Any day where one gets two Native figures is a fairly good day. Add that one Saber-on-a-bike figure to the delivery and that makes for a rather great day.
Hotori Yoshii is the most recent figure to be released by Native, hitting post offices just about a week after their figure of Super Sonico. Like almost all of Native’s figures, she comes in a special box – hers is shaped like the vaulting horse that she leans on. Sculpted in 1/7 scale, Hotori is about 18 centimeters tall. She doesn’t come with quite as many accessories as some of Native’s other figures; all she gets is the vaulting horse and a clipboard. She also gets a large circular base which I did not use for the photographs but will definitely use for her display; her left foot connects to a transparent plastic standoff which then connects to the base, keeping her stable. Without it, the figure slips and falls over very easily.
Hotori is based off of artwork by abec, who now seems to go by the name bunbun. In the source illustration, Hotori looks rather shy, as if caught at an inopportune time. Also, it may just be me, but in the picture, her anus looks like it’s placed sort of high up on her buttocks. The follow-up image provides evidence that Hotori is an amiable, good-natured person, despite the compromising moment.
You wouldn’t guess that by looking at the figure, though. Here, Hotori’s expression doesn’t convey surprise as much as stark terror. It doesn’t stretch the imagination to think that she’s being coerced or blackmailed into doing something against her will.
Obviously what Hotori needs is a big hug.
Despite her very youthful appearance, Hotori is listed as “Hotori-sensei” on the image’s Pixiv page so presumably she is older than she looks.
Hotori appears to be a gym instructor, as she’s dressed up in a track jacket, bike shorts, and a fashionable pair of exercise shoes. I like her shoes a lot; you don’t really see enough female anime characters wearing high-tops.
Obviously the big attraction of this figure is the way that Hotori is pulling her shorts and underwear down, revealing her very cute backside.
If you were hoping for precisely-detailed anatomy though, you may be disappointed; Hotori’s genitalia and anus are indicated but not particularly conspicuous. I guess a little more prominence would’ve been nice but personally, I’m still just kinda amazed that we can buy figures like this.
Her breasts are difficult to see from most viewing angles, but they aren’t exceptionally detailed, either. Given their small size, I wouldn’t call them one of the major reasons to buy this figure. Unless you like that sort of thing, I mean.
Moving on to more mundane things, she has this clipboard, which is nicely detailed despite its small size.
Unless I missed something, Hotori doesn’t have any castoff options. That’s fine with me since her clothing would probably look very bad if it were designed to be removable. Her head does come off, though, so that her whistle can be removed if desired.
Hotori’s overall look is very distinctive. This sort of pose isn’t seen very often amongst anime figures – other than those of this sort, I suppose. There also aren’t a lot of figures dressed up in sportswear, which is too bad since I like seeing cute anime girls in exercise clothing. I’ve only got a few such figures, including a couple of older figures of Kyou from Clannad. The Kotobukiya one even came with another vaulting horse.
It goes without saying that Hotori’s sculpt is superlative. For instance, her hair is uncommonly detailed; she doesn’t have the helmet hair that a lot of figures have. It’s also attractively messy, at least to me. Unless one wanted to dwell on her sexual characteristics, I can’t say there’s anything that I would find fault with.
And that’s the way things are expected to go with Native – you pay a lot but you get a really special figure in return. Hotori looks fantastic. Her expression is appealing – in more ways than one – and the contrast between her clothed upper body and bare behind immediately catches the eye. The question as to whether she’s disrobing because she wants to or because she’s forced to is also tantalizing, though perhaps not to the taste of all of her prospective owners. Nonetheless, there’s a lot here to like, and scant little to criticize. This is the sort of figure you can make your mind up about just by looking at it.
For another review of Hotori, check out Neath Grim.
A wonderful shoot; I really dig the nice polished wood floor and the background, really does seem to be a gymnasium or some kind of sporty room otherwise. I also greatly approve of Obama’s use, and the robodog cameo.
As for the figure itself, well. I do appreciate Native’s sculpting, they are undeniably excellent, however I’m not a fan of ero figures myself so she’s not something I could buy. I don’t think Native have done anything actually up my alley (no surprise since they’re NAked and creaTIVE I suppose).
Still, their detail and quality is always amazing. You have at least a couple Native figures, right? You should do a shoot of them all together. Or hell, show us any kind of collection display you have. =p
That was what I was going for; it’s pretty much dictated by the figure, I guess, since one would not expect to come across a vaulting horse anywhere else. Sometimes being forced into a certain setting is helpful and sometimes it’s really restrictive – like with that bike Saber figure, which is sitting in its box on top of a stack of unopened boxes while I figure out how I want to shoot it.
Yeah, if one isn’t interested in ero figures, Native’s not going to have a whole lot that interests you, apart from the two peculiar figures that they released last year. I don’t remember their names and I don’t think I’ve seen more than a couple of reviews for either. The Raita-designed spear girl they’re got scheduled looks pretty nice, though, and the Rei Hiroe-designed girl with the rifle is supposed to drop this month, I think. I’m looking forward to both.
Yeah, I’ve got several Native figures; I’m missing a few, most notably the maid from Genmukan, the tentacle-wrapped M-girl, and the princess figure that came out just the other month. I really do not like doing collection photos though, not because of a reluctance to show it off but because lighting more than one figure is always a colossal pain in the butt for me. I guess I could take them outside and use sunlight or something but that might get me some odd looks. And possibly arrested.
Eh, I don’t bother trying to light my collection shots properly, eg my latest; http://myfigurecollection.net/picture/464352&ref=user%3AAsako I have overhead light (just the ceiling light in this room) and one of my photography lamps to the left. I’m not trying to perfectly light every figure, or even any figure, I just want there to be enough light to make out the collection. Though I really needed a lamp on the right to light the Touhou side as the mammoth black Griffon bases block a lot of it.
Taking Native figures outside in the Western world is probably not a great idea, I agree. It would be a hilarious story though. Just imagine being in the lockup holding cell with drug dealers and robbers, and they ask why you were hauled in. . .
But yeah, Native don’t typically do anything I’d be comfortable having in my collection, though I do have my eye on this one; http://myfigurecollection.net/item/78685 and I’d definitely have ordered http://myfigurecollection.net/item/95937 if she had any kind of top or bra on.
As for Saber, that is safe to take outside; go take her to a winding road, and use an appropriate lens to scale her in to the perspective, and recreate her riding that particular bike in the single ep it appeared in. Though outdoor shoots usually seem weird to me due to the scale differences, I imagine you know enough about photography to be able to compensate. (I think we may have touched on it in some previous comments, even!)
That’d be a pretty funny story indeed. The only thing that could save me is that I live in a mostly white-collar area without much violent crime, aside from the DC sniper shootings some years back.
I still have no idea what I’m going to do with bikey Saber. Taking her outside is not going to happen, though; outdoors figure photography isn’t an activity I enjoy very much.
I always find that with lighting multiple figures there’s 2 conflicting goals; one is to get “interesting” or dynamic lighting using hard light, and the other is to avoid having them cast shadows over each other. I always end up going “screw it” and just blasting them from 24″ softboxes to avoid shadows, but the result usually ends up a little flat.
My biggest problem with lighting multiple figures is getting a decent exposure; I do not have enough room to back off my lights, so the figure farthest from the light is usually underexposed by at least half a stop, sometimes more. I’ve occasionally just said “Fuggit” and bounced the light off the ceiling, but the results are inevitably terrible. In such cases, I figure I’d rather just have people look at the individual posts for each figure rather than putting up a terrible group shot.
Yeah, using big modifiers and getting the lights in really close evens out the exposure but on the other hand it limits the leeway I have in staging shots and the angles I can shoot at without getting lights in the frame. Usually not worth the effort for a mediocre result.
This is a great figure, maybe my favorite of Native’s figures so far, even though I don’t own her *arghhh*
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I want to be in Hotori Sensei’s PE class XD
Well, she’s incredibly cute with her youthful appearance, her twintails are something I really like, it works very well with the cute face. Im glad nobody forget to apply visible blushmarks (something Sonico is missing *orz*) As you’ve said the face expression is slightly different form the illustration. Ok she looks scare, but still pretty and cute figure, who would do bad things to her ?
I love the sporty look of this figure, the clothes look pretty cool on her petite body.
Following my rules I shouldn’t buy her because of the lack of pantsu(I don’t mind the exposed boobs), but when looking at her it’s hard to resist, she looks so adoreable.
She looks great indeed! I’m not sure if she’s my favorite Native figure – in fact, I don’t know which one would be. She’s definitely in the running, though; it’d probably be down to her, Chie, and Kotone. Probably Collet, too.
You should definitely try to pick her up. She’s a little bit risque but maybe you could consider it an adjustment to the times; I was watching the first episodes of some of the new anime this season and it seemed like a good fraction of them are all but softcore porn. It’s kinda funny seeing how the anime industry has moved really quickly in that direction during the last few years.
oh she’s a teacher that’s new for me she looks too young for that hahaha sure can’t expect her genital detail like chie’s ^^ native made many great figures this year I also want one maybe this,sonico or that princess but her face my favorite so far make me want to bully her >_<
Haha, Hotori definitely looks like she’s being teased or something. I think I remember seeing on the artist’s blog that she might be a student-teacher, but looking at his website recently I can’t seem to find his blog now, so I might just be imagining things.
dammit , I can’t help but love that obama figure of yours, it adds another level to your shoots. Love me some Native but I could never even think about buying this one.
Despite her being a sensei, she looks way too young to me. Larger boobs may have helped that.
The president gets all the ladies. You know, I have not really thought about what I’m going to do if he loses the election this year. I do not think a Romney doll would be nearly as comedic, if anyone even makes one. I better start thinking up some alternatives; maybe Hot Toys or someone else will have another 1/6 scale doll that could substitute.
While I like to think that we’ll get another four years out of Obama-Sama (I know, please shoot me) I’d also enjoy seeing Figma’s RoboCop in on the action. He may not have the same star power as Obama though he would make for an acceptable replacement should you need one.
I too am fond of the sporty girls and Hotori looks amazing! I’m also very happy to see Kyou made it into the set and can’t wait to put mine in with the Griffon taisougi ver Ryomou and Hakufu. Both are in 1/7 scale and Ryomou of course is inching her shorts down in a similar fashion to Hotori-Yoshii.
I did find it funny that you chose to mention her high tops, it seems as though shoe/sneakers which have been shown a significant amount of attention to do impress me more and more as my collection grows. Similar to the reoccurring vaulting apparatus theme, the one shoe dangling or completely removed from a figure is becoming a favorite.
Unfortunately Figma Robocop would be drastically undersized compared to all of my figures. I’m not really much of a Figma collector and though I have a few, I don’t plan on ever doing Figma reviews (though I suppose I could change my mind should whim and fancy dictate it). I was kinda thinking that maybe I could look into one of Hot Toys’s movie toys, like Iron Man, or maybe one of their 1/6 scale Alien xenomorph toys. The xenomorph always looks cool and everyone knows what a xenomorph is.
Hotori ought to fit right in with the two Ikkitousen girls; that’d be kinda a funny (and sexy) display, having Hotori and Ryomou basically mooning everyone.
Purple double ponytails, one of my favorites. If she’s cast-off or dressed I might consider getting her. Anyway GJ president!
Her twintails really look great; they add a bit of dynamic motion and they do a lot to give her a more youthful, innocent look.
I like how you did the photography and setup for this figure. Great job as usual. You really made it look like she was in a gym which works well.
To be completely honest I am a little disappointed in this figure as I was hoping for more genital definition. The sculpt and paintjob are superb, but I was really hoping for a tad more. I also wished they would have done a better job on the nipple paintjob. After seeing the source image, I kind of wish Native would have kept her facial expression the same. There is nothing wrong with the one they went with, but the other face opens the door to more options.
I think this figure still looks great though (pose, twintails, outfit, modest breast size) and if I were able to buy figures like this, I would 100% get this one, but the wife and kids don’t go well with figures like this.
Yeah, I was a bit surprised that a lot of the anatomical detail was forgone; one typically expects Native to be fairly explicit, and Daiki Kougyou’s Imari kinda ups the ante for such figures now, I think, given that it was available through normal retail outlets (besides Hobby Search, anyway).
I think I would have been happy with either the source image’s facial expression or the one they wound up using, but I agree that there are more interpretations available from the artwork. Those interpretations are a bit less menacing, too, which can also be appealing. When I look at Hotori on my desk, she looks so sad that I feel kinda bad.
LOL! The pics with Obama is priceless!
Thanks!
Love your shots!!!! And the Obama cameo is always a great idea. As far as I know, they are also part of max factory’s lineup, but for more ero figures, and a bit expensive than the regular line. A bit off topic, Horizon has a lot of figure release from diff. companies (and diferent characters), but all of them has one one thing in common, haha.
I’m hoping that more companies make figures of the Horizon characters; Tomo looks great, but Kimi Aoi, Masazumi, and Makiko should get figures too, at the least. This reminds me that I still need to make preparations for Horizon Ariadust Week.
i quite like the illustration, but the terrified expression the ifgure has is the reason i decided not to get her. oh well, i guess its okay iscn ei all but forgot about her until the review xD
I’ve got some figures that I don’t even remember buying stored away. I was cleaning out my closet and I came across that summer-wear Saber figure Alter made last year and I was like, “When the hell did I buy this?”
haha i coulnt afford that i think, i always thik a lot about which to buy..
Love Native figures, they have really good quality though I sold all of mine except Collet. I just couldn’t display them or do anything with them but keep them in boxes. LOL
I thought Hotori was done really well too, but she looked way too young IMO, it just didn’t feel right. The reflective surface was a nice touch, I find it helps bring a little more excitement to the images visually, though sometimes it can also look too busy.
Yeah, that’s something I’m trying to stay away from; I remember watching a video with Vincent Laforet (I think that’s who it was) who said his main rule for backgrounds is to keep it simple. I’ve been re-checking old pictures since I set up my photo printer and man, some of my sets are cluttered.
I think the shots here that work best are the ones where the window isn’t visible. I’m not too thrilled with how the window horizontally bisects Hotori’s head in most of the shots. I should’ve used a smaller panel of wood, but I bought that panel to build Tsuneko’s set, and that’s a big 1/6 scale figure.
OMGz, #16 nearly killed me! Barack gets a lot of action doesn’t he?
This is a really nicely done figure, I love the colors, expression and quality overall. And I’m actually glad that they didn’t go too crazy on the genitals, as the entire figure actually has a rather soft look to it, so having a super detailed vulva and anus would actually look a little odd.
And, like always your photography and diorama are extraordinarily good, Tier. Nice work!
As the leader of the free world and the most powerful man on the planet, he should have his pick of women. Yeah, she has a sense of innocence to her that argues against the inclusion of anatomical detail. I still wouldn’t have minded if Native included it, but her rear is my favorite part of the figure so I am not too bothered.
Thanks for the kind words!
As much as I love Native, this is one figure I would’ve bought had she been given a fully-clothed option. I love her gym outfit. LOVE IT. Love the colors, love the jacket and spandex shorts. Love those shoes!
But unfortunately her butthole’s hanging out for the world to see, so I had to pass on this one. She looks really good, though. Native is truly a master of naughty figures.
While I usually avoid obviously naughty figures, I did pick up Native’s Princess Mordina. And I plan on getting their Misae. She’s just too lovely to pass up.
Yeah, I imagine there were quite a few collectors who could not buy this figure, or Native’s other figures, because of display concerns. I have to give credit to Native and Max Factory for making these figures, since I have to imagine the production runs are smaller than for something like a Miku Hatsune figure.
I’m steadily warming up to Misae; I was not a fan of her proportions before but having seen the sample pictures on Akibahobby and Moeyo recently, she’s looking really great. I’m curious as to what Sasaki will look like; I’ve been thinking she looks pretty anorexic but I’m willing to give her more of a chance than I previously was.
Yeah, the proportions will take some getting used to. I can’t think of any figure in my collection that has such long, exaggerated limbs.
…Oh wait, I own a Lelouch figure. Well, lets just disregard Code Noodle and its noodley noodle people for the time being.
I’m not so bugged by Sasaki’s thinness since I’m so used to Ishinaga Sakurako’s style, but I can definitely see how it’s off-putting. I usually find Sakurako’s sculpts beautiful, but a lot of his(?) girls look unsettling thanks to their apparent refusal to eat anything…I guess the more appropriate term to describe his girls would be “haunting beauties”?
One of the reasons I didn’t watch or pay much attention to Code Geass is, as you say, its noodley people. That and I thought Lelouch looked like a girl. Whenever I read anything about Guilty Crown, Code Geass always seems to be invoked, which makes me think that I am probably better off not watching it (that and I already know who dies and how it ends, after going through the Wikipedia article).
That seems like an appropriate way to label his style; some of his figures, like Lacia and that racing Miku figure, definitely have an unusual look to them. I know some people don’t care for Lacia, and I can see their point, and I don’t care much for that racing Miku figure, although I’ll concede it’s a pretty-looking figure.
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Why does everyone approve of Obama being in these pictures? the pics would have been a whole lot sexier if he wasn’t in it. Another hot anime guy instead would be wonderful like sasuke from naruto or even anyone from bleach, now that turns me on!
Its awesome because President Obama is a real person.
Lies. I don’t know who this Sasuke is but bringing up Naruto or Bleach pretty much makes me think that this comparison is laughable. As if the president could be compared to someone from comic books and shows of that ilk.
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11 years later I found what is going on on this figurine scene https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/1079610?q=yoshii_hotori