MegaHouse has released a number of figures of characters from Space Battleship Yamato 2199, and we’ll be looking at one of them today. Yuria was the third figure to be released in the Yamato Girls Collection series, and she is undoubtedly the easiest of them to procure, being that she went for around 2000 yen at Amiami and she’s still very cheap. I have to admit that the huge price cut she received colored my opinion of this figure to some extent, but having taken her out of her box, she really doesn’t look that bad and I’m not entirely sure why she got such a severe discount. At any rate, let’s take a look at her.
I haven’t yet seen Space Battleship Yamato 2199; I’ve been waiting for a US localization and I recall hearing that it would receive one, under the new (or old) name Star Blazers 2199. Their online ordering system seems to be nonfunctional right now, which is curious. Hopefully they get it working soon; I grew up watching space opera shows like Robotech (and Western shows like Star Trek) so I’d like to see it someday.
Yuria is an eager young space cadet assigned to the titular spaceship. As far as I can tell, she’s a relatively minor supporting character but she seems to have been popular enough to merit a figure. Looking at the other figures in the lineup, it appears that MegaHouse and Alpha Omega wished to produce products that appeal to specific tastes; Yuki Mori has sort of the friendly girl-next-door look, Akira Yamamoto radiates cool confidence, and Kaoru Nimii has that sexy office lady vibe. Yuria will obviously appeal to those who like their spaceship crew looking younger.
This figure is manufactured by MegaHouse in 1/8 scale. Yuria stands about 20.5 centimeters tall; despite her youthful body proportions, this is a decent-sized figure for its scale. Like many MegaHouse figures, she comes with a ton of accessories, and we’ll look at them in a bit. Also typical for a MegaHouse figure, she doesn’t come with an instruction sheet but she doesn’t really need one.
Being that many of the Yamato characters are military personnel, it’s no surprise that most of the other figures in this series feature calm or stoic expressions. Yuria deviates from this pattern as she’s portrayed with one leg up, hand and arm cocked in a cute variation of a salute (I’d be curious to know whether anyone can replicate this salute; I cannot bend my little finger like this without bending my ring finger too). She’s also flashing a huge, wide-eyed smile, giving this figure an evident sense of liveliness.
Yuria wears the same sort of uniform as her colleagues: a skin-tight bodysuit with black accents and straps. She’s more petite than the other characters but her jumpsuit still looks very attractive.
Having not seen the show, I’m not sure how much of a role fanservice plays in its presentation, but it’s obvious that it plays a factor in the design of the Yamato 2199 figures; Akira’s figure shows off a lot of cleavage and Kaoru’s pose deliberately focuses attention squarely on her ass. Yuria’s pose isn’t nearly as sexualized, but I think the strong arch of her back is quite attractive, particularly in the way it emphasizes her slender waist.
Whenever a character is squeezed into a suit like this, the backside is going to be a point of interest. Yuria’s ass isn’t as large as Kaoru’s or as prominent as it is on that upcoming Yuki Mori figure, but it still looks nice. The way the straps curve around the buttocks is very neat.
Yuria’s left hand and right arm are detachable, making possible some different poses. Aside from her empty left hand, she also comes with this one, which is clutching a teddy bear.
It’s a cute teddy bear, though it doesn’t look too happy.
She has one more left hand, this one holding a bottle of water.
Yep, it’s a water bottle, alright.
Her right arm detaches at the shoulder; it can be swapped out for this alternative arm, which ineffectively clutches a sheaf of paper.
It’s pretty neat how well this arm fits her shoulder despite being positioned very differently from her default arm.
It also makes for a rather different-looking figure, as she looks rather less playful and less young.
All in all, I’d say this is a fine figure, though I do have huge regrets about buying it, being that I paid full price. It’s a little annoying to see that sort of thing happen, though I suppose it was more annoying with figures like Good Smile Company’s Black Rock Shooter and jumping Saber. Irrespective of her pricing fluctuations, she looks quite nice; she has a pleasing appearance, her uniform is quite sexy, and she has a variety of display modes. It would’ve been nice to have saved some money but otherwise, I’m happy to have Yuria in my collection.
In general I’m quite digging the Yamato figure lineup. The series has actually been licensed by Voyager and has seen 4 volumes released this year. Unfortunately they’ve taken the Aniplex tack and are gunning for $10+ an episode pricing for a sub-only release so it’s not likely to be a wild success in North America.
I’ve been on the wrong end of the price cuts on many of the Yamato figures but I can’t argue that they’re all sharp and well executed. I still need to get Niimi and, of course, the new sexy Yuki Mori but I’m glad their prices are accessible rather than the current trend with figure pricing which seems to be going up yet again.
I hadn’t realized that there were so many options to this one (even though I’ve owner her for some time now); I presume she just had the water bottle. I’ve got 5 of 10 Detolfs purchased and mostly filled wheras the next batch I have a tentative plan to have a 2199 shelf so now I’m torn between the water and the teddy bear. Hmm…
I don’t recall you ever doing a whiteout background before. Is this a first or just a rarity?
The figures are indeed very nice. I kinda wish I had gotten Akira too. Ah, well, that’s unfortunate; that’s one reason why I didn’t buy the Fate/zero Blu-ray set, which cost several hundred dollars if I remember right. It’s pretty hard to justify that kind of money when I’m not sure whether I will like the series.
Yeah, Yuki’s price tag is definitely reasonable compared to some others. Even though the exchange rate has gotten much better in the last year or so, I think I’m buying fewer figures and the high initial prices are one reason why. That’s caused me to miss out on a few figures (like Alter’s upcoming Sora Kasugano figure) but it’s nice to save some money.
I kinda like the water bottle a little better, I think; the teddy bear is cute but maybe a little too childish for me. I’d probably like it better if she weren’t in her uniform.
I’ve done a white background quite a few times, though not recently. I used to use it a lot more back when I started this site. I did use it one time very recently, with Gift’s huge-ass Sena; with that figure and with Yuria, I went with the white seamless for technical reasons, as I did not think the background I used for either would work for the full-body shots.
I’m with you on the teddy bear. Maybe if she was in casual clothes it would have bit better but toys on an working starship bridge seems questionable. I don’t know what it is about badass female pilots w/their helmets but I went full “damn the torpedoes” and preordered when I saw them. Hopefully you can pick up Akira at some point for a good price as she’s great. I’m still missing the latest one in blue (her name escapes me at the moment) but if they continue to release spiced up variants then this could be a very slippery slope for some time to come.
Heh, I’m glad you finally did a figure I already have. Pining for an ever-growing list of figures like MegaSena and others that you’ve reviewed are threatening to put me into a figure frenzy!
Must be a supper uber glut of Yamato gals? Yuki on the other hand , even by amiami standards got a much higher pricing.
Possibly, I remember Yuki Mori’s initial shipment sold out very quickly, her price skyrocketed on the aftermarket, and they wound up doing a second (and maybe even a third, though I don’t quite remember) production run. The subsequent figures don’t seem to have been quite as popular.
MegaHouse is really into this series. have seen their plan for a few more characters that’s even less popular, and then start over again for version 2.0 of Mori Yuki and Akira. Maybe it just they are such a huge company and don’t really care whether or not a single figure gets sold good. Tight bodysuit is great but I’m starting to get tired about it after this many ones and they should really consider introducing more variation if they want to continue.
That might be the case; they do seem to have a thing for doing large series of figures from one property, judging by how many Queen’s Blade figures they made.
Getting tired of tight bodysuits :O It’s a really sad thing when a man says that. Though then again, I’ve said before that I’m tired of figures in low-cut swimsuits and that’s just as sad a circumstance.
I can quite easily solute the way she does with her pinky curled while the rest of the fingers are straight. I’d never tried it until now, who knew. Sadly, I’m not as cute as her though.
I managed to get her at the hefty discount she was offered at, paying just $16.70 (Â¥1,500 at the time) for her. I have no idea why she was so cheap, or why she was so widely available. I think she’s a great figure and was super happy to get her at that price. If only more figures would go that way, instead of the upward rise in price they’ve all seemed to receive. Wonder if she’s just not popular at all with the Japanese crowd, or if something happens to her later in the series that makes her unpure or something and therefore otaku wouldn’t go near her.
As for fanservice in Yamato 2199, I remember lots of ass shots.
Interesting; maybe I’m missing a joint or something. That would indeed be wonderful if more figures would get such huge price cuts, though I have the feeling that might lead to one or more figure makers declaring bankruptcy and I suppose that wouldn’t be such a fantastic thing. It is nice that the USD (and I presume CAD)/JPY exchange rate has gotten much better from where it was a couple years ago; I’m used to assuming that all my orders are going to cost their total value/80 or so and it’s a little surprising to see the invoice being so much less than what I expected it to be.
I haven’t seen Yamato 2199 but it’s funny that you mention that, since I think there is a significant character that is sort of, well, not unpure but does things that aren’t entirely above board. (It is pretty funny how the concept of purity is such an important thing, particularly amongst voice actresses, or so I’m led to believe. Then again, I can hardly criticize that since I’m still really sore about the way the Guilty Gear franchise has progressed.)
Cute figure.
Yamato 2199 was an excellent show, one of the best of last year.
Hopefully it will be localized soon.
Hopefully so, or hopefully it’ll be easy to procure the whole set; I’d rather not have to buy the Blu-rays one at a time. (Though then, I’m enjoying an unusually large number of shows this season so I suppose I’m not in a huge hurry to watch it.)
Hey, all – I’m the writer/editor of a Space Battleship Yamato website called Cosmo DNA, and it’s always nice to see others give the series some attention. Here’s an interview I translated last year with the makers of the Yamato Girls figures at Megahouse…
http://ourstarblazers.com/vault/121/
Ah, thanks very much for that! That’s definitely an interesting read. Though I am not buying the explanation for why Akira’s suit is unzipped XD It’s interesting to see the different ideas they had for their first Yuki figure, too; I really like the one marked A, with the salute and the bent leg. It’s also interesting how the poses with the gun look; they kinda remind me of Fujiko Mine (not that I have any familiarity with Lupin III, either). I wonder how they would explain their thought process for Yuki’s second figure.
The first Yuki Mori figure sold out very quickly, and was re-released. So I wonder if they underestimated demand for the line at first, then overestimated it and overproduced Yuria, resulting in the steep discounts? I paid full price as well, but it’s a cute figure so I don’t mind so much.
Thanks for another great review. I really enjoy your conversational, photo-illustrated approach to reviewing. (By which I mean, not just showing the figure, but using specific photos to discuss interesting aspects of it. Such as Yuria’s ass.)
Yeah, I wonder if that’s the case, it certainly seems plausible, especially if a large part of the demand for Yuki was driven by hopes of aftermarket sales.
Thanks very much for the kind words XD
Kinda weird that her name sounds like a component of pee…
Well she has a shiny butt, so I guess that means I like it by default. Usually when it comes to body suits, I like the more tactical-looking ones (like the Beauty and Beast suits from Metal Gear) or the super slutty Asuka test plugsuit. However the yellow and black does harken to Bruce Lee so I kinda enjoy that aspect of it.
Also I see you haven’t done a Halloween post. I am disappointed, as there are so many possibilities with shady Obama and your tentacle collection XD
Ha! I didn’t think about that, though I suppose there must be a few common American names that are comical terms in other languages. Shiny butts are indeed good. Yeah, I like the more futuristic ones, like the Muv-Luv suits, or the original Evangelion suits, but this suit is nice, too. I guess I’m slightly less of a fan of the yellow or orange color but it doesn’t look too bad on Yuria.
I am not really much of a Halloween fan. Actually, it’d be amongst my least favorite holidays if New Year’s Day weren’t celebrated. (I’m not a fan of MLK, President’s, Columbus, and Veteran’s Day either, now that my employer doesn’t give those days off.)
With all the breaks between each episodes I forgot all the sideplots from Yamato 2199, I should rewatch it, but I remember this girl somehow. I don’t remember her as ultra genki type of girl though, but she looks cute as figure adaption, her petite body is quite adorable.
I have nothing against happy girls, Misaki seems to be really happy ;D , but a second face with a more calm expression would have been a good option for this figure.
I love all the bold colors of the crews uniform it has a certain 70’s flair like the old Yamato anime. It’s even better that the suits are glossy and really tight fit. The orange is really nice.
It’s also cool that she has these display options, even when a girl carrying her teddy around should not work on a battleship with a nearly suicidal mission XD
Yamato 2199 has remarkable less and tame fanservice, consdering that studio Xebec and AiC were working on it. It is a bit more noticeable when Mori’s backside comes into focus, but that is nothing compared to the regular ecchi anime aimed wild teenage boys.
I only bought Harada Makoto so far, but I’m looking forward to Yurisha Iscandar, a rather playful character.
Haha, it’s a little strange that they made her so happy, then. Not that I’m familiar with Bakemonogatari but I imagine it’d kinda be like sculpting Nadeko Sengoku with a huge, toothy smile while jumping up in the air and waving her arms. I do agree that a more sedate expression would be nice if she isn’t a hyper-cheerful girl. I guess they might have wanted her to contrast with Yuki and Akira’s more mature demeanor. It’s good that Yuria is so brave to go along with a nearly hopeless plan XD
Ah, well, it’s good that there’s a little bit of fanservice, at least XD I haven’t really watched the new Fate/stay night anime since I’m sure that the fanservice is nil, though I could be wrong about that. A little bit is nice even if the plot is deadly serious.
After rewatching 3/5 of the anime, Yuria actually never smiled like that. Maybe the figure is supposed to be drunk ^^ Just kidding, I still think she’s a sweet figure.
In the show you can clearly tell that she is maybe the youngest crew member on board, but aside from her cute appearance she is no hyper person, she’s very duteous and wants to met her supervisors expectations.Of course she is a quite positive character, but acts rather grown up.On board she’s also the radio DJ, which is a very cool role for her.
Most of the fanservice is really focused on Yuki’s butt or Makoto in her sleeping dress ^^ Fate/stay really shows no fanservice, wait Illya took a bath last time XD
That’s kinda the impression I got from reading over her bio page on the Yamato wiki; she really didn’t sound like a hyperactive genki girl.
Aww, that’s unfortunate. I was kinda thinking about watching the current Fate/stay night anime but I dunno; the last anime was pretty bad and I’ve always felt that Fate/stay night is right on the border of insufferable pretentiousness. Fanservice would’ve taken some of that edge off.
I’m also surprised at the megahouse price drops. I’ve only picked up Melda, but I’m quite impressed with how well these turned out. Taking all my willpower not to order the rest, but hnnnnngggg bodysuits…
Yeah, I’m pretty tempted by the ones I haven’t gotten as well. Yurisha looks really nice as well, and I guess her price isn’t that bad, particularly if the exchange rate can get up to 120 yen/dollar or so by February.