Alrighty, so I found this on Monkey Depot and she arrived today.
I am going to call this review: I coulda, probably shoulda, but obviously didn't.
Lets start with the background:
As has been mentioned before, this is a character from the Dead or Alive (DOA) video game franchise, specifically of the character Honoka, who debuted back in the 5th installment of the series. The series, as I am sure more than a few of you know, is split into the fighting game main series (which is where this character debuted) and into the volleyball spin off. This iteration is obviously from the latter, and it is clearly not officially licensed, however not subtle it may be to what/who it is. Here is more than anyone would ever need to know about Honoka: https://deadoralive.fandom.com/wiki/Honoka
A little background, but I first played the series way back in the days of original xbox and of the Sega Dreamcast (RIP). It has been my fav fighting game ever since. There has been very little merch, shockingly, that has been officially licensed, however shocking or not shocking that may be. At least by comparison of the other fighting game IPs, like Street Fighter (to be fair, that is the king of this genre in so many ways) and King of Fighters (which I also obviously really like from my other posts). I have also been working on my own custom of my favorite character from DOA, Kasumi, which is going quite well (there will be a major update post on that in the coming months, as there is a dio involved now). So when I see something like this, I am more than a little intrigued to see how it turns out.
However, I am torn with this figure. On one hand, it is exactly what you expect, and honestly is not a bad figure. On the other, as a fan of the series, yeah, I am not exactly thrilled (even if Honoka is not in my top 5).
Physical attributes:
Height: Approx 266-270mm (if you do the thing with the hips to lower the body. It is right around the s38 in height)
Bust: 150mm (which is positively comical when you look at this body because the...)
Waist: 86mm (waist is SUPER tiny. Good grief it is tiny)
Hips: 134mm (at least this is semi-normal, though still fairly tiny)
The neck/wrist/foot pegs are all for the smaller neck adapters/hands/feet. Think S34 connection.
Accessories:
Good amount of hands, all of which seem to have the finger nails painted, and quite nicely. It is a nice touch honestly.
A volleyball, which is also pretty cool. Roughing it up with some light sanding would likely do more for wear and tear than a wash IMO, but that depends on display choices.
Three total outfits:
- A white, string bikini. Leaves little to the imagination as one would expect.
- A blue and white bikini top and bottom, with short jean shorts.
- The grey "denim" skirt/shorts with a black belt, and a little cow pendant thing (which is adorable and very in character) and a white/green-ish yellow shirt with a cow face that says "milk" under the face. While the cow is adorable as heck, the milk is not what I would define as "subtle." There is also probably the softest pair of stockings I have felt on a 1/6th scale figure with bows attached and some peg in white/black healed shoes.
All outfits are decent quality overall, though there are some issues:
- The bows on the stockings come off very easily. Fabric tape will fix it, but it's annoying.
- The grey skirt/shorts thing is not the best fitting thing.
- The cow shirt is, as one video on youtube put it, practically bolted on. It lives up to that description. It will come off, but it won't like it.
- The shoes are, well, trash (at least on mine). A heat gun helped, but you get ZERO articulation out of it.
Speaking of articulation:
- I am pretty sure this is a variation of the anime body, the S36 and 37. It is in that vein.
- Typical TBL movement and quality, but the arms on mine are, like with my S34, not good. The movement is stiff, and it will break if I am not careful.
- Legs and waist and neck move great, but those arms...
Head sculpt:
- MUCH better as we have seen compared to the promos.
- Has the right hair color, and the right hair accessory.
- The head that looks like it is in pain for a very inappropriate reason is completely needless and I would actually be happier without it being part of the set.
- The eyes, perhaps just on mine, are not that great. Wrong eye color, and the actual whites of the eyes seems to be a medium to medium dark grey, which doesn't work at all.
- If I had no idea who Honoka was, I would be happy with it (quirks aside). But it is NOT Honoka in any real sense. Someone cosplaying Honoka would be more accurate.
- Combine this with the physical attributes being too dang small (yes, I said small), and the cosplay comment makes it a better figure.
Misc:
- In physical appearance, she is also too small to be Honoka.
- Height is actually a bit too tall, but Honoka is shockingly curvy all things considered, and this body is, well, not.
- It does not do her aesthetic any real favors.
My conclusion then is that I am torn. I should have waited to buy things parted out, been responsible, but I wanted it and had the money to get it. I am not unhappy, but I am not overjoyed. For what it is, it is a good figure, and one I will find a spot to display. I also hope they make some other characters.
However, as a fan of the series, it is disappointing. I really want to just smack the owners of the IP for not cashing in on things with actual licensed product. I would be over the moon if the characters got the treatment that Genesis has given to the KOF characters! But alas, I will stick to making them myself, in a higher quality than this. Overall, I would say get it if you want it, probably a 7/10 for me.