Oshino Shinobu from Bakemonogatari rarely speaks. She just sits in a corner like a social outcast for the majority of the show, yet it's impossible to ignore her. Senjyogahara took notice of this so-called "remains of a vampire" right after she walked into the run-down school building Oshino Meme used to live in. To me, a loli who doesn't speak but comes to save your ass when you're in danger is a good loli. A drastic contrast to some other kid who intends on biting off your fingers if you attempted to "harass" her by surprise.
It was hinted quite a few times during the anime that Shinobu loves donuts. If she's not hiding in the corner, she's most likely inside that donuts shop in the middle of no where buying her favorite ration. In order to keep their design unique and stylish, Good Smile Company decided to put Shinobu on top of a pile of donuts for their upcoming 1/8 PVC figure... or is it?
If you look closely, you'll find items that belong to various Bakemonogatari characters in the pile of donuts mess Shinobu sits on. But the most noticeable of them all is probably the antenna-like hairs of Araragi.... It's kind of sad that Araragi has no other distinctive traits that make him stand out, such is expected from someone who still hasn't lost his virginity.
Biting onto Araragi's hairs is Senjyogahara's stapler, perhaps a symbol that represents her devotion and dedication to him, a "I won't let go of you no matter what"-type of feeling.
From the back-side, Kanbaru's Rainy Devil and Meme's geta are sticking out like sore thumbs.
From the left-side, Mayoi's gigantic bag is clearly visible. While not as large and packed as her figure to be released in the next few days, most of its shape and details are retained.
And from the right, we can see nekomimi and glasses, two trademarks of Hanekawa. In front of Araragi's hairs is the orange-white cap that belongs to Sengoku Nadeko.
Anyway, I might have gone off a tangent just now, but let's return to Earth and look at the star of this figure, Shinobu herself, starting with her face:
For the most part, her face looks perfect. It's cute to see a girl trying to hang onto sweets with her teeth, especially when her trademark vampire fangs are exposed. Her helmet and goggle are nicely detailed, with signs of wear and tear on the lens. My main problem with her face is the pink highlights on her cheeks. These are supposed to be painted on, but instead they seemed to be attached as extra pieces during assembly. The highlights look as if Shinobu was having hay fever, with hashes and bumps appearing on her face rather than blushes...
Not much to say about her hairs, they're rather bulky, and lack details... although that's how they look in the anime. Her dress on the other hand, is nicely done. The frills fit perfectly and bend naturally with the rest of the fabric.
Shinobu's gorgeous pale skins are exposed, best of all, she's bare-footed, an extra special treat for foot fetish lolicons.
Those glazed donuts are REALLY making me hungry....
Overall, a nicely done figure, reflective of what a top tier figurine manufacturer is capable of. As the sixth installment in the Bakemonogatari figurine series, Shinobu is well worth your money. She may be small in comparison to say, Hanekawa or Senjyogahara, but the amount of details in the base make up for her height, not to mention all the trademark accessories from all the protagonists in this series embedded around the base (...although Araragi's head makes me wonder if she actually dismembered him to keep it as a collectable.... let's not go there...).
If you already collected the first five figures, there's little reason to skip out on this. I don't know if GSC has any other characters in the pipeline at the moment, perhaps Tsukihi and Karen are up next?
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