Astro Toy with Rob Bricken: Sengoku Lance - Senhime

SENHIME
Series: Sengoku Lance
By: Alter
Cost: $85-110

It's time for an “Astro Toy” first, folks — it's time for my first review of a figure from an eroge game. Now, I did not select this on purpose. The fine anime merchandise importers over at AAA Anime offered me a selection of statues to review and I picked this one, knowing nothing about Sengoku Lance or the character — I just liked the look of it. I had no idea Sengoku Lance was an adult PC game until I started doing my online research, because frankly, there's nothing about the statue that would imply otherwise. Yes, you can maneuver yourself to see Senhime's panties, but no more so (and probably less) than many other figures of many other characters from many other non-adult series.

That does mean she does not get naked, which I'm perfectly fine with. I can't promise that I'll never review a figure or statue whose clothes can be removed — as should be obvious by now, I don't do a great deal of research before acquiring my “Astro Toy” subjects, so it's entirely possible I'd get one without knowing it. But I'm quite fine if I never do; I don't understand why people buy them and, more terrifyingly, display. But that's neither here nor there.

Based on the quality of this statue and the many other figures of Senhime, I guessed that she was one of the major characters of Sengoku Lance. Apparently I was wrong. Other than discovering her name is a pun on “Princess Battle” — meant to reflect her joy at fighting — and that's she's a princess of the fake-Tokugawa of the fake-medieval Japan featured in the game, that's about all I got. She's not even featured on the cover of the game. Hell, I couldn't even find the naughty pics of her, although admittedly I didn't look too hard. Still, her animated version looks like this:

…which means I'd say this statue is pretty dead on. Frankly, it might be the finest statue I've reviewed for “Astro Toy” so far; the PVC is smooth, the paint applications subtle and even, and the fabric folds are all exquisitely sculpted. I dig her faux Japanese armor outfit, and it's pretty damn modest given what she's starring in, I especially like the shoulder pads and they they're positioned on her shoulders in her leaping stance.

Admittedly, Senhime might have the least effective helmet in battle history, but since her hair is so well done, I'm willing to let it slide. Between her bangs and the back, she has 13 different but separate strands of hair, and it's a great if not stellar effect, especially in the back.

Although her head is down, she's looking up and to the side, meaning that if she's eye level, you can see her face… but below that, it's hidden. I don't know why toymakers and statue makers do this, at least for merchandise clearly meant for older collectors. We're all most certainly going to put this on a desk or toy shelf, so why not pose it so we can see the face? That said, the face is well sculpted and with excellent if unelaborated eyes.

The best part about the statue is how well it fits together. The pegs on the plastic base are such that the stump (or whatever it is) Senhime stands on can only fit in one position, and the same is true of Senhime herself and the stump. Although the figure has an awkward center of gravity and is jutting from an angle, she fits snuggly and securely into the base, far more than I had anticipated.

But the base brings us to the biggest problem with the statue, although it might not be one for fans of erotic games. Frankly, it's the white snakes that Senhime is leaping away from. I have no problem with monsters, and I appreciate that they've been included to liven up the base. Unfortunately, these snakes seem to have testicles on their chins.

See? I'm not crazy, am I? Once you see them as balls, you can't stop seeing them as balls, and it's all you think about when looking at the statue. I guess these evil monster snakes are supposed to attack Senhime in normal hentai game fashion, but c'mon — did they really need to have testicles on their heads? Call me a prude, but I say thee nay.

Overall, Senhime is a fine figure at a fine price. She's not earth-shatteringly amazing, but every aspect of her figure is excellently done and I greatly appreciate that despite the fact she's from an eroge game, I could feel safe in putting this on display (if, of course, I hadn't noticed the snakes had balls on their heads). Now, there is a less expensive, less snake-y figurine of Senhime from Kotobukiya, and both Alter and Koto and a few other companies have made figures of several of Sengoku Lance’s other “heroines,” some of whom have removable clothes. But I tell you, if you need a statue of a naked anime girl, might I suggest just buying pornography?

You can read more of Rob Bricken's bitter, needlessly mean-spirited thoughts on toys and many non-anime subjects over at ToplessRobot.com (which is safe for work).