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section 1: the box

the box features the adorable promotional art for barbara's figure on almost every side. the top of the box has a small circle with the hydro vision symbol on it, which i thought was quite a cute detail. the side of the box that does not have a picture of her on it shows some simple shooting stars, representing wishing in genshin (too bad they're white wishes, aka 3* items LOL). the box itself is rather heavy duty cardboard. i pushed my hand down on it to test the sturdiness, and it doesn't budge or cave at all. the front plastic is a bit flimsy, but that's to be expected with plastic windows. and, as i'm sure you can tell, the box is quite large (it cost me 8k yen for DHL to the USA). this is because the music symbols that go on barbara's sides, as well as the ribbon that attaches to her back, have their own separate casings on each side of her

section 2: the base

the photos speak for themselves. the base is stunning. the grass, plants, rocks, and water are all beautifully painted. i was especially impressed with the way the puddle and rocks look. the puddle has some shine to it, allowing the light to reflect on it like real water. the best part is that there are tiny pebbles underneath! it's a lovely detail to include and makes the figure feel more immersive than just putting some blue on the base and calling it a day

usually with every figure there are a few minor details, especially on bases, that don't look the same in the final product. barbara does not have that problem. you are getting exactly what is advertised. in my opinion, the real base is actually more vibrant and pretty than what is in the promotional images

mini note: she was super easy to get into her base! i didn't have to apply any pressure to get her to fit, and she feels stable when picking her up or moving her around

section 3: a first look

here she is all set up. she's got an amazing level of detail on her outfit, hair, and pose. the music pieces can be placed straight into the sides of her dress. the pegs fit in easily and felt sturdy when i pushed back and forth on them a bit

her expression is adorable, and i'm very pleasantly surprised by the sculpt of it. i find that many figures with :D faces tend to mess up the lining on the lips or end up looking awkward, but her face perfectly captures her character

the best part is by far the outfit, which is incredibly detailed. i found no issues with paint on mine. there were no paint transfers or paint going over the intended lines. the gold is shimmery and beautiful, and i think it adds an extra pop to her eyes. the music notes surrounding her are colorful and cute, much like barbara herself. the plastic for them is rather thin and cheap though, so be careful when messing with them!

another thing, you can see the seam lines on her dress, but they really aren't noticeable unless you're actively looking for them. they had a great placement for them, which was on her sides. one is entirely covered by the pose of her left arm, and the other you're not really seeing because of her raised arm and the music piece. one fun detail about this particular pose is that they fully sculpted her armpit near both shoulders. it just added an extra ounce of realism to it, and i think that's nice (yay for anatomically correct figures! that's one of my favorite things)

i will go over this in another section, but her tights do have the small floral details that they have in game. that detail is often left out in official art and content, i assume because it's hard to see normally anyways, but the figure does have them. you can't see them in these photos, but i do have photos to share where you can see them

section 4: detail shots

here are some close-up shots of her face and dress. you can see the lovely smile sculpt even better here. the lips have a definitive edge to them, and the white of her smile is bright and beautiful. her eyes also have a gorgeous gradient that matches the game flawlessly (i have her character model pulled up on my second monitor as a write this review)

her hair has a bit of shading to it, but it's not a lot. however, i think that's the right call. this is because they put so much detail into the volume of her hair, that shading from real light makes it look clearer and better. it's one of the best hair sculpts in my collection. the sculpt itself has a bounciness and fluffiness to it that makes you feel her compassionate energy

now to talk about her clothes! her hydro vision and book are absolutely breathtaking. the vision has shine to it, so it reflects light, much like the water on the base. it makes her feel alive. the book itself is highly detailed, and the paint job is nothing less than perfection. you can see nothing went over the lines, not even a little bit. it's very impressive, because some of the lines, especially on the spine and edges, are SO thin. the dress is beautiful too. you can see every little shimmer from the gold details. her dress has lots of shading to it, and the flowy sculpt is another reason to love it

the ribbon on her back inserts very easily, and the momentum from the bouncy dress is also sculpted as if they are both moving as one piece

i love every little thing about the way she was posed and how it was brought to life

section 5: extra details!

as promised, here is where you can see the pattern on her tights. it's hard to see in photos, because they are a very pale color. both the front and back of her tights have them. the tights themselves are also a fantastic sculpt, because you can see all of the definition on her legs. on the side of where she is bending her knee, there is actually a little set of creases for how the fabric would fold in real life. there are a ton of tiny things about her that you wouldn't notice unless you looked close, so i'm super happy this review gave me a chance to see all of the love they put into her

i also attached more photos of the hair to show the small amounts of shading, but you can see that my house light makes her hair look defined enough as is

(and it can't really be seen in any photos due to how her hands are posed, but they actually painted her nails a very pale pink color! SO CUTE)

overall thoughts

it's obvious by the way i have written this review, but i love her. kotobukiya absolutely knocked it out of the park with her, and it gives me high hopes for the upcoming lumine and aether scales. i genuinely have no bad things to say about the figure. the only thing that was sort of annoying was the shipping cost, but that can't be helped (watch out if you're in other countries though! i know shipping can be more expensive for you guys)

the detail is incredible, and you can't beat it for that price. i paid $182 total (including the 8k yen shipping), and she is worth every penny. i'm honestly not even sad about missing the bonus face, because i personally think the wink is more adorable

if you are considering getting her, i 100% recommend doing so. she's the perfect figure for any genshin fan (or for anyone that appreciates nice designs and pretty figures in general). and if you have her on the way, congratulations! you are going to absolutely adore her, i promise

hopefully kotobukiya makes some more genshin figures, because this is an amazing start!

if you want to see a quick video of her, you can find it at my tiktok here

thank you for taking the time to read my review! i hope it is helpful, so you can be excited for your own to arrive or make that decision to buy one. have a wonderful day ♡

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