Kirika Yuumura from anime "Noir"

I bought this kit some years ago as I am a dedicated fan of the anime Noir. As I also collect anime figures and wanted one of Kirika Yuumura (a character from Noir) I then didn’t know such a figure existed and only found a garage kit of her. Garage kits have been around since the late 1970s where obsessed fans of anime or science fiction could only get figures of whatever series they liked by making them themselves. It was only recently when researching about this kit that I learned of the practice of re-casting such kits and selling these knock offs at places like eBay where I had unwittingly bought this one. It was from a Thai site and was recast from the original that had been released by Toy’s Brand in 2001.

This figure could be completed with hooded jacket but this was not utilized as it would detract from the overall look. I got Bob Williams to build her and he commented it was indeed a strange resin mix used for kit parts. This resin was quite hard and extremely brittle. Just how brittle it was is highlighted by the fact Kirika’s skirt broke a couple of times during construction. Part fit was ok and Bob was impressed with the castings of face and hair. Skin tones are always hard to get right and after a reasonable amount of consultation with Bob it was decided to use yellow mixed with a touch of green to achieve the desired tone. I like the result as it compares favourably with the actual cold cast anime figure I have of Kirika. Some at the club meeting commented that skin tone was perhaps not dark enough, that the figure was too anemic. Online descriptions of Kirika have labelled her anemic as I do. I used an online scale calculator to work out her height and that comes in as 4’7” or about 1.4m which, did you know, is below the average height of a sixteen year old Japanese girl which is 5’2” (1.57m).

Kirika Yuumura is the heroine of Noir. This is a ‘girls with guns’ anime of 26 episodes that originally aired between April and September 2001. Noir is a quest. A pilgrimage to the past. Kirika is a sixteen year old Japanese school girl who wishes to find that past as all she has is a blank space in her memory. The only thing she remembers is how to kill. The invitation for pilgrimage is mysteriously emailed to a Paris based assassin, Mireille Bouquet, and they team up and together seek this truth which ends up concerning both of them. Along this journey they are unwittingly and directly involved in the power struggles of secret societies. This exercise in existentialism reveals that when the meaning of Kirika’s life is exposed to her it will come at a great cost. Unlike some anime that finishes in ambiguity Noir delivers an ending that leaves you in no doubt as to what that sought after truth is.