Whilst I was out in Japan, I kept an eye out for the release of the new Kagami Hiiragi Figma - luckily, she was released the day before we flew back! I already had the original Kagami Figma in winter uniform but decided to get this because of the extra Misao head it comes with.
This version of Kagami comes with the summer uniform, where the original came with the winter uniform. It's inevitable that some parts are from the same moulds - legs, shoes, skirts, hair and torso all look the same. As a result it's lucky that Good Smile Company did a great job first time round, although it would be nice to see some different pig-tails at least. Colour scheme is changed to blue and white for the winter uniform, along with grey knee socks.
Finish and quality are good as is typical of Figmas. There are only a few small niggles - the white striping on the skirt isn't quite as good as other Lucky Star Figmas, the yellow on the neck bow looks a bit glossy and some slight roughness on her left sleeve. On the up side, there is less flash present compared to the original Kagami especially around the hair and fringe.
Kagami comes with 3 faces (excluding Misao) - a soft smile, a typically tsundere complaining face and a blank face you can decorate to your heart's content. The tsundere face is a welcome addition as the faces with the original Kagami didn't seem to quite fit the nature of Kagami that we saw in the Lucky Star TV series.
Of course one of the key features of this Figma is that it comes with the Misao head. I'm sure there is an avid Misao following out there and if so I'm a part of it! Some might see it as an opportunity to exploit the customer base by bundling it only with a full Figma. It would be nice to buy it seperately, but personally I'm glad to be able to get Misao at all as there's very little in the way of figures for her.
Kagami comes with a set of 8 additional hands in a variety of gestures. These are stored on a plastic holder so that they don't get lost easily. The plastic holder is common across the Figma range and as with others that I've used, the hands always seem a tight fit into the holder. If you're removing and inserting hands often into the holder I advise doing so slowly and carefully as it feels as if it could be quite easy to snap a hand joint. However, it feels easier pushing them into and pulling them out of the arms than on some other Figmas.
The poseable stand is another common item across the Figma series and again serves it's purpose quite well. It's not quite fluid enough to move when posing Kagami herself, so you'll need to hold and adjust the stand itself to get just the right height.
For storage you get a plastic sealable bag printed with the Figma logo. Although I store all my Nendoroid parts in compartmentalised boxes, it'd be nice to get these bags with the Nendoroid series as well.
Whether or not you decide to buy this version of Kagami depends on the kind of collector you are. If you collect a lot of Figmas or Lucky Star figures then chances are you'll have the original Kagami already. If you're a very casual collector and don't have Kagami then you might only want to buy one version. This version comes with more appropriate faces, the Misao head and of course a different uniform. On the other side of the coin, the older Kagami might be harder to find but it'll also probably be cheaper. Regardless of the motivation behind a decision, one thing is for sure - if you do buy her, you'll be getting a great figure.
