Azur Lane – I-19 – Departure’s Gentle Breeze – 1/7 Figure (PLUM)

Figured as Much Review

Closely following my review of Phat Company’s most recent figure of Izuna Hatsuse from No Game No Life, my other figure orders from Early to Mid 2020 finally made their way to my doorstep. As I mentioned last time, I had to temporarily postpone my Figured as Much review series because of the after-shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in all my figure orders being stuck in a warehouse in Japan for more than a year, unable to be shipped to Australia. The next figure to reach my doorstep was this one from figure manufacturer PLUM, featuring I-19 from Azur Lane in her Departure’s Gentle Breeze (Aka. School Uniform) skin.

I have not been a massive follower of Azur Lane in the last year or so. This is not to say their games have dipped in quality by any means, but lack of time has meant that my limited time needed to be focused on other things. But one thing that I still get eagle-eyed about is still its most significant asset… so many fantastically designed characters! One of my favourite developed characters is I-19, initially created by Japanese illustrator 米白粕, a submarine class fighter from the in-game Sakura Empire. As you may perhaps noticed from some aspects of this site, red has quickly become my go-to colour of choice in recent years, and a character whose primary colour is red caught my attention immediately.

This figure of I-19 was manufactured by PLUM, a Japanese company with hundreds of figures under their belt and a history spanning more than two decades (Having opened in August 2000). Over the years, they have been a go-to, in my opinion, for figures based on cute anime and video game franchises, in addition to mobile games. They have a tendency to align themselves towards more adorable and/or younger characters, and have carved a niche out for themselves in that aspect. In recent years, they have released many figures based on Azur Lane, Ro-Kyu-Bu!Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?The Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls, and Date a Live to name a few. Some might identify their quality as being occasionally hit or miss, and they might not often offer the super-premium figures that select other manufacturers do. However, they provide good quality figures for characters who may not receive much love otherwise – and I would argue are worth looking at if you need a touch of cuteness in your figure collection.

This figure of I-19 is faithful to the original artwork found in-game, and features the character getting set to walk off to school carrying her randoseru, a missile and her umbrella. From the small details such as the positioning of her tail, the small cat print on her undergarments and the inclusion of minor details from the artwork – they hit the mark. While the base is plain, PLUM have cleverly given it a bit of personality by including the water splashes found at I-19’s feet. Due to the gust of wing clearly exposing her underwear, this alone probably precludes it from having prominence within your collection unless you live alone, but by gosh this is an adorable figure!

Her umbrella is separate from the main figure, and you can display her both holding and not holding it. However, it is a shame that the same cannot be said of her hat. While her hat pulls together the whole ensemble well, making the cap magnetic so it could be included or not based on the owner’s wishes would have been a nice touch. My other minor complaint about this figure is that the main figure was challenging to attach to the base. Perhaps this is me being overly cautious to ensure I don’t break anything. Still, I was at one point convinced something had broken, or there was an issue with production until forcefully pushing the pegs into the base. Fortunately, despite being a relatively simple plastic base, it supported her flawlessly with no problems.

While relatively simple compared to some of PLUM’s more ambitious designs, there is little I can fault with the design and manufacture of this figure. There were very few (and only then, very minor) issues with the paintwork and everything came in supported and not flimsy in any aspect. If I were to nitpick, I would argue that her tail could have used a bit more work, but other than that, and despite sitting in a warehouse for more than a year longer than expected, she came out well.

Straying more towards the cute side, as my figures tend to, this is another figure I will keep on display, in the same way, I will my figure of Izuna Hatsuse… present but discreetly. If you have been looking for a figure featuring a sailor school dress-wearing cutie, then this is one figure to keep your eye out for. Alternatively, if you have I-19 in-game, you can buy the ‘Departure’s Gentle Breeze’ character skin for much cheaper – and save yourself a chunk of money.

Sadly, Amiami ran out of new stock of this figure prior to launch (I believe) and have taken down their product page. Keep your eyes out on various sites for pre-owned figures should you wish to add this one to your collection.

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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