It took an extraordinary amount of time – this figure went up for preorder somewhere in 2015, if I remember right – but Orca Toys’s Sasara Kusugawa finally arrived a few months ago. She went up for order at about the same toy that Kotobukiya’s version did, but Kotobukiya’s version came out last year. I haven’t yet reviewed the Kotobukiya figure; while I like it quite a bit, the comparison will have to wait until I do so. Until then, we’ll take a look at just the Orca Toys figure now.
Being that To Heart 2 and Dungeon Travelers figures are in no short supply, we will skip the usual series introduction. This figure is manufactured by Orca Toys in 1/6 scale. Depending on how one positions the axe, this figure is around 28 centimeters in total height, including the weapon and the base (which I usually do not include in height measurements). The large dimensions of this figure along with Sasara’s swirling hair and impressive battle axe mean that this figure takes up considerably more shelf space than one might expect.
First, an admission of irritation: this figure came with paint transfer on both torsos (this figure does indeed come with two bodies). The torso with covered breasts had a red streak around the navel and the torso with visible nipples had a similar red streak under the bustline. I might suppose that the discoloration come from her clothing, except she doesn’t actually wear any clothes around that part of her body so who knows. While annoying, the problem was at least easily remedied with a little rubbing alcohol applied to a Q-tip.
But that dual-headed bit of unpleasantness is my chief complaint, for the rest of the figure is fantastic. Given that the principal conceit of Dungeon Travelers is that the characters change their clothing when they change their jobs, let’s start by looking at Sasara’s outfit. In her most modest form, she’s wearing a minimal red-and-white string bikini, no doubt inspired by the character Tyris Flare from Sega’s seminal arcade classic Golden Axe. Her arms and legs are sheathed in leather, and the only actual metallic armor she wears are her metal ankle-high boots. A pair of pink flowers placed in her hair add a cute and feminine touch that contrasts with her skimpy clothing, fierce expression, and aggressive pose.
Sasara is frozen in a fighting stance, limbs splayed and axe cocked back for a powerful swing. She’s also wielding a shield – sort of an uncommon pairing with a battle axe in fantasy art – but she’s obviously not concerned with protecting her body as she’s wide open to any kind of attack. Regardless of the level of practicality of her fighting posture – and given Sasara’s design, practicality is not amongst the priorities evinced here – her pose is one of the best aspects of the figure.
Her stance conveys a palpable sense of energy and aggression, much more so than the superficially-similar version from Kotobukiya. The highly-stylized nature of her body is bold and enticing, showing off her broad hips, long legs, narrow waist, and large breasts, which appear to be bouncing around of their own accord. The movements of her body make it less obvious as to how her body is actually positioned, but that just adds to the allure of the figure.
There are a few different ways to display Sasara. As mentioned, she actually comes with two torsos, and a rather darkly-printed instruction sheet demonstrates how to swap them out. The difference between the two is actually in the clothing; one torso has her breasts covered by her bikini top, while the other models her top in the process of coming undone. Her bikini bottom is a removable piece; two removable pieces, actually, as one is meant to fully cover up her groin while the other has the left strap loose. And of course, one can simply dispense with it completely and leave her crotch exposed. In all, there are six ways to display Sasara, which is quite impressive.
This does bring up one other complaint I have with the figure, in that her normal bikini bottom was a colossal pain in the ass to fit on her hips. It didn’t annoy me that much, though, as I never intended to use it aside from taking these photographs, and in the end I didn’t bother with it.
Her vagina is rendered, though not in any great detail. It’s almost undetectable from the front and one would be excused for thinking that it isn’t present at all. Despite its restrained presentation, it is a nice touch that it’s there at all; it seems rare that a character like Sasara gets a figure with full nudity (even considering that she originally comes from an H-game).
Unlike the Kotobukiya figure, Sasara’s face doesn’t look much like her official artwork, though that doesn’t bother me. Indeed, I generally appreciate it when sculptors go for a different sort of style. Though that said, I prefer the face of Orca Toys’s limited version of Sasara, which has a slightly wider mouth. I think it fits the aggressive nature of the figure a bit more.
I do have a curious observation to make, which may be indicative of the times we Americans live in. This may be an insane comparison to make but Sasara’s blonde hair, narrowed eyes, and puckered mouth remind me a bit of the mannerisms of the current president. I realize that’s really a stretch but the connection was nearly instant. Perhaps that’s also an indication that I have been following the news too closely.
Here is her axe. It’s identical on both sides and it’s not particularly detailed, though the size is impressive. There’s something appealing about a half-naked girl holding a giant axe.
One of the interesting aspects of this figure is that different display angles make her body position look different. From the front, it’s not easy to discern how deeply arched her back is.
It’s also not easy to tell just how large her ass is.
It’s a odd feature to note but I like her shoes. They’re made to resemble metal, for some reason, and I suppose they would be the best-protected location on her body, aside perhaps from her left forearm.
The base is made to look like rock and it does a good job of establishing the environment. It’s connected to a plain plastic disc which also does a competent job of keeping her stable and upright.
Aside from the aforementioned manufacturing problems, I really like this figure. The sculpt is superb and the outfit is undeniably attractive. The different castoff options add a lot of versatility as to how this figure can be displayed (though I was always going to go for the skimpiest option). The pose is impressively assertive, far more so than the Kotobukiya version. Overall, this really is a great figure of a sexy, scantily-clad fighter girl with a giant axe, and how can anyone dislike that?
