SkyLuv Project Love Hina #3 Shinobu Maehara

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

Back in the time when Love Hina was very popular due to the anime show, a lot of Love Hina stuff was released.  EPOCH's C-Works SkyLuu Project was one of them.  It released six SkyLuv Projects in Love Hina series & was working with Kaiyodo.  Shinobu Maehara is the third figurine to be released.  When I first saw these figurines, I wanted them cause they looked cool.  At the time, I was too poor to afford them.  It was over years later that I brought some of them at J-Hobby in the discount bin.  I grabbed whatever SkyLuv Project figurines were left & Mitsune was one of them.

There is a Diamond version released in North America as well.  But, I don't think this was re-issued in Japan when the Diamond version became available.

The Review

Shinobu Maehara in blister card package

Shinobu comes with a nice amount of accessories to play with to create a scenery where she is drying out some laundry.  She has a drying hanger, a basket, a bird, a fence, a PE uniform set, a flower pot, a school uniform set, & a pair of panties.  There's really a lot of good stuff here that you may want to use them all really.  Let's look at some of the workmanship of the accessories & Shinobu herself.

The details are really amazing for something very old.  The molding & paint job is very good.  The colours are quite soft & a bit bold on some.  The boldness comes from the clothing really.  The molding on the basket isn't even as you can see the lines aren't straight. This is possibly because the company wanted to created that wicked basket appearance.  The lettering is very clean as the etching job makes the words readable.  Also, the lines are quite even with minor or no bleeds.  It's very well done really.

As for the articulations on Shinobu, I have no idea how good it is.  Based on what I seen on the figurine, the head, arms, legs, & foot are moveable.  The arm isn't bendable at the elbow area.

The facial expression that Shinobu has really captures her character well.  The face is a bit different from the anime design.  I'm thinking it's close to the manga design, but I haven't seen it before.  Anyways, the etching job is very clean here.  The eyes really give that innocent expression.  I feel the cheek blush is a bit heavy.  It really stands out a lot.

Overall Conclusion

I can't grade the SkyLuv Project Love Hina #3 Shinobu Maehara figurine since she's still in her blister card.  I don't know how good the articulation is & the stability of it.  Plus, I sold it away.

If you are looking for this Shinobu figurine, you would have to look hard to it.  Even though it's old & the price for it has dropped, it's not an easy find; especially if you are looking for the whole set.  This figurine use to come up a bit on online auctions in the past, but now it's virtually not there anymore.  Stores that I have been to have her as a clearance item at lower price.  But that's the Diamond version.  I'm not too sure what differences that the Diamond & Japanese version have.  Chances of getting Shinobu will be the Diamond version.  You can pretty much forget about getting the Japanese version.

Photos were taken using Sony DSC-F828 digital still camera.

Last updated on April 10, 2008