Anyone who knows me knows that Steins;Gate is my all-time favorite anime and while I have seen some REALLY great shows, nothing has come along yet that has been able to top Steins;Gate. It is also for this reason that while I was at Florida SuperCON, I found myself beyond compelled to pick up a statue of my favorite character in the series: Kurisu Makise.
Aesthetics
Unlike action figures, this statue was molded to be permanently fixed in one pose. Kurisu is standing tall with her hands on her hips and her head slightly tilted. The paint on the statue is superb; Banpresto paid attention to all the very minute details. The lines in her hair, the wrinkles in her clothing, even the textures of the different clothing articles are all impressive. They used a glossy paint for her shorts and her boots to give off a patent leather look, which was a real nice touch. They reserved matte paints for her nylons, shirt, hair, tie, and jacket. They also paid close attention to detail on her belt buckle; she sports an indented star in the upper right hand corner of the belt buckle.
The eyes of an anime character are really unique and Japan puts a lot of effort into them. This statue perfectly replicates the detail given to Kurisu’s eyes with a dark blue to sky blue gradiant with whitish-blue highlights, just like how they are depicted in both the visual novel and the anime.
As far as accessories, you only get one… a base in which to prop Kurisu on. She has two differently-sized pegs on the bottom of her boots which fit into the corresponding holes on the base so there is only one way to place her on there. It’s like a USB cable… if it doesn’t fit the first time, flip it around. If it doesn’t fit the second time, flip it around to the third side! My only gripe about the base is that the holes don’t seem drilled correctly as they are a very tight fit and the pegs don’t even go down all the way unless you REALLY force them. I fear that the pegs could break over time due to this and I wish Banpresto took a little bit of extra care in that regard.
Articulation
What is an articulation section doing in a solid statue review? Well, Banpresto took some steps to ensure lasting quality with this statue and while there is no true movement, things such as Kurisu’s hair, tie, and jacket are made out of stiff, yet flexible material. You cannot pose her with these features; however, as their true purpose is to ensure a bit of sturdiness and flexibility to prevent breakage. It really is a nice touch just in case the statue falls or you drop it. The flexible material would cushion the blow and help preserve the quality by preventing any breaks or cracks!
Overall Thoughts
As a Kurisu Makise fan, I am highly impressed with this statue. The detail is unlike anything I’ve seen thus far and they went the extra mile in a lot of places to truly bring this figure to life. Also, on the back of the box, I should note that this figure was not availble for sale, per se. It specifically notes to give this figure out as a prize so there must have been a raffle or contest in Japan where someone won this figure. Doing a search for it on the internet will yield you some photos of it, but Banpresto has made several other Kurisu statues and none of the ones they are selling are the one I was able to pick up at SuperCON. I don’t know if I was lucky to get a collector’s item or if it’s just out of circulation. I would guess the latter since this is a 2011 series figure, but even after four years, you’d think you could easily find one.
If you’re a Steins;Gate fan, this figure is a MUST HAVE. Do your best to find one, you won’t be disappointed!
Below I have attached a slideshow of the photos I took of this figure so you can check out the amazing detail of it for yourself!
