Polyvinyl Crush

I knew before getting into Gurren Lagann that the hype machine behind it was strong and that honestly made me a little weary of the series.  But the fact that it’s a Gainax title made me believe that there was something behind it.  When I finally watched it I was treated to a show beyond what I expected – Gurren Lagann’s unique mix of sci-fi, comedy, and art style combined with a hint of old-school mech made it an instant favorite.  Given the popularity of the show, I have been rather unimpressed with a number of the PVCs, until I found EnterBrain’s 1/7 scale Yoko figure.

Your Hobby is one that shall pierce through the heavens!

Originally released in Japan in May of 2008 at a retail of about $70 (USD) Yoko has since been discontinued.  Most online shops appear to be out of stock of Yoko – if they got her at all.  I myself wasn’t even aware of her existence until Otakon.

I didn’t actually this Yoko PVC while at Otakon because balalaika_ism found it first and had been struggling with deciding whether or not to buy it; ultimately deciding against due to the $180 price tag.  I later found it on eBay for a more reasonable price and he again decided against buying it.  Oh well, more for me!

All fan-service aside, this Yoko PVC is really something special and EnterBrain outdid themselves with the paint application.  The only other figure I have of theirs is Rei and my biggest problem with her was that the base coat was all over the board.  Thankfully that is not the case here as Yoko displays a crisp paint line and a lot of flesh tones.

EnterBrain’s sculpt for Yoko is a less dynamic than some of the other sculpts that are eventually coming and I do feel this “reserved” look is at odds with the how Yoko truly exists as an character.  It’s a small critique though: Sol International Yoko may have the characterization right, but I think EnterBrain Yoko still wins with better design and detail.

Talking about this figure so much has made me want to marathon Gurren Lagann over the weekend – such an amazing show.  Oh, some of you may have noticed the lack of Bleach, Macross, and Code Geass R2 reviews and no Oricon Top 10 for this week.  Momo-chan’s computer crashed and he’s been having to work around that particular issue.  We’ll have them up as soon as we can.  Until then, enjoy the full Yoko gallery below.

Rico-sama

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