Infinite Stratos (IS) was probably one of the most popular series aired at the beginning of 2011. Hot girls, nudity (limited to blu-ray release) and mecha. Other than the anti-climatic ending which left tons more to be desired, it's a show that I didn't mind wasting 20 minutes of my life every week watching.
For those who have seen the series, you'd probably agree that the most popular girl of IS isn't the female lead, Shinonono Houki, but rather, the fourth female protagonist (by their order of entry), Charlotte Dunois. Why? Well... she cross-dresses as a boy and lives together with the male protagonist (Orimura Ichika) as his roommate, and CONTINUES to do so even after her true gender was revealed when Ichika accidentally stepped into the bathroom, witnessing her gorgeous body; she is the least annoying female character in the show; and she's voiced by Hanazawa Kana, whose moe but "dere" voice is enough to murder a man.
So I definitely appreciate Alter's effort in creating a figure based off Charlotte, as opposed to Houki, even though the later clearly has better curves and bust size. In a figurine market where the only Charlotte figures available were the not-so-impressive Media Factory 1/10 scaled sculpture and the cheap prize figure by SEGA, having Alter in the competition is like putting steaks on a table with two plates of vegetable salads in front of a bunch of hungry, meat lovers.
Rather than putting Charlotte in her school uniform, Alter dressed her in a tracksuit sitting/kneeling on a cushion. While I personally prefer her in a bloomer outfit with half of her body exposed, the tracksuit is strangely attractive.
She comes with two exchangeable heads, one with a ponytail and a cheerful expression, and another with her hairs untied accompanied by the "tsun" expression when she teasingly says "Ichika, ecchi" during the anime. Both faces are faithfully reproduced, although there aren't too many details in her hairs.
The way she crosses her hands is very cute, it matches perfectly with both of her expressions. Her bare feet are nice treats for foot fetish folks. Her tracksuit is kind of blend in color, but the amount of details are reasonable.
For $60 (if you buy it off AmiAmi, might be higher if you order from other online retailers), it's a decent figure. Alter provided a quality alternative to the cheaper smaller versions of Charlotte. The overall design is an interesting one, and dressing her in a tracksuit is quite unique, albeit the blend colors used on the tracksuit itself (thanks to the anime). You can probably place her together with other female figurines like Max Factory's Nakano Azusa, and Good Smile Company's Oshino Shinobu.
Unless GSC or Max Factory plan on releasing IS figures themselves, Alter will likely hold the crown of the best IS figurine for a long time. Of course, things might change if Alphamax or Orchid Seed make "cast-off-able" versions of Charlotte, but I've yet to hear anything from them, guess we'll have to pray and wait patiently. For now, this is definitely a worthy purchase for IS fans.
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