Mai Shiranui from The King of Fighters XIII (Hipline Version)

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Back in my review of Kotobukiya’s Dizzy, I lamented that fighting games aren’t a more popular source for figure makers. That hasn’t changed at all in the year since I received that figure. In fact, I can think of only a few figures of fighting game characters that have been released since then – A-Label’s Vanessa, and I suppose the Noel Vermillion nendoroid, if you count that as a figure. 2011 isn’t looking any more promising, with the major ones being another Dizzy, a peculiarly pachycephalic Kasumi, and this figure right here. With a bunch of fighting games – Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the two Tekken and Street Fighter crossovers, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and the 3DS version of Dead Alive – scheduled for release, and with Super Street Fighter IV and BlazBlue still going strong, hopefully the situation will change and the girls of these games will grace us with more figures.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Mai Shiranui is arguably the second queen of fighting games. She’s a mainstay of SNK’s titles, appearing in their well-known franchises Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters as well as more obscure games such as Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and the strange top-down shmup KOF Sky Stage. She also appeared in Hobby Japan’s Queen’s Gate series of game books. Mai was inexplicably left off the roster of KOF XII, which was the main reason I didn’t get that game, but she returns in KOF XIII. I like picking her for my team whenever I play Capcom vs. SNK 2, but I have to admit, I really suck using her. Nonetheless, she’s one of my favorite fighting game characters, so much so that her Dollfie Dream doll was one of two that I seriously contemplated buying. I still think about it, sometimes, since it’s not too expensive, relatively speaking.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from The King of Fighters Figure Review

In the Fatal Fury and King of Fighters games, Mai is a ninja infatuated with fellow fighter character Andy Bogard. She is ostentatious and showy; one of her opening animations has her exhibiting her backside for her opponent’s admiration, and another shows her disrobing and changing clothes right out in the open. She battles with a traditional Asian-style fan, which she chucks at her foes and replenishes from a mysterious compartment within her dress. Equally mysterious is how her dress contains her sizeable chest.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

This figure of Mai is made by Alphamax. Alphamax is one of the larger makers in the business and yet very few people seem to actually own an Alphamax figure. I have over a hundred and fifty figures in my collection and yet this is my first Alphamax figure. I didn’t really know what to expect but VF’s review of Spica allayed my concerns. Then those concerns were revived when I checked Amiami’s product page and they included this utterly apocalyptic note in the remarks section: “Obviously, there is a very high probability that several parts will break or be damaged during shipping to you. We ask that you keep this in mind when buying these products and repair them yourself during assembly in the unfortunate event that they arrive in imperfect condition.” Uhh, yeah. Fortunately, nothing of the sort occurred and no repairs were necessary.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui Figure

Mai Shiranui is a big, healthy girl and at a large 1/5 scale, this is a big, healthy figure. The box is quite large and like most of the cold-cast figures I own, uses a styrofoam container rather than plastic to protect the figure. She feels quite heavy and solid compared to a PVC figure. Mai is about 31 centimeters tall not including the base. She requires minor assembly to put together; her ponytail is a separate piece that inserts into a socket in her head, and the big tail is a separate piece that actually stands alone. One end has a peg that mounts to the base and the other end has a magnet that holds it sort of securely to the knot on the back of her dress. It tends to slip out if you’re moving her around, as you might be if you were taking pictures of her. Her base is a nicely-sculpted disc meant to emulate a red brick path.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Many fighting game characters don’t retain a consistent appearance from game to game and Mai is no exception. Without a canonical appearance to draw off of, this version of Mai has a fairly generic anime face. It does the job and she does look cute, but it’s not a very memorable or expressive face.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Of course, Mai’s main claim to fame isn’t her face. Every worthwhile fighting game needs a T&A character and Mai sets the standard in that respect, with her massive breasts and her thong-clad backside. Both were briefly censored in the United States in the bad days of the mid 90s, when games like Night Trap and Mortal Kombat drew the unwelcome attention of opportunistic lobbyists and senators. Fortunately, we seem to have gotten past that and Mai’s breasts swing freely and her rear is visible to all in localized versions of SNK’s games.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Alphamax knows what Mai’s most appealing traits are as well and that’s why they call this the Hipline version. She’s got a giant ass and it’s on full display here. She’s shyly pulling her thong out – as shyly as one can do such a thing, anyway. It’s a really cute pose that I haven’t seen done before in a figure.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Unfortunately, Alphamax elected to end her thong between her buttocks rather than connecting it to the front. I’m not really sure why they did that; one would think that with a figure this big, there ought to be enough room there to keep it intact. Maybe they thought nobody would notice. And in truth, it’s not particularly noticeable unless you’re looking at it up close at the right angle. But still, her thong is one of the major selling points of this figure and it would have been better if they kept it intact.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Her fighting dress looks great and it’s noticeably skimpier here than in most versions of her as Alphamax has made her dress backless. It makes her look nearly nude from some angles – definitely a fantastic design choice.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

I also like her socks. They’re very cute, especially her toes.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Oddly, Mai is missing her fan. Most of her figures have her holding one, and she could easily hold one in her right hand, but Alphamax has left it out. It’s a curious omission but not an egregious one.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

The paintwork is pretty good, though she has a fairly simple color scheme and a whole lot of skin showing so there’s not much need for intricate detail. Likewise, I like the sculpt overall, apart from the issue with her thong.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Mai was a very expensive figure, and fortunately I preordered her while Hobby Search was running their half-price shipping promotion. Despite her high price, I don’t mind since she looks great. She’s got all the attributes that make Mai what she is, and quality-wise, they’ve done a fine job doing justice to the bouncy ninja. She’s big, she’s sexy, and she’s a very welcome addition to my collection.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

VF has another review at his site. His pictures are beautiful so check it out.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Here is Alphamax’s Mai Shiranui next to Max Factory’s Mai Shiranui. MF’s figure was inspired by artwork by Kinu Nishimura. Both figures have very similar poses but are disparate stylistically. Max Factory’s figure is 1/6 scale, which gives some idea as to just how massive Alphamax’s statue is.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review

Here’s another view which, to be frank, isn’t very flattering to Max Factory’s figure. Alphamax’s figure seems to have much more of a cute factor going for it than its counterpart. Also, I’ll figure out how to take multiple-figure photographs one of these days. Just not here.

Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review
Alphamax Mai Shiranui from KOF Figure Review
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46 Responses to Mai Shiranui from The King of Fighters XIII (Hipline Version)

  1. VF says:

    Alright! Finally I get to be first to comment! LOL I’m just working on Mai’s review right now too – guess you beat me to the punch. XD Looks like we both went for a similar photo style on this figure, which I think is great as it suits her very well. I really love the body sculpt, there’s so much detail, and at such a large scale, that’s pretty cool. The play on lighting really helps bring out her curves and body lines.

    It kinda sucked that they had that “disconnected” thong thing going on, but as you’ve said, it’s not really all that noticeable unless you look right up her butt from behind. I mean, who’s perverted enough to do that anyway? ^_^’

    This is probably one of the (if not the) best Mai figure I’ve seen, and I really like what Alpha Max did. How do you like Alpha Max’s quality now that you have on of their figures? I think one of the reason why not many people have their figures is due to the cost; they’re big but damn costly. But I think it’s worth it.

    • Tier says:

      Who indeed! The disconnect is my biggest beef with this figure though it’s not super conspicuous so I’m not going to flail it because of that.

      I think it’s the second best Mai figure I’ve seen, though my favorite figure of her is a garage kit so it probably shouldn’t count (it’s this one here). I really liked Max Factory’s figure as well but looking at the two side by side, I can’t help but think that the older figure looks kinda weird now.

      I’m pretty impressed by this figure’s quality. I wasn’t expecting much before I got her – some of the promo pics I’ve seen of their other figures looked sorta like Kaitendoh figures, but Mai looks very nice. I’ve preordered their Cryska Barchenowa figure; I saw the prototype in some Hobby Japan scans a month or two ago but I didn’t even know it was an Alphamax product. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be any good but I’ve got high hopes now.

      I am looking forward to your review! I’ve got the feeling you and I may be the only people in the English-writing internet to have reviews of her.

      • VF says:

        Yeah, that one from Volks is definitely nice, unfortunately I’m no GK guru and it’s out of my league. lol

        There’s another Alpha Max Mai that I think looks pretty good, but she’s long out of stock. The problem I have with Mai figures is that they usually look very oddly shaped, their faces also look deformed. Sculptors usually only focus on her large balloons and nothing else. That’s why I like this Mai, she actually looks like Mai. =)

        I hope there will be more English reviews, but who knows, seems like these Alpha Max figures aren’t all that common / main stream on this side of the hemisphere.

        • Tier says:

          I remember that Mai because I remember reading a blog post about an owner who accidentally destroyed that figure. That’s the sort of thing that terrifies me, given that I have so many figures and a lot of them are situated precariously.

          I kinda wish I bought that Ibuki Ikaruga figure that Hobby Search had in the bargain bin for a while. It looked pretty good and had a pretty good discount going for it; Amiami still has it but unfortunately it’s full priced.

  2. DaSaru says:

    Action games gets the same treatment too. You’d think Bayonetta would get more than 2 garage kits..

    I still think Max Factory one is better with more personality to the face but I am bias toward the sculptor and artist. 😛
    Though Alphamaxs has a more cuter face than I though initially from previews.
    The thong(sadly disconnected) and open back is a nice design choice I agree. 😛
    And that garage kit in the link you gave looks good!
    There was also that one garage kit with Mai crouching in both her default costume and MI:A costume version.

    I was about to ask if you were getting Cryska Barchenowa but you answered that already.:P

    • Tier says:

      I vaguely remember that Kotobukiya had planned on doing a Bayonetta figure. I wonder what happened to that plan? I hope it wasn’t the action figure they chucked out … I’ve got their Tifa action figure and it’s pretty bad.

      I still like the Max Factory one a lot, but she’s got a few angles where she looks a bit strange. The rear view with her looking over her shoulder still looks great though.

      I think the one with her crouching was by A-Label; it looks pretty good too though I gotta admit, I’m not a big fan of her Maximum Impact outfit. Or anything to do with Maximum Impact; I haven’t played the game so that’s an unfair thing to say, but I really wish they hadn’t spent so much time trying to make KOF and Samurai Shodown work as 3D fighters; maybe Samurai Shodown Sen would’ve turned out better.

      Yeah, I didn’t need to think very hard to preorder Cryska XD I’m a big fan of the Muv-Luv character designs, even though I don’t know much about the storyline itself.

      • DaSaru says:

        Yeah almost forgot about the Kotobukiya one..well there’s no update about it so far but the description before was hot.

        Maximum Impact was okay. The system is workable. I don’t really mind the 3D or 2D style as long it works(ok, so I am fond of 2D) cos if the system sucks the game will too. Also A-Label is making the classic version along with the MI:A version to choose from. 🙂

        The Cryska looks nice..and it’s PVC. I like PVC best. The Ryomou they made looks good too but it was coldcast..

        • Tier says:

          I don’t mind 3D fighting games but it seems like SNK does better with 2D games … KOF XII notwithstanding, I guess. I hear SNK is having troubles staying in the video game business so I guess whatever is most profitable for them makes the most sense to go with, since I wouldn’t like them to go bankrupt a second time.

  3. Ashlotte says:

    Always love what Alpha does with these Coldcasts…Seems like most figures you see made this way have rather meh skintones among other problems, but they make some yummy stuff.

    True shame about the thong, but she does have a damn awesome backside (And I don’t just mean the butt… :p)

    • Tier says:

      She does! I wish more makers would pay attention to the back, the back can be a very sexy part of a girl.

      That reminds me, I forgot to give this post the “epic ass” tag. I guess I better fix that since if this doesn’t qualify, I don’t know what does.

  4. Shashin says:

    I like the figure. Had thought about it myself, as I’ve always loved Mai, but it was around the time I had made the mistake of preordering Tomoe. I couldn’t justify another expensive Alphamax figure when I was already getting one I didn’t really want… especially since I wasn’t sure how their quality was.

    I will say that your review has me tempted to open up Tomoe. I still think the production shots are breathtaking, but I just can’t let go of the hope that I’ll be able to sell it to someone who would appreciate it more than I do.. and opening it up is the best way to stop that from happening.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, getting hit with an unexpected $200+ charge really throws a wrench into your discretionary spending. I’m really glad I ordered this figure when shipping was half off, since her EMS bill would’ve been 5,400 yen otherwise, which would’ve been enough to buy me two BRS figures back when Amiami chopped her price down.

      You should totally open her box, figures weren’t meant to stay imprisoned in plastic. We’ll disregard that I’ve got one figure still sandwiched in foam and Emaretta-chan is not only still boxed up, her box is also buried under a bunch of empty boxes so that I keep forgetting about her.

  5. Your Lord and Master says:

    Mai IS a healthy young lady, and this a gorgeous sculpture really does her justice!

  6. Fabienne says:

    Oh nice, this Mai is a pretty huge and good looking figure, the sculpting quality seems to be very good.I also like the realistic looking brick stone base.
    The incomplete thong looks some kind of funny maybe her thong ripped during a fight
    I could imagine that you could also cut it off to have her on display with a bare butt XD

    I was interested in their Ryomou Shimei figure, but what detained me from buying a figure from Alphamax so far was the light setting Alphamax uses for their promo shots, it is misleading in terms of skintone, the skintone always looks so pale and give you the look of cheap plastic. If I remember right I only saw two reviews of their figures so far, the first was Spica at Visualfanfare and yours from Mai. Their skintone there looks so much better than in these promo shots from Alphamax.
    This Cryska Barchenowa figure you’ve mentioned looks very appealing and after reading a second review of an Alphamax figure I feel more assured that I can expect that the skintone of their figures looks better than in the promo shots of them;)

    • Tier says:

      Haha, it could be; clothing malfunctions seem likely when engaged in combat. I remember the first time I read Black Hawk Down, I was surprised at the descriptions of how the Army Rangers kept losing their pants but then again, it seems like a likely occurrence in battle. Wardrobe malfunctions are just not something you see much in war movies, I guess. Or mainstream fighting games, which is kinda a shame.

      Looking at the promo pics, she looks like she’s got really pink skin … I guess I can see how that could happen since they used a really bright background but on my shelf in my typically dimly-lit room, she looks pretty much like most of my other figures, I guess. Cryska looks good too, and she’s cheap, which is a big plus since I can’t afford too many of these 20k yen figures.

  7. Halbred says:

    OH THE LOATHING! THE JEALOUSY! *shakes fist at sky*

    Damn this figure’s ridiculous price tag! I have been wanting a good Mai Shiranui figure forever, but when I started collecting seriously, the Max Factory one was out of stock, and the first Alphamax version that VF alluded to above was also jaw-droppingly pricey. I’m happy you were able to get one, though. Mai is one of those characters that gets (or at least, got) a wealth of figures but very few are worthwhile.

    Also, this post didn’t have enough bewb shots. It’s Mai Shiranui, for pete’s sake–spend some photo time oggling her dirty pillows! From what I can tell, their size and shape seem to change based largely on the viewing angle. From the side–huge. From the front–not so huge.

    • Tier says:

      Haha, I can feel the envy all the way out on the east coast! You can still buy her! Hobby Search and Amiami still have her in stock. Pay no mind to her shipping cost.

      The one other Mai figure I wanted (besides the Volks kit) was Daiki Kougyou’s, but I didn’t like it enough to drop money on it. Now I kinda wish I had since it looks distinctive at least, and it’d be kinda cool to have three Mai figures that are all 1/6 scale or larger.

      Yeah, I shoulda spent more time focusing on her breasts, it’s not Mai without gratuitous shots of the bouncy. I gotta admit that that ass had me transfixed though. Back when I was a kid, I was interested in military aircraft and I remember reading that the A-10 was designed around its gun system. With this figure of Mai, you can tell she was designed around her ass.

      It’s pretty funny how her sideboob turns into backboob when she is viewed from the rear.

  8. Cantan says:

    I saw this figure and was tempted for a little while, but the whole missing section to the thong put me off. No denying that she is an excellent sculpt but the price was just too steep (kinda wish I’d thought of that when ordered Kaguya!).

    I saw the Cryska Barchenowa figure when it was announced as a preorder earlier in the week, but stopped looking as soon as I realised who the maker is – Alphamax seems to specialise in large scale expensive figures from what little I’ve seen… mind you a second glance and she’s not too expensive after all. If the exchange rate moves slightly, currently anything over about $62 gets hit by import taxes, I might buy.

    Was very tempted by Alphamax’s Ellis a while back – just the stupid ear-fur that put me off really. Have to say that they have some pretty high quality offerings in the pipeline based on the promo shots I’ve seen.

    • Cantan says:

      Actually I’m a bit disappointed by their Super Sonico figure. The original promo shots looked amazing, but since it has been relisted in preorders, the colour scheme (particularly on the hair) now looks really washed out. Was really tempted previously – think I’m likly to pass now.

      Incidentally Orchidseed’s fishnet Super Sonico has also relisted with new pics… and she looks like a pink monstrocity now. Dunno if it’s the lighting but she looks different from the image on the last preorder outlook

    • Tier says:

      Cryska appears to be a PVC figure rather than cold-cast like Mai, but looking at the promo pictures, I can’t really see any differences in the construction material. I’m not sure why they have a PVC line and a cold-cast line since the industry seems to have settled on PVC as the material of choice (unlike the Western figure industry).

      I went ahead and preordered bondage Sonico since I can scarcely resist any figure with “bondage” in the title (that isn’t an Ikkitousen figure). I think she looks cute though her legs still look pretty stubby to me, and my expectations aren’t very high given what I’ve seen of the Orchid Seed figures I have already.

  9. Chag says:

    Hmmm, second queen of fighting games, eh? Who is the first queen? Chun-li? She and the other street fighter girls would be a lot more figure-friendly if they art style isn’t so muscle-crazy. Seriously, look at Chun-Li — perfect pair of thighs in tights RUINED.

    I think I’ve mentionied before that my enjoyment of a fighting game rests solely on the presentation of the female cast. As such, Mai has always been my chief reason of interest for the KOF series. Unfortunately, I spent all my money on DDR when the local movie arcade still had life in it. That, along with the fact that I didn’t have a video game console until my college years meant that I never had a chance to spend any quality time with Mai. When I heard about the negative buzz about KoF 13, I was willing to forgive the bugs and glitches. But the lack of Mai was something I could not accept. Thankfully she’ll be in the next installation, and perhaps then I’ll have my much-delayed acquaintance with the lady in red.

    you did a bunch better job at shooting the figure than the folks at Alpha Max. Stylistic touches aside, The stock photos for this figure were just too damn pink, which gave off a rather cheap impression, when in reality the figure seems to be simple but a nicely-produced piece of work. Personally, I’m not too big on the minute nature of her apparel. Epic asses are fine and well, but without a costume to compliment it, its appeal ultimately ends up hitting a glass ceiling. That’s what I found with the back view of this figure. As you mentioned, she looks practically completely naked in some views, and I find myself preferring the front view and wishing that there was more red to contrast the whiteness of her skin. But hey, that’s just me.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, that’d be Chun-li. They really bulked them out in SF4 but prior to that, she looked pretty good. I never did use her in any fighting game after Street Fighter II CE, though.

      My criteria for enjoying fighting games is exactly the same as yours. I got into GGX to play as Dizzy, I got into Marvel Super Heroes to play as Psylocke, and I got into KOF to play as Mai. Though in CVS2 I usually play as Iori. That aside I always pick the female characters. I’m still hopeful that Samurai Shodown will get a new 2D version so I play as Iroha.

      WTF glass ceiling. I know of no such thing. Okay, yeah, I can sometimes agree that a suggestive look can be better than a more explicit one, but I don’t regard that as being a fixed rule. I’m comfortable with suggestiveness and I’m comfortable with explicitness. With Mai, I think explicitness works better given her personality and presentation in the KOF games.

      • Ashlotte says:

        Oh god yea Chun-Li…Boy was she too much stimulation for me as a boy…Playing that on my SNES back in the day seeing her skirt flip completely up showing it all off for the first time nearly blew my poor little pre-pubescent mind haha…

        Ah but yea then they had to go screw her character design up with that jumpsuit thing then the bulking up…Ah well there’ll always be Cammy…

        • ^ I think that was the only reason why any one (kid) would play Chun-Li – just to see that skirt flip. It was a nose-bleeding good time. XD

        • Tier says:

          I remember feeling the same way XD Yeah, I was sorta less than impressed with her SF4 design … maybe terrified is the better term. I liked how she looked in SF3, though, especially doing her super art.

          The world needs more Cammy figures; it’s still odd how there are so few of her in her Delta Red uniform versus the Shadaloo one. I like MF’s Mai Shiranui but I’m not as fond of the kneeling Cammy that they made a while back.

  10. Nexus says:

    nice review. i got mine form Hobby Japan myself. she’s my first 1/5 figure and to the truth is im gald i got her. there been a number of mai figure release in the past but for some reason or another something didnt seem right for me so i pass on them. not this one. dont know why but the cuteness and sexyness works really well with this one.

    • Tier says:

      Mai always seems to be more of an outrageously sexy, womanly character than a cute, moe character, but you’re right, she looks pretty good portrayed as both. Particularly in a figure as large as this one.

  11. drakanity says:

    Ok I’ll be the one to say it. Dat ass!

    For some reason, I’m not a fan of the faces for her figures though. This one I like a bit better, but still not to my liking as much. But everything else is nice (except for the thong thing you pointed out). I may need to bite on an Alphamax figure now lol. Just wished it didn’t cost so much.

    Is there a different version for this? Just wondering why they would have a hipline version? Or is that something you made up? Haha.

    I agree, they really need more fighting game figures. You would think it could attract the best of both audiences. Fighting game fans and figure collectors. And score for the one who are both!

    I’m just glad they finally made Dizzy who is or was my favorite fighting game character. Of course, I don’t count GK since I don’t have the skill.

    • Tier says:

      Nah, there’s just one version of this figure and Alphamax calls it the hipline version. As I understand it, the Japanese word for hips is the same as the word for the buttocks, so I guess they want to highlight what they feel to be the most significant part of the figure. Hmm, though running the Japanese product title through a romaji converter, they just call it “hippurain.” Maybe there’s different words for the hips and ass after all.

      It seems to be difficult to do faces for fighting game characters since their appearances vary so much. Like with the two Iroha figures I have, they look wildly different and neither of them actually looks very much like how she appears in the games. The same is true with Koto’s Dizzy, though I guess they were basing that off of the Queen’s Gate illustrations. I like Mai’s face here though not nearly as much as I like her face on Volks’s garage kit, which is one of the prettiest faces I’ve ever seen on a figure or model kit, but yeah, it’s not really close to what she looks like in the game. I’ll be honest though, I’m glad they didn’t style it after Falcoon’s art.

  12. Blowfish says:

    I dont think that this will suprise you both Mai has always been my Favorite SNK Character and yet I lack a figure of her.Actually the only Bemu figures I own is one Cammy and the Alter Dizzy later this year.
    On a second Note ive encountered AlphaMax quite a few times when there were figures released of characters I like but due to the fact i never knew anything about their quality nor do I like to buy ColdCast Figures I always skipped them.

    Back when I saw that Mai figure up for preorder I also didnt jump onto her because of her face. Its just too generic and doesnt represent the Mai thats up there in my mind.I do know that its hard to get the face right of a gaming character but this lacks any differentiation from any random anime chick to me.

    Its interesting that you interpret the pulling of the thong as shyly because I interpreted it exactly the other way around: Provoking the Viewer by pulling her thong higher up in the ass crack.

    Its a real bummer that the things isnt really going through her ass crack but atleast it isnt as bad as with my Sonico where its visible from miles away

    • Tier says:

      That is no surprise at all XD Mai is my favorite SNK character as well but they have a lot of characters whose designs I like. Even their male character designs look good. I prefer playing Street Fighter over KOF (though I always pick N groove in CvS2) but SNK has much more interesting character designs.

      Yeah, her face is kinda bland … I like it because it’s cute but you don’t see any of that sexy, naughty side of Mai that she always shows in the games. She’s pretty much just a cute girl here, albeit one that is damn near naked.

      She could definitely be doing that too, and I guess it’s more likely since she’s more of a temptress than a shy girl. Either way, it’s a really cool look. More figures should look like this.

  13. BioToxic says:

    Cool, you decided to go through with buying this version of Mai. I really wanted to get this Mai figure, but the price is a killer. Alphamax call this the Hipline Version, I call it the Expensive version (I actually have a folder named that with all the prototype pictures saved).

    Her final release looks really nice as expected. Her face is much softer than other Mai figures, which was the main attraction for me. Her exposed back is also really sexy, and the way her dress holds up her breasts without making them look huge and saggy is really nice. Even though there’s not a huge amount of dress on show I like the deep red colour used.

    If only she wasn’t so expensive ><.

    • Tier says:

      I agree; they did a really nice job with her sculpt. She’s had a lot of different looks over the years, like Falcoon’s rendition which I’m not a big fan of or her insect-like look in the old 90s anime, but I like this look for her; she looks a ninja girl in a modern anime.

      Yeah, that price is nasty. Then again, she could go on sale because just about every figure I buy from Hobby Search gets tossed in the discount bin. It’s uncanny how it happens.

  14. Wolfheinrich says:

    This Mai figure is actually quite beautiful! More often than not, I am drawn to use female fighter in any particular fighting game: Mai in Fatal Fury, Kitana in Mortal Kombat, Cassendra in Soul Ege and Soul Calibur, Saber Lily in Fate unlimited code; and the list goes on. I would totally dig Kos-Mos if there is ever a fighting game featuring her!

    • Tier says:

      I do the same thing for most fighting games. I’m kinda perturbed that Psylocke apparently isn’t going to be in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, so much so that I’m thinking I might not buy it. I was a big fan of MvC2 (though I wasn’t any good at it) but MvC3 doesn’t have many female characters that I find appealing and I don’t particularly care to play as Dante or Iron Man or whoever.

  15. radiant says:

    Generic anime face indeed. I’m not quite fond of this one. I really like the more stylish Max Factory one more. Neither are canonical, but the Max Factory one wins with pure style.

    Oh btw, Taki from Soul Calibur had a couple of figures, and so did Ivy. Let’s not forget Samurai Spirits Nakoruru figures, then there’s Shiki, and also… a whole slew of other Neo Geo fighting game characters! There’s definitely a lot more than you think!

  16. Andrea says:

    OMG! This is beautiful!!! But the price….Uuuuughhhh!!!! >___<

  17. Tier says:

    Yeah, that Iroha is one of my favorites. She’s not too popular but I like her a lot nonetheless.

  18. Andrea says:

    Yep! Perfect body building and probably the best pair of buttcheeks in figures world! XD

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