Preview: Oshino Shinobu 1/8 PVC Figure

Disclaimer: Photos of the figure are taken from HobbyStock (http://blog.hobbystock.jp/report/2011/10/tp0775.html).

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?

Preview: Black Hanekawa 1/7 PVC Figure

Disclaimer: Photos of the figure are taken from HobbyStock (http://blog.hobbystock.jp/report/2011/05/tp0662.html).

What!? Another preview? Yup, I'm bored from writing my thesis, and I've yet to figure out how to deal with the ridiculous weathers thanks to Hurricane Irene, so previews will take priority over reviews for now.

As I've written in my previous update, I wasn't too fond of Kuroneko's black cat ear hairband due to its lack of details. But I realized I shouldn't complain too much, after all, Kuroneko is just a highschool girl who just wants to look moe by mimicking cats.

 
My scouter says the video above has a moe power level of 5.

Heh... that's not even close to that legendary clip I watched a while ago, which left me unconscious with temporarily case of anemia due to large amount of blood loss from my nose. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce Black Hanekawa, from Bakemonogatari:

Bakemonogatari, like OreImo, is a series of light novels adapted into anime in summer 2009. If you haven't watched/read it, I highly recommend that you give it a try. Anyway, without spoiling too much, let's just say the female here underwent some kind of "transformation" that turned her into the way she's seen in the video.

Anyway, since both Good Smile Company and Kotobukiya have released a few Bakemonogatari figures in the past year or two, which sold like hotcakes, Alter decided to budge in and steal a slice of the pie with not one, but two highly detailed figures to be released near the end of September this year: Black Hanekawa and Senjyogahara.

Actually, Senjyogahara, the main female protagonist of Bakemonogatari, was supposed to be released near the end of August. But Alter pushed the release a month back to September, which made it look like they're releasing two figures in the same month. Not exactly a wise decision if you ask me, especially when each costs close/over $100 after shipping, thanks to the poor exchange rates.

Since the preorder campaign's long over for Senjyogahara, I thought it'd be better to review her when my order arrives. Black Hanekawa, on the other hand, is still open to preorders on AmiAmi, HobbySearch, etc., I personally think she's worth previewing, so here goes.

The first thing I'll say is that Black Hanekawa's pose is fairly unique, it gives you an immediate impression that she has just landed on the rooftop, with her long white hairs still in the air, and one of her legs stretching over the slope to keep her in balance. The way her left elbow bends creates a typical, but more natural, cat paw/claw form.

One thing that looks kind of awkward to me is her right foot.

I don't know if anybody's toe would bend close to 90 degrees on a slanted surface, but I know mine certainly wouldn't unless I deliberately make it so, which hurts a lot, by the way. Yes, I actually tried this out, believe it or not. However, this is a half-cat, half-human female we're looking at here, she might be more flexible physically and might not experience the same strains exerted on a human.

What are some of the important characteristics of a cat? Long nails? Check. Cute canine tooth/fangs? Check. Nekomimi (cat ears)? Check. Beasty pupils? Check. Large breasts too big for the shirt to button them in place, which when pressed against your back, electrocute you to death? Check.

The only thing missing is a tail. BUT, it was never described in novel or shown in the anime, nothing could be done. The close-up shots of her face clearly demonstrate that Tanaka Touji was able to faithfully replicate Black Hanekawa's naughty, playful "nya~haha~" expression in his sculpture.

Like most Alter figures, the attention to detail is simply phenomenal. From the folds and patterns on her pajama, to the detailed coloring of the brick palette base (and the cute paw marks), you'd have to use a microscope to find faults on this figure.

So what's the bottom line? Other than the awkwardly positioned toe on her right foot, I think this figure is perfect. If you have extra money that you can spare for a figure in September, this is the one to get. For nekomimi and Bakemonogatari fans, this is a mandatory figure to add to your collection. It is expensive, I know, but it's well worth the money.