Motoko Kusanagi is the heroine of the animated series "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex". Does she really need an introduction? If you haven't watched the series, I highly recommend it - it's much better than the movies.

Yamato has made the bulk of their fortune not with mecha toys, but with female figures. It's representative of the state of the industry. Most of the Japanese toys released each week are anime figurines. But as you may have seen recently, all the major manufacturers are now coming out with lines of articulated figures. Not quite action figures, these lines are essentially anime statues with more articulation. Kaiyodo has Revoltech, Max Factory has Figma, and now Yamato has VMF.

Yamato describes VMF (Variable Motion Figure) as follows:

"This Summer Action Has A New Name… Yamato is exceptionally pleased to present its latest collection, vmf - variable motion figure. vmf is a new style of large scale action figure that strikes a perfect balance of form and function with multiple points of articulation (including an ingenious use of soft, flexible ATBC-PVC for partial articulated points); interchangeable parts; and exquisite, lifelike sculpting."

The figures are substantially bigger than the competitors, feeling more akin to a 1/6 scale figure (this figure is 1/7 scale, just a bit smaller). The price reflects the increase in size.

"One-seventh scale, Motoko stands approximately 9.00", features 16 points of articulation, interchangeable wrists, removable jacket, and themed weaponry (SEBURO M-5/SEBURO C-26A with silencer), all packaged in a collector's style window box."

The detail on this figure is really nicely done, right down to the ports on the back of her neck. The head is beautifully sculpted and captures the likeness perfectly. A ball joint in the neck provides a full range of motion.

In fact, pretty much all of the joints are ball joints, with the exception of the knees and elbows.

When you get a little lower the proportions get a bit off. How do I say this in a nice way... uh... Motoko's got BACK. From the waist down she is much thicker than she appears in the show.

Motoko is packaged with her jacket on, but that jacket is removable. You have to remove the arms at the shoulders, and replace the upper arms with flesh colored arms. Its interesting how they accomplished this, but the jacket-covered arms have a very limited range of motion in the elbows, as the joint is far up inside the arm. Not a great design here, but that problem goes away when you swap the arms.

The figure comes with only one set of hands, and the right hand is used to hold the weapons. Motoko comes with two weapons - a SEBURO M-5 and a SEBURO C-26A with silencer. The silencer is removable. The grip on the handle is not that tight, and could have benefited from some kind of peg to hold it in place. Also included is a clear blue stand with a peg that fits into either foot.

If you are a Ghost in the Shell fan, or a female figure fan, you will probably dig this. It's a nice representation of the character, and the quality is awesome. Mecha heads may not be too into it due to the subject matter (eew girls!), and action figure fans will balk at the price point and lack of serious articulation.

If you are interested in buying your own VMF Motoko Kusanagi, you can get yours at http://www.yamatotoysusa.com/page.cfm/536