This one has me pretty excited: Getchu posted a listing last night for what Toys Works is calling a Gaku-ran version Haruhi PVC figure (from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, of course). Running down the specs it seems she’s 1/8 scale, 19 cm tall and comes with removable jacket (and skirt?). While by and large I haven’t bought into Haruhi figure mania I was immediately attracted by this kit due to the great dynamic balance of the sculpt and original take on Itou Noiji‘s design; the reason for this was revealed when I noticed sculpting duty is being handled by Katagiri Katsuhiro of Vispo, one of my all time favorite sculptors. This will be a definite purchase for me when she comes out in September, though I’m sure opinions will differ; definition of “gaku-ran” and kit pictures follow:
Edit: it seems Hobby Stock posted the figure last night as well, and their gallery images are slightly larger than mine.
I was puzzling over the meaning of “gaku-ran” until I Googled it to find that it refers to the style of jacket she’s wearing, one based on the high-necked uniforms of Westerners who began to appear in Japan in the late 1800’s, especially those from Holland (oRANda), the designs of which were adopted by schools for their students (GAKUsei) to wear. As slang it’s a bit dated, associated with manga such as Bebop High School (Japanese Wikipedia) and no longer widely used.
While I absolutely love the concept and the pose, the face just doesn’t quite look like Haruhi. I don’t know if it’s the eyes or the smirk, but something just feels “off” to me.
In regards to the gakuran, as far as I know it’s still fairly common as the school uniform for boys in middle and high-school students in Japan (just as the sailor outfit is for girls) and therefore its association is not limited to delinquents.
It’s precisely that “off” feeling that differs from her original design that I like (although the IRC consensus is that her eyes are a bit too widely spaced).
I just asked a few of my Japanese colleagues about “gaku-ran”, and it appears you’re right – it does refer to the type of uniform in general and not just to the style in which it’s worn by delinquents. They did say that it’s somewhat outdated as slang, hence the association with Bebop Highschool, I’m guessing (and the reason why I wasn’t familiar with the term off the top of my head). Correcting the post to suit…
Ah, I preordered it as soon as I saw it! She’s sexy and really sneaky-looking in this, what with the grin! ^_^
I’ll be glad to add it to my Max Factory and Freeing ones! ^_^