At an average price of about 3300 yen (not including import and sales taxes), Goodsmile’s Nendoroids cost way too much for what they are. The big draws for the lineup seem to be the cute SD sculpt and the plethora of bundled accessories.

The quality seems to be top notch for the most part, however the price is just outrageous ranging anywhere from 3000-4000 yen for such a small figure. With the success of the lineup, GSC seems to be charging a premium for the newer figures. GSC has also further capitalized on Nendoroid’s success with the new Nendoroid Petit trading figures.

For the price of two Nendoroids (~6600 yen), you probably have enough for a bigger, better scaled figure from any of the companies out there. To each their own though. If you like the chibi figures then no one is stopping you. I just think it’s money better spent elsewhere.

Released in May 2007, Kotobukiya faithfully recreates Kanon’s Mai Kawasumi in a dynamic action sculpt. This one’s been on the market for about half a year and has been near the top of my figure review list. Mai is probably my second favorite Kanon girl so she deserves this review. The first run even came packed with a pair of bunny ears; A cute albeit useless head decoration that will ultimately end up damaging her hair. Sorry for the lack of photo variety. This figure has a limited viewing range because of the pose.

Manufacturer: Kotobukiya
Scale: 1/8
Price: ~$38
Release date: May 2007

The figure overall is nice but is riddled with a lot of paint problems. As you can see from the pictures, the paint on her hair and uniform is very splotchy and uneven in spots. Not pictured is a giant black scuff on the bottom of her thigh straight out of the box. It’s a shame too, because she would otherwise be fine and earn a higher score.

Sculpt: 8/10
The pose really captures Mai’s demon hunter spirit. It looks like she’s prepared to strike in the middle of a battle while Yuuichi watches on in awe. As previously noted, the pose does limit what angles you can view her.

Paint: 3/10
Terrible paintwork. I expect much better from an established company like Kotobukiya. Mine may have slipped past the QC department so results may vary.

Base: 9/10
The bases does its job and holds Mai securely in place. She’s standing on what I presume are light blue tiles. The base is a fairly off shape though. Maybe she’s supposed to connect to the other Kotobukiya Kanon gals.

Predicted Reliability: 8/10
Chances of leaning are low but not out of the question.

Total Score: 28/40 = 70%

Overall: Get it if you’re a diehard Mai fan. Despite all the paint problems, she still looks a lot better than any of the other Mai offerings on the market. If you’re willing to wait for an indefinite amount of time, Max Factory should produce something of a higher caliber.

Here’s my second go at a figure photo shoot. I know the lighting is far from perfect but I’ll get better as time goes along. Sorry in advance for the low resolution shots, because Flickr caps the maximum size for free users. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Shuraki is a collaboration between Good Smile Company and Red Entertainment. Mishiro is the first in the series of figure boxsets that include a figure, artbook, and a drama CD.

Read the rest of this entry »

Link to the full review

For all the figure junkies out there, Good Smile Company’s Mishiro Akatsuki arrived at my doorstep on Saturday. Why did I wait until now to post this? Pressing school matter as always. I’ll put my whole review up along with some pictures in a couple of days. It’s an absolutely gorgeous piece. All I can provide you for now are stock photos from the GSC site.

Edit: And the Shuraki website