Takako Kinoshita Tropical Version

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

When I saw this Takako Kinoshita Tropical Version on the web, I was stunned.  I loved the pose.  I immediately wanted to get it & pre-ordered it from YesAsia.  And I made the right choice in pre-ordering it as become sold out in many places; making the product difficult to find at the time.  Currently, enterbrain has no plans in re-releasing this PVC figurine again.

This may be a temporary review since I still have Takako inside the box.

Some of the pictures aren't clear & good.  If I have time, I'll redo the bad ones & repost them.

The Review

Takako Kinoshita Tropical Version Box

The box looks like the Pia Carrot Menus.  Another thing to note is that it's quite wide, mainly because of Takako's pose.  On the back of the box, you will find something interesting.  The PVC figurine is made by Wave cooperation.  Seeing that, I was concern about the product since Wave's PVC figurines are usually lower priced than most other major manufacturers such as Kaiyodo & Kotobukiya.  So, I immediately thought about low quality.  However, it doesn't seem to be the case here based on what I have seen.

Takako inside the box

It's basically a box window with a flip cover.  A book-style box if you will.  I guess enterbrain wanted to make it look like a menu & show you the "main dish".  It's a nice packaging design & marketing idea really even though it's an old principle done with other types of products in the past.  But nice presentation at least.

When you pull Takako out of the box, you basically need to attach her to the custom base that included.  The base is quite nice really.  Round & white with the Pia Carrot trademark logo on it.  Plus, it's a platform style base which makes it more beautiful.  Another thing about Takako is that you can remove her shorts & reveal her panties.  However, I have no interest in doing that.

Looking at the details with Takako inside the box, it isn't too bad.  I have pull her out of the box before since the box wasn't taped (usually the case since Japanese manufacturers actually don't tape boxes when they leave the factories).  Looking at it physically, it's not too bad either.  But, let's go with the "inside the box" impression since she's not out of the box due to limited space on my shelves.

The paint job is well done.  Hardly any bleeds whatsoever.  Very tight, especially on the small & difficult areas.  The etching job on the Pia Carrot button is pretty bad though.  The words are quite thin & looks like it's going to fade out.  The choice of colours are well-matched to the tropical theme.  Bold & bright.  Even the gold paint is beautiful on the buttons & rings.  It looks real.  If I remember correctly, the rings do move a bit.  But I didn't like about the colours was Takako's hair.  It's a very dark purple.  It's almost fake & gives the figurine a feeling that it's more of a toy.

For the molding, it's not bad.  Pretty smooth really.  But Takako's hands look a bit chubby on the ball of her hand.  Observe the pic above where Takako holds the dress.  Her hand looks not only chubby, but also small.  It's the fingers that give it that appearance.

Although the smile is gentle & somewhat heavenly, Takako's face is something that I'm not accustomed to.  It's probably because I'm too used to Kotobukiya's designs.  Her face here is mature & somewhat older.  I guess you can say it matches her age.  But it doesn't match that silly personal characteristic that she has.  However, the etching job is pretty good.  The eyes & red lips are pretty clean.  For me, the face isn't appealing to me.  But it may be ideal for some people.

Overall Conclusion

The Takako Kinoshita Tropical Version PVC figurine is pretty good in terms of the pose.  That's the reason I brought this figurine.  It also possesses some good workmanship in the painting & molding departments.  However, I wasn't too happy about her face & the dark purple colour of her hair.  At the time of writing this review, Takako is still in the box & was only taken out once for examination.

On a scale of ten, I would rate Takako Kinoshita an eight.  The reason behind this score is its stunning details & pose.  The lost points were basically my preference of not liking the dark purple hair colour & the face of Takako.  Plus, I purposely made it lose some points due to unknown knowledge of how well & stable the figurine is.  Although I think it's pretty good when I pulled her out of the box once, it's unknown how well she stands on the base & if she tips or not.

Currently, I have never seen Takako for sale in any stores for a long time now.  The last time I saw one was from eBay for a price a little below the retail mark & it's brand new.  Although I would suggest getting this, I think it would be better to get something else that has a larger scale.  The suggested retail price could get you a 1/7 or 1/6 PVC figurine instead.  It's quite pricey for a 1/8 scale figurine.  If you can find it much cheaper, like 20% the suggested retail price, I would suggest grabbing it.

Photos were taken using Sony DSC-F828 digital still camera.

Last updated on April 11, 2008