If there are any certainties in the anime figure industry, it’s that manufacturers will continue chucking out Tamaki Kousakas and Kanu Unchous with great zeal and aplomb, no matter how many pairs of eyes may roll at seeing them in the Amiami preorder list. The weariness that many collectors take no pains to conceal when it comes to Kanu – and the redheaded lady from To Heart – is understandable, but it’s not a sentiment that I share. My very first scale-size figure was one of Kanu Unchou, and I’m still fond of it, even though it’s a terrible figure by current standards (and probably prior standards, as well). And though there are a truckload of Kanus to choose from, we haven’t looked at one here since Alter’s figure. The one we’ll look at today comes from Daiki Kougyou, a company that isn’t shy at all about making Kanu figures.
Just to refresh memories, in case anyone has forgotten, Kanu Unchou is one of the characters from the manga and anime series Ikki Tousen. First introduced as a supporting character, she’s become so popular that she’s now arguably the franchise’s leading lady. In the series, she is one of the most skilled combatants from Seito Academy, a nearly-peerless warrior who is absolutely devoted to school leader Ryubi Gentoku.
The various anime series play up the relationship between Kanu and Ryubi for comedic effect, frequently making fun of Kanu’s stoicism. I preferred the tone of the manga, even though Tokyopop mangled the translation (going as far as to change its title to “Battle Vixens”). The manga was less slapstick, more bloody, and more dramatic. Unfortunately, Tokyopop’s demise means that I haven’t followed the manga since volume 15 was published a couple of years ago, though I’m sure there are newer translated scans somewhere out there. Some might express satisfaction that Tokyopop is no longer handling Ikki Tousen, and though I usually prefer that a story’s integrity not be compromised to cater to Western sensibilities, I didn’t really mind the liberties they took with localization, given that Ikki Tousen is basically a gratuitous display of sex and violence. In addition, being that Ikki Tousen is a highly distorted adaptation of an historic Chinese epic, it seems sanctimonious to complain that its Western translation was itself distorted.
Anyway, this version of Kanu Unchou is labeled as coming from Xtreme Xecutor, the most recent Ikki Tousen anime series. She’s sculpted in 1/6 scale and measures about 25.5 centimeters in height at the top of her head; with her polearm accounted for, she’s well over a foot in height, overall. She doesn’t come with any accessories but her weapon, which was a colossal pain to get in her hand. I was afraid of breaking off her fingers or snapping its shaft, and I wondered if perhaps her fingers detached or if there was some trick to sliding it into her grasp. In the end I found that just shoving it into her left hand (with more force than I felt comfortable applying) is the best way to get it in. She also has a plain black plastic base with no markings or logos.
This figure is sculpted by Shunji Hagii, a sculptor who previously did a number of notable figures for Max Factory before Daiki Kougyou began manufacturing many of his works. I don’t specifically seek out his sculpts but I’ve accumulated a number of his figures, including Masane Amaha, his Shunya Yamashita-inspired Ryomou, Leina, transvestite Yoko, Tamaki, Sasara Kusugawa, Kureha, and Tsuneko. He also sculpted Daiki Kougyou’s miko Kanu Unchou, which is not just my favorite Kanu but is also one of my favorite figures in my collection. It looks like his upcoming stuff is being manufactured by FREEing, which is a curious change; we’ll see how that works out.
There have been many Kanus and some have depicted her in unique outfits – the aforementioned miko dress, Chinese bikini armor, a maid uniform, a bondage outfit, and so on. Most, however, put her in an undersized school uniform, and this one is no exception. All the hallmarks of Kanu’s design are present: the hair swept over one eye, the exposed midriff, the baggy socks, and the prodigious underboob. One curious aspect, though, is that over time as Kanu has become more popular, she seems to have become lighter skinned; she was fairly dark-skinned when she showed up in the manga but here she has quite a pale complexion. I’ll refrain from speculating on the causes of that peculiar development.
This figure presents Kanu in a statuesque pose, her right leg raised with her weapon – the Seiryutou – held in a dramatic position. Kanu’s design has sometimes been modified by various sculptors, and while this one is a little less meaty than some of her other figures (including one from the very same sculptor), she’s still quite curvy and full-figured.
Her expression is serious, showing full determination and no fear. I prefer this interpretation of Kanu, rather than the lovestruck, tongue-tied simpleton she was often portrayed as in the anime. Her look is also appropriate for her action pose, and that’s another thing I like about this figure – many Kanu figures have her standing around posing like a model, but this one makes her look like someone who can actually tussle.
It wouldn’t be Kanu – or almost any female Ikki Tousen character – without the requisite big boobs. Kanu’s breasts are properly sized and impossibly pert, with her nipples pointing skyward. I’ve seen pictures of Kanu with her shirt removed, but apparently you have to tear it off of her to do that and I’m not willing to do so.
Her skirt is easily removable, however. Like that old Yamato figure, her skirt is loose on her hips and it can be removed by separating a seam on its side. All the Ikki Tousen girls appear to wear white panties and Kanu is no exception.
The waistband of her panties gets lost in the fold of her right leg.
And her butt is a bit lumpy-looking. It still doesn’t look that bad but people who appreciate nicely-formed backsides might be a little disappointed.
Being that Kanu’s design isn’t particularly elaborate, there aren’t a lot of opportunities for intricate sculpting. However, her weapon looks very nice. It’s made of plastic but has a realistic metal finish that looks reasonably convincing.
Her hair is also nicely sculpted, featuring her characteristic metal hair clip and its whale-tail end.
This is a very nicely-done figure of Kanu Unchou. It’s probably my favorite figure of her in a school uniform. But as mentioned, there are a lot of Kanus out there and I’m guessing that one’s interest in this figure will in large part depend on how fatigued one is by the character. This one presents her as a competent, dangerous action girl, which is the way I like to think of her. It also provides for an interesting contrast with Yamato’s Kanu, and that gives it greater personal appeal to me. However, if you hate Kanu and her big boobs, this figure is certainly not going to change your mind. If you’re looking for a special figure of Kanu, this one probably isn’t it either, unless you have a big thing for school uniforms. But I like it anyway, and I’m happy to have it in my Kanu collection.
Out of curiosity is her left eye just covered by her hair?
Uhh, that is a good question. Looking at her closely – and you need a flashlight to tell for sure – she does indeed have two eyes, so if you destroyed her hair for some reason, at least her face wouldn’t look freakish.
That’s good to know. Because as I was looking through your shots, it’s really hard to see her other eye, and I thought maybe the manufacturers got lazy and didn’t even bother to give her one. >_<
Yeah, I would not have been surprised if they didn’t bother with it since it is really, really hard to see. Though I’d guess that painting on two eyes might work better with their manufacturing process than just painting one, since it’s so uncommon for a figure to only have one eye.
This was probably the figure I was looking forward the most in the second half this year.
In general I’m interested in moe and happy figures, but angry Kanu really convinced with her fierce look and the powerful body language. I love Kanu sama ^_^,
Her face turned out very nice and also the hair is quite pretty. The well trained body is also something I like a lot on this figure, Im totally satisfied with her and the stunning pose.
Oh ok there are some minor things that I don’t like, the black base is quite plain for a 13000Yen figure and it’s not even very stable, the smaller peg already broke off, I have to fix this next week. And Im sad that I can’t cast off her top, they are so round (๑¯ᴗ¯๑) yet so far.
On this figure I noticed that Daiki does things a little different than other manufactures, but Kanu is a good high quality figure.
I have a little side question, do you know any good blogs (japanese or english) that reviewed Orchid Seed’s Chichinoe +3 – Young Hip Cover Gal or their Nurse Sonico?
I couldn’t find anything decent so far 🙁
Otherwise I buy Chichinoe +3 and review her on my own XD
I was surprised at how excited you were for Kanu, since I didn’t think anybody gets excited for Kanu figures, particularly those that have her wearing her normal school uniform. It’s good to hear that you are pleased with her. Though not so good to hear about her peg snapping – I remember hearing about another owner over on Tsuki-board who also snapped the peg off of the base, and that has me a bit worried for whenever I need to put her back in her box for storage.
Yeah, it is unfortunate her top doesn’t come off. It doesn’t seem like it’d be too hard to implement and I wonder why they didn’t do so, since Ikki Tousen is all about exploding shirts and bared breasts. It’s not like Daiki Kougyou shies away from nudity, too.
Uhh, man, I have not seen reviews of either figure. If you want a Madoka figure review, it seems like every figure site on the planet can provide that, but I rarely see anyone cover Orchid Seed figures. I will check around, though, since now my curiosity is piqued.
I can’t really explain why I was that excited about her in the first place. Even though I like the Ikki Toussen anime with all of it’s flaws, Kanu is not my favorite character even though she is the prettiest one. Well, but it was the first Ikki Toussen figure that I found that exciting before.
The pretty face, the powerful fighting stance and the attractive trained body were fitting to my image of Kanu might have been the convincing factor to spent 13000 Yen with pleasure ;D
Me neither, not even a bad one 🙁 Seems like I really have to buy Chichinoe +3. Im not interested in owning this particular figure, but Im curious about it. Oh well if no one else will write something about her, I have to do it :p
It’s been some time since my last Orchid Seed figure ^_^
Those are all things I really liked about this figure as well. The miko Kanu is my favorite one, but I think this one best corresponds to the way I imagine Kanu to be.
Looking around, I found this blog with a Japanese-language review of the cover girl. She is impressively racked!
The Minko Kanu is really pretty and presents her in a quite playful way. But she doesn’t have this Kanu feel.
Ah thx, I would love to shoot her, but honestly I think that the boobs and nipples are too big for my taste 🙁
maybe buy -> shoot -> sell 😀
I’d rather buy something else from Orchid Seed, like Chouhi or Blanc
Yeah, the breasts are a bit too big for my taste as well. Actually, my biggest problem with the Chichinoe girls is the small heads they have; I’d like them much more if their heads were the appropriate size for their bodies.
I hadn’t noticed the slight bulge of her lower lips peeking out of the side of her panties until I poured over your bigger pics. I didn’t even know her skirt was cast-off or I might have given her more consideration. I really wish Kanu figures weren’t in standard school uniform so often, just one of my pet peeves.
Yeah, it’s a rather nondescript uniform. Her uniform was actually one of the things that got me interested in that first Kanu figure I got, but now it’s gotten a bit passé. I do like the underboob, though; it’s good that this figure has a solid amount of underboob.
I do not know what the stock status of Kanu is at the big Japanese stores, but a number of Daiki Kougyou’s figures have hit the bargain bin relatively quickly after release, so waiting may turn out to be a shrewd move. I know I feel pretty dumb with Tsuneko and Sasara sitting here unopened, having paid full price instead of being able to get them nearly half off post-release.
I love underboobs, but I already have the queen of underboobs, Super Sonico Bondage Candy Pink, so the underboobage here doesn’t exert quite the same pull.
Also, this Kanu figure (both pink and normal versions) does seem to be still in stock at multiple stores. Not sure if I really want her though. My main limitation right now is one of space rather than budget.
True indeed; I’m putting more figures back in their boxes. I probably ought to try to move some of them so I can buy more pillowcases; no point in me waiting for some of these figures to get re-released so that their resale value plummets, I am thinking.
Wait, do you mean you display figures according to their resale value?
Nevermind, I guess you mean you’d rather buy daki covers than wait for the lower price of a re-release figure.
No; I display figures according to how much I like them. The ones I don’t like as much tend to get put back in their boxes. Some of the figures I’ve put back in storage have since been re-released, which lowers their resale value.
I’m not familiar with any of the sources (Not only Ikki Tousen, but any anime or manga), my interest in figures is based on visual appeal alone. I don’t care if Tamaki Kousaka is always bitching around, she looks fantastic, so I will definitely pick up one of her figures one of these days.
Likewise with Kanu. I find her visual design very appealing, but out of the myriads of Kanu figures I have yet to see one that I would like to buy. Although this one comes very close. Her facial expression and her pose really tell us that she means business. If the shirt came off, that would be nice. Those boobies underneath are looking so delicious. I know that there are even fully cast-off Kanu figures out there, but there is always one detail or another that bugs me out. Strange, huh?
Anyway, this is a very nice figure and a very nice review as always. Now that you mention it, I also find it strange that her skin tone is rather light. Personally, I wouldn’t mind a tan.
I generally judge figures the same way. Sometimes I’ll buy a figure that I wouldn’t otherwise buy if I’m familiar with the character or the property, but I don’t categorically rule out figures of characters I don’t know. I don’t really watch a great deal of anime these days so if I had a rule where I had to be familiar with a character before buying one of its figures, I wouldn’t be buying many figures at all.
I think the miko Kanu is the best Kanu out there by far. None of the Griffon ones are that great, although I own two (one of which I’d label the worst figure in my collection). The Alter one is pretty good though looking at it again, I’m not sure that I like its face as much as I used to. Daiki’s got so many other Kanus that I’ve lost track of them.
Nah, that’s not too strange, I think. I know there have been quite a few figures that I’ve passed over because of one particular detail or feature that I didn’t like. Like animal ears and tails; I really don’t like those and will usually skip a figure that includes them. I can’t explain why I don’t like animal ears (though I don’t think anyone can really explain why they dislike something like that) but that’s the way it is.
I’m not tired of Kanu or any of the other Ikki Tousen girls, but I am weary of the endless fan service and fetish figures that only play to the sexual side of the franchise’s appeal. My ideal Ikki Tousen figure is one that is sexy and badass, which has been disappointingly rare in practice. I picked up UART’s cold cast Ryofu Housen earlier this year in search of that ideal and I’ve been extremely satisfied with said purchase, so I feel the potential of the source material is still there.
This appears to be one of the best Kanus to come along in recent years. I ultimately passed on the figure, but she received more than a passing glance where a lot of Ikki Tousen figures do not. Nice to see that she turned out well.
Ha! You are not going to like that Reiko Wingfield figure then, I am thinking. Though she comes from a porno so maybe her sexualization is appropriate.
Yeah, there are not really a lot of great Ikki Tousen figures, despite their quantity. Besides the miko Kanu, I think my favorite is Alter’s Kakouen Myousai, which did not seem to be too popular. There aren’t any great ones of Hakufu or Ryofu that I know of, which is too bad; I’d really like a good Ryofu figure. Griffon’s Ryofu figure was one of the figures that really got me into the figure hobby; too bad it’s also one of the most disappointing figures I’ve ever received.
My comments were directed specifically at Ikki Tousen figures rather than sexualization of figures in general. I don’t see anything wrong with Reiko, for example. She’s from an eroge, so I have a different set of expectations there. Fault!! is interesting to me in that it’s vaguely tennis-themed, which isn’t all that common in anime. I had hoped to see a few figures really play off of that theme, but they haven’t materialized to the extent that I had hoped.
I would recommend UART’s Ryofu as a good Ryofu figure. I have the miko Kanu in a different color than yours and, as good as that figure is, I would pick the Ryofu figure if I could only keep one. I’ll post a review at some point. I feel it’s a much, much better figure than its popularity would suggest.
Ah, k. The fanservice in Ikki Tousen and its merchandise doesn’t bother me much, but there are a ton of themes and tropes throughout anime (and its merchandise) that bug the hell out of me so I can understand where you are coming from.
I don’t recall seeing that figure covered anywhere so I’ll look forward to your review. I probably didn’t pay any attention to it since it’s a coldcast figure and I don’t think I would’ve gotten past its price tag but it does look like a very nice figure.
Great shots Tier! As I’ve said before pictures with multiple figures are always preferable, (though in the past post I meant it as more of an interactive pairing) these shots offer up a great comparative between different sculptors/companies and the level of detail that we’ve come to expect in so short a span of time.
In the past as a result of collecting without having seen much anime/manga Kanu was always the face of Ikki Tousen in the same way that Asuka was the face of Evangelion. After having watched the two series I’ve come to different conclusions, while I now prefer Rei to Asuka I still see Kanu as the figurehead of the Ikki Tousen franchise. More than that I see Kanu as a poster girl of sorts, the classic sailor schoolgirl outfit, the over development of “cough” certain areas “cough” and the blatant sexualization of a teenage girl, these are the hall marks of a genre/culture that I have been swept up in and now come to expect.
While this is a great figure I can’t justify it’s price and having just recently picked up the FReeing Kanu/Ryomou pair which has hopefully quenched my Ikki Tousen thirst I ahouldn’t feel the need for another Kanu for some time. All the same I’m glad you got her as the stock photos never do any justice to real McCoy, keep up the good work.
Also, in regards to your last post Catherine was a great game that provided far more entertainment than my girlfriend’s ps3 usually allows. I don’t typically like puzzle games but was very quickly caught up in Catherine and have to say that the story (and dubbing shockingly) were amazing!
It seems like Kanu’s popularity has come at the cost of Hakufu’s, to the extent that Hakufu has been virtually marginalized, at least in terms of figures and other merchandising. Hakufu’s the nominal main character but I wonder if her silly, ditzy personality works against her; Kanu’s serious, loyal, pseudo-lesbian personality seems to fit better within the range of popular anime archetypes, at least for main characters.
I had to stop and think about what FREEing figures you were talking about, since I did not remember them making any Ikki Tousen figures. Then I checked and of course they’re the bunnygirls that came out earlier this year. Interesting that their Kanu figure seems to be darker-skinned, as she appears in the manga.
Everyone seems to really like Catherine, I should take that as a sign. Maybe I ought to get that instead of getting that Warcraft panda bear expansion.
Interestingly enough short of Akira and Ghost in the Shell, Ikki Tousen was the only other dubbed experience I had encountered in the early days. In the case of Ikki Tousen the sometimes awful voice acting combined with the far from accurate translation seemed not only acceptable but actually enhanced the show’s charm.
While I may have said that Kanu was my poster girl I need to clarify that Hakufu is my favorite character. Her idiocy above all else has made her endearing in a way that I could have never imagined “if that hit to my head has made me any stupider I’m going to be really angry!”.
Favorite character/poster-girl aside I have more Ryomou figures than either Hakufu or Kanu put together so go figure.
Ahh, man, that had to be weird to watch. On a (somewhat) similar note, I bought a hentai anime called Temptation and and it has a dubbed track. There’s this one scene where this guy is having sex with a girl and suddenly he goes, “Now cluck like a chicken!” and the girl says, “What?” and then the guy screams, “Like a chicken!” and the girl starts going “BUKKAW! BUKKAW!” It’s pretty fantastic albeit completely inaccurate.
I’m not actually sure who my favorite character in Ikki Tousen is. I like Hakufu, though she seemed to disappear in later volumes. I also like Myousai a lot; she was getting some good character development in the later volumes of the manga and I wonder what happened to her. I like Kanu as well, but my impression of her is somewhat mixed due to the way she’s presented in the anime.
Sorry for bringing up something completely unrelated here, but your comment about “BUKKAW! BUKKAW!” reminded me of a song I once heard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tn7lOvXSHI
Slim Gaillard – The Dirty Rooster
Ahahaha, that is awesome. And definitely not at all what I was expecting. It kinda reminds me of the operatic/hip hop song For Doz That Slept off Black Sheep’s first album.
What a great figure overall! I’m not a huge fan of Kanu but this particular one does it for me, except for one detail I mention below. I have something for full, wide hips, and she’s absolutely stunning in that department. Everything is curvy and generous about her. Even her thighs look thicker than usual for Japanese figures.
Plus 1/6 scale seems to be the sweet spot for me.
I only wish they hadn’t done this weird criss crossing of hair in front of her eye. I don’t mind hiding one eye but it’s just this weird shape I really don’t like. Sometimes a little detail like that stops me from making the jump. A shame. It might have been my very first ikki Tousen figure but for some strange reason there’s always one little detail I can’t let pass in this franchise. So I still don’t have one single Ikki Tousen figure while legions of Tamaki Kousaka and Super Sonico overwhelm my shelves!
I hadn’t even noticed the crossed bangs but now that you mention it, it’s quite apparent and it looks kinda like a waffle fry or something. It’s definitely reasonable to refrain from buying a figure because of one thing you don’t like; there’ve been quite a few figures that I mostly liked but didn’t buy because they had a feature I didn’t care for (like animal ears, the way GSC’s jumping Saber has her mouth partly covered, or that wretched, whiny pig that comes with that Kuroyukihime figure).
Nice review and photos. I too recently got this figure and was very excited for her. Unfortunately the small peg snapped off into her foot as I was mounting her on the base. I wasn’t rough with it or anything and it broke very easily. At present she’s just mounted on the large peg which seems to be *almost* enough but she does jiggle around a bit if anything equal or greater than a slight breeze goes through the room. She’s the first figure I’ve ever had with a broken peg so I’m a bit uncertain whether to try to fix it in some way or just live with it. Other than the obvious cheapness of the base, particularly for the asking price, I’m very happy with her and I’d probably even say I like her more than the Alter version you shot her with (which I also have and regard quite highly).
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Ouch, that sucks >.< I've had a few figures that've snapped their base pegs, the worst being Alter's old bikini Saber figure, which broke clear off her base and faceplanted itself. I've not yet figured out any good way to repair broken pegs; hopefully your figure stays stable (particularly since it's a pretty heavy figure to be standing on one leg).
I loved the Ikki Tousen anime, but never really understood Kanu as a character. Then again I only ever watched the first series and her development was somewhat shallow. My favorite characters were Sonsaku and Ryofu. I don’t think I have seen a Ryofu that I have liked and the same goes for Sonsaku (although she does at least have some decent figures).
With that being said, I really like this figure. She has a great pose and I like how she looks with her skirt removed. The subtle detail of her thigh covering her panties and the panties almost showing much more lewd details are giant pluses. I have no problem with her lumpy butt…I actually like the greater amount of sculpting.
I like the dojo style background you used this time. She is a warrior and it fits with her really well.
I saw only a small part of the first Ikki Tousen anime, and it seemed a bit incongruous with the manga. I think they switched to a different anime studio for Dragon Destiny and the subsequent series, which suggests they weren’t satisfied with the way the original series went. I’m guessing that they didn’t expect the franchise to be so successful (and marketable).
Yeah, I haven’t seen a Ryofu figure that I really like, either. I remember being hugely hyped for the Griffon figure that I got, but like most Griffon figures I’ve purchased, it was pretty disappointing when I got it.
Nice review and photos. I myself was considering this Kan’u for many of the same reasons as others (no-nonsense Kan’u ready to kick some ass while looking hotter than the sun), but ultimately decided against it since I already had a school uniform Kan’u in my collection with a similar vibe (http://myfigurecollection.net/item/42439). I’m somewhat jealous of this version’s panties though; the 1/5 Daiki Kan’u has cast-off panties, but nothing under them to display. Why make them castoff at all if there’s nothing there? It would have been better to have thinner permanent panties rather than bulky pointless cast-off.
Instead of this Daiki Kan’u I got http://myfigurecollection.net/item/23266 because it was on sale at nearly 50% off, though the shipping still made me want to cry myself to sleep. Despite the fact that I know next to nothing about Kan’u, I don’t seem able to resist figures that exude an aura of authoritative presence and dignity, and Kan’u seems to be a natural in those areas, at least in my imagination. I haven’t actually seen the source material…
Looking forward to your future reviews! Your photos are some of the best IMO, many people use pure white backgrounds and even with DSLR, it becomes difficult to see the skin tones and small details.
Ah, yeah, they are fairly similar looking, as is the other Kanu that Shunji Hagii sculpted (albeit rather more full-bodied). That’s disappointing to hear about the 1/5 scale Kanu’s underpants; it really does suck when you get the worst of both worlds like that. That’s one reason why I’m sometimes hesitant to get figures that have a castoff feature, since it’s not always clear what is going to be underneath.
It also sucks when you get a big discount on a figure and then you have to pay back most (or all) of that discount in the shipping fee. I had a similar situation a year or two ago; Cospa’s Fate Testarossa figure got a huge discount (from like 10k yen to 4400 yen) so I bought it, and then the shipping cost was like 5000 yen by itself.
Thanks for the kind words! Yeah, shooting on white is actually harder than I thought I would be and while I shoot on white every now and then, I still haven’t worked out a technique that I’m satisfied with, since I often get unappealing color shifts in skin tone as the light bleeds into the figure.
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