YOMI Black Canvas — Pre-Orders are Open!
Hello, Producer Kameyama here.
Today, I would like to showcase our new YOMI【Black Canvas】 model kit, which pre-orders open on October 26.
It is scheduled to be released in May 2024.
*For customers in Japan, this kit is exclusive to the Kotobukiya Shop and can be pre-ordered on the Kotobukiya Online Shop or at our physical stores Kotobukiya Tachikawa Main Store, Akihabara Store, and Osaka Nipponbashi Store.
*For customers overseas, this is a limited edition item and is only available in limited quantities from select retailers.
YOMI is who Koyomi Takanashi would have been if she hadn't grown up as a bookworm but a band kid.
This model is part of what you might call a Megalomaria "rebuild" series.
The design is based on a "what if...?" scenario and, unlike normal Koyomi, sets her in her second year of high school.
In this world, she is a member of a girl band that's a hit with the kids, Black Canvas.
The YOMI kit does not include the WEAPON UNIT05 LIVE AXE guitar pictured in the image.
Check out the weapon unit kit sold separately if you want to see YOMI play the guitar.
The girl band called Black Canvas first appeared in episode 20 of SOUSAI Radio.
The episode featured a "what if..." scenario that followed what would happen if Madoka had become a band girl and pursued a career in music.
Madoka took the stage name YUKI and was super cool and nonchalant.
Once again, this hypothetical scenario was used as a base for the creation of YOMI.
The reason why we decided to release YOMI was because there was a gap in the release schedule. Which is to say, we had some time before the release of Emma Koishikawa, a completely new model being introduced in SOUSAI SHOJO TEIEN Season 2, so we came up with this variation kit.
The base kit is Koyomi Takanashi【RYOBU HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER CLOTHES】, but her clothes have been altered to look like her own casual clothes rather than her uniform, which is the most notable feature of the whole kit.
Her new skirt also features box pleats in place of regular pleats.
One of the best aspects of the blazer school uniforms is that, unlike the distinct sailor uniforms, they are quite plain and can look like casual clothes simply by changing from a ribbon to a tie.
To go with the raised left shoulder body design, the tie has been sculpted to look like it's blowing in the wind.
However, these two are not the only newly sculpted pieces.
The model also features a choker with the sliding feature that proved to be a hit in the Swim Style kit.
The joints in the torso have been specially designed accordingly.
[Detail Showcase by Koyomi!]
① Slide the ball joint backwards for a better angle looking up.
② Slide it forwards for a better angle with the chin tucked and looking down.
*Adjust the ball joint to be in the middle when the model is in a standard pose.
We installed this ball joint as somewhat of an experiment since the collar and neck joint can’t be separated like the Summer Clothes version.
This helped keep the collar bones nicely sculpted!
*Above is an explanation of the neck slide feature in the Koyomi Takanashi 【Swim Style】 kit.
Also check out the wristwatch.
The watch is connected to the hand part, but in order to make the length of the arm look natural, we slightly shortened the forearm. The kit comes with special right and left forearm parts for use with the wristwatch. The wristwatch can be worn on either side.
For the skin color of this figure, we went with the paler Megami Device Skin Color C over the standard skin tone used across the FA Girl series. With this, users should be able to enjoy a new variety of combinations.
*The skin tone differs from Madoka Yuki TOUOU HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER CLOTHES Black Canvas.
We took photos of the combinations with the Megami Device kits as well, so we will show them off in the next blog post.
Accessories
YOMI does not come with the Half-up and Braid hairstyle parts, schoolbag, book, or glasses that were included with the original Koyomi.
Instead, we have included a total of 13 different hand parts, including the idol and "gyaru"-esque hands from the Ritsuka Saeki 【ST. IRIS GAKUEN GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL WINTER CLOTHES】 kit.
The hand parts are molded in PVC, which lacquer-based paints can easily peel off of, making them super versatile and easy to work with.
Another staple of Koyomi is, of course, her glasses. For those who love her glasses look, we've included a set of sunglasses molded in clear black plastic.
Instead of her usual loafers, she is also rocking a color variant of the sneakers first introduced in Madoka Yuki【TOUOU HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER CLOTHES】 Black Canvas.
The face parts are the same as those in Ritsuka Saeki【Swim Style】 but the eye prints are all entirely new, giving the face a whole new impression.
Base aspects such as the number of eyelashes is based on Koyomi, but have been arranged in a way to give her slanted eyes. The pupils have also been made red to better match the outfit.
As the producer, my theme for YOMI's expressions was "cheeky."
I wanted to give her a personality that was a complete 180 from her usual serious and gentle honor student character.
Combined with the huge range of hand parts, don't you think YOMI looks like the cheeky younger member of the group?
And this time, all of the eye prints except for the scheming eyes are looking either left or right.
Unpainted faces and decals can also be used to make new eyes that look forward.
That said, when the model is looking sideways, it looks as if she is looking into the camera, so try creating this look with other models as well!
Change to Pre-order Limits
For customers in Japan, this item is exclusive to Kotobukiya stores, meaning that you can't buy it anywhere else.
Since it includes so many new parts, we are sure that many fans will be looking to buy multiple. As such, we have decided to set the pre-order limit to "three (3) per person" for purchases on both the online store and at physical stores.
For customers overseas, this is a limited edition item and is only available in limited quantities from select retailers.
There will be no purchase limit on any kits that you may find in-store after release, however, with that said, there are currently no plans to rerelease the kit in the future.
In our next post, we will be looking at combining YOMI with Megami Device kits!
Planning: Kameyama P
YOMI Illustrator: En Morikura
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© KOTOBUKIYA ©Masaki Apsy ©Toriwo Toriyama
▼ Audio dramas are available on the Official YouTube channel! (Available in Japanese only)