The Final Messenger
by Gatack
April 8, 2007
April 8, 2007
I was originally going to call this "It's only gay if you make eye contact" but after talking to my fellow reviewer (and photographer)
Tendou, he told me that it probably wasn't a good idea. Of course if you're familiar with the roaring estrogen torrent that is the
Yaoi Fan Girl Community, then you know that title would have been more than appropriate. But the chosen title works well
enough, and as for all the imagined or unimagined double entendre that comes with these two characters, I'll leave that can of
worms alone.
Tendou, he told me that it probably wasn't a good idea. Of course if you're familiar with the roaring estrogen torrent that is the
Yaoi Fan Girl Community, then you know that title would have been more than appropriate. But the chosen title works well
enough, and as for all the imagined or unimagined double entendre that comes with these two characters, I'll leave that can of
worms alone.
What we have here are one-eighth scale PVC statues of Shinji and Kaworu (with nifty NERV stand) from the universally popular
Shin Seiki Evangelion/Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series from the mid-90s. I may be in the minority, but I like Shinji. Yeah,
you heard me: I'm a fan of Shinji Ikari. In fact, he's the main reason I'm reviewing this. While he's the most frustrating guy to watch
on screen, I can easily say that he's been treated unfairly from day one. At his worst he's not fun to watch but you can't blame
him. Then there's Kaworu Nagisa, who is by far the most popular male in the show, and it can be argued (to a certain degree)
that he's the second-most popular character in the whole series behind Rei Ayanami.
Shin Seiki Evangelion/Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series from the mid-90s. I may be in the minority, but I like Shinji. Yeah,
you heard me: I'm a fan of Shinji Ikari. In fact, he's the main reason I'm reviewing this. While he's the most frustrating guy to watch
on screen, I can easily say that he's been treated unfairly from day one. At his worst he's not fun to watch but you can't blame
him. Then there's Kaworu Nagisa, who is by far the most popular male in the show, and it can be argued (to a certain degree)
that he's the second-most popular character in the whole series behind Rei Ayanami.
| Shinji & Kaworu PVC STATUE IMAGES |
Right off the bat you notice that both Shinji and Kaworu are wearing their school outfits. While I
prefer their plug-suit look its easy to understand why Kotobukiya chose their school uniforms
as it's their default outfits. Saki Asada does a great job in bringing life to Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
character designs. They literally look as if they walked off the page (or screen). It captures
every nuance of Sadamoto's art, from the way he draws gangly limbed teens to the oversized
hands he gives his characters.
As mentioned before both are in their school uniforms and neither are complicated designs.
The facial designs are fine-smooth with no excess plastic on the faces. There is some excess
on the school uniforms, primarily the right shoulders for both statues. Both were sculpted to be
sitting next to each other. They aren't bound by any pegged stand, so you can arrange them
anyway you want.
prefer their plug-suit look its easy to understand why Kotobukiya chose their school uniforms
as it's their default outfits. Saki Asada does a great job in bringing life to Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
character designs. They literally look as if they walked off the page (or screen). It captures
every nuance of Sadamoto's art, from the way he draws gangly limbed teens to the oversized
hands he gives his characters.
As mentioned before both are in their school uniforms and neither are complicated designs.
The facial designs are fine-smooth with no excess plastic on the faces. There is some excess
on the school uniforms, primarily the right shoulders for both statues. Both were sculpted to be
sitting next to each other. They aren't bound by any pegged stand, so you can arrange them
anyway you want.
Shinji's the definition of weakness and angst, so what kind of style can he possibly have?
How can you add style to someone that has none? You give him an insanely popular
character that girls would fawn over; that's how you give him style. Shinji as a stand alone
piece doesn't work. Adding Kaworu to the mix is the only way you can have a PVC statue
of Shinji sitting down. And it does work. Although it's not loaded with bells and whistles or
cool postures, the final product image of Shinji and Kaworu sitting together is as
appropriate as this piece can get.
How can you add style to someone that has none? You give him an insanely popular
character that girls would fawn over; that's how you give him style. Shinji as a stand alone
piece doesn't work. Adding Kaworu to the mix is the only way you can have a PVC statue
of Shinji sitting down. And it does work. Although it's not loaded with bells and whistles or
cool postures, the final product image of Shinji and Kaworu sitting together is as
appropriate as this piece can get.
| For more PVC galleries go here... |
Kaworu, on the other hand, does have some quality control problems on his hair. I've run into a lot of paint excess. It's not a
sight you want to see on hair that's supposed to be sharp and stylish. The whites in his eyes are not smoothed out towards the
end of the eyes. The eye thing is a pretty common thing when it comes to PVC. Maybe if you're the forgiving type you can chalk
it up to being on the short end of the mass production stick, but for me it's a bit distracting.
sight you want to see on hair that's supposed to be sharp and stylish. The whites in his eyes are not smoothed out towards the
end of the eyes. The eye thing is a pretty common thing when it comes to PVC. Maybe if you're the forgiving type you can chalk
it up to being on the short end of the mass production stick, but for me it's a bit distracting.
The Packaging from Kotobukiya tends to range from straight forward and simple to great.
This one, while not great, is very good as it's one of the more graphic-intensive boxes
they've done. It showcases each PVC figure on each side while the iconic NERV logo is
at the bottom surrounded by certain information (like sculptor name and so on). Inside you
see nice graphics with the names of Shinji and Kaworu repeated throughout (graphics
similar to the style that were used in the show - a nice touch).
It's a busy package but not a cluttered mess.
One nice feature is a window that allows you to see both figures inside. Besides being
aesthetically pleasing, it's useful to help you compare paint jobs. After all, anything that
gives you the option of finding the best figure for you money can't be a bad thing.
This one, while not great, is very good as it's one of the more graphic-intensive boxes
they've done. It showcases each PVC figure on each side while the iconic NERV logo is
at the bottom surrounded by certain information (like sculptor name and so on). Inside you
see nice graphics with the names of Shinji and Kaworu repeated throughout (graphics
similar to the style that were used in the show - a nice touch).
It's a busy package but not a cluttered mess.
One nice feature is a window that allows you to see both figures inside. Besides being
aesthetically pleasing, it's useful to help you compare paint jobs. After all, anything that
gives you the option of finding the best figure for you money can't be a bad thing.
The Shinji and Kaworu two-pack isn't by any means as appealing as the various Rei or Asuka statues from Kotobukiya.
Although Shinji is the main character he hardly ever gets any type of merchandise. I'm glad that Kotobukiya threw us Shinji fans
a bone and gave us this two-pack (guess Kotobukiya can't release Gothic Lolita or bikini versions of Rei and Asuka every
month). While to some this may be a lackluster release I can say that speaking for myself I'm satisfied with it. Hopefully we'll get
plug-suit versions of Shinji and Kaworu sooner rather then later.
Although Shinji is the main character he hardly ever gets any type of merchandise. I'm glad that Kotobukiya threw us Shinji fans
a bone and gave us this two-pack (guess Kotobukiya can't release Gothic Lolita or bikini versions of Rei and Asuka every
month). While to some this may be a lackluster release I can say that speaking for myself I'm satisfied with it. Hopefully we'll get
plug-suit versions of Shinji and Kaworu sooner rather then later.
Images by Tendou
We're not dealing with the most complex of color schemes and designs, so any painting mistakes would be very noticeable.
Over the years I've seen several PVC statues from Kotobukiya that range from clean to dirty (the Kagome release being the
worst I've encountered). This set is a mixed bag. Their school outfits are given a nice shade throughout, primarily on the folds
of their clothes. Shinji himself is fairly clean with no noticeable flaws at all.
Over the years I've seen several PVC statues from Kotobukiya that range from clean to dirty (the Kagome release being the
worst I've encountered). This set is a mixed bag. Their school outfits are given a nice shade throughout, primarily on the folds
of their clothes. Shinji himself is fairly clean with no noticeable flaws at all.
He's also the main reason this piece from Kotobukiya will sell.
The yen price on this two-pack is 5800, which converts to 49 USD (some places here in
the states sell it for as high as 58 USD). You can find this two-pack for 40 bucks if you
look hard enough. Getting two one-eighth scale PVC statues for $40 is a good pick-up,
since some same size ones go for 6800 yen.
the states sell it for as high as 58 USD). You can find this two-pack for 40 bucks if you
look hard enough. Getting two one-eighth scale PVC statues for $40 is a good pick-up,
since some same size ones go for 6800 yen.
