Apologies for neglecting to respond to your comment, I missed it yesterday in the rush. The setup I use can be seen in this photo. Hope that helps!
Affordable and effective setup. I didn’t think of using a plastic storage box as a photoshoot box. Great idea. Thanks, Shingo. 8)
Well, it seems many of us were silly to have cancelled their orders of this figure, me included. Oh well, I’ll get hr someday..
Rize is the one and only reason I paid attention to the Shuraki series. I got her in the mail today and she’s absolutely amazing.
What kind of plastic is Rize’s skirt made out of? Alter’s Fate Testarossa’s cape is made out of the same thing. I’m guessing it’s ABS, but I’ve never been sure.
I thought of getting her earlier, but after reading your total analysis of her, I immediately ordered her.
Rize is the only person I really liked in the series, and I think she looks more amazing than the other PVCs in the collection. <3
the shuraki figure lines are deliriously sexy :3
i always thought akatsuki was pretty until i saw meifang, char, then needa, and now rize.
im glad that the shuraki figures get better as they release them. maybe mishiro should get a second treatment.
i <3 needa!
^^
shingo,
did you miss out on char (#3)?
>>Becky Lee
I’m not sure if I understand the question. I reviewed Char a couple of weeks ago, if that’s what you’re wondering. ^^;
lol
sorry shingo!
i mistook your affiliates link for your reviews link.
for a second, it looked like you didnt have char.
my apology T.T
>>Becky Lee
Hehe, it’s cool. I didn’t realize the reviews were so easily mistakable for affiliate links, maybe I should do something to more clearly mark them.
hey Shingo, mine arrived earlier this week from hlj :D
Do you think the skirt might be a little too heavy, and loose-fitting? I fear that the figure will eventually lean to the back, and the upper part of the dress will bend upwards due to the combined weight, size and center of gravity of the skirt =(
By the way, the huge skirt is supposed to be slightly loose fitting, right? I can slightly turn it left and right after fitting =3=
[…] in der 5ten Shuraki Trintiy Box gibt’s zusätzlich zur (ausziehbaren. Rawr~) Figur noch eine Drama CD sowie ein Art Booklet. Die original Unterwäsche von Rizfis […]
[…] made her breasts smaller or her left arm higher – definitely the later ^^. For a real review Shingo’s got you […]
At last, mine came today, after. Whew. I got my friend to preorder it for me, from Becky Lee’s Kid Nemo company! Great pricing. ^_^ It was well worth the wait. The pictures here don’t even begin to do ‘er justice. Love it/10 for me, lol. The only thing negative I’d have to mention is the heavy hard plastic part of the dress, like desudesu mentioned.
OMG–Where Could I find this??!