Kuro no Franco (Franco il Nero) hit store shelves today as the second figure in Alter’s trilogy of heroines from last year’s dynamite Nitro+ eroge Zoku: Satsuriku no Jango (Tre Donne Crudeli). Following on the heels of December’s Donne Anonime would be no small feat, but if successful the acrobatic pose chosen for Franco’s incarnation had the potential to outclass even the Woman with No Name. Does Alter’s production prove up to the task? Franco would like to have a word with you on that…
Original Design: Niθ
Sculptor: Tanaka Senu
Source: Zoku: Satsuriku no Jango (Tre Donne Crudeli) (eroge)
Scale: 1/8 (19 cm tall, base included)
Option Parts: none
Materials: PVC, ABS
Release Date: April 17th, 2008
Production: Alter
Price: 7,140 JPY (tax included)
Current Availability: [KNC] [HLJ] [HS] [TL]
Support HD!: [PA] [JLIST] [YA]
Character Description
Kuro no Franco is one of the three central protagonists of Nitro+’s Zoku: Satsuriku no Jango (“Jango of the Slaughter: THE SEQUEL”). Inspired by the spaghetti Western tradition (known in Japan as the “macaroni Western”), Satsuriku no Jango ends up as the aesthetic and conceptual bastard child of Cowboy Bebop, Firefly, and Star Wars. In fine spaghetti Western tradition the game is not a sequel, and the character Jango never appears; the story instead focuses on the escapades of notorious outlaw and freedom fighter Kuro no Franco (the subject of this review) and a pair of bounty hunters lured by the promise of her sky-high reward.
original Franco il Nero illustration
Kuro no Franco is the erstwhile protagonist of Satsuriku no Jango. A rough and tumble woman with a fetish for deflowering fit, defenseless young men, if she seems like something other than the eponymous freedom fighter and defender of justice who disappeared several years ago under mysterious circumstances that’s because she is – her current line of work is actually as an impersonator of the real Kuro no Franco, working in tandem with Donne Anonime to repeatedly claim the bounty on herself and using her womanly wiles to escape captivity.
I played through the first part of the game back when it was released last July (initial impressions here), so if there’s some interest I can provide additional information regarding the characters and setting that are tangential to this review. If you’re shopping around for the game it seems a proxy purchase from Getchu might be your best bet.
Sculpt
Tanaka Senu returns with the second figure in his Jango trilogy. After bursting onto the commercial PVC scene with Donne Anonime (Namae no Nai Onna) last December I had high hopes for his interpretation of Franco, and they were not disappointed in the slightest – this is one of the most high fidelity sculpts I’ve seen in many, many months, with the sculptor tackling a tremendously difficult original illustration and bringing it to life in amazingly accurate detail.
For a sculptor such as Senu it seems obvious that he is constrained not by his ability as a craftsman but rather by the choice of subject material, and once again I find myself with the firm conviction that this is a match made in heaven. Many sculptors have tried to incarnate Niθ’s distinctive style over the years since Demonbane first came out, and Senu’s adaptations rise to the challenge better than just about all of the competition. An amazing 3D incarnation of an amazing original illustration – you’ll find no criticism here.
Production
Tasked with the responsibility of bringing Senu’s artistic vision to mass production Alter handles the logistical difficulties of this kit admirably. The basic components are well crafted to keep Franco sturdily mounted against the backplate wall that is either solid ABS or possibly a type of polystone resin; it’s got some heft to it and works well to bear the brunt of the ABS clear plastic rod connecting Franco’s back to the wall. It’s hard to say how well she’ll hold that position over months and years, but the construction feels very sturdy.
The casting job is up to Alter standards as well, with the notable exception of a bit of scarring on her rear. It almost looks like something has been patched over there, and it makes me wonder if that’s the part of the kit that was deficient and required mending before it could be shipped (resulting in the delay to April release). The location is out of the way enough that the kit can easily be positioned so it’s out of sight, but I’m sure someone at Alter is smacking himself in frustration right about now.
The kit’s paint job looks like it was lifted straight from the Nitroplus colorist’s Photoshop palette, sporting a subtle variety of largely matte finishes that mimic the original CG style admirably. Metallic elements such as the gun, spurs, and belt are given an appropriate treatment, and the attention to detail all around is striking. A job well done.
Conclusion
Alter’s Kuro no Franco (Franco il Nero) is a figure I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone who collects this sort of thing. Sculpted by one of the rapidly rising stars of the figure world based on an illustration by an already risen star of eroge and anime designs, executed by one of the best names in the business, this is an impressively complex project that comes off absolutely beautifully and would make a fantastic addition to any collection. If only it weren’t for that mark on her hind end…
Overall Score: 9/10 (sculpt: 10/10)
If you would like to support HD with your purchase, Franco is still available at J-List; other retailers are linked at the top of this post. If you’ve been on the fence I suggest making a decision very soon, as she’s rapidly disappearing from online retailers and will likely become unavailable after not too much longer.
She just shipped out to me earlier in the week, hopefully I’ll have her sometime into next! I also hope that that deficiency on her cheek isn’t universal :(
Great review, thanks ! Now I’m waiting for mine, hoping not to have same for her butt mark >.<
You lucky, lucky bastard, Shingo. I’ve been trying to get my hands on Franco il Nero and everywhere I’ve asked seems to have her sold out. ;_;
You can always count on Alter to deliver a gold dust woman! It’s amazing how they take on these ambitious, gravity defying sculpts and carry them off with more finesse than any other maker out there. I’m never worried about where my money is going when I pay for an Alter girl. I can’t wait ^_^
And yes, I am interested to learn more about the characters, if you are game to explore and divulge!
Quick and nice review!Can’t wait to get hold of mine.
It’s really incredible the evolution of PVC figures lately.The makers are able to deliver such dinamic poses and paint quality with really low costs.
Excellent review as always, I too would like know more about the characters and story.
I preordered her a while ago, she probably won’t be shipped to me for a while, but I am looking forward to getting her :)
Well, it’s certainly `nice’, but I wouldn’t pay 7140 yen for it, much less 6000.
I’d actually expect the price to drop to somewhere around 4000 to mid-4000s eventually. Then it might actually be worth it.
Righto, I’ll see what I can do to sneak some more details about the game into a future Mainichi post.
>>DJnerate
I think these increased prices are a fact of the marketplace that we’re going to have to deal with increasingly in the coming months and years. As the Chinese standard of living goes up the cost of wages rises, and as the cost of oil rises the cost of raw plastics for PVC and transportation costs go up as well.
I hope figures like this don’t start selling for 4,000 yen, to tell you the truth, as that will mean retailers are selling them at a loss simply to get rid of dead stock, which will ultimately result in retailers going bankrupt, makers scaling back their operations, and the market becoming smaller with fewer non-mainstream kits being produced in PVC.
I’ll not be complaining too much at the 7,000 yen price point on kits like this if it means the continued viability of the market as it is right now.
Dynamic pose- this is one sweet looking figure!!
Thanx Shingo, great review!!
Nice acquisition! In France, Her arrival is envisaged for June. In the meantime I love with your photographs
> Shingo
Actually, the recommended retail price for figures doesn’t seem to have changed much over the past 2-3 years. In fact, the only reason I’ve seen figures cost more is the introduction of more castoff-ables, which makes the price tag of this and several other non-castoffable figures less enticing than ever.
I’d say the main price increases would come when the Japanese economy finally goes bust again, as if the current recession isn’t bad enough. Probably in a few years time.
The fact is that most of these already are selling at half off off or even worse, even on the primary market. What makes it worse is that the retail price for the figures is grossly overvalued compared to what they’re going for on the secondary market. Who’s going to buy brand new figures from the main stores when they can get it almost brand new and unopened for half off via auctions or other means? If they’re not going to sell out soon after release, the stores have no choice but to start marking down prices a lot. The only exceptions are limited editions, produced on an extremely limited scale, or truly epic figures.
Case in point: Shuraki volume 1 was pretty hot (reaching a high of about 8000 yen on secondary market), until they announced a reissue. I saw it going for 2500 yen brand new unopened some time back, because frankly, no one really cared about it once it wasn’t limited edition.
Which works out fine for me, since I can actually get all the figures I want despite being on a tight budget. The only thing that I really care about is that they start to limit production runs.
Also, I really doubt that their profit margin is as small as we might think.
>>LiLonG
A shame she gets to France so late! Are you ordering through a regional distributor?
>>DJnerate
I don’t have the time to get into this topic in as properly detailed a fashion as I would like, but I’ll point out a few facts that may be instructive:
1. I work at a company that purchases figures wholesale from Japanese distributors and I can assure you that there is no profit in selling a figure that retails at 7,140 yen for 4,000 yen. I’ve seen the order forms.
2. Japanese figure retailers are engaged in the business of constantly playing the odds in terms of the number of figures they order. Unlike other forms of media (manga in particular) retailers buy their stock from wholesalers on a “no returns” policy – they’re stuck with dead stock if they miscalculate demand, and will lower prices as far as they have to (absorbing the loss in the process) to move it off their shelves and allow newer items to enter circulation.
3. The average retail price for figures has increased over the past few years. This is an objective fact. Proving it would require amassing enormous amounts of statistical data that I don’t have the time for right now, but I’ve heard it from Japanese hobby store employees and seen it in trends across lines of similar products that have come out over the years. Examples:
Yujin. Their SRDX lineup has steadily increased in price over the past 5-6 years from 1,000+ yen to 2,000+ and now 3,000+ or 4,000+ yen in some cases.
Goodsmile. In 2006 they were selling non-castoffable 1/8 scale figures for 4,200-4,800 yen. In 2008 they are selling non-castoffable 1/8 scale figures for 5,500-6,500 yen. They sold a 1/6 scale Ryougi Shiki for 5,500 yen in 2006. I’ll bet you the one they recently announced will either be smaller or more expensive.
There are many other examples that could be provided, but if you do the analysis across the industry I think you’ll find the same trends hold true.
It could be argued that makers are raising their prices simply because they have discovered that consumers are willing to pay more for the same thing (this is almost certainly the case for some brands, such as Taki and others who lean heavily on the castoff gimmick), but I think a far more likely industry-wide explanation (and one born out from anecdotal conversational evidence) is that the cost of production is rising, and forcing the retail price up with it.
> Shingo
That was pretty excellent. You should probably do an article about that, if possible.
All I can say is that the trials and tribulations of the figure industry matter nothing to me when the wind blows through the empty space in my wallet. Why should I, when secondary market prices show that figures are frequently overpriced?
Hence why I rarely buy anything but epic figures at anything close to retail price, because it just sucks to buy a figure for 6000, only to discover some time later that everyone thinks it’s worth closer to 2000. And unfortunately (but fortunately for sringybags like myself), great figures sometimes still go for bargain basement prices. New unopened Ignis the White for 5000? I came. Then I bought it.
>>Shingo
Excellent review, this time I really am 100% in agreement. Can’t wait for mine, glad I preordered early. I am also in full agreement with your comments in response to DJnerate, who seems to know fairly little about the subject, and might just have a fairly decent number of counterfeits in his collection if they were all bought at such incredibly low prices. As the old saying goes: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Who knows, but for me, I get the figures I want if they seem worth their price (relative to the market at the time) and I don’t have time to search ‘bargain bins’. In fact there are very few places that even carry figures in my area of the world (despite living in a metro area of somewhere between 3.5-5 million people), so I have to buy them online. Of course they are actually cheaper that way due to preorder discounts, but that’s beside the point. Anyway keep up the good work, Shingo.
> the_pseudokings
Everything I’ve gotten are completely legal, genuine PVCs from trustworthy retailers and sellers. The city I live in has a population of less than 250,000, so I too buy everything online. I too buy everything that I want when they’re worth it, relative to market price. Yet the Japanese still sell most figures at way below MSRP, even taking into account preorder discounts.
>>DJnerate, the_pseudokings
I get the feeling you both have similar purchasing strategies in terms of looking for the best deals; DJnerate has the luck of having the pick of Japanese post-release online bargains, some of which can get pretty obscene (like the 5,000 yen Ignis the White – I cringed a bit when I saw that listing).
Addressing this issue more thoroughly sounds like it will take a completely separate post, and it’s probably one worth thinking about and putting together. Thanks for the suggestion, guys.
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