At this point, you’d think I was a Fruits Basket expert. About two months ago, I reviewed the Kyo Sohma statues from Southern Island right here at QSE. Then,

Tonight I’m covering Southern Island’s first mini-bust under the license. This one is of the main character herself, Tohru Honda. You can find it at a number of online retailers for around $40.

Tohru Honda mini-bust

Fruits Basket is one of those shows (and corresponding manga) about a young school girl (Tohru Honda) who’s an outsider, never quite fitting in. She ends up working for a family, the Sohma’s, who are definitely outsiders themselves. Each of the Sohma’s are possessed by the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, along with one extra – the cat. The theme of this show is the loneliness and pain when you’re not part of the crowd, a universal condition certainly but one that’s all the more poignant in Japan, where the population is so dense.

Southern Island has also produced a statue of Tohru in the 6″ statue line, but this is the first of their mini-busts of any of the Fruits Basket characters. Tohru is a limited edition of 2000.

Packaging – ***
The bust comes in the standard window box, with a solid foam insert to protect it. The window is a big plus if you are lucky enough to see these on the shelf of your LCS, since they allow you to see what you’re buying before plunking down the cash. Unlike the statues though, there’s no Skybox playing card included this time.

Also, there’s no marking on the box as to what number the included bust is in the limited edition, which is a bit unusual.

Sculpting – ***1/2
While anime characters tend to be quite basic, the sculpt here does everything it can to add detail and depth the the simple character design. The hair has a nice dynamic flow to it, with some of that dynamic movement translated into the clothing as well. There’s sculpted edges on the eyes, and the mouth isn’t merely painted on, but sculpted into the face.

The bust is a tad small if you’re comparing it to other industry standards. Most (but not all) ‘mini-busts’ run in the 6″ range, while this one is closer to 4″ tall. It’s made of a very sturd polyresin, so it won’t break easily under normal handling, but still has the heft and feel of quality that you expect. And while the bust is a bit small overall, the internal proportions (head to body, hands to head, etc) are quite good.

Paint – ***
The majority of the paint work – especially the large areas – is very clean and consistent, with good coverage and an even finish. Southern Island picked attractive colors that match up with the appropriate look for the character (unlike Hasbro, who still seem to think Venom is purple), and key areas, like the eyes and mouth have clean edges and cuts. One question I had was in the choice of black for her hair color. It tends to be shown as more of a brown in the show, but that may simply be a liberty of the need for shading and highlighting.

Not every spot exhibits the same level of quality though, especially the thinner, finer lines in the costume. There’s a little slop here, and some bleed between the blue and the white, pulling the score down a bit.

Design – ***
Tohru is an upbeat, generally happy and optimistic character, and that general attitude is translated nicely into the general design. She’s happy, she’s animated (literally), and it all is clearly expressed in the overall look.

My favorite touch is the edition of the rat and cat on either side of her body. Unlike the Sohma’s, Tohru has no animal counterpart to spice up her collectible. But rather than simply leave out that aspect, Southern Island decided to add the two characters who are most diametrically opposed on the show – the cat (Kyo Sohma) and the rat (Yuki Sohma). This adds quite a bit of visual punch to the bust and was a very smart move.

Value – **
Most current mini-busts run in the $40 – $45 range. This has been the average price point for a number of years now, and somehow most of the bust manufacturers have staved off the effects of inflation. The Tohru bust follows the price point, but it’s definitely smaller than the usual mini-bust on the market. It’s not a terrible value, but you are getting a little less for your dollar.

Things to Watch Out For –
If you’re picking her off the shelf, check those paint ops. Otherwise, you should be good to go.

Overall – ***
Fans of the Fruits Basket show don’t have a lot of high quality collectibles to choose from right now, so they are likely to be quite pleased with the work being done by Southern Island. This mini-bust does a nice job of capturing the look and character of Tohru, and is hopefully just the start of a full set of mini-busts.

Where to Buy –
You have a couple online options:

– Southern Island carries them themselves, for the srp of $40 each.

– Circle Red has all the statues at $34 each, but hasn’t listed the mini-bust yet.

– Entertainment Earth has her listed at $45.

Related Links –
As I said earlier, I reviewed the Kyo Sohma statues and the Shigure Sohma statue earlier. These are all being produced by Southern Island.

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