With the Japanese yen to US Dollar rate being as terrible as it is currently, figure fans on a budget sure have a lot of temptations being thrown at them! I’ve been able to be pretty strong lately and only cave on a few things, but one of my big weaknesses is the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series. With Persona 4 being remade, a hit anime series and a Persona fighting game coming out there is a huge amount of things to choose from as seemingly every merch company tries to get a piece of my very limited figure budget. Today, Megahouse and Bandai are the winner with High Priestess Yukiko Amagi and her summoned Persona Konohana Sakuya. Lots more pictures after the jump!

I was determined to get my hands on this 1/8 scale Amagi after missing out on the extremely limited Alter version from a few years back, which I would still totally buy if I found it reasonably priced. This version comes with a few nice bonuses that the Alter did not include which I really appreciate.

An extra head, a sensu fan and hand for holding it, the “disguise” glasses from the game and three pairs of regular glasses are included with the figure. One pair of glasses is plastic and thicker, and the other two in the bag are wire and very delicate. I think I’ll keep them around for when something inevitably happens to the plastic ones.

Amagi herself has a nice pose, though less dynamic than the Alter figure I think it still fits her character well enough. The Megahouse version has its own Konohana Sakuya that she’s meant to pair up with, but it looked a little unstable and surprisingly static, so I decided to give the Bandai D-arts line a try instead.

This Amagi was sculpted by Masaki Yusuke from the fantastic Sakura Zensen group. He was also responsible for the epic Aigis Heavy Equipment figure Cospa released a couple years back, which remains one of my favourite figures ever. I’m glad to have another one of his works on my shelf.

Even with her simple pose, Amagi is a show stopper. Masaki had a challenge blending the texture of her sweater with the busy houndstooth print skirt, but I think he pulled it off well without it being too bulky or distracting. The factory paint job handles the various folds pretty well, though of course a custom job will always look better. Still, it’s nice to see manufacturers trying to pay more attention to detail, even if it has doubled prices for these figures in the last few years.

While I prefer the megane-ko look, I suspect a lot of owners will leave her as-is. Masaki totally nailed her expression.

I think it’s fantastic that Megahouse thought to include the “disguise” gag from the game. I’ve always been impressed with the little accessories they throw into the One Piece Portrait of Pirates line, and I’m glad to see it getting into their other figure lines now.

Although it’s pretty oversized which is typical for PVC figures, I think the base is pretty well done with the High Priestess symbol etched in. I hope Megahouse releases more figures *cough*Kanji*cough* because after seeing this one, they’ll definitely have my money!

But not to be eclipsed by any schoolgirl figure, Amagi’s summoned Persona Konohana Sakuya is my first purchase from Bandai’s D-arts posable line.  This figure is the same size as the similar Max Factory Figma and Kaiyodo Revoltech lines, and indeed has a matching Amagi from Figma that would fit it perfectly. What attracted me to this Sakuya-hime over the larger Megahouse version was the posability of the back.. petals? The much lower price didn’t hurt either.

Each wing piece connects into each other with a ball joint peg, allowing the panels to work as hinges that connect to each wrist in two places for strength. I was impressed with how Bandai pulled this off as I have Revoltech figures that do not accomplish this as successfully and with as much style while hiding the joints. The D-arts line may be late to the posable figure game but they’re definitely bringing some great competition, if this figure is any indication.

The joints have a smaller peg and feel a little less sturdy than a Figma or Revoltech, but as a result are easier to pose initially without fear of breakage. Konohana Sakuya came with two sets of hands which is pretty typical for these lines, one with fists and one with open hands. With a base price of 4200 yen and most online outlets selling her for much less, this figure is really worth the money!

When I first posted about getting this figure a couple months back, I kept her in the box for a long time. Her packaging definitely doesn’t do this figure many favors in showing you just how impressive she really is.

Now I don’t know what took me so long, as her beautiful petal wings make her a showpiece even without being paired with Amagi.

I had to tear myself away from taking more wing photos to show you her excellent base. I’ve never gotten a custom base with any figma or revoltech purchase I’ve made, so I was really surprised to find a heavy duty base with the High Priestess symbol again. I’m tempted to add pegs to the front so I can place Amagi on the same base, it looks even better than the yellow one Megahouse included.

Bandai really put some thought into what does and does not work with their competitors products and designed a base built to last. The bottom has a separate clicky gear hinge to keep your figures standing instead of losing grip over time. There was also a smaller stand hinge included in case you don’t want your Persona flying as high off the base.

Really it all boils down to shelf appeal and I think both figures have it in spades. I will have to showcase them both for a while before moving down to my Persona shelf next to the matching Wave Kuma and Kujikawa Rise.

If you are intrigued by these figures and wish to purchase them, they are still available at the time of this writing:

Buy D-arts Konohana Sakuya for an amazing 2000 yen at Amiami or at Hobby Link Japan.
Buy Megahouse High Priestess Yukiko Amagi at AmiAmi or  Hobby Link Japan.

If you live in the states, always be sure to check out your local Anime or Comic Book shop to see if they can get the figures in for you! Many will offer preorder or regular customer discounts and it saves you the hassle of importing while supporting a local business!