Packaging:
Cute comes in a Exclusive Figma box.
On the front is a window for viewing the figure, on one side is an art picture of three characters from the game, on the other is an art picture of Cute, on the back is a large art picture of the various characters from the game and the game logo, the relevant information, all in Japanese, is found on the bottom of the box or on the bottom of the front of the box. Instructions for swapping face pieces and other items are usually printed on either inside of the box tabs or on a piece of paper slipped inside the packaging. Also take note that all figures you purchase have the correct authentication printed or stickered on the box.
Inside the box the figure is held between two pieces of moulded plastic, with spaces for their accessories. The extra hands and the base of the Figma stand are stored in plastic bags underneath the figure in the plastic moulding. Figures are usually wrapped with plastic in certain areas to protect the paint. Boxes also come with inserts which act as backdrops in the box and can be taken out and used for backdrops while displaying figures. Cute's backdrop is a sunset with a magic circle featured on it.
Cut also comes with two fitted card board pieces which hold the game and the cd securely, the visual art book was contained in a plastic bag attached to the outside of the main box. Please note that I will not be reviewing the PSP game Spiral Chaos, or the cd.
Packaging = 6/10
Stand:
Cute comes with the standard Figma stand. Made of clear plastic it has three points of articulation which move forwards and back on hinge joints, one joint is at the bottom where it plugs into the base, one in the middle and one where it plugs into the Figma. The articulation of the stand allows the Figma to be posed in a variety of dynamic poses, and because it is clear it does not interfere with the aesthetic of taking dynamic and exciting photos.
Stand = 7/10
Sculpt:
Cute's overall design is what drew me to the Figma, her clothing design and detail is just wonderful.
Starting from the top, she has a nice hair with little pony-tails either side of her head with black ribbons in she also has white hair clips on either side of her fringe. Her face is nicely shaped and I love the stars in her eyes. At her neck she has her collar cape thing, which is separate from her and can be removed, her cape has a nice star shape punched out of the back where it fans out on each side, and her tie which is in a blown in the wind pose has a circle hole at the bottom, like her hair ribbons do. Her top is several layer, you have the black layer which is painted onto her, her white straps which are soft PVC which is really cool as it means you get the correct character design of straps sitting off her shoulders and yet they will move about easily to allow full range of arm motion. The main part of her top is also soft PVC very nice, and means that it doesn’t restrict waist movement. The detail on her top is really nice, with cross over straps and little crosses and bows on the bottom of her top.
Starting from the top, she has a nice hair with little pony-tails either side of her head with black ribbons in she also has white hair clips on either side of her fringe. Her face is nicely shaped and I love the stars in her eyes. At her neck she has her collar cape thing, which is separate from her and can be removed, her cape has a nice star shape punched out of the back where it fans out on each side, and her tie which is in a blown in the wind pose has a circle hole at the bottom, like her hair ribbons do. Her top is several layer, you have the black layer which is painted onto her, her white straps which are soft PVC which is really cool as it means you get the correct character design of straps sitting off her shoulders and yet they will move about easily to allow full range of arm motion. The main part of her top is also soft PVC very nice, and means that it doesn’t restrict waist movement. The detail on her top is really nice, with cross over straps and little crosses and bows on the bottom of her top.
Her arms have nicely detailed gloves on and then lower arm armour which is in two pieces a circlet and a shield plate, a very nice rounded design. On her hands she has a Fraulein Revoltech style cuff which slips onto the hand and then the hand plugs into the arm, this allows the clothing stays true to the character and yet doesn’t compromise the Figma design.
Now her skirt is made of three layers. The top has on it a very cool and cute little waist pack, which seems to have a life of its own as it has eyes and teeth, then at the back she has bow and there are little diamond shapes cut out of the ends of the bows ribbons. A nice thing to note is that the strap of her bag is fully detailed and just great, however most of it is under her top, but moving her around you can see it underneath. Her second layer of skirt is pleated and made of soft PVC, the layer under that is also soft PVC and has some nice detail around the bottom to make it look a bit lacey. Then she has the cutest panties. They are soft PVC and have some nice frilly detail around the top to make them lacy and at the sides have bows with long ribbon, very sweet. I do not have a picture of them because it is just rude to take a picture of a girls under skirt!
Onto her legs, like her arms she has long stockings, this time with nice crosses on the top and suspender straps running up her thighs very cute and slightly Lolita. When you get to her boots she has some inner boot on her lower leg which runs down to her feet, which are nice heeled boots, this is the only place where design has restricted her movement, her feet can move very little, as she then has an armour shin plate. There is an ankle plate which curves around and joins to her shin plate, with a lovely three feathered wing on the outside ankle and then her shin plate comes out in a large rounded piece which sits forward from her leg, a very nice shape. And instead of the standard Figma soft PVC panties, they have lovely lace-like detail around the top, and bows on either hip with ribbons that hang down bellow the bottom of her skirt, very cute.
And so over all a fantastic sculpt they have not scrimped on detail or on allowing movement with the use of lots of soft PVC and layers, a wonderful and beautiful figure.
Sculpt = 10/10
Paint:
Cute is painted really well with minimal human error, so just fantastic. There is barely any paint mess-ups and her colour scheme is wonderful, she is full of colour with reds and yellows and purples some green and brown and with such nice detailing and little embellishments, making her a superb display figure she is just lovely to look at.
This time I will start with her feet. Her boots are red and white with yellow stars on the top of each foot, and nice white stars at the top of her shin armour plate, and there is gold on the button of the winged boots, which looks great. Her stockings are nicely painted with red detail trim and yellow crosses. A very nice touch is they even have included the detail of the top of her suspenders above her panties, which is nice even though you don’t really see it unless you are staring up her skirt. Her skirt is white then red then white, with darker red paint in the pleats of the second layer to make it look even better, her top skirt then has a lovely purple/blue star on the front. As mentioned before she has her bag, which is light browns with white teeth and red eyes, and a little yellow star above its eyes in the middle. Very nicely painted bag. Her top is well painted to a purple with a darker purple trim, highlights of yellow on the crosses and white on bows, and a little shield emblem which has a smiley face, which is half yellow half green. She has a black halter painted on underneath her outer top and her collar/cape is white with a nice red tie, painted very neatly. Her gloves are the same as her stockings and arm armour the same as her leg plates. Her cuffs are well painted with red trim and a yellow star on each. Her face's are also great, her eyes done really well, perfect little stars and with just enough human quality to them, and of course her cute rosy cheeks. Her hair is nice light pink with some white clips and black ribbons. Oh and on her left arm she has a little red star tattoo which has eyes.
So over all her body is well painted, just wonderful bright colours and nice detailing. Good job Figma.
Cute’s accessories are painted well, her blades have great colouring with a fade of light silver at the tip into a darker colour, and the handles are a brownish tan colour and at the end have a nice gold end, only two points where a paint is messy, on one sword there is a little paint missing probably scraped off near the handle and on the other the gold looks like it could have used another layer as you can see the darker paint underneath, but those are no biggies. Her hands are just painted her skin tone, which may I say is a very nice tone, a lovely rich peachy colour. Her faces are great, I just love her eyes red with star shaped goldish pupils, but they have managed to make her look human even with those eyes just with the expression in the faces. She also has nice rosy cheeks on all her faces and some added blush on one of her faces.
Her ‘Shift’ body is also painted as well as her main body. However there are a few run-overs on close inspection, but nothing major. Overall a great paint job, excellent detail and design.
Paint = 10/10
Her ‘Shift’ body is also painted as well as her main body. However there are a few run-overs on close inspection, but nothing major. Overall a great paint job, excellent detail and design.
Paint = 10/10
Articulation:
Cute's use’s the standard Figma joint system. Figma joints are hinge joints with pegs on either end allowing both forward and back movement and rotation.
At the head a Figma joint is used at the top of the neck allowing the figure to look up and down and turn their head left and right, however looking up is restricted somewhat by the design of the back of the hair. To change the faces on Figma’s the front piece of hair is removed and then the faces can be taken of and swapped.
The shoulder consists of a double joint, a ball joint which sits inside the upper body, this is attached to a ball shaped Figma joint which acts as the shoulder, and this allows full range of motion to the shoulder. Further down a Figma joint is used as the elbow and bends in and then out straight and there is some slight rotation for the lower arm to turn in and out. At the wrist the various hands plug into a small hole at the end of the arm. Each hand also has a hinge joint, which not only allows the hand to rotate but also to move up and down which gives the figure realistic wrist movement. Cute uses the straight peg hands, and these do come loose and fall off most of the time
A waist joint is located in the middle of her torso. Waist joints are ball and socket joints, a ball joint will be attached to the upper body and which plug into a socket in the main torso, this gives the body twisting movement and bending forwards and back. At the hips a three jointed ball and socket joint is used. One ball plugs into a socket at the bottom of the torso acting as the hip joint; this allows the hips to turn side to side, lean forward or back, then on each of the other two ball joints the legs plug on. Each leg has an inner socket which the ball joint plugs into, this piece allows full range of motion from the ball joint and also allows the thigh to turn in and out as it pegs inside the main leg piece.
A Figma joint is then used as the knee allowing the knee to bend backwards and then out to straight, and there is some slight rotation for the lower leg to turn in and out. The ankle also is a Figma joint allowing the foot to point and flex turn in and out.
Pose:
Cute is therefore highly posable and can be posed in a variety of ways. With the use of the accessories supplied, her two blades and her 'shift' body, she can be displayed in a number of poses, attack ready with a blade in each hand, just plain sweet and cute with her smile, or using the 'shift' battle damaged body. However there are a few areas in which articulation is restricted, although her skirt is mainly made from soft PVC she still cannot flat on her bottom, but she gets close too it, also the design of her boots means that she barely has any movement in her feet.
Articulation & Pose = 8/10
At the head a Figma joint is used at the top of the neck allowing the figure to look up and down and turn their head left and right, however looking up is restricted somewhat by the design of the back of the hair. To change the faces on Figma’s the front piece of hair is removed and then the faces can be taken of and swapped.
The shoulder consists of a double joint, a ball joint which sits inside the upper body, this is attached to a ball shaped Figma joint which acts as the shoulder, and this allows full range of motion to the shoulder. Further down a Figma joint is used as the elbow and bends in and then out straight and there is some slight rotation for the lower arm to turn in and out. At the wrist the various hands plug into a small hole at the end of the arm. Each hand also has a hinge joint, which not only allows the hand to rotate but also to move up and down which gives the figure realistic wrist movement. Cute uses the straight peg hands, and these do come loose and fall off most of the time
A waist joint is located in the middle of her torso. Waist joints are ball and socket joints, a ball joint will be attached to the upper body and which plug into a socket in the main torso, this gives the body twisting movement and bending forwards and back. At the hips a three jointed ball and socket joint is used. One ball plugs into a socket at the bottom of the torso acting as the hip joint; this allows the hips to turn side to side, lean forward or back, then on each of the other two ball joints the legs plug on. Each leg has an inner socket which the ball joint plugs into, this piece allows full range of motion from the ball joint and also allows the thigh to turn in and out as it pegs inside the main leg piece.
A Figma joint is then used as the knee allowing the knee to bend backwards and then out to straight, and there is some slight rotation for the lower leg to turn in and out. The ankle also is a Figma joint allowing the foot to point and flex turn in and out.
Pose:
Cute is therefore highly posable and can be posed in a variety of ways. With the use of the accessories supplied, her two blades and her 'shift' body, she can be displayed in a number of poses, attack ready with a blade in each hand, just plain sweet and cute with her smile, or using the 'shift' battle damaged body. However there are a few areas in which articulation is restricted, although her skirt is mainly made from soft PVC she still cannot flat on her bottom, but she gets close too it, also the design of her boots means that she barely has any movement in her feet.
Articulation & Pose = 8/10
Enjoyment:
I will break down my review of enjoyment into two categories, accessories, and play value.
Accessories:
Cute also come with her two blades, each handle can be unplugged so that a hand can be slipped on and then reattached.
Unlike most of the previous Figma's, Cute's hands for holding are not completely closed which means that items can be easily be slipped into her hands, this also means that she can hold a number of accessories which belong to other Figma's, this is a very nice touch by Max Factory.
Next accessory is her ‘Shift’ body which is an extra body with battle damage inflicted upon it. Her clothes and skirt is tattered and the back of her skirt has been ripped off showing her panties. Now the ‘Shift’ body is used by putting her lower legs and arms onto Figma joints which are attached to the body, and of course her head as well.
Play Value:
I will break down play value into two categories: Compatibility, with other figures and accessories, and general play.
Compatibility:
Because Cute's hands for holding items are not completely closed she is able to hold practically any other Figma item. She can use the weapons for Signum, Saber and Vita, she can also play around with Miku's leeks as well as rock it out with Miku's microphone. As her hands are almost the same skin shade as Reimu's she can use Reimu's cup holding hands and magic card hands, she also fits Reimu's face pieces, however they do fit rather loosely, however this means Cute can become a happy drunk just like Reimu. This opens up the possibility of poses for Cute, and brings her enjoyment factor way up.
Oh and don't forget when all is said and done someone has to do the cleaning, now start sweeping Cute!
Next up is a height comparison, as you can see she is on the taller side of the Figma height scale.
General Play:
In general Cute is an extremely enjoyable figure and one of my favourite figures, she is easy to pose, and has loads of soft PVC parts which is great, and although she doesn't come with many accessories her holding item hands allow her to mix and match with a range of other Figma items. Cute is definitely a Figma with character and fashion sense, and she fits in well with the other misfit Figma's I have.
Enjoyment = 9/10
Over all Cute scores 8.5/10
