Banpresto Hatsune Miku Racing x Super Sonico Kyungurumi Review

Previewed in the haul post published earlier this week, today we will be taking a closer look at Banpresto's Super Sonico plush. Her official designation, Banpresto Hatsune Miku Racing Ver. 2015 x Super Sonico Kyungurumi, is quite a mouthful. So for the sake of simplicity, we will just refer to her as the Racing Sonico plush. Unlike the most common plush series, Nesoberi produced by Sega, the Kyungurumi series of plush toys have quite a few differences as we will cover them today.

Beginning with form factor, the Racing Sonico plush is as you would expect from an anime character soft toy with her oversized head and small body. This is usually done intentionally to create cute and lovable proportions but in the case of Sonico, her head is perhaps a little too big causing it to tilt downwards.

Her body is also a good deal shorter than you would normally expect with a body length similar to her head length. I would definitely have preferred a longer body but, I can understand Banpresto's decision to do so in light of keeping cost down. 

Moving towards the back, we can see the flaps that Banpresto used in place of Sonico's legs. A rather odd decision, in my opinion, as most other character plush toys actually have proper cotton-filled limbs rather than just a simple flap. It certainly gives of an air of laziness and screams cost-cutting measures, easily my least favorite part of the entire plush. 

Sonico's headphones are similarly made of the same hard-cloth material which forms her feet. While I would have preferred proper molded headphones, I can perfectly understand the decision to go with this. Creating proper full sized headphones would have cost far too much and that was just not within the realm of possibility for the price bracket that this Sonico plush is in.

From the bottom, we get a clear view of Sonico's racing queen outfit. This is the same outfit that Racing Miku 2015 version wears. As part of this collaboration, Sonico and Miku have swapped outfits with Miku wearing Sonico's signature Tora Parka (Tiger Hoodie). Miku dressed in Sonico's hoodie is also available as a Kyungurumi plush sold at the same price.

Racing Miku is the official mascot for the Good Smile Racing team and that logo is emblazoned on Sonico's chest piece. Above her outfit is a baby blue necktie which has been faithfully reproduced from the original outfit. 

Fortunately, Sonico's hands are not flaps like they are for her feet. Despite that, the quality still is not very good feeling rather stiff and being far too sharp towards the end. 

Banpresto really could have done a better job with the limbs. I am not sure about the other Kyungurumi plush toys in Banpresto's lineup but, I can only assume it to be the same. Arcade prize of not, this finish really leaves a bad taste in your mouth with the only redeeming feature being the price. Outside of the arcades, you can expect to pay somewhere between 500-800 Yen for her which, admittedly, is a very cheap price for a plush toy in Japan.

Looking at the tags, you realize what a missed opportunity it was for Banpresto to fully capture the cute nature of the collaboration. Unfortunately, the Kyungurumi plush could not quite deliver. Also, if you are wondering where the name Kyungurumi comes from, it is a combination of Kyun (from Banpresto's other Kyun Chara series) and Nuigurumi (the Japanese word for plush toy). 

Straight from Mandarake's Sahra warehouse, I managed to purchase Sonico for only 500 Yen. If it was not for the very low price, I would probably find myself being more critical about the figure. In comparison, Sega's Jumbo Nesoberi plushes can be found in the reseller's market at 1,500-2,000 Yen and are many times better in terms of quality and overall cuteness. 

One unique feature that I will mention about the Racing Sonico plush is the addition of a simple leash which will allow you to hang her up. Considering her relative light weight, she can be hung up almost everywhere with no issue whatsoever. A simple but, very interesting touch.

When all is said and done, the Racing Sonico plush toy is a rather cute and adorable plush. That much is a given but, it does leave a lot to be desired especially in terms of her proportions and quality. In all honesty, I would have Banpresto rather charge more to produce a better quality plush rather than going down the cheap, cost cutting measures which leave a lot to be desired. 

So there we have it, a plush that delivers in concept but, not quite so in execution. Banpresto's Kyungurumi Racing Sonico is cheap and probably the best thing that it has going for it. Not until Sega gets the rights to make a Super Sonico Nesoberi would we truly get a high quality Sonico plush. Until then, we can only hope. 

That has been all for this review. If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to leave them in the comments section below. I would love to hear what you think. Until the next time, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!