Today's offering is another Nendoroid from the Good Smile Company, which are starting to become my downfall. If I had to choose between Petit Chara, Figuarts, D-Arts, Figma, and Nendoroids...I'm pretty sure we know who'd win.
The series this time is Hoozuki no Reitetsu, translated in English to Hozuki's Coolheadedness. Every spellcheck known to man insists that this isn't a real word, but I think we know better, don't we? Anyway, it's a manga series featuring Hozuki, the right-hand man to King Yama, the judge of the Japanese underworld. Most of the humor derives from the manga's depiction of the Japanese afterlife as being run like a major corporation, and is full of bizarre situations that crop up as Hozuki and his coworkers attempt to appropriately punish sinners in hell (the Japanese concept of hell, might I point out; Satan, Beelzebub, and their cronies make guest appearances, as does Santa Claus, and...yeah, it's complicated). Of course, Hozuki solves every problem that comes his way with poise and aplomb, but half the fun is in figuring out how he'll do it this time.
There's also an anime adaptation of this show, licensed in North American by Sentai Filmworks and available for free streaming via Hulu. It's subtitled only, though. I will say that it's one of those shows where you'll need some knowledge of Japanese mythology and/or pop culture to get the most out of the humor and to understand all the references.
I really enjoyed this series, and happily bought the Blu-ray when it was released here; the manga is still unlicensed, but given that it's 20 volumes long and still ongoing, I have a feeling manga publishers here are not chomping at the bit to license it. Oh, well. At least I have a Nendoroid, now!
To begin with, I pre-ordered Hozuki from Big Bad Toy Store for $44.99 back last spring (he's still available as of writing this!). He released in July, although I elected to wait and have him shipped to me later in the year. I found out once I'd received him that he was also available from Right Stuf for a few dollars cheaper. Sadness! The moral of the story, children, is to comparison-shop once you see something, and not just impulse-pre-order something because you saw it in an email update.
Here we have the box in all of its glory! The front and top panel are a soft yellow, but the rest of the box is a deep, even red. Coupled with the orange circles used with the photos, it reminds me of fire. Given that Hozuki works in the underworld, it's very apropos. It's a much simpler, more sedate approach than Elsa's box, which was very visually busy. Sometimes it's nice to have a simple box at times. Note the silver sticker from Kodansha (publishers of the manga) showing their approval.
The back of the box shows Hozuki with all of the accessories he comes with. There aren't a lot of poses you can do with Hozuki, but Good Smile does the best they can.
I have absolutely no idea why, but I really like the round little window on the side of the box with the character's name written on it. It's very appealing, somehow.
And here's the top of the box, which I felt compelled to add for unknown reasons.
Hozuki comes with his bad self, plus three extra arms, an "angry" face, his trademark club, his canine employee Shiro, and a goldfish plant. Plus a stand, of course. I found out *after* I ordered him that if I'd ordered him earlier from the Good Smile online shop that I could have received a bonus exclusive smoking pipe. ARGH. I'm a little sad that he only has two faces, but Hozuki's shtick is that he is either completely impassive, or murderously angry. So...there really was no third face they could add?
Hozuki is clad in his trademark black kimono and red obi. You can see the Chinese lantern symbol on the back that serves as his personal crest. The obi is very well done, and I'm impressed with the detail work on it. It pulls apart into pieces, as with all Nendoroids. Good Smile also included this little peach-colored doohickey. I have no idea what it does. An extra neck piece, maybe?
Here's a great shot from the front. I tried snapping the club into his hand, and it went easily. I'm really loving the details on the front of the obi. The paint job on the face is very well done.
These have to be the cutest accessories I have ever seen in any Nendoroid package. The little dog is Shiro, one of the former companions of the legendary hero Momotaro, now one of Hozuki's employees. He's one of the cutest characters in the show, and I desperately want a full-sized plush toy to cuddle. Or an actual dog! I'll accept one of those, too. Shiro's head turns side to side, and his front legs move back and forth. His hind legs don't have any articulation, though. But the sculpting and detail here is amazing! Same with the goldfish plant on the right. These are weird animal-plant hybrids that Hozuki raises as a hobby. What's great about this accessory is that it's a bobble-head! I can't really capture it with the photo, but the goldfish bobbles when you touches it. I love this so much, it's so creative!
Hozuki can't exactly grasp things, but you can place items between his two bent-arm pieces, and they will rest nicely. In the lower left corner, you can see his spiked club more easily than in the earlier photos.
Here he is holding Shiro. It doesn't work as well, visually, so I decided to add in his angry face. It was surprisingly easy to pry the front bang piece off! For once, I didn't freak out about whether or not I had to use a butter knife to pry the pieces apart, so that gets points in my book.
I really like my newest Nendoroid, not just because this is probably the only piece of merchandise that we'll get from the show; it's well-made and of great quality. It isn't something that I'd urge all figure collectors to run out and get since the show is recent but obscure; but if you enjoy the show, I'd urge you to take advantage and snap up this Nendo while he's still available!
