Rikku Action Figure (Diamond Import version)

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

I pre-ordered this figurine along with Yuna & Paine from eBay.  At the time, I didn't know that Diamond was going to bring these action figurines to North America & had little knowledge about Diamond imports.  When I received the figurines, I was disappointed to find out it was the Diamond versions.  I wanted the Japanese versions.  Because of this, I never took them out of the box.

The Review

Rikku in box

Rikku comes with a clear display base & stand for you hold her up.  I don't think the base is required since I have seen her stand well without it.  A pair of open hands are included if you don't want her holding those blades.

The packaging is the same as the Japanese one, but you can tell this one is from Diamond.  For those of you that do not know how to tell, here's some pics to show you.

Package signs of noticing the Diamond versions

There are usually three differences that you will tell if a product is from Diamond.  In the first pic, Japanese toy & collectable packages usually don't have that choking hazard warning & age suggestion label during the time it was released in Japan.  There are a few Japanese companies, such as Yamato, that has these kind of labels on their packages.  My assumption is that these companies are preparing their products to be launched overseas, thus giving Diamond low packaging printing cost.  This can give you a tough time to determine if the product is the Japanese version.  This would make you examine other areas of the package.

Another indication in determining it's a Diamond version is the caution label in the second pic.  I have never seen any Japanese packages with this label during that time.  This should trigger your mind that the product is a Diamond version.  Despite what the label says, their products isn't as sharp as the Japanese version due to US regulations.

If you still can't determine if a product is a Diamond version, look for the Diamond logo & anything mentioning Diamond as the distributors.  This should guarantee you whether a product is a Diamond version. 

Although you can find these labels when you have the product in your hands,  chances are you can't determine if it is a Diamond version when you go to online shops & auctions.  If the actual package is pictured on the store or auction listing, try to find any labels like in the first two pics & read the description to see if Diamond is mentioned.  Asking them if it's the Diamond version may not work.  Chances are they would say it is imported from Japan & make you think it's the Japanese version without mentioning if it's from Diamond.  That's my assumption though.  Diamond versions are cheaper in price & you don't want to pay the Japanese retail price for those.  Anyways, back to the figurine.

Luckily, the box has windows on the side to see some of the details of Rikku.  But, I forgot to take a pic on the front & right sides of the box.  Since I got rid of her, I can't take any pictures on the other sides.  This Diamond version isn't too bad in terms of the paint job.  Not much paint bleeding noticed.  The scarf's two tone paint is nicely done & balanced.

The molding isn't too bad when you look at the product you closely.  The scarf suffers a bit of a problem with the scarf's edges in terms of the molding.  It's a bit bumpy.  I don't know if it's sharp enough to cut yourself with.

Cutie pie!

For a Diamond version, the eyes aren't bad.  Probably up to par with the Japanese version.  But I don't think I've seen the Japanese version before.  The paint job isn't bad either.  One thing I didn't like is the hair.  It looks so flat as it's just one sheet of PVC slapped on the head.  I think they should have made some lines to make the hair better.

Overall Conclusion

This isn't really much of a review since I never took Rikku out of the box nor have the Japanese version to compare the two.  Just by looking at the figurine, it looks pretty decent.  I don't know how good are the joints & the hand changing procedure is.  Either way, I refused to take her out of the box since I'm not happy with the quality of Diamond products.  I have displayed her on my shelf in her box before, but storage it away & never displayed her again.  I have sold her away on eBay.

On a scale of ten, Rikku gets a nine.  This is only based on looking at the product & never taking it out of the box.  Paint job is fine & the PVC quality looks good.  The hair was a problem for me.

Since I never seen the Japanese version, I can only say the Diamond version of Rikku isn't too bad based on looking at it in box alone.  If you want to add her to your collection, she's the hardest to find in the Final Fantasy X-2 Play Arts series; even the Diamond version.  Japan has no plans of re-releasing it, so the Japanese version is out of the question.  Your best bet is finding the Diamond version if you still can.

Photos were taken using Sony DSC-F828 digital still camera.

Last updated on February 19, 2008