Figure Name: Kuroyukihime
Figure Maker: FuRyu
Release Date: July 2012
Retail Price: ¥1,500
Available at: HobbyLink Japan 

As we usual, let's start with the box. It's nothing special, resembling any one of a bunch of other prize figure boxes. It says the the name of the show, the name of the character and shows off the goods on the inside. That's good enough for me! Now, let's let the Black Snow Princess out of her box.

Normally, I wouldn't show the packaging unless there was something noteworthy about it. In Kuroyukihime's case, it's your standard plastic fare, but what's different is the bookmark you see above. It's a cute pic of our gal in her butterfly outfit holding what I assume is her pet piggy. It looks about the right size to keep your place in, perhaps, the light novel series that the show is based off of. SYNERGY!

Alright, enough of that, lets get this lady set up.

To get the princess to sit properly, you'll need to set up the base and the chair in the package. It's straightforward, though the pegs on the back two legs were annoying in their tenacity to not go into their holes. I'm not sure if this was done on purpose, but it annoyed me none the less. With the back legs not flush against the base, the chair has a slight angle that will have our princess sliding to and fro. One thing that helps her to stay in her seat are the two indentations for her legs.

After a couple of tries, I got Kuroyukihime to balance correctly. While having her separate from the chair makes the figure look better, it doesn't bode well for keeping her safe on your shelf. Any sort of knocking about or even a stiff breeze can topple her over, as I learned over the course of this shoot. Sometimes it's worth sacrificing looks for the sake of keeping your PVC safe!

Zooming in closer, we can get a better look at some of the fine details. Her face lacks good detailing, but that's kind of par for the prize figure course. I mean, this isn't an ALTER or Max Factory figure, so I'm willing to give her a pass there. Her school uniform looks cute, if a bit generic. That has more to do with the design of the character and less with the quality of the figure though, so don't hold that against it. Let's switch up the angles so we can get a better look at her tea cup.

From up here, we can better see the contents of her cup. I like that FuRyu colored the liquid, as they could've just left her with an empty cup. You can also see some rough edges around her hands and the saucer in her left hand, but again, I'm willing to give her a pass based on her price range. Regardless, the cup and saucer add a slightly regal air to Kuroyukihime, so they're definitely good additions.

Spinning her around lets us check out her hair. Besides the obvious seam on the right side of her hair, it looks pretty damn good. I dig the blue to black gradient, as most other prize figures would've left it as a big hunk of plastic that's the same color all over. Next, let's take a look at Kuroyukihime's shoes.

Yep, those are definitely a pair of loafers. They look nice and are painted well. I like that the shoes were given a shiny paint job in comparison to the matte paint used on Kuroyukihime's leggings. Speaking of leggings ...

Here's a butt shot. Hey, you knew there was no way I could avoid this! Besides the obvious prurient interest, you can see that there was some amount of attention paid to how Kuroyukihime's pantyhose were molded. I salute you, whoever had to do the research to get those ... uh ... creases just right.

Kuroyukihime is a pretty good deal. For ¥1,500, you get a decently sculpted figure that's painted fairly well. The only real knocks I have against it are the annoying base and the overly simple design that doesn't really stand out. However, if you're a fan of the black snow princess, I'm sure that you'll dig FuRyu's figure!

[Thanks to HobbyLink Japan for sending Kuroyukihime along for review!]