The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a Manga and an Anime which follows the life of Haruhi a high school girl who can unconsciously change reality, and her adventures in herself proclaimed SOS Brigade, which she founded to investigate mysterious happenings. Fun then ensues as she recruits Kyon a cynical classmate, Yuki who is a bibliophile, Mikuru who is a time traveller and Itsuki the esper, but alas to Haruhi is unaware of her comrades’ true identities. Mikuru is a time traveler from the future, who like Yuki has been assigned to keep an eye on Haruhi and discover the reason why there, is now an inability to time travel to any point in time before three years prior to the present story.
Tsuruya-san is the hyperactive friend of Mikuru and makes several appearances throughout the series. She is loud with a cheerful and friendly disposition and is prone to fits of unrestrained laughter caused by things she finds humorous. Tsuruya-san's fang-like tooth gives her an idiosyncratic speech pattern and a slight lisp. Tsuruya-san has also been named an Honorary Consultant of the SOS Brigade by Haruhi, as for her home life she is the heir of the Tsuruya family, whom collaborates with Itsuki's Agency.
Packaging:
Tsuruya-san 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 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. Tsuruya-san's backdrop is reflective silver.
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 = 6/10
Stand:
Tsuruya-san 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:
This is Tsuruya-san Culture Festival Maid Version.
Tsuruya-san's overall design is lovely, her waitress uniform looks great and her hair is just awesome.
Starting from the top, her hair is nicely shaped, with soft PVC pieces at the front so that they do not interfere with her head movement. Her dress uses a combination of soft PVC and hard plastic, her shoulder pieces are soft PVC as is her apron, her bow is hard PVC and separate from the main apron which is okay but it would have been nicer if it was soft PVC as the rest of the apron is to blend in better, but no biggy. Her apron is nice with nice frills and ruffles in it, the rest of her dress is nicely shaped with ripples in it. She is also wearing the standard Figma soft PVC panties. So overall a very nice sculpt and design.
Sculpt = 8/10
Paint:
Tsuruya-san has a nice colour scheme a simple white blue and red. Her paint job is generally neat with few mistakes, so nothing much to say. Her hair is lovely colour and her faces are painted very well.
Tsuruya-san's accessories are nicely painted with her plate of noodles having very nice detail, they look so edible!
Paint = 7/10
Articulation:
Tsuyura-san 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.
Tsuruya-san has added articulation in her hair, she has a hinge joint in her main hair piece so that it can move back allowing her to be attached directly to her stand. She also has a hinge joint on the main part of her skirt allowing it to move forwards and back.
Pose:
Tsuruya-san is therefore highly posable and can be posed in a variety of ways. With the use of the accessories supplied, her Cafe food and tray and her wicked face, she can be displayed in a number of poses, carrying noodles and chopsticks, handing out drinks, or attacking prey! However there are a few areas in which articulation is restricted, she is unable to sit down properly due to her long skirt, the length of her hair also restricts her from some movements.
Articulation & Pose = 7/10
Enjoyment:
I will break down enjoyment into two categories: Accessories and Play Value.
Accessories:
Tsuruya-san comes with two facial expressions; a winking expression, and a smirking expression. Tsuyura-san also comes with an assortment of hands; a pair of fists, a pair of open hands, a pair of hands for holding items, a pair of creepy grabbing hands, a pointing hand and a hand for carrying her tray.
Tsuruya-san also comes with a tray which her hand plugs into, two cups of water, a plate of fried noodles and a pair of chopsticks. She also comes with an extra hair piece for one of the Mikuru Figma's so that Mikuru can wear her maid outfit, and lastly she comes with a piece of hair which plugs into the back of her head to hid the hole where her stand can plug into, 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:
Tsuruya-san is able to use some of Reimu's hands and she can also fit Reimu's face's. Her hands for holding are not very big so she can only hold Miku's microphone stand. And she of course is compatible with the other Tsuruya-san Figma's and their faces and hands can be swapped. Tsuruya-san also comes with the hair piece which allows Mikuru to wear the maid outfit.
Next up is a height comparison, as you can see she is on the middle of the Figma height scale.
In general Tsuruya-san is a fun figure to have, she is cute cheeky and the maid costume is just great. Since I have another Tsuruya-san Figma I am able to mix and match and have a lot of fun with this figure, so I recomed for any fan of the character or a fan of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Enjoyment = 9/10
Over all Tsuruya-san scores 7.3/10
