My Shana figure collecting habit continues again lol.
These two figures are actually prize figures that was being run back in December last year by Chara-Hiroba in Japan, similar to how Ichiban Kuji run their lottery prize campaigns.
Pictures can be enlarged by right-clicking “View Image”
To be honest, I had no idea that these figures existed until I did a search for random Shana merchandise on Yahoo Japan Auctions when I came across a listing for two new figures I had never seen before. The image posted in the listing was just a prototype model that was yet to be painted (link) so I wasn’t sure what the final look was gonna be like. After doing some digging I came across Chara-Hiroba’s site listing for them and found out about how they were running a lottery prize campaign for two new Shana figures. That was enough for me to click the buy it now option from the one that was being listed on Yahoo Japan Auctions.
Knowing that they were prize figures, I wasn’t expecting the quality to be super top-notch compared to the popular figure manufacturers such as Good Smile Company and Alter to name a few, but did expect them to look decent enough for display like the other Shana prize figures from Taito Kuji. The manufacturer for these two are done by Furyu Corporation which also happens to run the Chara-Hiroba website.
First up is the Shana flame hair figure standing at 17 centimetres tall.
What I like about this figure is the pose Shana does. Simple yet elegant.
Unlike the Taito Kuji prize figures for their Shana models, this particular one comes with a plain white base for Shana stand on. Considering that she’s standing up though, it’s to be expected I guess since her back leg is not flat on the ground which would require support. The front leg was easy enough to insert into the holes on the base but the back one I had a little trouble with since the little support pole underneath wouldn’t exactly fit into the designated hole completely. You can still see it with the picture below.
What I think lets down this figure from looking awesome is probably the material used for the hair. Perhaps it’s better if photos of it are taken in a glowing surrounding for it to be effective but for me, the lower part which appears to be translucent looks kinda odd and cheap to the overall appearance. I get that they’re trying to show the signature flame hair style of Shana but it might’ve been better if the translucent tips were not there and painted completely red to match the upper parts. The pose and face are pretty decent but as I said, the hair seems to be the only thing that’s letting it down.
Another note is the Alastor pendant. There have been some PVC scale figures that use an actual string for it but for both these figures from Chara-Hiroba, they seem to use actual PVC mold instead. Not that I mind of course, just interesting since some figures don’t even use either string or PVC mold and only put in Alastor leaving the viewer to think there’s an invisible necklace on Shana that’s holding the pendant.
Now onto the melon bread Shana figure.
Compared to the flame hair version, this one seems to be the less appealing figure for me. And I will tell you why. For one, no base is included but seeing how Shana is lying down it’s easy to see why Furyu decided not to make one for this version. The second is that there is some shoddy paint jobs done on certain parts of the figure.
Notice the arm sleeve of the uniform? You can see some unfinished paint work on it which looks like it’s been chipped off but was already like that when I took it out from the box for the first time. A better view of it below.
It was kinda disappointing to find these after seeing how I found no particular problems with the paint job on the previous figure. I said that I wasn’t expecting super top quality work since these were prize figures but this one could’ve been painted in completely and consistently at least. Maybe I also got a defective model of this figure? Who knows? Perhaps I wouldn’t make a big deal out of it if these blemishes were at the back but when it’s at the front and on a pretty visible part for people to see, it just cheapens the overall look of the figure than it already is.
To give it some positive points though, the eyes and overall face are decent like the flame hair version. I’m not too sure about the way the hair is laid out though, but seeing how it’s mainly hidden by Shana it should be fine.
Both boxes of the figures also come with a bonus mini bookmark.
With my recent updated display of my Shana figure collection, I was able to fit in the flame hair version of the figure in the main display area. She seemed to fit in quite well.
While the melon bread version I could only seem to place on top of the Japanese BDs of the 3rd season of the anime on the top right hand corner of the cabinet.
Overall, these two are decent for any Shana figure collectors and are pretty affordable (as of this post there is one set available to buy on Mandarake), but those who are more on the serious side of good quality figures should probably stick to well known reputable makers (GSC, Alter, Kotobukiya etc). I personally got them just so I can add them to my Shana collection, but those who know me from other anime forums and clubs should already know by now XD.
Walk Of Darkness 
