then
suddenly:
It doesn't matter though. I had plenty of alternatives to look forward to. Like going to conce...
Here Are All the Major Music Events Canceled Due to Coronavirus (Updating) - Billboard
Oh. Well, at least I get to look forward to Re:Zero Season tw....
All right, enough fooling around. It's a crappy year for multicellular organisms on planet Earth at the moment, we all know that. I of course would never say the transport of plastic figurines would ever be more important than shuttling necessity goods to people in need during a global health crisis. That's why I'm writing it instead.
This is my first time reviewing so feel free to flame away downstairs. I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for MY ego. So, If you have a healthy suggestion on how to inflate it even further, feel free to post that as well.
Now, this was quite the investment. Being my second figurine, I would think the prices for the item itself should had been deterring enough. But honestly, the tariffs and postage is what really tugged at my wallet's patience. I shelled out a total of €235 for this baby (around 2500 Swedish crowns). That's enough to buy every single Light Novel or manga that the figurine was inspired by in the first place AND a life saving epinephrine pen. There's a clear time*entertainment ≠ monetary*value discrepancy here, but that's par for the course in this collection business, isn't it? How fitting then to review the poster girl of late medieval capitalism, especially during a literal plague!
The Unboxing Experience
I got to hand it to Otaku Square though. They do NOT trust the postal service. The plastic padding in the box increased the parcel volume by a magnitude of 3 and the goods were pristine at arrival.
The box itself is fairly unremarkable. This figurine have no exchangeable parts nor any accessories like my Saber Alter had, so there's not much for them to really put in there.
It's secure in a plastic form to keep a highly inefficient air seal, but does keep it safe and firm for transportation. Very utilitarian. Me like.
I've read some comments saying they're not too fond of her facial design, and I get where they're coming from. Personally, I don't mind that too much however, since the character, the pose and the lifeness of the figure is what I was looking for. And I have to say that the facial expression is even more striking in person. Also, here's an image of her lying down, just to irk the purist collectors out there before we continue.
Crinch all you want! You know just as well as I do that the value of this piece dropped by half just by opening the bloody box!
The Base
I got the impression the base was just a green coated plastic sheet from the promo images to be honest, but if you look closely, it actually has some real texture to it. Not a graphical parallax texture. That's a Real, God's honest SMIM where I expected a faux paint job! It's thin as a dry wafer though. Held up against the sun you can see the backside plastic shining through quite prominently.
I guess you could argue it doesn't matter too much, but I think literally every other popular Holo figure out there DO have a more vivid base to them.
Now, let's get real for a moment. When turning it around, you can see the where the figure was presumably moulded.
I'm one of those that are real picky with the ultimate supply chain and origin when buying their products, and considering the quite disturbing news about companies abusing forced labour from working camps in Xinjiang, as well as labourers being shipped to manufactures in other parts of China as part of their "reeducation" efforts to exterminate the cultural identity of a whole ethnic group kinda took my edge off for a moment there. The "Made in China" label got a new set of disclaimer to it when it's moving from "just" sweatshops into Third Reich and Gulag territory. I've done some digging into the Good Smile Company and Chara-Ani when seeing this and as far as I know, none of their apparent suppliers seem to be involved in this particular dirty business practice to my knowledge. So, at the moment, I will assume purchasing this is in good faith and that this product didn't shit on any person. Other than the emissions connected to transport and plastic manufacturing in general, of course.
Now, back to our regular program. Feet.
I'm not joking. The figure is fixed with your standard two plastic size divergent pegs under the foot's mound. But damn, look at the details of those toes.
If you're a foot fetichist, this would had been the Christmas present your Dad always failed to deliver. And yes, each individual toe have nails sculpted and painted without any visible paint gloops (pain gloop is a technical term, btw). This level of detail definitely persist throughout the whole model from this moment forward, and this isn't even the most impressive small detail there is. Let's move on. This toe obsessing is getting weird.
The Whole Shebang
Probably should have started with this one. But being a rebel, I simply cannot.
While looking for some amazing figures of my favourite Wise Wolf, the one that really caught my eye was this one: #525327
The expression is exceptional, joy extruding from her every orifice, and damn, look at the details of that beer! But one of the things that kept me hesitant was, to be honest, the size. 1/7 is simply filling out more space than 1/8. Just look at the size comparison with my coffee mug!
Here's a few more examples to give you a sense of scale. This is what they call "modulation" in Science teachers education, btw. Ha! You came for a review, but I gave you knowledge instead!
Holo being taller than two rolls of paper towels (purchased before the pandemic turned them into a luxury commodity).
Holo being taller than a 187cc bottle of maple syrup.
Holo being taller than this porcelain crocodile.
Scale isn't only for vertical. Remember, this also shows on the horizontal plane, which is where most goes for this specific figurine. Here's a comparison shot made by Dagoba11 that perfectly shows what I mean. It's also a good reference for later, when I compare the details in this specific figurine and how it eventually made me settle with this one.
Now, for something more relatable in terms of scale, Holo vs. 1500cc of Pepsi:
Next, I removed the stage insert inside the box and set up for a more "proper" photoshoot. I'm not quite ready to take the leap of procuring an "x" thousand € camera with a green screen studio for posing my plastic toys just yet. But you could inspire me to make some horrible financial choices by liking, commenting and subscribing, while hitting the bell icon for those notifications!
If it hasn't already become apparent to you, this specific figurine is based on Holo as she appears in artwork by Juu Ayakura, not the anime version designed by Kuroda Kazuya. This is the illustration the model is based on:
Full disclosure; I'm not an LN kinda person. I'm a sucker for the manga, big time, and had a great time following this character's stowaway adventures in a carriage with her involuntary captor, Kraft Lawrence. If you're a fan of the design, and for some reason don't know anything about Spice and Wolf, you can still enjoy the playful vividness of the posing being done here. Holo, running over the field with a fresh pick of ripened apples, her insatiable indulgence in this frail body, is as much a commentary on sin, personal or economical freedom and religious corruption. There's a persevering idea from some people that you can learn economics more efficiently from this story rather than, you know, from experienced economists and get a degree in it.
I'd love to see the success made by these people's after trying to personally debase currency (illegal) and build up a capital through entirely voluntary good faith IOU's, but I admit, the setting is intriguing and anchored in enough economic history that it carries the striking dialogue and well developed characters. The air of Holo's playfulness can be seen throughout this entire figurine, in every strand, motion and creasing cloth. Let's go for the lower dress first, shall we?
Below the waist
Get your head out of the gutter, Ronald! We're looking at the fabric now! Tail comes later.
Throughout the trim of the dress I could spot literally zero paint-bleed.
What I can only guess are mould seams have been cleverly hidden as stitching in the dress itself, creatively incorporating the motion and the limits of mass production to hide a necessary flaw in the aesthetics. I did, however, see some botched paint job up on the skirt's stitching.
In all honesty, it is a bit petty, but it is there and should be pointed out. It's easy for paint to bleed into these stitchings since they are, in fact, depressions in the plastic.
But damn, look at those shadings! It doesn't matter what kind of light I'm using. There's always depth in this fabric wherever you look. I'm also a HUGE fan of the patterns on the trim, and the details of that waist strap!
One could almost argue the biggest focus of this figurine isn't Holo herself, but in fact, the rosy red ripened rosacea she's carrying in her tunic. They're moving, falling, and are all individual pieces placed in her ungentle embrace. But be completely honest now...
...those are #€%#% tomatoes. Or at least some Frankensteinien crossbreed between the two species. Those are some shiny applematoes though... Kinda makes you hungry just looking at them.
By the way; that falling effect of that one apple isn't as special as it first seems.It can only really be seen from this specific angle, but I just couldn't help myself from ruining the magic for you.
The tail is the source of some impressive sculpting work too. The curvature is convincing enough to turn any flat-Earther over to the oblate spheroid conspiracy. Don't drink the Kool-aid, children! Real science know it's all through a fish-eyed lense, and you're being kept in the dark dammit!
My copy, however, came with some pretty unsightly scuffings on this part, which is a shame. Overall, while the design and coloration is spot on mostly, it's also the painting that lead the biggest disappointments for me overall in this model.
Now, finally, let's move to the torso and caput before moving to scoring.
The fluff is real
As you can see, Holo is not gonna get you demonetised in a hurry. That doesn't change the fact the details of the eyes are clearly defined, the flowing hair has plenty of individual strands of hair and clean, plain clothes doesn't leave much else to be desired. Her ears are appropriately fluffy, and they even threw in an ahoge for good measure. There's that divisive wide grin of course, but if you're getting distracted by that to the point of ignoring the intricacy of those curls and even the near levitation of her pouch with grains, maybe that say's more of your dentophobia than the artist's vision.
She even has a well defined throat sculpted on her neck! I took a shot with some extra fortified GREASED LIGHTNING to ensure you see it.
This really excited me for some reason. If you know any other figurines with some nice well defined throats, please like, comment and subscribe down below. No, but seriously, hit me up with some examples if you know of any.
The flash is also there to send another scourge down the spine of any potential collection purists, since LED lights have the potential of aggregating the polymers' intramolecular bonds and cause bleaching or discolouration. This is called the photoelectric effect and was first described by Max Planck in the beginning of the 20th century, and later revised by Albert Einstein who could mathematically prove photoemission as the equal absorption of 1 photon = emission of 1 electron. For the discovery of how photons from camera flashes can cause electrons to release themselves from a nucleu's influence and cause discolouration in premium anime collectibles, Einstein was awarded the Nobel prize in physics 1921, and NOT for his theory of relativity which is more famous outside of weeb circles.
Now, where was I?
Oh yes! The face!
The eyes are flawlessly painted, and yes, the eyebrows are fully realised even though the bang literally hides everything. I can only imagine how the artist must feel.
The mouth was however ruined by paint bleed for me. An ugly streak of orange covering the whole lower lip, and completely blots out the mischievous fang on her left mouth corner. Either that or Holo ate a whole bunch of carrots off-screen and is now unappetisingly drooling the chewed mush out of her mouth.
Will you notice it from afar? Not really. But. I know it's there. And it annoys me. It's hard to say if this is an isolated issue with my copy or if this is a symptom of some larger manufacturing issue.
In conclusion
If you consider the sheer artistry behind this product, the many details falling together with such a natural feel to it, I love it. This model incapsulate the character it set out to portray, and with gusto. However, it isn't the most exciting model made of Holo, nor the most expressive overall experience. The sculpting is sublime, but you're sculpting a wolf deity setting out to blend in by seeming inconspicuous and dressed in plain linen. If that's not your kind of thing, this naturalistic approach isn't gonna fit your fancy.
As I iterated earlier, the reason I went after this model of Holo is not only the novelty and size (even though did indeed play a big role), but also the way it captures a few key aspects of her character that just defines her so overwhelmingly well in the source material she's based on. While the anime version of Holo has a more mature look, and the drinking wise-wolf has more aggressive expressiveness and excitement in its posing, this one celebrates her inner desires for freedom and simple pleasures, but also her origin, in such a satisfying manner. And I never found that to be very over the top in the slightest, but the opposite. Her world is one of blind, religious, bigotry that hates her, and she is forced to blend into it.
That doesn't mean I'm satisfied with the scuffs and frankly botched parts of some aspects in the paint job. The sculpt is filled with amazing detail, but that, as said, comes with the cost of one or two "happy accidents" with the ink hose in production later.
She'll be sitting on my TV-shelf, next to pictures of hand-painted bull-finches. It might seem an odd mix, but considering they were painted by my mother while expecting, I found it oddly fitting to put the goddess of wheat and fruitful harvest next to a pregger's work of contemplation. I'm not afraid of showing this off as just a tasteful decoration for guests, friends, beknownst or unbeknownst, to my weber ways.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you found the review helpful, or at least, a tiny bit entertaining!
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