The Seven Deadly Sins is the latest Hobby Japan original content production and follows the same basic ecchi harem blueprint laid out by prior HJ projects Queen’s Blade and Hyakka Ryouran. We have seven demon girls that collectively represent the seven deadly sins: Asmodeus (Lust), Beelzebub (Gluttony), Belphegor (Sloth), Leviathan (Envy), Lucifer (Pride), Mammon (Greed), and Satan (Wrath). Esteemed Nitroplus artist Niθ has reprised his role from Hyakka Ryouran by once again providing character designs for the new HJ franchise. An anime production was announced in October, but the first products to bear the standard for the 7-Sins project will be a line of scale bishoujo figures, starting with Amakuni’s Leviathan, which is the subject of today’s review.

(This post contains artistic nudity. Reader discretion is advised.)

Gallery

Review

While Orchid Seed has been tapped to handle the bulk of the 7-Sins figures, Leviathan was produced by Hobby Japan’s recently-launched house brand, Amakuni. Amakuni is a relative fledgeling in the pantheon of figure manufacturers, with only a handful of releases to their name, so their involvement was a source of some trepidation for me during the preorder phase. I’m usually willing to give each manufacturer at least one fair shot, though, and Leviathan’s pre-production prototype looked good enough that I didn’t want to miss out on what could potentially turn into a very nice figure.

Given Hobby Japan’s involvement, it should come as no great surprise to learn that Leviathan was one of their many mail-order catalog and online shop exclusives. As neither front services customers outside Japan, this necessitated a proxy service and additional costs therein. The total damage came to approximately $175 US, which makes this a pretty damn expensive figure for a 1/8 scale PVC with a relatively simple sculpt. It’s probably worth noting that this would look like a slightly more reasonable $150 at today’s more favorable exchange rates.

As all the 7-Sins girls represent a cardinal sin, it’s imperative to convey the meaning of those sins in the character design and behavior of each girl. Leviathan is the image of Envy, which is probably one of the more easily depicted sins. In anime terms, the tsundere comes to mind. Levi’s body language is obviously appropriate with her downturned lips, cocked head, and slanted eyebrows making for a cross expression of resentment. The outfit is a little more subtle, but punk fashion is historically associated with rebellion, so I can see some correlation there, as well.

Naturally, those clothes come off, as well. (This is a Hobby Japan franchise, after all.) Leviathan’s T-shirt and and miniskirt can be removed to reveal a shapely and nicely detailed body. It’s worth noting that Leviathan sports “no pan” both before and after cast-off and she comes with nothing but a band-aid to protect her modesty. I have it on good authority that she features no definition beneath the bandage, so I didn’t bother to remove it. She comes with extras, which is thoughtful, but kind of pointless.

Which brings us to the main problem with this figure… putting those clothes back on. The shirt opens on both sides below the arms with pegs and matching holes on opposite sides. Regrettably, aligning and securing those pegs in their respective holes is an exercise in frustration and perseverance confounded by the flexibility of the material. It’s simply a royal pain in the ass. Fortunately, the skirt is considerably less difficult to work with.

While the cast-off implementation is let down by a questionable design decision, the overall quality of Leviathan actually exceeded my expectations. Amakuni was an unknown quantity coming in, so I didn’t really know what to expect from them in terms of quality. Happily, the overall finish is quite good, and, most importantly, the final PVC looks nearly identical to the pre-production prototype. I’m sure there’s a rough patch here or there, but I did not spot any areas of concern on my Leviathan.

Leviathan’s display base is an unusually large (80 mm tall), heavy (477 g), and decorative design that features gothic, gargoyle-esque features emblazoned on a raised pedestal structure and finished to a marbleized texture. The complete base is actually composed of two pieces that can be separated to obtain a smaller, more traditional base if the full pedestal look is deemed undesirable for whatever reason. It’s a nice design and lends a bit to the whole demon theme. Future 7-Sins figures are expected to feature the same design with minor variations in color and lettering for each character.

All in all, Leviathan is a really nice figure that exceeded my expectations in many ways. The cast-off implementation is needlessly frustrating, but it’s also not a feature I expect to mess with outside of this review, so I’m not overly bothered considering that the fully clothed Leviathan is still plenty fetching.

Looking forward to future 7-Sins releases, I already have Orchid Seed’s Lucifer (Pride) on order and I’m eager to see what their Satan (Wrath) will look like. The remaining character designs don’t immediately grab my attention, but I honestly wasn’t that high on Leviathan in the early going, either, so that outlook is subject to change.

Highs

• Supernatural exoticism
• Punk stylings
• Tsundere charm
• Solid craftsmanship
• Elaborate and sturdy base

Lows

• Hobby Japan exclusive
• Difficult cast-off implementation

Miscellany

Financial Data

• Purchased from: Big in Japan
• Order date: 30-Sep-2012
• Ship date: 26-Mar-2013
• Receive date: 29-Mar-2013
• Base price (JPY): ¥10,300
• Shipping cost (JPY): ¥3,600 (EMS)
• Total cost (JPY): ¥13,900
• Total cost (USD): $174.90

Technical Data

• Package dimensions (width): 210 mm
• Package dimensions (height): 317 mm
• Package dimensions (depth): 220 mm
• Shipping weight (figure + display box): 1131 g
• Shipping weight (total): 1701 g