Kotobukiya’s Marvel Bishoujo Statue Series has become a long-running line, especially as far as PVC-based statues go. Tonight I’m reviewing one of the latest offerings in the line, the X-Men’s sometime ally and sometime foe, Mystique.
The Marvel Bishoujo line has had two incarnations thanks to a change in scale. Mystique is in the new 1/7 Scale and is designed by Shunya Yamashita.
This is a bit of an interesting take on what we’ve seen in this line to date in that Mystique has been sculpted in a kneeling pose. This creates some nice display options with the other 1/7 Scale figures - but looks ridiculous with the earlier pieces like Rogue since Mystique is basically the same height kneeling as Rogue is standing. Le sigh.
While many of the Koto Bishoujo pieces balance the powerful with the sexy, this piece is pretty much full on in the second department. It’s over the top, but works for the character, who we all know is dangerous in any position. (That sounds bad, but you know what I mean......)
There are some really impressive details on this piece. The skulls that form her belt are very nicely sculpted for being at such a small scale, and are finished in quite a different way from the glossy detail of the rest of the piece. The natural lines and folds of her outfit are cleverly done, and I really like the sculpt of Mystique’s boots.
Mystique’s headsculpt is a great combination of the classic Bishoujo sensibilities with the character. Her eyes are quite light and I think they could have been painted to stand out a bit more. I do like the translucent look to the ends of Mystique’s hair, which is becoming a bit of a trademark of this line.
This statue comes with a clear round base. I was a bit surprised to see the base as it wasn’t in any of the promo shots I saw, and somewhat disconcerted by the prongs in the underneath of Mystique’s sash. I think the use of the base is unnecessary, especially since it’s quite wide, but without it the prongs create a visible lift which might annoy. I’m not sure why it was felt that a base was necessary, as I really liked the idea of this piece being designed to rest on the ground.
While my preference is for the smaller scale figures in this line, I am still enjoying collecting the Marvel Bishoujo Line and pleased to see that the focus is still on new characters like Elektra and Storm. As long as Koto doesn’t to a third scale on these pieces, I’m still in!
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Until next time!
