Coincidentially, the figure of todays review is also in posession of an traditional japanese umbrealla. It’s a figure of Senran Kagura‘s timid, rebelish, prodigy ninja student Yagyuu.
This figure was manufactured by Vertex, a relatively new company in the figure business.
Two sculptors, Hogary and M.I.C. worked together to create this figure, which was released by the end of January 2014. Yagyuu is scaled 1/8 and a litttle taller than 20 cm without umbrella.
Senran Kagura is well known for it’s skin revaling games, but there already was an animes and 2 or more manga’s, readinng Shoujotachi no Shinei was really nice unfortunately it’s translation appears to be on hold, like it happens with many mangas I do enjoy once in a while.
Yagyuu is a 15 years old and often shows a timid somewhat distant delinquent attitude, but she is a trustworthy companion and would never harm her friends. She is quite attached to Hibari on a personal level, cause sh reminds her of her passed away litttle sister, but she also likes her on a physical level, both are close friends and you will see them together most of the day. Yagyuu acts very protective towards Hibari, who isn’t the best ninja candidate around .
This is my first figure from Vertex so I didn’t know what to expect, the prototype looked really good and so placed my preorder. To honest my first impression after unpacking her was not that great. There were no damages or screaming flaws, my expectations were just too high.
After I took first pictures I’ve literally seen her in a better light and began to appreciate her more, still not the level of an Maeda Keiji, but that would have been a more than optimistic demand.
Hair & Face
The long, bushy ultra twintails of Yagyuu are actually nice, the sculpting is not that crisp, but nevertheless it shows a certain kind of clean detailism and obviously it’s fluffy wildly flowing look is really cute. Seperated by shuriken’s the twintailes have quite a number of strands, that are accentuated by shading of a lighter tone above the basic purple color.
Yagyuu greets the viewer with a somehow gloomy expression on her pretty face, the overall style is different from the Senran Kagura figures sculpted by Ringo Renmei, like Hibari or Katsuragi, a bit less cartoonish. With one eyepatched eye Yagyuu has a strong expression.
The skincolor is pale and is quite different compared to the prototype.
I got really picky about the opacity level of the figures skin and I can’t shake it off anymore.
Body & Outfit
Yagyuu ‘s body looks great, her curvy body and the detailed belly in particular, overall the body sculpting is really well done and makes an appealing figure of her. Oh these muscular thighs are not bad either and I shouldn’t forget to mention her really pretty backside.
Yagyuu has not much of an outfit, most of her clothes torn to shreds, the skirt with the good looking pattern shows most damage, her scarf and even her socks suffered a bit. The scarf is very long and consists of three parts, the two single bands slide in slots positioned in the main piece. The main outfit is ashiny black bikini, the tight fit is really attractive. On the prototype the straps of the bikini were shown with distance to her body, in the end it was included in the body mold, which is no the best way to do it nowadays. The straps above her boobs are only painted on the top, on close look it’s rather irritating. The only major flaw are these bikiini straps.
You can play around with the different castoff stages, it’s up to you if you would like to display her with scarf and skirt, just the skirt or without these parts, in all her black bikini glory.
The umbrella is Yagyuu’s main weapon and one of her figures major appeal points. This umbrella turned out really good, it is very detailed with accurate lines and realistic weathered shading effects. The supporting bar framework inside is quite elaborate. The grip slides in both hands and guarantees a solid fit.
The base is red for whatever reason, it’s not what I would call displeasing for the eye, but it is a bit uncommon, also the writing on it is a litttle strange, it looks more like a dripping brush than japanese letters.
Final Words
Is Yagyuu a good figure? Yes, in all honesty she is. This figure from Vertex has an eye catching design with her voluminous twintails, the torn clothes and of course the nicely sculpted and articulated body, On the bottomline it’s a very attractive figure with a few minor flaws, like the bikini straps. On a more positive note, things like overpainting or seam lines from the molding process, are a rarity on Yagyuu from Vertex. The difference between the prototype’s skintone and the final product is obvious, but actually something to get over easily, not as hideous as on a certain Kobato figure. I was a bit sceptical as I unpacked this figure, but Yagyuu turned out to be a nice figure, fully assembled with her pretty umbrella she looks pretty good.
BioToxic
I’ve got this figure of Yagyuu as well and she’s one of my favourites out of all the Senran Kagura figures released so far. I’ve also got Ikaruga from Vertex and have to say Yagyuu is a huge improvement. I really like their version of Ikaruga, she just doesn’t have the same amount of customisation available.
I love the fact Yagyuu has various stages of cast-off plus a really nice pose. Her body sculpt is amazing to look at as well. I was excited for her when she was first revealed and wasn’t disappointed by what I got. I’m actually really liking her paler skin tone vs the prototype, although it is disappointing the bikini straps are part of her sculpt rather than detached.
After playing Shinobi Versus on the PSVita I’ve been enjoying the black bikini models of Yagyuu rather than the pink polka dot one she had in the anime. My collection of Senran Kagura figures is growing quite a bit, I’ve got 4 so far. I’m hoping for a decent figure of Hikage – even better if it’s from Vertex. And Asuka as well, I’ve yet to find one which catches my attention.
wieselhead
Hi BioToxic, nice to read you, how have you been ?
Im a bit biased towards the ones from Phat Company with the Ringo Renmei characterdesign,
I admit that the Yagyuu from Renmei looks not good, that’s why I put my hope in Vertex.
I also put an eye on Ikaruga, her pantyhose is really sexy, but I would prefer her in a non uniform outfit.^^
Actually I like the AmiAmi zero prototypes at lot cause, they are really hot
Yagyuu has a great body, I like her as figure with the twintails and umbrella and stuff, that was a questionable thing to do,
otherwise it would have been a bit more visually appealing sight.
I don’t mind a change of outfits at all, always the same clothes are just a result of lazy animators and cheapskate studios 😛
I have three, maybe I’ll add Katsuragi from AmiAmi zero soon, there is this Asuka with rubber boobs XD
The one from ALTER unfortunately has a strangly tilted head. Mhh let’s see, I would love to see a pretty figure of Haruka ( ＾∇＾ )
thx for the comment , take care
kixkillradio
She looks radiantly pretty even with the gloomy expression. I love the body sculpt, for a moment you would think it’s a person’s back. I like her more with the bikini than with the ragged skirt. Great photo set and review. I love the lighting you did here. I wish I can shoot scale figures like this. Keep it up!
wieselhead
She has a good presence after all, I think the hairstyle and the umbrella give her some additional style. Yeah, her back is surprisingly detailed, I was like “Oh thats quite nice ^^ “.
I agree with you about that, the scarf appears a bit out of place when half of her clothes are already missing ;D
Oh thank you very much, it makes me happy to hear that. At first the difficulty with indoor shots is to get the right light, not too hard, not too bright.
It becomes easier with wireless flashes, diffusor and a set of color filters.
I think you are already very good with that, but feel free to ask me about it. Im far away from being an expert, but I have some experience ;D
thx for your comment.
Aeduque
Strangely, I find her neck longer than normal XD. Not much a fan of Senran Kagura (in a few days, when I get my paycheck I prolly will be though), but the one thing that got my attention was the skirt.
Btw what granulated stuff did you use along with the base? That looks interesting and it looks like dead leaves (first guess was crayola shavings :P)
wieselhead
Maybe that’s true ^^ You can find longer necks at a number of castoff able figures.
Haha I sse, you will get the game? Well, I also like her damaged skirt.
It’s the kind of stuff you can get at arts and crafts store, it are tiny stonesmixed with copper color.
Miette-chan
WELL THANKS FOR SPOILING YAGYUU’S BACKSTORY YOUR PRICK! 😛
I like Yagyuu, I’m fond of her aloof personality and overprotectiveness of Hibari. Not sure why but she ended up becoming my favorite of the girls. I do find this figure pretty aloof, just standing there under her umbrella without a care in the world even though her clothes are have gone.
Finally, someone I know buys a Vertex figure and gives it a good closer look. Been really curious about this new(?) manufacturer since they released their Noel Vermillion. Seeing as the Queen’s Gate version is stupid expensive theirs seems like a bargain. Good to see they make decent figures, might pick up their Noel. Someday when I’m not throwing hundreds at some other figures.
wieselhead
Haha ruddeness, but you are right, but who cares it’s not in the least essential for the story ^^
Well, I like all the light ninja girls, they all are very likeable and physically attractive, I love their curves.
Yagyuu is a pretty cool character, she appeared to be a lot more grown up compared to the others.
You are welcome 😀 I was also a bit curious about it. They doesn’t seem too bad in terms of quality, there are a few minor things to complain about, but overall the figure is conving enough.
Well, that can’t be helped.
Kai
It’s kinda weird how a new figure like this one was still painting the bikini straps together with the main body, even though most figures had been making the bikini straps separate then that of the body.
wieselhead
I’d rather seen this fixed somehow, even if that had triggered a further delay.
It’s not fair to present this separate look on the prototype , but not in the final product.