Review: Kotobukiya Iris (X4 Version)

I never thought I'd see the day when we’d get an official Iris figure of any kind, but at long last, after years of near-misses, here we are.

Kotobukiya is back at it with the first-ever figure of the fan-favorite heroine, Iris! Is this the one we've all been waiting for, or is it not worth the legacy of the character? Join me after the break to see everything this model kit has going for it!

Review sample provided by BigBadToyStore. Go check 'em out!

Hailing all the way from Mega Man X4, we have Repliforce's own Iris. This kit captures the look of the character nearly flawlessly. The face plates seem to have been made to resemble her more modern art by Keisuke Mizuno rather than her original art from Rockman X4 itself, so that is something to keep in mind.

"Let's live together."

As per usual with the Kotobukiya kits, Iris has several points of articulation, so you can hit most any pose that you can think of. Each section of the skirt is separately articulated, so you can move them as needed. That being said, her hair is extremely heavy, so consider using a stand for more complicated poses. I should also point out that on my copy, the left leg would come loose from the hip easily. 

I had to really get in there to fix the issue, and it may have been an error on my part when originally building the kit, because I haven't seen anyone else mention that being an issue. Another minor issue I had was her head occasionally popping off while posing due to the weight of her hair. However, you can just pop it right back on with no problem.

"Zero..."

Iris is probably the most difficult build of all the kits so far. In an effort to get her whole design right, as well as updated joints, there are several small pieces to be aware of. Parts to be very careful with are the small yellow triangles around her knees and ankles. These pieces are appropriately-sized, making them absurdly small. I highly recommend using tweezers for those. 

The I-Buster??

There are only a few spots on Iris missing color, namely a section on her toe attackers, a bit on her collar (that is usually covered by her face), and the little emblem on her hat. So, if you want her to pop more than she already does, or if you just want to do something silly like giving her her own Iris Buster, let that sense & skill run wild.

Accessorize!

Iris includes a good amount of accessories. She includes three faces: forward facing smile, worried looking left, and happy looking right. She also includes five pairs of hands: fists, open, more relaxed open, support, and saber holding. Her hat is also an optional piece. When the hat is removed, there is a small brown piece that can be used to fill in the peg hole.

I'm pretty sure it went something like this...

Switching out Iris' face is thankfully not very tough, You just need to remove the hat and bangs, then you have access to the face. When I first put this kit together, I was actually pretty worried about that, but it turns out that it's a pretty simple process.

"Forgive me, Zero."

The only other accessories I would want to have seen come with this kit would have been Colonel's core, and a couple more faces. I would have liked to see this more intense face as well as a face for recreating her famous death scene.

"No, this isn't happening..."

Perhaps Kotobukiya didn't include a death face because making Zero hold Iris is incredibly difficult due to the bulky design of Iris' skirt as well as Zero's chest. If you do try this pose, use the hair for balance, and remove Iris' right arm to make more room. Even if we couldn't have gotten a death face for Iris, a bonus yelling face for Zero would have been nice.

"Who does this 'bot think she is...?"

Overall, I'd say that Iris is a wonderful kit that I would highly recommend. She would look perfect next to your other kits, or on her own as the beginning of a brand-new collection. The name listed on the box does get the double gears turning...since it specifically calls it the "X4 Ver.", you gotta wonder if they have anything planned for the future. Could we see Xtreme 2 Iris? Or perhaps Iris -another- from Rockman X DiVE, that's one I would really want to see happen. One of Iris' official photos seems to reference Iris -another-'s main art, so you never know...

Pick up Iris at BigBadToyStore today! Be sure to use our affiliate links so they know we sent you!