The Ichiban Kuji lottery and its prize figures pop up here on the blog every now and then and this time we are looking at Witch of Mercury volume 3, subtitled "Blessings to You" which premiered in October 2024. Prize items are sorted from the most premium category A and downwards - in this set it goes to category F but the exact number of classes varies from release to release. This review covers the "Last One version" special item which is an alternate design of the A-prize; kind of like a "chase piece" but it is not a secret item and it has its own box cover. You can see the full range of prizes from this particular set on the official website.
If you are familiar with Kuji boxes this one will feel no different; the cardboard is a bit rough and much of the text and numbering is standardized across all releases of a set, be they figurines, acrylic trinkets, posters or so on. Products belonging to this wave are identifiable by the code 64667 on the backside of the cover.
The unnecessarily large box holds the figures in sandwiched blister packaging with plenty of air on all sides. Good for the figures sure, but I don't see why they could not have been securely packaged in smaller box with a bit of stiff cardboard protection. This type of packaging can make sense when you want to showcase the actual figure without having to open the box but this one is closed on all sides so it comes off as a bit of wasted space.
The base is attractively painted in three different colours and is free from pegs or peg holes which means it can pull double duty as basis for a lot of custom displays. The top section has plenty of space, measuring roughly 14 by 8 centimetres.
Well isn't this just adorable, Suletta and Miorine hand in hand and lost in thoughts. The A-prize figure has them grinning from ear to ear but this version is a little more muted which I like better. The great thing about these figures is that they come without any connector pegs, you can just place them next to each other and they'll stay there. The sculpting style and paintjob reminds a lot of the Banpresto Spirits figures we have seen over the past years and is of a good standard. I rarely have any issues with figures of this type.
Size-comparison with a somewhat larger Miorine figure from the Bandai Spirits/Banpresto claw machine prize figure-range from 2023 (right) and the very close in scale MegaHouse G.E.M. Series Miorine figure from last year (left).
One of the best gimmicks of this figure set is how flexible it is. The base is large enough that you could display a character with a larger mobile suit figure or model kit next to it. I don't have any Gundam Aerial bigger than the Ensemble figure so the Gundam Universe Leo will have to step in to represent larger figures like Robot Spirits or MSIA. It is funny that there are so many large and extravagant Gundam character sculpts in strange dynamic poses when all I would really prefer would be a figure in pilot suit prepared for display next to a mobile suit of your own choice.
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