Monday, December 26, 2011

Review: [Good Smile Company] Nendoroid 141 Youmu Konpaku


Figure Information
Manufacturer: Good Smile Company
Origin Series: Touhou Project
Scale: Non-Scale
Height: Approximately 10cm tall
Original Price: 3,000 Yen

Figure Box:

Pretty similar to all nendo packaging, Youmu comes with approximately the same dimensions as that of your common nendo box. Similarly designed to her master's packaging (and she was actually released first), her box is colored in light green and instead of the sakura petals that Yuyuko bears in her box design, Youmu has the spirit symbols instead, which we can find (and see later on) on her outfit. Again, I'm not much a fan of boxes but hey, their pretty much fun to discuss (and sometimes criticize or praise) during reviews. But that's about it and let's proceed with the main dish, the figure itself!



Figure Details:

Youmu comes in a fine nendoroid representation; capturing her simple yet adorable green and white outfit down to the buttons, bow tie and her trademark spitit symbols who looks like her ghost half, Myon, actually. XD

Of course, there's also her two katanas plugged on her back and even the sheaths themselves actually differ in detail as well as the handle with one having the feather/fur/brush/whatever it is detail at the tip. XD

The choices of colors aren't something that totally amazed me but they are indeed spot on as well; if there's something I would nitpick on Youmu, it's to be her hair actually since GSC made it in a way that it looks like her hair is being blown by the wind and there aren't any other hairpiece available but still, like I said it's only nitpicking XD since I'm definitely sure Youmu's hair isn't always like that (correct me if I'm wrong though).



Of course, no Youmu is complete without her ghost half, Myon, and this nendo definitely comes along with it. Myon is made up of a bulk of clear plastic although unlike Yuyuko's spirit, I am not sure if Myon also glows in the dark.



Accessories:

Basically Youmu comes with a stand, like you've seen above, two types of sheathed katana with the brush-like material, and also a sheathed version of her other katana as well as the actual katanas themselves. Myon serves as her accessory if you want to put it at that; there are also a bunch of extra arms which can be used for dynamic poses (to be discussed later on) and what not.

Lastly, she comes with a two additional face plates; a serious one and an embarrassed/angry one which can be perfect for the anger nerve decals that comes with her (and I cannot use it since this special review of Youmu means it is not mine XD)



Now the reason why there are two types of the one of the katanas' sheathed version is because the other has a hole in it which you can insert onto the other's peg before attaching it to Youmu's back so that GSC can recreate her double sheath at the back perfectly. Also note that these sheathed versions have removable handles which can greatly help Youmu in making dynamic poses.



Lastly, her base is identical to Yuyuko's just in a different color however she use a rather old (and distasteful) clamp and a stand with a ball tip which can hold Myon.



Articulation:

Possessing the same types of joints as most nendos (nendo joints on the neck and hips and shoulder/waist swivels) Youmu is pretty much your average nendo in the general articulation BUT there's a catch to it, her base.



While having the very ability to be posed dynamically thanks to her arms and complimentary face, the stand just ruins the wonders of Youmu, basically, whenever you put Myon around (and which I did the entire shoot of this figure) Youmu's movement becomes soooo restricted and whenever you try to have her in a slashing or attacking pose, her lower half would always look pretty awkward because of the clamp and once she isn't properly supported by the old clamp, you won't be able to make her do mid air stuff.

So, ridiculously, it was her base that ruined the articulation factor. Not to mention that her sheath's peg is pretty darn thin it becomes a scary thought to do a wrong move as it might snap off without proper care.
But again, if Myon proves too much of an annoyance, you can always get it out of the picture to enjoy a more decent play level.





Final Thoughts:

Had GSC used a stand similar to Yuyuko's or Cirno's or even made a different and more poseability friendly one since Myon is included, then Youmu would've been such a decent nendo as a stand alone. But still, again if you have Yuyuko, then better get Youmu for sure however, if you're not affected by it, I guess, I leave the choice to you since I really have mixed opinions on nendo Youmu. And that's about it, many thanks to my dear, homerunchan, for making this review possible. ^^



Rating (Out of 10)
Details 9.5
Accessories10
Articulation7.5
Price 9
Overall:9

No comments:

Post a Comment