It’s almost always a treat to photograph a Max Factory figure, except when they get tossed in the bargain bin shortly after I pay full price for them. Resentment aside, they very rarely disappoint, and it’s particularly appealing when they produce a figure of a character who hasn’t received many figures prior. Such is the case with Mea Kurosaki, and that circumstance is a bit strange considering how popular To Love-Ru is and how attractive and well-known its female cast is. Nonetheless, it’s great to see her getting a figure, particularly when it looks as nice as this one does.
Mea Kurosaki makes her debut in To Love-Ru Darkness, the third anime season of the To Love-Ru property. She appears to start off as an antagonist, and as I’ve only watched the first few episodes I’m not certain about much of her personality or character, but I assume that she eventually comes around to the good side and, like every other girl in the show, attempts to acquire Rito’s sperm for her own use. She seems to share an origin and background with Konjiki no Yami and I’m guessing that she has either a little sister or polar-opposite sort of relationship with her. Judging from the first two or three episodes she appears to have an outwardly friendly and cheerful demeanor wrapped around a more malevolent core, but given the tone and theme of the manga and anime I don’t doubt that her personality is subverted for sexual purposes.
This figure is manufactured by Max Factory and was released earlier this year. Mea is the second figure in this series, joining castmate Momo Deviluke, whose figure came out in late 2013. She’s sculpted in an impressively-sized 1/6 scale and stands about 24.5 centimeters in height. She comes with no accessories or castoff options; she’s ready for display straight away after fixing her to her base.
There are many appealing aspects to this figure, and her face seems like as good as place as any to start. She’s flashing quite a mischievous expression, eyes gazing up at the viewer with her tongue sticking out. She looks both naughty and innocent all at once with no hint of shame or shyness. Her coy look is accentuated by her coquettish pose, with one leg bent inwards, shoulders shrugged, and her head slightly tilted and dipped downwards.
Mea has an interesting haircut; her locks are cut short except for an absurdly long braid that runs all the way down her backs and legs and could probably go back up again. It’s wrapped around her body in a blatantly sexual manner, running directly between her legs and then flaring out to the side in a way that could only happen in an anime figure. She’s also got a very cute miniature ahoge poking up from her head, and there’s a second braid with a little flower ornament that makes her look younger still.
Like Momo, Mea is clad only in underwear. Unlike Momo, she isn’t wearing a bridal veil so this figure may have a little less appeal to those who have a thing for erotic and revealing wedding outfits, but Momo’s clothing – such as it is – is still very appealing. She’s not showing more skin than the average swimsuit figure – actually, she’s showing a lot less, with the garter belt and thighhighs covering up much more flesh – but anime figures clad in lingerie are regrettably rare and so Mea’s outfit is particularly attractive.
Mea’s lingerie is reasonably skimpy but not overly so, comprising a frilly brassiere, low-rise panties, a transparent garter belt, and opaque stockings. The sky blue color is fairly neutral, not generating the sort of excitement that black or red or even pink might. Her outfit is uniformly blue which can make it a little difficult to notice small details, but there are a number of nice touches, such as the bows above the garter straps and the pattern around the tops of her stockings.
One other detail that won’t be obvious due to her typical viewing angle is the way she’s adjusting her panties. You’ll never notice it looking at her from the front but it’s neat to know that she’s doing that.
An amusing touch is the pearl necklace around her neck. I can’t imagine that its inclusion was an accident and while it’s not easy to notice, its connotation is unmistakeable.
One last detail to look at is the way her arm is mashing her left breast. Mea isn’t particularly busty or anything – and now that I think of it, it’s interesting how it seems the most popular To Love-Ru girls are the ones with smaller racks –
As expected, Max Factory’s Mea Kurosaki is a lovely figure. She’s very attractive with her sly expression and suggestive pose, and of course her skimpy attire also enhances her sexiness. There’s little to complain about and a helluva lot to like, other than that I could’ve saved some money by waiting to order her. But then, there’s always the risk of the figure selling out and needing to find the figure on the secondary market, which usually isn’t a lot of fun for me, so I can’t complain too much. I’ll be reviewing Momo sometime in the future and I expect that she’ll be just as nice, and hopefully Max Factory will continue further with the series.
