Announced last April just prior to Orchid Seed’s successful Chichinoe+ Cover Girl PVC release, this has been one of the figures I’ve personally anticipated most this year. Her release was delayed multiple times, the cause of the delay eventually revealed to be the pliant chest part added as an option to the kit in mid-production. Was she worth the wait, and how does she stack up against her predecessor? Overall quite well, despite some unpleasant drawbacks that mar her otherwise exceptional design.

Original Design: Inoue Takuya
Sculptor: Ishiyama Satoshi (WFS) (Amiami)
Source: Chichinoe + (plus) (artbook)
Scale: 1/6 (25 cm tall)
Materials: PVC
Release Date: November 14th, 2007
Production: Orchid Seed
Price: 6,800 JPY (tax included)
Current Availability: [KNC] [HLJ] [HS] [TL]
Support HD: Play Asia

A quick breakdown of the figure name: “Chichinoe+” is name of the Inoue Takuya artbook (now sadly out of print) in which this image was compiled, “2” is the second in Orchid Seed’s series of figures based on illustrations from the book, and “Young Hip Cover Girl” is so named not because she’s young and hip, nor because she’s young and has hips, but because she was in fact the cover girl of the December 2000 issue of Young Hip magazine, a now-defunct eromanga serial from Wani Publishing.

December 2000 Young Hip Cover Girl
as she appeared in Inoue Takuya artbook Chichinoe+

Moving right along to an analysis of the kit: the artists here, both Inoue Takuya and sculptor Ishiyama Satoshi, hold up their ends of the bargain to perfection. Aside from the signature Ishiyama slit-mouth there’s nothing I can quibble about here – the sculpt is a supple, sensuous rendering of the original illustration that holds up incredibly well from a variety of angles. The only thing it’s really missing is a nice, phallic drill bit to place in various suggestive locations, but luckily I had one of those laying around.

In terms of production things are more of a mixed bag. The biggest highlight is the paint job, with some instances of fine detail work and a whole lot of shading that really brings the kit to life. Her thighs are positively delicious in those stockings, and the shading on her skin is subtle but quite effective (nipples done right! thank you Orchid Seed!).

In terms of assembly however there are a few critical drawbacks. I see no reason why the arms needed to be cast separately from the torso or the head separated at the throat instead of the nape of the neck, which are the biggest avoidable sins; the visible seams around the chest part are to a certain extent inevitable given that it can be swapped out, but the fit there could have been more snug. Also of concern is the fact that the elastic of her panties is very definitely broken (in two places!). Unless she’s using some reversible tape in a few awkward locations there’s no way those things should be staying up. Speaking of not staying in place, the tabs on her shirt refused to hold snugly with out a lot of coaxing to get them positioned just so. a better fastening mechanism would’ve helped a lot here.

A quick word on the malleable bosoms included: they’re not quite like any I’ve seen before. Neither the gel-filled balloons of Sanae nor the soft PVC hybrid of Masane, these are much more rubbery in texture. Experimental evidence suggests that they cling to cylindrical objects, like drills (a man’s romance!), in a very satisfactory way.

Overall Orchid Seed’s Young Hip Cover Girl is an enormously sexy kit, one that is sadly marred by a few production flaws that can’t be ignored, but don’t ruin the overwhelmingly positive aspects of the figure (for me, at least). I’d recommend her to any fellow fan of Inoue Takuya and large-chested ero works in general. A fine addition to the Orchid lineup, and I hope they continue to improve on this formula in the future. Chichinoe+3, anyone?

Overall Score: 9/10

+ Inoue Takuya and Ishiyama Satoshi: two great tastes that taste great together
+ really lovely shading, nice treatment of the chest
+ plushy bosoms that can hold a drill

– bad seam lines around the bosom, shoulders, and throat
– shirt clasps don’t hold well
– panty elastic is broken in the back (and a bit in the front), yet they don’t fall down – some laws of physics should always be inviolable

If you missed her in preorder, as of posting Play Asia has her in stock! This is a great chance to get a figure that’s becoming rare fast and support HD in the process. She’s otherwise currently available from both HLJ and Hobby Search.