[Interview] Geralt turned BISHOUJO!? Introducing the all new The Witcher BISHOUJO series.

 

Appearing as a pleasant surprise, it was announced that The Witcher would be the newest addition to the BISHOUJO series.
After opening pre-orders for the first character, Geralt, the highly requested Ciri was announced at Anime Expo 2023 and is now open for pre-orders.
Today we are here for an interview with the product planner about the series’ features and highlights, as well as new information on The Witcher BISHOUJO series!

 

Q1. The Witcher is joining the BISHOUJO series!

The BISHOUJO series is a product line from Kotobukiya that launched in 2009, with illustrator Shunya Yamashita in charge of all the concept illustrations.

This series was launched with the concept of reimagining popular characters from around the world from a Japanese perspective and transforming them into unique “BISHOUJO” style statues.
At that time, it wasn’t as popular as it is now to enjoy international works just as they are, so I’ve heard that fans both in Japan and overseas were surprised by the stylization into a Japanese design.

So far we have introduced more than 200 different BISHOUJO statues to the world, and are approaching our 15th anniversary next year!

▽For details, check out the official page of the BISHOUJO series.

 

Q2. Why did you choose characters from The Witcher to reimagine into BISHOUJO?

The BISHOUJO series lays focus on the international market, but to my surprise, it had never featured a series from the highly popular, classic fantasy genre.
I simply started to think how cool it would be to create the details and textures such as the thick, heavy leather and armor with our latest technology.

This is not limited to The Witcher, but fan art with creative reimagination and redesigns of characters is very popular among fans overseas, including countless beautiful female versions of Geralt!
The words “bishoujo transformation” may seem like something “Japanese,” but this time we wanted to turn the spotlight onto the international scene and would love for people to get to know it more!

 

Q3. Geralt is originally a male character. Is there anything you do differently in the “bishoujo transformation” with a character that is originally female?

Geralt is a legendary witcher that is, as you said, originally a male character, so we wanted to make sure her physique was well built.
We also considered the character’s age and made the statue to have a calm atmosphere.

 

Q4. From a product planner point of view, was there anything you asked for when commissioning Shunya Yamashita for the illustration?

We definitely wanted to include the “fantasy world with swords and magic” motif, and asked for a pose where she can be seen casting Igni.
On top of that, we also wanted a pose that would look good when displayed together with Ciri.

 

Q5. Is the design from Shunya Yamashita just one illustration?

We usually ask for illustrations of the back as well when the design is created from scratch. We were provided with thorough information on the designs of armor and weapons for these characters, so this time we only needed an illustration from one angle. The pose turned out really well and even looks good from angles that are different from that of the illustration.

Q6. Geralt is created with super fine details, such as the textures of the outfit and the designs of her swords. What parts of the statue did you focus on most and/or would like users to see up close?

Each of the leather parts are textured differently. There are many kinds of leather, so we checked the official designs very closely and adjusted the statue accordingly.

The sword on her back is very large. Posing the character as if she were going to pull out the sword was great to show a cool scene, but made it difficult to adjust it to the features of the sword.

 

Q7. Do you have any stories from the sculpting phase?

Yoshiki Fujimoto was in charge of the sculpts of both Geralt and Ciri.
Both statues have many various kinds of equipment. Each item is arranged carefully and proportionately into the sculpt while considering aspects such as their materials and thicknesses, how they would fit to the body, or alternatively how they may float or hang away from the body or other parts. I can’t imagine the time and effort that was put into this process.

We also made sure that Geralt’s face wouldn’t come out too cute.
I was surprised at how such small changes of detail make a huge difference, bringing out that dignified look.
I'd really like people to look closely at parts like her brow and cheekbones! They have a very different feel compared to previous BISHOUJO statues. I'd like to thank Fujimoto-san here again for his hard work and millimeter-level adjustments.

 

Q8. Pre-orders are currently open for the second character, Ciri. What can we look forward to?

You may be surprised, but the illustrations and sculpts of Geralt and Ciri both started at the same time!
Ciri has just as many items as Geralt, and we made careful adjustments to ensure we retain the feel and atmosphere of her in-game. The statue is currently being painted with continuous focus on expressions of textures as we did with Geralt, so please look forward to it!

 

Q9. Finally, can you give a comment to fans of The Witcher?

“Geralt reimagined into a beautiful woman!?”
I know many of you were very surprised to see this happening. Although in a female statue, we are working on developing the statue with great respect to The Witcher series.
We hope it will be there by your side as you enjoy the games!

 

The first in the lineup, THE WITCHER BISHOUJO GERALT, and the second, THE WITCHER BISHOUJO CIRI, are currently open for pre-orders!

Statues of Geralt and Ciri introduced in the interview are currently available for pre-order!
The pre-order deadline for Geralt is Sept. 19 (Fri)! The deadline for Ciri is Oct. 3 (Tues)!

*This deadline is for retailers in Japan, and for those residing outside of Japan, some retailers may open their pre-orders past this deadline.

There is no guarantee she will be available after we’re sold out of initial production, so if you want to make sure you get yours, don’t forget to pre-order before the deadline!

GERALT and CIRI statues are available for order and purchase at the Kotobukiya online shop and your local retailer!
Please check our shop list for a full list of local retailers.
https://www.kotobukiya.co.jp/en/international-retailers/

■THE WITCHER BISHOUJO GERALT
http://bit.ly/GeraltBishoujo

■THE WITCHER BISHOUJO CIRI
http://bit.ly/CiriBishoujo

 

Final Thoughts

We asked quite a number of questions to the product planner of The Witcher BISHOUJO series. What did you think?

Thoughts behind the first steps into the fantasy genre, the amount of focus and work put into each and every detail side by side with the sculptor, are all things that you can only read here!

The Witcher BISHOUJO and the BISHOUJO series as a whole will always be working hard to bring you all kinds of products and content.
Please look forward to future updates!

 

© 2023 CD PROJEKT S.A. All rights reserved. CD PROJEKT, the CD PROJEKT logo, The Witcher, and The Witcher Logo, Geralt, and Geralt of Rivia are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of CD PROJEKT S.A. in the US and/or other countries. The Witcher game is set in the universe created by Andrzej Sapkowski in his series of books.