Is this a 1:1-scale figure of A Certain Scientific Railgun’s Mikoto, or a 1/2 1:1 one?
You could argue that a quick test of how big an anime fan a person is is to check how big their anime figure collection is. And when we say “big figure collection” we’re not just talking about a large number of figures, but also how large the individual figure of their favorite character is.
For the ultra hard-core otaku, there are even life-size figures, which you essentially need to think of as status in terms of displaying or storing them. The latest to get the 1:1-scale treatment? Mikoto Misaka, from A Certain Scientific Railgun.
Obviously, these 1:1-scale figures don’t come cheap, but manufacturer F Nex has probably made a wise choice with Mikoto, since the Railgun franchise is no flash in the pan. With its first anime adaptation premiering back in 2009 and its most recent TV arc airing earlier this year, Railgun has proven it has legs.
However, this Mikoto figure does not.
The complete view shows that this figure is actually a bust. That’s sort of an unusual design for anime merch to begin with, but it’s especially strange when you consider that this is a life-size rendering of Mikoto. Ostensibly, the appeal is supposed to be that displaying the figure makes it feel like the character is right there in the room with you, but that illusion vanishes as completely as Mikoto’s body below the waist.
At roughly 82 centimeters (32.3 inches) tall, this isn’t going to fit easily on a study/work desk or shelf, but it’s also too short to just set directly on the floor. It sort of seems like it demands its own special pedestal to be placed on, like it’s the bust of a Roman senator being exhibited in a museum’s antiquities wing.
As you might expect, even half a full-size anime character doesn’t come cheap, and the 1:1-scale Mikoto bust is listed at a price of 278,000 yen (US$2,685). At that point, you almost have to wonder why F Nex didn’t just keep going and make a complete life-size figure and sell it for 556,000 yen, since it seems like even the bust’s price is well past the “money is no object” superfan threshold (or, alternatively, why they didn’t make a 1:2-scale full figure). Still, there is something artistically regal about a bust, and if this is just the thing you’ve been looking for to tie together your otaku interior aesthetic, the 1:1-scale Mikoto bust can be pre-ordered online here, with shipping scheduled for July.
Source: F Nex via Otakomu
Images: F Nex
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