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.

Preview: Kuroneko -memories(Natsu Komi)- 1/8 PVC Figure

Disclaimer: Photos of the figure are taken from HobbyStock (http://blog.hobbystock.jp/report/2011/08/tp0726.html).

After a few weeks of silence since my first post, I think it's time to get my lazy ass in front of the computer and start updating this blog. The weather in western Canada hasn't been exactly kind as of late, so my original plans of outdoor shooting of some of the figures from my own collection had to be postponed. Instead of leaving the blog with a dry and boring introduction post without much juice, I think it's reasonable to kick start things with a preview on the upcoming Kurenko figure from Kotobukiya: Kuroneko -memories(Natsu Komi)- version.

In case you aren't familiar with Kuroneko, she's a character from a popular light novel series called Ore no Imoto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, literally translated as My Sister Can't Be This Cute. Due to its ridiculously long name, most people just address the series as "OreImo". The novel was eventually adapted into anime and aired during the last four months of 2010. The show quickly became many fans' favorite and received quite the praise from different anime communities around the world.

Kuroneko's real name is Gokou Ruri, and is an otaku just like the protagonist's younger sister. Throughout the show, she's seen wearing a Gothic lolita outfit, sometimes with additional accessories such as cat ears and tails. Considering that Kuroneko means Black Cat in English, it's not hard to see why Ruri's dressed up the way she is.

(Source: 7thstyle http://7thstyle.com/media/2011/06/ore_no_imouto_kuroneko_22.jpg)

Because Ruri rarely wears anything other than her school uniform and the gothic lolita dress that she made herself, the summer outfit seen in this figure produced by Kotobukiya can be said as a real eye canady Kuroneko fans.

Ruri's pose isn't exactly interesting, but out of all the OreImo figures out there, this is probably the first one which features a character in a sitting position. Her beautiful, silky smooth pale skin is probably a result of the constant protection against sunlight by her gothic lolita dress. Hopefully she doesn't get easily tanned like Azunyan from K-ON!

Ruri is a tsundere, and her cute but "tsun" expression is accurately captured by Fio (the sculptor of this figure).

However, I'm sure you have probably spotted by now, the paint job on her eyes is downright horrible (especially on her right eye). I don't know if it's an artifact when the photos were being taken, but the white scuff mark near the top right corner of her right eye really sticks out like a thorn thumb. In addition, the outline and color transitioning/gradient still require quite a bit of improvement.

If you're a nekomimi-con like me, this figure will surely satisfy your fetish. Her cat ear hairband blends in perfectly with her elegant dark black hair. It's a shame that there is hardly any details in the ears, I was hoping for a slightly more furry appearance with white patches of furs inside the ears. The nekomimi hairband doesn't seem like a removable accessory, so it's basically stuck there.

Her purse, however, does look like it's removable. Although with her arms crossed underneath her legs, the exact removal mechanism (if there is any) remains a mystery.

While we're on the topic of purse, I just have to bring up the sloppy paint job here again. That diamond shaped accessory looks so bad I was almost convinced that it was done by some amateur who just started learning how to paint. Kotobukiya isn't exactly a top-tier figure company like Alter, but this kind of messy detailing on smaller areas is not even acceptable for a third- manufacturer.

Well, at least Ruri's summer outfit looks clean and refreshing.

The wavy folds around her collar and the edge of the dress show off the sculptor's skill and his attention to detail.

And that's about all the things I can comment on at the moment. Thanks to HobbyStock's photos, I was able to take a closer look at some of the details on this figure. It's certainly too early to jump to conclusions on how the figure will turn out, as it's designated release date is sometime near the end of December/early January. However, the jarring flaws on the prototype so far should definitely be adjusted and fixed before the figure is sent to mass production. Kotobukiya is known to screw up fans with a mass produced figure that looks quite off from the prototype, I just hope such things won't happen to my beloved Kuroneko.

So should you preorder/buy this figure? Well, for $60, it's a decent 1/8 PVC figure. The overall quality isn't bad, and it's the first Kuroneko in a normal outfit. At the moment, the only companies making OreImo scaled PVC figures are Kotobukiya, FREEing and Wave. I have yet to see Alter making a move on this series, and since GSC is kind of the distributor for FREEing figures, I don't think we'll see scaled OreImo figures coming straight from GSC anytime soon. Even if the top tiers decide to jump in, the chance of us seeing another Kuroneko wearing normal outfits is pretty slim.

If you think you're going to be short on money in January, I suggest waiting it out. It's unlikely that this particular version of Kuroneko will be sold out the day it's released. By then, there should be tons of reviews around the net to give you a clear look at the final mass produced version. If the aforementioned problems have been alleviated, I wouldn't hesitate to buy. If, however, the problems haven't been fixed or have actually worsened, unless you're a hardcore fan of Kuroneko, I wouldn't recommend spending your dollars on her.

Welcome!

Hello everyone, and welcome to Last Star's Hobby Galore, my personal blog dedicated to previewing and reviewing the newest, coolest and hottest (no puns intended) anime figurines.

As our dollar continues to depreciate, it's getting harder and harder to spend our hard earned $$$ on our favorite PVC figures. Yet, those evil, EVIL companies (eg. Max Factory, Alter, Good Smile Company, Kotobukiya, etc.) have become more and more diligent at producing attractive PVC models, intending on sucking our wallets dry.

Should we bow before such temptations? Yes! However, we must bow wisely and cautiously. The best way to do this is to examine each figure closely, depict every possible fault and evaluate whether or not it's worth our sweat, blood and tear (read: money). That's essentially the purpose of my blog.

From time to time, I'll provide my personal previews on the newest figures up for preorder, and review some of my personal collections. I'm hoping that as you read through my posts, you can make informed decisions on which figure you should put your money towards.

Of course, your feedback and comments are always appreciated. I'm hoping that as I blog away, I can make more friends in the hobby circle. Until then!