I was wavering on a preorder of Manyuu Chibusa for a few months after she was announced. I’d seen her recently at the Cerberus Project booth at Wonder Festival and WHF, and while I liked the design it was obvious she wasn’t castoffable, and seemed bereft of other worthwhile gimmicks. In the end I caved in, convinced that a character whose name literally means “magical breast” would be worth having – and boy, am I glad I fell prey to this pair. The salacious details of a very surprising figure follow:

Original Design: Yamada Hideki
Sculptor: French Doll (Cerberus Project)
Source: Manyuu Hikenchou (manga)
Scale: 1/7 (16 cm tall)
Option Parts: katana, scabbard, kunai x 3
Materials: PVC, ABS
Release Date: April 3rd, 2008
Production: Wafuudou Ganguten
Price: 7,600 JPY (tax included)
Current Availability: [KNC] [HLJ] [HS] [TL]
Support HD!: [PA] [YA]

Manyuu Chibusa is the stupendously endowed heroine of Manyuu Hikenchou, a manga that’s been serialized at the back of eroge magazine Tech Gian for the past year or so. The manga itself is not particularly erotic, aside from the occasional (frequent) bare breasts, and is more of a gag manga than anything. Stories of ancient ninja techniques of breast enlargement, lactation, and etc. are chronicled as Chibusa travels among ninja clans, confronting various opponents and overcoming them with the power of her mystical bosoms. Yes, it’s a very silly (and well drawn) manga.

Manyuu Hikenchou vol. 1

Sculpt

How far French Doll has come since 2004! I wasn’t deliberately intending to review two of his sculpts back to back, but viewed next to one another some comparison is inevitable. We see in this Manyuu Chibusa sculpt a mastery of craft that is truly impressive, both in terms of interpretive fidelity to the original design and overall mastery of composition in terms of balance and pleasing flow of form and line. This consonance is manifest from multiple angles, and while not the most overtly active pose is chosen here it is one that ripples with hidden energy. I like!

I could go on dissecting the many ways in which French Doll has become an even more significant force on the figure scene over the past three years, but I’ll content myself with the mention of the immense care taken on the details. Not only the tiny refined textural elements of the kit such as the wrist guards and claws on her hands, or the woven texture of her shoes, or the delicate face sculpt, but also the ability to sculpt in so many layers that when cast off look equally natural as when they’re present. As a comparison with the recent work of other makers shows, this is hardly a skill that can be taken for granted.

Production

For a PVC this expensive to satisfy it’s going to have to deliver exemplary production values, and happily Wafuudou Ganguten rises to the occasion. My first thought after an initial survey was that they were channeling Yamato, particularly some of the techniques used on kits such as Arisa – similar skin shading techniques are in evidence here as is a kind of powdery refinement in the finish that marks an approach to quality coloring distinct from the more glossy fare of Goodsmile, Max Factory, and Kotobukiya.

The casting job here is first rate, with very few visible mold lines and no offending seams. Detail work is rendered faithfully and crisply. The paint job comprises huge amounts of both detail work and shading, and doesn’t skimp in either department; one could be picky about slight shakiness in some elements of the paint detail but it’s really not worth it. Overall the impression is one of a complex kit that has been produced at a high level of competence – whether it’s due to the virtues of this kit in particular or a general raising of Wafuudou’s production capability I’m not sure, but this is the best produced kit I’ve seen from the brand yet.

Conclusion

With the unexpected quality shown here and the surprise revelation that Wafuudou Ganguten’s Manyuu Chibusa kit is not only castoffable down to her chest but her chest itself can be removed, this is a kit that I can recommend to a much wider audience than I was initially anticipating. Whether you appreciate a finely crafted figure, a novel gimmick, an incredibly large chest or a decently small one, female ninjas, or the work of Cerberus Project’s French Doll, this is a kit I think you’ll be happy to add to your collection. I know I am.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

If you’d like to support HD with your purchase, Manyuu Chibusa is currently available at Play-Asia. Links to other retailers can be found at the top of this post.