At long last the other heroine of Nitro+’s 2005 smash hit eroge Jingai Makyou makes her figure debut! Those left cold by Ignis may well thrill to the delicate features and small frame of Kaze no Ushiro wo Ayumu Mono (yes, that’s her name), but does Solid Theater’s rendition do her justice? This kit has gone a long way toward making me a Kaze fan, but you be the judge…
Original Design: Niθ
Sculptor: Toda Satoshi (Yume no Kagutsuchino Koukoku) (original kit)
Source: Jingai Makyou (eroge)
Scale: 1/10 (13.5 cm tall)
Materials: PVC
Release Date: April 17th, 2007
Production: Goodsmile, under the Solid Theater brand
Price: 4,500 JPY (tax included)
Current Availability: Hobby Link Japan (preorder)
Translated quite lyrically as “she who walks behind the wind”, I’m tempted to attribute the lesser popularity of Kaze no Ushiro wo Ayumu Mono vis a vis her Jingai Makyou costar Ignis to her long and unwieldy name. While I still prefer the fiery katana-wielding redhead, Kaze’s charms don’t fall on blind eyes either, so I’m happy to see her finally come into her own in both this splendid kit from Solid Theater and Alter’s subsequent May offering.
The Good
- The character faces in some of Toda Satoshi’s other work have a wizened, shriveled look around the mouth area, like an octogenarian’s decrepit bone structure covered by a young girl’s skin. Thankfully this sculpt manages to avoid that sucking wound, instead giving Kaze’s face an elfin look that while not present in her original design is quite appropriate for her character, in my opinion.
- Toda excels at the art of the finely detailed small scale sculpt, and Goodsmile’s production value really shows through in their faithful rendering of minute details that make the kit look great even from extreme close angles. Being able to achieve this sort of impact with a kit of this size is a testament to their superior level of craftsmanship.
The Adequate
- I hate to bring up the size issue after just extolling the virtues of the kit’s quality at this small a scale, but the fact is that in the realm of figures bigger is almost always better, all else being equal. Poor Kaze looks dwarfed by the gang of Ignii surrounding her, and I’d love to see the even greater level of detail they could’ve crammed in if this kit had been at 1/8 or 1/7 instead of 1/10.
- The pose. It’s a great way to present the just barely ero side of the kit, and there are so many fetish points to gush over it’s hard to declare merely average, but if there’s anything this kit could benefit from it would be a more assertive, dynamic pose.
The Ugly
- The shambles my willpower was left in after succumbing to the preorder lure of this kit. Thus far I’ve managed to hold off on Alter’s offering, and I’m hoping to keep it that way… I like you, Kaze, but you’re no Ignis. Maybe if you’d put on a wedding dress at some point in the game things would be different…
Overall Score: 9/10
Docked a bit for the small scale and somewhat nonsensical pose (why are your pants half-off in the middle of a field, Kaze-chan?), this kit is otherwise close to flawless. A fine addition to the collection of fans of Jingai Makyou and/or small-chested ramen eating demon girls everywhere!
That was a nice review, I enjoyed reading it and browsing through the pics…Though, I couldn’t help but notice the 15 or so butt shots, lol! Definitely the highlight of this figure… ^_^
I hear a lot about the Jingai Makyou game, but most are simply comments about how great Ignis’ design is, but how horrible the game is.
Can anyone offer a genuine review or synopsis of the game?
>>L.C
The folks over at Akiba Blog are saying the same. Oshiri banzai!
>>AcroRay
I’m still planning to do a full review of Jingai Makyou (nearly two years after its release… orz) but for now I can point you to two relevant posts: one made after completing the first part of the game, and the other after finishing the Ignis arc (neither contain major spoilers, but are probably best avoided if you do intend to play the game at some point).
I wouldn’t go as far as “horrible” in a description of Jingai Makyou. Its production value and design quality certainly surpass the plot, and it’s a wannabe epic in the same way that the Star Wars prequels and Matrix sequels were, but Ignis is hot, and her theme music kicks ass, and for that many faults may be forgiven.
I’ll check those links, Thanks!
Do you have a review of Muv Luv Alternative, yet?
;-) (The game that makes grown men weep…)
Love all the bottom shots ^^;
>>AcroRay
Despite the hotness that is Muv Luv Alternative I’ll probably never touch it… Kiminozo TV gave me all the exposure to the “serious” side of Age that I’ll probably want for a lifetime. :(
>>Danny Choo
They all came out with slightly different white balances, and I couldn’t choose which was the best… this ham-fisted style of figure reviews isn’t exactly pretty, but I think it gets the point across well enough. :3
Nice review and thanks for the shots :3
Can’t wait to get mine, damn HLJ, please ship it already.
And I can agree, whilst the game isn’t the best out there, it isn’t as horrible as some would say. And if it wasn’t trying to go for the epic-wnb, I don’t know what they could have made it strive for.
Though when put against Gekkou no Carnevale, it pales in comparison in my eyes. But nevertheless enjoyable game. And Niθ has always marveled on the aural side on my map.