Disclaimer: This is a special review, and she is not the Figure of the Month. Originally, I was set to do this in November, but during the November shoot, I could find no reason to take out Kokoro since she had a few small parts, and it really did not seem fitting for her during the urban setting. So in the end I delayed her photoshoot till this month, and I am glad I did. Many thanks to Squee for lending me his camera for this review, and great appreciation to Talim JP over at the Soul Calibur Forums for helping me get her from Japan.

And now here is a special review of Kokoro Limited, from DOAX2 - Venus on the Beach, by Kotobukiya (a Tecmo Webshop Exclusive).

General Information

Name: Kokoro
Series: DOAX2 (Venus on the Beach)
Version: Tecmo Webshop Limited Exclusive
Manufacturer: Kotobukiya
Scale: 1/6
Category: Bikini/Swimsuit/Limited Figures
Release Date: Approximately 18th November 2008
Approximate Height: 17.5 cm / 6.9″
Overall Personal Rating (10): 8
Estimated Cost: USD 90-110 (Original price of 8800 Yen)
Availability: Limited Tecmo webshop exclusive, only sold domestically via site

Description

From the popular X360 series Dead or Alive comes the beach volleyball game made almost exclusively for fanservice purposes, DoA Xtreme Beach Volleyball, and its sequel, known simply as Xtreme 2 or DOAX2, continues to bring fanservice to X360 players around the world. With its selective array of bishoujo’s, it is only right that some of them be made into PVC figures. New addition Kokoro in DOAX2 makes her debut as a PVC figure by Kotobukiya, complete with a limited version that is only available via webshop order, and the limited version is the one featured here for your perusal.

As a limited figure from Kotobukiya, I had my doubts about her, and rightly so, owing to my previous experience regarding Air. At least, though, I was hardly disappointed with Kokoro. Then again, it could be my bias towards lovely Asian girls dressed in bikini swimsuits. First, some profile shots of her normal appearance as she first comes.
 

Kokoro also comes not just as castoff-able but also with her own umbrella, which is a nifty thing made of mainly wood and paper. It also has a kind of spring snap to keep the umbrella fully opened, just like a real umbrella. A simple push of the snap near the top of the inside of the umbrella and you can retract the cover just like you would a real one. Here are some of her with the umbrella, including in the castoff version.
 

Her castoff as well as her normal clothes are different in color schemes to the normal version (which you can see for yourself at the end of this post with a link to its review), and quite frankly, I picked up the limited version because I found it more fitting to my taste. The blue heart necklace as well as the light-colored bikini were decisive factors. Here are some shots first of her castoff appearance.
 

Kokoro’s accessories and castoff clothes are shown below. The spring snap I mentioned on the umbrella is unfortunately not very evident in this picture, you can see it as a sort of thin streak near the top of the inside of the umbrella. It looks brownish in this picture below, but is actually just metallic silver. The three parts you see on the base are actually Kokoro’s accessories for when she is in castoff mode, two laces for her lower half of her bikini swimsuit at the sides, and a necklace for her to wear.
 

The blue heart necklace that influenced my decision can clearly be seen here. Her clothes are also better in color IMHO compared to her normal version, with black and blue the main colors. I found it pretty amusing when I cast her off that her pantsu was also included as part of the castoff. A nice touch. You can see it quite clearly in this picture above.

Of course, what is a figure shoot without a few close-up shots of a beautiful girl?
 

I did not take any pictures of the box she came in, it was pretty normal. There were at least detailed instructions on how to cast her off, and I was pretty upset about having to take her head out by detaching it from the neck. At least though, it is simpler to do that then half-body or neck detachments…

Kokoro comes with her own base that suits her rather well. The unfortunate part is how big her base is, but then again it is a 1/6. If you are going to be displaying her you want some space for her base, which really is big since she kneels. She also features better on a lower vantage point, since she looks slightly upwards. The problem would be her pose - her “front view” means she is not looking at the camera, while if you want her to look at the viewer, as in the picture directly above, you find that she is turned almost fully to the side. It is up to you though, but I find that having her around a slightly lower point than the viewer’s eye level would suit her best. This is however, in my opinion.
 

Kokoro has been a pretty good buy for me. She is among the sexier figures I now own, and she is proudly displayed with her castoff appearance, without the umbrella. The umbrella does add a nice touch for those who want to display her with it. She also exudes a form of beauty that is not usually seen in figures for me, a charm that surpasses quite a few figures in the same genre. Though there are parts that could be done better, since it is Kotobukiya, I do not see the need to harp on them too much. Kokoro remains a good buy for the year as a limited figure, and if you are interested in her, or bikini figures in general, Kokoro, either the normal or the limited (depending on your choice of color scheme) will be quite a good option to look into as an addition to your collection.

Kokoro
Camera: Nikon D40
Location: Indoors (Room)
 

Related Links/Reviews

AkibaHobby’s Color Sample Review
AkibaHobby’s Kokoro Review (Normal version)