This Kyojuro Rengoku scale from Aniplex/Wing is as aesthetically pleasing as the pictures suggest! However.. there is one major concern.

Figure Review

Rengoku Kyoujurou Aniplex/Wing 1/8 Scale info

I bought it here

Otaku Sinh’s collection

Shopping w/ Hobby-Genki.com

$214.01 (Figure) + ¥4000 or $27.15 (Surface Parcel) + = $241.16

Figure Order Timeline

• Shipped 09/19/2023
• Arrived 11/18/2023

Shopping w/ Hobby-Genki.com

Check out my other blog posts where I go deeper into Hobby-Genki here, here and here.

This was one of the very first orders I made on Hobby-Genki. Unfortunately, I locked in the US prices and couldn’t revert to the Japanese Yen when their currency dropped. There could have been about $30 saved. Other than that, below are some highlights and concerns about Hobby-Genki.

Hobby-Genki Highlights

• A trustworthy anime figure website from Osaka, Japan
• MFC partners for another layer of trust
• Fast and slow shipping options at competitive rates
• Utilizes a “Private Warehouse” where you can combine or separate orders within 60 days
• “Pay Later” option
• Gets “Aniplex” exclusive figures, Kotobukiya ARTFX-J bonuses & other Bandai Exclusives

Concerns?

• The currency you pick at the time of purchase is what you are stuck paying with
• Shipping options are not automated for selection after entering “Private Warehouse.” You must ask for shipping quotes.

Shipping Box

• This figure box was pretty hefty, so the shipping boxed ended being more similar to AmiAmi’s 140 “size” box
• There was an additional bubble wrap outside of the figure box
• The the bubble wrap underneath had a figure label sticker

Aniplex / Wing Box

• The figure box came with additional bubble wrap outside of the factory bubble wrap of the figure box

Assembly

• The assembly comes with 4 different pieces: the figure, base, stand and the sword
• The process is fairly easy and straight forward

Assembly Issues?

• The pegs seem to need to have a bit of maneuvering to get it to fit (stand and figure); I couldn’t get it to fit all the way in for the body or the stand, but good enough
• The sword just needs to be pushed through his hands, but be careful to not break the sword and try to pry open his hands a little bit to help push the sword down
• Fire effect broken! (see “Are There Defects” section below)
• When I opened the package to get access to the pieces, it seemed like the fire effects were bumping against the other pieces—it likely came broken..

Aesthetics

• Aesthetics is 100% a man’s wet dream as a figure collector! Spectacular, very wow worthy, while maintaining a balanced look!
• Design choice is a dynamic action pose that represents Kyojuro’s Flame Breathing’s 9th technique “Purgatory”
• Paint quality is as good with it being 50% flame effects; figure body is super clean with subtle shading
• Sculpt quality is also as good as it gets with it being 50% flame effects; the figure looks as naturally realistic and detailed as you’d expect from the face, hair, body and the subtle parts like wrinkles on the body
• With the figure being flame effects ‘heavy,’ it has a very balanced look between the expression and stance of Rengoku’s body to the flame that is hovering over his sword

Base

The base is amazing, highlighted by the dragon head. It has a 3D look for the bottom of the base, where flames and rocks represent the setting of Rengoku’s fight. It reminds me a lot of Kotobukiya’s Raphtalia 1/7 scale here.

Are there defects?

• As with a lot of cases for resin figures, the more elaborate becomes more fragile, which is the case with this scale PVC
• Other than the broken effect that can be easily fixed, there are no major issues like scuffs or ‘blotchy-ness’
• The only issues are at best, minor ‘minor’ issues that comes naturally from mass producing these

• While the glued effects is more noticeable and messy looking through a zoomed up picture, it blends in pretty well to the naked eye as a whole(see all the pictures below!)

Pictures

Turntable Videos

The VERDICT

If you are got this figure for under 20,000 yen or under $200, then it truly feels like a steal at those prices. I recently gave away my Megahouse Rengoku GEM, in which I paid roughly $200 for. This figure is by far the more spectacular one, while maintaining the clean look of the Megahouse GEM one. Looking through my pictures, it really doesn’t do it justice from the in-person look, as a lot of the flames can look distracting in the pictures or I just really suck at taking pictures.. As a hobbyist and collector of many things anime, this figure will elicit the nostalgic and exuberant feelings of why you became a fan of such a thing as it relates to the series and/or character.

After months of sitting in the box, I’m very happy with the purchase, even overpaying for it (in terms of the Japanese prices). Even thought the flame effect came broken or from poor packaging, where it breaks matters a lot. In this instance, a little bit of epoxy glue does the trick in a spot where most people won’t be able to notice unless you tell them. Like the Uzui Aniplex/Revolve scale, this figure embodies the excitement I had for the character in a very fan approved way. Even though this figure has been out for some time, if you can still find one or buy one preowned, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!