The colourful characters of Capcom's premiere beat-em-up have been part of my life since before I was a teenager, and over those same years I've seen good and bad figures come and go, from GI Joe crossover figures to Bishoujo statues, they lend themselves to many styles. What you can't beat however is a faithful representation of the Capcom style, and Pop Culture Shock have been killing it in this market for a while now. I was first introduced to their statues with last year's Juri, an outrageously good statue in 1/4 scale that has dominated my office. I do like a bad girl, and Juri is my kinda femme fatale.
That's not to say that the goodies don't have their charms, and I've always liked Street Fighter III's Ibuki, the trainee ninja with a raccoon for a mate and a hankering for a taste of the big wide world. The Udon books have always been a terrific source of further stories for the characters, and I loved Ibuki's depiction in her standalone series, enough to put her in my top 5 characters after Chun Li, Juri, Ken and Sakura.
This PCS statue of Ibuki comes in an absolutely massive box, large enough that I can't get it into the attic, so if you want to keep the packaging, make sure you have a big enough door to your storage area. The pieces are stored in sturdy Styrofoam, with all the optional gubbins scattered around the body and base. Everything on the base is numbered for the Sakura blossoms, and it all just slides together. I admit I missed Ibuki's left bicep on the first round, so a couple of photos in the gallery may look a bit odd!
Once you have it all assembled, it's very heavy indeed, so make sure you have a suitably sturdy surface to place it on once complete.
And then drink her in.
The level of detail on this statue is absolutely stunning. The texture on her ninja outfit, which is like sackcloth, really lends a sense of realism to the piece. The leather gauntlets around her wrists and ankles have a similar level of detail, which contrast her smooth skin and anime facial features nicely. Fingers and toes have a pleasing form, with creases and wash to make the skin tone look genuine.
The base is a gorgeous Japanese style container in hot pink, with grass at the inner base and a Sakura tree growing from the centre. The blossoms are nicely painted in matte pink with yellow pistils, all of which attach numerically to the corresponding branches. It's a fantastic looking base for Ibuki to perch on, and almost pretty enough to stand alone with no figure.
Ibuki's pose, poised on a single foot in a ready stance, is full of energy and purpose. This version of the figure contains an alternative head with the mask covering her mouth, and two alternative arms wielding kunai. I've opted for an unarmed look, though you can mix and match if you wish. I don't know if I'd have liked a more emotive expression on her unmasked face for more personality, but the determined look is acceptable and probably carries the least risk. On a piece of this size and price, the last thing you need is anything controversial.
I suppose we should talk about the investment this piece represents. At £486 from www.animegami.co.uk, it's not your average figure. Standing at a whopping 66cm tall by 55cm wide and 29cm deep, Ibuki requires considerable space to breathe so you'll need to plan a display area before picking this up. It's also an extremely limited run at only 125 pieces worldwide, of which mine is #109. So just made it!
The ultra limited collectable statue market has been growing over the last decade, with so many options for your favourite characters it is getting genuinely difficult to either afford to play in the hobby or even pick a piece that's going to keep your interest. That of course always assumes you can actually get hold of one, with popular characters selling out very quickly.
The fact that I can pair this up with Juri really adds a lot of longevity to my interest, both figures look amazing and give the office some fabulous points of interest outside of the main display cabinets behind my desk. I really enjoy having focal points dotted around to draw the eye, and these work a treat. I believe my geek stats have gone up somewhat with this purchase!
So yes, on a technical level this is a masterful piece of pop art. If you've always wanted an Ibuki statue, I can highly recommend this one as a showstopper, but for more modest wallets the Bishouko Ibuki at under £80 from most stockists is a great substitute.
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