Yoko by Gift

Hey, welcome again to another figure review! A couple of days ago I just received this little beauty from Hobby Search, Yoko from Gurren Lagann by Gift. Gotta say, this is probably my favorite version of Yoko to date and I was so anxious to get her out in the wild and take some shots of her. I just got back from FanimeCon and picked up Yoko by Eye Up and the Yoko Movie Ver Revoltech (which I'll be posting up pictures of in the coming weeks ^^), but MAN! this version of Yoko is so striking. She is my first 1/5 scale figure, and I can not believe the quality! I'm a fairly recent fanboy of Yoko, I just finished Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann about a month and a half ago, but my Yoko collection is shaping up pretty nicely. Since collecting PVC figures I have never been so determined to get multiple figures of the same character. Yoko has cast her spell on me and my future looks bleak with poverty because of it O.O

This version by Gift features Yoko crouched down on one knee in mid preparation of pinning up her hair. Yoko has many facets to her character and develops intriguingly over the course of the anime, and Gift's depiction of her captures a very vulnerable Yoko. In her mouth she is holding onto her skull hairpiece, and smiling with her eyes at whom ever gazes upon her. She has an angelic expression on her face and is simply beautiful.

Let's talk detail. Now, I'd say that Yoko's design does not include intricate details or elaborate costume pieces. Its pretty simple: Long red-haired beauty who fires a huge gun with a scarf, bikini top, booty shorts with a studded white belt, pair of simple thigh high nylons (?) and some cool zip up white boots with flames...oh yeah, gloves and chopsticks in her hair too. There's probably no way to screw up on the detail, but Gift completely adds solid quality to each of Yoko's garments. The belt is awesomely rendered and is painted to perfection. There isn't a single paint bleed to any of the studs.
Her boots' zipper is SO AWESOME! I love big zippers, and here the teeth that aren't zipped up are perfectly realized. Her nylons (or whatever they are) hug her thighs so nicely and have highlights of her skin tone to add a transparent effect.

Speaking of detail, check out the great tie of the bikini with beads. From the opposite view both strands of beads curve parallel to the arch of Yoko's back...mmm, super sexy.

Yoko has definitely been blessed by the Gods with huge ta-ta's, and Gift has recreated them wonderfully. Now, here's the section of the review that I will give my one gripe concerning Gift's creation. And, YES, it does have to do with this lovely area. I'm not a fan of seem lines, and if I had the courage to attack each of my figures with obvious seam lines with a sander...then I would def do it. Yoko doesn't suffer from any bad seam lines EXCEPT for the connecting piece of her bikini. Now, in the grand scheme of things...I would even admit that this a HUGE nitpick...but for the sake of reviewing her with 100% honesty I have to highlight this. The piece sticks out like a sore thumb, and looks pretty cheap. I would have liked this piece be part of the mold, and instead it looks like they just glued a glossy piece of painted plastic to finish the job. Examining further, I noticed that it isn't completely flush at both ends of her bikini either. Along with this, I noticed a bit of red paint running from just below the bikini on her left boobie.

I love this angle, the whole silhouette of this figure is stunning. She's breathtaking. I really like the detail of her back and the fluidity of her hair. I think the picture speaks for itself, she's awesome.
Here's a close-up of her pinning her hair up. What I really appreciate about this is that the sculptor makes the act of 'holding her hair up' REALLY believable. Her fingers holding up her hair seem affected by the weight of her hair! I love the subtle detail. :D
Yoko comes with a mirror base. I didn't know she came with this, so it was a really pleasant surprise! Looking at her compared to other figures I have in my collection the first thing I notice is size and quality, and I think the mirrored-base adds a nice subtly to the overall quality to the piece.

Summary:

Yoko is hot, and Gift has given us a really nice presentation of her beauty. This figure is a nice addition to my growing 'Yoko Army', and now my favorite version that's been released. The quality of this figure is purely awesome, this Yoko is solid! The price tag is a bit high, retailing for about $90 or so, but I think you get what you pay for. She's my first 1/5 scale figure, so the size could also play a big factor too. The paint is nearly flawless, I can only plainly see a flaw or two. I also forgot to mention how much I like the glossy finish to areas of Yoko, it gives a nice contrast to her smooth skin tone. The design of this figure is really interesting to look at, and I like her state of vulnerability. She's not in attack mode, she's just being Yoko. This figure definitely looks like a picture still realized in 3D, and I'm so happy I decided to get her. If you are as obsessed with Yoko or Gurren Lagann as I am, I'm sure you don't want to miss an opportunity to snag yourself this awesome figure! If interested, and able to spare $100 or so, you can still order her at Hobby Search or Hobby Link Japan.

If you're interested in more pics of Yoko, click the link to my Flickr page ^.^

Figure: Yoko
Series: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Manufacturer: Gift
Sculptor: Takayuki Kondo (G-Dome)
Scale: 1/5 Pre-Painted PVC
Release Date: April 2009

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Wendy Garret < GunXSword> Max Factory Figure Review

Hey, so for my first figure review I've decided to go ahead with Wendy Garret from the anime GunXSword!

One day, a little girl named Wendy was walking through a fantastic wood and suddenly tripped and fell down a steep slope!
Down, down, down she went, pig-tails and all. Luckily she had her giant suit case, that fortunately enough for her, acted as a "sled" of sorts, until she flew off by way of a big stone at the bottom of the hill.

As she soared through the wood, she hit her head on a tree trunk! "Ouch!" she cried, for Wendy wasn't much for pain. As she got to her knees she saw a shining light through the foliage surrounding her. As she peered through some outrageously large leaves she saw a magnificent and magical garden. The grand garden was illuminated by a single, elaborate light positioned in the center. It was here that she realized her destiny, "Wouldn't it be the greatest plan in the WORLD to construct clothing out of such wonderful flowers and leaves?" Wendy wasn't the most practical girl in the world, but who can blame a creative mind?

As the mischievous little girl opened the gate, she sifted through the wide range of flowers and split them apart and scattered them all around her. Luckily for her she had her best turtle side-kick and fashionista extrordinaire, Kameo by her side.
The two sat and pondered about the best way to use the materials Wendy had at her disposal. Suddenly, Wendy shrugged and exclaimed:

"K-A-M-E-O, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE CLOTHES!"

Kameo, ever the optimist, looked up and suggested that Wendy should make a hat for herself out of the flowers. Wendy smiled and patted the loyal little turtle on the head. She thought Kameo's idea was perfefct, and the most easy. At this point, it was well beyond dark time, and she knew that she would surely be in trouble with her big brother if she stayed any longer. With a hop, skip and a jump, little Garret decided to go to work on a hat that would suit her hairstyle. She quickly finished a hat she admired and ran home to show her big brother her creation.

What to you think, does Wendy have a career in the fashion industry?

Ok, well that does it for storytime. Don't make fun of me too much, I figured it would be fun to make up a quick story for the pics with her and the flowers. I won't bank on a career in children's literature! ^^ On to the review and pictures!

This is Wendy Garret made by MaxFactory

GunXSword was the second full anime series I embarked on and after completing it I knew I had to track down figures from the series. I couldn't help but falling for this rendition of the adventerous and brave girl with the weirdest hair-do I'd ever seen. Wendy comes featured kneeling on her infamous suitcase, and below her is her trusty turtle companion Kameo. The attention to detail is superb here, from her gun holster to the pait app on Kameo. The guys over at MaxFactory really did a fine job with this one. All of the lines are clean and the color choices are perfect.

I feel the pose is quite original, and looks dynamic compared to other standing figures that I have in my collection. With her hand above her forehead, she avoids the awkwardness that I find with her spider-like bangs. I love her expression:

Her figure tempts the eye, yet still maintains her innocent and child-like demeanor.

As you can see, Wendy looks great from all angles. I've heard some people feel that her likeliness doesn't truly match the art in the anime, but I would have to disagree. Her face shape might stray a little from the animation, but from her eyes...or eye...and hair design, its obvious this is Wendy.

Summary:
Overall I'm glad I picked this little number up. The design of the character is nearly 100% accurate to her artwork, I find her expression and pose to be really different than most other figures I have or seen, and the paint app on Wendy is fantastic. Small attention to detail concerning her turtle friend, her suitcase and her gun/gun holster has not gone unappreciated. If you're a fan of the GunXSword series and enjoy collecting figures, I'd say that you wouldn't regret tracking her down.

Here are some extra photos I took with the leaves, they made me laugh. :D

Ok, well that about does it for my first review/picture session. Tell me what you think, any suggestions and/or comments would be great! Hoped you enjoyed the first installment to my blog and please come back to see new upcoming reviews! Thanks for looking!

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