As a Fate/stay night fan from way back, I try to keep an eye on the figure releases. With the recent Fate/zero popularity, there’s been a resurgence of interest in the characters, seeing things like the re-release of the Max Factory Kiritsugu Emiya that I was unable to get despite preordering a couple years back. Now we get to see some new sculpts from new talent in the form of the FREEing 1/8 Yukata series of the main girls of the original visual novel, the most impressive of which being this Tousaka Rin, due out in February 2013!

While her expression might be a little out of character, newcomer sculptor Kazuki Nishio has done a wonderful job evoking a peaceful feeling while not over-simplifying the character. I love the placement of the hands and the realistic slight but not overly “sexy” break in the yukata. The style of these figures reminds me a lot of T’s System’s Miyagawa Takeshi style of simplicity but things like the fold detail in Rin’s obi shows that Kazuki Nishio really knows his stuff.

FREEing is perhaps not as widely known a figure company as say, Kotobukiya or Good Smile, but early works such as the Suzumiya Haruhi 1/4 scale bunnygirl series put them on the map for some serious collectors. In the sea of like-dressed Saber and Rin figures out there, yukatas may seem basic but it’s something to set them apart from the pack as PVC releases go. I like that this Rin includes the bench and mosquito repellant pig as a little bonus to make this feel like added value.

I mentioned this was a yukata series, and while I didn’t cover the Ilya and Saber yukata versions, they’re also upcoming, with a Sakura coming very soon by the looks of it.  Will you be adding any of these to your shelves, or perhaps the whole group? What “costume” tropes are you tired of seeing in figure lines, or what types do you wish you could see more of?

If Rin has proven too lovely to resist any longer, you can preorder her at Amiami, Hobby Search, or Hobby Link Japan.