Posted: 02.03.2024
REVIEW:
Uruha Rushia
figma 1/12 scale articulated figure
When it comes to Vtubers, few are as infamous as Rushia.
In 2022, Rushia was the second talent to ever be formally fired by Vtuber mega-corporation Hololive due to misconduct in the form of revealing sensitive information. Since then, she's taken on other aliases, working independently and under other companies using new personas. The mystery woman behind Rushia is always streaming as someone, somewhere.
I received this figure as part of a Good Smile Lunar New Year mystery box in 2023. While I'm a huge fan of Hololive and many of its talents, I never had the urge to pick up this figure. But if Good Smile wants to send me one against my will, I may as well review it!
Overview
Trustworthy?
Don't let her cute looks deceive you! Rushia can have a sinister personality. Oh, and she's a necromancer, no big deal.
Well rounded
From sculpt to paint to articulation, figma Rushia hits every mark resulting in a fun figure that's easy to pose.
Box & Packaging
Well, well, well... what have we here? A classic and modern figma box, of course!
This box redesign happened with figma #500, Dai, and has become the standard style since. Gone are the days when the plastic window stretched from edge-to-edge, now replaced with a tall figure portrait and a window that takes up about half the width of the box. I assume this was done so Good Smile could use less plastic in their packaging.
These modern figma boxes are all very similar, showcasing a large photo of the figure on the front, fun poses of said figure on the sides, and a smorgasbord of figure photos on the back. Speaking of the back, this box has one of my favorite elements: a photo of the figure and all of their accessories! Thank you, GS. It's like, the one thing I always ask for.
Most of the photos on the back feature very fun, unique backgrounds. Kudos for the creativity! Additionally, it's always nice when the box color scheme matches the figure well.
Accessories
Where’s the cutting board?
Your favorite pettan cutie comes with a few fun accessories.
You have your standard manual, storage bag, stand, faceplates, hands, etc. but not a whole lot else.
This is becoming more and more common with figma nowadays, offering less and less (even as the prices continue to climb).
Faceplates
Rushia has the option to adorn 3 different expressions.
Provided are: an angry or upset face, a calm smiling face, and uhh... whatever the hell that last one is.
Hands
8 hands to choose from!
Fists, pointers, grips, and splayed.
Nothing noteworthy or overly impressive here. They're hands, no doubt.
Knife
It wouldn't be a Rushia figure without some sort of device to murder you with.
Rushia is given this chef knife, allowing her to slice and dice whatever you'd like. It would have been great if Good Smile included a cutting board as well.
Fandead
Every Hololive chuuba has a specific name for their fans.
In Rushia's case, her followers were called "fandeads".
Packed in is a little cartoon ghost? marshmallow? ..bear?
It's a fandead. Just accept it.
Stand
figma stand. 'nuff said.
And more!
If you've ever watched Rushia stream, you may be familiar with the little yellow chick that used to sit upon her noggin every so often. I don't think they have a name, but they're here! With a small clear plastic doohickey attached to it's ass, this little chick can slide into the gap between Rushia's hair parts to reenact your favorite stream moments.
Also included is a classic anger symbol printed onto a clear plastic sheet. With use of the arm at the bottom, you can wedge this piece into Rushia's head to give her a very exaggerated sense of anger or stress.
Articulation
From head to toe, Rushia has all of those classic figma joints you know and love. She is very fun to pick up and fiddle around with, making for a great desk buddy.
Mikeneko Rushia has some rather interesting engineering behind her. The sleeves of her dress are on hinges, allowing the rizzard sleeve ends to move forwards and backwards. Depending on how you've posed her arms, you can set the sleeves appropriately and get some really dynamic looking arms.
Her dress is split into multiple pieces with a softer, loincloth-like piece in the front and two harder, billowy plastic sides. The sides of her dress are attached to her lower torso with medium figma joints, allowing the dress to open, flow, twist, etc. This really helps to get her legs in motion, rather than trapping them inside a plastic prison. The middle section in unmovable (for modesty purposes of course).
Rushia's design is clean and unobtrusive, meaning most of her joints have lots of clearance. If there's a pose in mind, chances are this figure can do it.
Conclusion
Redeemable?
Good Smile has made both a Rushia figma and Nendoroid. Both of these figures had prototypes ready for production when Rushia was terminated. At the time, people seemed uncertain as to whether or not these two figures would still be released.
Spoiler: they both were, of couse. No way GS is going to lose out on the money already invested in these toys.
Rushia's figma representation is a good figure. It's everything you'd want from a small plastic Vtuber. Good sculpt, paint, joint layout, etc. etc. I think she's fun to pose around and the faceplates add a ton of fun and variety.
She's a bit lacking in accessories, but that's nothing new for figma as a whole. The Nendoroid version of this angry necromancer comes her desk, desk-kun, that breaks into pieces (just like in real life). A similar accessory would've been nice here, too. If they can sell Nekopara figures with tables and chairs, a desk isn't that big of an ask.
Shopping around, you can find Rushia for dirt cheap (by figma standards). I've seen her sell for as low as $25 on some secondhand sites. Having lost a lot of popularity after her termination, large online retailers consistently have her on sale as well. MSRP on this figure is a bit of a stretch at around $60 USD and for that price, meh. But on sale? Yes. Go. Grab your soulless totem for your fave dead Vtuber.
Really thinking about murdering Hitomi Chris.
First place should have been hers.
Tired of your umpteenth flat joke. Very original.
Wanna keep your streaming job? It's easy! Read another review!