Hey there everyone, it’s time for another figure unboxing and review! I’m slowly getting around to opening the pile of figure boxes I have in my room; they’re literally right next to my desk stacked neatly on the ground but I’m just too lazy to unbox them all at once. This time we’re taking a look at the Oshino Shinobu 1/8th Scale by Kotobukiya!

Shinobu is my favorite character from the Monogatari series (Senjougahara comes in a really close second), so I really couldn’t pass on getting this figure. I also have a figure of her by Good Smile Company which I paid quite a bit for before learning a few months latter that they finally decided to re-release her; just my luck… I really hope they make figures of her older versions sometime; I would buy them without hesitation.

The Monogatari series revolves around Koyomi Araragi, a third year high school student who survived a vampire attack, who finds himself helping various girls, each afflicted by a different “oddity.” If you haven’t seen the Monogatari series I would highly recommend it; it remains one of my favorite series.

Pre-orders for Shinobu went up in November of last year and she retailed for 7800 yen (around $78 USD). She was shipped out to buyers in late April of this year.

In addition to the figure itself, you get four other pieces: a doughnut, a doughnut box, another face plate and a plastic piece that sits underneath her right shoe. Yes, no Shinobu figure is every truly complete unless it has doughnuts. For those of you not familiar with the character, Shinobu absolutely loves doughnuts; I’m pretty sure she’d basically do anything for them.

Alright, now let’s take a look at the complete figure from various angles. First we’ll look at her without the addition of the doughnut and doughnut box.

I thought the design on the base was a really nice touch. In the Monogatari series, Shinobu eventually starts living in Araragi’s shadow and occasionally comes out. With her donuts in hand, one could guess that Shinobu may soon be going back into Araragi’s shadow.

And here she is without the hat. Personally, I like her more with the hat on; she looks even more adorable then. Now let’s move onto some pictures with the doughnuts!!

I really need to do some outdoor photo shoots with her soon; I think she’d basically be able to fit into any environment and weather condition.

I’m glad they decided to put some texture on the doughnut instead of making it a smooth PVC piece. With the texture, the doughnut actually looks quite real! Mmmm, I’m starting to crave some doughnuts now. I’m not sure if I have any left in my house; I think I might have eaten them all already. Well hopefully there’s some kind of dessert still in my house.

I’m really not sure what the point of this plastic piece is. It fits underneath her shoe, but just loosely sits there and doesn’t really provide any support for the figure. I’m not sure if I got a defective piece, or if it’s actually just supposed to be like that. Oh well, it doesn’t seem like she needs any extra support anyways.

Alright, let’s take a look at how she looks with the different face plate in place now.

I’m not sure how much I’ll use this face plate. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t like it, but the original face plate is just so adorable.

To Buy or Not to Buy? That is the Question!

My standard spiel: “The first thing you should consider when buying a figure is how much you like the character.” Personally, I love all the figures for the characters in the Monogatari series because the colours really seem to pop, and since this figure is by Kotobukiya, she’s definitely up there in terms of quality.

7800 yen is also a pretty good price. She’s on the lower end in terms of price for 1/8th scales because the design is fairly simple. Before it’s re-release, the Good Smile Company Shinobu figure ended up skyrocketing in price to over $200. That being said, I haven’t really seen Kotobukiya figures skyrocket in price that much. So if you’re willing to wait, my guess would be that the worst case scenario would be she goes up by a tiny bit.

If you’re a fan of the series I would definitely recommend getting her. If you’re not a fan and are still interested, there’s no rush as I doubt her price will change too much.

Below are a few sites where you can grab her. If you don’t care much about the box condition and such, you’re cheapest bet will pretty much always be Mandarake. Currently both on Mandarake are in good condition, but if they’re still a bit pricey for you, try waiting around for one to be posted with a damaged box. Well, that’s all for today! Thanks for reading!

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