Close up with... It's a Rumic World
It's a Rumic World is a new Box Set released in Japan this January. It's a celebration of three of Rumiko Takahashi's most popular works - Urusei Yastura, Ranma 1/2 and Inu Yasha. Featuring a DVD set with a brand new episode of each of the three series (complete with original voice cast!), it's an absolute must for any fan who can bear the cost of it.
Naturally, being a figure site, we're going to focus on the figures here. Perhaps we'll take a look at the DVD in the future.
First up is dear Lum from Urusei Yatsura. She's an alien demon who came to Earth and ended up falling in love with Ataru, a pitiful loser who loves the ladies (but whom the ladies rarely love back).
Setting the standard for the rest of the figures in the set, Lum is a small (roughly 4 inches tall) non -posable figure. For the most part, she's nicely detailed, although the joins at her shoulders where it has been assembled are a little too obvious, and her hands seem a little bit strangely sculpted. The hair is a little rough too, but looks good on a shelf, if not when given a closer examination.
She has a fun pose, and comes over very much in-character. Flawed, but a charming figure nonetheless.
Next up is Ranma, my favourite character and figure of the three. Coming with a hot water kettle in one hand, and P-Chan resting upon her head, this is the most visually interesting of the figures and is a fun one to look at.
Again, the paintwork is a little bit iffy, P-Chan's eyes looking somewhat wonky, but the overall look of the figure makes this a minor detail. The kettle is a nicely shiny gold colour. You'll probably want to put Ranma as your front piece of the set.
Finally, we have Inu Yasha. I'm not really familiar with the series, to be honest, but the figure is nicely detailed and his hair is fantastic. This is the least-flawed of the figures, with only a little bit of roughness on the fringe standing out as an issue.
This is the only one of the figures with a removable accessory too - his sword can be slotted under his arm or taken away entirely. I'm sure fans of Inu Yasha will enjoy this figure a lot.
In all, the figures are quite nice for their small size, although considering the cost of the set as a whole, even including the DVD, I don't think it's unfair to say the quality should have been a little better. Despite this, however, the figures do have the charm of the animated versions of the characters, and capture Takahashi's personal style and evolution over the years very well.
If you see the set going cheap, or you're a big Takahashi fan, it's worth picking up. Otherwise, you might be better off waiting for the Figma incarnations of the characters.
-Android