Figure review time, today my guest will be a pretty, young lady, Araragi Tsukihi, the sister of my highly admired hero from the Bakemonogatari universe. To be precisely, her origin is Nisemonogatari, where on arc was dedicated to her.
GSC’s Bakemonogatari line has been a story of success, they made distinctive and elaborate figures, based on the Blu Ray or DVD covers of Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ4E8BXc6cA
So far I only had bought 2 of these figures, I picked the figures I liked the most, based on visual appeal and character preference, Shinobu and Kanbaru. A recent addition was the figure I’ll review today. It’s about time that they make a good figure of Koyomi.
Tsukihi was released on the 7th of April this year, the figure is scaled 1/8 with an overall height of 23 mm. She was sculpted by Hiroshi who made a number of figures with a distinctive look.
GSC also offered a second color variant of her that featured the look from the anime with different colors and pattern. I prefered her in pink so I received this copy a few days ago.
What first meets the eye is the pipe construction, the base of this figure. It is a perfect model of pipe framework for kids, Americans call it jungle gym, everything was already assembled and looks quite clean. Everything follows the theme of the so popular summer festivals in Japan, the pipes are equipped with different fox mask and also one demon is hanging down.
The figure of Araragi Tsukihi is a real eyecatcher, not only because of the base, the figure is eceptionally well done and everything together creates a certain, convincing atmosphere.
Hair & Face
In the anime Tsukihi changes her hairstyle in a very regular manner, this figure presents her with a pretty bob, in my humble opinion it suits her the best. Her hair is black and shows nicely sharp yet rounded strands. As member of the Araragi family she has an ahoge.
At the backside the hair is really round, she looks a bit like Kafuka from Zetsubo Sensei.
As decoration for her hair, she has a sunny side up egg, which looks surprisingly fitting at the side of her head, when desired there is the option for it to be exchanged with a fox mask.
I’m in love with her innocent expression, Tsukihi has such a beautiful shaped face with great details, such as blush marks, a cute stubs nose and a small mouth. The depth of her eyes is incredible with this spot of reflection the level of detail is simply amazing. There is a little sadness in her eyes, a feel of thoughtful sadness, it gives her a lot of personality and appeal.
Outfit & Body
Putting her short temper aside, Tsukihi is a somewhat traditional person and appears very feminine in a pure sense, especially in comparison with her boar like sister, Karen. She is always wearing these Japanese clothes from a period long ago. The Yukata is crafted carefully with all the convincing details like inlays, wrinkles or the wide sleeves or the big obi that ends in a huge red ribbon. Who can tell the differences between a Yukata and a Kimono?
The Yukata here is colored in a nice bright pink color with a flower ornament pattern printed on it, on some areas a red Phoenix and some feathers can also been seen. This particular dress is a bit short to do climbing exercises. A character like her doesn’t need to look sexy. Compared to Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari still has smart dialog, but is quite heavy on the fanservice side involving the younger girls. So of course Tsukihi is ought shows at least a bit of her legs and how her dress tightly wraps around her butt, magnificent sculptwork.
The sculpting of the figures body is done very well, starting from the articulation, to the body who is still in development with the long slender legs this figure is convincing, even her toes are nice and look lively. These are some high soles under her feet.
Tsukihi is an enchanting, beautiful girl who would make every teenage boy happy, my fancy regarding female anime characters goes more into the direction of Hanekawa san.
Base
Putting her on the base is rather simple, Tsukihi grabs onto one of the upper pipes , the other hand has a little dent, where one of the upward pointing pipes slides in. The pulled up leg also helps with balancing the figure. GSC provided a little support for one foot for additional safety, but it works without it, even bumping against the desk won’t make her fall.
The pipe framework would be able to stand on it’s own, but for a more complete look, a floor base in the shape of a sunny side up egg, has been provided, unfortunately it is just plain white. It appears like a last minute idea, a more elaborate texture on it would be better.
However, you don’t have to use it and it won’t make the figure look bad in any way.
Final Words
“write slave, write!” So lets wrap this up now. Tsukihi is an amazing figure, she shows an interesting pose and has a beautiful outfit. My favorite part about the figure is the detailed face, it is beautiful and has a strong expression that shows personality. Also a cool base is another convincing part of Good Smile Company’s Araragi Tsukihi.
Overall it is an awesome, high quality figure ^^
Another review is availabe at Reflective Boundary and Hobby Holic
Another amazing figure that I received in the first months of this year, 2014 has been really great in terms of figures. Numbers don’t mean much, but this is my current Top 4 ranking.
1. Maeda Keiji
2. Araragi Tsukihi
3. Super Sonico PKG ver.
4. Sallya
Next time I’ll probably review Alleyne or a crazy Idol.
Luth
Lovely review! I wasn’t really a fan of Tsukihi’s character but this figure looks really nice, love the colors and the execution. The face is really cute, although in the view from the back, her head looks really… weird with the smooth bulb.
It’s really neat GSC is giving so much attention to their Monogatari figure bases, really would not mind picking more up. And yes, Hanekawa is my fav too 😉 Anyways, yeah, pic 57 was my fav, love that rim lit, dreamy look
wieselhead
Oh thank you ^^ Well, I guess she was more the annoying kind of little sister, as figure though she is wonderful ^_^
Yes, yo see these simple rounded backside of the head on more Bakemonogatari figures from GSc, I’m not that bothered by it.
It makes the figures even more special, I think.
Thank you so much =)
Aya
She’s beautiful better than I thought, I really like the pipes ahahaha, but what really steal my attention are the masks.
Differences of kimono and yukata, as I know mainly yukata is for summer 😀 while kimono is warm clothes for colder seasons so the collar looks thicker and also wearing socks mostly 😀 and kimono more decorative lol but I am not so sure about that
wieselhead
She turned out very nice, it’s such a pretty addition to the bakemonogatari line.
Of course there are many things to like about the whole thing.
Ah that sounds about right, but there are also different lengths for Yukata’s, the long ones are looking so similar to kimono’s.
Duqs
I completely fell in love with 068. I like how you did the Bokeh and the entire composition of the shot here.
At the risk of being sent to jail, that Tsukihi’s legs gave some sexiness to this figure. Well done sculptor-san. Props also to GSC for those figure and phoenix/crane print on the Yukata. Kimonos are normally worn for special occassions, while Yukatas are worn more casually. Check this video out for more details: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q7qa7kfoyI
Man, I actually got curious too when you popped that question.
wieselhead
Ah that is nice to hear I also like this one quite a bit, the figure is very photogenic anyway.
I had a lot of fun while taking pictures of her ｡^‿^｡
Haha Tsukihi is no loli anymore, it is all right to praise her long legs.
Ah I see, thank you for the video link its really interesting
Jenn
Tsukihi is the cutest! Especially her theme! It’s my favourite out of the entire monogatari crew. It makes me feel all bubbly. I wasn’t too fond of her character at first, but she grew on me as the show went on.
I had an inordinately difficult time selecting between Tsukihi’s pink and turquoise outfits, but in the end, I think pink fits better. The phoenixes are a fitting touch. It’s too bad about her plain white base, but seeing as the jungle gym can stand without it, it’s not a huge deal. It would have been nice if GSC put some extra attention into it though. Grass would have been nice. Or even sand. Come on, GSC, I know you can do it! XD
wieselhead
I also think that the figure is especially pretty and the presentation on the pipe framework, makes her stand out even more.
As character I actually don’t like her too much, I prefer others, her sister for example, but Tsukihi’s opening song was really enjoyable.
Sometimes it is also enough for me, when the figure is pretty and that is the case with Tsukihi.
Oh haha, that must have been tough, it depends on your taste, both is somewhat appealing 😉
The white disk is a bit lackluster since we know that GSC can do it far better.
If necessary, making your own floor would be easy or it should be not too challenging.
feal87
Tsukihi is the best and yes, she looks awesome in that figure. It’s a shame that you prefer Hanekawa over her…*cries*
wieselhead
Ah I thought you might like her, she’s lovely ^^
Lol, but I have no Hanekawa figure, isn’t that sad?
Miette-chan
Amazing pictures, it seems like everyone is on the same page for Tsukihi. You are kinda raising the bar a bit too high here, I’m a bit hesitant to take pictures of her now. I’m happy to say I finally have her in my hands, I too opted for the pink version as feel that one works better than the green version.
I gotten a total of two scaled figures so far this year and I gotta say right now Tsukihi is on top, looking at the rest of the year so far I think she might stay up there unless Wing manages to deliver with their Purple Heart.
Tsukihi just looks so good, all the nice detail with her clothes, her cure expression and pose, excellent craftsmanship… if only she wasn’t such a crazy woman. I gotta give props to GSC for this figure, this is the kinda stuff I don’t mind paying a bit more for.
wieselhead
Oh thank you, so much praise ^^ Yet I have to admit that nothing of this was planned before.
I received the figure and did the shooting at the same day. I had a little idea about the background light, but I did not buy the expensive cloth nor did I found my cardbox moon. With some leftover materials I luckily managed a convincing presentation for Tsukihi. Don’t feel demotivated, the figure deserves a shooting.
I guess I prefered pink because it feels less connected to the crazy girl, it also makes her more feminine ^^.
Yeah indeed Tsukihi is one of the top releases this I wonder if my other ordered vixens can compete on the same level.
Wing will have to try hard, I’m not too sad that I did not order the cheese Sonico, I was so hyped about.
Yet I have to see a review of her.
Lol Tsukihi was a crazy sister, not my kind of character, but beautiful.
kixkillradio
What a lovely set of photos. I really like the colors, the lighting and few bokeh lights in the background. It’s like she’s out somewhere in a summer festival.
I’m not really a fan of the anime, but I enjoy seeing their figures so much, this is my favorite and Suruga Kanbaru’s. My most favorite picture of all is the 2nd one from the last. <3 <3
wieselhead
Thank You, I’m glad it turned out visually appealing after all 😉
Oh, too bad I like the unique presentation of it.
The figures are among GSC’s finest figures, not all but most of them are beautiful.
Kanbaru is also a figure I like a lot, I didn’t bought her on release, but last year I got her.
Pinkcheeks
Ahhhh Tsuki-chan, she’s so adorable! Oh, for the love of all things pink, I love this one, oh wait, there’s also a green one, so.. good choice in getting the pink one! hahaha XD
wieselhead
Yes, the pink version really is my favorite, it makes her more feminine ^^
Fabrice
Having pre-ordered her but then missing out as I decided against buying her due to shipping cost and that import tax in UK is simply ridiculous, I managed to get Tsukihi while i was in Japan! thank god!
She is wonderful although I hate the plastic base, you did well to cover it and making more real(?) I chose to stick with the pink instead of the green version so that it goes with the illustration of the DVD and BD.
~now where is the rest of the figures!
wieselhead
Oh you were pretty lucky then, Tsukihi should not be missing when you nearly have all from GSC’s figure lineup.
It must be a different feeling to buy them directly in the shop.
On a white shelf the base isn’t half bad or bothering, stll the other bases feel more motivated.
Another one who prefers the pink, it suits hr just a bit better in my opinion.
Will there be more ^^ ?