I'll admit I haven't played Tecmo's Dead or Alive series a whole heck of a lot, but I've always appreciated the characters from the series, and not just for their "assets." Kasumi happens to be my favorite of the bunch, mostly because she happens to be a kick-ass ninja, and I like ninjas. The boobs help a little bit, too.

So when I got my first glimpse of this Monsieur Bome Collection Kasumi PVC figure from Kaiyodo's master figure maker Bome, based off one of his earlier Kasumi garage kits, I was naturally interested. Bome has done some incredible original work over the years in the garage kit market and later at Kaiyodo, having earned his place as one of the best Japanese figure designers in recent memory.

Does this piece from the Monsieur Bome Collection live up to his reputation? Or does it fail to make a successful transition from the world of garage kits to the world of mass-produced PVC figures? We got a chance to check out this figure up close for ourselves, and after the jump, we'll let you know how this Kasumi measures up ... no boob puns intended.

Unlike a lot of other toys, Kaiyodo's Kasumi comes in a more-traditional plastic casing reminiscent of what you might find in a traditional toy store. The design of the packaging itself, specifically the color backing, is very vivid and unique, so much so that I really didn't want to open the package at first, fearing I might destroy it with my scissors. And yes, you'll need a pair of scissors handy to open this up. But if you care more about keeping Kasumi in mint condition, you can definitely display is without opening it and it'll look great on your shelf.

The only real complaint I had about the packaging was that one of the bows on Kasumi's hips came loose when I took it out of the box to ship in. I'm more willing to chalk that up to how the figure is assembled than the actual safety of the box, because the same thing happened on the other Kasumi figure I bought several years ago.

Once you get the box open, though, you meet your next adversary: twist ties. Kasumi and her accessories are held in place by several of these, and in particular, two of them are an absolute pain in the ass to untwist, including the one above. The space my fingers could squeeze into didn't afford me any room to actually get a grip on the twist tie, resulting in several unsuccessful attempts to get the hilt of Kasumi's short sword loose. It's comforting to know that these parts won't shake loose during shipping, but it would have been nice if the twist ties hadn't been placed in such a hard-to-reach place.

So here we are: all out of the box and on her base, ready for display. At 24 cm tall, she's about the right size for a collector who's starting out their collection or for someone who doesn't have a whole lot of space. I don't fit into either category, but Bome's Kasumi looks great standing alongside some of my other large figures. She is made from solid PVC except for the bottom portion of her outfit, which is cast from a softer plastic. Kasumi attaches to her plastic base via a single peg, but that simple connection is actually quite sturdy, helped in part by her pose. The sword in her hand comes in two parts, the blade and the hilt, which must be assembled by sliding the two pieces into slots in her outstretched fist. Once assembled, the sword itself is actually pretty sturdy and the pieces do not fall out of their slots.

Kasumi's pose is very basic, but the figure still feels like a good quality piece because of the small details, like the folds on her clothing or stockings or the strands of hair hanging down from her face, that Bome has incorporated into this sculpt. I would have perhaps liked something with a little more action to it, though.

From behind, you can see that her pose looks just as grand as it does from the front side. However, aside from the bottom part of her outfit, it does have a bit less detail on her thigh-high stockings.

Look at that face. Wow. Can you say stunning? Bome has created a very similar look here to the Dead or Alive in-game model, except it appears he has made Kasumi's eyes a little larger. The only real complaint I have about the figure is that while her face looks great, the expression on her face just really doesn't seem to mesh well with the pose she's standing in. She just seems a little too calm, I guess, but it's a minor complaint at most.

Kasumi's defining feature, her ample bosom, is definitely here, but very tastefully done and in proportion with the rest of her body. Given Bome's history of figure designs, this part is actually a bit of a shock, because most of his other figures are a bit more revealing. Still, the fact that it's not overdone is actually pretty good, because it's one of the few Dead or Alive figures I've seen that I wouldn't be afraid to have displayed when friends or family come over. And you can chalk that up to the fact that her breasts aren't hanging halfway out of her outfit.

The biggest change and most notable part of the figure happens to be the bottom half of Kasumi's outfit, replacing the very common solid blue design from the first Dead or Alive game with that of her Dead or Alive 4 outfit. The backside of the figure contains the exact same print, except reversed. It is absolutely gorgeous, taking what would otherwise be another boring figure of this Dead or Alive character and giving it a personality all its own. The DoA 4 outfit really catches your eye because of the complexity of the crane pattern on it, but since it appears to be screened on to the plastic, I am a bit worried about it possibly wearing off in the future. You can also see part of the sheath for her sword, but sadly, the sword itself does not fit inside.

And yes, she's covered up down there, perverts. You can also see a little bit of careless paint smudging here along the waistline, which is normally hidden by Kasumi's outfit. Thankfully, this is the only part of the figure I received where paint smudges are a problem.

Perhaps the detail that can get most overlooked, though, is the way Kasumi's ponytail is posed in a wind-swept position. You can almost just imagine her standing there in the breeze, sword drawn, staring back at you and wondering when she should slice right through you. As you can also tell, there's a little bit of translucence to her hair, letting in just enough light to give her orange hair a more realistic tone. It's a very nice and subtle touch that adds to the overall beauty of the piece, especially when she's displayed somewhere with natural light.

The Bome Collection Volume 15 Kasumi has been out for well over a two and a half years, meaning that finding her on a regular toy site is rather hard now a days: I picked this Kasumi up off Toylet during their big sale a few months ago, and they have not restocked her yet. However, eBay has several listings for her if your search is fruitless elsewhere, ranging between $20 and $30 for the most part before shipping, which is roughly what you would have paid for her in 2006. If you're a Kasumi fan that's looking for a figure that's all tits and ass, then you'll have to look elsewhere. But if you're looking for something that's more subtle but very well designed, then Bome's creation might be just what you need.