I never understood the hype behind Aigis, the android designed to combat Shadows in Persona 3, but there seems to be an awful lot of figures released in the past dedicated specifically to her. Where's the love for Metis?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Persona series, it's kind of a spin-off from the Megami Tensei franchise of RPGs, featuring a bunch of highschool kids with special abilities to summon their psyches into various familiars to help them in combat. Persona 3 is the third game in the series. It was highly regarded by critics due to the many improvements made over its predecessors, one of which is the stat-building/dating-simulation feature where you, the protagonist, do things to improve your stats (eg. academics, charisma, etc.) to better communicate with girls. Depending on the choices you make during the dating segments (which increase their affection points), you could eventually turn one of them your lover, take her home
Warning: the following video contains spoilers, watch it at your own risk.
After watching this video, I was suddenly reminded of Ar Tonelico (you'll understand what I mean if you've played both series, hint: revealing the most "delicate and precious" part to you)... speaking of which, I haven't seen a single figure from this series. Ar Tonelico is famous for suggestive themes and cute/sexy girls, it's got a big enough fan base, so what's holding manufacturers back?
Back to topic. The current Aigis figure from Alter is based on Shigenori Soejima Artworks SC, which you can order off Amazon for around $28.
For the most part, the figure is very faithful to the artwork, although the coloration in the figure is a lot warmer and saturated.
The mechanical components in her shoulders, wrists, thighs and feet are extremely detailed, and the paint jobs are meticulously done. I'm most impressed with Aigis' hairs, you can clearly see the amount of effort put into depicting individual hair bundles/sections.
The difference is night and day when you compare the current figure with that from Cospa released in 2010.
The difference is further demonstrated when you compare the decals found on Aigis' arm band, shoulder joints, wrist sections and hairband, which seemed to be absent in the Cospa version. You might be thinking, they're just decals, what's the big deal? You stick them on and that's that. You're right, but my point is the attention to detail. Alter could very well leave them out to save time and give those poor Chinese workers a break.
The inner-workings of her forearm and the machine guns at her fingertips are instant reminders that she ain't just a bishoujo, but rather, a badass android specially designed to take on Shadows. The job isn't easy, and can leave Persona users wounded or scarred, as reflected by the damages done on Aigis' thighs.
The base that comes with this figure has a pretty simple design. The checkered pattern is a reproduction of the floor tiles found on the first few levels of Tartarus. The brownish splash is probably a Shadow that was either trashed by Aigis, or is trying to molester her leg because it has leg/foot fetish.
It seems to me that the Shadow is the only support that keeps Aigis in the air. Frankly, I'm a little concerned about the figure's balance. Aigis was designed to lean to her left, which probably already shifted her center of gravity. While Alter's quality is superb on pretty much all levels, there is no guarantee that the current figure is bent-resistant. I personally don't think it's a good idea to leave her out over extended periods of time, which is a real shame.
If you can overlook the balance concern I raised, this is the definitive Aigis figure to get for Persona 3 and Aigis fans. The level of detail is unmatched, which is expected from a figure in the $90-$100 range. Furthermore, keep in mind that this is a 1/6 scale figure, which will surely bring out the prowess and beauty absent in the lot of 1/8 scale figures most people own. Of course, this also means that she's unlikely to be shipped via SAL due to size/weight restrictions, so prepare to be stung by the ridiculous shipping fee from EMS.
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