Review of Januqua statue

Introduction

I don't pick up a lot of anime or manga style characters, simply because it's never been a favorite style of mine. When I was a kid, I certainly watched my share of Kimba the White Lion, but that was about the last time I really found myself drawn to the style.

Still, I can't argue with the beauty of the characters and the designs. Gathering Kits set along this very cool statue for review, called Januqua. She's part of an overall series called the Bible of Jaboughneer, and this version is hand painted. She's a resin statue, and there is also an unpainted resin kit floating around out there, cheaper but infinitely more work. For someone like me, the painted version is the only way to go.

Gathering makes all kinds of resin statues and kits, from females to robots, some more 'adult' than others. Januqua runs about $144, but she is a VERY limited edition of just 40, although there's no mention of the edition size outside of the website.

Packaging - ***
The resin statue comes in a very sturdy box, with dense foam interior trays. There's no way this statue will get damaged in transit short of an elephant stepping on the box.

The exterior has shots of the statue, but I would have liked some basic instructions to make it a bit easier to attach the various pieces. There's also no indication of the limited edition size.

Sculpting - ****
This particular statue is done in 1/8th scale, although there are kits in a wide variety of scales available. This scale happens to work quite well with the Kotobukiya Bishoujo statues, and the style is similar. She stands 8 1/4" high.

The detail work is quite impressive. The hair isn't just finely stranded, the fingers on the left hand touching her hair actually intertwine in those strands. Every edge is sharply defined, on belts, on baubles, straps, everywhere. Every surface shows off the level of complexity of the sculpt.

I love the pose as well. She's clearly a bad ass with a great ass, and is wielding the halberd adeptly. But the left hand shows a sexy attitude as well, stroking her hair and smiling out from behind the arm covering her face.

If there was any question as to just how sexy she is, the costume pretty much removes any doubt. If you know someone that has the body to pull off this costume, I highly suggest it for the next SDCC cosplay. And please feel free to send photos.

This statue comes in a few pieces - there's the complete body, with the white display stand, and halberd. The halberd comes in three pieces, which attach to each other and then to the shaft she is holding in her right hand.

There's also a small side skirt, as well as a scarf. The skirt really needs to be in place, since there's a large hole in her hip otherwise, but you can skip the flowing, blowing scarf if it isn't your thing. The hole that it fits inside on the neck is quite small, and well hidden.

Gathering Kits like this come with a 'gathering surprise', something extra like an alternate weapon. Here, you get a nice base, done in white with a cool logo right at her feet.

Paint - ***1/2
Each of these are 100% hand painted, and there are tons and tons of paint details. They are then inspected individually - with such limited editions, that's possible.

The paint job is excellent, with clean colors, and very bright finishes on the eyes and armor. The colors are very consistent, with no gloppiness, dirt, or poor cut lines.

There's also a variety of techniques, from solid high gloss paint (like on the gloves and boots) to smooth transitions between like colors, like on the side skirt and scarf.

My only complaint happens to be with a pretty key spot - the lips and teeth. There's too much teeth, not enough lips, and it looks like the painter might have gotten a bit carried a way with the white.

Articulation - Bupkis
Obviously, this is a statue, so a Bupkis in Articulation won't be going against my Overall. However, since we have seen statues with a joint or two in the past, I thought it was still worth mentioning for informational purposes.

Value - **1/2
This is not a cheap statue at $144. That's a sight higher (at least double) than something like the Bishoujo statues by Kotobukiya, which are about the same scale.

However, there's a big difference - Gathering Kits are very, very low run. This one was done in an edition size of just 40 statues, and if you check the website you'll see that's not uncommon. At that low of a run, the price starts to seem a bit more on par. There are unpainted versions of this statue out there, so I'm assuming the 40 run size applies to the pre-painted version.

Things to Watch Out For -
The very small but intricate belt buckle ornament is quite fragile - take care when handling to not put any pressure there. Also, when assembling the halberd, take your time.

Overall - ***1/2
I don't have a lot of Asian statues like this, but it's clear that the quality and style are exceptional. For fans of anime and manga style characters, especially the ladies, they are very well worth checking out, and the low production runs and high quality paint work done by hand make them worth the higher cost.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Best place to pick these up - and other Gathering Kits, including robots - is e2046, a dealer in Asia, or you can search ebay for a deal.

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