From Black Rock Shooter we have a pair of Japanese Figma action figures of Yomi Takanashi and her other self, Dead Master. I’ve been a fan of Black Rock Shooter since I first heard about it in the States or the “online world.” Oddly, for having somewhat of a worldwide popularity, nothing has been created in the U.S. at the time of this review. There is no dubbed version of the Anime, either the OVA that came with the Figma or Nendroid of BRS or the eight episode TV series that has the “Insane” BRS Figma packaged with it. There are no books such as BRS Phenomena or even Huke’s first art book—both filled with concepts, artwork and information on all of the characters. The powers that be must not see a market for it—I recommend that they open their eyes!

The first installment of Black Rock Shooter Figma’s featured characters in the likeness of their appearance in the OVA with BRS, Dead Master, Black Gold Saw and Strength being the first on the market. These renditions were followed by a Wonderfest Exclusive of Mato Kuroi—who is Black Rock Shooter. Yomi Takanashi followed in the footsteps of her friend and here she is in Figma form.

Yomi is sculpted as beautifully as just about all of the Figma action figures; she is fully articulated and comes with a multitude of accessories. Included are a white volley ball (cut off by the flash) which will fit into one of the many hands that are stored on a white “tree” with-in the box. The “tree” of hands is pretty much a standard accessory that comes with all Figma action figures.
Also included is a hand holding her cell phone, a bag to hold her school books, extra feet or different shoes, a couple of other facial expressions and of course the multi-pose Figma, figure stand. There is also a zip-style bag for holding the extra parts when not in use; this is usually a standard with all Figma’s.

The side of the box features a photo of the figure.

The back of the box has a ton of info in Japanese and also photos of different poses for the figure.

Yomi is a great piece, and an important part of the Black Rock Shooter universe and one that I would have considered opening, but I’ve chosen not to open Yomi for the display I have set up, however, Dead Master is a different story, see below.

GRADE: A+ (The detail of the character is pretty much perfect, and I love the character and how she is written in the story. Yomi is great for my collection and as with just about every Figma action figure, she is so well made).

When Yomi is feeling unwanted and becomes depressed, she goes into another world and becomes possessed by Dead Master. Currently—and to my knowledge—there have been three different stories on how the characters are portrayed. In the original animation, the story shows Yomi feeling neglected when Mato befriends Yuu (also Strength) the manager of the basketball club; at the same time Yomi and Mato had their classes spilt so they didn’t see each other as often.
The second instance is from the 8 episode TV series where all of the characters have “others” who constantly fight to harbor the negative pain that each one shoulders for the girls in the real world.
The third is the Manga “Black Rock Shooter: Innocent Soul” where at this moment, the story only shows Dead Master as a “nut-job” who enjoys eating the souls of those caught in limbo.

This Dead Master is of course from the OVA and features a beautiful likeness of the character from the Anime. She includes the usual Figma accessories such as the “tree” of hands, the zip bag for storage and the stand for multiple poses. The other accessories included with Dead Master are an extra face, her weapon the “Dead Scythe” and a pair of awesome black skulls with opening mouths and their own stands—one is taller than the other to stagger the display.

The back of the box features different poses for the figure and info in Japanese.

For fun, here are the two characters side by side.

Dead Master is shown here posed floating in the air with her Dead Scythe in a neutral position and her hand extended out in either a welcoming gesture or possibly telling BRS to come and get her. The skulls are poised for attack by her sides with their glowing green eyes, nose and mouth. Dead Master has a pair of translucent bony horns and translucent bony bird wings on her middle back—seen better in the next photo—her name is touched on not once but twice in the two cartoons about her having something to do with being the “bird” and each characters name having meaning—although, its gone into more so with Mato not being able to put together the Kanji of Takanashi.

The back of Dead Master shows off her wings better, how the stand pegs into her and even the detail on her Scythe.

…and here is my very own—what do they call it—ah, “Photoshop Fail!” Although I’m pretty skilled with using Photoshop for many things, I thought I’d have some fun with the light effect and try my hand at making the skulls glow. Cheesy, sure, but you gotta have some fun! All in all, I think the picture is kind of good, maybe if there was a background and I removed the stands from the figure and the other skull it would have had a better outcome.

As much as I love Black Rock Shooter (the character), I find Yomi and Dead Master to be quite interesting, sort of a pair of very tragic characters whose stories could be delved into deeper. The Dead Master in the Manga is probably the most interesting and I’m hoping that there is more than 9 (at this time) chapters, because I would love to know more.

GRADE: A+ (I think its becoming obvious that a Figma is either going to have a grade of A+ or Perfect because they are really worth every penny. I’m hoping that in May 2013 I’ll be able to add the Dead Master from the TV series into my Figma collection).

The final photo, the newest shelf display with BRS “Beast,” BRS, Dead and White Rock Shooter and the packaged Mato, BRS, Yomi and Dead Master. In the middle is the BRS doll. (I’m going to need more room for these Figma’s)!

Huke, Good Smile, and Japanese entertainment in general have something huge here in Black Rock Shooter and I wish they would expand upon it and make it world wide, because it’s something very special and I know for a fact that I’m not the only one who enjoys it.

CLICK ALL PHOTOS TO ENLARGE!

• Tweet