My plan to take some figure pictures this weekend has been foiled by an irritatingly persistent case of the flu, and since I get more questions about dakimakura covers than anything else, we’ll take a look at another pillowcase today. This one depicts Catherine and Katherine, the leading ladies of the video game, uhh, Catherine.
This pillowcase measures 160 centimeters by 50 and is made of the typical two-way tricot fabric that many doujin dakimakura covers are made of. The nominal front side depicts the brunette Katherine while the opposite side features blonde Catherine. Both ladies are major characters in Atlus’s video game Catherine. Iniitally hoped to be an entry in the Shin Megami Tensei RPG series, Catherine is actually some sort of puzzle game; or so I have heard, having not played it myself. Apparently the protagonist of Catherine does appear in Persona 3 Portable, giving Catherine a tenuous connection to the SMT universe. However, I think it’s safe to say that Atlus fans probably would have been more excited by Persona 5.
The art presented on this dakimakura cover was done by As109, a Chinese artist whose work seems to be quite well-regarded over on Pixiv. The dakimakura cover was produced by the circle A.C.G. Arts; their website is very difficult to navigate if you can’t read Chinese or kanji so if you’re interested in their work, you might be better off going straight to their blog instead.
Unlike many pillowcases, this dakimakura cover features different characters on each side. The quality of the art, however, is consistent, and I really like the artist’s style. The art has almost a watercolor look to it, which is particularly noticeable in Katherine’s hair and shirt.
The detail in the art is also exemplary. The hands even have grooves between the fingerbones, which is a level of detail not commonly seen in anime-style art.
The feet are also rendered very well, as are the stockings.
The other side is rather naughtier. Catherine is depicted tied up in shibari style (perhaps not strictly the correct term, and there are actually many specific terms used to describe Japanese rope bondage, but anyone reading this will understand the meaning unless one deliberately chooses to be obtuse, in which case such a person is obviously most interested in sparking an argument rather than communication – but I digress). Despite being all knotted up, she’s still flashing a winning smile at the viewer.
The style of the artwork is reasonably similar to Shigenori Soejima’s official designs for Katherine and Catherine. I think that adds to the appeal of the pillowcase.
While Catherine’s side does depict nudity, it still maintains at least a pretense of classiness by not being completely explicit. I wouldn’t have minded if it did but the crotch rope is still very sexy.
And again, the feet are drawn very well. As is the entire pillowcase. I need to review one of my officially-licensed dakimakura covers so I can show how wonky the artwork can be.
I have not played Catherine, but I really like this pillowcase anyway. I’m a big fan of As109’s artwork and though the images on this pillowcase are rather more time than what he is known for, I still think both sides look excellent. I probably prefer Catherine’s side a bit more, since I like the bondage theme as well as her happy expression, but both sides appeal to me.
Max Factory released a figure of Catherine a bit earlier this year; there is a review of her over at Visual Fanfare if you are interested in checking it out.
It’s curious how it looks like this console generation is going to pass without a Persona (or Shin Megami Tensei) game being made for any of the home consoles. It’s also unfortunate that the most complete versions of Personas 2, 3, and 4 are on the PSP or Vita rather than the PlayStation (or Xbox or Wii). That said, that’s not stopping some enterprising fans from embarking on their own efforts to define Persona 5. One of the more comprehensive projects, which probably a lot of you already know about, is managed by a guy with the handle ATLUSxP5 over on Youtube. He’s uploaded a bunch of videos purporting to comprise the Persona 5 soundtrack, but it appears they are actually a selection of various mostly-obscure songs from alternate sources (credit to the original artists is given in the video description). Some may also be remixes of other songs. At any rate, I enjoy listening to the music; some of the songs I particularly like include the Lotus Juice-fronted Do For Love (I wonder where the vocals come from) and the DJ Shadow-esque Moonlight, which I think has a sample from the video game Dragon’s Dogma, which should indicate that these songs are certainly not the authentic soundtrack. Regardless of its legitimacy, I wish I could find a copy of the song Shadow Puppet; the uploader deleted it earlier this year, which is really unfortunate since it was one of my favorites in the set.
Man, this case is fantastic. I’m really kicking myself in the head for not ordering this one. I had two chances at it, and I missed both preorder deadlines. I’ll have to track it down and see if I can find it anywhere. I really do regret not picking it up at Toranoana when they had it. 🙁
I really like some of the pieces this circle has put out, though. Especially Sola’s work – if I were to buy only one Inori cover, it probably would have been theirs (though kinda counter to my point, I only own one which I happen to have two copies of, and it isn’t Sola’s.) I’m considering the Asuka cover they have up for sale right now, and I’d probably order the Asuka/Rei mousepads to go with it if I do end up ordering it.
Yeah, the Inori pillowcase is really nice, as well. I came across that one and this one almost by chance, since I was poking through Doujin-dou a couple of months ago and ordered them shortly before the preorder deadline. I was surprised to see them restock them since I hadn’t noticed any news about A.C.G. doing another production run.
Consolidating topics in one reply, it’s funny that you mention Warcraft since I did re-up my accounts last week, purely on a whim. I couldn’t take advantage of the scroll of resurrection, though, since my accounts got hacked over the summer and I had to log back in a few months ago to recover my stuff. I wish that I could since my accounts are only upgraded to Lich King and I don’t think I am enthusiastic enough about the game to purchase Cataclysm. I was also shocked to see the talent streamlining, and I still haven’t figured out a good attack rotation for my paladin. That eternal fire talent (or whatever it’s called) is really nice, though.
The most annoying thing, though, is that I can’t really remember how I set up my interface mods and I’m having a tough time getting the stock UI and muscle memory to play nicely.
Besides that, I got Saint’s Row 3 a few days ago (the consolidated edition with most of the DLC bundled) and I’m enjoying it a lot. I thought it was some weak gangsta-lite sort of franchise but the game world and character personalities are really well developed. It also has really comprehensive character customization options, which is something that greatly appeals to me.
Yeah, I think the Catherine cover was originally released pretty early this year and I had just missed the preorder deadline. Then I remember checking a few months ago and Toranoana had it back in stock for another preorder window… and I once again missed the preorder deadline. D:
Ah, that’s really unfortunate. On the plus side, I have seen Cataclysm go for as little as $5 and frequently see it on sale for $10-15. And they also offer it bundled with Mists of Pandaria for $50. I understand where you’re coming from though. I’m enjoying the game at a very slow pace; a lot slower than I’ve ever played it before. I haven’t logged on in a day (I’m currently on 10 days trial time) because I decided I’d rather watch some anime instead.
My main spec is Retribution and I haven’t even bothered to figure out Holy or Protection yet. It was a bit tough to figure out my hotkeys since when I played previously I had a Razer Naga and could bind just about everything to the mouse (9 buttons + shift/ctrl modifiers), but it broke when I moved two years back and since I wasn’t playing WoW at the time I was too lazy to send it in while it was still under warranty. >_>
I’m honestly not familiar with skill names, but my basic combat rotation is to get a holy power then use the 30% holy damage + 10% crit move, then rotate Crusader Strike/Exorcism/Judgment to 3 holy power. A lot of enemies die before that, but if they’re alive I’ll use the 3 power on refreshing the damage buff to 30 seconds. From there it’s just a cycling until 3 holy power and using a damage move instead of the buff or the holy power heal if I need it (since Flash of Light is absurdly expensive now… but mana strangely hasn’t been a problem, at all.)
If I remember, I’ll use cooldowns when they’re up – the one that builds 3 Holy Power with a hit and Avenger’s Wrath. I also try to keep Sacred Shield up, but I don’t need it for most mobs so it’s just a habit builder more than anything. Overall it took me a bit of time to get used to the new hotkey layout I have and to figure out how I wanted to place skills, but it’s working fairly well for now.
I bought Saint’s Row 3 during the Steam summer sale and I spent maybe an hour on it. It was just way too over the top for me to enjoy; I really though I’d enjoy it going in since I liked killing time in Just Cause 2, but I just couldn’t get into it. Maybe I’ll have to go back and give it another chance one of these days, but it just didn’t seem like the type of game for me.
Yeah, Warcraft is really funky to me now, since I’ve been used to one playstyle and now things have changed – not too drastically, but just enough that if feels really unnatural right now. I’m not really too enamored with the holy power setup, since I didn’t care much for the combo point playstyle whenever I played my druid, but I’m happy that retribution has a lot more offensive options – back when I played TBC, I switched my main character to an enhancement shaman since they had a lot more firepower and brought a lot more abilities to a raid group, and it always bugged me that ret was only marginally viable. My fourth paladin is level 72 now and leveling fast; I haven’t even cleared out the newbie Lich King zone yet. I wonder if I ought to get Cataclysm for only the account that that character is on.
I don’t play a lot of those open-world, sandbox sort of games – I got GTA Vice City (I think that was the name) and all I did was sit in a car and listen to the radio – but I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying Saint’s Row 3. I think the games I like the most are the ones with memorable characters and environments, and it definitely does a great job presenting a big world to play around in. I also finally got Fallout New Vegas a few weeks back and I need to get to that too, so I can beat that and Fallout 3 before getting Skyrim.
Oh oh! I’m a ex wow player. I really feel that Warcraft has lost it’s umf. Everything feels the same, I think they’ve officially ran out of ideas.
If you guys like visually delightful mmos try Tera Online or Vindictus. They’re play styles are different from Warcraft. They require players to actively dodge attacks instead of just walking a certain direction to avoid getting hit. Tera is like Warcraft in the sense that it is pay2play while Vindictus is free. Both the games though however, are Korean made and converted into English by an American producer.
Yeah, that’s pretty much what it feels like; I’m playing it again and enjoying it, more or less, but I don’t have the urge to grind for gear or anything. Admittedly, back when I was hardcore into Warcraft, I was broke and unemployed and fresh out of school, and now I don’t really have the time or inclination to go hardcore into MMO again.
I did try the Tera beta for a bit and the game was definitely pretty, but the action didn’t really suck me in much (neither does Warcraft’s, but WoW does have the advantage of familiarity). I think the biggest problem was that I have a somewhat old computer and it didn’t run Tera very well; I’d probably have enjoyed it more if I could’ve gotten better frame rates.
I’m usually not into pillow cases but this one really looks great. Plus it’s hard not to fantasize on these characters if like me you’ve played the game..
Thanks for this great review, Tier, and believe me I’m like you on the whole Persona issue.
I can’t believe I may never play a Persona game on my PS3. That’s a real shame.
I actually imported Catherine and played it when it didn’t look like it was going to get a Western release. I only played 2-3 acts before giving up because the game was very story heavy and that’s when rumors of a localization were coming out. I’ve yet to go back and play the Western release (really should have purchased it when it was $20), but I really enjoyed what I did play of it. Even so, I’d take a Persona 5 game over it hands down. Persona 4 is still one of my favorite games to this day and I’m even thinking about picking up a Vita exclusively for the re-release.
Also Tier, since we’re talking about games, I recently picked up the new WoW expansion since I was able to get it at $20. As far as I know, you haven’t played since BC (I think), so you’ve been out of the loop for awhile. I’m not really far into the expansion but I’m having a lot of fun so far. Decided to play my paladin first after messing around a bit on both him and the rogue, and the class seems to be in a decent position. Talents are really oversimplified now which was a bit disappointing at first, but it has actually resulted in my having more skills than I ever remember using before. Shortly after I first started playing I just completely cleared all of my action bars and went through my spellbook to see how I should map everything.
I actually really enjoyed Wrath, but burnt myself out rather quickly with Cataclysm; I did a /played of both my 85 characters when I first logged on, and I had under 4 days played at 85 total, most of which was probably spent idling in whatever city. I’ve added the game to my account but I’m still running on the 7 days free game time that came with a trial of the game. I can’t say for certain that I’ll continue to play after it, but I’m definitely considering adding some time and playing on a month by month basis.
If you haven’t played since BC, I’d absolutely say it’s worth checking out. The leveling experience in Wrath and Cataclysm were both a lot of fun, and I think that Wrath had a lot to offer (can’t speak for Cataclysm, obviously.) If you do want to check it out, I’d recommend finding a friend to send you a Scroll of Resurrection; Wrath is now included in the Battle Chest, so your account should be upgraded to that, but the perks for the SoR these days are a free upgrade to Cataclysm and a free level 80 (no joke) on your friend’s server.
Catherine is worth checking out but you have to like puzzle games and really punishing ones at that. I’d rather play a nePersonaw Persona game that’s for sure. But at least Catherine is still a very original creation and that’s what seduced me about it.
Yeah, I really would have liked to have seen P5 come out this console generation. I suppose it could still come out – if I remember right, P4 was one of the last games to come out for the PS2 – but then it’d feel more like it arrived too late. Though given how much I liked P3 and P4, too late would still be fine with me.
This would have been the first and only explicit dakimakura I would buy. I wish I would have known about this case. I absolutely must own it. I am sure that it is now impossible to find though.
I’ll probably comment more about the review later, but I just had to state my frustration with not knowing about this cover.
I’ll be more than happy to look for it for you. I’ve seen it on YJA recently, but it has been very expensive. It did just get a re-release, however, so there’s a chance it may have come down in price a bit. Even so, you can easily expect to pay $250+ for it.
I actually just searched YJA after typing the first part of this message up, and there’s one available for a 20k buyout. After proxy fees and currency conversion, it would probably translate to about $330ish, give or take a few bucks. It’s listed in the adult section, so you’d need to YJA account to view it yourself (Guide here) but everything looks good in the auction as far as legitimacy goes. You don’t need an account to view it, you could just shoot the link off to your proxy saying you want to buy it and they’ll do the rest. For proxies, I always recommend Shopping Mall Japan and Yokatta Web, though there are others out there if you want to search for yourself.
If you’re still interested and the cost doesn’t dissuade you, here’s the auction link:
http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w79762451
What search terms did you use to find it? I looked last night and never saw this. Do you need the 18+ login to even see the listing pop up on a search?
Hopefully that one stays up for a bit because I need to sell my Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 Uni dakimakura before I can buy another one. In case something happens to this one, I’d like to be able to set a bookmark so I can do an easy search for it in the future (I currently do this with the Teresa Beria dakimakura reviewed by Tier, with little luck).
Usually I just google translate what I am looking for (in this case Catherine) and then translate dakimakura. I will then throw that in my search at YJA.
Alternately I have used SMJ for my searching. I tried there last night too, but their search didn’t really pick up on Catherine and instead I found about 600 oddball items.
I did follow your link to the auction (it wouldn’t let me pass) and used that auction number in my standard SMJ link, which gave me a little information (no pictures though).
Here was the link:
http://smjsearch.com/cgi-bin/b.cgi?w79762451
The normal listings and adult listings are two entirely different sections. You need to create a Yahoo account with the right things selected (age to browse adult items and I’m pretty sure the foreign user is important too, as Japanese users have to pay a fee to browse adult auctions, I think.) Searching in the normal section you won’t find adult listings and vice versa.
I searched A.C.G. with the Japanese kanji for dakimakura (A.C.G 抱ãæž•), however, there are many different ways you could have found the same cover. Just searching A.C.G., A.C.G. アーツ, Catherine ( ã‚ャサリン), and so on. The problem wasn’t that you were searching the wrong terms, it’s that you weren’t searching in the adult section.
Here’s the link to the adult section if you’re able to sign up: http://list3.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%80%E3%83%AB%E3%83%88/26146-category.html
The optimal search term would probably be A.C.G. with dakimakura. Some sellers might list the Arts part in Japanese/English or not list it at all. Catherine dakimakura would also work, too. But there really isn’t any reason A.C.G. shouldn’t work as most sellers always put the circle name in the title description. Adult search and normal search.
Honestly, I don’t think you have to worry too much about it selling, unless someone who reads this review decides to pick it up (I’ll admit that I had thought about it.) It has been up for a few months now, and no one seems to be biting. Combined with it just got a recent re-release and it’s likely that anyone who wanted a copy bought it then, and it’s possible we’ll see even more pop up. I’d definitely bookmark the auction ID, though. Sometimes when an auction expires sellers won’t relist right away, so it may be listed and you’ll think it sold. By bookmarking the auction, you can pull it up if you don’t see it and be able to tell if someone bought it or it just expired.
I personally don’t use SMJ or any other search aide. I find the most efficient way is just to learn the Japanese system and I can search exactly where I want to search with the correct terms. It takes some practice, but it definitely pays off in the long run, I think. Chrome is a great tool since I very rarely want to translate a full page right off the bat. I’ll usually translate a page when I have an auction pulled up or paste bits and pieces into Google Translate if I need to.
The link works fine, you just need an adult-enabled account to view it. The guide I linked should enable you to view it, but if not the auction looks legit so if you trust my eye you can safely order it through your proxy without much worry. Going back to SMJ’s search system but another reason I don’t use it is because the results can be hit or miss, as you can see by the lack of pictures in the search you did.
Here’s the links to the pictures from the auction: Sample 1 Sample 2 Product shot
Man, I screwed up the links pretty good.
Here is the link to the search term entered in the adult section.
I used your link to sign up for an account on YJA. Unfortunately the process was completely different than the tutorial, but I figured it out and found the auction.
This will help a lot now. Thanks Sashin.
Yeah, the guide was just a general guideline. I signed up about two years ago and there were some differences, but it was easy enough to figure out.
It is a great pillowcase. It is unfortunate that dakimakura covers cost so much for what they are (which, of course, are just pillowcases). If you do choose to buy it, it looks like Shashin has you covered.
Is it a dakimakura trend to pass on the characters backsides recently? Don’t get me wrong it’s nice to have different girls on each side, with a specific top, but where are the butts 😛
Thats funny, Both sides of this pillowcover feature the saver sex message, like “remember kids safety first ^^
Ok Katherine won for me with waving flags, she looks super hot with her red/brunette hair and the glasses and the body of course. I really appreciate Catherine’s sweet face, but in she appears like an underage teenager compared to the other side, at least she is quite petite. But nevertheless the style of both illustrations is superb and really appaeling.
It seems like some artists prefer to draw two front sides instead. I wish they’d do more front and back views (with the Inori pillowcase I have, I really wish the artist had done a back view for one side); that’s the arrangement that I like much more than two front views, even if the front views are of different characters.
The girls come prepared! They know that safety comes first even when it comes to having a good time.
Really a shame not to include Katherine’s backside ^^
Do you have any small tips for taking pictures of Dakimakura covers?
I have one at home and would like to make a post for it, soon.
On your pictures they always appear so free of wrinkles or folds which make them look more like high quality posters than cloth.
Not to known Tier’s photography, which is excellent, but wrinkles and folds could have a lot to do with the material type; most of the covers Tier has reviewed have been of 2WT which is very resistant to folding/wrinkles. Most other materials aren’t quite as lucky; in fact, there are a few materials that are very prone to creases and are nearly impossible to get rid of without ironing. With most 2WT varieties, there may be a few wrinkles right out of the bag if it has been folded for a long time, but they tend to go away with time and usually aren’t noticeable at all if you stretch it out on a pillow/display it with clothespins/etc..
On another note, apparently Atlus is having a PSN sale right now and Catherine is 50% off. They had one earlier in the summer which knocked it down to $20, but the retail is now $30 according to Amazon, so I might actually have to boot up my PS3 and see if it’s $15 or $20. Either way, I’m definitely going to pick it up.
I absolutely loved the game and would recommend it to anyone, unless they don’t like “in-depth anime-standard philosophical conversations in bars.”
Ahh, man; as funny as it sounds, I struggle much more with taking dakimakura cover pictures than I do shooting figures. With figures, I’m not too concerned if the color reproduction isn’t accurate (I often manipulate the color of the light and my camera’s white balance for aesthetic effect) but with dakimakura covers, I try to present it more or less as the pillowcase looks. What I usually do is use three flashes, two close together with their light output bounced off the ceiling and one aimed low and shooting through a scrim at the bottom half of the pillowcase. (I point two lights at the ceiling because if I only use one, I usually have to set it to maximum power and that slows down the recycle time. With two lights, I can lower the power output to half so the flashes recycle more quickly).
In all honesty, I’d probably be better off putting the camera on a tripod and using ordinary room lighting to light up the pillowcase.
I clip the pillowcase (with some ordinary clothespins) to a couple of sheets of foamboard stacked on top of each other to keep it straight and relatively wrinkle-free. I find that that works pretty well for minimizing creases and folds.
It took me a really long time to get a decent post-processing routine down for dakimakura covers. What I usually do is take it into Lightroom and jack up the Whites and decrease Blacks to stretch out the histogram and then bump the clarity up a little bit to further increase contrast. I’ll sometimes also add some graduated filters if I don’t think the lighting look even. I think my most recent dakimakura cover posts look a lot better than the ones from earlier this year, when my post-processing setup wasn’t that great.
Thank you for the long and detailed answer.
First I have to get some foam board ^^
Then I should be able to create something presentable.
You are welcome! I think anything relatively long and stout enough to stand upright should work; I use foamboard since I already have a ton of it for backdrop purposes, but there are probably a lot of alternative materials that would work just as well.
Whoa, this is a beautiful daki. The art is really colourful, detailed and sexy, as well as pretty close to the original art. At least this one isn’t censored either (not that there’s anything to censor, technically). I prefer the Katherine side myself, because I liked her character more (got her ending too) and, well, bigger boobs. Too bad the freaking thing is so expensive, that’s one of the main things turning me away from daki’s for now. Maybe someday…
As for the game, while I would’ve loved a Persona 5, I didn’t mind this little sidetrip either. We sad European bastards didn’t get the game till February this year, but it’s still one of my GOTY titles for now. Amazing that they made a game where all you do is either solve blockpuzzles (the bane of many a game, but made tense and exciting here) or sit around in a bar, drinking rum (I was sitting around drinking rum while playing that, games are so meta nowadays) and made it so addicting to play. I kind of applaud experiments like these, the industry is starved for innovation as it is anyway.
Yeah, it is pretty hard to come up with a rational argument for collecting dakimakura covers (other than “I like to collect them,” which I suppose is really the only justification one needs) given their cost compared against what you get. That said, I still enjoy collecting them for their novelty, rarity, and the quality of the artwork.
It sounds like people enjoyed Catherine; maybe I’ll take a look for it, since I remember seeing it fairly cheaply over at Amazon and game stores. I’m not a big puzzle game player, but one of the games I really enjoy is Sokoban, which also involves puzzles with blocks. (I also have to try Minecraft someday, since I have heard so much about it and so many people love it.)
Dude! Tier, I have the flu too. And man does it suck, I feel your pain–I’ve been moping around with a stuffy/runny nose for the past 3 days now, it sucks. Dayquil/Nyquil helps though, but it makes you feel like you’re stuck in a state of fatigue.
Anyways, hot stuff here! I like both Catherine, and Katherine. I managed to beat the game twice to see both their endings. But after the second time I just got lazy and searched for the other endings to the game, and let me tell ya, it was very enjoyable game. The story was amazing, and as guy you can totally relate to the protagonist of the game.
However, I favor Katherine more on here. For some reason, those black panties get to me every time I look at em 😛
Get well soon Tier!
Thanks! Man does being sick suck. Fortunately I was able to work from home a good bit of the time and I’m feeling a lot better as of a few days ago. Though my throat’s still a bit sore (which is a sign that I was indeed sick, rather than just suffering from late-season allergies; I’ve found that my allergies are getting worse and worse as I get older). I shoulda gotten some Benadryl; I’ve never found anything as good as Benadryl for clearing out my sinuses. Though it does come with the drawback of knocking me flat on my ass for the better part of a day. The worst thing about getting sick was that I had all these plans for shooting figures and now that I’ve been knocked out of my groove, it’s hard to get my motivation back up.
Everyone seems to like the game. I think I’ll put it on the list; I’ve got so much stuff to play before the next console generation.
Man there’s so many games and anime coming out at such a rapid pace that I don’t even know which ones to pay attention to. It’s like when I pick something up it’s outdated or it’s so far along that you feel like you have to race to catch up.
Yeah, I am really backlogged on stuff. It’s funny, I’ve been meaning to get a PS3 for a while – I’d like to have a Blu-ray player (I bought a BD-ROM drive for my computer, thinking that getting a BD drive would let me watch BDs, but as it turns out, that is not the case), and I also have a few PS3 games that I’d like to play someday. I saw that they’ll be available reasonably cheaply on Black Friday but I know if I get one, I probably won’t even set it up for weeks, if not months. If you told me ten years ago that I’d get a new game console and not play it the first day that I got it, I’d have thought you were crazy.
hnnng I’m not usually into dakimakura covers, but this one is… awesome. Totally sexy. I’d bang the pillow it covers. There I said it.
The funny – or terrifying – thing is, I think there are dakimakura covers with features that let you do just that. The human spirit is ever innovative.