AnimeSugoi

Hi again everyone. Sorry for the wait since the last post, things have been a bit hectic due to the seasonal holidays, and I’m happy to share my first full review. Do enjoy it~ And oh yeah, a bit late too, but hope everyone is having a great New Years~

Just only got this recently since this is the N/A release of her. A little bit of info here about this figure (though introductions possibly aren’t needed I’m guessing): She’s Blanc Neige of Shining Tears/Wind fame, designed by Tony Taka, and this figure here is the latest offering from Kotobukiya. Her mantle can be removed as well as her wand. The following shoot consists of her mostly in her mantle, though the finishing photos show her without the mantle since the mantle does obscure some points of interest.

While she’s really nice overall from a general point of view, the collectors who ask for perfection will likely be somewhat disappointed by Koto’s shoddy finishing for this figure. The little squiggles on her clothes could certainly be cleaner is what I feel. From the comments of people who have her that I have spoken too, it appears that QC overall is somewhat dodgy and each of them have certain complaints about different areas (such as the gem on the wand being painted sloppily), but maybe the lucky few might just be getting a figure that was done nicely. But as always, it’s a game of lottery with mass produced figures, even more so when you’re getting them online, where you can’t exactly pick and choose the “perfect” figure.

Can’t complain much about her hair, certainly isn’t the most detailed hair out there, and when viewed from the front, doesn’t do much since the mantle obscures it from view. It does lend itself to the overall look when viewed without the mantle from the front, though in the end I chose to display her with the mantle after some struggle in my head ^^;

I guess I went with the mantle look since less skin would be shown, and since the figure comes with the mantle anyway, might as well use it since I paid for it xD But the mantle-less look might be more to others tastes.

I like the edges of the mantle though, with that little bit of detail that is hardly noticeable, but I think it’s a really nice aspect. Pity that once Blanc’s head is there, the collar region pretty much goes unnoticed.

Without the mantle, you get more of Blanc’s curves to look at, both ways of displaying her are actually nice to be honest.

Some details of her clothes always tend to be less drowned out/obscured without the mantle. And well, there’s always the skin factor xD

Can’t ever say that I’m happy with Koto’s bases for their Shining series though, which is why Blanc is the only one I have out of the entire series. I might go for Ryuna though, but I guess it depends. Blanc’s right foot is screwed onto the base itself, so the base is pretty much stuck to her.

And well, without the mantle, her rear view is definitely much more enjoyable don’t you think? xD Now before any funny ideas are gotten, I really love her back, pity her hair obscures much of it unless you peer at it from lower angles. Any other view you’re treated to in the process is just mere happy coincidence xD

Got this figure rather late since I opted out of the Japanese release, and waited for the North American release of her which is this month, and saved quite a fair bit. So for those who are still on the fence about this figure, and especially those residing in NA, do check out the blogs of Belela-san, super rats, and James to view more photos of her. She should retail for about 49.99 USD in North America (compared to 5800 Yen for the Japanese release)