This will be the first figure of 2014, that I will review today, Keiji is a real gem to start with.
Maeda Keiji or Maeda Toshimazu is a often used character in anime culture , as male in Sengeku Basara or Gifuu Doudou!! As a person of female gender, she made her appearance in Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Bride, where she was a supporting character who tought the group how to master their Ki and played with the girls, since she happens to swing that way.
Maeda Keiji was an eccentric person, something like a dandy, the dandy in general is a libertine who likes and express himself with good looking, fancy clothes. His goal is to live according to his standards and ethics. The female Keiji is kind, but also a little mischievous prankster.
Maeda Keiji was released in the end of January 2014, she was sold as exclusive figure by Hobby Japan but manufactured by ALTER. The figure is based on the art of Nishii (Nitro+) and the figure was sculpted by the skilled Tanaka Sen’u. Keiji is one of the bigger 1/8 scale figure with umbrella she measures arouaround 28 cm in height. The figure comes with a box, an elegant black base with golden decorations, a pretty large umbrella and a nicely detailed katana.
Hair & Face
The figure has light brown hair, the hair looks very detailed and shows strands, all around her head. The hair was put into a lovely ponytail hairstyle and has dynamic flow. A pipe ties her hair together, a smart way to hide her gadget. Keiji has a very pretty face and throws an adorable smile at the viewer, the open mouth is cute with the white little fang it has an michievous character.
Her purple eyes are gorgeous, they are surrounded by jagged eyelashes which are typical for characters created by Nishi, they are accentuating her face a lot. The figure has slightly rosy cheeks and a pointy chin.
Outfit & Body
Hyakka Ryouran is known for mixing traditional japanese outfits with anime fashion, but I don’t know what about Keiji is anime fashion, with her string bra and open hotpants that are more suited for a stripclub or other premises, I’m a bit lost. Well, but maybe she is a rock star. Rock stars can wear such eccentric sexy outfits without being labeled as ho.
I like her outfit a lot nevertheless, it is just awesome and I love how elegance and boldness mix.
You have the elegance of an traditional japanese dress in shape of an richly decorated kimono. The sleeves are simply beautiful with the nice vivid colors and the white inlay, but I wonder how they printed that clear pattern on her kimono with all the folds and curves.
The string like underwear is hot and accentuates the attractive points of the lovely Keiji even more. The stocking like boots have a cool texture with some good looking wrinkles and the red soles are a real eyecatcher, the hotpants are a red black combination and resemble shiny leather, the front has a deep opening, also at the butt her hotpants also have a cutout window.
For a figure made by ALTER, which was long known for being rather conservative, Maeda Keiji is incredibly skin revealing and it looks so nice. The whole belly can be seen in all it’s sculpted glory.
Keiji has the body and curves of a grown up woman with great hips and strong thighs on the long legs, her fairly sized boobs come in a tear drop shape, not much is left to the imagination.
Final Words
ALTER didn’t disappoint with any of their Hyakka Ryouran figures, they are all great figures, but in my humble opinion Maeda Keiji is the best, she’s cute, she’s hot and she is simply beautiful.
I really like that she has this certain, strong Nitro+ look, especially her eyes, I love her cheerful and friendly smile with the lively “I’m taking a little afternoon walk” pose. The flamboyant outfit is gorgeous and a good example for an eccentric style, the kimono part is nicely sculpted and has great colors, together with the bold hotpants, string bra and stockings a charming contrast is created. The umbrella adds a lot of elegance to this beautiful otherwise barely dressed girl.
Well, this very lack of clothing is another one of Keiji’s charm points, she has a really great body. The design is great and ALTER did an remarkable job transfering it into a wonderful bishoujo figure. I’m very happy about this purchase, Maeda Keiji is the kind of figure I really like.
The whole figure is a very good example of ALTER’s craftsmanship also with the heavy umbrella attached Maeda Keiji still stands firmly on her base and no support rod needs to be placed.
Hoshiko
I never really understand what’s exclusive figures. Figures for only one magazine? One store? Limited numbers? Is it really not available elsewhere?
The thing I like most about this figure is that kimono. Loved the design, pattern and color!
wieselhead
Exlusive means that you can’t get it at the big regular japanese shops like AmiAmi, the japanese people have to order through a magazine.
The western people just have to use proxy buyers like mbttoys or yokattaweb. In Germany you can also buy them in shops.
Yeah it looks great and balances the sexy rest of her dress quite a bit, with the umbrealla she’s like one of these elegant english ladies XD
frasbob
I’ve always been a fan of Alter’s Hyakka Ryouran series of figures. The sculpt always seem to be really well done and the colors seem to be visually pleasing. Looks like they’ve continued this trend with this figure, very nice!
wieselhead
Yes, is a very appealing design, ALTER’s whole Hyakka Ryouran lineup is made of incredible, pretty figures.
Halbred
Really fantastic, love all the little details, and that umbrella is EPIC!
Might have to pick her up someday–you’ve definitely put her on my radar.
wieselhead
nice to read you again 😉
That’s also my opinion of Maeda, the concept behind this figure is great and she turned really well.
I can just recommend to get this figure, thx for the kind words.
Jenn
She looks absolutely incredible, as expected of Alter. I love her punk-rock/traditional costume. The colours on her kimono are gorgeous as well. I love how warm she looks. I’m badly tempted to buy her myself now, before her market price shoots to the moon, alas, financial situations are tight these days. I never noticed that her hair looped around her neck in the front! She also has a pretty nicely defined stomach area.
wieselhead
Yeah this design is just amazingly pretty, please get her ;D she’s worth the money.
I’s a purchase I won’t ever regret, Maeda Keiji is a great packages of different styles and appeals, yet very well balanced.
you rarely see something sexy as Keiji from ALTER, they did a great job with sculpting her body and skin showing areas.
I love that she’s both, bold and elegant, she makes me smile everytime I look at her childish cute face ^^
Bakayaro
Ich habe sie auch zuhause stehen aber irgendwie bin ich weniger gehyped als erwartet. Ich habe an 1/8 Figuren leider nicht mehr soviel Spaß wenn es ums Fotografieren geht. D= Mittlerweile ist mir die Hyakka Ryouran Reihe auch ein wenig zu … naja ausgelutscht wäre nun ein wenig zu hart aber eigentlich ist es schon so. Ich hoffe ich kriege noch Spaß am Fotografieren bei ihr damit das Review auch gut wird. Deins gefällt mir jedenfalls. ^^
wieselhead
so wie ich das mitbekommen habe kam sie ungefähr zeitgleich mit Momo bei dir an, eventuell stinkt Keiji deshalb etwas ab XD
Die Figur ist eigentlich schon größer als das normale 1/8 Maß, aber groß widersprechen kann ich dir in puncto Größe nicht.
1/8 ist schon so das untere Ende, ich mag größere Figuren auch mehr, von 1/7 bis zu 1/6 machen die schon mehr her.
Dennoch kommen immer noch viele schöne Figuren als 1/8 raus, und Maeda Keiji ist eine für mich hervorragende Figur dieser Größe.
Ja ist wohl ein wenig ausgelutscht, aber das Design gefällt mir immer noch. Nur eine pornöse Gisen fehlt mir aber noch. Verdammt! XD
Evtl findest du noch Gefallen an Keiji, schlecht gemacht ist sie keinesfalls
Dankeschön ^^
Tier
I missed the preorder boat for this figure, so I wound up ordering it from Hobbyfan, and I’m not sure if they’re going to come through for me or not (the same situation applies to the swimsuit Lucifer figure, too). I really hope they do because she looks great. In fact, she might be the best Samurai Girls figure Alter has made thus far, at least in my view. She’s got a great costume; I really like how Niθ often incorporates lots of straps in his character designs, not too mention the generous body proportions. She was also a fun character in the anime, from what I remember, though I really don’t remember much of the anime at all. (I was a little disappointed when it turned out she was in disguise, since I liked the way that particular character acted while she was being impersonated.)
I really like your background setup; it works really well with this sort of character. This kind of traditional, east Asian-style decor always looks classy.
wieselhead
Seriously? I try to make sure not to lose an exclusive figure, that I really want, because of waiting for too long.
There are certain shops I rather don’t want to do business with when only a few copies are left 😀 Good luck with both orders ^^
I also think she’s one of the best Samurai Girls figures, style and expression really match and create a wonderful appearance, on the other figures there was always a little but.
She’s a pretty and quite sexy nitro+ lady 😀 I also don’t remember much aside from great maid uniforms and more cute Jubei screentime. If ALTER had made them as maids, I would have ordered the majority XD
Hmmm didn’t she play in Naoe disguise?
Thank you, it took a little time to build and make the sticks stand up, but it’s something I can reuse.
The setup for the upcoming Tharja might also turn out more elaborate, I already gathered so many parts, the figure just needs to be released ^^
Aya
I really like how she looks probably because the umbrella it give different impression from her sexy looking outfit 😀
wieselhead
Hehe, I see, the umbrealla really is something that make her stand out.
But I also think that her face and body are convincing ^^
Adam
Man, Alter’s Hyakka Ryouran lineup has been remarkably good. I haven’t received my Keiji yet, so I can’t compare notes, but she looks about as good as I could have hoped in your photos. I like how you created a little bamboo forest for this shoot; quite thematically appropriate for this figure. It’s interesting that they went with a black base when all the previous non-swimsuit figures have been white. Maybe that’s a design cue for the new Samurai Bride characters?
wieselhead
Yes, that’s true 😉 You should like your copy, I haven’t heard anything bad about her.
From time to time, building a more elaborate set is fun and I really wanted to have this forest for her. I’m not always sure about the dimensions, so a 60 x 40 cm might be a bit much ;D
I like this black base for the Samurai Bride line very, the black gloss with the gold printing is rather elegant.
kixkillradio
Alter’s Hyakka Ryouran figures didn’t disappoint me at all. The line up are visually stunning including this one. I don’t have them, but I enjoy seeing these figures photographed by you and other figure photographers. The detail and design of her Kimono is really nice, while the string bra and high socks bring out the sexiness of the character. Props to the bamboo diorama! <3
wieselhead
Indeed, it has been a great line of figures, the outfits are really fashionable. Maeda is my only Hyakka Ryouran figure at the moment, I had two moreof them before.
Maeda maybe is my favorite of them ^^ Thank you, it was fun to build it, even though preparing it took some time.