SHIHOUIN YORUICHI – BLEACH: EXCELLENT MODEL SERIES
By Yik-Hai Chan
June 9, 2006 - 10:52
Shihoin Yoruichi – Excellent Model BLEACH Series
MEGAHOUSE
BLEACH is the work of Tite Kubo. The manga title began in 2001 in Weekly Jump, following the story of a 15 year-old high school student, Kurosaki Ichigo, who becomes a substitute Death God or “Shinigami” when Kuchiki Rukia transfers her spirit energy into him. The manga has been recently adapted in anime form and will shortly be shown on CN’s Adult Swim later in the year. Expect to find SPOILERS in this review.
When Yoruichi-san first appeared in BLEACH, the character was seen as a cat on Urahara Kisuke’s shoulder, who later helped train Chad and Orihime. When following the Japanese anime, it only became apparent in episode #41 that Shihoin Yoruichi’s true form was a tall dark skinned female who was the former head of the well respected Covert Ops corps of the Soul Society. A big surprise considering the cat disguise was accompanied by a deep male voice.
Packaging
The Excellent Model series from Megahouse utilises a colourful window box that clearly displays the models and the name of the character in Kanji from the top, sides and from the front. Following the last two waves of BLEACH characters, the flame patterns (this time being purple in colour) used are simplistic yet effective. The graphics on the sides show images of the two models in this wave (the second being Matsumoto Rangiku) rather then anime versions of the character, which I would have preferred.
Likeness
The outfit that this PVC statue has sculpted is based on the one Yoruichi wears throughout the “Soul Society” arc after she reverts back to her human form. In addition, the model is given a neck scarf which she wears during her battle with Soi Fong, her former guard and subordinate (which is removable, if preferred). It’s an extremely accurate rendition of the ever-lovable cat-lady.
Sculpting
Japanese PVC statues are usually brilliantly sculpted and they are popular in that respect. This is no exception, without a doubt. The head sculpt is essentially perfect with the large anime-style eyes and the soft grin. Her ponytail is in the midst of blowing wind while the sides are sculpted to simulate “cat-ears” as seen in the manga and anime, which I’m glad was noticed and included. The pose works very well for Yoruichi as it matches her strong and confident personality.
Paint
The fantastic sculpting is complimented by an equally well done paint job. Shading is used on this model, where shadowed areas are painted darker then largely exposed areas. Examples of this can be seen below the waist where her suit isn’t a matt black but grey with darker shaded areas. It definitely gives the statue more texture and the transitions from lighter to dark areas are blended well. The hair is a mix of light and dark purple, which stands out. Surprisingly, there’s virtually no paint bleed even in places where extreme detail is important such as the eyes.
Scale
Yoruichi stands at around 8 inches tall and when comparing that with Ichigo’s height of 9 inches and Rukia’s 7 inches, the statue is in scale with the previous BLEACH PVC statues released thus far and will look perfect when displayed with them.
Stability
The statue has quite thin legs and small feet which makes it slightly top heavy. When attempting to stand the model on its own, it will topple over very easily. This is why all of the BLEACH PVC statues are provided with a circular base where the model can be attached to the base via peg and holes in the feet. When attached, it becomes quite sturdy without any fear of falling and breaking. However, the base is quite large which means more space is taken up to display Yoruichi.
Articulation
As a PVC statue, its main purpose is to look attractive in a pre-posed state so no movement is expected. Therefore, no articulation is included.
Accessories
There are surprisingly a few accessories that enable Yoruichi to change her outfit. Previously mentioned was the neck scarf which is removable. To have the model based on either before or during the Soi Fong fight. Also removable is the orange shirt, which was blown away during the fight when Yoruichi used the Shunkō technique. It is made up of four pieces which fits over the statue tightly and yet can be easily removed. Underneath reveals her sleeveless Covert Ops outfit she wore before she left the Soul Society, which is sculpted and painted.
Cost/Value
Imported straight from Japan, it cost ¥4,490 during an “Early Bird” period which is equivalent to £22/$40 and it is an ideal price taking into account the high end quality of the paint, PVC and the popularity of the anime. However, although it was only released recently, checking prices now can reach up to £40/$75 which is too high. Anything around £30/$55 including shipping costs should be considered reasonable.
Availability
Being a female character from an extremely successful anime, expect the already limited supplies of Yoruichi to be selling fast. Many online sites are already sold out so if you want one, try and locate one as soon as you can. If you also want the other statue in this wave, Matsumoto Rangiku, you’ll have to locate her even faster.
Overall
The past four statues from the Excellent Model BLEACH Series have all sold extremely well and Shihouin Yoruichi is well on its way in following the rest. To summarise, this is a great sculpt given a nicely detailed paint job with various possibilities of outfit style to emulate those worn in certain points in the story. I believe that even non-BLEACH fans will consider this an attractive statue while the only drawback is trying to track one down at an affordable price. 
Grade
9
