Mobile gaming has exploded in recent years, though I will admit it doesn't appeal to me personally. Something about having your phone die on you when you need to make a phone call is kind of a bummer, though for those who only have a phone as a mobile device, I understand the appeal.
One of the more positively received games is Arknights, which like many mobile games, has brought with it a variety of interesting character designs. The game got popular enough that character goods started being produced, including a Figma depicting one of the lead characters, Ch'en.
Ch'en is one of those figures I buy because of the character design, pure and simple, and for a base character in the game there's plenty of visual appeal. I believe her Class is "Dual Blade Master" or something along the lines of that, armed with a standard issue sword and Chi Xiao, her personal sword. Otherwise, contents of the box are fairly predictable:
- 1 x Main Figure
- 4 x Face Plates (Neutral, Smiling, Focused, Shouting)
- 1 x Sword
- 1 x Chi Xiao
- 8 x Gripping/Posing Hands
- 1 x Figma Base/Stand
Like all my favourite anime women, Ch'en is a Tsundere, looking and acting generally badass, but has a hidden softer side. I mention all this because the personality generally fits into the outfit which appears to be the upper body of a standard uniform of sorts, mixed in with some personal touches like Daisy Duke shorts and some legging protection that wouldn't be out of place in a wrestling ring somewhere.
From what I can tell, the adherence to source materials is good, with the usual loss of curves and general lankiness that happens with most Figma transitions. Overall, if I were to put it simply, this is the more grown up and battle hardened version of the character. Face plate details appear to be consistent with the character, and I like how the bangs were sculpted with a bit of motion in them, like they're being affected by a slight breeze.
One thing to note is that I'm not actually sure whether or not the character is supposed to have a ponytail, as I've seen it in the art but there is none of the figure itself.. which quite honestly is probably for the best given how it would probably get in the way of head motion.
The various straps and pouches are nicely done, as is the tie and the detailed tiny ID badge, but for me the neatest thing is the functional scabbard. It's kind of hit and miss with Figma, with many figures just featuring weapons that are too small to make this sort of thing feasible. There's certainly very little concern about paint wear, because the scabbard is gigantic - there's also a slot in the belt for her second sword.
From an articulation perspective the figure performs as expected. Now, there is a waist joint, which doesn't happen very often with the figures that I purchase from the Figma line. What is also something that I don't think I've seen before is that the shoulder joints are mounted on swivels that allow the entire thing to come out of the torso. This enables the figure's arms to come closer together, and generally something I see on Figuarts.
Maybe I don't get enough Figma?
Range of motion is generally unrestricted, with the only thing that gets in the way being the sculpted hood, which makes overhead arm poses awkward looking. The articulated tail can be used as a stand of sorts, balancing the figure, though for more accurate poses you'll probably want to use the tail as it's meant to be, and actually use the included stand for balance.
Like with Usada, Paint is very nicely done. All applications are sharp, as they should be, though you will see some slight errors. I like how the small, fine details, such as the lines on her scabbard worked out. In general, Ch'en looks sharp no matter what angle you're looking at her from. Furthermore, unsurprisingly Build Quality is as expected, with no surprises there, featuring parts that fit together and joints that hold their positions.
A nicely made, if unknown, addition to my shelf. While there are other companies out there making Arknights figures, such as the rather disappointing Arctech releases, it's unlikely I'd venture outside of the Figma offerings. Lets be honest here, they just generally don't screw it up.
So my biggest concern going forward isn't the product quality of future Arknights releases, but rather, how broke I'm going to go should the designs become more and more my thing, as I can see this ending up like with my Fate addiction.
But I suppose diversifying isn't the worst thing in the world...
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