Reimu Hakurei is a main character from the Touhou Project games, which are a series of shooting games. Touhou Projects plot revolves around strange phenomena that occur in the realm of Gensokyo, an isolated community which was once haunted by yokai, now in present day human and yokai coexist in Gensokyo, however the seal which surrounds Gensokyo has weakened and more things from the outside world appear in Gensokyo.
Reimu Hakurei is the shrine maiden of Hakurei shrine the only known gateway from Gensokyo and the outside world. Reimu is an easygoing and somewhat lazy when it comes to training her magic. However she has a strong sense of duty and for the sake of Gensokyo she perseveres through all obstacles. She is a pleasant person and gets along with everyone even past enemies.
Packaging:
Reimu comes in a standard Figma box.
On the front is a window for viewing the figure, on one side is the Figma logo, on the other is a picture of the figure, on the back there is relevant information, all in Japanese, and pictures of the figure in various poses with their various accessories. 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 molded 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 molding. 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. Reimu also comes with a special cut-out to use with the Di: Stage.
Figma’s also are supplied with a small zip-lock bag to store all the accessories in, the name of the figure can be written on this bag so that figure accessories can be stored neatly. Figma’s also come with a neat little device for storing the extra hands in.
Packaging = 7/10
Stand:
Reimu 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:
Reimu's character design has changed throughout the Touhou Project games and so this is Max Factories interpretation of Reimu's character design.
Reimu's overall design oozes cuteness, from her big red bow to her tiny little feet. She is a very small and dainty Figma, with a small body and big clothes.
Starting from the top, Reimu’s bow is lovely with nice ripples and wind-blown ribbon, the ribbons being made of soft PVC. Reimu also has a very nice hair sculpt, it is detailed and flowing, her bangs at the front are made of soft PVC so that they are not in fear of breaking and they do not restrict movement, similarly the collar of her shirt is made of soft PVC. Her shirt is in a lovely wind-blown shape which reveals her tummy, and a very cute belly-button. The wind-blown look continues into her skirt which ripples nicely with the frills of her underskirt done very well indeed.
Her sleeves are also wind-blown and are nicely shaped and detailed, however as they are hard PVC it does make some poses look strange and her sleeves will stick out sideways.
Reimu is also the first Figma to have bloomers! Yes that’s right lovely bloomers, the bloomers are a part of her leg sculpt, with soft PVC panties completing the bloomers at her leg and hip joint, and they are lovely and puffy and frilled at the bottom, very cute indeed. Her legs are very thin and girlish and she has ruffled socks and nice shoes.
Over all a well done sculpt, all the joints are sufficiently disguised and she is just delightful.
Sculpt = 8/10
Paint:
Reimu has a lovely colour scheme red and white, with a nice little yellow handkerchief scarf. For the most part Reimu’s paint is plain, however she has wonderful detailing around her bow and collar and the bottom of her skirt, and all of it is perfect. The red ribbons on her sleeves are also painted well. A nice touch is that unlike most Figma’s Reimu has some nice shading done in her hair giving it a lovely depth, unfortunately my Reimu has some parts where the paint on her hair has been scratched, but these are only very small spot. Only other complaint with paint is that her wraps on her bangs are painted rather messily.
Reimu's accessories are well painted, her facial expressions are done neatly and the detailing on her charms is fantastic, her Sake bottle is nicely done as well.
Overall a very nice paint job, Reimu is very visually appealing.
Paint = 8/10
Articulation:
Reimu 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.
A waist joint is located under her chest. 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.
Reimu also has additional articulation, she has a peg joint which her bow slips onto and at the end is a ball joint where her pony-tail plugs onto allowing her hair to move in all directions.
Pose:
Reimu is therefore highly posable and can be posed in a variety of ways. With the use of the accessories supplied Reimu can be displayed in a number of poses; battle ready with her charms and prayer rod, shrine maiden style with her broom for keeping the shrine in good order, and of course her happy drunk pose with Sake bottle in hand. However there are a few areas in which articulation is restricted, because her sleeves are made of hard PVC some poses are restricted or look odd because her sleeves are permanently in a wind-blown style. The other restriction is like most Figma's her skirt stops her from sitting down as it is made of hard PVC, also this means she cannot do extreme leg movements, however she is able to kneel which is nice. One note worthy thing is that unlike a lot of Figma's she is nicely weighted and so it is easy to pose her and she rarely falls over.
Articulation & Pose = 8/10
Enjoyment:
I will break down enjoyment into two categories: Accessories and Play Value.
Accessories:
Reimu three facial expressions; her plain content expression, an angry battle ready expression, and her happy drunk expression. Reimu also comes with an assortment of hands; a pair of open hands, a pair of fists, a pair of hands holding her charms, a pair of hands for holding her green tea cup, a pair for holding items, and finally one hand holding a red dish and another hand for holding her bottle of Sake.
Reimu also comes with her prayer rod, a cup of green tea, a broom, and a bottle of Sake, you are provided with two stickers for the Sake bottle, one to stick onto the bottle as the label and a spare incase something happens to the first one. It is nice of them to provide two just in case, however it would have been even nicer if the label was already on the Sake instead of having to apply it yourself.
Unlike most of the previous Figma's, Reimu's hands for holding are not completely closed which means that item can be easily 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.
Play Value:
I will break down play value into two categories: Compatibility, with other figures and accessories, and general play.
Compatibility:
Because Reimu'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, Cute and Vita, she can also play around with Miku's leeks as well as have a drunken karaoke night with Miku's microphone. This opens up the possability of poses for Reimu, and brings her enjoyment factor way up.
Next up is a height comparison, as you can see she is on the shorter side of the Figma height scale.
General Play:
In general Reimu is an enjoyable figure, she is easy to pose, has a good amount of accessories and her happy drunk facial expression is just so cute. Reimu is deffinitely a Figma with character, and she fits in well with the other misfit Figma's I have.
Overall Reimu is a fun figure, she has good range of expressions and the design of her hands means that she has loads of play potential.
Enjoyment = 9/10
Over all Reimu Hakurei scores 7.8/10
