Dr Stone Kohaku Gals Series

Dr. Stone has been a runaway success - South Korean artist Boichi has created characters that are both striking and instantly memorable. To that effect when I saw this Kohaku figure from the MegaHouse Gals Series, I had to pounce on it.

Standing at approx. 18cm tall on a clear stand, the figure is in a battle-ready stance wielding two knives - the movement has turned up the edges of her skirt, which adds a nice feeling of flow to the piece, as well as throwing a bone to the ecchi fans with a bit of cheesecake.

Overall impressions are favourable - the sculpt is dynamic and well presented, capturing the essence of Boichi's distinctive design and providing something a bit more interesting than a static modelling pose that so many figures possess. 

Great work on the sculpt and colours - note the stitches on the dress!

Paintwork is excellent, the colours have gradient to them that helps to add an edge of realism - skin tone is good, the highlights in the hair add depth and the finer details on kohaku's accessories (the straps of her shoes, wood grain on the knife handles and the various ropes) makes it feel substantial.

I love the chipping on her small shield and the curve on the blades, just little rough areas that mark out the lack of refinement in the world of Dr Stone. Even the dress has visible stitching. Perfect. Overall, this is a great looking figure on a shelf.

So this is in the box then...

Let's talk about the accessories. The first is Suika's watermelon helmet, which is very cute. It even comes with it's own stand, though without a Suika to put it on, makes it a bit of an odd inclusion. The second is a pair of knives for Kohaku to hold, which split in two in order for them to be placed in her hands. The connection on these pieces isn't great, and they pop apart with no effort at all - imagine the swearing when I took the shots in the wild and two tiny brown pieces of plastic fell into the muddy undergrowth no less than 3 times. Took me ages to find them, so I really wouldn't recommend taking this outside, and do be careful with those pieces as without them, the figure looks very odd. Why they weren't just made permanent fixtures is beyond me - there are no other items for her to hold.

It's also a shame more wasn't made of the base - some undergrowth would have made the figure pop, but if we must have a plain stand, I'll take clear over plain plastic any day.

My knife-fumbling all-thumbs handling of the figure notwithstanding, this is a great release for fans of the series, and certainly worthy of a space on the shelf of any Kohaku fan. As always with anime figures, your love of the character or the series determines value for money, and at £130 this is certainly on the cheaper end of some this year's releases. It's selling fast though, so if she appeals, grab her now!