Ryoko Kaminagi,or how to videotape without being as creepy as Tomoyo

Zegapain was one of those anime which, I think, flew under a lot of radars. In terms of story, it was quite similar to the Matrix series of films. But then, I didn't like the Matrix series of films, and I did like Zegapain. Two dimensionality might have had something about that. Another notable thing about Zegapain was its animation; for the time it was quite well done, and thus it probably translates rather well to bluray. Not that I'll ever see it, since bluray anime in general is somewhat rare in the US, and the chances of seeing a BD for a series which is near impossible to find now even in ordinary DVD form are effectively zero.

The third thing that I liked about it, though, were the characters. For typical school/mecha fare, they were oddly compelling, and one of them was one Ryoko Kaminagi.

This is, I think, one of the more interesting figures in my collection. Not because it's a particularly good one. It's not a bad one, mind, and I like it, but because it was just about the only PVC done of any character in the series. In 1/8th scale, by Alter, I picked it up more or less on a lark from jlist, around 2008. It was, I think, somewhere around $70, which I thought was on the high end. Now, one finds it listed on ebay for between $300 and $500, if it's still mint and in the box. Not too shabby.

Unfortunately, my particular Ryoko is substantially less than mint. As one of my very first figures, I was still somewhat of a newcomer to the game, and I simply didn't know anything about proper care. I would dust her occasionally, perhaps, but I definitely didn't have a proper case. I think for some time I left her on the windowsill, in fact, and of course one should minimize the exposure of a PVC figure to direct sunlight. My figures are in front of a window, now, but that window is screened by windowblinds and a heavy duty blackout curtain. It's fun to work nights, sometimes.

Anyway, on to the piece of plastic. I think Ryoko is actually somewhat large, for 1/8th standards. She's in the rather stylish uniform of Maihara's high school, which I've always rated rather highly. Not quite in the standard sailor fuku mode, but the bow is a nice touch. As the more girl-next-door, down-to-earth foil in the series, her pose is rather cute and playful, hands behind her back. I don't really like her smile, as it's somewhat brackety (i.e. :] ish), and her hair isn't quite puffy enough, I suppose, but as far as her face goes, it could be worse.

The base is somewhat unremarkable green plastic, with two foot pegs holding her in place. I think that she may actually have developed a bit of a lean to one side, which would be notable as none of my other figures have fallen prey to this malady. It might just be a natural consequence of a walking pose. In any event, looked at in profile, I like how up and down her pose is. It's quite natural looking. Strange to consider that sort of thing, in a figure, but these are the things I come up with when I really think about it.

The bunching of her sweater vest is rather well done, and I like the shading that was done with it. Sadly, not all of the paint job is that good; the Maihara logo on her breast has some small irregularities, and there's a little break in the V of her neck. I'm a fan of the pleated skirt, though, especially with the white stripe on the hem. I should use this outfit for a MUSH character, in fact.

How can I do a figure session without a panty shot? I hate the flash in this picture; I took a lot more pictures for this one, both with and without flash, and I couldn't really get either to work properly. Next week I experimented with natural sunlight, and you can decide for yourself how it turned out. Plain white, in this case; I wonder who was the first anime character to sport shimapan?

Ryoko is pretty well done, and from a time when Alter was really waxing in popularity. I'm pretty happy with her, though I wish I'd taken better care of her. Hindsight is 20/20, though, and now it's mostly a shame that other characters from the series didn't receive the same treatment.

As a small aside, after I finished this post and was moving on to the next, I found I'd taken some more daylight pictures. I'll append them here without commentary, for comparison purposes.