30MS Non-Scale SIS-J00 Merunja [Color A]

Sister #24, Merunja, is both an exception and an evolution in the 30MS line. Drawn up by Japan based Korean designer Anmi (#15 Sourei & #17 Shuremi), Merunja is not just a stylistic departure from the norm, but also a completely different beast when it comes to part separation.

The box she comes in, is as thick as the equipment heavy kits (Alka-Carti/Far-Farina), containing a fat stack of multi colored runners that somehow pack into a deceptively small looking frame.

I advise very careful attention to when cutting the soft plastic parts from the runners and following the specific hair assembly instructions!

Aesthetics:
Merunja is difficult to describe from a Western perspective. She is quintessentially Japanese, in a "menhera" (mental patient) and "yami-kawaii" ('medical sick' cute) style that is confusing unless you understand the cute obsession and quiet rebellion against a propriety-first culture that stigmatizes mental health issues ("just bear with it").

A Westerner might see a girl wearing skimpy straitjacket restraint straps, incontinence bloomers, oversized 'pull me' zipper tabs and mixed with a childish teddy bear theme, while the Japanese perspective might see a more mainstreamed version of a cute and demented contrast style of what typically goes much further (guns, syringes, pills, bodily fluids and so on), which might be the only way that this somehow made it past all the checks and balances at Bandai.

Regardless of what angle a person approaches this with, the end result is undeniably an impressive layering of parts with super fine detail, culminating in a cohesive character design that has nothing to do with the plug suits of 30MS yore. This is no longer the budget mecha-musume alternative to more investment heavy lines, this is a serious bid for competition.

Mechanics/Compatibility:
While Merunja is an evolution in aesthetics and mold tooling, the mechanics are, as the Japanese would describe it, "comfortably familiar" and uses all of the same basic mechanics as any other modern 30MS model. Rather than doing anything special with connectors or gimmicks, we're given straightforwards optional alternatives at the cost of any broader compatibility.

Merunja's sleeves have a standard arm length and extended straitjacket sleeves with 3mm holes at the end. You can use ball-joint mounted straitjacket legwarmers or replace the lower shins without them.
You can have her in bare socks or wearing teddy bear slippers.
Her elaborate pink and lavender hairstyle can be used by itself or with a teddy bear hood + optionally the matching capelet and/or straitjacket collar.
You can use the eyepatch and pastel splatter stickers or skip them.

She does not have a bust plate (similar to Sourei, Shuremi, Tiasha Dahlia and Marical) and besides the 3mm holes in her upper and lower back, only the upper thighs have 3mm holes behind the pink bear emblems.
Her face plates are the same small type as Sourei, Shuremi and Altria Caster.

Besides all that, you can swap arms, legs and hands as usual. Rather than a bust plate, you can swap out the upper torso if you wish.

Equipment:
3 small type Face Plates - Slack-jawed 'airhead' face, sulking pout and shocked crying face - The jagged teeth are optional
1 set of Hood and Back-Hair alternative - Also has the small hair tab for attaching headbands as usual
1 pair of Long Sleeves and Leg Warmers - with lower shin alternatives
1 pair of Teddy Bear Slippers
1 pastel colored Chainsaw
1 toy Teddy Bear - Slightly articulated limbs, collar has a chain link so you can use him as a hanging accessory
3 pairs of Hands - Holding, fists and spread open
1 Sticker Sheet - Three right eye eye patches and various pastel splatter patterns
Leftover parts, body internals, Sourei skin parts in Color A (Sourei is Color B, Marical has these parts in Color C) + body internals and various hinges

Conclusion:
This is hands down the best kit the 30MS team and Bandai have made, so far. The only kit that I haven't built, besides various P-Bandai releases, is Shuremi, also designed by Anmi, which is reportedly also an amazing kit.

It's a step above everything else, including Anmi's other designs.

The question is then, where does 30MS go from here? Is this an exception or what we can expect going forwards?
The answer is yes on both fronts. I think Bandai has left the standard plug suit designs in the past (with some nods to the idea, such as #23 Belveria), while this level of detail grade won't be the standard.

The next release #25, Myasti (an Egyptian belly dancing cat girl), is a good indication that the team continues to focus more individualistic characters with a more cohesive/less generalized aesthetic, while still (roughly) following the same sort of connectors and articulation.

Alright, I'm done, go buy this kit when you can. It's going to be a rare one (just like the Shuremi that keeps eluding me!).

Sister #24, Merunja, is both an exception and an evolution in the 30MS line. Drawn up by Japan based Korean designer Anmi (#15 Sourei & #17 Shuremi), Merunja is not just a stylistic departure from the norm, but also a completely different beast when it comes to part separation.

The box she comes in, is as thick as the equipment heavy kits (Alka-Carti/Far-Farina), containing a fat stack of multi colored runners that somehow pack into a deceptively small looking frame.

I advise very careful attention to when cutting the soft plastic parts from the runners and following the specific hair assembly instructions!

Aesthetics:
Merunja is difficult to describe from a Western perspective. She is quintessentially Japanese, in a "menhera" (mental patient) and "yami-kawaii" ('medical sick' cute) style that is confusing unless you understand the cute obsession and quiet rebellion against a propriety-first culture that stigmatizes mental health issues ("just bear with it").

A Westerner might see a girl wearing skimpy straitjacket restraint straps, incontinence bloomers, oversized 'pull me' zipper tabs and mixed with a childish teddy bear theme, while the Japanese perspective might see a more mainstreamed version of a cute and demented contrast style of what typically goes much further (guns, syringes, pills, bodily fluids and so on), which might be the only way that this somehow made it past all the checks and balances at Bandai.

Regardless of what angle a person approaches this with, the end result is undeniably an impressive layering of parts with super fine detail, culminating in a cohesive character design that has nothing to do with the plug suits of 30MS yore. This is no longer the budget mecha-musume alternative to more investment heavy lines, this is a serious bid for competition.

Mechanics/Compatibility:
While Merunja is an evolution in aesthetics and mold tooling, the mechanics are, as the Japanese would describe it, "comfortably familiar" and uses all of the same basic mechanics as any other modern 30MS model. Rather than doing anything special with connectors or gimmicks, we're given straightforwards optional alternatives at the cost of any broader compatibility.

Merunja's sleeves have a standard arm length and extended straitjacket sleeves with 3mm holes at the end. You can use ball-joint mounted straitjacket legwarmers or replace the lower shins without them.
You can have her in bare socks or wearing teddy bear slippers.
Her elaborate pink and lavender hairstyle can be used by itself or with a teddy bear hood + optionally the matching capelet and/or straitjacket collar.
You can use the eyepatch and pastel splatter stickers or skip them.

She does not have a bust plate (similar to Sourei, Shuremi, Tiasha Dahlia and Marical) and besides the 3mm holes in her upper and lower back, only the upper thighs have 3mm holes behind the pink bear emblems.
Her face plates are the same small type as Sourei, Shuremi and Altria Caster.

Besides all that, you can swap arms, legs and hands as usual. Rather than a bust plate, you can swap out the upper torso if you wish.

Equipment:
3 small type Face Plates - Slack-jawed 'airhead' face, sulking pout and shocked crying face - The jagged teeth are optional
1 set of Hood and Back-Hair alternative - Also has the small hair tab for attaching headbands as usual
1 pair of Long Sleeves and Leg Warmers - with lower shin alternatives
1 pair of Teddy Bear Slippers
1 pastel colored Chainsaw
1 toy Teddy Bear - Slightly articulated limbs, collar has a chain link so you can use him as a hanging accessory
3 pairs of Hands - Holding, fists and spread open
1 Sticker Sheet - Three right eye eye patches and various pastel splatter patterns
Leftover parts, body internals, Sourei skin parts in Color A (Sourei is Color B, Marical has these parts in Color C) + body internals and various hinges

Conclusion:
This is hands down the best kit the 30MS team and Bandai have made, so far. The only kit that I haven't built, besides various P-Bandai releases, is Shuremi, also designed by Anmi, which is reportedly also an amazing kit.

It's a step above everything else, including Anmi's other designs.

The question is then, where does 30MS go from here? Is this an exception or what we can expect going forwards?
The answer is yes on both fronts. I think Bandai has left the standard plug suit designs in the past (with some nods to the idea, such as #23 Belveria), while this level of detail grade won't be the standard.

The next release #25, Myasti (an Egyptian belly dancing cat girl), is a good indication that the team continues to focus more individualistic characters with a more cohesive/less generalized aesthetic, while still (roughly) following the same sort of connectors and articulation.

Alright, I'm done, go buy this kit when you can. It's going to be a rare one (just like the Shuremi that keeps eluding me!).