Tomopop Review: Alter's Senhime

10:00 AM on 08.21.2010   |   Scott Kremer

Senhime was always a "should I or shouldn't I purchase" in my mind. On one hand, I loved the outfit and the pose, but on the other hand, the face looked a little flat. In the end, the fact that she was another Hyakka Ryouran release by Alter tipped the odds toward purchasing her, so now she's mine, like it or not. And I'm not going to mince words here. Senhime easily one of my favorite purchases of the year. She's incredibly photogenic, and looks good from pretty much all angles (despite my initial concerns about the face). The details on her outfit are nearly unparalleled, and all the layers blew my mind.

So now you know how I feel about her. Normally, I save any words I have about the quality of the figure until after the jump, but this time you're going to find out why I love her. So as they say, hit the jump and let's see some details!

I imagine back in the days of samurai, you'd rarely find one wearing an outfit the likes of Senhime's. Wearing an outfit that mixes modern day schoolgirl allure (that skirt, those tights), and half traditional dress, she's definitely got her own thing going on. But throw in the sword and you'll think twice before commenting on her odd fashion choice. I say let it be. Let's start with the most exciting part, the box shots!

*crickets*

Okay, here we go.

The front of the box is nice, but nothing compared to Momohime's. Still, Senhime is visible, as well as her trusty sword.

And ... sides of box. Nothing special here, but we at least get some nifty view of what she'll look like outside of the package. Interesting to note are the extra windows in, which don't really serve much good but at least give us the feeling Alter is trying to convince us to buy what's inside.

Finally, back of box! There's not much more than we saw on the sides, but at least we get a view of her from behind, and that kimono (correct me if I'm wrong; I'm pretty sure it's a kimono) is gorgeous. They really should have spent more room detailing that, but no worries; I'm about to soon.

It's finally time to take her out, so let's get some at her without her naginata in hand.

Honestly, she could be holding on to anything, so if you have some accessories around this pose is quiet exploitable. But as you can see, the box wasn't lying. The detail is all there. Everything from the print on the cloth to the pleats in her skirt ... it's gorgeous. And she's colorful, much more so than I had expected her to be! Blues, reds, purples, browns; everything works together to deliver a fantastic piece that I am happy to own. One downside may be the base (which is rather plain), but I'm willing to overlook it for the rest of the sculpt.

That dress from the side just wows me. The combination of flowers in a smoke-like pattern along with the bright red, yellow, and blue hems on the tails of her sleeves sells it. And while she's not the most dynamic figure of all time (I know, we've been oohing and aahing over dynamicism for some time now), she does appear to be striking a somewhat sassy pose, almost as if she's tapping her heel. That fashionista!

... And from the back! More of the same as far as her dress goes, but here you can see the lengths Alter went to to give the hair depth. And there is no way it wasn't intentional to allow the fabric to split at that point. You can get a decent view of her rear if you care to. Granted, this was part of her original illustration, so Alter aren't just being pervs. Look at those knots, though! I'll say it again, incredible sculpting, combined with a stellar paint job.

The other side looks pretty much the same, but here you can get a better view of the sleeve's tail, along with the rope holding her kimono on. Really, what else is there to say? Gorgeous.

Oh, you wanted to see pictures of her with that naginata, huh? You masochist, you! That is one dangerous-looking piece of equipment, and rather large too. It comes in two parts, making it easier to stick through her clothes where it needs to go and into her hand. The actual rope is easy to navigate into her hand, but if it's too much to ask for you to figure it out yourself, they have graciously provided instructions. Not that you'll need them if you have half a brain. And considering I am lacking half a brain, I used the instructions.

Ah, Senhime. It couldn't be just a normal sword, could it? You had to get that spiky weapon attached to the end? I bet it wouldn't feel pleasant to be punctured by that, either. Let's take a closer look at her weapon.

Dear God. Keep that away from me, lady. And that other end...

... Yes, that! Put it away! And you were so cute before you got all stabby on me. Still, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume it's for self defense. Not that you need to defend yourself from me. Alright, I'm talking to a PVC figure. Back to real life. Let's take a close look at the length of that naginata.

Yup, it's about as long as she is tall. A samurai she is. On to some more non-death-related details....

She's got one of those on each side of her head. I assume they denote her affiliation (or so I was told by the wife before I took the picture that got me in trouble). Looks good! Yeah, we have a seam, but who doesn't these days? I wish there were a more elegant solution, but if Alter hasn't figured it out yet, who will? At least it's not glaringly obvious.

Shoes? You said you wanted shoes? Oh, here they are. Nice detail, right? Can't argue with them. Laces, and ... what was that? It wasn't shoes?

The money shot. And it isn't even that bad, right? But the conversation went a bit like this:

"Hey, you can see her underwear from there!"
"Oh, yes, I guess you kind of can from that shot ..."
"Stop pretending you didn't know you did it! Why would you take that kind of picture anyway?"
"Oh, it's for our viewers. They expect this kind of thing."
"Your viewers?!?"
"Yeah ..."
"..."

And now I get the silent treatment. But it's for you, dear viewers, I promise! So what do you say, worth it or not? I'm still sticking to the totally innocent showing off her pleats defense, but what if I make the same, er, mistake on a future review? I guess I'll have to be careful from now on or else deal with her wrath.

Okay, with that over with, let me show a few more details before we're through.

Remember when I said I was worried about her face being flat? Well, here you go! Plenty of definition. It's still not entirely faithful to the original illustration, but I'm happy with it and it looks so much better than it did in the original shots. Also, remember when I said she looks great from any angle? Take a look at the following photos and tell me if you disagree:

I haven't totally analyzed the expression yet, but it's interesting. She looks determined, yet is blushing. I'm not sure how to read that. Still, she looks wonderful and I can't help but recommend her to anyone considering picking her up! She's still available at HobbyLink Japan for only 7,800 yen in addition to many other of your favorite stores. Given that she's an Alter and is one of the most detailed of the Hyakka Ryouran series, I give her my highest recommendation

By the way, I missed a couple photos in the review, so be sure to check out the gallery below for more pics!

[Thanks to HobbyLink Japan for the review sample]