Lacia from BEATLESS

Lacia from BEATLESS

One of the first anime figures I ever bought was Alpha’s Motoko Kusanagi Hard Disk Version. It’s cheaply-made and primitive by today’s standards, and it’s not a scale-size figure, but even so, I still like it, mainly because I like the character design. Scantily-clad female combat androids are a staple of science fiction anime and video games and, having grown up on that stuff, it’s a theme I like a lot. I hesitated for just a moment on ordering Lacia, since Good Smile Company sold this figure only through their online store and I always consider twice when it comes to paying for a figure up-front. However, after seeing her preview pictures, I felt that this was going to be a fine figure, and now that it’s here, my esteem for Lacia has only grown.

Lacia torso view

Lacia is a character from BEATLESS, a light novel written by Satoshi Hase and illustrated by redjuice, who also designed Good Smile Company’s Racing Miku figure last year. The name of the series may refer to the fact that Lacia is an android who presumably lacks a heart and circulatory system. I think this figure was the first scale-size figure to be sold through Good Smile Company’s online store and this was my first shopping experience with them. Happily, the ordering and shipping process both went smoothly, unlike some customers’ experiences with one of their earthquake relief nendoroids.

Lacia overhead shot

Lacia is a 1/8 scale figure, albeit rather on the small end of that size. She’s about 18 centimeters tall but still takes up a large amount of space due to the impressive device she holds. In total, the figure is around 27 centimeters tall and 23 centimeters long.

Lacia rear view

The figure comes mostly ready for display, with just four pylons needing to be attached to the device. I had a good deal of difficulty fitting them, but they do stay secure if you attach them correctly, and I probably wasn’t lining them up correctly in the first place. Lacia herself attaches to her base via a single socket in her right foot, which is worrisome since she’s the heaviest part of the assembly. Hopefully that won’t develop into an issue in the future.

Lacia leaning back

Lacia has a lot of cool points about her. Let’s start with the outfit: some thigh-high socks and a high-tech leotard adorned with panel lines comprise her costume. Her socks and sleeves are less elaborate but are painted in a high-gloss black, lending some fetishistic appeal to her image. Accentuating the sensuality of her design are her high heels, which seem grossly incongruous but look fantastic anyway.

Lacia's face

Her face does not reveal much, as might be expected for a combat android. She’s quite pretty regardless, with a cold, intimidating, hypnotic gaze. I wonder if it would have been better if they had given her lips, though; her mouth looks a bit like an open slash through her face and maybe lips would’ve softened the comparison. Also, Lacia is plainly similar to Inori Yuzuriha, another of redjuice’s creations, and that character’s anime design has some very sexy lips.

Lacia's weapon

Her base is a faceted piece of matte black plastic, which calls to mind the shape of a stealth fighter. Her device – called the Black Monolith – comes attached to it. Set behind its wielder, it delivers an ominous impression, its sharply-raked angles and abstract formlessness contrasting with the femininity of Lacia’s softly curved body as well as her impassivity.

Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review

And though Lacia’s pose is in itself collected and imperturbed, the angles of her body and the Black Monolith effect a dynamic look that generates a sense of energy about her. This is a common theme in redjuice’s artwork as well; for example, in Stupid Missiles – the first picture of his that I ever saw and still one of my favorites – the diagonal lines of the terrain and in the sky and the slant of the structures in the distance establish a feeling of tension and dynamism, even though the main subjects of the work are just sitting or standing around.

Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review

The ornate mechanical parts encircling her hips can be removed if desired; her left leg detaches so that they can be pulled off. Normally I would remove them, as I do with most of my figures where the opportunity exists to expose their crotches or backsides, but in this case, she seems less special somehow without them, so she’ll be keeping them on.

As befits a figure sold exclusively through Good Smile Company’s shop, Lacia’s packaging gets the VIP treatment; she comes in a neat black box which also includes this handsome book, ostensibly her owner’s manual. It contains some artwork by redjuice, including concept sketches for Lacia’s design, some background information regarding both the BEATLESS project and the design process of this figure, and an excerpt from the BEATLESS novel, which unfortunately is the only thing an English translation isn’t provided for.

BEATLESS concept art of Lacia

The book of course includes the artwork which this figure was based off of. It also gives some explanation regarding Lacia’s history, her status as an hIE – or humanoid Interface Element – and some miscellaneous trivia about her – such as the fact that she needs to be kept moist and that ownership is established by inserting a finger into her Owner’s Recognition Unit. I like where this is going.

Black Monolith design

This is her device, a “huge black lump.” It is said that only her owner can unlock the full potential of this device. I think I’ve heard that before …

Concept artwork of Lacia and buddies

Lacia and buddies … that dude looks like someone I may have seen before … maybe in a recent anime …

Preliminary Lacia design

Some preliminary sketches of Lacia. I kind of like this design; the long sleeves are pretty cool, as is the long hair.


Click for Deviantart.

Also included in the book is this image of Lacia. It’s very cool, particularly how Lacia’s wings are emerging from her ass rather than her back. Nothing wrong with upending convention from time to time.

Lacia's butt

And one last note: Lacia’s backside is really cute. No wings are provided, though.

Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review

Lacia is a great figure, one that I’m very happy to own. Her design is one that fans of sci-fi anime will find familiar, and combined with redjuice’s prowess, is very appealing. And while her youthful appearance is captivating, the Black Monolith is eye-catching in its angular menace and balances Lacia’s attractiveness. Though Lacia’s design is reminiscent of other characters from the genre – particularly Motoko Kusanagi, whose color palette she shares in large part – there aren’t many figures that look like this one, and this distinctiveness combined with her excellent design and Good Smile Company’s quality make this a fine figure indeed.

Lacia, front
Lacia, left
Lacia, rear
Lacia and her device
The Black Monolith
Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review
Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review
Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review
Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review
Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review
Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review
Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review
Lacia's rear and thighs
Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review
Lacia from BEATLESS Figure Review
Lacia from Good Smile Company
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38 Responses to Lacia from BEATLESS

  1. Asa says:

    She is quite pretty, and I rather regret not getting her, but I’m not all that keen on ordering direct from GSC as MSRP/RRP costs tend to be quite a bit higher than Ami and I spend far too much on figures as is.

    I also have to share your gripe with her mouth; it really needs lips to define it some. The random gash in her face it appears to be isn’t terribly attractive, and is probably the only down side of the figure. I do like what you did with the shoot, though.

    Especially #14, I love that sort of angle, utilising DoF nicely. I did a similar (well, worse because I’m a crap photographer) play with depth yesterday, in fact; http://myfigurecollection.net/picture/344330&ref=item%3A61728 — I need to play with composition and angles more, so I’m starting to play a bit. Her pose forced it on me, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while anyway.

    Anyway, I do kind of regret not getting this figure, as she surely qualifies as a weapon girl to fit in my collection guidelines (though I’ve ignored that recently anyway, woe unto my wallet) and you certainly make her look very much worth the money.

    Any chance of a shot breakdown on this or is it too soon since Miku’s for you to have bothered? ^^;

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, she wasn’t cheap, even though she didn’t require a proxy expense, and the moribund exchange rate is not helping things. I skipped their store version of LIW Miku because of that; I’ll be happy with the retail version even without the elaborate dual megaphone base.

      I agree with you there, I think her mouth is the biggest problem, and I kinda think that keeping her mouth closed might’ve been a better choice, even if it’d be faithless to the artwork. Visualizing it in my mind, she’d kinda remind me of Alter’s Buddy if her mouth were closed, and that’s a figure that I like very much.

      I like where that picture is aimed XD Man, what a peculiar hobby this is, that you can buy a figure of a teenaged anime girl with her highly-detailed underwear in clear sight (and no collector would think it strange!). Maybe I’m a bit more introspective now that one of my best friends and his wife just had their first child, but I wonder how I’d react if I had a teenaged kid and he said, “I want to order this!” while pointing to a figure of an anime girl with her cameltoe in plain view.

      I hadn’t planned on doing a shot breakdown but I could do one later, since the setup is very straightforward. In fact, it’s nearly the same setup as the one I showed in the Miku breakdown, on my first two attempts at shooting that figure. It’s just the same foam packing material I used there – I get a ton of mileage out of that stuff, it’s great.

      • Asa says:

        Fortunately I rarely have visitors, so not too many people have seen my collection, though I have had a few interesting comments. When my mother visits she looks at my new acquisitions quite judgementally. She likes some, but finds others too “risque” to which I shrug her off.

        A builder I had around to do some odd jobs, that I asked to secure my new display case (wasn’t screwed in to the base) said “these sexy lil minx’s are a lot better than the gnomes and fairies my wife collects”

        And when I had an AC installed some time ago now, I only had one case, but the electrician was somewhat curious about where they’re from.

        I don’t, however, have any properly “ero” figures. I have CM’s Horo, who is naked in a relatively tasteful manner, and Alpha’s Alice, who, while I don’t display cast off, is shelved at eye level where you can see straight down her rather loose top. My mother questioned Horo, but she won’t read the novels. Pfft to her.

        Anyway, as for a breakdown, I guess it’s not necessary if you didn’t do anything new or fancy. I just like seeing your setups. I ordered a Manfrotto flex arm and superclamp, and I will be getting my LED lamps soon (hopefully) so will be able to do more interesting lighting, or at least remove poor lighting as a factor in my sometimes overly grainy photos (despite always shooting at ISO200). Lighting makes a huge difference, though I’ve also found some post processing (levels) to introduce a lot of noise, so I have to mess with that some. Been recommended to overexpose and software darken, rather than under or 0 expose and brighten. Yet to do any testing as I have no solid lighting atm. All things to experiment with.

        • Tier says:

          My friends think my collection is hilarious, I think. I usually run my prospective purchases by them, particularly if I’m having difficulty choosing between two items.

          Yeah, that technique is called exposing to the right; there’s a lot of merit to it, I think, but I never do it since calling up the histogram is an annoyance while shooting. However, if you’re having noise issues, it’s a good thing to try. I almost always underexpose, and since I’m neurotic I run my pictures through a noise reduction filter even though I know it’s technically degrading the quality of the image.

          I might do a breakdown anyway, since the background is not complicated in the least but maybe it would be useful to show how you can get an interesting effect by controlling lighting. I build a lot of one-off backgrounds to suit specific figures but I like these multi-use backdrops, particularly since I don’t have to do any preparation to get them ready.

  2. Devastator001 says:

    I agree she really has a cute tight tush ^_^

    • Tier says:

      She does! They definitely did a nice job there. As they should have – she calls to mind the Guilty Crown characters and the best reason to watch that show was Inori’s ass (though in my mind, the best reason is now Shu’s mom’s ass).

  3. Ashlotte says:

    I should like this figure…I mean Redjuice…Big awesome base…Sci-Fi themed…Skin tight outfit…And yet it just doesn’t do anything for me at all even with this great setup you have for her. Maybe its the face? I dunno kinda bothers me really…

    Well in any case awesome shoot love her bum!

    • Tier says:

      You should indeed like it! Yeah, I can get where you’re going, her face isn’t really all that lively. I mentioned Buddy in another comment and though their poses are very different, they seem to have that same sort of expressionless, almost lifeless sort of look to them. I like that look, but judging by how many people I convinced to buy Buddy who later sold the figure, obviously not everyone does. Neither perspective is more correct than the other, of course, just different things that appeal to different people.

  4. Otakumouse says:

    The figure is super awesome overall. Though i’m really not happy with her face. Maybe because I’m used to looking at pretty character designs like sonico or tamaki. Love the photos! Keep em coming!

    • Tier says:

      I do have Sonico and Tamaki reviews in the queue. Just as soon as I figure out what to do with their settings. Though neither one of them actually looks very happy …

  5. BentoLover says:

    I know a LOT of people hesitated and in the end skipped on this figure. Myself included. And sweet baby Buddha am I regretting it (as are most individuals aforementioned…). Though if GSC’s Saber Lily; Avalon is anything to go by, I’m hoping for a resale. Hoping…

    And to think Ami stopped selling Miku Append internationally. I would’ve bought her to remind myself of this…

    Nice review nonetheless. Been waiting for this and Lacia turned out to be beyond my expectations.

    • Tier says:

      How very peculiar, I looked through Amiami’s site and you’re right, I don’t see the Miku Append figure there. Though the Figma is still listed. Curious.

      Hopefully they’ll do a second run for people who skipped this one but decided they wanted it. The figure hobby can be doubly deflating; sometimes you skip out on a figure and then have to pay a huge markup later on when you decide you want it and it’s out of stock everywhere, and sometimes you buy a figure and then it gets a tremendous price cut everywhere and you feel rather dumb for paying full price. I’m experienced both feelings very recently.

  6. Wieselhead says:

    She has no blush marks but her cute ass makes up for it XD
    The box of her seems to be really nice, looks as nice as a Native box.

    I like her outfit, with the shiny stockings and fingerless gloves a lot.
    18 cm seems a little bit short (1cm taller than lat type Miku) but somehow could be expected with this huge device around the figure.

    Well, her face is also very pretty, but as blushmark maniac Im missing them on this figure, even if she is something like a Cyborg, who rarely blushes ^^.

    She has an attractive body, as I already said above, It looks very attractive what they did with her thighs above these stockings and small but also plump buttocks.

    These are nice sci fi like pictures, the background colors look really pretty in all these pictures.

    Why does she remind of Guilty Crown, it can’t be just because of the redjuice guy ^o^

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, no blush for Lacia, though I guess that might be understandable since she’s an android. It is propitious that you bring this up since it’s an issue I have with the next figure I plan to review.

      She looks a lot like Inori, doesn’t she? It’s going to be interesting to see how what the figures of Inori look like; I’m guessing GSC’s will look much like redjuice’s art, and everyone else’s will look more like her anime design (which doesn’t look a lot like redjuice’s art).

  7. Katsura-chan says:

    I understand why you like it ^^ Its the type of girl body i like, slim but not too much, no oversized breasts, socks and a beautiful nicely shaped buttocks. This last part is defintely her strong point to me!
    I know that her face reflect that android part of her but something is bothering me with her mouth. She doesn’t car about being sexy but she would have been perfect to me with sexier lips.
    I would expose her without that huge device if i had her though, way too big to my opinion.
    Photos are great btw, what did you use for this blue light background ? I wonder.

    • Tier says:

      I think a lower lip would’ve made her face look more natural, as it does with a lot of Alter’s figures. She does have a very pretty body and outfit, though. I wish more figure companies would pay more attention to the backside more often, as GSC did here.

      The background is some foam cushioning that was in the packaging for some electronic equipment I got a long time ago. I just arranged it in the background to try to provide an abstract, geometric look, and then I used some blue-colored light to give it a pleasing, futuristic look.

  8. Phil says:

    Goodsmile is on a roll, heh.

  9. Break says:

    though her design is by no means anythign new, it sure is really nice and captivating, and i originally wanted herm, but back when she was for preorder, iw as totally broke so i didnt. i still regret it. i wonder if ill be bale to get her somewhere else still…

    i also really like th eblack monolith thingy.. and i think if i wouldve known she got he VIP treatment with book and all as well, iw ouldve ordered her back then anyways.. ugh…

    well if you seenay good chance to get her tell me? xD

    on a side note,i recently got my designer color version of queens gate alice. i thought i’d tell you, sicne the normal color version is one of oyur favourite figures. i quite like her, even though getting her corset off is kind of a pain and all, and you sure do see her age in stuff such as lackig detail on the back and stuff. but well, shes still gorgeous especially for afigure with the sculpt originally from 2007^^

    • Tier says:

      I’m guessing your best bet might be to check eBay, Mandarake, and Yahoo Japan. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see this figure show up on the secondary market; GSC allowed each customer to order up to five figures, and that seems like they’re specifically catering to resellers.

      Ah, cool, that’s a great figure, or at least, it looks like a great figure in the pictures I’ve seen. I’ve got mine still in her box and I probably should take her out one of these days. I like the original figure but it’s not actually one of my favorite figures.

      • Break says:

        hm i see..
        i never actually used yahoo japan yet, i gope i dotn screw up.. then again, if i want an android girl i could just wait for a decent Horizon Ariadust instead, seeign as i dont have a clue what beatless is abotu anyways…

        yep^^ oh, ah right, i mixed you up with the guy from nekomagic i think; he ocne reviewed her, statign she is his favourite.

        well its ancie figure indeed, and most notably might be that she is one of the few, if not the only, loli thats succesfully using eyeshadowing XD
        shes anice figure, however her corset is very difficul to get off..

        • Tier says:

          That’s probably a good plan, I’m sure Horizon will have quite a few figures. Unfortunately the first two seem to be Japan exclusives. I’m not sure what the deal is with that.

          • Break says:

            hm well, hobby-frontier usually lsists japan exclusives too so thats less of a problem than it used to be^^ and yeah, well, the first two figures of her seem kinda statis though. i#d REALLY like a figure of her and tori in the scene in episode 13 where they held the gunblade-thigny which’s name i forgot together, that was avery memorable scene, but i guess its unlikely to get a figure version; they almost never make figures with two persosn on them… well, there is a certain chance for the scene to become a GK though.

  10. Beautiful shots – the background worked really well with this figure. I really like this figure’s pose. Her outfit is kinda reminiscent of Miku Append (or vice versa) ^_^’ The included book is a nice touch and I think adds a little more elegance to the overall package.

    • Tier says:

      I was wondering if Miku Append was also designed by redjuice, and looking around, it appears that she was not. She does look uncannily similar to Inori and Lacia here, though.

  11. BioToxic says:

    Lacia really looks fantastic. I was wondering why I hadn’t seen her on amiami and similar sites – GSC shop exclusive. At least they sell to international customers but she’s still is quite expensive.

    Her outfit is quite similar to Miku Append in style, which I like. Her dynamic pose is amazing and a contrast to her void facial expression and lifeless device. Her character design reminded me of Inori as well which makes sense given she’s by the same artist.

    I really like her vacant facial expression. As you say she could have used a little colour in her lips, but I don’t find it too distracting as she is at the moment.

    I’m torn on whether I like her base or not. On one hand it looks really flashy and dramatic. But then on the other hand it looks like a giant lump of black plastic which takes up too much space. Plus I’m not sure what it’s meant to be, a weapon or something? Mind you I’m only really seeing it from a 2D projection, so maybe it looks much better in 3D.

    The included sketch book is a nice extra. The full black body suit and long hair design concept is cool. If she looked like that I’d be all over her xD.

    • Tier says:

      I thought it was really curious that they sold this figure only through their shop; it seems like the sort of product that would have wide appeal. On the other hand, it’s also kinda curious that they don’t sell all their figures only through their shop, since then they’d keep all the profits rather than splitting them with retailers.

      Yeah, I’m not quite certain what her weapon is; I said it looks formless but it can look kinda like a giant crossbow or something. Presumably its purpose is clarified in the novel, but since Lacia is supposed to be a humanoid weapon, I’d guess her device has combat functionality.

  12. Luth says:

    Damn, I’m sad I had missed out on this figure and your review makes that regret deeper. GSC looks like they went all out on her and the 2k yen shipping fee seems like a bargain with the nice packaging and probably turned out to be a huge box. I think her device adds a lot to it as well, this could be a centerpiece figure that draws eyes to it.
    Ah well. There’s supposed to be another Beatless figure in the works according to redjuice himself, hopefully it comes out as beautiful as Lacia. I’m liking this recent GSC sci-fi plugsuit themed trend with Lacia, Miku Append, and Racing Miku 2011. Hopefully it continues.

    • Tier says:

      Ah, that is interesting news, I wonder who it will be. I’m guessing maybe the confident-looking redhead girl. There’s also a girl who looks suspiciously like Tsugumi from Guilty Crown. How funny would it be if GSC decided to fool everyone and make a figure of the lead dude instead?

      I like that trend a lot as well. If they do a figure of Racing Miku – the Figma design rather than the pit crew one – I’d probably be inclined to get it. Also, if Miku had gotten this sort of futuristic look rather than her more derivative schoolgirl-themed look, I’d probably be a much bigger fan of her character in general.

  13. Mentor says:

    Damn I’m angry I somehow managed to miss this one D:
    Do I need to get even more newsletters to keep track with all releases!? XD
    I hope she hits ebay soon, as I’m not too familiar with the otaku ways of getting stuff from Japan to Europe… not to think about the price my failure is propably going to cost me.
    I love the pictures you once again managed to capture. The artificial blue light in the background and the reflecting surface fits her artstyle just perfectly.
    Ps: Lol about how to properly operate her 😀

    • Tier says:

      You do! Particularly with all these Japan-exclusive figures that don’t show up on most retailers’ websites. I usually check Akibahobby and Moeyo every morning before work, they often get figure samples from Native, Hobby Japan, and so on.

      I’m still wondering where on her body her Owner’s Recognition Unit is. I mean, it’d have to be someplace that is not easily accessed, since it would be bad design if any random person could come up to her, stick his finger in and claim ownership. At least, that’s the way I see it.

      • Mentor says:

        I got really lucky and she popped up on mandarake literally minutes before I would have placed my order on an ebay offer 70 bucks more expensive. She just arrived and I’m darn happy I dind’t skip on her.
        It was supposed to be with a damaged box, but that was barely noticeable and I inflicted far more damage on the box while opening her carefully since it’s damageable like hell.
        Didn’t realize she got that crystal thing going on in her hair, that’s a nice touch though.
        Hmm you’re probably right about the accessibility. Good Interface designers would most likely choose hollow spaces.

        • Tier says:

          Congrats XD It’s always great when you’re able to find a figure you really want at a price lower than what you’d otherwise be willing to pay. Kinda like when I got Yukino Hongou from Mandarake at half the price I was going to bid on Yahoo Japan Auctions.

          Yeah, that would be the best sort of placement, I think. I wonder if BEATLESS will ever get an anime. Guilty Crown is pretty bad but maybe a different studio could do a better job of adapting redjuice’s character designs, and then we’d know for sure where the recognition unit is located.

  14. Boreal says:

    Really great ! Lacia is not cheap~ but I desire one now..
    I just wonder what’s your background? The blue lighting really fascinating.

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