The Chasm

Hello MantaChasm, this is MantaRei back with another figure review! This time we’ll be looking at the “To LOVE-Ru Darkness – Lala Satalin Deviluke Dress Style 1/7 Complete Figure” by ques Q. This one holds a special place in my heart as it features not only Lala Deviluke but is also heavily influenced by Marilyn Monroe in her icon “white dress” scene from The Seven Year Itch.

I’m going to assume that most everyone knows Marilyn Monroe’s iconic scene from the film and photo shoot, even if you’ve never seen any more of her work. Standing over a subway grate in Manhattan a train rushed by underneath, sending a gust of wind from below and Monroe’s white cocktail dress billowing around her. The rippling fabric and Monroe’s own attempts to keep her dress in place made for a very expressive scene, and for the 10th Anniversary art book To LOVE-Ru Chronicle the artist and co-creator of “To LOVE-Ru”, Yabuki Kentaro, crafted a very memorable image of Lala in that same lovely dress, hearkening back to that famous scene from 1955. It was this piece that ques Q used for their “Dress Style” 1/7 scale figure of Lala released in November of 2018.

As with the figure from my last review I pre-ordered Lala from amiami.com, an amazing ecommerce (and brick-and-mortar) storefront for all of your anime paraphernalia needs. Be sure to check them out for new releases as well as their very comprehensive Pre-Owned section where you can score great deals on used figures that have been appropriately graded to add to your collection.

This figure is truly a work of art: Lala looks absolutely stunning and dynamic in such a fluid pose, her hair and tail rolling with the dress in a way that makes you think there’s actually wind blowing up from below. Lala also fills out the dress beautifully as if it was tailor-made for her and this was just a candid photograph as she walked along a city sidewalk. The base is another nice touch, drawn out into a heart shape and stamped with Lala’s signature and “kiss” very reminiscent of Marilyn’s own signature.

The paint quality on this figure is immaculate and I can’t see a single error: the colors are accurate and correct for the figure, and nothing is too vibrant or too washed-out for the setting. The dress has a light metallic shimmer to it which I find very intriguing against Lala’s soft, matte skin tone. Her hair is just the right shade of pink (think manga Lala, not anime Lala) and her eyes are facing the right angle to be looking sweetly up and off to the side.

The level of detail on this figure is very high, as you can see from the above picture you can almost make out the exact path the fabric would take to create the tie-knot on her arms. Each ripple of her dress is expertly crafted to give the dynamism I mentioned earlier, and overall it has a level of life that makes this is one of my favorite Lala figures I own.

When I reserved my pre-order I was able to lock in this figure with a price tag of ¥14,500 ($132.10 USD). Chances are the “NIB” price won’t drop that low again as initial store stocks have run out, but you may be able to find a “damaged box” version for a good price. I feel the original price is warranted: the figure is a 1/7 scale, so it’s on the larger side of the generally used scales, and the level of detail and color/paint quality is deserving of a $120-160 USD cost.

I would definitely recommend this figure for fans of Lala or To LOVE-Ru in general, it will bring a splash of brightness to your display and Lala’s smile will surely brighten up the room. This is truly a statue worthy of the First Princess of Deviluke!