Shrine Review: Sakagami Tomoyo by WAVE

Y’know, this past year has been pretty hectic. I’m currently enjoying my first career role in the industry of my choice, and getting paid well too. The only problem is I am now as far away from my home city and friends as I have ever been in my life. As always though, Sloth has been the lifeline to the world back home, an extended umbilical that has faithfully served to deplete my wallet with awesome figures he finds on the ‘net. While before I would ‘uhm’ and ‘ahh’ over buying a figure due to a woeful lack of funds, now I have come to relish his contributions, as more often then not I have the cash to spend on them (much to his chagrin).

Last week was perhaps one of the highlights. Within minutes of receiving a message from Sloth about a 45% discount on a Tomoyo Sakagami figure by Wave, I had purchased her. Within another day, much to my delight, Amiami had shipped Tomoyo out to my address. Within the week she had arrived. How is that for service? Damn, I love the internet!

So lets kick off my first review using our new categorical analysis! Read on after the jump~

1. Execution

For those of you who know, any figure of Tomoyo is a big win for any Clannad fanboy, especially when she is retailing for $50AUD + shipping. For those of you who don’t know, Clannad was a romantic comedy that aired in 2007-2008 and is definitely worth watching if you’re into that kind of thing. For that price one cannot expect too much in terms of quality, and with this being my first figure from Wave, I am happy to say its good. Wave have faithfully taken the original character designs from the anime (and visual novel) and successfully introduced Tomoyo into the 3D realm. The pose is straight out of After Story, and as such more lonely then I would of liked, then again this accurately depicts her character. I guess putting some Sunohara airtime into the picture would of increased the price somewhat, but would of made the figure overall more entertaining.

2. Sculpt 

This is perhaps where the cost factor falls into place. Because Tomoyo is indeed a cheaper figure, there are some areas where this shows. Her socks, for instance, are merely painted on, whereas on more expensive figures there is a lovely bit of interaction between the leg and where the sock ends. I am a big Zettai Ryouiki fan, and while Tomoyo isn’t wearing thigh-highs, this lack of detail is a little disappointing. Happily though, the rest of the paint job is very smooth and has consistent colour.

The actual sculpt of the figure is also pleasing, with no rough edges and very little in the form of blemishes. Besides the shoulder joint on her left arm, WAVE have done well to hide where Tomoyo was stuck together by matching with the seams in her clothing. Also complimenting this is her solid build quality, everything seems very sturdy and hopefully will stand the test of time.

3. Value

I think for the price that I paid for ($50AUD), I have done very well for myself. Sure, this particular figure has very little detail on the uniform, but since this is exactly as depicted in the anime, it makes no difference. The fact that WAVE have not stuffed around with her face and faithfully recreated Tomoyo’s personality in her pose and facial expression means all the fanboy criteria have been satisfied. However, would I pay any more for her? In hindsight, no. There isn’t much else going for WAVE’s Tomoyo and as such she has to rely on the fetishes of those who loved her character.

4. Enjoyment

For this past week, Tomoyo has been center stage on my desk, and I am yet to get tired of her. I am one of those collectors who rarely buys a figure unless the anime or game he/she came from was one I really enjoyed. In this case for me it is the memory that drives the fanboyism; the nostalgia of watching Clannad and the characters therein. I fear that later on she might get delagated to the shelf, but nevertheless I am glad to have her.

Conclusions

I’d recommend this figure to all fans of Clannad, as she is easily justified by her price. I would challenge you to find any other figure from that anime that is, for that price, so faithfully recreated. If you are like me, and constantly hark back to your favourite series of seasons past, then you won’t be dissapointed. Also join me in purchasing Kyou when she comes out later in the year 😉

Summary
Manufacturer: WAVE
Cost: 3900 Yen
Execution: 4/5
Sculpt: 3/5
Value: 5/5
Enjoyment: 4/5
Total: 16/20
Recommendation: GET