Strangely enough, we’ve never taken a look at a figure of Sena Kashiwazaki here, despite the healthy number of candidates. In truth I only own two, this one and the similar-looking Alphamax figure, which I received some time ago. Unfortunately, when Gift announced that they were going to do one of Sena in a swimsuit, I lost interest in reviewing the older figure, but perhaps I’ll revisit it sometime in the future. For now, we’ll take a look at this figure, which captures much of Sena’s charm in a singularly impressive and super-sized package.
Sena Kashiwazaki is one of the two lead girls from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, abbreviated Haganai and translated as I Don’t Have Many Friends. Like very many properties in contemporary anime culture, the series originated as a light novel, then received a manga adaptation, and then subsequently was adapted into a popular anime series. Haganai even received a live-action motion picture treatment, though I have no idea how well it was received.
Haganai features an eclectic cast of memorable and likable characters, but Sena seems to stand out as amongst the most popular (though Kobato certainly has her share of fans, particularly those who like their anime girls to be younger). It’s not hard to see why, just observing Sena’s physical appearance; she’s busty, broad-hipped and blonde (strangely, while half-English protagonist Kodaka Hasegawa continually receives inquiries regarding his blonde hair, nobody seems to ask Sena about it). However, her characterization is perhaps the most uneven of all the characters in the show. She’s said to be intelligent, popular, and assertive, but much of the show’s comedy comes at her expense, when she is shown to be timid, naive, and more than a bit lonely. She also seems to be the prime romantic prospect for Kodaka, but she also shows certain uncontrollable lesbian tendences when she’s around Kobato. Perhaps the writer of the series discovered later that Sena is a more interesting character when she is shown to be vulnerable rather than as a princess type, and that Yozora is a more interesting character when she is bullying and taking advantage of her counterpart.
This figure is manufactured by Gift in a majestic 1/4 scale. She comes ready for display; she’s packaged with her base already affixed to her feet. Sena is around 37 centimeters in height from the base to the top of her head.
Sena is a tempestuous girl prone to wild mood swings but this figure shows her beaming sunnily with a big smile on her face. Her expression works really well here, even if Sena is not ordinarily the friendliest of girls. The design of her face does a pretty good job of replicating the style of series artist Buriki; other figures of Sena have occasionally taken a less faithful approach in this respect, but it’s pretty easy to discern his characteristic elements (broad and comparatively short face shape, wideset eyes with a pronounced upper curve and small pupils, highly-positioned eyebrows) here.
This figure also exhibits some of the trademarks of Takayuki Kondou, the sculptor. Sena has a lithe body with slender legs and a conspicuously long torso. It’s the same sort of body build that can be seen in the sculptor’s other figures, such as Tamaki Kousaka and his two adult Fate T. Harlaown and Nanoha bikini figures from half a decade back. Sena also has a noticeably flat face when viewed from the side, but I guess you’re not really supposed to be looking at this figure from that viewpoint.
Sena’s nickname is Niku, or “meat,” and the bulbous flesh of her chest is obviously one of the things that you’re meant to look at here. Sena has an impressive rack and it’s well-modeled, particularly in the way her inadequate bikini top presses into her skin.
Sena’s rear doesn’t really get as many remarks or cutting barbs as the size of her chest, but nonetheless, she has an agreeably large backside. Again, her swimsuit isn’t quite up to the task of covering her up. It is also realistically sculpted, with a number of wrinkles that add a bit of appeal to the design.
Her outfit is obviously quite scant but she does have a few other accessories, including a green wristband, an armband on her left bicep, and her trademark butterfly hairclip. She also has a single visible fang in her mouth, which is generally used to identify characters that are highly excitable or a bit unstable, and Sena certainly exemplifies both of those traits.
Aside from her sexiness – and I imagine many of Sena’s fans do appreciate her physical appearance – one of this figure’s biggest draws is its sheer size. It dwarfs the typical 1/8 scale figure, and even a 1/7 scale figure such as Good Smile Company’s Yozora looks very small in comparison.
Admittedly, the size of this figure does present a few complications, particularly in terms of finding display space. It’s also much more difficult to take pictures of a larger figure than a smaller one, especially when a scenic background is involved. I also completely forgot to use the tentacle stand with this figure despite having been reminded the other week, though I suppose it’s just as well since I don’t think I could have fit it into the picture, anyway. I’ll just have to make a note to use it with one of the next few figures I plan to review (that particular character actually has had some experience with tentacles so I suppose it would be a more appropriate coupling for her).
But regardless of the issues that her size generates, I’m still very happy with this figure. It’s always great to see 1/4 scale figures but I didn’t really think Gift would make one of Sena; indeed, I didn’t think they’d make one of anyone at all, as they hadn’t produced a 1/4 scale figure in some time, aside from the pint-sized loli Nanoha girls. However, I’m glad that they did, even though it makes me wonder what I should do with my Alphamax figure. I suppose that’s not a bad problem to have. Overall, Sena looks very appealing, with her tiny swimsuit, attractive body shape, and winning smile. Hopefully Gift continues making more figures of this size.
Another review of Sena can be seen and read over at Wieselhead.
