Figure Name: Rufina
Figure Maker: Kotobukiya
Retail Value: US$79.99/¥7,800
Available at: AmiAmi | Koto US | Entertainment Earth

Let's get this box thing out of the way. It's kind of big, but rightly so since the figure does take up quite a bit of space what with the wings and one of her arms positioned in this funny way. The box itself is pretty simple and decorated in Tony Taka art and the other usual goodies.

Once she's out of her tray, the only assembly required is to wedge her wings into her back. They don't need to be forced in too much, but they're definitely sturdy enough to handle the pressure. Her book will already be in place, and her foot will be attached to the base as well. Besides that, she comes apart easily if you want to see what's under her skirt.

Although the wings take up a fair amount of space around the figure itself, the overall shelf real estate she'll need isn't too great. After all, her wings don't spread out much further than her beautiful skirts, and her base is quite small. I was a little worried at first, but she has no balance issues at all. The wings are incredibly light so there is no worry they'll sag or anything, either.

I'll just focus on the wings now before we go further. They've got a pearly finish, and you might notice that they actually have a very subtle red sheen to them as well. I love this additional detail on top of the pretty molding overall, especially since Rufina's boots have matching subtle reds to them, too.

Here are those boots now since I mentioned them. They're pearly white with some gold detailing and that red tinge. Here's a better look at the base as well which matches in its pearly, yet creamy white. I like the overall look, and this is one instance where the simple white base actually complements a figure rather well since she's got the angelic thing going for her.

Might as well work upwards from there! here's the hem of her skirt and a look at her legs peeking out of them from the side. I absolutely love the molding job with the figure in general, though I feel the need to point out I like it when molding achieves the actual look and feel of fabric. Particularly with the dramatic lighting, it does look like a real skirt should.

Here's a look at the front of the skirts. We have a view of the top of her stockings and the bottom of her top as well. Kotobukiya took advantage of her wearing several skirts to completely hide the seaming where she comes apart. The top layer includes her top and the long skirt, below that is the shorter skirt, and that pops off to reveal just her lower half with the panties. It's beautifully done.

I might as well make the panty shot now. Here's her booty! It's molded nicely so I just had to go for it. She's wearing plain white panties to match her angelic look; I do like that, and although the back of her legs would normally be covered up, they didn't skimp on the molding there, either.

Moving up some more, here's the main frontal view. Her body is twisted in an odd way, but it looks more like movement than awkwardness. Add the flowy look to the "fabric" of her clothing and you've got a figure that looks like she's about to finish her twirl or take off flying. The main part of her top is composed with a nice palette of solid colors with no botching at all.

Another detail I was impressed with is the trimming to her cape. It's delicately cut away and painted white for lovely contrast with the pinks of her outfit. It adds a lot to the overall dynamic and complements her wings, too.

Man, this view reminds me more than anything of the back of your typical angel statuette. I basically just wanted to point out the back of her outfit and the subtle butt molding, here, as well as the view of her wings plugged into her back. It's hidden well by the cape.

Looks like we're almost done! Let's look at her hair next.

This is the only area where I actually have any complaints with this figure. While the molding is great and the paint is nice and even, there are lots of unfortunate seams and goopy lines all over her hair. I'm not too sure if it's just this sample or if it happened to everyone, though seeing as how they're small I feel they're easily overlooked by the less-critical of eye (demo: they are less apparent in the top image of the hair).

I don't have a whole lot to say about the book. It's a book. It looks like a book. A worn out book. Actually, the inside is detailed with little squiggles to look like text, too. There's another picture in the gallery with a bit of a better view of that, too. Besides that what we can see here is her arm cuffs and ruffles - again, very pretty and fitting with the overall theme.

Finally, we can take a look at her face. That beautiful face. One of the interesting bits about Rufina's pose was trying to get images of her face at different angles. I like this one, because it almost looks like she was going to look over her shoulder, but she is gazing somewhere else instead. She doesn't look bored, either, which is a good thing.

Her eyes are huge and expressive, a lovely blue that stands out from the rest of the figure. She looks focused yet supremely calm. I wonder what she's thinking?

Well, there you have it. Rufina, beautiful angel wings, and all in the style of Tony Taka, is a sound success on the part of Kotobukiya. I think I've taken a liking to this Shining series. All the designs are wonderful and well-executed, too. I definitely give my stamp of recommendation to lovers of pretty things and Shining Hearts alike!

As usual, feel free to browse the gallery to check out the images which didn't make it to the main body of this review. She's lovely from all angles, so I do hope you enjoy them!

[A big thank you goes to Kotobukiya for providing Tomopop with this review sample.]