Welcome to the Year of the Tiger. We're finally almost done the month of February, and I'm truly anticipating the next few months as weather will finally warm up and there's hope that life can resemble normal again and allow for travelling. I've been keeping myself busy this month. Between cold snaps and snow storms, I've actually completed several model kits (to varying degrees of success) but haven't been able to clear coat them due to weather issues. Still a few more to go, but at this point I think its safe to say I'm going to take it much, much easier on model purchases from now now.
A few interesting figure related items did reach my doorsteps in February, however, and today I'm here to look at one of them today - Figma-EX065: Konsuba Darkness: Swimsuit ver. Preordered from the Goodsmile US Online store, Darkness was originally scheduled to be released in December 2021. I guess a month and a bit isn't too bad of a delay, especially considering other items I'm waiting on. I'm not entirely certain about the stock status, but she was only given a month for preorder, which is relatively short.
Like Aqua before this (whom I got as part of a trade) this figure portrays one of the Konosuba leading ladies, in this case Darkness, in summer fun appropriate swimwear. It it her canonically correct swim attire? I guess... I mean, I have no true idea as I've not watched any of the series, but there seems to be official artwork of her in this suit, amongst several others.
Retailing for 6,800 Yen (or in my case, $68 USD, which isn't horrible of a conversion), Darkness is very much entry level pricing for a licensed figure, as painful as it is to say that. The contents of the package are relatively light, which isn't necessarily a bad thing so long as it make sense - as an added bonus I also have fewer pieces to keep track of while scrambling around to take photos.:
- 1 x Figure
- 3 x Faceplates (Happy, Smiling, Eyes Closed)
- 1 x Sword
- 1 x Drink (Glass, Contents, Straw, Orange Slice)
- 8 x Posing/Holding Hands
- 1 x Figma Stand
The stand is slightly fancier than the typical Figma item, featuring a plain sand-ish coloured hexagon base. Oh, speaking of parts that get lost easily, that straw and especially that orange slice... the latter just hangs on the side of the cup, so it gets knocked off of there very, very easil, usually somewhere you don't expect.
So, you clearly don't get swimsuit figures for their complexity, with all that matters is how good the main figure looks. Figma has had a lot of practice in this area, not just with licensed swimsuit characters, but also with the various base bodies they've released over the years. I think it's safe to say that they did a pretty good job with Darkness, with the only real gripe visually being the obvious joints (if that sort of thing bothers you). For me, it's all about that silhouette and general body musculature, which is well executed here. I think it would have been nice if the hips were just a tad curvier, but that seems to be par for the course.
They've also wisely stuck with the legs with the asscheeks sculpted directly on the upper leg section, as opposed to the visual distraction that would be having the cheeks as part of the waist piece.
Darkness is also notably taller and bustier than Aqua is, which is also canonically correct.
From an articulation perspective, you've got the standard Figma 2.0 body going here, along with pull down hips and a functional waist joint. Unlike Aqua, Darkness doesn't have a skirt impeding leg motion at the waist, and neither does her mop of hair get in the way of head movement. Combining these factors with the general lack of outfit means that you're pretty much going to be able to get every ounce of posing power out of this body. The actual posing options afforded by the Figma body aren't bad, but also are slightly behind the Figuarts when all things are considered. It's most notable in the legs, which don't allow for as deep a kneeling or leg spreading position, While not perfect, the Figma body still gets the job done for the most part.
Paint wise, a relatively simple paint job. It's basically just the non skin tone parts. Relatively simply, again, but clean and nicely done. Work on the faces is also up to the Figma standards, though in my case, my default face came with a QC issue, resulting in a black speck on her right cheek. The sword is also painted, though it's a very basic paint job that is again, competently handled.
Finally, there's Build Quality. Relatively speaking, there's very little that can go wrong here as there aren't too many risks being taken or unusual parts custom made for this figure - if you think about it, this really is just a standard Figma head swap. So the fact that there's no bad news in this section isn't just normal, it's expected. Part finishes, sizes, and general QC is in line what what you'd expect from a Figma.
Swimsuit figures aren't going to be everyone's thing, and if I'm being completely honest I really only got this one because of how well Aqua turned out. Darkness delivers more of that kind-of- risque flavour in a similarly well polished, if a bit simple, package. In a way, after the less than fun February weather, this is a nice figure to receive as it reminds me that Spring and Summer will be here soon. I'm normally not a fan of Summer at all, but for whatever reason, I eagerly await it's grand return in all its hot and hazy glory.
Next up - something BIG.
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