07 January 2009

Komaki Manaka maid version - Kotobukiya

Komaki Manaka maid version - Kotobukiya.

Wow, it's been a while since i made my figure review. The last figure review was Blanc Neige from Kotobukiya, in 12 October 2008. That's sure a really long time! I feel glad and refreshed to be able to do another figure photo session and made a figure review. The honor goes to Manaka maid version, for the first figure review in 2009.


My favorite character from To Heart.

Why i choose this figure for the first review? Well, because after Blanc Neige, this was the next figure i have in my possession. I bought this in Toy Magz fair 2008, and this is the first figure i bought in that event. Komaki Manaka is a character from To Heart series. I've watched To Heart 2 anime, and came up with 2 favorite character from that series, Komaki Manaka and Kousaka Tamaki.


I've been hunting for this!

I've been hunting for nice figures of those 2 characters, and i ended up buying this figure. From all Manaka and Tamaki figures, i only have my eyes for 3 figures: Manaka maid (Kotobukiya), Tamaki maid (Kotobukiya), and Manaka (GSC). The other figures were manufactured by miscellaneous manufacturer like Clayz or Enterbrain. So i think I'll pass on them. I'm glad that i found this one in Toy Magz fair 2008 with a low price.


She got a cute face.

So why Manaka? Look at her face, i think she got the cutest face of all characters in To Heart, see the photo if you want a proof, except if you like loli then i think you'll choose Konomi. I hate Konomi, she's just too.... loli XD. Manaka herself isn't just cute in her face, but she's also sexy, not as sexy as Tamaki though. Anyway, Kotobukiya successfully manufactured this figure with a nice cute face, but i can see that her face skin is somewhat a little too glossy. And i can still see pixels (?) in her eyes (something like dots), not smooth enough.


Maid hairband, somewhat rough on the surface.

Anyway, i only watch the anime and i never play the visual novel, so i don't know where's this maid outfit came from, but hey... the reasons i bought this figure are Manaka and maid! Yeah, i have things to girls wearing maid outfit and girls wearing glasses (meganekko). This hairband is an accessory of the maid outfit. All i can say is she looks good with this hairband.


Manaka's favorite hairpin. Her hair sculpt is okay, but her hairpin is somewhat rough on the surface.

This hairpin is Manaka's favorite hairpin. I don't know how she done her hairstyle, but all i know is her hairstyle is unique, and she looks cute because of it. Kotobukiya made a nice sculpt on her hair. The only thing i don't like is the rough surface on her hairpin. But i think that doesn't matter much. This hairpin can't be clearly seen from the front.


Nice size, too bad she's not showing even a part of it.

We're getting to the good part. She's not just cute, but she's somewhat sexy. She got a nice breast size. It's not that big, but it's pretty nice for a girl of her size. The only downside of this part is, she's not showing any part of it. She's fully covered with this maid outfit, including her breast. All you can see here is just size, but no cleavage or any parts around it.


Nice maid outfit!

She got nice maid outfit. A nice combination of black suit and white apron, frills, and ribbon. This maid outfit has long sleeves and mini skirt. Depending on how you look, it could be sexy or not, it could also be gorgeous or not. It could also be both sexy and gorgeous. There's no problem with Kotobukiya's sculpt on her outfit.


Maid mini skirt and apron.

A maid outfit is not a maid outfit if it doesn't have skirt and apron. Kotobukiya made a nice mini skirt for Manaka. Too bad the frills on the edge isn't that smooth as it looks. She also got nice apron, and Kotobukiya made it well, except once again it's not very smooth on the frill edge.


She needs to carry something on her hand to make it more interesting.

Her hands and her sleeves are nice, except for the skin color. But that doesn't really matters. Kotobukiya could make her hand opened a little bit so you can hang something there. I think adding a rose would be great. Or it could be a broom, or well... it's a matter of creativity i guess... I was hoping that Kotobukiya added something regarding her hands.


Long socks (or stockings) to cover glossy skin problem.

I keep talking about Kotobukiya's glossy skin. You can see it clearly on her thigh, right below her mini skirt. But fortunately, she got a long socks (or stockings?) to cover the whole glossy skin problem. Anyway she got a nice and smooth legs.


Nice glossy shoes.

She got a nice shoes, except it's not highheels. But i like the glossy surface on the shoes. She got a nice custom base, with Japanese wooden floor texture. The base and shoes color on the photo is not the real color. I played a little bit with the picture style and white balance settings.


It's screwed on the base.

Playing with white balance and picture style can affect photo color significantly. That's why i suggest you set your WB and picture style settings on your camera to get a nice photo with a proper color or your favorite color. Oh and anyway, i forgot to mention that this figure is screwed on the base.


I like big back ribbon.

Back ribbon, my favorite parts. In maid outfit, one piece dress, or even in wedding dress, a big back ribbon is always a nice accessory to have. Too bad in this photo, i can't really show the big ribbon, because it's covered with her arms.


Seamlines on the ribbon edge.

Her side ribbon is even longer than her skirt. But as you can see, there are some nasty seamline on the ribbon edge. It's pretty rough, and it's pretty visible. Seamline is always an eyesore for every figures. You certainly don't want to see those seamlines all over your figures.


Nice white pantie, nice view from here.

It's a mandatory that every figure reviews always have a pantie shoot. She got a nice white pantie, except it's frillless. But i can see that Kotobukiya made a nice job with her pantie, just look at the texture and you'll know. This figure is actually castoffable on the skirt, but i never bother to remove her skirt.


POI : maid outfit! Maid outfit is moe.

Oops, i almost forgot. The POI (Point Of Interest) of this figure is her maid outfit. Yeah, very nice maid outfit. I'd say her maid outfit doesn't show her sexiness, but she looks gorgeous in it. The maid outfit is also the reason i wanted and i bought this figure.

Well i guess this concludes this figure review. My next review will be Elwing bikini version from Max Factory. I'll post it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so look forward to it!

11 comments:

  1. I say it's a good shoot...
    The thing is...I feel it's a bit too dark as the light seems to concentrate on one point of the figure...
    Be waiting on your next shoot!!!

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  2. Yeah, this time i used different light setting. I put the flash at the right side, and triggered it wirelessly. And i also didn't put any light / reflector on the left, that's why the light concentrated only on the right side.

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  3. Nice one.. Maid gals are seductive! XD

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  4. I don't know much about this character. However, I do know this - the lighting in this photoshoot is amazing! It's at a professional level. I don't see this very often. Well done.

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  5. Thanks man, it's not that pro... It's just need some experiments.

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  6. i quess the main light is too harsh that even make you able to see the paint particle

    the rest, i quess it's ok, yeah!!! split always rulezzzz

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  7. It's SLR flash on the right, that's why it's too harsh. I didn't diffuse it properly, and i didn't even added reflector on the left.

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  8. manaka~ <3 kawaii na~ captures her character really well, which for me is one of the most important aspects of a figure

    i admit tamaki's my favorite, but i enjoyed manaka's scenario a lot too ^^

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  9. Never played the game, so yeah... don't know much about her.

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  10. copies are very similar,,
    although artificial, but very pretty ^ ^

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