With hundreds of characters spanning multiple series in the franchise, several manufacturers have developed figures based on Bandai Namco Entertainment’s The Idolm@ster franchise. While the most well-known characters are arguably the idols of 765 Production featured in the console (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4) instalments, there are around 200 individually-developed unique characters featured in the mobile game The Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls.
Figure developer PLUM have worked on a couple of Cinderella Girls figures in the past, particularly those based on younger idols in the game including Arisu Tachibana and Momoka Sakurai. Their previous works seem to have been popular, with the Tachibana figure set to receive a re-release in March this year. Their most recently released figure is that of 11-year-old idol Chie Sasaki.
Having bought this figure more on a whim than anything else… was it worth the purchase price? Read on to find out.
Before we begin… do note that there is always the possibility of quality differences between two figures of the same type. These comments are based on the figure I possess, and may or may not be reflective of what you will receive should you order one yourself.
Concept and Design
This figure see’s Chie Sasaki don the uniform she wears as the leader of the in-game idol unit Little Marching Band Girls (Aka. L.M.B.G.). While the other members typically hold instruments or microphones in their official artwork, she takes the charge by holding a baton which when held is taller than her. This is the only figure currently available centred around the L.M.B.G. unit on the market, although is being followed up later this month with the “Hi-Fi☆Days” figure based on Kaoru Ryuuzaki. Whether this is a one-off, or rather two-off figure collection, has yet to be determined.
As a 1/7 scale figure, Chie Sasaki comes in at 220mm tall including her baton, making her actual body a couple of cm shorter. Although height and width is moot when it comes to displaying figures of varying scales, manufacturers and dimensions together; I felt that the overall scale worked nicely in showcasing Chie’s youthful charm and showcasing the complexity of her outfit.
Chie Sasaki is presented wearing a blue and white marching band outfit with a diamond checkerboard motif, a blue cape, and a matching blue maarching band hat adorned with a plume of pink feathers. This outfit ends up consisting of many layers, and turns out to be much more elaborate than many of the other figures I own from PLUM. Both from a distance and up-close it is very pretty, and I can personally not fault the design choice made in this respect.
The only thing about this figure I am not overly fond of is the choice of baton design. While it does correspond to the source material, it just doesn’t feel as well designed as the right of Sasaki’s ensemble.
Considering the pose held by Chie Sasaki with this figure, which seems to have been chosen to match the theme of the figure rather than in an attempt to be fanservicey, some may have concerns that placing her in certain locations on a cabinet may make it easy to see her underwear. As a slightly more family-friendly option given this possibility, she wears spats rather than typical underwear found with most figures.
Other Photos
Build Quality
In general, the build and paint quality of this figure was of a good standard. When I last reviewed a figure from PLUM (Yoshino & Yoshinon 1/7 Itakushinaide ver.) there were some painting issues across the board – which while not deal-breakers – were noticeable. Although still not flawless in this instance there were very few build quality issues, pretty much all of which required you to be observing them from a close distance.
The only issues I could really pick up were the lower quality bunny and musical note hairclips worn by Chie (Pictured above), which had a lower paint quality than the other small details on the figure.
The Base
While not the plain one-colour base that some other figures come with, there is very little creative about what this figure stands on. It is a plain transparent base, with a couple of holes for pegs in Chie’s right leg to go into. The theming is also simple, consisting of her name in a fancy font, the game’s name and a border which has at the very least been themed slightly based on the character. It does the job and at the very least maintains consistency with what PLUM have offered for their other The Idolm@ster figure adaptations.
Final Thoughts on The Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls – Chie Sasaki 1/7 Figure
Joining the ever-growing number of figures based on The Idolm@ster franchise, this adaptation based on Chie Sasaki is another one well worth at least considering for fans. While a little bit of a surprising choice given there are characters with more songs to their name and presence in the wider media franchise that have yet to receive a figure, PLUM have ultimately taken a good piece of character artwork and turned it into a great figure – with a rather complex design and solid build quality!
