Yamato 1/5.5 Kazami Mizuho Swimsuit 'Please! Teacher' First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Okay, it's all Tom Grossman's fault! I read his review of the sexy Kazami Mizuho figure kit that he picked up from HobbyLink Japan. I've always been interested in anime figures since I watched a few modelers working with them in my old IPMS Albuquerque chapter. After trying to resist for several days, I finally broke down and ordered the same figure kit from HLJ.

Now that I'd found the kit, I realized I had another problem. I don't know squat about the Please! Teacher series or what the figure is supposed to really look like after completion. Worse yet, I had no idea how to do anime eyes. I remember some of the more innovative anime figures had their eyes done as decals to make that job easier, but no such luck here. I had to find a model to work from, and boy did I ever!

Over on HLJ's sale rack was a pre-finished figure in 1/5.5 scale of Kazami Mizuho in a swimsuit. The photos on the site show a nicely finished figure of the character in a two-piece swimsuit looking like the anime version of a Lladro figurine. It was also marked down from its MSRP of ¥14,800 to ¥10,360 (about $89 USD).

The figure arrived in a well-protected package that contained a styrofoam protective shell for the figure and very nice-sized base. Assembly took less than a second inserting the metal pin fixed into the bottom of one of Kazami's feet into the stone base.

The finish on my figure seems to be flawless. I am very pleased with the quality of this figure and its finish. For those of you who are figure painters, note that the skin of this figure is a monotone flesh with no noticeable highlighting or shading. The effects you see in the photos are the interaction of the very detailed casting with the lighting.

I definitely recommend this figure to any anime fan, especially one who appreciates tastefully done figures that are presentable to all ages.