E-2046 1/6 Kasumi

Dead or Alive (Japanese: デッドオアアライブ Hepburn: Deddo Oa Araibu?) is a video game series produced by Tecmo and developed by Team Ninja that is primarily composed of fast-paced 3D fighting games. Its story and characters are the creation of Tomonobu Itagaki, who has since left the company and is no longer working on the series.

In addition to its innovative countering system, the franchise is arguably as well known for its cast of busty female characters and the animation of their breasts. This aspect of the game's popularity led to the creation of the spin-off game Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball and its sequels, where the women and their sex appeal play a more focal role than it does in the core Dead or Alive series.

Kasumi (Japanese: かすみ, also written as 霞, meaning "mist") is a player character and the prime protagonist of the Dead or Alive fighting game series by Team Ninja and Tecmo (Koei Tecmo). Kasumi has served as the lead character of the Dead or Alive franchise since its premiere in 1996. She was the official protagonist in the first two games in the series and was also a main character in the fifth game and in the film DOA: Dead or Alive, in which she was portrayed by Devon Aoki. In the games' canon, Kasumi, also known as "the Kunoichi of Destiny", is a teenage female ninja princess who has left her clan and became an outcast pursued by her younger half-sister Ayane. There are several Dead or Alive player and boss characters who are clones of her.

Kasumi has become a symbol of the Dead or Alive franchise and is the personal favourite of Team Ninja's founder and the series' creator Tomonobu Itagaki. She has been the subject of various merchandise and was used to promote the Xbox consoles in Japan. Kasumi is a popular sex symbol in video game culture and an iconic ninja character. Due to differences in cultural norms, she has also attracted some controversy in the West involving eroticism and the use of underage female characters in video games.

For those who do not know, E2046 offers kits of anime, manga, and game characters in resin. The resin itself is top notch and only a tiny bit of clean-up is required as they remove just about all mold seams. Often just the remnants of pour stubs are left to be dealt with. This kit is no exception.

Packaged in individual cells in large plastic sections, the kit is so cushioned that in literally hundreds of these kits, the worst damage I've ever had was a broken finger. This kit is part of their Antihero series and frankly, I have no clue as to why the various series of kits have the name they are given. It used to be that E2046 would produce knock-offs of extant kits, but over the last several years, they have contracted out to have most of what they offer produced for them. You can generally get kits of items that have been produced in vinyl and are deemed worthy of reproduction in resin. The main benefit of the resin kits is that they cost about a third what the vinyl ones do. Downside is that you have to assemble and paint the kits. However, you get to paint them as you see fit.

As you can see by the parts diagram (which is also pretty much the assembly diagram as well), this one is not horribly parts intensive. Some of these kits are so flamboyant that they have a ton of small detail bits. In this one as in all their kits, the major pieces have very large attachment areas and frequently the assembly areas are along normal seams, such as between the upper leg and the stocking covered lower leg section. The head is separate with many bits for the hair. Many will prepaint sections prior to assembly. Unlike many kits, this one comes with a base. Also included in this kit is red thread to fit on the handle of the sword and a large set of decals. One is for the base and the others are eyes and the designs on her clothing. The kit only comes with one photo so the builder will need to visit the e2046 web site to get views of the back and sides of the figure.

This is a very popular series as E2046 must have a half dozen or more different Kasumi figures listed, though not all are always in stock. This is one of the tamer versions that can be found and is in a nice pose that suggests standing in a good breeze. If you are a fan of the game or just like these sorts of figures, then I'd suggest getting one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_or_Alive_%28series%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasumi_%28Dead_or_Alive%29

May 2015

Thanks to me for picking this one up.

Thanks to If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contactthe editor or see other details in the Note toContributors.

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