Here’s another figure that I had purchased back in December 2009 but didn’t have time to do a review till now. I’m so back logged, it’s not funny – the evil companies keep coming out with new and great figures that I can’t catch up! But it’s my goal to review all the figures I have in my collection; oh yes, so it is written, so it shall be done…
I was introduced to this figure when I was browsing around HLJ and saw that she was up for pre-order. Actually I was introduced to Yoko’s character this way. I was (and still am) new to collecting anime figures and I’ve been out of touch with any anime series since Love Hina. So that’s been almost a decade that I’ve been out of the loop!
I usually start with some character background, but since I don’t know anything about Yoko (for shame), I’ll just write my filler on something else – her name. Her name really confuses me as I’ve seen it as Yoko Rittona, Yoko Ritona and also known as Yoko Littner. I’m guessing one is the Japanese version while the other is the English variant. But usually Japanesse goes by lastname first, so is her family name Yoko or is it Rittona? Ack! @_@ But since most people call her Yoko, I’ll just go by that for the rest of the review.
HLJ advertised that this was a sexy figure and a must have – well, I guess I can partially agree with that. She sure is sexy, that is until you look at her face. This is the number one complaint about this figure, is that her face look really really weird (i.e. like a man). At first I just brushed it off, I thought of it as mass hysteria and people were just jumping on the bandwagon as usual. But when I received the figure and had a good look at it in person, her face does look a little strange from certain angles. But I don’t mind as much and still think she looks pretty (enough). I don’t even think people will look at her face anyway! 
All was cool until I started taking photos of Yoko, however. I’m serious when I say this, I had chills run down my spine when I was taking photos of her face from straight on. It looked like she wass giving me the evil eye, and that grin of hers just creeped me out. Her face seemed devilish under the lighting and she was just taunting me. And the fact that I was taking these photos alone in the basement in the middle of the night didn’t help things either. I had to take a break and go upstairs to recompose myself before heading back down to continue on.
After getting past the odd facial structure, we come to the good parts – parts where I would focus for the remainder of the night. Yoko is sculpted by Hagii Shunji in 1/6 scale, she’s a rather large yet solid figure. She stands about 28cm head to toe, a really decent size to show off her “real version” body. This figure is the sculptor’s take on what Yoko would look like if she was a real person. It’s definitely an interesting attempt compared to all the anime-like Yoko figures in the past, and since release, I think it sold fairly well. But I’m only saying that from what I see in community comments and the number of reviews out on her already.
The breasts aren’t overly huge and seems fairly proportional to the rest of her body. You can see some detail of her rib cage as the body leans towards the right. Her waist is slightly wasp like, but not too much, which makes her look a little “buff”. I mean, she should be, if she’s carrying that anti-armour rifle around all the time, right?
The details in her pants gives off a bit of “camel toe” impression, maybe that was done by the sculptor to help emphasize some ecchiness? Her legs are pretty thick and they feel very solid, especially the right leg. It definitely feels heavier than the left leg since it’s the only thing supporting the entier figure up. It seems to be doing a good job as I haven’t seen or heard any reports of Yoko leaning so far – she’s been released for almost half a year. Her strong legs reminds me of Xena: Warrior Princess for some odd reason. It just popped into my head as I was writing this.
The pink stockings look really nice and adds a lot of sex appeal to Yoko. The way it’s painted is almost pink-pearl like and it has a semi-transparent feel to it. Sculpt of the wrinkles around her thigh and knees look great too – there are so many nice details about this Yoko, too bad the face is kind of scary looking straight on. Yoko retains her large anime-like boots, particularly the zippers, even though this is supposed to be a “real image version”. I don’t think I’ve ever seen boots in real life with zippers as large as these. They look kind of cool though.
I love Yoko’s pose, and the sculpt of her chest area, particularly the left side of her body. You can’t say you’re mouth doesn’t water when you see it…
The pink sling adds a feminine touch to Yoko’s character, and the way the sling runs between her fingers is a representative of that too. It’s like she’s saying she’s a girl, but she’s still tough! I found that her gloves are a little too glossy though, I think it would’ve provided a better contrast if it was matte. Her pants, sling, boots and stockings are already glossy enough.
From what I’ve read, her weapon is supposed to be an anti-tank / anti-armour rifle. It does look intimidating, but it looks more like a regular sniper rifle to me – bit of a half breed between a .50-cal Barrett and a PSG-1. The rifle definitely could’ve used more “oomph”, I think it’s too thin looking – maybe it’s an anorexic rifle? =P I’m not sure what the specifications are for this rifle as I’ve never watched Gurren Lagann, but it seems like her scope has different modes of views. Looks like it has three rotating modes, normal, night vision, IR/heat? I’m just guessing out of my ass here… lol
Yoko comes with an alternate hair attachment with sunglasses, just remove her original bangs and put on the new one with the shades and you’re golden! Just becareful not to drop Yoko from shock as you take her bangs off – you know, that scary face and all. Really, I’m just poking fun – I think her face is alright, but maybe the problem is that it’s sculpted a little too long. I do like her with the shades on though, it adds some personality to her looks. I just wish the glasses were designed a little more fashionable – it looks like a run-of-the-mill shop/safety glasses. =( That said, I do prefer Yoko with the glasses on and I’ll be displaying her this way.
As I’ve said, Yoko’s been out for about half a year already, so there are a number of reviews out for her, I feel so left behind. LOL Of course there’s Tier’s review and Rico’s review. I also saw one at howdoyoufigure.net and a random Google search took me to Spicy Otaku. I’m sure there are more, but I guess I don’t get around much.
All in all, I really like this Yoko and she’s a really great figure. But just remember – don’t look directly into her eyes!
GSC’s decision to make a “real image version” of a character like Yoko has always puzzled me. Even amongst anime characters, Yoko’s character desgins is pretty strange. Seriously, a turtleneck and a bikini? Way to have a combination that wouldn’t be comfortable in any season.
I’m not seeing how the face is all that scary up front, though admittedly I have never seen the figure in person. I think it’s the hair that makes her menacing, if anything, since it’s a pretty fierce looking style (kind of like a fire). Maybe I’m just more predisposed to the “dangerous sexy look”. Then again, I really more interested in that other pair of eyes on her… Oh those shots from the side… heavenly.
By the way, I’ve seen you taking shots at that outdoor location for a good few times by now. Is that your backyard or somewhere else that’s extremely close/accessible? If it is, you are a very lucky man, as it is a very nice location indeed =)
Hey, she’s dressed for all seasons – ready to go anywhere! LOL
I didn’t see anything wrong with the face until I started taking photos of her up close with the macro lens – I really did get scared by her stare. She’s definitely got a fierce look, but maybe it was the lighting.
I actually took a trip down to Cheltenham Badlands to do some of the shoot, took pics of Yoko, Canaan, Xecty and the Tomahawk there. It’s about 30-40 minutes drive for me – not sure where you live, but I’m sure you can’t be all that far from the Badlands either!
Ohhh, I’ve been there before! There were a lot of tourists during the time I went — I can’t possibly bear to bust out my little toy sin public. I suppose I can get a remote little corner… But I think I’m just too lazy anyways ^^;
OMG i didnt know this figure existed D:
shame on me!!!
she looks dam nice, but i must admit i prefer if they stuck to the real face ^^”
I’m actually a fan of her overall design, including the face. While the anime face is definitely cuter and softer, I do like the pseudo-realism in the real-image face.
It’s really hard to apply the given name/family name convention to Gurren Lagann because it doesn’t really take place in Japan. In the anime, Yoko is from Littner Village, which is where she takes the surname from. I don’t remember if she ever actually uses it as a part of her name in the series or if it was something that was assumed later on.
Nice review though, and thanks for linking to my blog.
I really liked the idea that Max Factory had here, but I think the execution falls a bit short due to the masculine face. I hope that MF doesn’t stop experimenting with sculpts like this, though; it’d be nice if they let the guy doing the Miku VN02 and Rin Nuclear Fusion figures take a shot at sculpting a realistic figure like this (though if I remember correctly, he’s their Figma sculptor, so I guess that’s not very likely).
Your pictures are very nice, especially the outdoor ones; Yoko looks right in a desert setting (maybe since the early episodes put her in a badlands-like environment).
I prefer real image Yoko with her shades on. She seems weird to me when I look at her direct in the eyes. Other than her looks, I simply love her overall