MS Gundam Seed Heroines 8: Shiho Hahnenfuss

The ultimate cameo character
After three pretty lengthy review series of God Keron's Giroro Robo Mk-II, HGUC Black Tri Star's Customized Zaku I and Figma Hatsune Miku Append Ver., I'm thinking of writing about something simpler; a collectible that is not possible for me to stretch over one posting no matter how long-winded I usually am in doing reviews. XD In the spirit of bringing back collectible category that seems neglected on this blog for quite a while, I have just the right item to be featured in this new review. ^^


A new Gundam gashapon review since March this year, this is Shiho Hahnenfuss from MS Gundam Seed Heroines 8 gashapon set, who isn't shown on the box art in the image above. You can somewhat see her on the right hand side of the box though. ^^;

To "restart" the review on Gundam gashapons, I was initially planning to go with MS Gundam Seed Heroines Hawke Sisters Special set, which features eight figurines. However, since I recently reviewed the Character Studio version of Lunamaria, and then the Voice I-doll Superior figurine of the same character, I thought it would be better to "save up" on more of her for future review. ^^ And on the business of Lunamaria (XD), while she is featured in this particular gashapon set, Shiho is actually the only one I got. Like Shiho, Lunamaria was being offered as an individual item when I made the purchase, but I explicitly skipped her over. ^^; While I do like the character a lot, there's something not quite right about her pose and expression which made me gave up on her. Among the six (the other four being Lacus Clyne, Meer Campbell Types A and B, and Meyrin Hawke), Shiho is the only character interesting enough for me to decide to pick her up. ^^

Like Aisha and Natarle Badgiruel from MS Gundam Seed Heroines 4, this is the first and only gashapon figurine of Shiho in the entire MS Gundam Seed Heroines series. There were perhaps resin kits of the character released in small number in Japan that I'm not aware of, but I'm pretty certain this is the only figurine release of Shiho available to the wider market. ^^;

Then again, as compared to Aisha and Natarle, Shiho's role is extremely minor in the story despite appearing in both "MS Gundam SEED" and "MS Gundam SEED Destiny". ^^; I only remember her as a (presumably) strong ZAFT MS pilot (her red uniform shows her rank) who usually appears alongside Yzak Joule. She's just that long-haired girl in red ZAFT uniform that constantly pops up behind Yzak whenever there's a scene about him. I don't remember seeing her in combat, or hearing any particularly memorable line from her at all. ^^; For that, I suppose she can be considered the "ultimate cameo character" in the main story. XD

On the other hand, Shiho is an important character in the earliest side story of "MS Gundam SEED". She gets to pilot her own MS, YFX-200 Cgue Type D.E.E.P.ARMS, which received a High Grade 1/144 scale treatment as well. ^^ Liking its navy blue color scheme and overall mecha design, I only managed to get that HG early last year. Then again, since I'm not familiar with the actual story of "SEED-MSV", I'm not exactly sure about Shiho's performance or personality in combat. ^^; For that, I believe there's no direct correlation between liking this gashapon figure and liking the MS that the character pilots. ^^




All six types are shown on the sides and back of the box.


The standard questionnaire behind the front cover.


A little bit of assembly is required, as the figurine is being separated into a few parts.


(Left) The display stand to secure the figurine to the base.
(Right) The small chunk of part at the top of the stand is meant to fit inside the coat behind the figurine. ^^


Without using the stand, the figurine can stand very firmly on the base by just using the designated tab for the right foot.
More images of this gashapon figurine: ^^













Closeups on the details:







[Head]


The figurine's head can be turned to her left for a very slight degree.






[Body & Arms]




[Coat]





[Legs]
Shiho's pose is actually pretty weird-looking, but it's not as odd as Lunamaria from this particular gashapon set mentioned at the beginning of this posting. ^^; With her backward lean and left hand that is pointing to nowhere, I have no glue as to what the pose is about really. ^^; Despite that, the figurine's sculpt work, paint work and detailing are very well done, consistent with the overall quality of releases from the MS Gundam Seed Heroines gashapon series. Details like the pupils and eyebrows, natural-looking flow of her tied hair, molded wrinkles on her uniform and boots, and very clear separation of all the fingers are very beautifully realized on this figurine. I particularly like the folds and wrinkles on her uniform. The long coat already adds a fair amount of volume to the figurine, but the design of it curved up gives the figurine a much larger appearance. More importantly, the folds and wrinkles do look realistic in my opinion, and the way her tied hair is swaying to the same direction as the coat does compliment the overall image of the figurine. ^^

Comparison with another gashapon figurine with similar costume design:


With Lunamaria from MS Gundam Seed Destiny Heroines 3.


Not exactly visible from the images, but Shiho's uniform is in a darker shade of red as compared to Lunamaria's.
Since I haven't build my High Grade 1/144 Cgue Type D.E.E.P.ARMS, a shot of Shiho with the box art is passable to conclude this posting I suppose. ^^;



It really looks like the figurine is posing in front of a giant poster or backdrop at a tourist destination she just visited. XD Since she's indeed the pilot of Cgue Type D.E.E.P.ARMS, this gashapon figurine will definitely be featured again when I assembled the HG kit in the future. ^^

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MS Gundam Seed Heroines 8: Shiho Hahnenfuss