Keripo's Corner Figures, Dollfies, Projects, Gaming, and TYPE-MOON
So this weekend, the cherry blossoms (sakura trees) on University of Washington campus were in full bloom, so OhnoRaptors and I decided to go on a picnic + photography trip with a few friends. I thought it’d be a good opportunity to bring along a few figures for figure photography (was originally planning on bringing along Saber Lily but I realized it’d be a hassle to carry her around along with all the picnic food), so I went ahead and finally unboxed Good Smile Company‘s 1/7 Ryougi Shiki and Kotobukiya‘s 1/8 Ryougi Shiki.
The place turned out to be far more crowded there than I had expected and it’d be difficult taking any good pics of the figures with the cherry blossoms (I didn’t have a ladder and there were already plenty of kids climbing on all the cherry blossom trees). I did, however, take some really nice general photos of the place, which you can check out on Flickr. At least I did finally get around to unboxing, photographing, and comparing the two gorgeous Ryougi Shikis though, which I will share with you today.
Usually, I prefer Good Smile Company’s figures, but this time around, Kotobukiya won the matchup hands down.
This is just one of my many TYPE-MOON figure reviews. Past reviews can be found here while a list of upcoming reviews can be found here. Most of my TYPE-MOON figures are second hand, ~B/B grade, so keep that in mind when going through the photos.
Ryougi Shiki
1/7 PVC Figure (Good Smile Company)
Info
– Type: PVC Figure
– Character: Ryougi Shiki
– Version: Garannodou
– Series: Kara no Kyoukai
– Company: Good Smile Company
– Sculptor: Nanashi
– Release date: 2013/01/28 (Standard), 2008/11 (Standard)
– Specs: 1/7, PVC, H=230 mm (8.97 in)
– Price: ¥6,190
– JAN: 4582191965086
Links
– Good Smile Company product page
– MyFigureCollection entry
– Suruga-ya entry
Buying
– Mandarake
– Rakuten
– Yahoo Japan Auctions
– AmiAmi
– HobbySearch
– Amazon.jp
– Amazon.com
Photos
The box
Check for the TYPE-MOON sticker to make sure it’s legit (my very first figure purchase and MFC photo upload was actually a bootleg of this)
Pretty simple packaging with three parts: figure, sword, and base
Pretty boring white disc as a base with two pegs
Figure connects to the base via peg holes on the front foot. The back foot somewhat provides balance, but more disappointingly, prevents the figure from being counter-leaned backwards (you’ll see the forward lean later)
Simple katana, nothing too fancy
Katana slides snuggly through the hand
Lets take a closer look at the figure itself. Overall a pretty decent paint job (much better than my old bootleg at least) with quite some elaborate patterns on her kimono (dress and bow both). Wish I could find a Dollfie-sized version of this.
Here’s the complete figure
Unfortunately the forward lean is quite noticeable when looking directly perpendicular, and the back foot prevents the figure from being counter-leaned :(
Feels like she’s looking down at you condescendingly… geeeee~~~
To my knowledge, Good Smile Company’s Ryougi Shiki sculpt is not based off any artwork, but it does vaguely resemble one of Takeuchi’s older artworks
Ryougi Shiki
1/8 PVC Figure (Kotobukiya)
Info
– Type: PVC Figure
– Character: Ryougi Shiki
– Version:
– Series: Kara no Kyoukai: Mirai Fukuin
– Company: Kotobukiya
– Sculptor: Tatsuya Hattori
– Release date: 2014/02/24 (Standard)
– Specs: 1/8, PVC, H=205 mm (8 in)
– Price: ¥8800
– JAN: 4934054783311
Links
– Kotobukiya product page
– MyFigureCollection entry
– Suruga-ya entry
Buying
– Mandarake
– Rakuten
– Yahoo Japan Auctions
– AmiAmi
– HobbySearch
– Amazon.jp
– Amazon.com
Photos
The box
Like GSC’s, also a simple setup, but just two parts
The figure is screwed into the base, which features cherry blossom petals and looks gorgeous
I was quite impressed by the detail on the katana
Snuggly slides into Shiki’s hand
Random close-ups
Complete figure
Looking elegant as ever
Kotobukiya’s Ryougi Shiki sculpt is based on one of Takashi Takeuchi’s artworks
Overall, I was extremely impressed by Kotobukiya’s version compared to Good Smile Company’s. Sure there were a few noticeable seam lines, but Kotobukiya’s sculpt, painting, and general attention to detail blew me away. Kotobukiya also based the figure off a far more dynamic pose. For GSC, while it’s true the figure is a rerelease of the 2008 sculpt, the slight change in the paint job (slightly more pink now) and noticeable forward lean quite bothered me. Anyway, here’s the side-by-side comparisons to let you judge.
The boxes
Beside each other. Keep in mind GSC’s is 1/7 scale while Kotobukiya’s is 1/8
The Kotobukiya katana actually showed the hamon (tempering line), whereas the GSC one was just a straight line. The Kotobukiya one is noticeably longer though, probably due to the pose (too long and it’d extend out too much)
The decorated Kotobukiya base was quite a nice touch to the figure, compared to GSC’s plain white base
Both figures featured pretty intricate designs on the kimonos. Not exactly the same, but both pretty.
Ribbon detail was also equally nice for both
Trying to pair the two in various different poses. Kinda hard due to the kimonos preventing them from being placed too close
Back-to-back. I have to say, I much prefer Kotobukiya’s expression and hair style here (even though Ryougi Shiki’s hair should be black instead of pale brown).
For Kara no Kyoukai fans or those who also admire the beautiful artwork from the series, pixiv Zingaro is currently showing an ongoing “Picture Exhibit: The Garden of Sinners” exhibit in Japan, featuring high quality prints of Takashi Takeuchi’s works over the past 15 years (the first chapter of Kara no Kyoukai was first written in 1998, and Takeuchi drew some character designs for Nasu when he released the novel as a doujin work in 1999). Those lucky enough to visit in person have a chance to pick up limited-edition signed prints of Takeuchi’s works at ridiculous prices. For those not so lucky/not so willing to pay $1000 USD for a print, the Banpresto Ichiban Kuji Premium Type-Moon 10th Anniversary poster is a good alternative.
Ryougi Shiki in a sakura-print white kimono is just too beautiful ^_^
Obligatory fanart from pixiv
Unrelated, but here’s a pic from my cherry blossom photo set
~Keripo
MyFigureCollection: http://myfigurecollection.net/blog/13480
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keripo/sets/72157642733272834/
