Kuroyukihime from Accel World (Death by Embracing Version)

Kuroyukihime from Accel World

Sometimes, I buy figures because I like the character, or because I like the series or game that she comes from. Those figures tend to be the most meaningful to me, but that’s not to say that familiarity automatically elevates a figure in my esteem. As an example in counterpoint, I know a bit about Saber, I’m a fan of Saber’s personality and I have a ton of Saber figures, but while I like them, I wouldn’t really describe any of them as treasures of my collection, aside maybe from gangsta lean Saber, and that’s mainly because she looks so damn peculiar. (Speaking of Saber figures, I’ve got that one with the motorbike still boxed up in my closet, where it’s been sitting for around 17 or 18 months.) Also, that’s not to say that not knowing much about a character means that I view it with less warmth than would otherwise be the case – even if I loathe the game or show that she stars in. Indeed, if the figure looks really cool, unfamiliarity is no impediment to appreciation. Which brings us to this figure of Kuroyukihime, a cute girl from a show I disliked so much that I dropped it fifteen minutes into its first episode. Despite my contempt for Accel World – or at least, its anime adaptation – I was very much looking forward to this figure. It’s not hard to see why.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

These days, anime is, in large part, just a vehicle used to move merchandise. When I look at an anime chart for an upcoming season, sometimes I try to guess which ones look like they are going to be fan favorites. My guesses are usually terrible, since I haven’t actually seen many of those shows. However, it was easy to guess that Accel World would be a big hit, since I remembered that the light novel had gotten some hype before the TV series aired.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

I like to consider myself an open-minded person, at least when it comes to anime. There have been a number of shows that I either didn’t care for or didn’t think I would like that, after giving them another shot, I wound up enjoying quite a bit. However, I don’t think Accel World would be one of them. For one, the male protagonist isn’t just a pathetic whiner with low self-esteem, he’s also a bizarrely stunted and malformed freak. Further, I didn’t really notice much of a hook; in these sorts of shoes, the chemistry between the main male and female characters is paramount, but I thought that Kuroyukihime’s interest in the porkish male lead was laughably contrived (though to be honest, I barely remember why she began caring about him at all). And like way too many shows these days, there was far too much exposition and explanation regarding in-universe mechanics.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

Therefore, I don’t really know anything about Kuroyukihime or her personality, or what her real name might be, so I’m not going to pretend that I do and we will thus move on to the figure. This figure is manufactured by Max Factory in 1/7 scale and measures about 16 centimeters in height; the Black Lotus part is substantially larger but as I tossed it back in its box already, I have no idea how tall it is. Aside from Black Lotus, she comes with nothing else to cover herself up with.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

Speaking of the Black Lotus part, I guess we’ll start with that, since that is supposed to be one of the main draws of this figure (or something). I guess this is supposed to be Kuroyukihime’s avatar in Accel World’s MMO environment? I dunno. Unsurprisingly, it comes disassembled in the box and though Max Factory (and the other Good Smile Company partner companies) have made an admirable effort at targeting the international audience, their instruction sheets are unfortunately still written only in Japanese. Happily, instructions aren’t really necessary for putting together this big black beasty; its torso goes on the base followed by Kuroyukihime’s upper body, and then you attach the right arm, then the left, and finally the head. Note that the arms, while made of plastic, have really, really sharp points; I think you could use them to puncture flesh without trying too hard. The antennae are similarly pointy, so due care should be taken while putting everything together.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

With everything assembled, Kuroyukihime looks gorgeous. Black Lotus’s arms wrap protectively around her, which is presumably where the “Death By Embracing” moniker comes from. Personally, I think that’s a little inaccurate, since Kuroyukihime looks like she’s more ready to deliver death than dying herself, but perhaps she’ll send Black Lotus to slay her enemies by hugging them. Anyway, Kuroyukihime’s passive expression contrasts beautifully with the intimate, almost sexual interaction between herself and her alter ego.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

I’m not sure what the orange liquid is supposed to be, but it kinda reminds me of LCL from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Speaking of which, it occurs to me that that show also had a pitiable male protagonist and an ethereal, almost divine female lead. It’s a lot easier to sympathize with a guy risking his life in battle against space aliens than it is with a guy who plays video games, though.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

Black Lotus is really well-constructed, and its abstract, starkly mechanical design gives it a sense of menace that perfectly complements Kuroyukihime’s lithe, youthful body.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

If one chooses, one can also display Black Lotus all by itself. There’s a little kidney bean-shaped plastic cover that goes over the slot in the orange faux-liquid panel which Kuroyukihime would otherwise occupy; that hides what would otherwise be an empty pit, but it’s not entirely inconspicuous.

I didn’t notice this before, but Black Lotus has an impressive rack; perhaps Kuroyukihime is compensating for something?

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

From the rear, one can see that Black Lotus’s back comprises an assemblage of segmented tubes. When trying to design something that looks unsettling, tubes and an insect-like appearance or mentality are good things to feature (the xenomorph from the Aliens series and the Borg from Star Trek are additional examples).

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

But as nice as Black Lotus looks – and it looks very nice, I must admit – it’s not why I bought this figure. I bought this figure entirely because of Kuroyukihime, and not because of her personality (though I’m guessing she has a nice personality, and that I’d probably like her more if I knew more about her). Rather, the main draw for me is Kuroyukihime’s appearance; she’s all but nude, wearing nothing more than a scrap of white panties. It’s a very daring figure, one that I’m surprised Max Factory made in the first place.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

As I understand it, Kuroyukihime is a middle school student, but she looks very young here, so young that I’m sure more than a few figure collectors decided not to buy this figure because of her apparent youth. She’s generally depicted with a fairly modest chest, but besides that, this figure also gives her a very slim waist and upper torso – her waist appears to be narrower than her head, actually. That makes her look quite a bit younger than she actually is. Note that her hair is glued down on her chest, thus preventing this figure from being completely explicit.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

However, she also has broad hips, giving her a somewhat asymmetric look that nonetheless significantly boosts her sexiness. Her hips are quite prominent, framing a very long abdomen; the combination of her small bust, wasp waist, and elongated stomach present a rather unique appearance.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

Those hips are girded by her one article of clothing, a pair of low-cut string panties. They scarcely protect her dignity in front and fail completely at covering up her rear.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

This ass-baring style of brief has obvious appeal but I’d prefer a higher-leg style. Obviously that wasn’t possible with this figure; her legs detach so that she can fit onto her Black Lotus base, and those detachments points have to be squared-off, hence the unusual straightness of her panty’s waistband. That said, this doesn’t look bad at all; it certainly looks distinctive, and it also gets big bonus points for skimpiness.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

When a figure is nude or mostly nude, the sculpting of the body takes on increased importance. Happily, Kuroyukihime’s body design is very impressive. Anime character designs are typically highly stylized and tend to lack realistic features, but Kuroyukihime’s body shows details like protruding pelvic bones, apparent abdominal muscles, and discernible ribs. The poor girl seems to need a nutritious meal more than she needs clothes.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

Kuroyukihime’s body posture is designed to interact with Black Lotus, but it works reasonably well when she’s by herself. Obviously, one probably won’t be paying much attention to her pose at first glance, but it doesn’t look too strange, and it also lends itself well to certain home-made accessories.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

Her strongly-arched back is another erotic aspect of her character design. You won’t see this part of her very often, most likely, but the strong swell of her buttocks provides a lovely complement to the flatness of her chest.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

Her face is just as attractive as any other part of her. Although her expression is fairly neutral, somehow it still conveys a palpable sense of mood. The ambiguity of her look also gives her a heightened sense of maturity, in contrast to the young, undeveloped appearance of her body.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory

Kuroyukihime with Black Lotus is a great figure, but in my view, Kuroyukihime by herself is even better. Removing her virtual persona gives up the artistic uniqueness of the design but makes huge gains in terms of visual appeal – or at least, the sort of visual appeal that I prefer. She looks very sexy with her body virtually on full display. Her panties look great as well, and while one has to admit that everything that is amazing about this figure is so very, very wrong, I figure that if one is disturbed about this sort of thing, one probably isn’t watching much contemporary anime these days, anyway. Kuroyukihime is a fantastic figure, one of the very best figures I’ve received this year.

Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
Kuroyukihime figure by Max Factory
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41 Responses to Kuroyukihime from Accel World (Death by Embracing Version)

  1. Asa says:

    I was really tempted to get her, but as I already have Koto’s version of her, I decided not to. She is incredibly sexy, and you show her off quite well with your shoot.

    As for the show, I quite liked it — but I have learned to simply ignore male characters in anime these days. I watch it for the girls, and don’t care about male protagonists as they’re almost always stupid, weak, annoying and worthless. Accel World was worth watching for the girls and I do suggest giving it another shot if you can manage to grit your teeth and bare with porky.

    • Tier says:

      This was a pretty fun figure to shoot. I’ve had some figures that are a real struggle to photograph (like Rias Gremory), but Kuroyukihime was really easy. Usually I take maybe around a hundred shots per figure, but I shot a couple hundred of Kuroyukihime without even realizing it.

      I wish I could ignore male characters – or even better, I wish that more anime studios would just chop the male leads out entirely. I mean, most of them are trying to sell figures and cell phone straps and hugging pillows and smartphone cases with pictures of the female characters, so the male characters are kinda superfluous. I have the feeling that if I were going to watch one of these sorts of shows, I’d probably be better off going with Sword Art Online; I don’t actually know what Kirito looks like, but I’m betting he’s a fairly average-looking anime dude and not a squatty, whiny little punk. I didn’t mention it since I didn’t want to belabor the point, but it’s also annoying that the same guy who voiced Shu voices piggy; it took me only a few moments to realize they were the same guy, whereas I didn’t recognize Issei’s voice in High School DxD.

      • Asa says:

        I enjoyed SAO a lot. Best series of recent years, and Kirito isn’t just a generic-kun with emo issues. Well, he has issues, but he focuses the rage in to awesome instead of being mopey.

        I do agree with you that they should just remove worthless males; look at K-on’s success. Generic male protagonists obviously aren’t necessary to move merch. Plenty of other such series that sell really well too, but when a “story” is present it seems a male is necessary, in the eyes of mangaka. Which is a shame.

        Seirei no Moribito was a bit leftfield a few years ago, in that the protagonist was a strong awesome woman. Still had a few male chars, but it was all about Balsa. More series need to do that.

        • Tier says:

          Well, that sounds promising at least. If there has to be a male main character, it’s nice when he’s decisive, or at least more than a milquetoast nonentity. I’m looking around for some new things to watch, since I’m done with the wrestling anime and the jousting anime; maybe I’ll put that on the list (the other shows on the list include Steins;gate and Clannad).

          I must admit I haven’t heard of Seirei no Moribito and for some reason I thought it was a mecha anime (I think the mecha in Jinki Extend were called moribito, or somesuch). One thing I’ve liked about anime is that there are a lot of series with strong female characters (and admittedly, there are quite a few shows that do a poorer job of it. That’s one big reason why I don’t like the tsundere archetype; I think it’s demeaning that a female character starts out independent and then gets all petulant and mush-mouthed when she starts falling for the dude. And I do realize how peculiar that may sound given the imagery contained in this post.). I’ve also found it interesting to contrast how Western video game makers and Japanese anime approach the subject; it seems like many American game makers and game players believe that a strong female character needs to be desexualized, which strikes me as being a very weird mix of modern progressiveness and ultra-conservative puritanism. I much prefer the way Japanese anime and manga creators handle it, which is that nobody really cares too much if a character has a showy outfit.

  2. Wieselhead says:

    Amazing, how a marvelous lolita figure like this can be imported, the mecha design is a good camouflage overall. I was surprised as I’ve seen her nude at first, so sexy. With panties all the way down the sculptor let his creativity run free, sure the show had fanservice but nothing close to sex.

    I bet people who love the character must have died from happiness about this, ot were thinking how to hide it from their parent, which seems to be a regular concern of the younger collectors.

    I also dropped Accel Word within seconds after Guilty Crown I was allergic to half assed heroes, months later I completed it and I admit it was really enjoyable after the crappy start. The short looser improved his attitude. Haha and I loved the foul mouthed loli redhead XD

    The base would be somehow superfluous for me I think, it covers all the good questionable stuff. At first I thought there were no legs or another display option for her, but the second option turns out to be far more exciting, she’s without question minor but so damn attractive and nicely sculpted. Combined with her lovely face, she’s the most seductive, yet tasteful lolita figure I’ve seen so far. Kuroyukihime was cool and really beautiful, but had a bad taste in men, well she gave fatty a lot of cute affection. In the online world she was super strong.

    Not sure what to think about her age and proportions, a few years ago I would have loved her, I still think this figure is super sexy, but with growing age I notice that Im more attracted to curvy characters with a decent bust or at least nice hips. The 2nd Maken Ki OVA recently was festival for for me ( ̄▽+ ̄*)

    Nice idea with the fitting chains the pictures look really great, but buddy put the dog off her, she’s an honorable girl X<

    • Tier says:

      Indeed it is! It’s a brave statement by Max Factory. There are several figures of Kuroyukihime out there and I often get them confused, but this one always stands out in my mind. One of the things I like so much about it is that it presents the character in a way that (I’m assuming) she’s not typically portrayed.

      I bet they were! I’m sure quite a few were worried about what their country’s customs agency might do when they inspected the box. For all the oddities the United States is known for, I’m glad that free speech laws are actually pretty relaxed here compared to what I’ve heard of elsewhere.

      It’s good to know that the show gets better. Still, I really wish they’d made the character at least a little less freakish-looking; given that everyone else in the show seems to look like a typical anime character, he stands out way too much. I think Gainax took a better appraoch with Gurren Lagann, where Simon was definitely shorter and younger than many of the other characters but he didn’t stand out as being disfigured.

      Yeah, the base is wonderfully modeled and works really well with the figure, but when Kuroyukihime looks like this, I’m not really interested in keeping her hidden behind her avatar. She is way too eye-catching to be displayed cut in half.

      I’m not really a big lolicon – at least, I say I’m not – but I really like how Kuroyukihime looks. I think that in general, I also prefer a more mature-looking character type; I really liked the characters in the recently-concluded jousting and wrestling anime series, for example. But I’m okay with Kuroyukihime’s appearance, too. I think the only thing I generally don’t like is characters that look like toddlers (and I’ve seen some of that before) or characters with gigantic breasts or hips.

      Ahahahaha, no way; the dog was way too much fun not to use. It’s too bad that her hair kinda gets in the way of her lying down; otherwise, there would have been even more possibilities.

  3. Cerberus says:

    Sweet shots! this figure presents great combination of soft body curves and solid sharp mechanical elements. I still find the connection between the legs and the torso awkward, but you can not complain when the figure offers you such diversity to play around with.

    • Tier says:

      Thanks! Yeah, her underpants do look a little odd, the way they are so squared off. I think it’s a safe assumption that this figure was designed to be displayed with Black Lotus, so I’m just happy that they included the legs at all; I hadn’t planned on getting this figure until I learned that she could be displayed by herself, with her whole body intact. I’m not really a big fan of busts.

  4. BostonBrandon says:

    Black Snow Princess was one of those figures I spent far too much time mulling over the pros and cons and just ended up not ordering as a result.
    I was very back and forth mainly due to the fact that she is first and foremost a bust figure (I hate busts). Its great that they give the option of displaying her with legs though it seemed a bit obvious in the promo shots that she looks best (at least in my opinion) with her avatar hip deep in orange goo and yet I must say if only they included the bondage chains as a prop I might feel otherwise.
    When I last commented on Rias you had wondered whether companies saw and perhaps what they thought about your site as well as others who post pictures of their figures. Well, my girlfriend who I shared some of your pictures with today puts forward a pretty interesting notion. What would the Commander and Chief think if he saw what “he” got up to outside of the White House!?! That being said thank you for including him, it always brings a smile to my face. Great work as always.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I don’t care for busts either; especially those that don’t even include arms. Speaking of props, I probably should have included that little Tentacle Ouji dude that I have somewhere around here; I had forgotten all about him, which is a shame as he’d be about the right size to work with this figure.

      It would be interesting if he did ever find out but to be honest, the level of civility in political discourse here is so terrible that I doubt it’d get much of a reaction. I am sure he’s been portrayed in much, much more vicious ways than what is seen here. Here, it’s all in good fun but elsewhere, I’ve seen stuff that gets really personal and I’m sure he’s grown a pretty thick skin by now.

      • BostonBrandon says:

        Good point, a well rounded sense of humor should go hand in hand with a public profile. As for the Ouji dude, yes please, also more of the tentacle stand and Obama-sama are always appreciated.

        • Tier says:

          Well, the tentacle stand should definitely be getting some use soon since Hobby Search tells me that 1/4 scale Eucliwood figure is in stock. I’ve still got some funny ideas for the president (that are a lot less lewd than usual) but I need to figure out how to use this Dremel Saw Max thing I bought first. (Man this hobby is great; who’d have thought that collecting girly anime figures would lead one to an interest in power tools?)

          • BostonBrandon says:

            Ha, with the way her hands are positioned it’s far more than an invitation. It’s like Freeing is begging you to bring out the stand!

          • Tier says:

            Haha, true indeed. I hadn’t even thought about that until you pointed it out but she’s basically framing a target, isn’t she? Now I’m looking forward to getting this figure even more than I was.

  5. Nexus says:

    Where did you get those bondage chains?

    • Tier says:

      I made them myself; they’re just made out of some black tape and some little rings and lengths of chain I got from the jewelry-making section of the local arts and crafts store.

  6. Dvalinn says:

    Geez, you sure went all pervert on those shots, didn’t you? Trenchcoat Obama strikes again! Though she does look good in those chains.

    I skipped out on this figure myself, because I already had Koto’s version and something felt off about MF’s version of her face. Not to mention she’s a bust. Still though, the temptation to get here at some point is still there. I love the colour scheme and the overall look she has when you combine her with her avatar, and I find that she actually looks sexier without the legs (if only because the skimpy bikini-bottom looks kind of eh). I do like how the features on the body are sculpted, even if I’m not a fan of girls who’re so skinny you can constantly see their ribs. Also pretty funny how the avatar has bigger boobs, never really noticed that. She probably really is compensating for something.

    As for the show, while the protagonist’s artstyle does feel a bit off, he never turns out as bad or whiny as Shuu or Shinji Ikari do, because he at least has enough fight in him to struggle to the end instead of constantly run away. He was overshadowed by Kuroyukihime though, which I didn’t mind, cause she was awesome. She was ambitious, cunning, more mature than most people her age and just an overall joy to watch (though I loved the fiery redhead loli too). Not a type of female character you often see outside of villains, and a hell of a lot better than trophy wife Asuna from SAO. And on the subject, Kirito from SAO is a character I’d pay money for to watch him die in a fire. He’s the most overrated character in years, being an insufferable standard shonen protagonist who’s pretty much the overpowered self-insert character of a 14-year old’s fanfic. Don’t bother getting excited over him.

    But I digress. Nice shoot though, and you really showed the appeal of this figure, to the point it rekindles my own interest. Maybe I’ll pick her up once there’s a second season or something, so I can excuse buying multiple figures of the same character or something. Though given that I just got Santa Cryska after having already bought her plugsuit version, I’m breaking that one-character rule more and more often already…

    • Tier says:

      Ha, and can anyone blame me? This figure practically demands to be shot this way. I have to admit that the popularity of this character also made this photographic theme more attractive. I did exercise some restraint, though; I’ve still got this can of condensed milk here that I could have used (but that I’ll probably turn into dulce de leche one of these days instead).

      Yeah, she does have a distinctive sculpt, with the odd panties and the malnourished frame. Not knowing much about the character, I thought that was pretty cool, since usually MF, Alter, and GSC often stick close to the official designs of the characters they adapt. It reminds me a bit of MF’s Real Image version of Yoko Ritona and of gangsta lean Saber, both of which were very eccentric takes on popular, mainstream characters. Kuroyukihime has an advantage in being considerably sexed up, though, whereas Daiki Kougyou toned down Saber’s lewdness by an enormous degree (and Yoko looked kinda like a man, unfortunately).

      Ahahaha, now I’ve got two opinions on SAO. It sounds like what they really ought to have done is mashed together the two light novels and had Kuroyukihime and Asuna in the same show, doing things with each other that could only be done in anime. I mean, who wouldn’t watch that? Who’d say no to that? I’m guessing that means Kirito is shielded with heavy plot armor … I guess that I’m not predisposed to hate that without knowing more, but I know how it can quickly become one of those really irritating things.

      • Dvalinn says:

        It is interesting how there’s different takes of characters, yeah, or done using a different style. Gift’s Madoka girls come to mind as well, going for a more realistic look. I do wonder how they got the permission to get Kuro so sexed up though – all she had in the show were a few bath scenes, whereas Asuna got tamer figures and she got graphically molested by tentacles. Usually it’s the other way around.

        And plot armor would be putting it lightly. He’s constantly pulling new powers out of his ass, which are often complete deus ex machina (removing all dramatic tension and causing massive anti-climaxes), pretty much everyone constantly sings his praises and to top it off he’s barely characterized to begin with, and what characterization there is, is constantly contradicted. And then his fanbase comes out and calls him the best character ever, even though he’s nothing more than an OP version of every other bloody shonen protagonist out there, where ‘I fight for my friends’ is apparently all the characterization they need. So yes, you might say I’m not a fan.

        • Tier says:

          Yeah, I don’t own any of those Gift figures, but I like how they look. (Kinda wish they were larger, though, I heard they’re pretty small even for 1/8 scale.) I wonder the same; it’s one thing if they’d just made this figure a bust, as Black Lotus adds a lot of artsiness (funny how underage nudity can be nominally rationalized in the name of artistry), but adding the legs and displaying her by itself kinda makes it nearly pornographic. Or actually pornographic by any standards but those found in contemporary anime. I do think it was a little strange that they picked this character to amp up the lewdness; I can certainly understand why MF sculpted Sheryl Nome the way they did, but Kuroyukihime isn’t an obvious choice for the sexy treatment. (Having not seen either anime, I have noticed that Asuna seems to have gotten a ton more really naughty doujinshi, in which she usually gets raped, often in front of Kirito. I don’t actually know of too many Accel World doujinshi.)

          Haha, that sounds … well, typical of anime and Japanese video games, I guess. I have to admit that I haven’t actually watched a lot of shounen anime; hell, I have to admit that I don’t know what the term actually means. I assumed that it refers to “manly” action-oriented shows meant would appeal to teenaged males (basically the anime equivalent of a first-person shooter) but then I googled around and saw some really strange definitions. I’ve never seen a single episode of Naruto, Bleach, Dragonball Z, or Full Metal Alchemist; I think I’ve heard of those shows referred to as shounen shows.

          • Dvalinn says:

            There’s some AW doujinshi around, but SAO does have a lot more – probably not only because it was more popular, but also probably because Asuna canonically porks Kirito (there’s a godawfully written sex scene of them floating on the net, writting by the author when he was still in high school). Not to mention Asuna spends most of the second half getting molested by the villain while she’s locked up in a cage (so much for her being a strong female character). And I’m far from the only person that dislikes Kirito. That tends to breed (NTR) doujinshi. Which makes it all the stranger that the most Asuna ever got figure-wise in terms of sexed-up-ness was an option to take off her skirt.

            And calling shonen series the equivalent of an FPS wouldn’t actually be that far off the mark. Most of them are geared towards young teenagers, and revolve around some guy and his friends getting involved in some kind of bigger world (ninja’s, soul reapers, magicians), fighting badguys and uncovering some kind of nefarious evil organization. Kind of like Harry Potter, if you’re going for children’s literature, or movies like Star Wars. You know the type. Most of them, with a few exceptions (FMA, Hunter X Hunter) are pretty terribly written though, and have utterly generic heroes that all have minimum motivations besides a dead parent or something. Basically, the majority of them is just like the main characters of FPS’s – bland, uninteresting, dime-a-dozen dipshits. And Kirito is like the overpowered (think godmode enabled) fanfic version of those guys, being incredibly aggravating because he singlehandedly ruins a great part of the enjoyment (because everything in the show revolved around him). And then he gets praised for being a breath of fresh air. WHY?! He’s more generic than most of the generic heroes!

            I need a freaking drink…

          • Tier says:

            I’ve encountered that story, if it’s the one about several years worth of semen glopping out of Asuna. It was interesting, though I did not know it was written by a high school-aged writer (but that does explain many things). Shame that that bit will probably never be animated; that, more than anything, would galvanize my interest in the series, though the idea of Asuna getting caged and molested is intriguing.

            I guess that does sound what I imagined shounen anime is like. I was picturing people with superpowers, who tend to cope poorly with social stresses or have a difficult personal history, and who scream out the names of their attacks as they perform them. Strangely, that seems to describe Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha to me, which explains why I detested its first movie (I have not seen much of its television series).

            What all this reminds me of isn’t actually an anime series – I don’t actually watch a lot of anime – but several book series I’ve read, notably The Wheel of Time. I’m a big nerd, which means I’ve read a lot of fantasy and sci fi books (though the mainstream popularity of The Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire means one need be less of a nerd to be familiar with the genre, I guess). I tried to get into The Wheel of Time but by the third book, I decided I hated all of the characters. I can’t quite remember why I hated Rand Al’Thor but I seem to recall he suddenly got a ton of powers pretty much out of nowhere, and then all the women around him got really bitchy, and the plot was going nowhere (and was heading there really, really, slowly), so I gave up on it.

            You know, I think that at this point, I don’t think I’m ever going to review Guilty Crown, but if I ever do watch Sword Art Online, maybe I’ll live-blog (so to speak) my thoughts. I think I could get a couple of posts out of it.

          • Dvalinn says:

            Hah, that third Wheel of Time book sounds a lot like the second half of SAO, which is when the show got really, really bad.

            And so, if you’re ever going to watch that second half, good luck. The only show I hated more in the year it aired was Guilty Crown, so that should tell you something…

  7. loveanime says:

    Been on the fence on this forever. Your, as usual excellent. review makes it tempting to still buy her. The positives are big:
    – Perfect face
    – Lovely curvy sculpt (the only “flaw” would be that the low panties give the (wrong) impression that her rear is flat)
    – Very unique concept

    But, at least to me, there are quite a few negatives, almost all centered around Black Lotus. The main issue is that instead of emphasizing Kuroyukihime, Black Lotus obfuscates what I want to see, even after working around the issue that the face visibility is not ideal in the “default” setup. Black Lotus also would take up quite a bit of footprint on my already super crowded shelves that need to accommodate more than 200 figures. So if I were to get this, I would just display Kuroyukihime. However, Black Lotus contributes to more than half the cost, shipping weight, and box size, putting a strain on my storage as I keep all my boxes.
    So in all aspects: visibility, item cost, shipping cost, footprint, and storage space, Black Lotus becomes the main thing and Kuroyukihime secondary. The figure being prone to scratches (again due to Black Lotus), the hair being glued to her top, and the gaps below the panties where the legs join (again to accommodate Black Lotus) are not helping either. Also I think the should just have provided a second “water” without hole instead of the plug.

    So for now, I am still on the fence unless perhaps I find her really cheap. I would not hesitate to buy Kuroyukihime if she were available separately. But I doubt that day will ever come.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I didn’t care too much for Black Lotus, so I threw it back in the box straight away. As nice as it looks, I don’t really need it stabbing or scratching any figures on my shelf in case I bump it or something. It’s possible that she could get a huge discount; in fact, I’m kinda expecting her to. It seems like a lot of GSC, Max Factory, and MegaHouse figures that don’t sell out upon release end up getting massive price cuts.

      • loveanime says:

        Yup, that is exactly what I will do if I manage to get hold of one for a good price. And you are right about massive price cuts. As you recall, back in August I mentioned I got a good deal on Tomo Asama for 5,332 Yen plus shipping. Turns out you can now get her new for 3,658 Yen and I have seen her as low as 2,850 in Item B/ Box B condition. I could easily have waited as I have not even unboxed mine.

        • Tier says:

          Yeah, I’ve got a few figures here that I haven’t opened that I paid full price for, only to see them get huge price cuts. None of them beats Yuria Misaki, though; I’m kinda dismayed at how much money I could have said had I held off, especially if I had rolled with SAL shipping instead of EMS.

  8. DP says:

    Nice figure and shoot!

    To experience Kuroyukihime without the porcine lead, watch episodes 18-19 of Accel Saga only. They’re a Kuroyukihime side story showing both her and her black lotus avatar.

    She does have an interesting back story – she’s actually a reformed villain and dark lord of the net seeking redemption…

    • Tier says:

      That’s kinda neat … though maybe it might’ve been cooler had she stayed a villain … or sought redemption by empowering someone a little more attractive and less squatty-looking than the piggy. Thanks for the recommendation, I might check it out one of these days.

  9. DP says:

    One – perhaps the only – really interesting thing in Accel Saga, which the series name derives from, is that the high end virtual world hackers like Kuroyukihime have discovered how to “live” at accelerated rates in the virtual world.

    As well as playing games, they can use this to (for example) do work or practice sports. Thus, while she looks like a middle school student, Kuroyukihime is actually considerably “older” in experience, having lived several extra years in virtual space. No wonder she seems precocious in your photo shoot…

  10. Cyril Young says:

    Great figure and awesome works, for this Kuroyukihime I like her face(expression) and the ‘Black Lotus’. Specially the ‘Black Lotus’, it is by no means an accessories, the black matt coating has an amazing texture!
    Actually, I don’t like the ‘convex ribs’,it made her look like a malnourished refugee.
    But I could never hate flat-chested, although she’s too old…
    The design of the base is also very ingenious, transparent corrugated design is just great! the only downside is: black piano lacquer makes the base become a ‘fingerprint collector’.

    • Tier says:

      Haha, indeed! She really looks like she could use a sandwich … which makes this sort of photographic setup all the more obvious. They did do a very fine job with Black Lotus, though I suppose that’s only to be expected; Max Factory has had a great year producing figures, which is very pleasing since before this year, I had kinda thought they were content with chucking out Figmas and drawing down their scale-size figure production.

  11. NegativeZero says:

    H0lySh1t! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a review and then ordered a figure that fast! Never been a loli fan but the addition of that Black Lotus base blew my mind. Now I have to go watch the series. Thank you!

  12. icelava says:

    The kuroyukihime school avatar is such a lovely and elegant character design. I couldn’t help but sweep up the nendoroid and figma versions. However, I strangely hesitated when it came to the pvc statues, perhaps because every vendor and their grandmother is attempting to a sculpt of the butterfly princess.

    Max Factory’s artistic concept immediately awed me; a highly creative decision to completely do away with her critically-trademark dress/wings and marry her into a tight bond with Black Lotus. It is inline with the anime as we often see them naked while “piloting” their combat avatar bodies. This sinister and softly seductive artistic achievement is the reason why it sits in my display shelf.

    While kuroyukime on her own technically looks mighty fine and seems deliberately double-designed for the naughty room e.g. http://myfigurecollection.net/picture/855919 , she isolated away from Black Lotus with that kind of “outfit” completely loses all the context and connection back to Accel World (even though I detested the show), and worse, loses all that artistic concept that was the original driving force. The two really come together to form something more than the sum of its parts. There is no compelling factor (putting swim gear aside) for any vendor to simply sell a stand-alone naked kuroyukihime; it would feel out of place, out of touch with the series.

    My kuroyukihime and Black Lotus stand together in unison

    • Tier says:

      I freely admit that I’m fine with that; from what I’ve heard of the show, the farther away any figure of this character is from the anime, the better. I was mildly interested in the Kotobukiya version until I noticed that it came with the pig, and I ruled it out right after that. The less I think of him and my impression of the first episode, the more interested I am in a figure, I think.

      • icelava says:

        Yea certain character designs/personalities are so downright terrible it becomes impossible to appreciate their plastic renditions, no matter how much technical excellence was accomplished.

        Which is why I absolutely refuse to obtain anything Kousaka Kirino.

        • Tier says:

          Haha, yeah; I heard about that show/light novel (I’m assuming it’s a light novel) and I was like “Oh hell no.” I’ve got this personal policy where if an anime has the word “imouto” or “onee-chan” in its title, I don’t watch it, unless it’s a hentai show.

  13. Hojun Boo says:

    Does anyone know what episode this figure comes from

  14. 7Mode says:

    I don’t think just because one has watched a lot of modern anime doesn’t mean you still couldn’t be disturbed by this figure. I’ve watched a lot and despite it all I defiantly still find it very very wrong and gross to sexualize characters that clearly look like children or very young teens. It’s something a healthy human just feels. The figure is well made but I just can’t see it as sexy at all, it’s the body of a 11 year old I’m looking at and that is more a turn off than anything.

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