Yamada Ayumi Creators' Labo #007

Iron Maiden Ayu, the hot headed heartbreak heroine of Hachimitsu to Kurova sits in sweet serenity in a piece from Yamoto’s Creators’ Labo.
Ayumi is a mighty marvel of the arts and by virtue of her latent crafting genius, she holds legendary status among the pottery department alumni. The fragile elegance of her works and the delicacy of a porcelain feminine façade, however, belie a ferocious spirit. Cross Yamada and you are in for a world of pain.

The tragedy of Ayu’s character spurs from fatal flaw in the composition of her emotions. The unrequited affections she harbours for her laconic love interest Mayama shatters the hopes of her youth on the jagged points of a love triangle.
This is the world of Hachimitsu to Kurova, a whimsical portrait that paints in pastel hues the most painfully profound elements that move and make the human heart.

As a sweet ocean siren, Ayu is quite irresistible in this unique treasure. She is a refreshing dip into a sea of change for my figure collection.
The fairytale motif is cupcake cute whilst evoking memories of misfortune as told in Hans Christian Anderson’s most famous misadventures of a mermaid. The melancholy maiden blushes like the pale pink heart of an empty conch shell abandoned on the shore.
As for quality, the figure falls foul of Yamato’s production shortcomings. The sweetness of the pastel palette is soured by a messy painted finish that mars the promise of the smooth preorder promos. The piece is still charming and her petit stature helps to conceal the more problematic elements of her facial sculpt.

The kitsch cuteness of this nostalgic figure would be better served cast in china with a glassy glaze like collectable trinkets of my childhood, though the product of Yamato’s efforts still suffice to tempt me to their treasure chest.

Kazami Mizuho Space Suit (Custom painted)

Wide eyed in her shiny space suit, Yamato’s Kazami Mizuho-Sensei the displays undulating curves of her nice body in a delightfully inquisitive pose.
From the press releases, reviews and photos I was charmed into placing an order for this fabled resin beauty. As an Onegai model fanatic, I figured what could possibly go wrong? Unfortunately, the answer in this case was A LOT.
The casting was ugly, unsatisfactorily heavy and unrefined but worst of all, Mizuho’s fine form had be tarnished with the most inelegant, slapdash paint job (on an expensive model) that I had ever had the misfortune to see and the insult to acquire. The transfers were positioned incorrectly on her eyes and had been applied to bare unpainted resin. Needless to say this was a big disappointment and thus she was relegated to a shelf out of site until the day she met with an accident in which she suffered a broken leg and ankle.
Not to be beaten, the incident impelled me to right at least some of the wrongs, for she was no longer a piece with any potential for resale and if we were going to live together, she needed a serious makeover.
I have no record of her old look but here she has the completely new eyes – a design in which I aimed to combine the look of the original Yamato press photos with character illustrations for the anime. For me the eyes can make or break the beauty of figure, having particular significance as a key visual drawing point. Indeed, an integral aspect of Mizuho’s character design is expressed via those glossy violet orbs; it’s what makes her so moe behind the spectacles.
The alterations I rendered are by no means perfect but it has managed to open a connection to this model that had previously been closed to me. Now she speaks more of that irresistible charm and innocence, her eyes no longer jar but draw me into the sweet innocence of her alien naivety.
Sensei is now very special to me and I can appreciate her for every slick line as she crawls across my bookshelves and bed sheets.

Minawa

This is a classic piece featuring the meek Minawa-chan of the Gainax series Mahoromatic Motto Utsukushii Mono. I have a weakness for maids and the sweetness and vulnerability of her character is perfectly accentuated in this sculpt by her pose and bare feet.
Released in 2004, the model is produced by Yamato, not a company I buy from generally but Minawa really has a lasting appeal. The casting and paintwork is simple but excellent (yes, with visible panties on her underside) and true to design, her hair features a nice suble airbrushed gradient. I happen to be very fond of the Mahoro maid uniforms and though the colour works better as a counterpart to her Onee-chan, Minawa sits by my monitor as a perfect companion to a pot of morning tea.