Love Wing Bell Koizumi Hanayo Review
Hello everyone and welcome to another figure review on Tiro Finale! Today, we will be taking a look at FuRyu's Love Wing Bell Koizumi Hanayo prize figure as this is the first time we have ever featured Muse's resident rice-lover on this blog. For more information about the figure's box and contents, make sure to check out the Preview & Unboxing that we posted earlier in the week. Now, before we begin the review, let us go over some basic information about the figure before we jump straight into the review!
- Manufacturer: FuRyu
- Series: Love Live, Love Wing Bell
- Price: NA (~1,200 - 1,500 Yen)
- Release Date: 03/2016
- Scale: Non-scale (~160 mm)
- Material: PVC
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| Front View |
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| Rear View |
When viewed from the back, the whole outfit may look a little peculiar with the combination of a skirt and trousers encompassing Hanayo's lower half. It is only apparent from the front where the "skirt" is actually an extension of the coat ends.
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| Right View |
From the side, we can observe Hanayo's rather slim figures with her right hand holding on to a pair of gloves. If I remember correctly, Hanayo removes her gloves prior to walking Rin down the "aisle". It is a really lovely scene and one that I am glad that FuRyu decided to immortalize in the form of a figure!
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| Left View |
Over on the other side, we can see Hanayo's hand forming a link of sorts. That is because she is supposed to be linking hands with the accompanying Love Wing Bell Rin figure. Hanayo comes with interchangeable hands, one with her shown as above and another with Rin's arm wrapped around it. The second alternate arm may not be featured in this review but, worry not, it will be shown in a final gallery of the two together.
Now that we have taken a broad look at the figure, how does Hanayo fare under closer scrutiny? There may be no noticeable flaws or issue when viewed from a far but, we will only know once we take a closer look under the lens.
Starting with the facial details, I never thought I would say this but, Hanayo is incredibly beautiful! I mean, of course she is, she is an idol after all. Nevertheless, I was not prepared for the demure proportions of her facial structure. From her well defined cheek bones to her sharp jaw, the face is instantly recognizable to be that of Hanayo's but with features reminiscent more of a model rather than an anime character.
Hanayo's bright purple eyes are also correctly sized and extremely beautiful! The decals are applied perfectly and the choice of purple really helps the entire figure really stand out. Note the slightly longer eyelashes sticking out towards the outer periphery of Hanayo's eyes, this is something we would otherwise not notice because she is often wearing spectacles.
At the end of the day, it is really easy to dismiss Hanayo as the "otaku" of the group and dismiss her beauty. But like every other member of Muse, it is no surprise that they actually very pretty owing to their design as idols. In fact, I would be lying is I said I could not see signs of Hanayo's seiyuu, Yurika Kubo, in Hanayo's facial structure. And that is a very good thing indeed.
Enough of fawning over Hanayo's beauty. Let us now take a look at the outer aspects of Hanayo's head namely the lovely ribbon hairpiece and her well kept short hair. The hairpieces, a glossy white ribbon sits three quarters atop the back of her head and fits in place nicely. Owing to its position, the ribbon is not immediately noticeable when first looking at the figure itself.
Hanayo's hair, on the other hand, is her usual short cut in light brown. Her hair is neatly arranged with the ends pointing towards the center with several lovely layers giving a real sense of depth. Along with the layering, there is also a subtle color gradient throughout her hair with the ends having a darker tone comparatively.
Moving on, what about Hanayo's outfit? It may just be a simple black dress suit but, does it live up to the standard that are the intricate Live outfits made by Kotori?
In a way, yes it does live up to the Love Live standards. On one hand, the outfit is notably restraint in design to emphasize the sleek lines of the suit while, at the same time, making sure to not draw attention away from Rin's amazing wedding dress. On the other hand, the outfit is peppered with various lovely details such as the frills on the white shirt which extend all the way upwards to the collar.
Then, there is the lovely floral corsage with two white ribbons accompanying it. These are all part of the original design which FuRyu has carefully emulated in figure form. If you look closely, the margins between the white and red paint may be a tad bit too noticeable because the entire piece is a single PVC mold.
Like a smartly dressed school idol, Hanayo's outfit also comes with a nice black bow tie to match the entire outfit.
Gold buttons which have been carefully painted are present both in the front and back of the coat. Together with it are two pockets in the front in which FuRyu has been careful to reproduced here as well. Good job!
One rather unique feature of the suit which helps to add some degree of flair and femininity to the outfit are the frills at the end of the sleeves and coat ends. These frills are actually finished in a different black where a slight bit of glitter has been added giving the frills a nice reflective finish to it.
The only accessory Hanayo has are a pair of gloves that she holds in her right hand. These gloves are finished in the same glossy white finish as her ribbon hairpiece. I really like the way these gloves are sculpted as they really look as if they are made out of cloth and both individual gloves can be made out.
The back of Hanayo's outfit is rather plain with just the two gold buttons in place. There are several creases along her back and shoulder blades which helps to add some depth to the suit.
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| A close look at Hanayo's gloves from the back. Note how it folds nicely in her hands. |
Then, there are the frills on her coat ends. This may be a point of contention where you either hate it or love it or do not mind it. I fall into the latter category, not really minding its implementation. I am glad FuRyu decided follow the original design despite it being rather unconventional.
The sculpt on the frills are particularly good though and with the slight glitter mixed in, it creates some lovely reflective effects when looked at from different angles. The way the fabric creases and folds are exactly like that of a skirt!
With the upper half complete, we now shift out attention towards the lower half of the figure. Having been used to doing Super Sonico and Tomoe Mami figure reviews for most of the times, I was expecting to not have much to say about Hanayo too. But, that turned out to be quite wrong. For starters, take note of the straight cut of the trousers which carefully highlight Hanayo's slim legs.
No thick thighs here, just slim legs all the way through as a result of all that running and dancing she has to train for as part of being a school idol. Then, there is the way her trousers are cut, ending right above her ankles. Note the slight crease at the back of the trousers where her knees are? Such perfect tailoring for these trousers otherwise!
Then, there are Hanayo's high heels. Black and simple just like the rest of her suit. When viewed alone, they almost look like business heels.
The heels themselves house four pegs which securely mount Hanayo to the base. With the figure secured, the connection is absolutely rock solid. There is no amount of play, sway or instability in the figure whatsoever. For something that is roughly 1/8 scale in terms of height, this is a very reassuring feature to have.
The base itself is a rather simple round white base with some light green patterns and Hanayo's name written in cursive. The design may be simple but, just be glad it is not a black white base as we often see with other prize figures. That and the fact that it has four (!!!) mounting holes for the figure.
For me, the story of this prize figure is an odd one indeed. I had never been a particularly big fan of Hanayo or Rin. Although I did love their friendship and relationship, it never dawned upon me to specifically collect their figures. For that, it had to be Nozomi and Eli. That being said, of all the episodes of the Love Live anime, A New Me/Atarashi Watashi (Season 2, Episode 5) had one of the most profound impacts upon me leading up to the performance of Love Wing Bell.
As such, when I found out that FuRyu would be manufacturing Love Wing Bell Hanayo and Rin with linking hands to boot, I knew immediately they needed to be added to my collection. So the hunt began and, believe or not, they were rather tough finds. Often I would find it in varying conditions from those without the box (~500 Yen) to mint-in-box (1,800 Yen!) but, never quite at the price I was ready to part with. Finally, when I found here in Sapporo's Jungle for exactly 864 Yen, I knew I had hit the jackpot.
A complete review later, I can in no way or form say I am disappointed. Rather, quite the opposite as I struggle to find a single fault in this otherwise perfect figure of Hanayo. All of this coming from a non-Hanayo fan so, you can imagine the magnitude of my recommendation when I say this is something every Hanayo fan should collect. Scratch that, not just Hanayo but, all Love Live fans.
With that, we have come to the end of this review. It certainly has been very interesting to introduce new characters to Tiro Finale and I have full intention of spreading the net with future reviews. Of course, if you have any questions, feel free to ask 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 great day ahead!
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