Over the last decade or so, we have seen an almost astronomical rise in various vloggers, from YouTube, to Twitch to having our own gaming devices having built in streaming capabilities. One only needs to look to the popularity of Fortnite to see the kind of power various YouTubers have over how our hobby evolves and changes.
Perhaps not the most well known YouTuber amongst the younger crowd, the self proclaimed “First Virtual YouTuber” and artificial intelligence, Kizuna AI has found a large following with the Japanese gamer crowd as well as western audiences, drawn to her childlike innocence at times as well as her overwhelming smugness.
Kizuna AI might not be the worlds most popular YouTuber out there, but she is perhaps the most popular amongst many gamers. Or at least the ones looking for some great memes.
Kizuna AI Figma
Company: Max Factory
Release Date: April 30th, 2019
Price: $56.25
The Kizuna AI figma by Max Factory is a highly articulated and detailed recreation of the virtual YouTuber. Max Factory has done a very admirable job of recreating Kizuna’s appearance and clothing from her channel, down to the smallest detail, even her little embroidered A on her blouses chest.
While not the most detailed figma figurine out there, any fan of Kizuna’s or of figure collecting would be hard pressed to find a fault with how this figurine was developed.
Standing at five to six inches tall, Kizuna sports the standard 16 point articulation known for in these figurines. The figurine that I received had extremely tight joints, especially in the right shoulder.
While this did not limit movement or possibility, this was the first time I had a figma that made noises while attempting to move the limbs and place them in poses.
Kizuna comes with a total of 8 different hands, four different face options, and a game controller accessory. Rest assured dear reader, her smug face is included and is just as smug as all the memes make it out to be.
Articulation wise, there is no issue with range of movement when it comes to the upper torso. Her legs, however, have a bit of a movement issue.
Moving her legs forward and straight up there are no issues, but moving straight out and vertically, you will only get about a 45 degree range of movement. Moving backwards, you’ll get about a 90 degree range of movement.
Since Kizuna is supposed to be a regular human and I doubt many people will be posing her in any sort of combat style pose, these movement limitations really shouldn’t affect display or posing for most collectors.
Her blouse is made of a very flexible and light vinyl, which allows for full waist and torso movement, even with the joint hidden underneath the clothing. This was skillfully done, as it allows a natural lay of the “cloth”, while still maintaining the look of the figure.
I wish other figma had used the same technique (namely, the Twilight Princess Zelda figma), because it works so well for allowing accurate depictions of clothing while still keeping the figure fairly uniform.
Due to this figma being based around a relatively human character (AI programs are humanish right?), there isn’t much left to say concerning this figure. Her build is very similar to other figma, as is her design. I will say though, that one of the biggest issues I’ve had with figma, namely their weak wrist pegs, seems to have been rectified with Kizuna.
Her wrist pegs are thicker than usual, which alleviates some of the concerns I have had in the past with changing out hand options. The only other real issue with Kizuna is that her various hair options don’t fit quite as well as the standard one.
She has two additional hair options, one with clear glasses and one with sun glasses. Both fit a little loose on her face, which can lead to the hair piece falling off if you move her or if she falls while not attached to the included base.
For any collector of figma, weebs, or fans of the virtual YouTuber, the Kizuna figma is a great addition to any collection. Her articulation and attention to detail are superb with a fairly wide range of movement. While perhaps not the shiniest or flashiest figma out there, Kizuna will surely find a home in many a collection.
Kizuna AI Figma figurine was reviewed with a set provided for by our friends at Playasia for review purposes. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here.
