Kotobukiya 1/8 Haruto with Hogator

So, I realized when going to write this interview, especially after just writing Juliana's, that most of it would be rehash. Because that's unfortunately how I feel. Most of the stuff that I felt in that review can be applied to Florian & Fuecoco. Unfortunately copying and pasting my own review would probably be in bad faith, so instead, I'll probably just write similar stuff. Expect this to be a bit sparse. Truth be told, powering through a stack of review pictures of figures that belong solely to a friend rather than my own figures is a bit exhausting. But, since I have the pictures, and reviews are always a welcome resource in the collecting scene, I'll persist. Not saying that to seem ungrateful for the opportunity to review someone else's figures, but moreso that I just want to make my own stuff. Perhaps I'll take a break between the next figure of theirs and review more of my own?

Honestly out of the 17 reviews I have up, about 10 figures are theirs. Not counting the Rei Ayanami solely because of the fact that I ended up with one of my own of her, through a fluke.

Anyways, all that aside, I remember this was another one that was grabbed at an incredibly low price. Pretty sure he binned as well, if not harder than Juliana. I'd say it's for the same reason, but quite honestly, I like Florian's design even less than Juliana's, so I almost don't blame people for not wanting him. Either way, I remember him being closer to around 6800 yen or something like that for a B grade, which is an insane price for a Pokemon figure. As I said, ScarVi wasn't treated well when it came to the figures. Yeah, they're not the best trainer designs but they're not bad figures. But whatever, the community can be fickle, so no big deal.

Well, here he is. Honestly, not a bad figure.

So, the box is just like the other. Big window, Pokeball side window, and illustration. There's a shot of the figure as well. I dunno how else to remark on this past the "wow yeah this format really does work for Pokemon" which feels like a repeat of what I said last time. I do like the vibrant purple they decided to use on the box though.

Standard blister practices here. Lots of sheets of plastic to stop from paint transfer. I remember a lot less insulating on this one that was present on Juliana. Weird, because the figures are practically the same, so I'd figure that they'd protect them in the same way. Could have more to do with the pose than anything, but I thought it was interesting.

As per tradition, the 360 view. A lot of the same details are present here. A ton of focus went into minor embellishments, and the general pose of the figure is good. I think the only thing I'm not fond of here is the bright neon yellow accents. Its just a huge "why?" from me sadly. The color just doesn't do this figure any favors. Doesn't help that the purple leans a lot more blue, and even moreso with my camera. So the yellow and blue combo just looks a bit weird this time around. I've seen yellow and blue look fine together in the past, but here it just doesn't work. It feels like it adds another color into the mix that doesn't necessarily need to be there.

Fuecoco gets his own 360 view as well. I'm biased, and Fuecoco was my pic of starter for this generation. I particularly like the mini Fuecoco that comes with the figure. Not only is he quite sizeable, but rather sturdy as well. However, since he is on the bigger side, I will say that in comparison to other figures in this series, he feels extra bulky and takes up a lot more space on the stand, if you were to place him there. I cannot help but wonder if that's a scaling error.

Some quick detail shots.

A lot of the same details present on Juliana are present on Florian. Lot of attention and care put into things like the hat & the backpack. I definitely love the bright silver set ontop of the leather color that they chose here. It ties in well to have the matching shoes. Can't say I like the choice of black for the hat personally, but it's not like it's super offensive like the yellow drawstrings are.

The base is just like the rest of the ones in this series. This time, it's a violet that leans much more blue than anything. Honestly, I do like this color moreso than the orangey scarlet color. Other than that it's a circle with a Pokeball on it. It's not bad, but it's not too terribly creative. I'll give them points for putting the Pokeball there though and not leaving it entirely blank, which is one of my biggest woes with figures. I just really hate plain bases so even the tiniest bit of effort is appreciated.

Overall, I feel pretty neutral about this figure. Generally about the same as it's counterpart, but a bit less enthusiastic about it.

The Positives

• Cute pose
• Well painted, even if some of the colors clash.
• For a 1/8, he's pretty cheap on the aftermarket if you get him opened. You will be paying Pokemon Tax if you aim for a new one though.
• The Fuecoco figure that comes with him is pretty big, and overall very cute.

The Negatives

• The yellow drawstrings look awful.
• Like mentioned, Pokemon Tax for sealed.

Unfortunately, I do not tend to collect Poke-boys and my interest in them ends with the Red & Green figures. So sadly, I won't be picking him up unless I decide to take those words back and go all in on collecting Pokemon, which I just don't see happening.