Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

I’ll be reviewing a rather old figurine - GSC’s Teletha Testarossa. Released in July 2005 for 4000 yen, this figure has been derided as "out of character" by quite a number of people. But the people who say this are idiots. Btw when I mean Jan, I mean the Coyote Gothloli that uses dual P90s.

Firstly, Tessa is holding a gun. People say that Tessa being captain of the Tuatha de Danaan would not carry a firearm like that. Well, that gun happens to be a FN P90, a Personal Defence Weapon that was created for use by backline support personnel. Traditionally, these have used pistols, normally with 9mm caliber ammunition but with recent advances in personnel-level ballistics defences (bulletproof vests), 9mm weapons are considered obsolete. The P90 is designed to replace pistols as the weapon of choice for non-frontline troops as it is compact but still packs a high rate of fire and penetration. My point is, the gun is not out of place. Just because it doesn’t appear in the anime doesn’t mean something is "out of character". As for the school swimsuit, she did wear it in Fumoffu. But whether the two come together as a realistic package is up to our imagination. Maybe Tessa’s happily by the pool when she’s attacked by evil men and she pulls out her PDW and whispers them to death.

As for the other figurine in the set, the white bikini RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade, not Role Playing Game) Chidori, yeah I didn’t buy that but I won’t be surprised if Chidori can fire an RPG. She’s violent.

Ok now let’s talk about the actual figurine. She comes with a lime green clear base, which has no attachment at all, so it’s basically just a platform for her to kneel on. I didn’t take any pictures of it because it is ugly. Tessa balances precariously on the balls of her feet plus one knee so there isn’t really a lot of stability. In fact, a light tap knocks her off. But this isn’t all that bad, for it lets us do some really interesting posing. See below.

The painting is GSC-level of course. Almost perfect in terms of worksmanship, notably her hair colour gradient and tones. Look at the back of her hair for pure painting pwnage. Tessa’s braided pony tail is perfectly replicated. She’s posed in the midst of turning her body, so the hair naturally gets tossed to the side. And the molding is pretty sharp, so the hair is well-defined to anime proportions.

The nametag on her swimsuit is also pretty nice. It says Tessa btw. Her skin tones look good on camera too. Little details like pink fingernails, toenails plus natural swimsuit body-hugging contours are not overlooked. Tessa’s face is also very true to the anime. Even her mouth has teeth and lips!

Her outfit is plain, however. I’m not a big fan of the swimsuit (school) fetish.

Now it’s time for some complaints. The skin tone, had some pink added for a more realistic look.This however wasn’t too naturally done and some areas just look artificial indoors. There are seam lines at her thigh areas. Not visible normally but it can be felt. OK I ADMIT I FELT UP HER THIGHS. But the most significant gripe I have is the molding of the P90. It’s just not as good as it can be. While not lacking in detail, the edges are rounded off perhaps due to an imperfect mold. While the real gun is matte black as well, I feel making a matte black piece of plastic with imperfect molding just makes it look like a poor quality gashapon.

In conclusion, this is a pretty good buy for all FMP fans. GSC Tessa is certainly much better than all the other Tessa figurines out there save for the BOME one that comes packaged with Chidori.

Average score I guess. My scale doesn’t take into account overall attractiveness, that’s why.

Maybe a mugshot wasn’t such a good idea. Here you can see the beautiful eye decals and the detailed mouth.

Tessa says HI. HIIII!!!

See, the gun is the weakest link. Details are there but it just looks plasticky.

The chest tag is nice. As is the actual chest.

This is Tessa in character. She tripped and fell. Look at her wet legs.

This is what I mean by poseable.

Sneak preview of the next review!

Btw my favourite flower is the Ixora. It reminds me of Anna x Yoh, Osorezan and Matamune.