So I spend a few minutes every day checking out the local classifieds. I used to do it more religiously, but I'm not on the road as often anymore. While my hunting grounds are certainly more restrictive compared to back in the day, I do occasionally run into one of kind offerings, such as the Real Action Heroes (RAH) Kill la Kill Ryoko Matoi.
Medicoms are notorious for their fragility and general lower than desired quality, yet the aftermarket for them remain high, with some such as the Kill la Kill ladies being stupidly high, especially if you got the School Uniform version of Ryoko. This fact boggles the mind sometimes, as there was a much better toy of Ryoko and Satsuki through the Figma line up, which is why people kind of sold their RAHs in the first place. But I suppose people like their scales consistent. Me? I just go for the versions of figures that are most respectfully slutty.
Retaling for 22,000 Yen back in 2015, I think this was standard price for these figures. I managed to snag this sealed specimen for $200 CAD, so I think I did pretty good.
For the unfamiliar, before Medicom committed to its 1/12 Mafex line, all their figures were at a 1/6 scale under the Real Action Heroes lineup. They focused on Animation IPs, though occasionally did get into live action stuff as well (typically Sentai). I've got a few - Skyward Sword Link, and Ultra SF4 Cammy & Chun Li. Other high profile offerings that you may have seen is their version of Elsa from Frozen, their Reiko from Gantz, and of course their version of Motoko from Ghost in the Shell.
The set comes with what you'd expect from a RAH and for a Ryoko figure:
1 x Main Figure
2 x Faces (Neutral, Yelling)
3 x Sets of Adjustable Eyes
6 x Posing/Gripping Hands
1 x Scissior Blade
1 x Expanded Scissor Blade
1 x Base/Stand
Yes, scissors. Fashion is a big factor in the series, with Ryoko and the other lead, Satsuki, each possessing half of the ultimate weapon, which is effectively a giant pair of scissors.
So as an alternative to rotating eyes, Medicom provided the ability to swap out pairs of eyes that were pointed in different directions. You'd be limited to the selection, but at least this was a standard feature on all figures. Not exactly luxurious, but it did the job.
For the uninitiated, no, Ryoko's outfit is not exactly subtle, and neither is Satsuki's. Also, yes, this outfit is as restrictive as you think it is. Couple that with the reputation for these figures to basically implode if you breath on them too hard, well I'm not exactly pushing the posing boundaries particularly hard.
So, the overall body shape and proportions are actually pretty accurate to the reference art I've seen, definitely more accurate than anything you get from Hot Toys on any given day. While she is as naked as you think she is, it's a bit more complicated than that. This IS a jointed body, with the most obvious joints being at the hips, the wrists behind the bangles, thigh swivel, and the base of the head. All other joints are actually enclosed in either in her Vinyl outfit, or within her soft rubber upper body - yep, she's wearing a rubber skin, which is very well coloured matched with the skin tone of her glutes and thighs. The chest is actually solid, and won't compress under pressure. The asymmetrical nature of the covering on her breasts, however, I think is a QC issue.
The faceplates appear quite accurate to the anime. Detailing on the hair is simplified, which again is an ainime staple.
Weapons also appear to be well scaled to the figure. Inserting the weapons in the appropriate hands is an exercise in trust, as you need to pry the hands open and get the grip in there - something not easily done when getting replacement parts is next to impossible.
So, Articulation. As discussed, highly restrctive. There's the tightness of the outfit, the desire to not break things, and the ridiculously deigned chest armour. All these combined result in basically a pretty lacklustre posing experience. Overall you're gonna be sticking with poses that keep the legs straight, and since it's unlikely you're gonna want your figure sitting Spread Eagle or Legs Out, you're probably gonna stick with standing poses. There are joints within the torso that allow for ab crunch and chest twist, but the desire to not break things resulted in me not really pushing that hard to see what it can do.
It should be noted that because the lettings are super restrictive, they actually secure the ankles very nicely and as such Ryoko is actually more structurally stable than one would think.
There are a few things that Medicom did to give braver people posing options, and this boils down to the straps at the top of the thighs and on the back not being connected so you can twist parts without worry that you'll rip the things apart.
Paint Applications are extremely simple for a 1/6 figure, but of course there's not exactly that many anime ones to compare it against. It's certainly very nice for what is effectively a giant Figma. Skin tone across rubber and hard plastic parts matches up nicely, and the paint work ont he other hard plastic parts are very good, with some spots missed on smaller detailing paints apps, which mostly appear to be the re lines on her Bikini Bottom. and the thin line above the Red strips at her thighs. Otherwise, paint work on the vinyl outfit is good and to keep it that way I'm effectively retiring the figure from posing. Good use of high gloss paint to match the lustre of the vinyl parts.
The entire product line is a big warning under Build Quality. Most of the happy owners basically have never really posed their figures, or they've lived in their boxes in a climate controlled environment. Outside of that, as mentioned I don't like how wide you need to pry the hands open to get the weapons to be displayed properly. The "hands with wrist pegs attached" is pretty old school, and durability is always a concern, though I think technically these ones actually can come off the peg, and the pegs are included as a means of convenience.
Bonus points for basically not self destructing during my photo session.
Having handled one of these, it's easy to see why owners sold their sets for Figmas, which may be smaller but are so much more fun to actually play with and photograph. I'm not entirely sure they even make RAH anymore, but these days if you're hunting these down you're either looking for parts or you're a trophy hunter. It looks nice and all, but I certainly wouldn't have one if I had to pay market price for this.
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