NAME: Didi of the Dawn Treader
SERIES: Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo
SCALE/CREATOR: 1/8, by Kotobukiya/Hobby Japan
RELEASE DATE: July 2008
Clalaclan shows Kotobukiya at their best. Sadly, Didi here shows them at their worst.
Mandark loves Didi, Mandark loves Didi!
Didi is one of the lovely ladies from Chaos Gate Jingai Makyo. The figure world seems to be in love with the game’s leading lady: Ignis. A handful of companies seem to like another major female character…Kaze no Ushiro wo Ayumumono. (What a name!) But only one company so far has shown their love for Didi…but maybe “love” isn’t the right word to use here.
Cool hair. Cooler shoes.
What in blazes went wrong? Did Kotobukiya run out of passion after making the Shining Wind 1/8 Clalaclan figure? Though to be honest Didi isn’t TERRIBLE, but she’s got one horrible flaw that really drags her down. It’s the paint job on her dress. It sucks! This isn’t the Kotobukiya I know and love. There is ZERO shading on her dress. None! This is mind boggling as her hair, shoes, and ribbon have shading.
The prototype for Didi featured her wearing a shiny looking black dress, but the production model features a dull looking gray one. As an added bonus the orange stripes and light gray frills are all sloppily done. At least there’s a small hint of shading on her skin, but only on her torso. The legs have none at all.
Didi loves her parasol.
On the plus side things look a lot better in the sculpt department. There are a few seams on her arms and legs but they aren’t horribly noticeable. Also, the cast-off for Didi’s dress is easy and very well done. Her pose is very attractive, with the wind-swept hair adding a lot of spice to an already sexy pose. The only downside is that her face is off model when compared to artwork from Jingai Makyo.
Didi comes with a large (and unnecessary) black base. She also comes with a parasol and demonic looking sword. I’ve got enough sword users in my collection so my Didi’s stuck with the parasol.
OVERALL: 5/10
+ Sexy pose
+ Another phenomenal character design courtesy of Jingai Makyo
+ Cast-off is super easy
- What the fuck, Kotobukiya
- Face doesn’t match that seen in Didi’s artwork
Didi was available only through mail-order with Hobby Japan in Japan. In the US, however, it seems that Hobby Japan/Kotobukiya gave several vendors some shipments of her. She’s in stock on several US figure sites. I can’t say I recommend her thanks to the horrendous job on her dress…but she IS the only Didi figure out there…
- G.K. Sil Kamina
