Last year, when figure sites posted up pictures of Velvet, the figure-buying collective gushed over Bubba’s latest creation. Would it make into mass-market form? If so, who would do the honors? Max Factory, maybe? They and Bubba had collaborated before, and Max Factory has certainly always had the full confidence of the fanbase.
Then Yamato announced that they would be doing the job. Exuberance evaporated into anxiety and exhilaration flash-boiled into exasperation.
I wasn’t too distressed since I like Yamato, but I wondered how she’d turn out; Yamato’s done a nice job with REFLECT’s sculpts, but I was curious as to whether they could do justice to Bubba’s masterpiece. How did she turn out?
Velvet hails from Vanillaware’s well-regarded PlayStation 2 RPG Odin Sphere. Being that I’ve played the game for maybe a half hour total, I haven’t yet gotten to play as Velvet, and as I might someday want to play it, I’ll hold off of consulting the character bio on Wikipedia and go straight to the figure. Velvet is a bit over 24 centimeters tall from her toes to the top of her hood; she’s listed as non-scale, which I don’t really understand since every figure obviously has a height ratio. Assuming Velvet is an average-sized girl, this figure is somewhere between 1/6 and 1/7 scale; I like 1/6 scale better so that’s what I’ll call this.
Bubba is most famous for his superlative bunny Haruhi sculpt, which never did made into PVC form. It was sold as a model kit almost three years ago; it doesn’t seem that old.
Velvet’s base is a six-pointed star with a faux-marble surface and an intricate raised plant motif embossed on its side. While I’m not certain of its significance or meaning, I can appreciate its appearance, and it looks gorgeous; it’s definitely a nice step up from the typical black or transparent round plastic base supplied with most figures. I had a bit of difficulty keeping her left foot attached the foot peg, but pushing down on it with a bit more pressure seems to have done the trick.
Velvet’s main accessory is a chain with a large red gem on each end. Yamato thoughtfully provides a couple of plastic half-bracelets to drape the chain over the back of each of her hands. However, much to my amazement, I managed to misplace those bracelets not more than ten minutes after opening up the box. Doubtless they’ll turn up around here somewhere, but in the meantime, I’ve just wrapped the chain around her hands.
One of the admirable things about Velvet’s sculpt is that she looks great from almost every angle. It’s a testament to Bubba’s talent that there are so many individual aspects here that stand out: the arch of her back, her elongated legs, her curved backside, her billowing skirt and hood, and especially her heavy-lidded, expressive eyes. Velvet has one of the most beautiful faces I’ve seen on an anime figure, and it’s remarkable how her demeanor seems to change with how you look at her; from behind, she looks cool and dismissive, from the side she wears a neutral expression, and from the front her face takes on an apprehensive cast.
The photographs of the original garage kit version showed Velvet with very liquid, luminous eyes, and I liked that look a lot, so I brushed a bit of floor wax onto PVC Velvet’s eyes. Model kit builders have known about the usefulness of Future floor wax for years, and I thought that it could make her eyes a bit more glossy. I didn’t use very much though and I’m not certain whether it had any effect.
Another aspect of Velvet’s appeal is of course the fan service angle. Her crop top looks as if it were made of nothing more than body point and her chest and rear are thrust forward and back, a pose that might seem excessively wanton but Velvet still manages to look classy. However, that dignity disappears when her skirt is pulled off as Yamato has happily made her skirt removable. Velvet separates just under her bustline and her skirt slides up and off.
Bubba and Yamato have done a superb job rendering her undergarments; no plain white panties here, Velvet is wearing some very sultry and very skimpy black panties that are sheer and sexy. Fully dressed or sans skirt, she looks fantastic either way.
Velvet is an amazing figure and I’m very pleased that Yamato did an excellent job with her. While I’m guessing that Alter will be putting forth their own rendition of Velvet at some point, it’s hard to imagine how they can top Yamato’s version and that’s not something that you can say about Alter all that often. We shall see.
Sexy figure. I’ve yet to play Odin Sphere myself, though I do have a copy of it on hand. It’s supposed to be an amazing game; though I purchased it on the principle that almost anything Atlus brings over is worth playing.
As far as bases go, I agree that it’s beautiful. And though I’m still a figure newbie, it has already factored into my decision for purchasing a few figures. It’s about 80% of the reason I purchased the BRS figure; I absolutely loved the base.
I’ve been meaning to pick up Odin Sphere and I had planned on doing so when it got a budget repackaging … except none of the stores here got it in stock. I did, however, get Operation Darkness, which is one of the games that Atlus localized that probably doesn’t deserve playtime (I bought it mainly to collect rather than to play it).
I normally don’t take much notice of a base unless it’s excessively large, but when a base looks as nice as this one, even I have to take notice. Almost as nice is the fact that it’s only as large as it has to be so Velvet’s shelf footprint isn’t excessive.
Operation Darkness is on 360, yes? I remember Valkyria Chronicles was due out around the same time, and I confused the two as they were quite similar and were previewed within the same issue of a magazine. I tried the demo, and decided it was pretty bad. Valkyria Chronicles on the other hand is a joy to play.
Access to a large variety of games is one benefit to living in a moderately big city. While often over priced, I’m very happy to have a Fry’s close by. They rarely discount their product too much, but they always have a decent amount of more obscure (PS2 especially) games.
I remember that I had wanted to play Disgaea for ages. I finally found a used copy, without the original case/manual, and I happily paid $40 for it. About a week later I went down to Fry’s, and sure enough they had an entire bin full of sealed copies. This was a good year or so before the Greatest Hits rebranding.
I’d be one of the people who went “YAMATO?!NOOOOO!!” when I heard Velvet fell into their hands.
Their sculpts are adequate for the most part but their coloring ruins it.
And was worried that the castoffable feature would be removed per licensor sensitivity.
Glad to see that the painting looks great from your pic, and that castoffable is on. 😀
And 1/6 scale wins.
What is the half bracelet for? I assume it makes the chain at an angle according to the illustration this is based on?
I was tempted to preorder this, but after hearing word that it was from Yamato, I felt like I couldn’t take the risk. I had been stung too many times already.
I’m actually quite surprised how well she’s turned out. Your photos show it off very well.
Tempted to buy her now, but out of stock, and the fact that you suggested Alter might release their own version makes me want to hold out even more!
Man, the contours of her torso are simply gorgeous! I don’t usually don’t like displaying figures cast off, but the details around Velvet’s hips really justifies that. Lovely work, as always!
Legs…..oh sorry eh thats all I can really think of to say at the moment…Maybe I’ll try again later, but for now..yea…legs… O.O
>> Shashin
Yeah, it’s one of the 360 strategy RPGs that didn’t get much attention. I think Spectral Force 3 falls in the same boat. I played the demo too and determined that it sucks, but I collect RPGs, so I picked it up for cheap.
I’ve got Valkyria Chronicles (which I also got for cheap) but no PS3. I figured I ought to get the game before it disappears from store shelves, but I’m waiting for the PS3 to get a few more games that I’m interested in before I pick up a console.
I imagine being close to a city has a lot of advantages … I live about twenty miles from DC but I never go into the city. There’s a bunch of Gamestops around where I live and work, but game selection is sometimes a bit spotty so I buy a lot of stuff online.
>> DaSaru
I imagine you were not alone! I definitely didn’t think Yamato would be the one to mass-produce Velvet, but since Bubba’s bunny Haruhi didn’t get a PVC version, I’m happy that Velvet got a general release and very happy that Yamato did a fine job. The castoff feature was also very surprising; I figured that Yamato would be chumps like Daiki Kougyou with 1/4 scale Saber and leave it out.
I guess the bracelets are just to support the chain and keep it from slipping off her hands. I just wrapped them around her hands instead; her fingers are curved enough to make it look like they’re grasping the chain.
>> radiant
Thanks! It’s only supposition that Alter might release their own version of Velvet … I figure that with Gwendolyn released last year and Mercedes coming up (and Momohime from Vanillaware’s Muramasa), I’m guessing that they’ll chuck out a Velvet at some point. Then again, they seem to have no intention of producing a figure of Subaru, the third ninja from Beat Blades Haruka, so that guess could be wrong.
>> Chag
I’m not certain how I’m going to keep Velvet; I’d normally default to castoff but she looks great with or without, and I’ve got a ton of loose figure parts rolling around on my desk. It’s a tough decision, no doubt!
>> Ashlotte
Yeah, that’s pretty much what I’m like too XD Legs and face, anyway, she has a really pretty face. Doesn’t even really look like a typical Japanese anime face, which is pretty cool, too.
I pre-odered Velvet – along with a few others – when she became available from Hobby Search. Everybody knows how some pre-orders get pushed back… I ended up with 6 figures for March. Out of those 6, 1 (Alfin) got cancelled by Hobby Search due to unavailability, 2 (Canaan and Hayakawa Yuzuko) got pushed back to April, and I had to wait until March ended for them to ship me the figures that did arrive (Velvet, Elf, and Hattori Kiriko…
All that said, I can’t wait for Velvet to arrive on Monday (I’m hoping) ’cause out of all of those figures, she’s the one I wanted the most! I’ve got absolutely no place to put her at the moment, but I’ll probably box up one of the ladies I have displayed to make room for her. Velvet’s one of THE BEST works of art I’ve seen in a minute…
I also love her waist-to-booty ratio! 🙂
OH – this is actually a pretty one!
Like her clothes, and her beautiful eyes.
And your last picture have something special. Somehow like a sex mystery or something. Very nice!
o.o ooo she looks nice.
sort of egytian style.
sexy..
lol at grew’s last sentence..i second that!
I say display cast-off, but then I’m a Ass/Leg man so not exactly the most impartial voice. >_>
Alter probably will make one of her in some silly overly “actiony” pose their so fond of lately, but I doubt it could top this like you said.
Ah anyway random thought…Everytime I see a sideshot of her all I can think is “Little Red Riding Hood”.
>> MONOLITHIC
Yeah, I don’t think I received a single new figure last month. I’ve got a bunch scheduled for release in April but I’m not expecting most of them to actually make it out this month.
That ratio is yet another great thing about this figure XD
(Incidentally, I saw the promo pictures of Hattori Kiriko and uhh, where’d her butt go? I mean, she was as flat as Nebraska back there.)
>> GREW
She is indeed quite pretty XD And thanks!
>> Fabrice
I kinda think that her design (as sculpted here) could fit in with Disney’s Aladdin cast … you don’t often see a lot of crossover in Western and Japanese pop art styles, so it always interests me I see an example of one style that resembles the other.
>> Ashlotte
I find your argument and the source of your perspective to be persuasive. Yeah, I figure they’ll have her chucking her chain or casting a spell or something. And she’ll be in 1/8 scale to fit in with their other figures which would be sad … I like big figures.
When you mention “Little Red Riding Hood,” I think of this one nice hentai picture by Yukimi that I saw on Danbooru … it’s good stuff.
Where did you order the figure from? You received her so quickly! Looks like Yamato did a great job on this one – I was afraid the end quality wouldn’t be as good as the previewed figure.
Love the lighting and especially the background – really fits the style of this figure.
simply…..wooooooooo!!!!!!!! she has something!! something.. i dont know what..but something!! .jajajajaja,,, i did saw her in the past , but i think; i didnt saw her very well.. in fact the first time i saw, i didnt interested because her costume didnt appear so good… but now i change my mind, the sculpt is terrific!! her body is very sexy and reallistic; her eyes ,her details….definetly a good adquisition tier! congratulations!!
Saludos..
atte marco
My order arrived today as I hoped it would! 🙂
Hattori Kiriko… Yeah, it’s a disappointing sight to see – especially since her butt looks so much better on the box illustrations… For comparison, I took her out the box and stood her next to Diskvision EVE, whose backside is also lacking, and declared the flatness a tie. Still, from certain angles, Hattori Kiriko’s butt looks good enough to slap! XD This is one of those figures where the overall presentation trumps such deficiencies.
As for Velvet, all I can say is, “WOW!!!” I feel sorry for those who didn’t pre-order her while they had the chance. I can see this figure being VERY hard to get from here on out and also on somebody’s “Best of 2010” list when the year is over.
>> VF
I bought her from Hobby Search … I was going to preorder her from Amiami since they had the shipping discount running but they were sold out by the time I stopped waffling.
>> Marcucho
Thanks! I didn’t preorder her right away, either … in fact, I didn’t put in an order until around late February. I’m definitely glad I did, though.
>> MONOLITHIC
Hoorays! I got Kakouen Myousai in the mail today and she looks outstanding. Loot for everyone is a happy thing.
Haha, yeah, even though Kiriko is missing the boom, I’m still thinking that I’ll preorder her if she comes out in a different color. I passed on her mainly because her purple suit is a bit lighter than I was hoping for, but Yamato seems to like putting out recolored versions of REFLECT’s sculpts so I’ve got my hopes up that they’ll chuck out a second version sometime.
Yeah, Velvet looks more amazing the more I look at her. I’m gonna have to find a good, prominent place to display her … I guess maybe I can kick Sora up onto a shelf or something.
I’m sad now. The figure is absolutely amazing–I have to have her, but it sounds like she’s tough to get ahold of anyway, and I live in Alaska so it might be even worse for me. eBay prices are in the $120 range with shipping of $30. Hopefully one of the two comic shops up here can special-order her for me. They had to special-order the Bishoujo Black Widow and Rogue, too, and that didn’t take TOO long.
I imagine having similar trouble getting the “Venus on the Beach” Kasumi. I had to get Kokoro through Amazon…*sigh*
Must be the Alter Kakouen Myousai you’re talking about… Love the pose on her, like she’s ready to separate somebody’s head from the their shoulders with that right foot of hers!
Hattori Kiriko… I’ve gotta admit that I’m not too fond of her suit color either. It’s like a strange dull grey – it has no pop to it. That purple would’ve been much better!
Velvet… I’m looking for a spot to put her as I type… Found it! 🙂
really gorgeous and great figure. highly detailed indeed. Also nice pics 😉
>> Halbred
Ouch, yeah, I imagine it costs quite a bit to ship stuff up there. BeNippon says they have one left in stock, and BBTS and Entertainment Earth appear to still be taking preorders. These options may not be any cheaper than eBay, though. You might have better luck with both Velvet and Kasumi than some other figures though since Yamato definitely has a US branch and I think Kotobukiya still does too. Good luck!
>> MONOLITHIC
Indeed it is! She looks fantastic. I’ve got a few picture ideas for her that I hope turn out as well as I imagine them.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking; I’d rather it be a darker purple or gray. I got my fingers crossed that Yamato does the recolor thing.
I put Velvet right next to my computer monitor, in the good spot where Mai Shiranui was for years.
>> phossil
Thanks! I’ve got a few more Yamato figures preordered and I hope they turn out as well as this one.
wow she turned out really nice and/or your pics are wonderful ^^ and such top tier pantsu! they’re most intricate i can remember seeing at the moment
she’s one of those characters i’d need first hand experience with before i bought so mebbe i should pick up odin sphere ^^;
Thanks! Velvet does have a very refined taste in underpants.
I need to find the game one of these days, I remember it got discounted as one of the red bar games, but I don’t remember ever seeing it at any of the game stores here.
When I saw this post in my feed reader I didnt expect this figure to leave such an impression on me.
Bubba sure know his stuff!
Absolutely adore those shots where you look at her from behind and shes throwing a look above her shoulder
Its kinda funny that Yamato sometimes puts out incredible works and sometimes total crap.I am expecially fond of their Reflect Releases and the ShunYama Asuka is already a planned purchase ^^
As do I! I’m going to get Asuka (presuming it gets a PVC release, and I’m positive it will), but what I want to know is, where did her ass go? I was sorta sad to see that she has no ass. A girl in a suit like Asuka is wearing should have a nicer ass.
I bit the bullet and ordered her from a local comic shop. $130 total. Not as bad as what online retailers were asking when you include shipping (it’s always like twice as high for Alaska).
As for the game, I recently got back to playing it. Vanillaware makes really gorgeous games, no doubt about it. Their most recent effort was Maramusa: The Demon Blade on Wii. Odin Sphere has three very big problems: 1) Horrible slowdown. Anytime you get more than two or three enemies onscreen, and you throw some particle effects in, the framerate slows to a crawl. 2) Lots to learn very quickly. They throw you into potentially advanced situations before you’ve had time to adjust to the gameplay mechanics. 3) Resource management. You are always overstuffed with items, and therefore constantly throwing things away to make room for new things. That gets very old.
But if you can find it cheap, Odin Sphere is definately worth seeing. I love 2D games, and Odin Sphere is a beautiful 2D game.
A great part of the internet is that you can pick up a conversation after six months as if it had never stopped. That’s unfortunate to hear about Muramasa … I’m still really hoping it someday comes to the PS3 or 360, perhaps as a downloadable title. I gotta admit that the sword breaking thing I’ve heard about doesn’t sound like a ton of fun.
I still gotta find Odin Sphere one of these days. I like collecting RPGs and Odin Sphere and Xenosaga III are on my list of games I need to get. I really need to make some time to play SMT Nocturne and the two Digital Devil Saga games, too.
Talking about EPIC-ASS……..
Indeed! I’ve almost forgotten how nice it is since I have her wearing her skirt right now.
Pingback: Velvet (SIF EX Version) from Odin Sphere « dirtylittlefigures
A little OT.
I know I should have asked first, but I ended up using a photo of Velvet as a primer picture for this week’s #figurefridaychallenge and event. Hopefully it’ll be ok, but let me know otherwise.
Nah, it’s all good. Thanks for the link back. I should put some +1 buttons around here or something, if people are using Google Plus.
Thanks!
A +1 button could be useful. finding a pretty active community on there, at least in the right niches. Running the #figurefriday event today through Sat so feel free to drop by :).
Wow, Velvet looks so pretty. The floor wax certainly did make her eyes even more prettier. I am getting her this weekend, but I am getting her re-release. I’m worried it won’t live up to this release…*Sigh*. I hope it does. I love her character so much.
I would expect that it will; I don’t think I’ve heard of quality differences between re-releases, except when the manufacturer made substantial alterations to the figure design (as Alter did with one of their Saber maid figures). It is indeed a pretty figure, and I really wish that Yamato or someone else had picked up more of Bubba’s sculpts … he’s made some amazing figures.