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 Mente

Translated 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. 1 Mishiro
• Shuraki vol. 2 Meifeng
• Shuraki vol. 4 Nida

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!