Boys’ toys (and even toys aimed at older collectors) have always been flavoured with machismo, aggression and implied violence. Muscle-bound he-men with snarls and grimaces wielding swords and guns are the traditional action figure standards.
But Japan also has a long-standing love affair with all things cute. Kawaisa has flavoured everything from commercial goods to military mascots.
So, putting a cute face on a fearsome heavily armed, battle-ready warrior would seem to be a quirky but entirely understandable natural step in the evolution of Japanese action figures.
Akitaka Mika’s MS shoujo in the 80s seems a likely conception point for this design style. In an interview with EX, the designer explained simply:
Well, I like drawing girls a lot. And, being a mechanical designer too, I thought it would be a lot of fun if I put Gundam armor on them.
That style has gained popularity in recent years with the rise of the moe movement. Shimada Fumikane’s designs have been at the forefront and as of writing there have been two anime OVA, Strike Witches and Sky Girls, featuring Shimada’s designs. It is perhaps unsurprising Konami tapped Shimada to be character designer for the first wave of its action figure line featuring cute girls in fearsome war accoutrements and accessories.
As a franchise, Busou Shinki (“armed princess” is the best translation I can come up with) is Konami’s calculated attempt to separate the otaku from their money. Otaku like moe female figures so Busou Shinki features moe character designs. Otaku like mecha and action figures so Busou Shinki features weapons and add-on armour pieces. Otaku like videogames so Busou Shinki features an online game component.
