I swore off Taki figures shortly after reviewing their first Kanu last fall, yet here we are with a review of the recently released china dress version. Am I an idiot? Maybe (probably, yes), but at least I’ll acknowledge my addiction… Read on for a look at just what a weakness for marginally sexy castoff sculpts will get you:

Original Design: Shiozaki Yuuji
Sculptor: uncredited
Source: Ikkitousen (manga, anime)
Scale: 1/7 (28 cm tall)
Option Parts: Green Dragon Crescent Blade, shoes, interchangeable hand set, school swimsuit
Materials: PVC, ABS
Release Date: March 30th, 2008
Production: Taki Corporation
Price: 9,240 JPY (tax included)
Current Availability: [KNC] [HLJ] [HS] [TL]
Support HD!: [PA]

I’d introduce Kanu here but she really needs no introduction – suffice to say that her consistent standing as most popular character in the very figure-friendly Ikkitousen franchise means that she receives a proportional number of PVC releases, a number that has only increased in the past few years. This is the most recent offering in that storied lineage.

Sculpt

Taki’s nameless sculptor delivers an interpretation of Kanu very similar to that provided in his/her first attempt last fall. The anatomical strengths and weakness largely hold between the two kits, with a couple of differences; the face sculpt here is a bit more refined (you can no longer split cordwood with her chin), while the overall pose is rather more boring (though still superior to a stock standing pose).

The pose does allow for several pleasing angles on the sculpt that accentuate Kanu’s generous lines and curves, and deserve to be recognized as a selling point for the kit; however I still come away with a feeling of overall roughness that bespeaks an unwillingness to take the final step of refinement that would make the kit truly noteworthy. This is especially the case with the clothing layers and shoes, which are sculpted without particular cleverness and come across as unrealistically large, loose, and baggy.

A castoffable school swimsuit is a nice idea, though I’ve never seen it effectively implemented in practice – the kit would be better served by a recast swimsuit-clad torso instead (though one of the kit’s strong points is the single piece body cast). The castoff gimmick is of little interest for this reason.

Production

Taki’s production matches the sculpt in terms of quality – a somewhat halfhearted effort, but one that is at least internally consistent. In terms of the cast there are few details that needed preservation, fortunate because elements such as her hair and the dragon’s head on her weapon come across with rather blunted edges. The single-piece body cast is the kit’s strongest structural feature, but this is marred by thin grooves visible in various places (especially around the waist); whether these were present on the original prototype or were errors introduced in the casting process is unclear, but certainly a demerit that should have been caught in quality control. Seams and mold lines are otherwise minimally visible. Casting on the clothing is decent, but does nothing to remove the defects of the original “baggy” sculpt.

The paint job varies from rather bad in the case of the china dress (the color scheme works in the original illustration, not so well in 3D implementation) to nondescript in the case of the swimsuit and the castoff body. As was the case in Taki’s earlier Kanu shading is very minimal (though the swimsuit has some); there was essentially no detail work required on the kit, fortunate as it likely wouldn’t have been done well. The rendering of physical details such as the nipples and mouth is unsubtle and not incredibly pleasing. The choice of finishes consists of a narrow band of semi-gloss options across all kit components, though the hair is matte; it’s worth noting that the skin is less glossy than her predecessor, which I see as an improvement.

Conclusion

The impression I come away with after a review of Taki’s china dress Kanu is that the kit was limited at all points in its development. Limited time in the design phase, limited time for the sculpting process and subsequent refinement of detail, limited resources spent on quality control in casting, limited resources spent on the paint job. Taki is banking on selling items like this to suckers like me with nigh indiscriminate taste who will go for just about any castoffable Kanu, and I have to say that despite her shortcomings I knew what I was getting into and don’t regret the purchase – just enough effort was put into the sculpt that I can enjoy her voluptuousness (what there is of it) without guilt. If you’re like me in this regard I can certainly recommend this kit; otherwise I’d say hold off, as there are plenty of better Kanu options coming very soon.

Overall Score: 7/10

If you’d like to support HD with your purchase, Kanu can be found at Play-Asia at a very nice price – the cheapest among major online retailers. Other purchase options are listed at the top of this post.

Note: the header image for this review was processed with a smart blur to remove “film grain”; all other images remain unprocessed.

Note 2: Oh gosh, I just remembered I need to review Taki’s Ryomou as well.