Rin Shima

As I said, I ordered two figures during Good Smile's Lucky Draw sale. ...I don't know who this one is, either. "Soup-style pasta on Mt. Takabotchi... delicious." From the anime series Laid-Back Camp comes a DX edition figma of Rin Shima! Okay then. That gives me a starting point. Yuru Camp is a manga published from 2015 until 2019, when it moved from its publisher's physical magazine to an online home. It's had an anime adaptation, an anime spin-off, a live-action adaptation, an anime film, a VR game, a visual novel, and has had real-world effects on tourism. High schooler Rin Shima enjoys camping alone, but a chance encounter with her new classmate Nadeshiko inspires the latter to begin participating in their school's Outdoor Activities Club; the series just follows the girls' trips, showing them enjoying the wilderness. And it made it look so fun, camping in the area where the show is set tripled. Rin is a quiet, stoic character - she does get super excited about things, but she keeps it all inside and doesn't easily let her emotions show. Think Raven or Daria. Beyond the scenery porn and actual camping tips, the arc of the show is about Rin learning to open up - and even hang with the other girls sometimes - instead of just being by herself all the time. It's an honest portrayal of how introverts can happily socialize while still doing their own thing: all her friends accept that she likes to go solo, but she knows they care about her and so sends them regular texts about what she's doing and seeing. Maybe it's the Midwesterner in me, but there's something very cute about a girl bundled up for the cold. She's wearing winter boots, warm fleece leggings, a puffer coat, and a huge scarf bundled around her neck. It's an adorable look, without needing to be as wildly ornate as Karyl's goth princess look was. Like, someone could cosplay this is real life, and they'd just look like they were waiting for their pumpkin spice at Au Bon Pain or wherever. The colors - teal and orange for the jacket, teal, blue, red, and cream for the scarf - are a pleasant mix as well, and not something you see very often on many toys. Most of the anime that becomes popular in America is shonen stuff - the word literally means "young boy," but in this case it refers to big crazy action that appeals to that demographic, even if it stars a character who is an adult. Laid-Back Camp is a seinen anime, which means "youth," but in this context is aimed at a slightly older audience than a shonen anime would be, be that through its themes or storytelling. So while Laid-Back Camp definitely isn't an action anime (the girls began the Outdoor Activities Club because they wanted a more relaxed version of the existing Hiking Club), Rin still has all the articulation you can count on from a Figma release: head, neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles - many of them swivel/hinge/swivel joints, like a Revoltech would have. There's a display stand included to help the figure pose, and she has a selection of alternate hands: open, closed, holding, and even one with an accessory molded in. What accessory? A fork, simply so you won't lose it. She also comes with her phone, a cookpot full of noodles (those are removable if you want the pot to be ampty), plus her camping chair and an alternate pair of legs that are tucked up so she can sit in it. It's all very cute, and makes a nice scene. Additionally, we get to choose between three different faces. There's the standard one, as seen above; one smiling gently, like she's enjoying the view from her campsite or her friends just texted her photos from their trip; and one that's best described as trepidacious, with a slight look of worry, vertical blue lines of worry between her eyes, and her mouth open slightly. They all suit Rin perfectly. But that's just the regular release. Like Lady Maria and her chair, this is actually the Deluxe release, which means it comes with a bunch more accessories. In addition to everything mentioned already, the deluxe edition has an extra head wearing a hat, her single-burner cookstove, a low table, a campfire stand so she doesn't have to worry about digging a fire pit, the hatchet she uses for firewood, two skewers of cooked meat, a pinecone (it makes sense in context), and an extra pair of arms if you want to display her with her hands in her pockets. So clever! Finally, there's an entire second "body," that shows her sitting on the ground and fully bundled up in a thick blanket. Blankie Monster! The difference between the standard and deluxe versions of this figure are truly something! Additionally, if you preordered either version back when it first went up, you got a bonus bear-shaped hair bun. (Even if she liked being alone, Rin did have friends before meeting the OutClub; her friend Ena Saito liked to play with Rin's hair, and had a flair for creating ornate hairstyles. Thus, bear hair. Bear hair!) As part of the New Year's sale, Figma 551-DX didn't cost any more than Figma #558 - she'd normally have been $125, but I got her for $30. No wonder this is one of the ones everybody who bought any was hoping to get! There's also a matching Nadeshiko available, and after getting this totally cozy camper I was tempted to take another chance to see if I could complete the pair. And that's before I even heard of the show. Laid-Back Camp is just about the most endearing, wholesome thing ever, and it's easy to see why it inspired people to go camping for real. I'm now two-for-two on being introduced to great animes by mystery Figmas, so I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for Good Smile's sale again next February. -- 05/25/25 What's your favorite non-action anime? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.