DSC_5547
The second of maybe 4 pieces of swag from that Anime North week. This time, we go back to my usual flavour of hitting them where they ain't, purchasing figures that out of favour with the hip kids.
I've never played Persona 3 outside of the tidbits introduced to me in the Persona Q game on 3DS (still gotta crack open Persona Q 2), but the game did introduce me to the characters, including the clockwork knight of the series, Aegis.
Doing a bit more research, I learned not only there were several flavours of Figma Aegis, which admitted confused the hell out of me, but also there were two other Persona related robobabes - Metis, and of course Labrys.
From what I can cobble together, Labrys is a character that was apparently introduced in the Persona 3 manga, but for the purposes of video games, was formally introduced in the Persona 4 Arena fighting game. Like Aegis, Labrys is an Anti-Shadow weapon, and served as the basis for future generations of machines such as Aegis. Through the magic of narrative and plot devices, she's killed at some point in the past and resurrected in the present time to join the cast of Persona 4A.
I'm probably glossing over an encyclopedias worth of data, so I'll stop here.
Back to the point, older Persona stuff isn't as in demand these days (save for the Protagonist and Aegis, which were reissued I think in 2018 or so?), so I was able to negotiate the sale of this figure at Nominoichi for $20.
Labrys comes with quite a few bits and bobs. The figure comes with three expressions (smiles, attacking, and the usual "possessed by shadow" look), two front hair parts (unvisored/visored)her battle axe/jet pack, a shaped plastic chain and actual metal chain, both used for achieving her rocket punch attack, with a booster effect for the arm in question. The shaped plastic one is used when you want an aerial flight path, I guess, for lack of better terms whereas the metal one is just a limp metal chain.
Also included are the usual assortment of hands, and in this case, TWO dynamic stands (one for the figure, one for the axe or arm), all packed into your standard sized Figma box.
Keep that stand handy because Labrys isn't standing on her peg legs unaided.
Placed side by side with Aegis, you can see how the Labrys design influenced Aegis (though, in reality it was probably the other way around), particularly with mine seeing how my Aegis is in the special edition Labrys colours.
I dig the overall aesthetic of Labrys. She's got the high school uniform motif going, along with long hair, combined with enough robot bits to remind you that you probably shouldn't think about smashing her. Giant oversized weapons are always adorable, and the rocket punch powers are just the icing on the top.
Built on the last iteration of the Figma 1.0 body (not that there was that much change between 001 and 199), the articulation isn't as good as that of Figma 2.0, but based on my play experience she's really only lacking upper chest movement independent of her abdomen area and of course, chest compress. Range of movement is generally very good, though one will need to remember to move the skirt out of the way in order to get the most out of her hips. All in all, all but the most extreme poses should be achievable, though with less subtly than compared to her 2.0 cousins.
Labrys also has some decent articulation in the hair alone, with her mane having a dedicated joint for movement, and that metal thing on her hair being on a hinge and can pivot. There's also some articulation built into the axe head.. I suspect it has something to do with the head being used as wings while on her back. The blue tube are of a soft rubber material and will move with the blade.
The various bits of armour/mechanical parts add some much needed bulk to the 1.0 body, so Labrys doesn't appear as spindly as some others in the 1.0 range - on a related note it also seems like with the later 1.0s, Max Factory got the size of the heads right. Speaking of robotic stuff, the wiring that runs along the side of her head is a nice touch, though the glue on mine has dried off resulting in a need to reassemble often.
Paint work is, as expected, solid across the board. True, there are a few soft spots always, and these are of course in the areas with finer details such as the stripes on her sleeves. The softer paint apps also appear on the soft rubber outfit. Other than that, nothing really much to complain about - no overspray, no missing paint applications. Decal work is very good, though there aren't too many of those on this figure. Build quality on the whole is top notch.
The end result is a figure that photographs quite well, especially now that I'm getting the hang of using a less harsh light supply. The actual posing, on the other hand... I'll keep practicing on that.
I think there's two more versions of Aegis I technically COULD get, but unless the price is really good, the only reason I'd get the Heavy Arms version is for the admittedly neat finger guns, and the original one to have one in scale with Metis, the Shaq of the Persona universe.
Till my next rambling....
DSC_5547
The second of maybe 4 pieces of swag from that Anime North week. This time, we go back to my usual flavour of hitting them where they ain't, purchasing figures that out of favour with the hip kids.
I've never played Persona 3 outside of the tidbits introduced to me in the Persona Q game on 3DS (still gotta crack open Persona Q 2), but the game did introduce me to the characters, including the clockwork knight of the series, Aegis.
Doing a bit more research, I learned not only there were several flavours of Figma Aegis, which admitted confused the hell out of me, but also there were two other Persona related robobabes - Metis, and of course Labrys.
From what I can cobble together, Labrys is a character that was apparently introduced in the Persona 3 manga, but for the purposes of video games, was formally introduced in the Persona 4 Arena fighting game. Like Aegis, Labrys is an Anti-Shadow weapon, and served as the basis for future generations of machines such as Aegis. Through the magic of narrative and plot devices, she's killed at some point in the past and resurrected in the present time to join the cast of Persona 4A.
I'm probably glossing over an encyclopedias worth of data, so I'll stop here.
Back to the point, older Persona stuff isn't as in demand these days (save for the Protagonist and Aegis, which were reissued I think in 2018 or so?), so I was able to negotiate the sale of this figure at Nominoichi for $20.
Labrys comes with quite a few bits and bobs. The figure comes with three expressions (smiles, attacking, and the usual "possessed by shadow" look), two front hair parts (unvisored/visored)her battle axe/jet pack, a shaped plastic chain and actual metal chain, both used for achieving her rocket punch attack, with a booster effect for the arm in question. The shaped plastic one is used when you want an aerial flight path, I guess, for lack of better terms whereas the metal one is just a limp metal chain.
Also included are the usual assortment of hands, and in this case, TWO dynamic stands (one for the figure, one for the axe or arm), all packed into your standard sized Figma box.
Keep that stand handy because Labrys isn't standing on her peg legs unaided.
Placed side by side with Aegis, you can see how the Labrys design influenced Aegis (though, in reality it was probably the other way around), particularly with mine seeing how my Aegis is in the special edition Labrys colours.
I dig the overall aesthetic of Labrys. She's got the high school uniform motif going, along with long hair, combined with enough robot bits to remind you that you probably shouldn't think about smashing her. Giant oversized weapons are always adorable, and the rocket punch powers are just the icing on the top.
Built on the last iteration of the Figma 1.0 body (not that there was that much change between 001 and 199), the articulation isn't as good as that of Figma 2.0, but based on my play experience she's really only lacking upper chest movement independent of her abdomen area and of course, chest compress. Range of movement is generally very good, though one will need to remember to move the skirt out of the way in order to get the most out of her hips. All in all, all but the most extreme poses should be achievable, though with less subtly than compared to her 2.0 cousins.
Labrys also has some decent articulation in the hair alone, with her mane having a dedicated joint for movement, and that metal thing on her hair being on a hinge and can pivot. There's also some articulation built into the axe head.. I suspect it has something to do with the head being used as wings while on her back. The blue tube are of a soft rubber material and will move with the blade.
The various bits of armour/mechanical parts add some much needed bulk to the 1.0 body, so Labrys doesn't appear as spindly as some others in the 1.0 range - on a related note it also seems like with the later 1.0s, Max Factory got the size of the heads right. Speaking of robotic stuff, the wiring that runs along the side of her head is a nice touch, though the glue on mine has dried off resulting in a need to reassemble often.
Paint work is, as expected, solid across the board. True, there are a few soft spots always, and these are of course in the areas with finer details such as the stripes on her sleeves. The softer paint apps also appear on the soft rubber outfit. Other than that, nothing really much to complain about - no overspray, no missing paint applications. Decal work is very good, though there aren't too many of those on this figure. Build quality on the whole is top notch.
The end result is a figure that photographs quite well, especially now that I'm getting the hang of using a less harsh light supply. The actual posing, on the other hand... I'll keep practicing on that.
I think there's two more versions of Aegis I technically COULD get, but unless the price is really good, the only reason I'd get the Heavy Arms version is for the admittedly neat finger guns, and the original one to have one in scale with Metis, the Shaq of the Persona universe.
Till my next rambling....