Emaretta-chan from the Art of Shunya Yamashita (Black Armor Version)

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review

2011 may be the year of Tamaki and Miku Hatsune, but here at Tentacle Armada, we are busy celebrating the greatness of the beautiful fighting girl. Four of the seven figure reviews posted here since the start of the year have featured swordsgirls and today we have the fifth. Another Tamaki figure is probably next up but for now, we shall continue showing our love for big-eyed anime girls in tiny bikinis with big swords. It’s a classic combination that can’t be beat.

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review

Based on an illustration by Shunya Yamashita, Emaretta-chan is manufactured by Yamato. She’s sculpted in 1/6 scale and stands about 23 centimeters tall. The figure is packaged with a sword, an animal skull of some sort, and an oval-shaped base.

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review

Unlike REFLECT’s renditions of Yamashita’s artwork, Emaretta stays quite faithful to the source art. The figure shows a bit more skin, especially in the underboob area, but it retains Yamashita’s trademark wide eyes, narrow waist, and round hips and breasts.

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review

This version is supposedly the limited edition version of the figure. Yamato also sold one that portrayed Emaretta as a redhead with blue-gray clothing. I like this color scheme better; I’m a big fan of purple hair and the combination of black, violet, and silver looks fantastic together.

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review

My favorite part of this figure is Emaretta-chan’s outfit. This cheerful swordsgirl wears that most exalted article of battle gear, a pair of war panties. Practical? Probably not but she looks great in them. The rest of her outfit is equally abbreviated and features lots of silver straps and glossy highlights.

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review

Accentuated by her thong, Emaretta has a great backside, though her cape needs to be removed to properly appreciate it. The castoff procedure is quite simple; just pull her head off and slide the cape off her shoulders. Her collar is also removable, but it’s an integral part of her neck so it shouldn’t be taken off of her.

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review

Just as impractical-looking as her battle dress is her sword. It is nicely detailed with a finish that suggests dull, weathered metal. It does have the annoying property of falling out of her grip very easily but on the plus side, you don’t need to damn near break her fingers off to get it in her grasp.

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review

The base effects a reflective surface which looks nice but is also quite incongruous with the animal skull and tusks sprouting from it. Maybe simulated dirt or rocks would make more sense, but either way, it still looks fine on the shelf.

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review

Overall, I’d categorize the technical quality as being good but not outstanding. The glossy elements of her clothing are attractive although her skin lacks obvious shading. Similarly, I don’t have any major problems with her sculpt and I would guess most quibbles with her would center more on stylistic than technical issues. She’s got that big-eyed Yamashita look, which makes her gaze appear very intense. Maybe too intense. Similarly, while I like the pronounced swell of her hips, her lower torso does seem overly broad for her upper body.

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review

I waffled for a long time before picking up Emaretta-chan. Initially I had considered buying the original version, but when I saw this black armor version instead, I decided I liked it better. However, I didn’t feel like going through a proxy to get this figure so it seemed unlikely I would ever acquire her. However, she then showed up at domestic retailers, but there were always other figures that were a higher priority for me, so I kept passing on her. Finally, I picked her up on sale at HLJ before last Christmas. I’m glad I did; she looks great, with her big sword, bikini armor, and purple hair. I’m a big fan of Yamashita’s artwork and Emaretta-chan is a great addition to my collection.

Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
Yamato Emaretta from Shunya Yamashita Figure Review
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24 Responses to Emaretta-chan from the Art of Shunya Yamashita (Black Armor Version)

  1. armorknight says:

    The figure looks hot as fuck IMO. Definitely seems like the kind of woman that I would love to tame as well.

  2. Tian says:

    Yes, another Creator’s Labo! I love Shunya Yamashita figures, and this one looks great overall. It seems like Yamato’s quality can be off in some places but I do appreciate how they’ll go for some less popular/niche sources for their figures.

    Regarding her sword grip, I think I’d rather have it be loose as well. I have Yamato’s Black Tinkerbell, and getting her spear into her hand was a struggle. I almost did have to bend the fingers to their breaking point.

    • Tier says:

      That’s one thing I like about them a lot, as well. I’m really looking forward to their Heat Blade figure, and I suppose I’ll have to keep looking forward to it because she keeps getting delayed. If she gets delayed any more she might fall right off of my Hobby Search order list, because they only keep records going back one year.

      Yeah, I feel the same way, Volks’s Kaguya Nanbu has a tight grip on her sword but getting it in her hand was a complete pain. I’m not too fond of having to risk inflicting serious damage to a figure just to get it set up right.

  3. Tin_Can_Man says:

    I got the other coloured version as I love red heads… but was very tempted to just get both. I’m a real fan of Yamashita’s style and really am happy with Yamato’s versions! You do know that she casts off her top as well right? It’s the clips on her side.. unless the black version is different??

    • Tier says:

      Err, dang, no I did not. I sorta had a suspicion her top might be removable since it looked like a separate piece but I didn’t even think about taking it off. That’s the second Yamato figure I’ve got that I didn’t know had a castoff feature; I’ve had Arisa with the Rickenbacker bass for years, and I didn’t find out her top was removable until just a couple of months ago. Thanks for the heads up.

  4. George says:

    I’m in love with this figure….or is it lust?? Damn nice 😉

  5. Ashlotte says:

    Yamato love there random Shunya figures don’t they…I find it odd that the man doesn’t seem to do character designs for anything, but rather just a whole lot of individual drawings…You’d think he’d have like an ongoing series…or do some Eroge…or…something.

    • Tier says:

      He does seem to mainly do figure illustrations, which is an odd niche for an illustrator to fall into. It must be working pretty well for him though, seeing how Kotobukiya is chucking out Marvel/DC Bishoujo figures. I was hoping something would happen with the Dai Shogun thing he and Yamato and Studio Anima were working on but I guess nothing ever came of that.

  6. Fabienne says:

    oh man the blue lighted background looks just stunning as well as most your pictures, I like
    picture emaretta-chan-01.jpg, emaretta-chan-16.jpg and emaretta-chan-17.jpg very much 😉

    In general I like the style a of Shunya Yamashita’s illustrations a lot and the figures Yamato makes out of them with their cool and attractive faces and the very female body proportions.
    Thats a really pretty figure you’ve bought for yourself, I like her outfit and the playful face expression. This color version of Emaretta looks definetly better than the other one because the clolormix looks more fitting and purple.

    Yamato uses a mirror ground base quite often but this time it really looks a bit odd when a monster skull is attached on it ;D

    • Tier says:

      Thanks XD I really like Yamashita’s work and the figures based off of them as well. He’s a familiar name in the figure hobby but I wonder if he’ll get any prominent work in video games or anime. Yeah, the skull looks pretty funny on the mirror base XD It’s kinda like Emaretta-chan was like, “Oh wait, let me drag this thing over here and stand on it so I look like a real fighter.”

  7. Cantan says:

    I have to say that your images are perhaps a little better than the figure itself. I ordered her back in November / December and received her in the middle of Jan (think I mentioned at the time I did buy) and, whilst she is cute enough, the shiny plastic biker leathers kinda put me off. She’s currently at the back of my desk with Kiki Oki and Echidna (who is set back simply because of her immodesty).

    Her face is hot and I love the hipline… just think the biker leathers and glove doesn’t really go.

    Do think the skull is a very nice touch however.

    • Cantan says:

      Must be suffering from Sashin syndrome (a.k.a. double post mania)

      Finally got my Eva through… she was marked a bit cheaper than she actually was but got stung by customs at a much lower price than usual – don’t care about the tax (only about $10, but the handling fee from the local EMS carrier was over $20). That is seriously unjustified.

      Annoying ’cause anything up to about $60 used to get through fine… now customs are being a bunch of buttmunchers and anything over about $25 is getting pulled up… (Eva was even marked as a gift (for some reason – not my idea!) so the old $60 threshold should still apply… am seriously considering demanding a refund from the authorities… though that could backfire) not impressed.

      Particularly as, on the subject of Yamato, I really want to order the Satanikus ENMA Kerberos Yuki-Hime (oh and Alphamax’s Motoko looks pretty good too – been hoping for a good rendition of her for quite some time) as the Sif Ex range looks pretty damn good generally.

      Think I may have to seriously scale back my purchases from now on… just isn’t worth it when I’m paying 40% or more tax & handling on top of purchase prices, shipping and sometimes even proxy costs. Seriously considering cancelling some of my AmiAmi preorders now 🙁

      Not happy

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, it does look kinda like an odd, 70s sci-fi B-movie sort of costume. I like that sort of style; it’s no coincidence that some of my favorite artists are Yamashita, Jun Tsukasa, and Luis Royo and they do a lot of artwork with scantily-clad girls in shiny leather with big-ass swords or guns.

      Ahh, that sucks that Eva got marked by the narcs. I still cannot even fathom what it’d be like to have to pay import fees on all the stuff I buy. Or even a sales tax, which I avoid by buying most stuff online.

      I’m really looking forward to Yukihime; I think she looks great so far and I really like her color scheme. I’d like to see some additional angles of her figure but I’m pretty sure she’s going on the preorder list. Her price is sorta excessive but she wouldn’t be the most expensive figure I’ve bought by far, and she seems big enough to justify the expense.

      Yeah, I’d feel the same way if I had to pay a huge surcharge just to get the item into the country. Heck, just the other week I was contemplating scaling back when the exchange rate crashed to like 75 yen/USD. Given all the stuff I buy from Japan, a 5% or so drop in the exchange rate is a significant amount of money for me.

      • Cantan says:

        Irony about Eva was that if she had been marked about 150yen cheaper then I never would have had to pay anything… let alone another $30.

        So it’s official… the new exchange rate is $1 = 5yen

        • Tier says:

          Ouch. That reminds me of this one job I had years back. I got a Christmas bonus which was a really nice gesture on the part of my boss, since I was a part-timer and wasn’t expecting one. Unfortunately, the additional income tax I had to pay pretty much wiped it out, so I wound up basically getting nothing out of it.

  8. Aka says:

    Wow, those are some wide ass hips, they make her head look so small. She looks considerably better than her artwork counterpart though.

    Looking at all the figures I own where weapons and battle could be attributed to, I apparently like them moderately clothed to well clothed. Kiki Oki might be the least clothed figure I own that has a weapon beyond sexy looks.

    Also with Kiki Oki there’s a mirrored base, and I loved it, and when I noticed one on Emaretta here I thought that looks good too! All bases should have mirrors. But then I though just how tacky that’d look, to have a hundred girls standing on mirrors, perhaps just clear bases are best after all.

    • Tier says:

      Most of my fighter girl figures are scantily clad but I don’t mind it too much if they are more modestly dressed. I like Saber and Kiriko Hattori (I’m pretty sure I would’ve put it #1 in my end of year list now, had I received that figure last year), and I think it’d be pretty cool if someone made a good figure of a knight girl in full plate – I’ve got a painted recast figure of one such and it looks pretty cool.

      That’d be pretty funny, especially for figures that aren’t wearing underwear. I sometimes feel pervy enough just owning so many figures, but sneaking a peek at my figures’ crotches by looking at their reflections would make me feel like a lech indeed.

  9. BioToxic says:

    Ooh I really like Emarettas face, much better than her source artwork if you ask me. Those yellow piercing eyes are quite different from most anime figures, but in a good way. I like how round they look with the smaller pupils. Her little nose and mouth make her even nicer to look at.

    I’m not a fan of her wide hips. But then when she’s wearing her cape, which is also awesome looking, it’s not as noticeable. I too think a stone base instead of a mirror would have been better, since that skull is poking out.

    I prefer this purple hair version to the red hair one too. Black armour is better than white, and mixed with her lighter coloured hair looks even better.

    • Tier says:

      I really like yellow eyes, it’s one of those odd things that appeals to me for no reason that I can discern. I agree about the cape; I’m not a big fan of capes in general but I think I’m going to keep it on Emaretta, since it seems to give some balance to her sculpt.

      Yeah, this version seems to stand out much better than the normal version. Violet and black is one of my favorite color combinations; more figures should feature black and purple. I wouldn’t mind it if some manufacturer started that up with a Rider figure.

  10. I’d say the cape gives a a more subtle majestic regal looks of Emeretta, but when remove wow!!! Shunya amazing design of intricate patterns from breast plate to thongs are really his catchy trademarks, plus those irresistible eyes and pouting lips. Like i say there’s more to it than a piece of PVC figure, it’s a an amazing work of art to behold. Hehe i wish i can find some decent stocks for this, these is a definitely a must buy for me. Nice amazing back shots an accentuated backgrounds colors of blue bro, it really complements the subtlety seduction of Emerretta back side part of her anatomy. Those two shots in the back with blue accent background really catches. keep up the good work bro!!!

    • Tier says:

      Thanks! She’s a great figure indeed. Yamato did a number of figures based on Shunya Yamashita’s work last year; I hope they keep it up. I am not sure if she’s being sold anywhere now, but HLJ had her in stock as of a few months ago; they might still have her.

  11. Raziel says:

    Another great review and pics. I had to go out and buy it after seeing how nice that figure looks with the black armor in your pics. Thanks and keep up the great work! Purple hair ftw 😉

    • Tier says:

      Thanks! I’m glad this review was helpful. Purple hair is awesome, it’s no coincidence that two of my favorite characters in pop culture (Senhime and Psylocke) have purple hair.

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