Welcome to the eleventh review of Girlpla Guide Weekly!
Let’s get right to talking about Sousai Shoujo Teien Kuon Yakushiji; specifically, her Touou High variant. (Some sites may have her listed as being from Momozakura High, possibly due to reading the Japanese characters differently; we are going with Touou as this is the official listing from Kotobukiya’s own site.)
Overview
The Sousai Shoujo Teien toyline is pretty intricately interwoven with Kotobukiya’s other toylines; Frame Arms Girl’s Bukiko Kotobuki and Ao Gennai have model kits in this line, the entire line is crosspomoted with Megalomaria, the toys are designed to be natively kitbashable with Megami Device, Megalomaria and Frame Arms Girl, and the lore effectively contains all of their other properties as fictional series (except for Megami Device owing to the IP being owned by Masaki Asai).
Kuon Yakushiji is probably the most interwoven of all the characters. Lorewise, Kuon is a 3rd year student at Touou High, but she’s also an actress playing in Megalomaria, which in SST’s world, is a tokusatsu show that seems to be some kind of hybrid between Kamen Rider and GARO, playing the protagonist show Maria Kagaribi. As Kotobukiya’s new favorite child (sorry, Emma), Kuon actually has several different variants, not counting Dreaming Styles, as follows:
- Touou High
- Maria Kagaribi Costume
- Maria Kagaribi (Dress Code), which is actually from Megalomaria
- Cheerleading Costume
- Maria Kagaribi (Damaged Version)
- Kirupla (soft goods)
In addition, there’s also the Emulator version of the aforementioned Damaged Version, a variant of her that lore-wise is based on the Emulator Another disguising itself as Maria in Megalomaria. (Emulator is herself also Kotobukiya’s new favourite daughter for Megalomaria, more on that if we ever review her kit.)
Given we don’t currently have a Cheerleader Kuon on hand and neither the Kirupla nor Damaged Version are out yet as of this writing (and also to our knowledge the Damaged Version is probably mostly similar to the Maria Kagaribi Costume version), we’ll primarily be reviewing the three major Kuon variants; Touou High, Maria Kagaribi and Dress Code.
Construction and Engineering
In comparison to Maria Kagaribi and Dress Code Maria, Kuon’s default variant is probably the simplest mechanically, being more or less a typical Sousai Shoujo Teien kit. No frills, low difficulty, only a bit of paint required. If you’ve built any Sousai Shoujo Teien kits before, Kuon’s default variant is going to be no challenge whatsoever. No surprises here.
Aesthetics:
Sadly, Kuon’s Touou High variant isn’t gaining much here either. Honestly, we’d really have to say that she’s the least interesting of her variants or the three we’re reviewing; with Maria Kagaribi possessing some of the best aesthetics we’ve seen in the entire line up to that point and Dress Code Maria being one of the single coolest-looking kits in a line already considered above-average for aesthetics, poor Kuon’s default variant leaves something to be desired, especially since unlike most of the other girls, the aesthetic she represents (actress) isn’t one easily conveyed with her default looks or accessories, really needing access to the prop set or being displayed with her Maria Kagaribi variant to get it across.
Her Diamond Heroine variant is at least significantly more interesting looking with the white hair, though, so if you do have the time or money to pick it up, maybe do that over her default version (unless you’re really attached to her looks).
Ease of Acquisition:
Both Kuon’s default and Dreaming Style retail at ¥8250 (£39/$53). However, being so popular and with Dreaming Styles being Kotobukiya exclusives, you’re probably looking at prices closer to the ¥9000 (£43/$57) for the default version or even in the ¥11000 (£52/$70) for Diamond Heroine. Kuon’s default variant is available on most online retailers where Kotobukiya flogs its wares, while her Dreaming Style version is exclusive to Kotobukiya’s stores, though you may be able to find her on the dark side of Rakuten, Mercari or other secondhand/flea markets.
Personal Verdict?
As a kit, Kuon is pretty so-so; her aesthetic isn’t as distinct as YOMI’s and her own Maria Kagaribi variant before her, or Cheerleader Seira and Little Devil Twin Tails aright after her, she’s not spectacularly engineered and she’s a bit pricey. Get her if you really like Kuon (and to her credit, plenty of people, ourselves included, like her a lot), but she is absolutely not a must-have.
Overall score: 6/10; very solid kit, but not one worth writing home about.
Up next:
Next week, we’ll be taking a look at Maria Kagaribi – or rather, Kuon dressed as her, and making some comparisons there.
Tune in next week for the next Girlpla Guide Weekly!
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