How does the Aniplex/Wing 1/8 Scale of Shinobu Kocho stack up against the other figures? Let’s discuss.
Unboxing / Assembly / Review
Figure Review
Kocho Shinobu info
I bought it here
Timeline
Buying Off of Hobby-Genki.com
Check out my other 2 blog posts that covers my experience with Hobby-Genki here and here.
I got this figure off of a restock it seems. Every now and then I’ll browse through Hobby-Genki’s website and noticed that they had one figure left of this product and ended up purchasing it.
Price & Shipping
If you were able to snag this figure from Japan at retail price from Hobby-Genki, Solaris Japan or another site, you’ll be paying roughly $140 for the figure. If you are paying surface parcel or the slower shipping options, you’ll be looking at maybe around $160? With fast shipping with FedEx, I only paid a little under $169.
The great thing about Aniplex figures is that they have partner stores in the US that you can get subsidized prices. My preference is always going to be to buy from RightStufAnime, even if it’s going to cost me a little more for shipping because I don’t have to pay up front. With Tokyo Otaku Mode and the Crunchyroll Store, you have to pay upfront. When the Japanese Yen was stronger against the dollar, the prices were a bit closer, so it would still make a lot sense to buy it domestically. Now, I think it’s an absolute a steal to buy it from Japan for these Aniplex figures.
With a ⅛ scale figure of this quality, up to about $250 seems to be a reasonable price for this figure. Again, with the currency conversion favoring the USD, you’re already seeing figure prices drop from a US online retail standpoint. The shipping box was only slightly bigger than the figure’s box, wrapped around some bubble wrap. It did arrive with a very noticeable dent.
Overall, the price with fast shipping for $169 is an absolute great deal for this figure! Getting this figure from any of those Aniplex+ partner stores for up to $230 is still a pretty reasonable price. Stores like the Crunchyroll Store also have a really lenient return policy, so that’s a huge plus if you are shy about buying from overseas.
Box
Assembly
No assembly needed folks! Just make sure you gently unwrap the plastic around the figure as there are some fragile parts.
Aesthetics
Pose & Sculpting
At first, when I unwrapped this figure, I was pretty blown away by the look of the base. Because of all the smaller butterfly sculpted details, it’s hard to see how amazing it is from pictures. When I zoomed in on the camera, you can see just how aesthetically pleasing it looks. You have a more pink to clear colored sculpting of the base.
Now that a I have a figure that has a pose that is upside down or sideways, I can safely say that those kind of poses are just not for me. There is a really cool dynamic element to the figure looking this way, but just makes me kind of dizzy looking at it. I think my brain just keeps trying to “auto-focus” on what I am looking at. That makes it a not-so-pleasant viewing experience.
Size/ Fragility
I was taken back a little by how much smaller the Aniplex figure looks compared to the Kotobukiya ARTFX-J figure. Both are listed as ⅛ scales. It did come in a pretty significantly smaller box than the Giyu Aniplex figure. Looking at the base, there are some softer parts of the base. You can pretty much feel your way around which parts of the base feels softer than the others. Be careful to not accidentally brush through the figure! As long as you are gentle and keep it displayed in a place where nothing will bump into it, you’ll be fine.
Painting
This is where I may have a little bit of frustration. When you look at her kimono, they opted to shade in more of the black lines. Those bold black lines really matter because it contrasts the light shades on the rest of her kimono. Depending on where you look, there are some areas that are just done poorly. It’s the worst on the back of the figure. The good thing is that it’s at the back and you have to look underneath in order to see it. At her leg/ankle area, there is a little bit of paint smudge. On the edge of the kimono you can kind of see the paint lining. If you are looking at it anywhere else, you can notice some of the paint is a little bit off. Be aware that taking super up close pictures are always going to look a bit worse. To me, it doesn’t quite warrant harsh criticisms, but it’s close to toying with that frustration. Overall, it’s okay, but can definitely be better.
Paint & Sculpting Errors?
Aniplex vs Kotobukiya
Check out my review of the Kotobukiya ARTFX-J figure here!
Both are 1/8 scales but ARTFX-J is definitely bigger.
It’s kind of hard to get a good picture of the Aniplex base, but there it does look a bit more intricate and detailed than the Kotobukiya one. Although, I still like the ARTFX-J one. Both bases are pretty fragile, but the Aniplex one has some more noticeably softer sculpted parts.
The Kotobukiya pose is the best one in my opinion. Any pose of a figure upside down kind of makes me dizzy. It’s like my eyes are always trying to “auto-focus.” So, a naturally standing figure is just easier on the eyes.
Both faces look impeccable! I would be fine with either quality. Their face structures and smiles really do look like the character. Again, if I did have to edge it to one, it’s still the ARTFX-J one.
When it comes to the paint difference, the Kotobukiya one looks thinly penciled in and the Aniplex/Wing version has a more defined and bolded black lines on her kimono. It looks great from a natural viewing distance but close up, the painting can look a bit messy. The ARTFX-J figure has similar painting errors in the same areas, but it is way less noticeable. Again, I’d edge it to ARTFX-J.
If you look at both figure’s sheaths, there are some nice details to mention regarding which one you are looking at. Since the Aniplex figure does not have an unsheathed sword, you can see they added a little more detail around the flower petals. Looking at the Kotobukiya one, the flower part of her sword doesn’t have those same kind of details, but does have a cool engraving on her sword.
Overall, the Aniplex figure has a ton of things to like about it. It just boils down to personal preference. Price wise, It’s going to cost you less to get the Kotobukiya figure for ¥12,825 ($95) at Hobby Search and ¥18,990.00 ($140) for the Aniplex one, if you are still able to find one in Japan. I just prefer the pose, quality and overall size of the Kotobukiya ARTFX-J figure just a bit more. So, I would recommend the ARTFX-J figure over the Aniplex version. Although, you can’t really go wrong with either.
Pictures
Otaku Sinh’s collection
OTAKU SINH 