The first in a trio of Witchblade figures to be released over the past week, how does Alter’s plainclothes version of Masane – complete with patented Flexible Chest Technology – compare to her peers? Inquiring minds want to know…

Original Design: Uno Makoto
Sculptor: Tanaka Touji (circle B.M.W) (Amiami)
Source: Witchblade (anime)
Scale: 1/8 (21 cm tall)
Materials: PVC, ABS
Release Date: April 27th, 2007
Production: Alter
Price: 4,800 JPY (tax included)
Current Availability: [HLJ] [KNC]


Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade

Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade

Alter's Amaha Masane PVC figure from Witchblade

Masane is the heroine of 2006’s Witchblade anime, an original Gonzo production based on the Top Cow American comic franchise by the same name. Her appeal as a subject for figures is due in large part to her sensuous Uno Makoto designs, fidelity to which is likely to be the deciding factor in their appraisal. This particular rendition from Alter also features the first usage from a major PVC brand (that I can recall) of a pliant type of PVC that can be compressed or bent when force is applied, only to spring back to its original shape when released; this has obvious applications for certain parts of the female anatomy and will no doubt be exploited further in future bishoujo figures as the manufacturing technique for manipulating the material improves.

The Good

  • Typical Alter production quality shines through in this kit, with lavish attention paid to detail work and coloring. The kit is reasonably faithful to the original character design as well; if anything more realistic in terms of proportions and physics than her illustrated counterpart.

The Adequate

  • The pose, my god the pose. With an entire series of fanservice to choose from, why did Tanaka Touji have to produce a sculpt based on her stock production art image – by definition created to be utterly bland?

plainclothes Masane character design from the Witchblade anime

boring pose, or most boring pose?

The Ugly

  • The looks you’ll get from your cohabitant when you’re caught furtively squeezing Masane’s chest in the middle of the night. Sure it’s a gimmick, but provided the production quality doesn’t suffer as a result it’s one I wouldn’t mind seeing repeated for similar figures in the future. :3

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Superlative Alter production values and bouncy chests alone do not add up to a first-class figure. While every aspect of the sculpt’s production is more than adequate, the utterly unimaginative pose caps its score at a gentleman’s “C”. Look at the assets Uno Makoto has given you to play with, guys, and use them for all they’re worth!

As a side note, another Tanaka Touji-sculpted Masane PVC will be coming from Alter in July (her Witchblade powered-up incarnation). The pose isn’t much more interesting, but at least it’s not a straight rendering of the production art…

Reviews of the other new Masanes coming soon!