Back at last
summer's San Diego Comic Con, Kotobukiya
was showing
off a new series of bishojo inspired statues, based on the
ladies of Marvel comics. At the show we saw Black Widow,
Scarlett
Witch
and Rogue, with promises of more to come. Both Rogue
and Black Widow are already available to buy, and there was an SDCC
exclusive Black Widow as well. They've already announced Psyhlocke and
Phoenix for next year, and I suspect we'll see further announcements.
So what's 'bishojo'? At its most basic definition, it implies a
beautiful young girl, and is the design style of the majority of women
in Japanese anime and manga. Much like the Ame-Comi series of
statues by DC Direct, these statues meld the Marvel
girls with this hot school girl style so popular in Japan.
Rogue is a natural for this style, as she tends to be portrayed
relatively young, even after more than 20 years in the comics. The skin
tight suit that's been her mainstay doesn't hurt any either.
There are two versions of Rogue - the regular
version sans coat, and the long coat version (a Diamond
exclusive in the States)
that I'm reviewing tonight. This version is limited to 1000.
These statues run around $60, and Koto sells the regular version
directly from their online
store at that price. You can also pick up the
exclusive version at some of my
sponsors for about $10 cheaper. I have my usual suggestions at the end
of the review.
Packaging - ***
I like boxes, since they are generally easy to store, collector
friendly (you can open them without destroying anything, allowing you
to re-use them later), and attractive. This one goes further by
allowing you to see the statue through a plastic window.
Because this statue is plastic, and not resin, the risk of breakage is
much smaller, allowing them to do this.
Sculpting - ****
More often than not, the proportions on statues such as this tend to
be a chiropractor's dream. It seems that sculptors feel that if the
breasts aren't the size of watermelons, they've not done their job.
Rogue is an exception, looking
much more natural and realistic. Don't get me wrong - she's still
packin'. But she looks much more like a natural beauty rather than
the product of an over developed adolescent male fantasy.
The pose is an unusual one,
mixing dynamic movement in the arms, coat and hair with a rather static
lower
body pose. I'm not exactly sure what she's doing, but damn she looks
good doing it.
This version has the Gambit-like
long coat, which I think looks even better than the regular version.
The coat adds additional movement to the piece, and helps frame the
body.
Her face is done in the
traditional bishojo style, with large eyes and a very small nose and
mouth. She's very beautiful in a Speed Racer sort of way.
She comes attached to the base,
which is relatively plain. The tiered approach gives it some visual
appeal however, and actually reminds me of the Danger Room. Maybe
that's just me.
She stands about 7 1/2" tall on
the base, about 7" tall without it, technically making her slightly
too big for the DCUC display. However, because she's on the base and
quite svelte, she looks better with them than you'd initially expect.
Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is almost flawless, giving this series the one up on the
Ame-Comi series.
There's a few small (very small)
blips and blops on some of the cut lines, and the white collar is a bit
thick in coverage, but these are very minor nits.
They've also used several
finishes, with a higher gloss on the coat ad boots to make them stand
out. This kind of paint work helps support the price tag.
Articulation - Bupkis
This category won't have any effect on my overall, since as a statue, I
was assuming there'd be no articulation. But I do want to include it as
an FYI, since occasionally something that is considered a statue still
does have a point or two of articulation - that's not the case here.
Accessories - Bupkis
See above. I didn't expect accessories, but you might, so I wanted to
call out the lack in case it effects your thought process.
Value - **1/2
At around $50 - $60, she's in the same ball park as the DC Direct
Ame-Comi statues. The scale is also similar to the Batman Black and
White statues (she's a bit taller), which are also in that same range
these days. She's plastic, like the Ame-Comi statues, not resin like
the Bats, but it's a high quality material with a VERY smooth surface.
When the Ame-Comi statues first came out a year ago, this price point
was still a bit high, but with the rising costs we've seen over the
last 18 months, it's sadly becoming very average.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Even the usual caveat of not dropping it is lessened,
since the plastic is much sturdier than resin.
Overall - ***1/2
This was a statue that grew on me more and more the longer I had it.
The sculpt really is gorgeous, even if the pose seems a bit awkward at
first. She was borderline four star overall, but the few minor paint
issues held her slightly back. Still, the series looks to be one of
Kotos best, and I think that fans of Rogue and this style will be very
pleased.
Related
Links -
I haven't checked out the Black Widow yet, but if you like this style
then you should also look at DC
Direct's Ame-comi take on the DC ladies. And don't forget to
swing by Kotobukiya's
site to get more info on this series and others.
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