The girls-with-melee-weapons trope is one of my favorite themes in anime. My very favorite? No, that would be tentacles. But it’s close, I cannot deny that. There have been a bunch of figure series centered on this concept, with the Queen’s Blade franchise perhaps being the most successful – though personally, I will always regard that figure line as an abject failure until someone makes a figure of Irma. There’s also the Shuraki series, though that ended without a figure of Monicadred, the white-haired loli girl. Now we have the Hyakka Ryoran Samurai Girls series. I don’t know what a Hyakka Ryoran is, but it’s plainly obvious by the second half of the name that the originators clearly understand what audience they’re going for.
Senhime – not to be confused with Alter’s other Senhime – is sculpted in 1/8 scale and stands about 19.5 centimeters tall. The figure feels solidly built, its heft giving an impression of quality construction. She stands on a white oval base similar to Yagyu Jubei‘s.
I wasn’t all that enthusiastic about Senhime at first. Part of that is due to the fact that I have a big anime crush on the Sengoku Rance Senhime, but it was mainly because I felt her face looked a bit off. In the promo photos, her eyes seemed a bit dim and her chin appeared overly prominent. And to be frank, those aspects are still there since, as usual, Alter’s prototype doesn’t look that different from the production figure. However, after seeing the figure in person, those problems aren’t all that apparent to me anymore, and I’ve found that there is a whole lot to like about brunette Senhime.
Let’s start with the pose. Senhime’s hips are flared to one side and her torso is subtly tilted backwards, giving her just a hint of an “oh no you didn’t” attitude. One of the things I really like about this figure is the way her stomach bulges just a bit over her skirt, where her hip is cocked; it’s certainly not fat enough to be called a muffin top, but it adds a realistic touch that is often missing in anime character designs. I also like the way she’s extending her weapon’s rope; it emphasizes her attitude and gives the viewer something to focus on. It’s a real cord, by the way, not a plastic facsimile. As such, it drapes loosely over her hand; her fingers are curled in a way that it looks like you could thread the rope through, but I’m not sure how you’d push it in with that spiked weight tied to the end. I just looped it over her fingers and it stays in place well enough; I might try to tie a noose into the end for a more dramatic presentation.
When I saw those prototype pictures, I thought that she was pouting petulantly, and I didn’t think that expression worked too well given that her weapon and body language spoke more to her being dangerous rather than irascible. However, up close, it looks more like a scowl to me, which fits perfectly. Speaking of her weapon, it slides into her grasp quite easily without provoking concern about scratching her up or scraping paint.
Like the other Hyakka Ryoran girls, Senhime’s sartorial style synthesizes traditional dress and contemporary sensibilities. Her open robe with its draped sleeves effect a magisterial presence, while her ribbed crop top and pleated low-rise skirt are reminiscent of a cheerleading uniform and give her a trendy, feminine look. And of course, she’s wearing the ubiquitous thighhigh socks, which can be seen everywhere except real life. One nice touch is the orange details on those socks, which are raised, sculpted highlights rather than simply painted strips. You expect that sort of detail from an Alter figure and they certainly do not disappoint.
Her overall color scheme is very eye-catching, the pink and muted violets of her robe being complemented by brighter reds and oranges. The floral print on the back of her costume is absolutely gorgeous; it’s intricately patterned but blends beautifully into her outfit. I can’t find anything to quibble about from a technical viewpoint – Senhime’s quality is obvious. Well, maybe I can complain about her polearm’s blade; it looks quite plastic, and I think Alter could have given it more of a metallic finish, like they did with their Kanu Unchou figure.
One stylistic thing I can complain about is her choice of footwear. She’s wearing some drab brown boots with chunky heels, and I don’t think they match her outfit very well. Given her Japanese and American cheerleader fusion fashion, I think she’d have looked better wearing either traditional sandals or some Chuck Taylor All-Stars. No big deal, though.
I usually develop a good sense of how I feel about a figure well before I actually get it. There is always a lengthy wait between a figure’s prototype unveiling and release, and if my initial impression is inconsistent with my final sentiment, it’s usually because I’m disappointed with the figure rather than because I find that I like it more than I thought I would. However, with Senhime, I’m happy to say that my first thoughts were incorrect – this is an exceptional figure, one that I am very pleased to own. She looks fantastic and I’m hoping that Alter continues to produce figures in the Hyakka Ryoran Samurai Girls line.
I preordered this the second I saw it was available. Granted I do that with a lot of figures, but this was one that I really liked based on the promotional photos they gave you. And I’m glad to see that it turned out as great as I was hoping it would be. I’ll be getting mine at the end of the month when all my other Hobby Search stuff either comes in or gets pushed back.
Great shots ^^ Great decorations! ^^
After Jubei, Senhime is/was 2nd on my “must get” list of the series. From the day she was announced till her release, there were pics of prototype and final version, that were changing my opinion on her alot. Anyway… from latest online reviews and checking her on your shots, I think she came out rly nice in the end ^^ Can’t wait her to arrive!
Now looking forward to Naoe and Ginsen ^^
Senhime is a figure I loved at the beginning but eventually lost interest. DAT PATTERN.
1. She looks cross-eyed on many of your frontal shots, it could be the lighting and is less noticeable in closer shots.
2. Her prominent chin bugs me to no end. It makes her look like a turtle.
3. The top she’s wearing has a weird opening. There’s too much orange and would have looked better if it was just a regular V-neck IMO. It seems odd that she’s showing so much thigh and belly but barely any chest.
I love the background you gave the shots though. Good work!
Very nice pictures 😀
Makes me can’t wait. Only I have wait after my vacation to get her and some other figures.
She will be my third Samurai Girl since I have Jubei and Yukimura.
Can’t wait to get her and the rest of the Girls 😀
Awesome pictures, with wonderul mood and settings =)
One of your best shoots yet Tier! Nicely done!
Still dislike the figure though… :p
If they ever make the girl with the giant hammer I’ll finally jump on board the Samurai girls ship. :p
Great pics Tier! I love how you’re always making an atmosphere with each of your sets. I simply don’t have the creativity or props…
I wonder why thighhighs aren’t seen in reality that often? It would be my suspicion we don’t see them because real legs aren’t as long as anime legs, nor are skirts as short generally. Thus the thighhighs never comes up vary far past the knees and the skirt too low, the zettai ryouiki effect is lost.
This line of figures has yet to attract me into purchase, however they are all very well done. I love the detailing they have. Though I do think Senhime looks a bit slutty here, her skirt is far too short to be attractive.
Your photos are gorgeous — what incredible atmosphere. Nice job!
Certainly a quality figure, though it’s a little “busy.” I really like the “hippy” look–you don’t see that in enough anime/manga figures.
But you’re right, the face is a little off. It’s just not very expressive, it’s just kind of there.
>> Shashin
I usually dawdle and waffle when it comes to preordering stuff. Sometimes that bites me on the ass; I had planned on preordering Buddy from Hobby Search because of their shipping discount, but they wound up closing down reservations far earlier than I had anticipated. Oops. Maybe I’ll get lucky and Amiami and HS will engage in another discount war in October.
>> Shiddo
Thanks! I think D’Artagnan is the samurai girl I’m looking most forward to next; she’s got a lot of style. If they do make a figure of her, though, I hope the hat doesn’t look too goofy; it looks like one of those things that doesn’t look too bad in 2D, but has the potential to look strange in 3D.
>> Sloth
Yeah, she does look like she’s looking straight down her nose. Taking a quick look at Tsuki-board, there seem to be way more figures that are looking off to one side rather than straight forward, and I guess the sculptors are trying to avoid this problem. I like her top, though; she’s not showing a lot of tit but that directs your attention to her thighs and stomach. Kinda like a USC Song Girl or something.
>> GREW
Thanks XD I kinda wish I hadn’t skipped Yukimura; I thought she looked a bit odd at first (mainly I thought her forehead looked kinda large) but after seeing the reviews, I think she looks pretty good.
>> lu-k
Thanks, Senhime was a lot of fun to photograph. Though setting up the background wasn’t quite so much fun. Nor was vacuuming the cat litter that fell onto the floor after I was done.
>> Ashlotte
Ahh the spam filter is acting up. I wonder why this thing isn’t configured to let people through who have picture avatars. And thanks! I was pretty much winging this as I was going along, since it’s been a while since I’ve tried anything this complicated and I’ve never covered my computer desk with kitty litter before.
>> Aka
I think you’re right, and I’m guessing practicality also comes into play; I think that the socks would keep falling down as the knee flexes.
Too short to be attractive :O Can there be such a thing?
>> Colette
Thanks for the kind words XD I really like figures where I can think up a setting and they fit in perfectly. It’s a lot more fun to photograph than the straight black background I usually use.
>> Halbred
Yeah, there’s a lot of stuff going on here. I think that she does have an emotive look to her face, but since it’s mainly in her mouth and eyebrows rather than her eyes, it’s a bit hard to see since her lips aren’t colored and her eyebrows are mostly covered up by her hair.
(Edit: I tossed in a new last pic after realizing I don’t have a close-up shot of her face. I need to remember to get closer whenever I’m taking figure photos. She’s got an intent glare that’s not easy to see unless you’re right up in her face.)
Well, it can bite you in the ass either way. I preorder just about everything that catches my eye, and thus my HS account page takes a couple seconds to scroll all the way through at a fast pace. It’s also littered with a good 10+ cancellations. And it’s also an act of amazing self control to cancel something once I’ve already preordered it. I really do need to cut some of the flab, and I must load up the account page once a day to see if there’s anything I’m willing to drop.
After linking this to a friend, she would like to know whether you have a miniature Japanese down in your house. As for me, I’m convinced that you have a robot cat for a roommate who’s able to conjure all these great props for your shots.
At the risk of sounding like a brownnoser: Damnnit Tier, you are so good at what you do it HURTS.
>> Shashin
Haha, that’s awesome. I ought to do that but truth be told, I’m really, really lazy – too lazy to even memorize my credit card number, not to mention having to take it out of my wallet to send off an order. Though now that I’m using Paypal to get the shipping discount, I guess I can’t use that excuse. My order list isn’t too long (well, compared to what it could be) but I think I’m gonna chop swimsuit Revy off of it; it’s a nice figure but isn’t really all that exciting.
>> Chag
I am assuming you mean “miniature Japanese garden” and I definitely do not; I shot this whole thing on my computer desk. If I zoomed my camera out a bit more, you’d see my computer monitor off to one side with a ton of untidy debris cluttered underneath it. However, if you really meant “miniature Japanese,” I guess I’d qualify, being barely over five feet tall.
(Edit: I have a picture of my ghetto setup! Here it is … note the awesome cardboard box softbox to the left [made from a US Postal Service box, I find that this box is far sturdier than your garden-grade brown corrugated cardboard box] and my glorious uncalibrated monitor to the right. Note also the bottle of rubbing alcohol that is supporting the flowers. It really wasn’t a great solution since it leaked a bit from the cap, but fortunately the alcohol dried pretty fast and left no residue. I should’ve used my can of pears but I needed it to hold up one of my flash guns off to camera left [when you use phrases like that, it makes it sound like you know what you are talking about]. I probably ought to pick up another can of food to prop up stuff.)
The sad thing about the props is that I built this big wooden platform and I glued every little plank to it individually, but you can barely notice it in the photos. In fact, I think it only shows up in a couple of pictures.
I am no pro, I’m merely good at faking it, like a good porn star, which is what I’d have liked to have become if I were about a foot taller.
I make a lot of purchases online, excluding figure/dakimakura purchases. Thus I’ve memorized my card number without really attempting to do so. Though with Hobby Search, if the release date for the item is a few days away, I’ll just select Paypal as the payment since you can change it later without any problem and I need to recombine everything into one order anyway.
Nice photos there. From the way you describe, seems like I’ve made a wrong choice for not getting it. Like you, the face didn’t interest me. However, after reading your post, I will check out some online store to see if the stock is still available. Probably, I should get it to complement my Yagu Jubei (2nd run) — make them a set.
I think if I didn’t live with people I’d be more willing to build props. As it is now I fear they’ll walk in on me while I’m doing some macro close up pantsu shot, salivating a little as I look through the lens (I don’t salivate when I do it, I don’t think, but I fear it regardless). But even still, I don’t think I’d bother, it looks like a lot of work. Like cleaning all that up afterwards.
I’ll just stick to my boring white/grey backgrounds…
Your pictures are very nice 😉
That is a great background setting,its very fitting.
the setting with the sand is my favorite.
The outfit of Senhime looks really nice.
the mix of samurai and anime fashion is a very cool feature of these Hyakka Ryoran figures.
I really like her weapon and the flower decals on the cape of Senhime.
so far I’ve only purchased Hattori from that Hyakka Ryoran line
Another Hyakka Ryoran figure which Im interested in the Goto Matabei.
I hope preorders are open in the next few months.
>> Shashin
I used to have my number memorized as well, until my card got compromised a few years back and then I had to get a new one. For some reason I’ve never been able to memorize my new number, but I suppose it’s a moot point now since my card got compromised again a few days ago and I’ll have to get another card. Maybe this number will be a bit easier to remember.
>> softz
I completely forgot to grab Jubei off the shelf for a group shot. I really need to write up a list of all the shots I need to take before I set everything up. Then again, I’m not very good at taking group shots so I suppose it’s not too big of a deal.
>> Aka
I think that’d be sexy if I had some roommates peeping in on a shoot. I’d look over at them and be like, “Hey dude, you wanna go stroke Tamaki a bit, get her in the right mood?” Then I’d start talking to the figure … I’d be like, “Yeah baby, stick that out a little more, you’re looking fine.” After that, I think that I’d probably need to put up some LF roommate ads on Craigslist.
Yeah, it is a huge pain in the ass to get this sort of thing set up. Particularly when I have zero idea of what I’m doing or how it’s going to turn out. I’ve made some elaborate sets only to find that either it doesn’t show up too well on camera, or it looks a lot worse than what I was hoping for. It is all good, though, I am not afraid to show off my failures to the world. (Though I’m not above re-shooting them and not telling anyone.)
>> Fabienne
Thanks XD The fashion mashup that all the girls show is one of my favorite features of this lineup. I’m very much looking forward to Matabei too, the fundoshi is way too underappreciated (probably since it’s mainly a male garment, but that just makes it even cooler when it shows up on anime girls). I was pretty happy to see Junko Hattori wearing it in uhh, Ichiban something Daimaou. I can’t ever remember that show’s name for some reason. Not sure if Junko is my favorite girl in that show but I think she looks the best just because of her old school style.
I just have one thing to say regarding this figure: Awesome! The kimono-like part in particular looks very well made. Too bad she’s only 1/6 though!
PS: I kinda like the boots.
Great pics as usual!
This is definitely a good looking figure by Alter, and their usual careful attention to detail never ceases to amaze me. I didn’t get the figure though, as I found her a little odd looking and seeing the prototype photos just didn’t do it for me. I guess the main thing is her facial expression, she looks dead, like her soul was sucked out of her eyes. Also her breasts look a little lopsided due to her pose.
I didn’t really pay attention to the boots until you mentioned it, and now that you have, it looks a little out of place also.
But still, this is one of those figures where I’ll go on wondering if I’ve made the right decision. lol
You know, it’s quite funny and just a tad scary that you mention that, as my card was just compromised as well. Someone tried to rack up a bunch of purchases and have it all shipped to Virginia. I’ve yet to figure out if it was me buying gas on the card (have been screwed that way previously) or if they acquired my information either through hacking my email or a purchase I had made online.
>> Ayra
She is! She’s actually 1/8 scale which I am guessing is what you meant. 1/6 scale would be glorious. If I were emperor of the world, I’d decree that all figures be made no smaller than 1/6 scale.
I probably have no qualifications for assessing the quality of footwear, being that the shoes I wear in real life are some really ratty Nikes that are nearly ten years old. One has a hole in the back big enough to push an Oreo cookie through.
>> VF
Yeah, I can see what you and Halbred (and quite a few other people, no doubt) are seeing; since her eyebrows are hidden from a lot of angles, you can’t really see the emotion on her face all that well. And close up, she’s got this unusual dark ring around her pupils that makes it look like she’s hypnotized or something. I kinda like that her expression can be interpreted in different ways, though … you don’t see that too often in anime figures.
I wonder the same thing about a bunch of figures. Like that recent Miku VN02 figure, I’m wondering if I should’ve picked it up. I should just buy everything that I think I want that seems like it will have a decent resale value; that way, if I change my mind and decide I don’t want it, I can hock it on eBay and make back most (or even more) of my money.
>> Shashin
Yeah, I’m wondering how my card info got out, too. Fortunately for me, whoever was responsible didn’t rack up big charges, so I have to dispute a couple of charges made by some websites I’ve never heard of. More annoying is that since I use a check card, I don’t actually have a way of paying for online purchases now and I just got a billing notice from Hobby Search. Hopefully they’ll be reasonable about me needing a couple of extra days to pay while I wait for my new card to arrive.
I’ve still to be won over by the Samurai Girls franchise. Although I suspect the anime will do that when it’s airing.
I really like the detail on the back of this figure. Her purple floral robe looks light and fluid.
I can’t say I like her front much though. Too many colours all at once I think. Still she looks really nice overall, as expected of Alter.
I hope that the show is more memorable than, say, Zettai Shougeki Platonic Heart. Hey, it looks like they have a website with casting information. It looks like the person who did the voice of that one K-On! girl with the scary eyebrows is going to be doing Senhime’s voice … uhh, does anyone know if she’s any good?
I know I can’t be the only person who can’t wait to hear how they all pronounce “Charles D’artagnan.”
Yeah, I can see that, too. I like the color pattern myself, especially how the more vivid colors sort of frame her black and white clothing. It gives kind of an interesting contrast.
Got the VN02 Miku, for me I think it’s a must buy. She looks great and have a lot of nice details, my only minor complaint is that she’s a bit small @ 1/8 scale.
No idea how I should take her photos though. lol
Hmm, maybe with a light-colored background? Most of the photos I’ve seen of her put her on black so it’d be nice to see her on something bright. Or colorful, a figure like that looks like it should be on something colorful, I think.
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Great pics and review!
Still waiting for Momohime to arrive at HOBBY SEARCH to get my Senhime. Too bad I’ve got no room to display either.
Thanks! Yeah, I’m really looking forward to her, and I’m really, really amazed that she seems to be on track to be released on time. I can’t recall the last time Alter made their initial estimated ship date but it looks like they might get both Momohime and Vivio out on schedule.
This is a great figure, even if I don’t really like figure face expression. ^^ I really like your first pictures ! Great atmospher !
Thanks! Man, a lot of people are saying the same thing, maybe I should get my eyes checked out or something. I think I’m in a distinct minority regarding her now.
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I wish I had thrown common sense to the wind, and purchased her before she was sold out : ( On an unrelated note, I hate how AmiAmi won’t sell some of their products to the English speaking world even though they have an English website. Bastards almost made me miss out on Saber……..you just don’t do that.
Is she sold out now? I had the impression that she didn’t sell all that well since I haven’t seen many reviews of her and a lot of people weren’t too enthusiastic about her sculpt. Though I’ve noticed an upswing in people searching for Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls stuff, no doubt caused by the television show.
Yeah, that’s really lame, I hate it when I click a link on a Japanese website to something on Amiami, and then I get redirected to an error page that says that item isn’t available on the English site. The same goes for Mandarake, they’ve got a lot of stuff on their Japanese site that isn’t listed on the English site, which drives me nuts.
She actually isn’t sold out everywhere, she’s still available on AmiAmi (oh the irony). Just depends now if I really want to toss out logic and reason and purchase her. September’s already an expensive month.
Ah, okay. Yeah, I’d probably feel the same way; I like her, probably more than a lot of people who bought her, but I wouldn’t call her one of the best figures of the year. Off the top of my head, I like Vivio, Momohime, Velvet, and Kakouen Myousai better. Though on the other hand, she does seem like an interesting character in the anime; it was pretty hot when she spread her legs for Hattori Hanzo.
It’s funny that you mention Kakouen. I could’ve recently acquired her for $80 (still can actually), but I chose to allocate that part of the budget to the purchase of Saber for reasons I’m not entirely aware of. Compounding the absurdity of this is the fact that Kakouen is my favorite Ikki Tousen character (by far), while I know next to nothing about Saber. Probably ’cause I wanted to complete the trifecta once they release Saber Alter (and provided I don’t lose that auction for Saber Lily).
The anime does look relatively entertaining, at least on the same level as Queen’s Blade (though I have that one so I can’t really complain). I don’t think any anime of this type will surpass Seikon no Qwaser though. That’s on a whole ‘nother level.
>> The Endless General
Yeah, I’ve got the feeling that Ryomou and Kakouen didn’t sell all that well. Or at least, I don’t think Kakouen did, since she’s not a major character in the storyline. Sort of a shame, that, I think it’d be great if she hooked up with Kanu. That reminds me, I need to read volume 15 of the manga already, I’ve had it laying here for months.
Haha, Seikon no Qwaser is the greatest anime of all time. I’m really hoping somebody picks it up for US release.
I’m not really sure why I didn’t follow Battle Vixens, although it was probably the ridiculous American name that threw me. That, and the fact that they dumbed Kanu down in the anime, enough to make me nearly despise her.
The likelihood of anyone picking up Seikon no Qwaser (or The Qwaser of Stigmata I believe its American name is) in the US is probably close to zero. That is a damn shame, though I could be wrong. I mean, they picked up Queen’s Blade lol.
Yeah, that name is ridiculous, I remember I ordered one of the volumes at the comic book store back when I was in school and I felt embarrassed as hell asking the store owner if my copy of Battle Vixens had come in yet (really weird in retrospect since I was buying perverted books like Vampi and Lady Death all the time). There’s a really odd disconnect in the franchise; there’s a break between the early manga volumes and the later ones because the translator basically wasn’t trying to stay faithful to the original characterizations, and then there’s a break between the manga and the anime, where the manga characters are much more serious and fatalistic while the anime seems to go for fanservice and slapstick comedy. Kanu is a much more interesting character in the manga, I think; she’s more like a warrior monk than the ditz she is in the TV shows.
Yeah, I’m not expecting anyone to pick up Seikon no Qwaser, though I was very surprised to see that Tokyopop’s released the first volume of the manga already. I’ve been meaning to hit up the local comic book store to pick it up; maybe I’ll do that this week.
I have it, it’s way tamer than the anime. In fact I’m pretty sure they crammed every over-the-top thing they possibly could into the anime, just because they couldn’t get away with it in the manga. Like the scene where Tomo uh…….tastes……herself, they allude to it but don’t show it.
The only manga I follow are Claymore and Berserk, although the 8-9 month wait between volumes of Claymore is becoming irritating. Oh, and I have Battle Club, but that’s only six volumes. It’s basically a more ridiculous (in terms of fanservice) version of Battle Vixens………only without the whole ancient Chinese warriors thing.
Ah, okay. I gotta watch the rest of the season, I think I got to around the sixth episode; I didn’t want to watch the censored broadcast so I waited till the uncensored versions came out, and I sorta lost track of the releases.
I don’t read a great deal of manga, either; Battle Vixens is the only one I consistently follow. I also have most of the Battle Club books (I think I’m missing the last one); I liked it, though when the Kanu-lookalike got outed as a futa, I was kinda like, “You gotta be kidding me.” I’ve also got a few volumes from Ninja Girls, Black Lagoon, and Kamiyadori here. I need to catch up on my backlog (story of my life in a lot of respects).
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