Entering a bit of new territory for HD this evening we take our first plunge into the world of hug pillow reviews! Tonight we take a look at the recently released Ryomou Shimei and Kanu Unchou offerings from Machi Chara, and I must say they’re quite well done. Being new to the pillow review thing this is a rather experimental post, though hopefully it will be of some use if you’re contemplating a purchase; those turned off by the concept of a body-length pillow with scantily clad 2D girls printed on it will probably not want to read past this point.
Original Design: Shiozaki Yuuji
Pillow Illustrations: unknown (perhaps Rin Shin?)
Source: Ikkitousen (manga, anime)
Size: 140 cm x 60 cm
Materials: smooth knit 100% polyester
Release Date: October 26th, 2007
Production: Machi Chara (Ryomou and Kanu)
Price: 10,500 JPY each (pillowcase only, tax included)
Current Availability: Hobby Search (Ryomou and Kanu)
Support HD!: J-List (Ryomou and Kanu)
I’m going to skip the descriptions of Ryomou and Kanu (we all know who they are, right?) and get down to the nitty gritty of what can be said about these pillows.
Production Quality
Being relatively new to the world of pillow collection I don’t have a very broad perspective on the range of production qualities that are out there (the majority of my collection is shown in the last few shots above), but being one of the most experienced hands in the business seems to have served Machi Chara well. In terms of print quality the colors are bold and vivid and lines are crisp, if not quite as well defined as those on Menace or the Linda character pillow above. The fabric is well chosen: smooth, durable, closely woven and slightly stretchy. Stitching work at the seams and around the zipper seems solid, with no hanging threads to speak of.
Durability won’t be tested until after a few washes, so I can’t speak to color fading issues or the long term resilience of the seams. The Dakimakura Integrated Research Institute doesn’t list pillows from makers who fudge these things, though, so I think we can be assured of a baseline standard of quality in that regard.
original pillow design illustrations
Specifications
In my limited experience with dakimakura thus far I’d say that generally speaking I prefer pillows with length and width of roughly a 3:1 ratio (150 x 50 cm as in the case of Cospa pillows like Misaki, or ~ 120 x 40 cm like Menace, etc.). Long and thin also seems marginally preferable to short and fat, and from that perspective the 140 x 60 cm measurement of Ryomou and Kanu seem a bit puzzling to me. I can understand if the dimensions were chosen to match the art (of the laterally posed sides especially) but Ryomou’s second pose in particular seems not to make effective use of the space allotted, and is probably my least favorite of the four. Generally I prefer two frontal pose variations on a thinner pillow, but when I try to tell that to Kanu I find my voice not working properly…
Pillow Tips
I’ve found that building my own pillows saves a lot of money and requires only a modest amount of time to complete. To do this all you need is a sheet, a tape measure, needle, thread, scissors, and either a few bags of raw pillow stuffing or a few pillows you don’t mind sacrificing to the dakimakura gods. After cutting the sheet to size a simple, weak stitch should suffice to contain the stuffing; once you get it down I’ve found it’s possible to fly through two of these in a couple of hours, and it cost less than half as much as premade ones you’d buy from Machi Chara (at 5,250 yen each).
I didn’t stuff the pillows I’m using for Ryomou and Kanu quite as much as the ones I made for Masane and the Linda pillow, and am finding that I prefer the slightly less stuffed feel to the overstuffed one. They’re a bit floppy, but rather more comfortable to hold.
Overall Impressions
Other than a slight misuse of space on the lateral pose side of Ryomou’s pillow I’m very well pleased with both offerings in all respects, and would recommend them highly to anyone in the market for such a thing. Ryomou’s front side pose and Kanu’s back side are probably my favorites, and even if circumstances prohibit their use as actual pillows they would be great as (rather pricey) tapestries. After the cash outlay for these I may not be able to eat for the rest of the month, but at least my bed will be nice and toasty. :3
So what do you think – HD pillow reviews, yeah or nay? This turned out as a piece for the airing of random thoughts, more or less, but hopefully it’s of some interest; I’d welcome any and all suggestions regarding how such reviews could be improved in the future (likely to be few and far between regardless, as pillows I’m interested in don’t come around that often).
Also, if there are any other shops you know of that have pillows available for international sale, I’d love to hear about them. I’d recommend purchasing from J-List (linked at the top of the review) as a means of putting a few extra bowls of ramen in my stomach for the month, but in the interest of making subsequent posts more useful I’d like to know of any and all places that offer other competitive pricing options.
Why the mosiac Shingo? I thought you’re an anti-censorship kinda guy… :D
I wouldn’t mind a pillow review every now and then. Keep it going!
>>Jankars
I am, but I didn’t want to rate this review post 18+ just because of a few pictures. You can find less censored images of pillow in question here; in hindsight I suppose I could’ve provided links to uncensored versions of the pictures, but I saved over them with the censored versions because I am an idiot.
If anyone would like more details of the Linda pillow I would be happy to take pictures again and provide you with them, but that wasn’t the point of this particular review.
Nice post Shingo, I’m not exactly into dakimakura (other them enjoying the illustrations), but it’s always nice to read about them.
Nice review, would be cool to see more of these from time to time.
Is that Witchblade cover still available on any sites?
I liked the review a lot, there is one thing that I really do agree about, and that is the financial part does force you into fasting until payday. ^^III DAKIMAKURA DAISUKI!!!
I’d want a dakimakura of my own, but only of some select characters. And I highly approve of these reviews; I haven’t seen anyone else do them too.
I’d like too se dakimura reviews too, even if they are, as you say, few and far between, mostly because I have been tempted to buy one, but my complete ignorance on the subject makes me hesitate. These reviews could give me a better idea on what to expect.
And the make-your-on-pillow tip is great. One question about this; how “smaller” should be the pillow to fit a sheet on it?
Why not do reviews on them? I almost find it pointless in the regard that anybody who is even considering buying one of these already has that character or two that will tweak their interest regardless of the pose or fabric. Sounds to me like Kanu is one of those for you. But it’s kind of fun to read a review on something so different and it proves to be a window into peoples preferences that I can either shake my head at or applaud.
BUT, if you review that Karin Amami from Kurai Mirai negatively when it comes out, I’ll likely quit reading. I’m just genetically predisposed to her and and negativity will not be tolerated. <<<-fanboy
I’m not very fired up about dakimakura, but I wouldn’t be all torn up if HD started reviewing them.
One question: Are you supposed to wash them? I can’t imagine the dye used is very robust…
I think dakimakura reviews will be great. No one else gives reviews on them, and a lot of people are starting to get into these hug pillows. Good review, and keep ’em coming.
>>archigram
The Witchblade cover was a Hobby Stock limited item, alas. You could probably still find it on Yahoo Auctions and obtain it via proxy if you don’t mind the premiums attached.
>>akaguwa
I have a feeling I’ll be foraging for nuts and berries in the park near my apartment by the end of the month…
>>Nemo_N
I’d recommend cutting the sheet to the exact size of the pillow (in this case 120 cm x 140 cm, folded in half to 60 cm x 140 cm), as when you stitch up the sides it will naturally “shrink” due to the unused fabric on the edges. It’s a snug fit when you put the case on, but I think that’s the generally desired effect; I’ve tried putting smaller pillows in larger cases and it really doesn’t look very good.
>>shoujoboy
Duly noted regarding the Karin pillow, I’ll watch my words if a review is forthcoming. <_<;; >>lostdog
They are indeed meant to be washed, and I’ve washed all of them (other than the two new ones here) several times. I’ve been pleased to see that the dye holds pretty well.
Thanks for all your comments! Given the positive response I think I’ll try to do similar reviews in the future, when possible.
pillow review is great, not many sites out there doing this kind of review.
So my opinion is, keep reviewing! :D
Shingo: No biggie, I just wanted answers to a burning question, which is why I wanted to see the uncensored pic.
The burning question: While I understand the need for censorship of the sample pics on an online store… I was just wondering if they actually do censor the actual pillow cover itself?
>>Jankars
The Linda cover is lightly censored with a narrow mosaic down the middle, yeah. About the equivalent of what you’d see in a full color eromanga with that level of detail. The reverse side of the Menace pillow has a full frontal shot and is not censored, but it’s not as detailed as the Linda pillow; I’ve seen some relatively detailed doujin pillows that are uncensored as well. I guess it depends on what the maker thinks they can get away with.
Oh dear… Even dakimakuras are not spared… Orz
Oh well. Many thanks for your quick response, now I can sleep easy at night. LOL.
I happen to have a yahoo group for dakimakura’s.(I use it for my website option here.) 18+ only please, since as Shingo has shown, not all covers are “family friendly.”
I like hug pillows quite a bit and have that “Oppai” dakimakura from toranoana already preordered. I’ll probably post up a review and pictures of it on my group when I finally get it. ^_^
I certainly wish I knew more Japanese to be able to hunt some of these down.
I personally passed on the two Ikkitousen reviewed here due to the poses. They just aren’t what I was looking for in an Ikkitousen cover.
I didn’t stuff the pillows I’m using for Ryomou and Kanu quite as much as the ones I made for Masane and the Linda pillow, and am finding that I prefer the slightly less stuffed feel to the overstuffed one. They’re a bit floppy, but rather more comfortable to hold.
Somehow, even taken in the context of the review I find this quote quite amusing. Good review though! Not sure if it should be a recurring thing though, given that like you said, there seems to be a baseline quality for the printing of these coves. That, combined with the fact that you can just tweak it by making your own pillow to suit your preferences, gives me the feeling that most of the reviews will end up sounding the same.
The oppai pillow, however, will deserve a purchase and subsequent review :D
Had my eye on the Kanu one some time ago, but gave up on it due to its width being incompatible with my current pillows. My bed just isn’t big enough to hold yet another.
Wow! That Masane hug pillow illustrations are good. Really Masa’mune’. :) Too bad it’s a limited hobbystock only item. :(
And too bad they censor the linda cover too. :(
Nice collection you have there. But I think I limit myself to hug pillows featuring Muv-Luv’s Meiya-sama (and Belldandy, if she ever appear on one) since they’re pretty pricey for a piece of cloth with 2 pictures. :)
You should do more, I buy makura for over 5 years but even in Japanese I don’t think reviewers give enough good pictures as you. I buy both by Maching too and they are good quality print (above average), the original by Cospa is also very good if you like Mou chan like me.
Nice blog!
I think they should just make ero blowup dolls.
It seems my reply got eaten—is there a limit to the length of posts?
Make a widescreen Wallpaper of Kanu and Ryomou of the two variations they have.
>>Takeuchi
Thanks! I’ll continue with dakimakura reviews whenever I can.
>>Tadakichi
If you’ve ever tried holding an inflated piece of rubber compared to one of these I think you’ll agree that the difference in sensations is enormous. I think their intended use is rather different as well; I’ve never heard of anyone sleeping with an inflatable doll.
>>DocWatson
It seems there may be a limit to reply length, yes. I’ll get back to your email ASAP.
>>Dexter
Without an industrial drum scanner of some sort I’m afraid neither I (nor anyone else) has the capability to effectively scan these, not to mention that they’re made out of stretchy cloth that would inevitably be distorted in the scanning process. The two images shown in the review above are the highest resolution digital versions of the pillow images I could find, and I’m afraid that’s all we’re going to get.
Hmm.. I guess one could theoretically lay them flat, blast them with white light and try to get very high resolution photos to turn into wallpapers. I might give that a shot at some point. Otherwise you’re welcome to try manipulating the photos in the review for your own wallpaper purposes.
Quick question, I’m new here to the world of dakimuras (just got my first a couple days ago) and I wanted your opinion on a couple ways to maintain it.
1) I read above that you’ve washed a couple of them, what do you think is the best way to wash them? Machine wash? Hand wash? etc.
2) How often do you think they should be washed? I’ve read cases of some people washing them once a year, every couple of months, etc.
>>Baboo
I’m hardly an expert on the subject at this point, but when I’ve washed mine I’ve put them through a regular machine cycle with no problem (though that is undoubtedly not good for them). I think a gentle machine cycle would do the trick just fine; the fabric is meant to be durable.
I initially washed mine once every couple of weeks, but I’m coming to realize that that’s probably overkill; once every few months should be plenty, though once a year seems to be stretching it a bit.
Hey, I’m planning to enter the wonderful world of dakimakura myself soon and I’ve got a few questions.
Do Cospa dakimakura come with zippers? I’m a bit lazy and I was planning on just stuffing them directly and zipping them up. Good idea or no?
Also, nice review, looking forward to more! ^^
>>Axersia
Cospa dakimakura do come with zippers, yes. You can look for the word “chakku” (チャック) in the product description, probably “チャック付き” (“zipper attached”) to make sure, but to my knowledge they all do.
You could stuff a pillowcase directly with stuffing, but I wouldn’t recommend it in the long run; if you ever intend to remove the filling to wash the case or to put it in another case it’s a much simpler process to do so if it’s contained in a pillow instead of free. The extra layer of pillow cloth also adds some sturdiness and shape to the overall “pillow architecture” and may prolong the life of the case (pure conjecture, but it seems likely).