Blanc Neige 1/8 (Kotobukiya) review
By James. Filed in Figures Reviews |
Review under the cut
Here’s the most awaited figure of september , the ice cold Blanc Neige from the Shining Wind videogame (and anime) . She stands at a good 20 cm and 1/8 scale . Is she as good as the proto ? Was the wait worth it ? Not too sure about that …
Kotobukiya teased us with some great proto shots of Blanc Neige , and her eyes was so detailed and she had an awesome expression on the face , that alone made all the preorders close fastly , it was THE figure to buy in september . But now that she’s out , first thing we can see is that the face is NOT as good as the proto … usually it’s not a big deal , as a lots of retails versions are not as good as promised … but this time it’s different , because the face IS the ONLY great part of this figure … and yes Kotobukiya did it again , the painting and finish on the whole figure is not as good as their last works (Suzu , Nono , Dead or Alive and even Rin) … It feels like it’s the same work that we were getting from Koto one year and a half ago …
Her mantel or cape is not really great too , it just looks so fake , i don’t like it at all , that’s why i didn’t take lots of pics with it on her . Her dress looks ok but i don’t really like the general look of it , it feels simple , maybe i just expected more , i don’t know … The hair is nicely painted , with a silver glossy look , it’s nice . Her rod is not really awesome , i believe they could’ve done better with it …
So is it all that bad ? No , because the face , even if it’s less good than the proto shots , is looking great . She just looks awesome in any angle and she’s a lots of fun taking pics of . Still , if we compare her with the Max Factory swimsuit version , it’s a totally another league …. even the eyes …
But it’s not a bad looking figure , fans of the games or the character should buy her , but if you’re considering buying her on impulse , you should go take a look at her at a shop to help you decide . There’s hope to see a Max Factory version later so maybe it can be wise to wait .
I’m pretty sure i’ll be the only one making a kinda bad review of her but even if it sound like i hate her , it’s not the case , i do like her but i expected more from Kotobukiya … They can (and they did lately) do lots better . Now for the pics :
The leek and the golf club are NOT given with the figure :p
Next review : Kimidori Emiri Bunny Version 
Popularity: 7% [?]
Saturday, September 20th 2008 at 9:22 pm |
Seems like a lot of people have this figurine. And why not? It’s awesome
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Saturday, September 20th 2008 at 9:25 pm |
You write more than usual in this post ^^; I can see how frustrated you have with this figure. Maybe I will be too when I got mine; I pre-ordered a US version; it is 10 to 15 dollars cheaper, so probably not as frustrated as you ^^;
I think she will be good for your Girls and Flower series.
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Saturday, September 20th 2008 at 10:16 pm |
@ marcus kun : yes lots of people ^^ i hope they’re not going to be disapointed
@ Lsio : i wrote more because usually when the figure is good , you don’t need to write much , but seeing lots of people buying her , i though it would be nice to do an actual review , this way people won’t be disapointed getting her
. And good idea , maybe i’ll do a pic in a field of leeks or something :p
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Sunday, September 21st 2008 at 12:04 am |
For a moment, I thought she play golf in the game or anime somewhere. lol
Lovely shoot. I really liked the purple background. Fits perfectly for the shoot. I’m kinda not surprised with ur disappointment with her because that’s pretty much the case from the comments I’ve heard elsewhere.
Overall, I find the figure not bad if the face is well done.
Looking forward to ur Kimidori Emiri review. I waiting for a review on her before I make the jump. U could make me get my first bunny. xD
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Sunday, September 21st 2008 at 12:41 am |
as always i love your photo’s, even if you dont like the product you’ve still dont a great job.
I think she looks okay, but thats probably just your photo’s that make her look good.
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Sunday, September 21st 2008 at 2:24 am |
ya know, after seeing your leek pic the other day, I almost bought some at the supermarket today with the intention of walking around shaking it at people. luckily i refrained. ^^;
man, now i kind want to buy blanc just to display her with leek in hand ^_^;
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Sunday, September 21st 2008 at 4:38 am |
I has her on preorder. She is my waifu! How can I not get her Wind outfit? Despite the “poor” quality that Koto is showing. I mean, I had Yamato’s Ringo. Of the recent figures, none is more controversial than that one. I can certainly live with Blanc Neige, and hope for a MF/Alter version.
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Sunday, September 21st 2008 at 6:20 am |
After looking at this, I would stillto get her!!!
Koto is koto. It’s basically their style of finsihing figures and painting them…
The photos you did are really cool!!!!!!
Still, would get the Max Factory one too!!!
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Sunday, September 21st 2008 at 3:39 pm |
Got mine yesterday. Even if the face looks different, I like it.
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Sunday, September 21st 2008 at 9:37 pm |
@ optic :LOL no the golf club is not hers :p
the face on the retail version of Emiri seems off compared to the proto … wait and see i guess ^^
@ Kate : thanks you
. She is fine , i’m hard with her but i like to do “real” reviews so i say the bad things too ^^
@ meronpan : please go buy some leeks and take pics of you doing that ! can be funny :p
@ Panther : like you say , it’s not that bad , i just expected more . I’m sure you’ll be happy with her
@ Rin : maybe Koto is Koto but they did an AWESOME job on the Suzu and Nono so i can’t accept that
. and thank you 
@ super rats : can’t wait to see your pics of her !
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Sunday, September 21st 2008 at 9:40 pm |
I actually think that shes a nice figure.Sure shes nothing spectacular like a GSC/Alter Neige would have been but i tend to like the “flawier” figures more.
She could have been better but im fine with this ^_^
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Monday, September 22nd 2008 at 1:41 am |
Man, after see your pics made me drool, lol! Anyway, your shots is awesome as always.
Maybe, I will borrow some of your shots to sketch… just may be ^^”
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Monday, September 22nd 2008 at 4:51 pm |
She’s really pretty and your shots are great but this was one that really made me hesitate as I have the very same issues with Koto! They can be such a gamble but then it’s so frustrating to miss a totally legendary piece!!! I love her outfit and wand, though I’m also liking the leek in her accessory collection ^o^
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Monday, September 22nd 2008 at 8:31 pm |
I lol’d at the golf club and leek, it took me a while to figure it out >_>
Otherwise to that, nice shoot; you’ve given us quite a nice look at the figure. I kinda see what you mean with the cape, but the expression looks good if you ask me: I didn’t preorder this one on account of being unfamiliar with Shining Wind, but it looks like it would be a worthy purchase.
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Tuesday, September 23rd 2008 at 6:04 am |
IMO, she’s the best blanc neige figurine, one thing that made me didn’t preorder this figurine is because it’s made by kotobukiya… have to see the retail review first before purchased :p
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Tuesday, September 23rd 2008 at 10:17 pm |
@ Blowfish : i know you prefer less know figures and that’s a good thing
@ Ryo : thanks so much
@ Priss : your comments always goes to spam , don’t know why :’( . yes it’s sad that Koto do sometimes great and sometimes less great figures
and yes the leek is the best accessory for her ! and thanks 
@ ETERNAL : the expression does look good , it’s just less good than the proto , but still fine i guess
@ ron : i prefer the Max Fact one , for the size and the swimsuit :p . and yes it’s always nice to see the reviews before buying , problem for me is , i’m the one who’s making the review lol ^^
Thank you all
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Friday, September 26th 2008 at 5:57 pm |
lol first the leek, and now a golf club!
Took me some time to find a prototype for comparison, but I can now understand the feeling after seeing much expectations from the prototype. Despite the drawbacks, it’s still a good looking figure.
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Sunday, September 28th 2008 at 10:28 pm |
One of the nicest figures of this year. It’s hard to decide whether to keep the cape or to remove it, either one is ok. As always kotobukiya does a great job but they’re still behind Alter and GSC in terms of hair paint, they still need to evolve in that area, but in this figure that fact it’s a grain in a sea of sand .
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Monday, September 29th 2008 at 9:44 am |
@ Q : yes , still good and yes she loves golf :p
@ Belela-san : i still believe they can do better than that ^^
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Friday, October 3rd 2008 at 10:55 am |
LOLZ on the golf club accessory! XD
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Monday, October 6th 2008 at 10:34 am |
@ Jaydead : yes she loves playing golf ^^
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Monday, October 13th 2008 at 6:45 pm |
My preorder arrived like 2 weeks ago ^^. Hope I can do photo shoot soon
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