Sunday, March 8, 2015

Figure Review: Figma #155 Karen Araragi Review

I promised reviews and here they are! To start my first figure to discuss is Karen Araragi from Nisemonogatari!
Karen is the protagonist's younger sister. She's a fiery martial artist with a strong sense of justice. However, she has no supernatural powers/curses to fight with. This causes her some problems with bees in the show. Anyway, let's start the review!

Accessories:
Karen comes with:
2 Extra Faces
A slightly different figma hand set
2 holding hands pieces
The shock-wave effect pieces
A spare pair of socks to replace her shoes
And a 2nd headpiece to show her without her ponytail

So it may not seem like Karen comes with a lot of accessories, but I'd say that the few she has are really significant to her character. 
The shock-wave is for when she beats up Araragi (ironically for trying to stop her from fighting the bad guy). It's a great accessory for combat scenes in general too.
The hairpiece without the ponytail is for the scene where she carries Araragi. I prefer the ponytail, but options are always nice.
The holding hands pieces are for Karen and her sister Tsukihi. Both figmas come with them and they are great for shipping fuel pictures like this one (Nadeko taking Tsukihi's place this time)
I don't have much to say about her socks. I never use them, but I suppose they could allow for a more casual look. 
Anyway, I love Karen's accessories. The only item I think they should've included with her was a toothbrush. Anyone who knows the series knows why haha.
Accessories: 9 of 10

Faces (Expressions):
Karen comes with 3 faces:

A pleasant smiling face
An excited winking face (also below is the unique hand she comes with)
and an angry shouting face
My favorite face is her winking face. I think its one of the cutest figma faces in general, not to mention it's extremely versatile for whatever scene you want to pose Karen in. Her angry face is a close 2nd as it also is a great contrast if you want to pose Karen pissed off or attacking someone. Her normal smile is ok too. Basically she wins in my book for having a range of different emotions.
Faces: 10 of 10

Playability: 
I personally really like this figma for the various situations you can use her in. For example fighting other figmas like Dead Master.
She's really great for whatever role you need her for. Again here she is getting bullied by her supernatural enemy. 
^This is why I need a figma-sized toothbrush (but I don't want to buy the Se Kirara figma just for that)
Karen is really fun to pose getting into messy situations like this. I really like her character as an impulsive girl who gets into various forms of trouble.
Playability: 9 of 10

Collection Utility: 
Karen adds to your collection a high spirited crazy girl to use how you please. Whether that be attacking your other figures, glomping them or simply being a cute younger sister, she's ready for each role. 
Collection Utility: 8 of 10

Staying Power:
It's probably no surprise at this point that this is one of my favorite figmas. I love her character and the many ways you can use her figma. I've loved this toy since the day I bought it at AnimeNext a few years ago. Despite falling out of love with the Monogatari series (I quit during the 4th one), this figma has still kept me entertained.
Staying Power 9 of 10

Final Thoughts:
As I've said a dozen times, I'm hopelessly in love with this figma. It's been one of the most fun toys that I've owned throughout my many years as a collector. If you're a fan of the Monogatari series, then I can't recommend her more.
Thanks for dropping by!

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