Luca Truelywaath
Have you ever heard about Ar Tonelico?
I first watched the OAV, back in spring 2006, which was a kind of spot anime for the PlayStation 2 video game. It worked well on me, since I thought I would love playing the game to learn more about Reyvateils, girls who are able to cast powerful magic spells buy singing.
Luca Truelywaath is one of those Reyvateils, and is part of the playable characters from Ar Tonelico 2. I do not know much about her though.
But one thing is sure, I am already seduced by this figure of her, another one which likes challenging Newton’s law.
When I watched the OAV, first Ar Tonelico game was only available for Japanese PlayStation 2, and I was quite sure it would never be adapted for European market.
Fortunately, I was wrong.
Ar Tonelico arrived in May 2007 in France, and they even kept the original seiyuu casting! So I could enjoy this lovely story AND Sakura Nogawa’s voice. Consequently, I am a Misha fanboy ^^ (follow the link for Misha illustrations at moe.imouto.org)
And that explains why I blindly purchased this figure of Luca. Physically, she reminds me of Misha a lot. Moreover, I do not remind having seen figurines of girls from the first game. So, even if its price is quite high, I did not have to think much to take a decision.
Now I just hope things will be similar for this second Ar Tonelico game, to be able to enjoy it on my local PS2, especially when I see Ami Koshimizu is voicing this lovely Luca.
Spelling note
I write Luca, but I am not sure how to spell her name. According to what it is written in wikipedia, she is Luca Truelywaath. But I often see Ruka as well, since it is how her Japanese name ルカ is commonly translated into the latin alphabet.
Ahh nevermind, I will call her Luca, since it is very closed to my real name which has an extra « s » at the end. Even though it gives me an odd feeling… I am not a girl, I guess haha ^^;
I definitely recommend this figure to collectors looking for eccentric - in a good way - clothes.
The mini skirt Luca wears is very seductive, so does the little piece of clothes arround her bosom. And I love how this light dress and those large sleeves come to cover a bit more her skin, but not too much at the same time. Those lovely curves let us an opening on her cute back, while the flowing low part of her dress unveil this charming belly.
Added to this a perfect zettai ryouiki, I am sure it is easy to understand how much I love this figure… and by extension this character. Kuroda Masanori sure knows how to sculpt lovely anime girls!
Something I like a lot as well is her bracelets, combined with a ring and a piece of clothes. Does this kind of glove have a name? I love those accessories hehe.
Her shoes have funny extra height. How do you call this, since it is not under the heel but the sole? It may not be easy to run with that ^^;
Argument about Luca’s face
Throught various comments about this figure, I know lot of people have been very disappointed about the face. That is true from some angle of view, Luca’s mouth looks very odd and her nose quite sharp and long. Some of the pictures below do not advocate for her. And I would even say pictures accentuates this effect.
Like most of us, I was a bit affraid and was about to cancel my order.
Nevertheless, now I have this gorgeous figure between my hands, I am fulfilled. Good for me!
She is now proudly standing next to the Shuraki girls, and her intense gaze catches me each time I give a look at my display case. I am already under her charm spell, that is certain ^^
A little stain can be easily seen on the picture above, since it is situated on a place we, males, like to stare at ^^;
Damn lace nodes blocking the view… ^^;
Other review
Shino has more detailed pictures, and if you are curious about how the hell she stands with that metal pole, you should visit his blog.
In fact, I am so much thrilled that I have completely forgot about her support and the risks coming with. But I want to be confident about that, since the whole seems robust.
Luca is displayed next to Liu Mei Feng - who? check out valho and shino reviews. I put her out of her box just recently, so I will see which one will fall first… but I just hope none will, actually ^^;
Product Information
- Manufactured by Max Factory
- 1/8 scale completed pvc/abs figure
- First released in April 2008 in Japan
- List Price of 7,200 JPY
Photography note
Pure white background : 2 | 0 : Lu-k
I definitely need at least one extra lamp next time I will try to have white background. Though it looked rather ok on the little digital screen of the camera haha ^^;
I guess having also different colors of light does not help at all for the white balance.
*sigh* Once again I failed, using only two lamps for the background and one for the figure. But one day, I will win!
version Française
You’re going to make me buy that one too ^^
great pics , she’s a cute fig . but yes i didn’t buy her because her face looked odd … but looking at your pics , it’s not a big deal , she’s still cute .
Nice pics!!
I was one of those people who can’t decide to get it or not. The face is a bit messed up. Looking at these pics makes me want to buy it. Maybe I’ll get it soon…
she looks amazing! Love the background while it’s not perfectly white it seems to have reflected some of the pink from her outfit and gave it a rosy colored feel to it. I’m compelled to get my own just cause she’s looks so great .
Wait, if you were aiming for a white background how did it become pink?? But yeah, pure white backgrounds seems to always be out of our reach, lol. Still I like the pink background effect.
Oh and if only you were a girl would it all be perfect, lol.
I love her outfit.. But don’t like her face.. eyes too big.. Don’t know much bout her character though..
I love the clothes, the whole “flow thing” is awesome; details like that really make a great figure. I hope she doesn’t fall for you or anyone who also has her.
my, lovely figurine.. I was planning to play the game, but haven’t got the chance till now ._.
for the white bg, you definitely need to add more light, or use flash ^^. my last white bg moetan only use 2 lamps (above and front), and use flash (it’s not pure white tho, since I want it to be soft white)
a simple background used to the best! i thought the light pink hue brings out the reds in the figure. i also like the flow of her clothes, which show of her playful side.
Now…how did that stain get “there”
Lovely photos~ I quite like the pink tint to the BG even if you didn’t intend it lol.
The pictures here are both blessing and curse. They look great, but now I am relieved I waited for review on this one. It’s the face.
Pictures have indeed a kind of pink tint when I actually wanted it white. I guess the outfit color of the figure has been reflected on the background, since it was quite closed to the white paper. The lights directed toward the background may have also sent light to the figure and was reflected ^^;
Funny trick hehe.
James : sorry ^^; but well, I would be sad not to have such a colored figure hehe.
Rin : if you can afford to purchase it, it can be a lovely and original addition to your collection I think ^^
Dancing Queen : well, she definitely look great in a collection, in my opinion ^^
Adun : yeah… really out of reach haha.
And I am not that sure it would be perfect… ^^;
Prim3 : she sure has wide opened eyes, a bit too big. But well, anime girls always have big eyes ^^ So if it is not those of the chest area, it has to be those of the face ^^;
AS : let’s hope so… let’s hope so ^^
ron~ : you may want to give the game a try. The fight system is quite simple but really interresting, and deepening relations with the girls is funny ^^
Never have thought of using the flash… mmhh that does not sound like a bat idea. Thanks for the tip!
rain : she looks very cheerful indeed, and I guess this is well modelised. I wonder if this is actually her real temper. Haa want to play Ar Tonelico 2 so bad… ^^
Aya Kyunik : I wonder how ^^
super rats : she cannot please every body, and I clearly see why. Good to hear it helped you make a choice. That is what review are made for ^^
She has a very nice belly. I like that. Overall, I think the figure works, but I agree with the face thing, that was a breaker for me. I’ve learned my lesson with a few figures with bad faces. Doesn’t matter how kickass the rest of the figure is, but if the face doesn’t work, it costs a lot in terms of the aesthetics.
Fortunately, this face isn’t too bad, and the figure looks pretty good.
The costume on her looks awesome, don’t really like the facial feature though, too sharp.
Awesome figure & pix lu-k!! I might get it, but I’m still thinking about it :S
figure looks great and your shots looks beautiful. only thing is that the metal poles are kidna distracting.