Welcome to a new figure review, it’s about the 1/8 scaled magical girl Prisma ☆ Illya, I like cute magical girls a lot so I didn’t want to miss the cute Illya figure. I received this figure right after my vacation, I had to choose SAL shipping so that Illya won’t arrive when Im not at home.

Illya was manufactured by Phat Company and actually released on the 14th May in 2013.
Illya is scaled 1/8 and is 19 cm in height, she was sculpted by the experienced Mazaki Yuusuke.

Her origin is a Fate/stay Night spinoff manga called Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma ☆ Illya where Illya becomes a magical girl who has to collect cards, sounds a bit like Cardcaptor Sakura, that reminds me that I still have this certain anime review draft, that I should finish someday. In this world Illya is living together with Kiritsugu, Irisviel and Shirou. As she is chosen by the magical stick “Ruby” things happened and Illya becomes the magical girl apprentice of Tohsaka Rin.

Judging from the first few chapters it is quite hilarious. Oh and for the non manga readers (like me) there will be an anime adaption in the upcoming summer season in a few more days.

Hair & Face

Her haircolor is faint blonde with some subtle shading, two longer pigtails appear at the back of her hair with spread strands at the tips. The hair is decorated with cute winglets, the pink shading there is quite nice. The hairstyle is very close to the manga, overall the hair could be a bit more finer detailed but it’s still nice. Magical girl Illya has a beautiful face with big amber colored eyes and adorable blush marks. The figures has a big open mouth thats amplifies Illya’s happy and playful personality, on closer inspection an upper front teeth line has been applied.

Outfit & Body

The outfit is a tribute to more classic and cute  magical girl outfits like in Card Captor Sakura.
Her sleeveless top has a cute collar with a yellowish ribbon hanging down. The half sleeves are ending in the white gloves, at the end there is a golden rim. Further below Illya is wearing a nicely sculpted double layered skirt, the top part is light pink and a bit more solid, while the lower piece is dark and frilly, yeah and not to forget it’s short. Not, it’s the wind, the wind.

At her back  is small cape with a long, wing like shape, these wings have golden crosses at the tips. Her shoes are also equipped with winglets, they are a little different than the ones on her head. She is wearing light pink stockings with a jagged rim, there is a little distance between her legs and the jags. Of course Illya would be no real magical girl without zettai ryouiki.

The outfit radiates a lot of innocent cuteness, aside from her skirt being short and the revealed underside of her left thigh, which is a nice sight for sure. But it is not too bold for a magical girl to wear. The figure has a pastel like, subtle color theme, spiced up with a lot of interesting shading.

Illya ia a young girl with a petite body, the magical girl costume suits her very well and does a good job in amplifying her youthful charm and appearance. the slender arms are really cute. Quite som effort has been used to make her legs look attractive, the uplifted leg gives Illya some modest sex appeal. Under her cape Illya’s back is a little exposed, not as detailed as I wished, but her shoulderblades are covered by her cape anyway.

The magical stick “Ruby” looks like it’s manga counterpart gold, white and dark red. At the neck it has a nice clear part and a small golden cross can be found at the end. Getting it in place was a bit tricky, but therefor it won’t fell off too easily. Sturdiness is also a word that can be used for the connection to her base, even though Illya is only balanced on one leg, it is a stable solution.

Im enchanted by Illya’s pose where she seems to float forward in midair in an attempt to land, there is this kind of flow in the pose which is quite appealing, I really like  the articulation with her waving hand and the bend leg. The figure has an appealing fluttering appearance.

Final Words

Ahh, it has been some time since my last figure review and Im all rusty this time, anyway the figure of Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma ☆ Illya turned out quite nice. Her face is beautiful and even has nice blushmarks. I like the classic magical girl outfit of this figure a lot. I like the design and flower petal like wings of her top. It’s cute, it’s short and has a cute pastel like color theme.

After Hibari Phat Company again delivered a very nice figure that overall met my expectations. Qualitywise the figure is quite clean, there are only very few seamlines if they are noticeable at all. The colors are cleanly applied and the shading is great. From a nitpicky point of view I would say that a few parts of her dress, appear a few mm thicker than they could have been made.

Of course Phat Company is not on the same level as Max Factory or ALTER but only by a few percent, they manufactur solid and pretty, quality figures. I like this certain sturdiness of Phat’s figures, I am so bold to say that their figures are more durable than products of top manufacturers.

The anime adaption is starting soon, don’t miss the adorable magical girl Illya!
 httpvh://youtu.be/66JY7HRFpcE

Like I mentioned in my last Preorder Post, receiving this figure was a rather unforeseen purchase.

But Im actually about receiving my copy of ALTER’s Menma figure, destiny seemed to treat me good since the package arrived earlier than usual and I was spared from Customs fees as well.

Menma was released in October 2012 and manufactured by ALTER. It seems that the illustration of 厨二屋@下之世どらごん was used for this figure, the artist also draw the illustration for ALTER’s Hitagi. Menma is a 1/8 scaled figure and including the base, the figure measures 21 cm in height.

Her origin is “Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai“, a quite nice and heartwarming anime from 2011. In next years summer there will be a Movie adaption as well.

Menma is a cheerful, happy girl who likes to be around her friends, Well actually Menma is a ghost.
[spoiler name=”Info – Spoiler – Warning”]She died as she drowned in a river, yeah thats quite hard, since then her former group of friends grow apart. Menma hadn’t passed away yet and she stays in her ghost shape, the only person who can see and interact with her ischer old friend Jinta. Menma is living at his house.[/spoiler]

Hair & Face

Her haircolor is a washed out tone of brown with a shade of grey, with the number individually sculpted strands the hair has a very light appearance,  I think her fringe looks pretty cute here.

Menma has a pretty and 3 dimensional face with cute ears between the hair. The most prominent detail of her face are the huge blue eyes, they are beautifully painted and the eyelashes add a nice contrast around them. The eyes give the figure a very lively feel. I also like the subtle applied blushmarks and the small eyebrows. Menma has a faint smile on he lips, from some angles it appears whimsical and there are other angles where it seems to be a not entirely happy smile.

Base

The base of this figure is actually a masterpiece, I would say. ALTER recreated this part of Menma’s and her friends hideout in a very nice manner, the recreation of different materials like wood and corrugated metal looks very convincing with the nice shading and weathering effects.

Menma is connected to the base without the use of any. The figure has a rectangular cutout at her butt who fits on the bulk she is sitting, to deviler more stabibility Menma has a magnet under her butt and so she manages to stay on the top of the base in her lively pose. You can easily take her off the top and let Menma sit on the lower part of the base, or even somewhere else.

Outfit & Body

Menma is wearing her standard outfit from the anime, it is a simple, very girly white summer dress. You could think that her parents were living in a Hippie community “Flower Power!”
At the back is a white ribbon, the blue ribbon at her front is the only color highlight of her dress.
I like the big frills at the end of the dress, frills can also be found at her armless sleeves and neck.

You can’t peek under her skirt because the figure actually has no lower body under her dress

Menma is a very skinny and petite girl, to put it bluntly she’s flat and without any curves. It seems like she is in need for food, but don’t worry she is a energetic and cheerful growing up ghost girl. The limbs are very well sculpted and it’s fun to touch her bare feet with the tiny toes.

Final Words

ALTER’s Menma is a cute little figure that embodies the picture of a pure innocent girl in a very convincing way. She is really enchanting in her angelic simple dress and the playful pose. On her own this petite figure might appear a bit inconspicuous, but together with the very nice diorama base, this Menma figure unfolds her true beauty. All the carefully crafted details of this figure and her base create a very cute and charming look. It’s a well done figure I would recommend to buy.

Without Leonia I would have probably passed on this adorable figure, Im really glad I took her in.

Another nice and very elaborate review of this adorable Menma can be found at pokethemerch

In case you prefer a more skin revealing Menma figure, Max Factory made a “jailbait” bikini version of her, she was reviewed by vanichufigures and nyaafigurines