Figure Name: Wonder Woman
Figure Maker: Kotobukiya
Retail: ¥6,200
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Ah, the familiar Bishoujo box! Rather plain, but with a focus on the artwork rather than fancy packaging.

Wonder Woman comes in several different pieces. The actual figure is attached to the base, but the lasso, spears and helmet come separately. It's quite easy to put her together, as the lasso is made out of flexible plastic and it slides into her hands without too much trouble.

The pose picked from Wonder Woman may seem a bit plain, but it's perfect for her character. She's posed on the battlefield, standing strong with all her weaponry. The wind-blown look of her hair adds a lot for the figure, and adds the motion that is missing in her pose.

From the back you can better see the details of her base. The spears slide into little slots on the cape, and they are a rather tight fit so be sure to put them in gently lest you scrape off some of the paint!

Wonder Woman's face is quite different from the original art. Shunya drew her with a very soft, girlie expression, but the final figure looks much more fierce and imposing. It's far more fitting for Wonder Woman! There seem to be some complaints that the Bish line looks too passive for the characters they are portraying, but Wonder Woman doesn't have this problem at all. On the other hand, to accomplish the fierce look they had to ditch the blush, so she does not have all of the distinctive "Shunya" features that the art shows.

Many of the Bishoujo figures utilize clear PVC, and Wondy is no exception. Her hair is made of a gorgeous clear black-purple color, with a great sculpt that adds lots of motion. The hair is probably my favorite part of the figure, because I am an utter sucker for clear plastic!

In many illustrations, and throughout her comic history, Wonder Woman's breasts have been a big focal point. I mean, any busty girl in an outfit like that is going to get a lot of stares! However, Kotobukiya did a good job with the sculpt. Wondy retains her bustiness, but it's subtle enough so that she doesn't look tacky.

Wonder Woman's outfit is definitely representative of her classic ensemble, with one change-- you can see her belly button through her belt! It implies that her belt is fabric and not metal, unless she happens to have abs of (literal) steel. It's kind of an odd design choice, but not one that I find distracting.

Wonder Woman's famous lasso is one of the "accessories" that is included with the figure. You could technically display her without it, as it just slides into small slots on her hand and she looks fine on her own, but it adds a lot to the figure. You get the sense that she either just took out a bad guy or is about to enter a fight, her weapon at the ready.

Wonder Woman's sculpt is refreshingly muscular. Most PVC figures, even of girls who are meant to be fighters, are portrayed quite delicately. But Wondy's musculature is fully sculpted and the shading on her skin defines her body quite well.

Like most superhero gals, Wondy has a killer butt. I suppose if you run around that much, you're bound to have a well-defined tush! However, my Wonder Woman came with some... butt issues. There's some excess glue on her bum, which is a shame because it is so well sculpted. It's kind of annoying to find an issue like this on a figure, but at least when she is displayed on a shelf it is completely invisible.

There's a lot going on on Wonder Woman's base: a fallen cape, a tilted shield, a pile of spears and a gladiator helmet. Detailed bases always add a lot to the figure, and I am glad that the Bishoujo line has veered away from the original plain bases. The new ones add a lot of context to the figures and make them feel quite "comic-y."

Wonder Woman is definitely up to par with the increased quality of the recent Bishoujos like Batgirl, and although I found the glue on her butt a bit annoying I have asked a few other people who own her and they seem to not have this issue. In any case, if you love Wondy, this is definitely a must-buy!

Thanks to Stephen Donaldson for taking these shots. I think at this point we've done more Bishoujo reviews than any other figure line. I mean we started way back with Psylocke and the Phoenixes! In fact, the only ones we haven't shot are the first three (Black Widow, Rogue, and Scarlet Witch) but we do own all of them. One of these days we'll have to take a shot of all the ladies lined up! They make for an awesome display.

[Thanks to Kotobukiya for providing Tomopop with this review sample]