Kotobukiya’s Clannad Figures

First of all, to anyone who may have actually checked back from time to time, I do apologize for this last bout of inactivity.  Long story short, my life caught up to me for a while, and after that, updating the site simply fell out of my routine without my realizing it.  This does not mean, however, that I have been inactive in the pursuit of my oh-so-excellent otaku passions, and I have quite a few tales to tell from these last…er, seven months or so.  For the moment, though, I’d like to focus on a recent arrival.

Lo and behold…

…Kotobukiya’s Ibuki Fuuko from Clannad!  I am a big fan of the visual novel company Key, and Clannad is certainly no exception.  The language barrier has thus far prevented me from playing the actual game, but I have seen both of the anime series, and they easily rank among my top favorites.  That being said, my acquisition of this particular character is quite significant to me, for you see…

…she completes my collection of Kotobukiya’s series of Clannad figures!  To my knowledge, each character had two production runs, but by the time I started looking for them, the online stores were all but sold out.  Luckily, I managed to grab Kyou (she’s the one kneeling in the middle-right, if you’re not familiar with the series) from Toyslogic, just before they sold out of her as well.  Needless to say, acquiring the others was not an easy task, nor a cheap one, for that matter.

Despite my buying her last, Fuuko was actually the easiest to find, as a third party seller called Robert’s Anime Corner Store listed her through Amazon.  Their company has fulfillment by Amazon as well, meaning that their orders through Amazon marketplace are packed and shipped by Amazon itself.  Though I usually feel secure enough buying through Amazon marketplace, this system proved a plus in that I netted Amazon’s free shipping on a third party item.

From my perspective, the sculpts on these figures are top-notch; each one captures the essence of the character quite beautifully.  While I bought Kyou from an online retailer, I had to delve into the depths of eBay to find Tomoyo.  Considering the price tags that out of print figures can carry, I believe I got an excellent deal: under $60, including shipping.  Tomoyo is also the only one of the Clannad heroines not depicted in her school uniform, instead donned in casual clothes and an apron, and carrying a cooking pot (the lid is removable, for the record).   I do like this design, but since she is the only character who is not a third-year, and would thus sport a different color patch on her jacket, I would have liked to see her in her uniform as well.

The method by which I obtained Nagisa and Kotomi was much more exciting, in that I got them from the otaku center of the universe: Akihabara.  Last July I experienced the trip of a lifetime: a full month in Japan.  The entire journey was beyond what I could have hoped for, but for me the highlight was doubtlessly Akiba.  I’ll explain in greater detail in the future, but for now, I’ll simply say that while there I found these two in a figure shop, the name of which now escapes me.  Nagisa was the more expensive of the two, and I didn’t see the figure again for the rest of my trip.  I’m glad I bought her when I did.

Fuuko came with two additional heads, which can be exchanged in a manner similar to the method used with nendoroids.  Aside from the default smiling face shown earlier, there is an adorable distressed face, shown above, as well as her classic starfish-daydreaming face:

Fuuko was the only one with exchangeable heads, but some of the other accessories for some of the figures caught even me, a big fan of the series, completely off guard:

Caught off guard, perhaps, but not in the least bit disappointed.  The bunny ears and tail suit Kotomi particularly well, don’t you think?

I don’t display them like this, but I love that these extras were included.  They’re a fairly creative addition, and they make the figures all the more moe.

Kyou and Tomoyo did not feature extras like these, but in their boxes I found something else I wasn’t expecting:

I cannot read much Japanese, but these appear to be Clannad-themed breast cancer awareness ribbons.  I’m not sure if a cut of the profits on these figures went to a research fund for the cure, but I certainly hope so.  If that is indeed the case, then these are a highly tasteful addition.

Having at last collected all five figures in this series, I can say with confidence that I don’t regret buying a single one of them.  I’d recommend them to any fan of the series, provided you can still find one at a decent price.  Now that I’ve returned to this blog, I sincerely hope that I’ll be able to keep it going this time around.  I’m infinitely far from the most dedicated otaku blogger out there, but I’d still like to share my experiences on the subject.  Until next time, thanks for reading!

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