Violet (18+)

Name: Dendrobium Sister Violet
Series: Dendrobium (Design by Nishieda)
Scale: 1/6, by Yamato
Release Date: January 2012

Warning: This post features content not suitable for readers under the age of 18. Seriously. There’s some nudity. Continue at your own risk.

So apparently you guys like smut. Now now, don’t try to hide it. My WordPress stats tell me that you people clearly like porn, smut, and Portgas D. Ace.

Weirdos.

So you like the adults only stuff, huh? Well, have some more!

Presenting the lovely demon Violet, sister of the red Azalee. She hails from Nishieda’s “Dendrobium” artbook, which also brought us Native’s Trunk Girl figure. (Check out Tier’s review)

She’s brought to us by Native-what’s that? No? Oh…ah, here we go: She’s brought to us by Good Smi-huh? No to that, too? Max Factory? Alter? Uh…Alpha Max? Who the heck made this, then?

YAMATO?! You mean the same Yamato that made THIS? No way, you gotta be pulling my leg here. *checks box* No, no…you’re right. This is brought to us by Yamato. Huh. Apparently around 2009 or 10 Yamato realized that people didn’t want to buy mediocre figures and REALLY stepped up their game. Nowhere is this more obvious than with their release of Odin Sphere’s Velvet a few years back, which was easily a Max Factory or Alter quality product. Their sculpts have gotten more detailed and dynamic, and the paintwork more vibrant.

Violet sure isn’t wearing much, but what’s there looks lovely. The pastel blue looks very nice against her peachy skin. The paintwork here is exceptional.  There’s nice, clean shading all over. Like with any good figure, different paint finishes were used for different parts of her outfit.

Even the long strands of her ribbon have different levels of shading/highlighting. Yamato really put their all into this release.

A minor issue I have with Violet is that her top should be covering her nipples, but no amount of adjusting will make the darn thing cooperate. Guess her top just can’t handle all that bosom. You’d think with such a slinky top Violet would at least put a bra on. Guess they don’t need such things where she’s from. Wherever that is.

Hand fetishists once again lose out. Violet’s dainty hands rest inside lovely blue gloves. Those gloves are probably made out of silk or satin. Violet seems like she’d like fancy fabrics. Again, take note of the shading and highlighting.

The main reason I purchased this figure? Those legs! Namely the stockings and shoes. They feel like the type a Victorian-era noblewoman would wear. (Maybe. I’m not too well versed on historical foot and legwear.) Instead of painting the stockings solid white they were done in a creamier color instead. This, along with the shading,  give the illusion that they’re somewhat sheer around the tighter parts, such as her knees and feet.

Those are some seriously gorgeous pumps. They’ve been given a glossy finish. I love glossy finishes.

Certain parts of Violet’s body are removable thanks to her cast-offable outfit. Most of these detachable parts use clothing to hide their horrible, horrible seamlines. This is a trick constantly used by figure manufacturers, ESPECIALLY with cast-off swimsuit figures. So ever wonder why so many anime bikini figures have weird armbands? Now you know.

Violet is all woman, but isn’t afraid to show her girlish side. Adorable little ribbons adorn the top of her stockings and the back of her collar.

She’s also not afraid to show her animal loving side. For whatever reason she has…this guy…as a pet. This is just a bit of filler for those of us who own Violet, but not Azalee. If you do have both figures, you’d actually rest Azalee’s feet in Violet’s hands.

In the original artwork Violet’s hands are a little higher and her head is slightly lowered, so Azalee’s toes are very close to Violet’s face. They’re still kinda close in the figure versions, but not as much. Guess the sculptor isn’t a fan of demon sibling toe sucking? Pity. It would’ve made for a hell of a conversation piece. (“Hey dude what’s up with those toys? That’s fucking weird.”)

Sitting atop her head are a tiara and…uh…things. At first I thought those…things…were cat ears, but Violet very clearly has human ears. Plus cat ears aren’t super thick like that? Then I thought they were just weird things attached to the tiara. But they’re very clearly growing out of her skull. I guess they’re really just strange horns? Azalee has little feathery doohickies growing out of her head instead.

A really nice touch was with her eyelashes: they actually retained the light blue lashes from the original artwork, as opposed to just making them black like with so many other figures. Colored lashes definitely seem to be on the rise these days. A coat of gloss was added to her eyes and mouth. I like the watery look it adds to her eyes, but I’m not sure how I feel about her glossy lips and tongue. I guess it’s alright.

Violet’s base consists of a strange yellow beanbag chair thing. It’s REALLY bright compared to the rest of Violet, so it stands out quite a bit. The base has a whopping ONE hole for a whopping ONE peg on the bottom’s of Violet’s nightgown. The downside to that peg is it makes it next to impossible for her to sit anywhere else as long as she’s dressed. But you know, that’s the nice thing about Violet…

She doesn’t have to be dressed.

Cast-off has come a LONG way over the last few years. Used to be you could only take off the skirts. Then when whole outfit cast-off was introduced, the outfits were usually big and clunky with ugly seams, and were a hassle to take off.  That is definitely not the case here.

And partial nudity in 3…2…1 -

Well, you can’t say she isn’t loaded. Something that’s always bugged me about MANY anime female designs is that the girl would have these gigantic knockers but the rest of her body would be as thick as a toothpick. I find body types like Violet’s far more appealing: it looks healthier AND less ridiculous! Just look at those legs! Long, yes, but meatiness makes it look better.

I guess my one complaint about her proportions would be her neck: it looks too long and too thin compared to the rest of her. And…uh…I guess her hands do look kind of silly from this angle when they’re not holding anything.

Detailing on the stomach isn’t very pronounced, but it’s there. I like the crease in her belly. That’s one of those little details a lot of figures from the past missed out on.  On an unrelated note, while the colors for Violet’s outfits are very soft, her skin is not. The color used for her skin shading is very bright. I like it myself, but I can see some people disliking it for being too strong/distracting.

You were so busy looking at her chest you didn’t even notice her lower arms were missing, huh?

Violet’s breasts do look unnatural once her clothing is removed. Those definitely should be slightly saggier, but I guess the “balloon tit” thing works. I mean, she’s not human so why should her body follow human rules?

Her back has a disappointing amount of detail, but looks nice regardless. Yamato was very good in not having any seams on her body except for places they were unavoidable, like with the aforementioned detachable parts. I’ve never seen such clean paint and sculpt work from them before.

What would my family think if they saw this?

Violet’s…thing…isn’t the most realistic looking. Not very detailed, either. Nor does it have a coat of gloss like Mordina’s (linked at the start of this review). That’s probably for the best. A string conveniently covers this area from unwanted eyes when she’s wearing her nightie.

And here we have Violet’s one critical flaw: the neck seam. It’s big, it’s ugly, and you can see from miles away. It really is a shame Yamato didn’t find another way to make Violet’s head detachable. I’m sure there are many owners who won’t remove the collar just because of how much of an eyesore that seam is.

OVERALL SCORE: 9/10

+ Gorgeous character design
+ Top quality sculpting and paint work!
+ Very large size
+ Cast-off is quick and painless

? Borderline Barbie doll anatomy

- THE NECK!

What a shame. If it wasn’t for that neck issue this would’ve been a perfect score. Violet really is just that good, and Yamato has my respect for making such a beautiful product. This rendition of Violet (and her sister Azalee) is discontinued and hard to find for less than $150, but all hope isn’t lost. Yamato recently announced a re-release of the sisters, though their outfits are different colors.

- G.K. Sil Kamina