Kotobukiya made a splash at Toy Fair with their new Anime inspired Marvel Bishoujo statues. For those unfamiliar with Anime, “Bishoujo” literally translates to mean “beautiful young girl.” So these statues are all about sex appeal and an overdose of curves. The series kicked off last year with the release of X-Men’s Rogue in a stylish pose that could drive Gambit to give up his Cajun accent.
At Toy Fair 2010, Kotobukiya has exhibited 3 new X-Men vixens to round out the Bishoujo line. The new statues include Psylocke (avail June 2010), Phoenix (avail August 2010), Dark Phoenix (Avail August 2010), and Emma Frost (currently still pending approval). Each statue has been designed by Shunya Yamashita, one of the character and weapons designers of Final Fantasy X.
The statues are made of pvc and abs plastic and stand at about 7 3/5 inches tall. Psylocke strikes a sexy sword-wielding pose. The Phoenix and Dark Phoenix are both fashioned in a hands-in-the-air “ready-to-party” pose that has a touch of deadliness to it. Phoenix’s hair is waving wildly in the air as if she just powered up to do something cosmic or as if she is descending from the heavens. The two Phoenix sculptures are identical except for their costumes, hair and eye color.
Unlike Psylocke or Rogue, the Phoenix statues get a flame base that give them the edge over their peers. However, Dark Phoenix is clearly the winner of the two.
The 2010 characters have a bit more style and pizazz than Rogue thanks to the added weapons and flashy statue bases. As for the entire Bishoujo line, it’s clear that Kotobukiya is bringing a lethal dose of sex appeal to comics’ fans. The Scarlett Witch is also scheduled for release, but was not on display at Toy Fair.
Kotobukiya has not neglected DC Comics in their Bishoujo dreams. They are currently working on a new line for DC Nation that will kick off with Wonder Woman. So far the sculpture is still in the concept sketch stage. Kotobukiya claims that the new line of DC character statues will have their own individuality from their Marvel peers. The company also plans to release stylized vinyl figures featuring Batman & Joker Yupon concept sketches. These latter figures will be more on the comical side. The concept art features Yupon’s interpretation of Batman & Joker as Super Deformed characters.
The Marvel Bishoujo statues’ est. retail price is bet. $59.99 and $64.99.
Pretty sweet, bro. Lovin’ the Dark Phoenix. I am anxious to see what they come up with for White Queen. She’s always been a favorite and now that she’s with Scott aka Cyclops, I’m liking her even more.
I’m not sold on those Yupon sketches. They look more like Bobble Heads. I’ll have to wait and see. Wonder Woman though had best be done right, or that will upset the masses (ie me).