Figure Name: Persona 4: The Animation Yukiko Amagi and Chie Satonaka
Figure Maker: Taito
Retail: ¥1,500 - released in June
Available at: HobbyLink Japan (Yukiko | Chie)

As I mentioned in the introduction, both figures come in the same exact box. It made things fun for photographing, but otherwise what we've got here is some colorful packaging in the Persona 4 style and full illustrations of Yukiko and Chie on either side. Once you open up the boxes, they're just sitting in their trays ready to be assembled (by "assembled" here, I mean just plugging them into their respective bases).

We'll start with Yukiko.

Yukiko is a bit on the plain side with her molding and posing, but it's probably just as well. These figures don't have too much detail to them, and sometimes less is more. This pose, for instance, has some movement to it and gives off this relaxing feel to it, as she pauses mid-step to turn her face and the wind blows at her hair.

She has that extra little flip with her skirt to complete that "breeze" look, and you can see her base is just a simple yellow circle. She's wearing her plain school loafers that are missing just a little paint at the bottom, but otherwise looking nice and worn.

Here's a look at Yukiko's pleated skirt, her hand and the detail with her sweater. I like the mold job here, and appreciate that the colors are so simple so paint goofs are less likely. Her hand is nicely molded, even if her arm is a little stiff-looking under that pointy shoulder.

Besides that, we've got her yellow tie and her red hair band to match the sweater. Simple works for her.

Unfortunately, Yukiko's face suffers just a little bit from the "plastic look." It's a little on the shiny side, though it's less apparent on a shelf with indoor lighting. There's a little bit of splotching there with her hair and the red hair band, but nothing deal-breaking.

Let's move on to Miss Chie.

Chie has a much more dynamic pose that gives more life to the figure. Unfortunately for her though, I see a lean coming on. I really think she should have had a step built into the base to support her back foot or something.

Here's a look at her from the side. Is it unreasonable for me to fear the lean? I haven't had enough experience with Taito's more recent releases, so I couldn't say whether Chie really is in the clear. If you do pick this figure up, I personally suggest putting her at a spot that she has some support to avoid the worst case. 

Her base is the same as Yukiko's, but with a raised foot peg area (which is splotchy with the paint job, by the way). Looking at her legs, the molding is all there, but the paint is all over the place. They're pretty dirty, and I shot this review before attempting to remove any stains.

Chie's color design is as dynamic as her pose, so there were a few issues here and there with the paint job, though as with Yukiko's they're not so apparent once she's up on a shelf. These are both pretty small, about 1/10-scale like a Beach Queens, so the little goofs aren't as noticeable as they would be on a bigger figure.

Finally, we've got Chie's face. She's got this lovely smile on and the details are generally clean. There's a little bit of flakey-looking stuff around her mouth there, but this is another case where zooming in with a camera is picking up stuff you wouldn't normally notice. I like the expression and everything; I just wish her head weren't turned down.

So, are these the figures for you? If you're looking to add these gals to your collection based on your love of the character, but on a budget, they might be. The quality isn't super high, but they still look nice. If I had one big complaint, it's that Chie's pose has her head turned down, so she'd generally have to be placed on a shelf which is at or above eye-level. Yukiko on the other hand can fit in anywhere and she can be made to look as if she were interacting with other figures in your collection.

Once again, a big thanks goes out to HobbyLink Japan for providing Tomopop with these samples, and be sure to look out for our next Megapixel contest in August for a chance to win either of these girls or other prizes!

Check out the gallery for more images which didn't make it into the body of this review, and be sure to let us know what you think. Do you have any suggestions for future contest prizes? Feel free to give me your feedback on that, too!