Capsule Q - Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou, Shinokawa Shioriko (Set of 4)

Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou is a story about an antique second-hand bookstore owner who spends her time playing detective on her distressed customers. Think House MD, but instead of a satrical over-confident protagonist you have a shy introvert. Instead of drawing conclusions by piecing together different symptoms you have a character who combines knowledge of books and stories with psychoanalytical tendencies towards her customers. Yes - very Japanese indeed.

Unboxing - Fortunately it didnt come in parts. Just imagine how one would GIF a kinder surprise.

I came across these figurine set during my trip to Japan this year and what caught my attention was the amount of detail packed into this thing for a capsule collectible. My experience of capsule collectibles is either one of the two. You can end up with a set of miniature novel items that's fixed to a keychain and highly susceptible to the slightest scratch or wear. Or you end up with something that tries to pack more than the size of the packaging, resulting in a 5 inch model cut into parts, squeezed into something a little less than a tennis ball, and reassemble into a flimsy model with eye twitching joint lines and parts bent out of shape.

The Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou series exceeds both accounts. The integrity of the model is maintained by its virtue as a full unbroken plastic figure matching the size of a capsule. This set - which comprises 4 designs of the main character Shinokawa Shioriko - packs one of the most impressive displays of sculptural attention which places these on the range of your typical 8 inch collectibles.

The set adopts a pyramid composition. A lot of attention is paid to Shioriko's hair and posture, but the real bang comes at the base of the models where objects overflow and envelope the character - books painted with spine and covers leaning and tipping over, miniature details such as floral bases, picture frames, tea cups etc, all sharply crafted and produced to a high standard with minimal bleeding of paintwork (made in China - not bad!).

The back of the models spots as much detail as there is on the front.

Coffee Cup stacked on books, notice the frame piece sticking out.

Two different plastic materials are used here for the tea cup.

Conclusion: Awesome collectible set with the quality of a 8 inch model for something that comes out of a capsule.

PS: Many thanks for Anime at Abbotsford who are stocking these at the moment. All hope was lost for completing this set after taking 3 of the 4 from Japan - until i've found the kimono figure at their store!