Mona from Genshin Impact (Astral Reflection Version)

Happy New Year to everyone. We recently – relative to my pace of updates, anyway – looked at Raiden Mei from Honkai Impact 3rd, and we will on this first day of 2023 take a look at a character from the game that elevated Mihoyo to international renown. That game is, of course, Genshin Impact, and this character is the perpetually-penniless astrologist and water mage Mona Megistus. My impression is that she was one of the most popular of the game’s early group of heroes and she’s still very much a fan favorite, but other characters like Raiden Shogun, Ganyu, and Hu Tao may have since eclipsed her in popularity. Nonetheless, she’s one of the first Genshin Impact characters to get a figure, and I don’t think that anyone can make an argument opposing that choice.

Although all I play these days are gacha games, I haven’t spent a lot of time with Genshin Impact. I’ve heard that the gacha system is not particularly accomodating if you’re aiming for a specific character, and being that my favorite characters – by appearance anyway, as that’s all I have to judge by given my inexperience with the game – are Eula and Raiden Shogun, I have the feeling that it would be quite some time before I would have a roster I’m happy with. I’m also not generally a big fan of open-world games, as I tend to lose focus and interest without a clear idea of what I’m supposed to be doing. And perhaps most significantly, I just don’t really have enough time to add another game to my daily rotation at the moment; spending too much time playing video games is one of the major reasons updates to this site have been so sparse.

This figure of Mona is produced by Wonderful Works, a relatively new manufacturer, I believe. I own a couple of their figures of Ryza from Atelier Ryza that I have not yet reviewed yet, but they appear to be of high quality.

Mona is sculpted in 1/7 scale and stands about 25 centimeters in height from the base to top of her hat. No accessories are included and Mona is ready for display straight after you affix her to the base.

For many gacha games, unabashed fanservice is the primary vehicle for attracting the attention of potential players and Genshin Impact doesn’t abjure this philosophy. However, while many other games incorporate fanservice via voluptuous female characters in revealing outfits, Genshin takes a more subtle approach, with female characters typically fully dressed but clad in figure-hugging outfits, often including elements such as leotards, pantyhose, and high heels. It’s a less blatant form of presentation than often seen in this genre, but Genshin’s heroines are certainly still very attractive – so much so that as I recall, Mihoyo provided more modest outfits for several characters, including Mona, for the Chinese audience.

And that brings us to Mona. I think of her a bit like Kantai Collection’s Shimakaze, in that for many people who aren’t familiar with the game, she may be the character that initially draws their attention. And certainly Mona’s appearance is distinctive and striking, with her slim body encased in a brown bodystocking and blue leotard ensemble. Her outfit cups her chest but otherwise leaves part of her upper body bare, revealing her shoulderblades and armpits. Her ensemble is completed by a big wizard hat, a fur-trimmed shawl, and gold high-heel pumps.

While Mihoyo doesn’t necessarily emphasize overt sexuality in the designs of its characters, this figure forges an alternate path by contorting Mona in a provocative pose, with her backside firmly comprising the center of attention. Furthermore, Mona’s torso twist allows her chest to be visible as well, along with the bare skin under her armpits. It seems likely that this pose was selected to maximize sex appeal, and it certainly does that effectively

That said, from some angles her pose looks a little awkward. That’s partly due to the nature of the pose, where the most ideal viewing angles are those that emphasize her ass, but it’s also due to Mona’s body build. She has a petite physique, but her thighs are rather thick, particularly compared to her hips. It’s not too apparent when viewing Mona from behind, but it’s more obvious when looking at the side of her legs.

Not that that matters very much to me, though; having a limited range of viewing angles isn’t that much of an issue when the principal view looks as good as this.

Mona’s expression is impassive and there’s not a lot to remark on there, except that her eyes are peculiarly red-tinged.

The base is a small circular disc with a spiraling plume of plastic water erupting from it. Often these sorts of special effects don’t look that great when rendered in plastic, but it looks superb here, with Mona appearing as if she is dancing upon the water itself.

Overall, this is a really outstanding figure. The rendition of the character is spot-on, at least from my viewpoint. The painting looks fantastic, with numerous small features – like the patterning of her pantyhose, and the repeated star motif accenting her outfit – being rendered with admirable detail. The major criticism I have with this figure is that it is relatively small for a 1/7 scale figure; I have her here next to a number of other 1/7 scale figures and she is considerably smaller than all of them. But then again, given how good Mona looks, I’m inclined to forgive that. This is the first Genshin Impact figure I’ve purchased, but it will certainly not be the last.