Devil Strarf

Busou Shinki is the brainchild of designer Asai Maki, who also created the Mecha Musume series of trading figures. his collaboration with Konami has resulted in the first poseable action figures of his designs. The juxtaposition of the cute anime girl and the WWII era mechanics make this toy perfect for the toy otaku.

Busou Shinki (武装神姫) is an action figure line from Konami that has an on-line element. Each figure comes with a code, that when entered on the official website, will enable that toy in the virtual world. From there you can customize your figure and battle other figures. The on-line game started September 7, 2006.

The packaging is a beautiful box with a cover sealed with velcro. Inside the cover is a nice clear window that displays the figure in its tray, as well as some great shots of the completed product.

These poseable action figures can be displayed alone, or you can add the optional battle armor. There is no “right” way to assemble the mechanics. A variety of parts and connection points make this figure really fun to play with. You can also mix and match parts from the other MMS sets to create even more variations.

The MMS Type Devil Strarf is made out of ABS and PVC plastic and is insanely poseable. Despite its frail looks, the figure is actually quite sturdy and solid. Joints have a full range of motion, and even the knees are double jointed. In order to attach the armor, you need to remove the limbs and add small ring-like attachments that the armor plugs into. The lower legs actually get replaced by mechanical panzer-looking legs.

There are several sets of hands included, including some that have fixed wrists and some that have a wrist joint. I think the point of the fixed wrist is to provide more support for the heavier weapons. The Devil Strarf comes with a large silver rifle, a small handgun, and the blades on the back of the armor can also be used as hand weapons.

The armor itself is very cool. The main armor attaches to the back of the figure and then has two hinges that allow the halves of the armor to move freely. The arms of the armor are fully articulated and even come with two sets of hands. Sharp blades are stored on the back.

While the whole unit can stand on its own, display is greatly improved by using the included stand. It comes in pieces, and is actually screwed together. The resulting stand lets you pose the figure in a variety of cool flying poses.

I absolutely adore this toy. The design and execution are almost flawless. There are a few minor nitpicks though:

• The hand connections are so tight, that sometimes when you pull out the hands with wrist joints, the joint separates. It’s easy to re-attach, but still a pain.
• No alternate head. With all the other interchangeable parts, a different head with a different facial expression or hairstyle is a big omission.

I highly recommend this figure. It’s a lot of fun and a great value.