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Just in time for Halloween, Orchid Seed's 1/6 scale Succubus Silvia PVC found her way to my door, bearing more treats than tricks...
(Adult Content, 18+ Only)

Figure Title: Orchid Seed's 1/6 scale Comic Unreal Vol.2 Succubus Silvia
Character Name: Succubus Silvia (サキュバス・シルヴィア)
Original Character Designer: Nakayohi Mogudan
Sculptor:Yamachichi
Source Material: Comic Unreal Vol.2 (2006)
Scale: 1/6
Height: ≈22cm
Series: Comic Unreal CoverGAL
Base:
-Color:Clear
-Shape:Circular
-Features:Golden "Succubus Silvia" Text
Other: Tentacle Stool Attachment
Necessary Removable Parts n/a
Removable Parts/Accessories: n/a
Castoffability: n/a
Materials: PVC
Packaging: Windowed Box (Illustrated), 2 Plastic Interlocking Molds
Extras/Pack-ins: Backdrop Insert
Release Date: Early October, 2009
Manufacturing/Production: Orchid Seed
Distribution: Orchid Seed
Approximate Retail Price:≈87,00円
Current Availability: Relatively Available
Related PVCs:Orchid Seed's 1/6 scale Feane PVC

Foreword:

Formerly the subject of a figure preview, Silvia has graduated from potential to purchase and I'm quite happy with the transition. Some background on the who's and what's can be seen in the preview but I'll quickly reiterate for anyone who has their hands (or hand) occupied. Succubus Silvia derives from the cover of Comic Unreal, a monthly ero-manga anthology released by publisher Kill Time Communications. Since the anthology's maiden-issue in 2006, famous character designer and intermittent doujinshi author Nakayohi Mogudan has been gracing its facade with originally illustrated bakunyuu females of his trademark voluptuous variety. Actually from the second volume of Comic Unreal (seen above), Silvia's image has been rather well accepted in the past three years: gracing the cover of Unreal a second time (a rarity in the business), being portrayed in original illustrations, and giving way to other diabolical cover-girls under Mogudan's pen. While she hasn't gained the notoriety of some other succubi, Silvia has crossed the dimensional divide with help from sculptor Yamachichi (formerly of circle Heavy Gauge) and the king of mass market ero-figures Orchid Seed.

As mentioned in the preview, Succubus Silvia is the figure successor of Orchid Seed's 1/6 scale Female Swords-Woman Feane PVC released in March of 2008. Interestingly enough, Silvia conceptually predates Feane, who didn't achieve Unreal cover-girl status until April of 2007. But that didn't stop the sword-wielder from becoming the first Comic Unreal and Mogudan-designed PVC release in history. All differences aside, Feane and Silvia have more in common than you'd expect. Well, an original character designer and manufacturer are really the main items that top the list. Orchid Seed has decided to shift gears by recruiting a new, and venerable, sculptor for the second-coming of their Comic Unreal series. And with that, we transition into the review:

Sculpt:

When you ask yourself "Who would be the best sculptor to translate Mogudan's unique and recognizable designs into a figure?", there are only a handful of choices. Top on the list: Yamachichi (translating appropriately as "Mountain Breast"). One of the best craftsman of healthy bishoujo figures, Yamachichi has handled figures from Megahouse's Excellent Model Core Queen's Blade series to Orchid Seed's sultry Chichinoe with unparalleled skill. So when one of the best sculptors of buxom bishoujo figures takes to task molding a character from one of the best designers of bakunyuu, the result is a most profound and godly cohesion of expertise.

Needless to say at this point, Yamachichi did an excellent job preserving and realizing the intricacies of Silvia's design. Mogudan's females aren't exactly "physics friendly" but Silvia displays the believable anatomical balance and complete fidelity to the source material that Feane was missing. Inch for inch, this is what a Mogudan figure is supposed to look like. From the effective weight redistribution through the adjustment of posture that keeps Silvia fairly level (especially with those thunder-thighs) to the proportions of the head to breasts, breasts to hips, hips to thighs: it's all there.

Regarding the breasts (arguably the crux of Mogudan's design), they differ considerably from those featured in the original illustration. Or at least they appear to at face value. Two-dimensional Silvia's breasts appear more conservatively rounded whereas Yamachichi's approximation, from certain perspectives, depicts them as more angular. I'm resisting the inclination to call this a complete inaccuracy based on further analysis of the illustration.

The foundation for Yamachichi's portrayal of Silvia's breasts in such a way can be seen in the Unreal cover. Her left breast (most immediately, her left nipple) extends past her clothing in a fashion suggesting an overall shape closer to that of Yamachichi's sculpt, moving away from a perfect sphere to a more natural mammary shape. This is heightened by the obvious constriction of the breasts caused by Silvia's form-fitting one-piece, present in the figure and alluded to in the illustration. While Silvia's breasts may not be exactly as portrayed on Unreal's cover, they nonetheless capture Mogudan's general style and affinity for bakunyuu.

While Yamachichi's sculpt is fairly air-tight, there are a few inconsistencies (Silvia's right lock of hair falling on her lap instead of behind her thigh, the positioning of her tail etc.). But none that would do to negatively effect the sculpt's overall status as a masterful presentation of Mogudan design flair. It would be unyielding and borderline delusion to assert a sculptor must maintain complete adherence to an original illustration. A responsible translation across the dimensional gap is always the best foot forward and Silvia's sculpt achieves this through and through.

While Yamachichi may have overlooked or outright altered some details (most notably the two that were already mentioned), he does better to capture the little tidbits that went unchanged, highlighting them in a subtle but appreciable way. For instance, Silvia's bat brooch, the creases in her thigh-highs, the skeletal structure of her bat wings, the small runes on the belt-like article around her hips and rib cage, the buckles of her garter belt found under her thighs, the detailed notches on the bottoms of her shoes, and many more. Silvia is definitely a figure to be explored.

Production:

Orchid Seed's production is fairly hit or miss, or in some cases a luke-warm homogeny of the two. Thankfully, things went well with Silvia. There are no overbearing or conspicuous errors of any fashion. For the life of me, I couldn't find any bleeding or inadequacies of paint. Closer inspection revealed a couple splotches of dried adhesive and at least one or two anomalies that occurred during either casting or painting (probably the latter). Aside from the minor causalities, there's a single mold line running the length of Silvia's left buttocks, though its presence becomes null when she's properly displayed on her tentacle base. Though there are minuscule deficiencies (if they can really be called that) most are probably on a figure-to-figure basis and the result of painful scrutiny; none of which should detract your eye or wallet away from Silvia.

In the painting and coloration department, everyone graduates with honors. A rather drawn-out color-palette marked by warm reds and dark purples was decided for final production, designating Silvia with a uniform coloration containing minor variation in shadow and hue. Some other color-palettes were explored in e2046's Silvia recast but I much prefer Orchid Seed's take on the succubus queen: its very reminiscent of a subdued autumn (again tying into her release date's proximity to Halloween). There is some wonderful color gradation seen on the slopes and valleys of Silvia's hair as well as her stockings or thigh-highs. I would have liked to see more facial detail though, perhaps some blush (as seen in the original illustration) or unobtrusive line work to really draw out some features and make her face a tad more lively (Yes, I understand she's a demon and not "alive" blah blah blah, get over it).

Some of the same shading and gradation visible on Silvia's sculpt can also be seen on her tentacle base attachment. Really belonging more under the Sculpt category, the base attachment serves its purpose and not much else. It's imaginative (not to mention suggestive) and lets Silvia rest on a demonic stool instead of trying to defy gravity and sit on her hair as she appears to on the cover of Comic Unreal. There's a groove on the bottom of Silvia's left foot which is fitted to a prong protruding out of the tentacle base. This mechanism serves as the primary means of attaching her to the tentacle stool but has the tendency of failing, making Silvia a bit wobbly if she's not firmly connected.


At A Glance:

☺Faithful Mogudan sculpt, Yamachichi HEALTHY, highly erotic,

☹ Minor production anamolies, base attachment problems, not much else

Final Score:

5/5

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Tsundere Taiga Aisaka of Fall 2008's Toradora has crushed dojikko Yui Hirasawa in the finals of Saimoe 2009. Congratulations to Taiga and condolences to all those who didn't make it as far...

The news made its rounds early this morning as the final thread of Saimoe 2009 came to a deafening close. When all was said and done, Taiga rose from the ashes to become victress, topping Yui by a meager 54 votes and cementing her title as Saimoe championess for ages to come.

Lest we forget, it took much effort to arrive at this zenith. In the beginning, Mio Akiyama's premature and wholly unexpected defeat left K-ON! fans griping. No sooner had they comforted their loss than were they met with another scar when Tsumugi, Ui, and Ritsu were also stricken from the boards. Yui's almost messianic ascendancy lead her to the finals despite the state of her fallen tea-time comrades. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough to secure a win against Taiga, who had been silently pillaging her opponents until the finals when her true strength was made known.

Interestingly enough, every-single-Saki-character-lost. I had been rooting for Nodoka in the finals but the penultimate match between Taiga and her left me numb and bereft of where or if I should redirect my votes. I decided Taiga was the fitting vehicle in which to place my trust, having already defeated mai waifu. I hold no grudge though. Both Yui and Taiga's moe is palpable and either would have made a fitting championess. I'd like to thanks pKJD and moetron.com for the always excellent Saimoe coverage. Looking forward to 2010!

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Inspired by the actions of some other bloggers, I recently decided to purchase a tool kit for the purpose of organizing all those loose bits that just seem to pile up after a while...

Personally, I'm not a heavy-user of alternate parts. I appreciate both their inclusion in PVC releases and the incentive to customize a figure they foster but aside from those rather general endorsements, they just tend to take up space. Take, for example, my recent acquisition of Wave's 1/8 scale Nia Swimwear PVC. After deciding on a display plan suiting my taste (Alternate Long Hair with Gurren-Dan Beach Ball), I was left with multiple parts that simply couldn't be used to complement the figure (the very purpose of accessories). For anyone who purchases Figmas or other customization-intensive figures, this conundrum is a familiar one. Just what do you do with all those extra parts?

I suppose the simplest answer would be to just horde them. There might be a time when you decide to rearrange your set-up or experiment with swapping parts between figures. Thinking back, the latter of the two has helped me out on more than one occasion. I remember having difficulty applying the included glasses on Megahouse's 1/8 scale Cattleya PVC. For whatever reason, be it my unsteady hands or complete lack of grace, I couldn't get them to stay in place. It then dawned on me that I had an alternate pair of glasses from Kotobukiya's 2006 re-release of their 1/8 scale Yomiko Readman PVC. Yomiko's glasses were thicker (librarian etc.) but they fit Cattleya's head and didn't look out-of-place in doing it. Just a utilitarian example of what accessories can accomplish.

Until recent, though, I had been keeping extra parts in a Keroro Gunsou gashapon capsule about the size of a clenched fist. I knew it wasn't the best arrangement, making them prone to paint transfer and breakage, but I had little else to contain them. After seeing some fine examples of accessory organization from fellow Dannychoo.com members, a tool kit seemed so deceivingly logical that I jumped on the idea. After perusing through the various options at my local Target, I found a case for manageable $8. You can see how I compartmentalized various types of parts in the first picture of this post. For now, I'm quite happy with the set-up and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to de-clutter their collection. Keeping parts organized and separated has also lead me use them more often; both on their respective figure and otherwise.

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Making news this morning was the rather unexpected announcement of Azumanga Daioh's Sakaki and Osaka being granted a PVC combo release from industry fixture Kotobukiya...

The endowed kuudere Sakaki and simple kansai-tongued Osaka are being released under Kotobukiya's severely underdeveloped 4-Leaves LG series of "eternal heroines", or, as the "LG" denotes, "Legendary Girls". Most of the 12 bishoujo occupying the 4-Leaves series have come from well-received eroge (To Heart 2 and Shuffle! reserving the top spots) but with this Azumanga announcement the line has been opened up to the increasingly popular realm of 4koma. Sakaki and Osaka dawn their memorable swimsuits from the anime and manga's trips to Chiyo-chan's beach house, comprising a service-laden release...for Sakaki anyway. There's no definite reason as to why the figure community is being graced with these PVCs but I assume it has something to do with Azumanga Daioh's 10th anniversary. In celebration, Shogakukan and mangaka Kiyohiko Azuma re-released the first few tankoban of the series earlier this year; with over 60% of Azuma's original illustrations being touched up in his contemporary style. Though there was some commotion over that decision, I feel fans will definitely support Kotobukiya in this endeavor.


Azumanga Daioh has never received much love from figure manufacturers, Bandai releasing a series of trading figures in the early 2000's and Toy's Works following suit with a few (but highly prized) completed polystones. Besides those finite iterations, resin kits have been Azumanga's primary means of penetrating the figure scene since 1999. It comes as no surprise then that Kotobukiya's 1/7 scale Sakaki and Osaka are based on limited edition event-only resin kits first released around 2002. It's difficult to say whether sculptors Gen Ishiduka (Sakaki) and Tsukuru Shirahige (Osaka) were responsible for the creation of those 2002 kits but both are being respectively listed by most vendors as such. There's no doubt more will surface about these PVCs as their February 2010 release dates draw closer. For the time being though: internet high-five to Kotobukiya for making this happen.

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Gainax's neoclassical fan-favorite Gurren Lagann is fast approaching its 3 year air date anniversary but its figure releases aren't showing any sign of stagnation...

Figure Title: Wave's 1/8 scale Nia Swimwear DX Version PVC
Character Name: Nia Teppelin (ニア・テッペリン)
Original Character Designer: Atsushi Nishigori
Sculptor:YOSHI (Torepangu)
Source Material: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Scale: 1/8
Height: ≈ 170mm
Series: Wave Dream Tech Series
Base:
-Color: Light Sandy Brown
-Shape: Square
-Features: Artificial Sand Presentation
Necessary Removable Parts: n/a
Removable Parts/Accessories:
-Alternate Hair [short] (1),
-Alternate Hair [long](1),
-Dai-Gurren Dan Beach-ball(1)
-Flower Print Inner Tube(1)
Castoffability: n/a
Materials: PVC, ABS
Packaging: Windowed Box, 2 Plastic Interlocking Molds
Extras/Pack-ins: Illustrated Backdrop Insert
Release Date: Mid September, 2009
Manufacturing/Production: Wave Corporation
Distribution: Wave Corporation
Approximate Retail Price:≈6,000円
Current Availability: Largely Available
Related PVCs:Various Nia PVCs
Other: Normal Version equipped only with beach-ball

Foreword:

It suffices to say that if you haven't seen Gurren Lagann yet, even with all the available modern avenues making such a task evermore possible, you've been living underground (God willing, that will be the last pun). The most warmly received original series from Gainax since the earth shattering Evangelion some 10 years earlier, Gurren Lagann is a special mix of self-homage, super robot flair, and an involving narrative that only Hiroyuki Imaishi and the Gainax staff could achieve.


But, of course, no Gainax work of any stature would be complete without the female presence. All but nearly dissolving Rei and Asuka's firm grounding in the otaku mind, Yoko and Nia managed to cut a deep niche into the world of Gainax bishoujo by means of Gurren Lagann's perpetual popularity and their own unique charm. Some, including myself, have even postulated that Yoko might be transitioning into the figure world's "new Rei Ayanami". Ms. Ayanami was almost singlehandedly responsible for the figure boom following Eva's wake, an explosion that made mass-market PVCs feasible going into the late 90's and early 00's. Conjecture aside, Gurren Lagann has certainly taken over both the garage kit and PVC markets since 2007. But most of that love has been reserved for the buxom Yoko, despite Nia's stronger placement in the series' narrative and her own, albeit small, cult following. There have been a few Nia PVCs, notably Konami's (the first to be released) but certainly not to the extent or exposure we've seen from Yoko. Nia's been working to close that gap with a few EX prize figures from Sega and recently (drum roll) Wave's 1/8 scale Nia Swimsuit Version PVC, the tender subject of this review. So how does it stack up?

Sculpt:

Swimwear Nia is sculpted by YOSHI, a very talented individual responsible for many a strong figure, including Good Smile's 1/8 scale Miku Hatsune PVC previously reviewed. It's difficult to pin down how exactly YOSHI has improved his craft since then but its quite obvious that he has. First and foremost, in terms of sculpt, Nia is a very faithful translation from the original illustration (seen above) on which she's based. Details such as creases in her top and similar features on her buttocks are successfully communicated. While her posture was slightly inclined (reasonably to prevent leaning), her coquettishly-cocked hip and modestly contorted anatomy is fully fleshed out in YOSHI's sculpt. Especially strong are YOSHI's interpretation of her abdominals and pelvic girdle. For these reasons and more, the pose, though it seems demure or even unoriginal at face value, is rather nice. However, removing the beach-ball accessory makes Nia look slightly awkward, holding an invisible dumbbell or flexing her (lack of) biceps for a non-existent audience (Simon wouldn't even be interested). As a whole, the sculpt manages to embolden Nia's carefree and passionate demeanor, taking a snapshot of her youth before any Anti-Spiral developments and delivering some fan service at the same time.

Another lovely feature is Nia's hair. Since Gurren Lagann aired, I've always had a subtle attraction to Nia's glob of a mane. That attraction being my prime reason for purchasing the Deluxe version, which included both short and long hair pieces. Though during the story arc where the Dai-Gurren Dan actually visits the beach, Nia canonically has short hair, I couldn't resist. There's just something about it. Now that I'm done gushing, the removal and application of accessories (of which the DX version has supple amounts) is a fairly straight forward and streamlined process. Some may have a difficult time finding a place for the inner tube (seen here) but I've found that Nia's left hand can be removed from its glued position to her hip without compromising the sculpt. This is achieved because of a peg attached to Nia's thumb that actually fits inside of a groove found on her hip, making reattachment achievable with supple amounts of pressure. So its possible to have Nia holding the beach-ball in one hand with the inner tube tucked snugly under the other; though she looks a tad over-equipped.

It might be a point of surprise for some that this beach-ready iteration of Nia is actually the second of a series. The first figure featured being Wave's 1/8 Yoko Swimwear Version PVC, released almost 10 months ago. She was Wave's second shot at a Yoko figure and an object of contention for me. Mainly because she had been altered from YOSHI's original sculpt not once but twice, each revamp reducing the final product to less than satisfactory. The devolution of Wave's Yoko sculpt can be seen in steps (1), (2) and (3). It joys me to no end, then, that the second release of the Swimwear series is without any major deviation from the decoration master. I say "major" because the Dai-Gurren Dan Beach-ball accessory was made transparent for the PVC release, achieving a greater level of fidelity to the original illustration and a positive note in my book. I can't be certain of what went on behind the scenes regarding Swimwear Yoko, but I'm certain YOSHI was not brimming with enthusiasm about the alterations made to his sculpt. Possible reason as to why Nia turned out as well as she did in that department.

Production:

Not much to elaborate on for manufacturing and production quality. Painting is well kempt, borders respected, and errors kept to a finite minimum. There are about 2 or 3 visible mold lines, the most prominent of which runs the length of Nia's left thigh. It isn't so noticeable as to redirect attention from other more worthy aspects but it is present and, with the right (or more accurately: wrong) light, its existence is evident. Despite this, there are no prominent defects in production that will take away from your enjoyment of YOSHI's sculpt and Nia's lovable character.

If anything can be said in a negative direction, it would likely be the rather dull coloration of some of Nia's features, especially her hair. While it isn't exactly pitch-black, compared to the original illustration, a darker blue and heavier creme is used for her luscious locks. Calling this minor deviation anything more than just that, a minor deviation, isn't recommended. I'm just trying desperately to find something overtly "wrong" with Wave's production. Going on a limb, I'd would have liked to see more artificial shading or variation in coloring from one part of the sculpt to the next, something to add a little more depth. Shading can be seen in the decoration master but its understandable that such fine details were left out of the final release; otherwise Nia may have been $20 more. There's really no point in addressing aspects of paint that are more wish than reality so I'll forgo any critique on the "would-be's". Overall, a respectable job but nothing so distinct as to cause thousands of light users to drop $60 for the DX version; unless they have a thing for Nia's hair...

At a Glance:

☺Limited number of Nia PVCs, faithful YOSHI sculpt, plenty of accessories

☹ Mold lines, rather lackluster color, you're probably in the Yoko camp

Final Score:

4.5/5

Alternate hair pieces and beach accessories

Nia, post mortem

Nia in Follicular Unit Transplantation

Canonically accurate Nia

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I've never been a big fan of Google's Chrome web browser but some recent aesthetic developments have begun to mitigate my browser apathy...

Now, there are individuals far more active and knowledgeable in the browser game than myself, most of which can undoubtedly argue in either favor or disdain of Google's fairly recent attempt to relinquish Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer's unyielding grip on the world's browsing habits. When Chrome was first released some years ago, I had little reason to convert from Firefox and, because of that, didn't contribute to the discourse. And with the new and improved Firefox 3 finding its way onto my hard drive relatively soon thereafter, a double take wasn't even in question.

Until yesterday. Google, in their infernal goal to create the most powerful beast on the internet, released some themes (yes, THEMES) for their browser brainchild. Back in the day, I remember AOL's similar haphazard attempt to foster a sense of individuality in their users by providing the ability to have a friendly little sunset greet you with every launch of the program. So I wasn't exactly looking forward to Chrome's 50 Cent and Puppy Dog facades to plaster on my only window of escape from society's proliferation of...50 cent and puppies. But apparently, Google knows their stuff (being the largest public search engine, they tend to do that).

They've included a collection of Chrome themes from enigmatically labeled "artists", some of whom centered their contributions on otaku pursuits. A K-ON! theme, Miku Hatsune theme, Bayonetta theme, and Good Smile Company Nendoroid theme were all made available for the most recent version of the Chrome Browser and can be seen here. All of these series are expectedly mainstream but their inclusion opens the door to more otaku approved themes in the future, a prospect we can all warm-up to. So, for the time being, I've learned to embrace my tool status as a Chrome user. Maybe you can find it in your heart to do the same.

Update (October 9th, 2009):Danny Choo, through his innumerable industry connections, has posted an article detailing what exactly went on behind the scenes of these new Google Chrome themes. His post can be found here

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