NAME: Belldandy (Casual Dress Version)
SERIES: Ah! My Goddess
SCALE/CREATOR: 1/8, by Kotobukiya
RELEASE DATE: August 2006
For our last review we took a look at a cute angel from a smutty series of “combat books”. Today we’ll take a look at a higher ranking holy power who’s as pure as fresh winter snow…or something. Say hello to the goddess Belldandy!
She’s the kindest goddess you’ll ever meet. Which is probably a good thing, considering how ridiculously powerful she is.
Belldandy’s sure come a long way. When Kousuke Fujishima first started Ah! My Goddess/Oh My Goddess/Ah! Megami-sama his artwork was downright horrendous. Everyone was bug-eyed and dressed in 80’s fashion, which we all know is the worst fashion to ever exist. Over the years Mr. Fujishima improved…drastically…and Belldandy went from a homely maiden to one of the most beautiful gals to grace the anime world.
Kotobukiya brings Belldandy to the figure world yet again with this simple but pleasant representation of the goddess. It’s nowhere near as impressive as some of the resin statues of her that have popped up over the years, but it’s still a good figure in its own right.
Thinking of Keiichi, are we?
Belldandy isn’t mind-blowing in the quality department. She’s pretty standard as far as Kotobukiya figures go, which means she’s got a clean sculpt and paint job. She does have a lot of seamlines: legs, clothes, hair…there’s even one on her neck and chest. It’s a bit distracting but I’ve seen worse.
Er…what’s that? Snow? A cloud? There’s no way she could wear a flimsy dress like that in snow, right? Or does she have high cold tolerance?
The pose is pretty interesting and captures Belldandy towards the end of a twirl. Though she’s settled into place her dress and hair are still flying around. This makes it very easy to see her underwear…but why would you look…? Tsk tsk.
Belldandy’s skin and clothes are shaded pretty nicely. As an added bonus, Kotobukiya went through the trouble of using metallic paint on her earrings and bracelets. (Small details like that are always nice.) The big disappointment is that there’s practically no shading in the hair. Oh, there’s one splotch of it, but that’s all.
OVERALL: 7/10
Say what you want about Belldandy’s personality (borderline doormat), her character design makes for some fantastic figures. Griffon’s 1/8 “20th Anniversary Edition” is by far the most impressive PVC of her on the market…and Koto’s 1/8 “Goddess Version” is also more visually striking…but this simple version has a charm all its own.
- G.K. Sil Kamina
