Mei Misaki by Griffon Enterprises
Project details
One of horror/mystery manga Another’s protagonists is Mei Misaki. Whether you read the manga or watched the anime I’m guessing that if one were to recall one character from the series, it’d be the aforementioned Misaki.
The figure, a 1/8 scale, shows Misaki caressing the hair strings of her beloved kin who’s residing in a stalwart coffin. Dolls do play a big part in Another and the symbolism shown in this creation is what drew me to it.
Upon assembling the figure one quickly came to the realization that something was off in Griffon’s production as it was near impossible to attach the coffin while Misaki herself slid right in. It’s easy to assume that one of the holes in the coffin is off by a small margin when trying to attach it to the base but the real issue is in the base itself; being hollow makes it bend and the third peg is unable to attach properly. One solution is to ease leverage by using a cup, put it upside down and then place the base upon it before lining up the coffin.
With the coffin in place, all was well with the world. Until the doll wouldn’t really stay put in her residence and kept falling out. There are small markings where her feet and heels should go and you could try pushing her feet until they line up but a quicker solution would probably be to use a lighter adhesive on her back to ensure she’s properly kept in place.
Misaki does come with an optional extra head but seeing how parts disagreed with each other I decided not to try my luck a third time; it’s basically identical to the standard one except it doesn’t have the eyepatch.
Despite its production shortcomings, which in all honesty are rather bad, Griffon’s product is one I’m quite fond of. There are more color oddities than what you’d get from bigger companies but these are only picked up through a lens. The overall impression was still a positive one.
SCALE
1/8
ART DIRECTION
Reflection
PHOTOGRAPHY SETUP
Flash, colored backdrop, glass surface
wieselhead
Another was coll, mainly because of the mysteriously enchanting Misaki.
I like the overall look of that base and figure, the coffin is great.
That whole thing actually looks a LOT better than in my quite low expectations from Griffon products. They really nailed down the look of Misaki from the anime.
Hehe maybe it should be little horror effect when the dolls falls out of the coffin at night *buhhh* XD
Nightmare
Another was the last anime I finished before burying myself in the Berserk manga hence no more anime scheduled before 2025 or so. I did enjoy the series, Mei’s family ties in particular.
I agree on the praise placed upon Griffon for their work on Misaki but I’ll also applaud them for attempting and successfully creating the concept behind it.
Poor production is in a sense mental horror on its own. Sometimes the assembly is so bad that you wonder if the manufacturer ever did put the figure together themselves, which is worrisome.
G.K. Sil Kamina
It’s not too often you see creepy stuff like this in the PVC market. I’m glad Griffon took a chance and made it, even if they did botch the production job. Again. With how much they charge for their stuff, you’d think they’d be a bit more careful with the quality control!
Nightmare
Mei does indeed differentiate herself from the pack of young timid girls with short skirts. I had no personal experience with Griffon prior to this purchase but compared to the other figures I own she holds up nicely in terms of execution. The production was very much on the sloppy side which can be quite the nuisance, especially when combined with the excitement from opening the box for the first time.
Bakayaro
I thougt about getting her but I don’t have much expectations in Griffion figures. She looks fine on your photos but as you describe it sounds more pain to get her in the right pose. Maybe I’ll give her a chance if I find a her for a bargain price.
Nightmare
Go for it. I’m no fan of Griffon’s supposedly sketchy quality control either but this figure does look great up close, a worthwhile gamble. The assembly ordeal still stands but being fully aware of what’s causing it is helpful and will prevent one from using a sledgehammer to attach the coffin properly.