Mu12 review

Time for another figure review, this time it’s Mu12 from the Blazblue series. When this was first announced in early 2013 I was pretty excited because Blazblue figures and other merchandise are hard to come by. Glad this character was able to get some attention from figure makers to go and manufacture her.

As some of you guys know, I’ve also played Blazblue and tried my hands on this character. I didn’t use her as my main character, but I do play this character from time to time because Mu12’s character design really pushed what can be exposed in fighting games. Dizzy from Guilty Gear is tame in the exposure level compared to her.

The box IS huge. For comparison, look at the nendoroid Hatsune Miku Orchestra to the left. Inside was a bit messy because we placed bubble wrap prior to this to satisfy our paranoia regarding the safety of the figure.

I’ll also have to apologize in advance for typoes, grammar errors that you find along the way. I was too excited I guess with 50+images in one go 6=

Ah, the intricacies of packaging. If I want to save on plastic and paper, I would’ve packed the wings vertically or even on top of each other. But if I did that the figure inside would be less appealing compared to the one we have now.

Compared to the two other Blazblue figures, Rachel Alucard and Makoto Nanaya, Mu12 is a complete step-up. Glad they went for a more dynamic pose here in light of her character design. The ‘S’ curve that her body is following not only makes her figure adopt an action pose, but it brings out her appeal as well.

Background is called ‘Adventus’. It’s from the final stage in Blazblue Continuum Shift. Quite fitting as the orange sky makes her blue costume stand out even more.

If I had to complain about something it would be her hair, specifically the bangs, which felt somewhat ‘clumpy’ to me. The flash’s lighting may have drowned away some of the details, but overall it still looks awkward to have ’rounded edges’ for the hair.

I love the headgear of Mu12, complete with the number 12 etched on it. What I wish FREEing would’ve done was to make it removable and add her hair without the headgear to complete it. Problem with the headgear and bangs is it obstructs you from seeing her entire face when you decide to take photos of her from above. If you do decide to buy one, I do suggest displaying her a little bit above eye level to fully appreciate the sculpt.

That’s not a torn cape, that’s actually how her hair was designed like. Despite being designed like one, the way it flows looks more like hair than a piece of cloth ^^

They could’ve given this figure a more “moe” look like how she looks like in the game art, but the mature vibe works well with Mu12

The remaining clothing she has on her are the remnants of her original Noel costume. I have no idea what the character designer had in mind when he made this, but a lot of people approve of it for ‘aesthetic reasons’.

Japan has apparently mastered the art of clothes that never fall off.

Appreciating the fact that the metal parts have a good finish to them instead of just having dull colors, though I’m weirded out as to white blue portions on her side are shiny despite being clothing. They look better though with glossy paint instead of a matte finish. And yes those are eyes on her shoulder armor (I think they’re called pauldrons).

Necktie could’ve been less flat ^_^

I have to say this figure is an inch from being a cast-off with the amount (or lack of) clothes Mu12 has on her.

Glad FREEing took the time to ensure that the back muscles really looked like it was bending over. It might be hard to see in this picture, but you can see some bending happening near the waist area of her back.

Shiny gem. The only article which seemed weird in her design, but it actually fits her perfectly.

They went with the “bladed metallic angel” motif down to her legs. Her lower half fells a lot mecha in style, and FREEing did a good job in painting the leg parts with a dull metallic gray color. She floats in the game ^^

Some small details can be found at the back of her legs like places where the bolts should be seen (like Gunpla).

Don’t mind me here, I’m just appeasing the fans of the series @__@

Base is kinda, boring to be honest. Minus the blue flame/water wave there, the base lacks the amount of complexity that the figure brings to the table.

And now for her main weapon of choice, the floating blades that look like dragoons/bits/petals which resemble wings.

Both wings are attached to a clear plastic which is then fastened to the base.

Posing Mu12 without her wings makes her a bit incomplete, especially if you are familiar with her. But the plastic poles are really distracting in my opinion, maybe someday, figure manufacturers will make a way to make this less eye catching.

Remember when I said the helmet obstructs her face too much? This is an example of that. Because of the helmet, it’s hard to take pictures of her from above. You’ll be forced to display her at eye level or higher to fully appreciate the figure.

I have to say, Mu12 does look a WHOLE LOT MORE INTIMIDATING, compared to pictures without her wings. However, I still prefer pictures without the wings because the poles are really distracting. That’s really personal preference though 😛

To be perfectly honest, I think this is the best scaled Blazblue figure to date. The one made by Vertex doesnt compare and it honestly felt like a rip-off after seeing it (inconsistent colors from the featured images, the whites were bluish, hair was pale and dead yellow etc). I’ll save that up for another review though.

I wish this figure had a removable headgear (or complete cast off shoulder pads and whatever clothing remains) as it allows more angles to take pics with and of course a better base. Outside of that, the figure was well thought out in terms of posing and coloring. How I wish now that an Izayoi figure comes out.

Out of curiosity, does anyone here play Blazblue competitively?