Cognizant of the fact that well-known titles move more merchandise, most figure companies make figures of characters from licensed properties. However, Max Factory took a rather unusual approach with their figures of the se.Kirara characters; rather than seek out an existing franchise, they developed the title themselves, making them (to my knowledge) the only figure maker to also be an eroge producer. Another unusual thing about their strategy is that Max Factory released the game for free; unfortunately, while it was originally downloadable from the Nico Nico website, it seems to no longer be available. However, even if we can’t enjoy the game, we can at least admire the figures. The first to be released was Aya Kagura, who I actually have – somewhere around here – but we’ll be taking a look at the blue-headed Izumi Shizuno first.
se.Kirara – the exact transcription seems to be mutable (even the figure box spells the title out with both an upper-case and lower-case S) – was released a couple of years ago by Native, Max Factory’s ero-figure label. If I remember right, it was originally packaged with a figma of Aya Kagura, the game’s blonde-haired heroine. Having not played it, I’m not certain what it’s about, but it seems to be a fairly conventional school comedy sort of visual novel. Just making some inferences based on the game graphics, Izumi appears to be sort of a genial, gentle girl, sort of the older sister type familiar to many anime viewers. There are also some odd images of her wearing a miko costume and fighting monsters while shooting fire out of her chest; I’m not sure what that’s about.
Izumi is a fairly straightforward figure. She’s sculpted in 1/7 scale, standing about 22 centiemeters tall. She’s got a cute base that is colored to match her outfit. Her skirt can also be removed by separating her at the waist, and we’ll look at that in more detail in a bit.
Max Factory originally released figmas of se.Kirara’s cast before making PVC figures; in fact, it was this review of Izumi on Wieselhead that got me interested in the game’s characters. Of the cast, I took to Izumi’s design the most. For one, her body has the most appealing figure – Izumi’s product description actually declares that she has the most perfect body on campus, and while perfection is in the eye of the beholder, I surely agree with the assessment. I also liked her outfit, which was unique amongst the game’s cast; while the other girls wear a relatively modest, off-pink single-piece dress, Izumi wears a distinctive figure-hugging corset and miniskirt ensemble, all in varying shades of blue. Those colors particularly appeal to me, as should be obvious from the color scheme of this website, which hasn’t changed since its inception.
Izumi’s outfit seems to be one of the more contentious aspects of this figure, so we’ll start there. Her blouse is cut in an interesting manner; it ends right at the bottom of her breasts, revealing her pink brassiere. From one standpoint, it’s a really peculiar look; there seems to be no reason why her top should be cut open like that. From another standpoint, it’s a really awesome look and the reason why it’s cut like that is blindingly obvious. It’s interesting to note that her character portrait shows her wearing a slightly different uniform, though she does wear this outfit at some point in the game.
While I agree that her truncated blouse looks a bit odd, I like it a lot; in fact, it’s one of my favorite things about this figure. Without its abbreviated design, Izumi would be a fairly straightforward, ho-hum sort of schoolgirl figure, but with the uncovering of her underboob, the contrast between her happy smile and her … well, slatternly outfit becomes apparent. Her expression is pleasant and charming, carefree and a bit whimsical; it says that she’s a friendly, good-natured girl. However, her choice of clothes is a bold statement, asserting that she has the finest rack amongst the student body and that all will admire and respect it, whether they want to see it or not.
Continuing on with the salacious aspects of her uniform, Izumi wears a really tiny skirt. It’s evocative of the little blue butt-twitcher of a dress described by Holden Caulfield, and indeed it is scarcely long enough to cover her backside. It’s flared out from her hips in a very flirty manner, and that’s something that adds a subtle element of appeal to Izumi’s look.
Schoolgirl figures are, figuratively speaking, a dime a dozen and at first glance, Izumi’s pose isn’t all that interesting. However, she has a more lively and energetic look than one might initially give her credit for. The way her hair sweeps away from her body and her necktie levitates from her breasts both convey a strong sense of movement, and her bright-eyed smile and coquettish pose come together to present a playful attitude. Looking to the side, the strong arch of her back becomes obvious, and that adds a certain sexual element to her look, as it thrusts her breasts and ass out, making them much more prominent.
If one prefers naughtiness over playfulness, however, Izumi will oblige by removing her skirt. She separates at the waist and the castoff system is well-implemented, as her skirt doesn’t look overly bulky nor do her hips look unnaturally thin to accommodate the removable clothing. However, I’m not really sure what the point is of making her skirt removable. Sure, she has a great body and her panties are cute, but taking off her skirt reveals her garter strips, which look really weird, as she’s not actually wearing a garter belt. Instead, they come from her corset – or rather, from some place under her corset, as the straps appear to originate from her skin. They also follow her body line in a way that no actual strap would, unless it were glued to her skin or something. I like cute anime girls in their underwear but Izumi is definitely keeping her skirt.
Izumi certainly isn’t a ground-breaking figure but I do like this figure a lot. She has a very cute, charming look to her along with a healthy dose of sex appeal thanks to her unusual sartorial sensibilities. Everything about her – her enchanting smile, her frilly, flared-out skirt, and her tucked-in leg – works in harmony to effect a singular sense of happy, innocent playfulness – not something I usually go for when I shop for figures, but in this case, it’s something I enjoy.
I was tempted to get this figure, her outfit is pretty unique and the sculpt seemed pretty nice for the price. In the end, I ended up passing on her for the simple fact that I’m running out of room and I already have the figma but she looks quite nice in your photos. Shame about the ‘garter’ straps but the sculpt and the pose look good.
I’m having the same problem, though I’ve cleared off some more space recently so I should be okay for a little while. Big figures like bike Saber still cause some issues, though, and as silly as it may sound, that’s one reason why she’s still in her box here.
She’s pretty. That’s unfortunate that the download for the game is no longer available.
I wanted to see what her personality was like. 😐
But being able to see her panties makes up for it! XD
However, if they made her jacket removable that would’ve been an ultra bonus!
*cheer* Those thigh-highs make me want to hug her legs…is that too much info? lol
I wanted to play through it as well, it sounds like a happy, fun sort of visual novel. Given that it was freely available, I wonder if it’s available for download anywhere else.
A removable top would’ve been nice; it’s a little odd that it’s not removable, though I guess it fits so closely that it might look odd if it were. Then again, Max Factory/Native are usually pretty good about implementing castoff systems.
I really like the way her thigh-highs look; a lot of anime figures (okay, almost all of them) wear thigh-highs but for some reason, Izumi’s look particularly good. Maybe it’s just that she has really sexy legs.
That is a very nice bottom she has there, which is the only reason to remove the skirt. However the straps are really quite off-putting.
I’ve not heard of the figures, or the source, never even seen her available anywhere, completely missed my radar, but I don’t go for such figures anyway, so no surprise I guess.
I like what you did with the shoot, as per usual. Going the traditional set works well. Is that some sort of flower you have verily blurred out in some shots? The bokeh does a wonderful job in this sort of context.
There are a bunch of these figures now, and you will be seeing Aya here at some point, hopefully soon, though probably not since I re-upped my Warcraft account not long ago. I’ve actually put up pictures of the characters here before in the form of the Aya and Nozomi figmas, though I didn’t mention the source (nor were they reviewed; sometimes I think about reviewing the figmas I own but I’m sure I would be terrible at it, so I don’t try).
Yeah, that’s some plastic flowers back there; the same ones that I used with Samurai Girls Senhime way back in the day. In fact, this whole shoot was an attempt at re-creating that set, though I don’t think it worked nearly as well here as it did back then. Perhaps that’s because I wasn’t really trying for a specific look back then; I just came across it by accident and it worked out pretty well.
I hate her shirt I hate her shirt I hate her shirt there are no words for how much that shirt bothers me. Why? Why would anyone wear something like that?! WHY?! I hate the school uniforms for se.Kirara as well. They look more like pajamas than proper uniforms.
But hey, haters gonna hate!
This is still an excellent looking figure, fashion sense aside. You can always count on Max Factory to make pleasing looking stuff.
Such hate! Hate leads only to the dark side. I think any girl with breasts like Izumi should be proud to wear a shirt like that. Hopefully it doesn’t lead to an arrest.
Yeah, the uniforms are not too interesting, which is a big reason why I like Izumi best. I didn’t quite equate them with sleeping gowns but now that you mention it, that is what they look like. I still like Aya, though; the insane grin she has always makes me smile.
More girls should wear chest-skirts as everyday outfit.
Oops, I guess I meant boob-skirts.
Chest-skirt is apparently a real thing after Googling it.
…hey, you’re right. So that’s what that style of clothing is called.
Though when I initially typed “chest skirt” google changed it to “cheese skirt” without me realizing, so I was a bit perplexed and the image results.
Sorry to bother you,I have send a message to your MFC(myfigurecollection.net),but it seems you have not login this website 10days,Can you check the mail plz?Thank you very much~ Happy holiday ^_^
Sorry about the lack of response, I’ve been pretty lazy, particularly with the holidays. I sent you back a response (I actually do login to MFC somewhat regularly, but I have the Hide Me option turned on most of the time).
Sculpt-wise, she is adorable, sexy, and fun, but I just can’t get over how weird her color scheme is. I guess it must be the fault of her source material. Still, her chimeric uniform looks like it was cobbled together from 3-4 different outfits. The colors are individually very nice and don’t necessarily clash with each other, but they just don’t feel like a cohesive whole to me.
Aww, I like her color scheme. Well, except for the sky-blue top, I would’ve liked a darker color there, I think. And the red garters are a bit garish. Okay, really garish.
Merry Christmas 😀
I also like the more adult look of Izumi, a sexy, friendly big sister.
Ok I also like the petite, loli like Akiyama Nozomi, but that is another story ^^
She looks more convincing on user pics than from the promo department, especially yours are great, they always put me on the fence of buying the figures you’ve reviewed, you devil XD
What bothered me was her outfit, mainly the short shirt on top of her boobs, too bad it can’t be taken off like the skirt. After looking at her, I’m actually so enchanted by her happy atmosphere, that I nearly forgot about these previous complaints, she is beautiful.
I really like the flow of her pose and her soft color palette. As expected from Max Factory, she seems to have a very good quality. Her miniskirt is great, without it her butt looks very well ^^. The red clips are nice details of her outfit, too bad that straps have no real(istic) connection to the corsage, it would have made a better impression overall.
Happy Christmas, or day after Christmas, to you too! I’m always happy to help out with purchasing decisions. It seems like her shirt is not well-liked; being adventurous in fashion is a risky move. I think the thing I like least about her is the way she looks without her skirt, as it makes it more or less pointless to take it off, but happily she looks really nice with her skirt on.
merry christmas & underboobs~
Happy Christmas to you too! And underboob is always a good thing. Fully-bared boobs, too, which my next figure review might provide … I still need to think about which one will be next, hmm.
I’m gonna go ahead and vote for THAT.
As for Izumi, here, not loving her outfit at all, but I actually DO like the color scheme!
I think that might be what I go with; though that said, I have the feeling this might be a figure that not everyone likes.
HO HO HO HAPPY CHRISTMAS….. Now that thats been dealt with I must say I love her shirt (or more precisely what it allows us to see) and would say that it’s the only thing I really find interesting about her. She’s very pretty to be sure and a fine figure though I’ve come to expect such craftsmanship from Max Factory, in my opinion they’re a “top tier” (shoots self) company who doesn’t get the credit they deserve.
On a side note my one tangible present this year was Solange, I was very surprised and extremely happy to receive her. It was your review of her which drew me to your site today and I have to say please keep up the great work, yours is one of the few sites I frequent and constantly look forward to seeing new posts.
Happy Christmas! I usually regard Alter, Good Smile Company, and Max Factory as being the three best figure makers; it’s a bit of a shame that Max Factory is more of a figma maker these days, as I don’t really collect those, but they obviously sell very well and a lot of people like them so it’s all good.
That’s a pretty good present; she’s a great figure, one that I probably don’t appreciate enough, since I’ve put her on a high shelf where I can’t see her very easily (I need to reorganize since right now, most of my figures are displayed according to order of purchase rather than how much I like them).
I kind of feel the same way regarding Good Smile, it seems like they just can’t stop themselves from either cranking out Miku figures or Nendoroids these days, oh well. Just curious but do you have any intentions of going after any of the Seven Deadly Sins girls? I’ve got my eyes on Leviathan but kind of tempted by the others as well.
Yeah, they know where their bread is buttered, it seems. Given that they sell boatloads of those figures, I guess I can’t blame them. Heck, I’ve even got a couple of their Miku figures here that I need to get around reviewing.
I’ve got Leviathan, Asmodeus, and Lucifer preordered. I’m kinda interested in Satan, depending on how her sculpt looks (I’m hoping she doesn’t have a shrunken head like Asmodeus does), but I don’t think I’m too interested in the other three. This, of course, could change if their sculpts are amazing.
Merry Christmas Tier!
Nice photoshoot for this figure. I for one love the underboob and shirt she is wearing. I know it is extremely unconventional, but I love how it looks. I have no problem with the straps holding up the thigh highs being connected to the corset as that is pretty common. I wish they looked like they connect a little better though.
I am kind of disappointed that the top isn’t removable because she looks great skirtless, but looks funny without her skirt.
Happy Christmas! Hopefully you and yours are doing well this holiday season. Yeah, I would’ve liked it better if the straps looked like they connected to the corset; it’s not something you can see easily without looking at the figure close-up, but well, I know that gap is there. Funny how a little thing like that can bother you, even if no one else would notice it.
A fully castoff-able figure would’ve been great, and I kinda wish – okay, really wish – that the figures would’ve been released under the Native imprint instead. They would’ve cost more but I think they would have been worth it; though maybe Nozomi might be a bit risque.
Charming figure for sure, but yeap the outfit is outright bizarre. I’m all for outlandish and creative fashion, however this is something I cannot reconcile with….
Aww man, fashion critics are harsh XD This is why I’m glad I can just wear black or white t-shirts and jeans or khakis in real life. (Though I did dye my hair blonde for a couple of years, back when I was in school, and my parents had a difficult time accepting that, I think.)
Uhm Tier mon ami
I believe that based on your link, that is the same uniform she is wearing (except for the corset). It is kind of weird that it cuts just over her breasts hence accentuating its obvious yummy form. Again, very nice choice! Maxfactory is the Max! Not to mention the photographer behind this review…………btw, just upgraded to a new LED monitor and your pics simply jump to life!
Btw, when do you plan on releasing a review on Elfriede? Pretty please? With maple syrup on it?
Thanks for the kind words! Uhh, gee, Elfriede … man, I should review her at some point, I actually have an idea of how I’d like to shoot her, which is somewhat unusual since I’ve gotten a lot of figures recently (seems like a bunch of makers wanted to get them shipped out before the end of the year or something) and I’m drawing blanks on a lot of them. She’s not even going to be the next Native figure I review, though. You should check out VF’s review, he did an amazing job with his pictures.
The link’s kind of off:
http://www.visualfanfare.com/native-elfriede#comment-2967
VF did a good background shot on her…….very World War-isshh but its kind of dark. Hope you up the ante lol!
Oops, thanks for correcting the link. Yeah, his photographs are great. I do have an idea but I don’t think it’s nearly as impressive, and it might rely on a special effect that I don’t think I can pull off. We shall see, though, particularly since that same sort of special effect is the reason I haven’t done one other review that I really want to get to.
I think she’s one of the figures that you’ll get solely for the chara design, dat sexy stance and some extra castoff option is indeed a plus as well. Her coloscheme is also very eye pleasing as well. I guess you need a break after reviewing so much ero-figs haha.
Gift’s loli fate has been fully colored (both front and back) at last. But what do you think of her white swimsuit? Also looking forward for more “behind the scenes” posts. Its been a very interesting read for me lately. Anyways, have a blessed christmas and new year to you and everyone.
Fate is looking pretty great, I think; I wasn’t too excited by the unpainted version but the painted version looks really nice (particularly the, uhh, 9-year old cameltoe, which is an unexpected but not unwelcome inclusion). I’m really looking forward to that Fate and the bunny Fate. I would really like to do more photography-oriented posts; I actually have plans to try to shift this site more towards photographic education, and hopefully I’ll get started with that early next year. Happy (belated) Christmas and New Year to you, too.
Does this figure come with an instructions sheet?
I don’t believe so; not too many GSC or Max Factory figures come with instructions.
Thanks. I just got this figure pre-owned and it didn’t come with any instructions sheet.