In anime and anime culture, it occasionally happens that some unusual aspect or theme suddenly becomes popular, seemingly all at once. For instance, a couple of anime series centered on futuristic depictions of Oda Nobunaga appeared earlier this year. More broadly, incest has became a strangely persistent and ubiquitous feature of contemporary anime, and I’m at a loss to explain why. Figures are no less immune to this confluence of peculiar themes, and with this particular example, we may observe a tangible specimen of the phenomenon: namely, the toilet bowl seen here. Strangely, girls on toilets have become weirdly visible in figure collecting as of late, with Kaitendoh having released such a figure a few months ago and with Native set to release their own a few months from now. Why is the commode a thing amongst figure makers? Damned if I know. I do know it isn’t the first weird fad we’ve seen, though, and it certainly won’t be the last.
Ringo Hanamaru is a character from the eroge Ane to Boin. The game was adapted into an anime, localized in the United States as “It’s a Family Affair,” which is an indication of how old it is, as the US hentai anime industry has been dead for years. The game’s protagonist is Keisuke Hanamaru and his ten sisters all lust for his semen. It’s not at all an original premise but I’m told that it is handled reasonably well.
The game’s artwork was drawn by Toshihide Sano, a well-known artist whose style is easily recognizable. Thus, it is very easy to discern that this figure maintains little of his touch; rather, it takes its cues entirely from the sculptor’s style instead. The sculptor is Katsuhiro Katagiri of the circle Vispo, and his personal hallmarks are just as perceptible. He has sculpted figures for a very long time; his Shiratori Amane figure was one of the earliest figures I bought and one of the earliest reviews I did. He’s also sculpted the two Keumaya Hyper Nurse figures that I’ve reviewed here. It’s a little surprising that his work hasn’t been picked up for mass production by any of the bigger manufacturers; it seems like his figures of Evangelion’s Asuka would be warmly received (of which he showed off a new one just recently).
As it is, most of his work has been adapted into PVC form by Questioners and Daiki Kougyou, and the latter is responsible for releasing this figure, which they did late last year. It’s actually based on a very old garage kit and it’s a little surprising that they tagged this figure for PVC production, five or six years after the debut of the original model. But then, Daiki Kougyou has always done things their own way and many of the things they’ve done have left me scratching my head in puzzlement (particularly with gangsta lean Saber; we’ll look at her sometime in the future).
This figure is sculpted in 1/6 scale and stands – or sits – at about 18.5 centimeters in height, including the toilet but not including the big black base that it is bundled with. Ringo comes with removable clothing, the toilet, and a little plastic apple – Ringo means “apple” in Japanese and I’m assuming that’s the main reason it is provided, aside from potentially providing a modicum of discreetness by obscuring her genitals.
Vispo’s sculpting style is particularly evident in the face, and that’s certainly true here, where Ringo’s sharply sloped eyes and wedge-shaped chin make it obvious who designed this figure. Toshihide Sano’s style is entirely masked; compare Ringo’s design with Orchid Seed’s upcoming Princess Milk figure, which is also based off of Sano’s work and is much more faithful, and the stylistic differences are apparent.
Looking through the images from the game, Ringo seems to effect an earnest and enthusiastic persona. I’m not sure those are the terms one would use to describe this figure, though; her narrowed eyes are almost certainly meant to give her a seductive aura but they also make her look rather sleepy. Her protruding tongue is likely intended to enhance the effect but personally, I think it looks hilarious.
This figure gives Ringo a most impressive rack, as does her original game design. However, while Sano seems to like drawing very large breasts, his work often provides them with a sense of weight. The figure gives them a perkier look, with the nipples pointed slightly upwards. It’s reminiscent of Vispo’s work with Hyper Nurse Yuno, who was sculpted after Ringo.
Ringo’s clothing comprises a vest and a pair of panties. Removing them entails disassembling the figure, and though no instruction sheet is provided, the method is fairly typical; her head comes off and her arms detach below the bicep bands. Pulling her head off was rather difficult, requiring an inordinate amount of force, but it does come off. I found that it was difficult to get her right arm pushed in all the way, which doesn’t bug me too much when observing the figure but is bothersome when taking photographs.
More annoying is the fact that both her clothing and hair can transfer paint to her body – a substantial amount of paint, in fact. I removed much of it with rubbing alcohol but it was very much a pain to do so and the usage of alcohol always threatens to damage the figure. Fortunately her hair conceals much of the problem but if this were otherwise one of my favorite figures, I’d be livid. As it is, I am considerably annoyed. I’d recommend getting this figure into the display configuration that one wants and never disassembling her again.
Ringo’s pose is obviously highly sexual, happily showing off everything. It’s similar to Rika Shiraki’s pose except Ringo has some indentations in her thighs which considerably reduce her attractiveness when displayed without the toilet.
The toilet is made of plastic and features a hinged lid, but the seat does not lift up. Unsurprisingly, the toilet doesn’t feature a drain so I guess it’s technically more of a chamber pot. It also looks very small, too small for a woman of Ringo’s size.
It fits a 1/8 scale figure reasonably well, though.
The throne is not a seat where one can rest at ease and if Ringo isn’t placed correctly, she tends to look rather odd. She sits a little better with the base in place but it’s so large that I don’t plan to use it.
Another odd thing is that while the promo photos of this figure showed her with greenish-black hair, the actual figure has more of a greenish-blue color of hair. This also happened with Kaitendoh’s ER Nurse Miyuu figure from a while back, which had lighter-colored hair than was originally shown.
Of course, everyone wants to see the details.
Though if one looks too close, her crotch looks, well, a little rough. She looks fine from the front, though.
I bought this figure in large part because I thought it is hilarious, and I still think that way. The toilet is such a weird thing to see, especially with a figure like this, which is blatantly sexualized. One doesn’t typically think of the commode as being all that sexy but I think that makes this figure (and Native’s upcoming figure) all the more funny. While I’m a big fan of Vispo’s style, Ringo’s sleepy and slutty expression is, in my view, less salacious and more uproarious, but I like it all the same. What I don’t like is all the scraped paint, which is inexcusable. Overall, this is a pretty neat figure, though one that I imagine would appeal only to a limited subset of figure collectors.
Did you also get her sister? The one with the teddy bear?
Native also has another “toilet” themed release……now I’ve seen everything lol! Since this is based on GJ?s ladies, I hope Orchid Seed’s “Milk Queen” won’t scrimped on her “details”. Next to Tony, I really dig GJ?s art style.
Nope, that’s the one with the glasses, I’m assuming? I’m looking forward to Princess Milk too, though I’m not sure if her panties come off, and my assumption is that they don’t, since I figure someone would have shown it by now if they do. Perhaps they’re just trying to surprise us, though.
You didn’t like Rurith? Those glasses of hers were a bit of a pan to fold properly (guilty btw…….picked her up…couldn’t resist a gothic girl with spectacles lol )
In case you want to reconsider Rurith: If I remember correctly, E2046 from time to time has a prepainted (“Gathering”) version of her that comes with both a white and a black apron. If you want to stay legit though, Daiki’s Rurith is currently up for preorder with a black apron 😉
Yeah, I’m not a big fan of her face and I don’t really have a big thing for glasses, either, particularly not those huge spectacles-type glasses that were common in anime up until just recently. Plus she was pretty expensive, if I remember right.
At amiami, both have the same price. She’s pretty good looking if you ask me. What with that duck face.
Ever since I took notice of this hobby and started collecting I have been a Daiki supporter, Ringo however was not for me. Perhaps if Native wasn’t releasing their own “indisposed” figure I may have been more inclined to pick her up.
Also, while I may not entirely understand this whole recent toilet fascination it isn’t an entirely new concept as far as I can tell. Giga Pulse and Okayama have always been prone to poor manufacturing/design quality yet pushed boundaries enough that they have managed to stay afloat. This bathroom setting being one of their more prevalent themes.
“Of course, everyone wants to see the details.”
I as always tip my hat to you. Not only is it very uncommon to find figure reviewers in general, but one who actually showcases every aspect of the figure is so rare. It is much appreciated.
Yeah, it’s not a new thing, it’s more the odd timing of three well-known and mainstream manufacturers releasing toilet-themed figures in a short span of time. We’ve seen other odd coincidences like this, like two companies putting up very similar-looking Kongo figures on the very same day.
Back when I started this site, one of the things I wanted to do was to provide more coverage of more explicit figures, which not a lot of sites were doing back then (one of the earliest figures I reviewed here was a Giga Pulse figure, and for some reason it’s one of the most consistently popular posts here). Strangely, even though explicit figures aren’t even that racy a concept anymore, not too many people show them off in figure photos. Maybe I’m just desensitized to plastic boobs or something.
Thanks from me as well. I’ve always enjoyed your review and the photos are awesome. I didn’t get this one either. I saw few episodes of the anime version, but not familiar with the background. For the figure, I don’t like the face expression too much, but was intrigued by the toilet piece. Her thigh seems rough in the picture, I guess I’m spoiled and expect better from the Mfg.
Yeah, I would agree that Daiki Kougyou has done better in terms of manufacturing quality; I was a little surprised at how rough her crotch looks, though I suppose it generally won’t be visible. They are one of the more inconsistent makers; their better stuff, like their miko Kanu Unchou figures, can stand up to anything Alter or Max Factory have made, but they’ve also done a lot of figures that don’t look nearly as nice.
That Rei photo just cracked me up! Anyways, great review and as always, the photos are phenomenal. Was just wondering how it holds up when displayed. That head of hers seem a tad too low to look good at eye level.
Thanks! Yeah, I had a tough time with the photos since her head is pitched down a bit, and is angled even lower if the big plastic base isn’t used. She has to be placed leaning forward to keep her feet on the ground, even with her high heels.
Yet another toilet throne ï¼›D it is small indeed. does not look like with the same scale as the figure. It would be fun to see if she can sit on Touko’s toilet.
It’ll be pretty funny when Native’s Touko ships; I guess I’ll have two toilet bowl props. I should do a toilet-themed shoot one of these days. Maybe I could review the Inori Yuzuriha Figma, to exemplify my disdain for Guilty Crown.
I totally like these Nobunaga related animes, the fool is actually really cool.
As I first saw her I thought that she was really hot, now that I look at her again, I dislike her expression, too slutty for my taste. I love slanted eyes, but this girl really lacks some sensual elegance, I don’t include the toilet in my argument. Mixing erotic with a toilet is odd, I can think of some sexual exercises on it, but please no smelly fetishes XD
I can’t help myself, but the figure is more on the rough side and the big boobs give her a feel of being deformed. Well, what I like is her hair, the arms and her thighs.partially
Daiki has far better figures, like the Pandra girl or angry Kan’u
I haven’t watched either, though I’m thinking I should give Nobunaga the Fool a shot, since if I remember right one of its creators is Shoji Kawamori. There’s not a lot I’m interested in this season so I guess I have time to catch up on older stuff.
Haha, yeah, this is definitely not an elegant or ladylike figure. One doesn’t normally see figures this crass (at least, outside of Giga Pulse’s and Okayama Figure Engineering’s stuff) but I think they’re nice from time to time XD Daiki does have some nicer stuff though; I’ve got a bunch of their figures boxed up in my closet, I should take them out and photograph them sometime.
Not sure if it’s just the photo, or if her crotch really looks that bad. You’ve got to think that if the mold was that bad anywhere else on the figure, they wouldn’t have used it, but it’s not like it’s an area that won’t be noticed. That and the indentations on the thighs and overly small toilet seat are a bit surprising. Otherwise I like this figure overall.
The crotch really does look that bad; it’s not generally visible if she’s sitting on the toilet as she should be, but it’s still not the most exemplary showing of manufacturing quality. Daiki’s Kaori Saeki had similar problems. I’ve got several more of their figures in the review queue and hopefully they don’t suffer from similar issues.
I always had a few problems with this figure. One being the apple, which in my mind doesn’t belong anywhere near a toilet bowl. Food should always be kept clean and out of harmful germs’ way. (I don’t think she really needs the apple either, to get what she wants.) The second issue being her legs, which seem too short for this figure, making her look a little odd… AND, if they make a toilet based figure, they might as well add some fake pee or poo to complete the picture, and make enthusiasts happy. ;^)
Yeah, the legs do look stubby; I think that’s a stylistic aspect on the part of the sculptor, since his Hyper Nurse figures have the same sort of look. It was pretty jarring when I looked through the game’s CGs after taking these photos, since Toshihide Sano definitely does not go for this sort of stocky, almost muscular kind of design. The apple is definitely an odd inclusion; aside from its inappropriateness it doesn’t attach to the toilet in any way, so it would be very, very easy to lose. I put it back in its box for that reason.
I don’t agree that the legs are too short. Perhaps it’s due to the sitting pose, and perhaps the thighs are indeed a bit too short compared to the shins, but if you add them up they’re in a reasonable relation to her height if she were standing up.
On another note, you said that the toilet seat doesn’t lift up. On my copy, both the lid and the seat do lift up just like on the real thing. But as this isn’t a defining feature of the figure, one shouldn’t risk breaking it while trying to make it move. Just leave it down, Ringo will appreciate it 😀
that is sexy, but does she come with the toilet too?
Yeah, she comes with the toilet.
I’m totally OK with the toilet theme. Guess I’m a perv? But then again, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.
I think everyone’s got their kink; some people are just more sheltered about it, or they even hate themselves for it.