Review date: 8/13/2003
Revised: 8/15/2003

Manufacturer: Kadokawa Comics

Released: 2003

Availability: RARE

Type: PVC Figure

 
 
Personal Story:
I saw a preorder for this figure and I thought it was really cute. I haven't played the game or seen the anime but I like Rena's design so I got her off an online import site. The retail price is actually cheaper than what I paid for so that sucks. I think I paid more than triple her retail price since shipping was so expensive. ><
 
Introduction:
This figure is based on the character Rena aka Black Rose from the video game/anime series .hack. This figure was made exclusively for a limited edition manga by Kadokawa Comics.
 

Sculpt:
Very cute. It seems that rather than showing the stern-looking Rena from the video game/anime that I've seen with the .hack gashapons, we're treated with a very joyful Rena instead. Her sculpt is actually closer to the manga artist's design. She's fairly solid. There's a sort of playfulness to her. The facial expression and pose are well done. The sculptor really pulled it off. She's got a nicely sculpted body too. There's a bit of sexiness to her. Her armor and sword are equally sharp. They managed to keep all the little details that I've seen with her manga counterpart. Even her shoulder strap is sculpted! Nice details. The armor near her hips/crotch is actually one separate piece. It's actually holding on to the figure by hanging onto the waist. You can actually take it off and see Rena's nude lower half. Nice details but she's painted there just like her legs so don't bother thinking about displaying her seminude. ;) The sword looks great. Very accurate. The position of the sword may seem awkward but its actually used as a way to hold Rena up. Good idea since she can't stand very well on her own. I managed to take a pic of her without her foot stand but she needs it. She's pretty unstable without it.

She has ZERO articulation with her body. The only thing you can do is turn her head. What I really don't like is the materials used for her. She's made from a very soft plastic. That really sucks. She feels more like one of those lower-end gashapons because she's so soft. It's a shame because the sculpt is so well done. The foot stand sucks too. They could've made it better looking. She should've had a base or a regular stand instead. But even with those problems, the sculpt is nice enough to overlook them. I'd also like to note that her size is a little strange. She's slightly larger than standard gashapons but smaller than the standard trading figures. Weird.

The manga included with the figure is okay. The whole thing is in Japanese. There's some nice art but it's pretty standard for a manga of this type. You won't find anything new here. I'm disappointed that they didn't bother making the manga in full color since it's a limited edition-type item.

The pet keychain is alright. There's nothing special about it. Solid sculpt and quite accurate to the source material.
 

Paint:
The paint job is pretty nice. I'm actually quite pleased with it. The colors are solid and look very close to the source material. The colors are sharp and clean. I'm quite amazed that they managed to paint the markings on her body and face without messing up. Her tan is a little lighter than her manga counterpart but it works. The armor is nicely painted also. Their decision to use gold and silver paint instead of those cheap dull colors for the "metal" parts was a smart decision. It keeps the figure from looking cheap. Everything looks nice.

It's not perfect though. There was this big red paint on her nose which showed some sloppiness on the painter's part. The good news? I was able to get rid of it. :) The overall paint job is a lot better than other figures of its type.

 
Overall: B
This is a good figure to have if you're a fan of .hack or you like Rena's design. It's a very cute figure and a great alternative to the gashapon version. The soft plastic was a real let down but the sculpt and paint make up for it. Recommended.
 

Where can I find this?
Quite hard to find. Only one site had it and it's based in Japan. I'm not sure if it'll be available anywhere else (as of this review). I wish you luck.
 
Other Images:


The box. Beautiful design. I really like the colors and layout.

 


The included manga. Very cute design of Rena on the cover.

 


"I'm singin' in the rain..."

 


The pet thing keychain and the foot stand.

 
All images and site content are copyrighted and property of © Lik Way Chan and may not be used without permission or expressed written consent of the site's author.
Other images are copyrighted to their respective owners and creators.