1/7 Margit Suzuki (Native) NSFW

Another day, another review. This time, we're headed to the classroom, where a naughty, half-German professor who definitely looks old enough to teach chemistry (wink wink) once again takes off her panties for the sake of science. Because, "If you're going to do science, it had better be German" (Native, 2013). Yes'sir, it's just another beautiful, typical day in Japanland.

Yup.

Ok, down to business. Native is a well-known player in the naughty figure business, and the only one thus far that has a solid reputation for churning out high quality goods. My first Native figure made such an impression on me that I have regarded the company with fondness since, and they have done little to let me down. Unfortunately, when Margit Suzuki was announced, I had my doubts. She struck me as less "naked and creative" than "typical schoolgirl with pants off." Naked? Yes. Creative? Eh. With companies like SkyTube quickly climbing the naughty figure ladder, I thought perhaps my money could be better invested elsewhere.

So, I stewed and stewed, because nothing clears the head like a few weeks rumination. After nights of tossing about, staring at my wallet, and making complicated budgeting schemes, I managed to convince myself she was worth it. No Native figure is cheap, but I also have an incredible weakness for all things science-based. The power of fetish compels me.

Let's start with Margit's box. It's a typical Native box, in that it's minimalist, discreet, and tasteful.

(**Click to enlarge photos**) 

Margit Suzuki comes with a green base, but I'm somewhat baffled by its colour. Is she teaching on a lawn? Is the classroom floor, despite all convention, green? Anyhow, Margit displays fine without it, so I don't use it. I would have much preferred a nice tile, or some wooden flooring.

Can't tell if butt print, or heart...

Is her name Margit Suzuki, or Suzuki Margit? I'm so bad with Japanese ordering. Anyhow, for this post's sake, we'll go with first name Margit, last name Suzuki.

Margit Suzuki is posed on a schoolroom chair, experimentally poking her nether-regions. One can only guess whether this blatant display of lewdness is a regular in her classroom. I, for one, have never encountered a science curriculum with such a direct approach, but who am I to disagree with another's teaching methods?

Let me say outright that Margit Suzuki is not the most distinct Native figure out there. Without her job description, I would never have guessed she's a scientist. At short glance she seems like another generic school girl, pleated skirt and all. The only feature that points at chemistry is her test-tube (which is conveniently tucked away between her legs). But she is very cute, and I suppose that was the point all along.

Given her price tag and relatively bland get-up, Margit Suzuki is not the sort of figure I usually buy. However, as with all unusual purchases, there is something specific that tipped the scales in her favour: Her expression.

Yes, it's blase. Yes, it's underwhelming. But that's where the intrigue begins. Margit Suzuki is postured in a chair, very much exposed, with a borosilicate glass tube in close proximity to her female genital tract, yet her expression is very much unpronounced. What am I supposed to take away from it? Is she embarrassed? Uncomfortable? Aroused? Ponderous? And why can't I look away? It's not a standard eroge expression, and such ambivalence mystifies me. See, I have a thing for closure, for knowing, and for being confident in what I know, but Margit's expression baffles me. What am I suppose to take away from her nondescript expression? I don't know, and that's awesome.

Ahem, moving on. Margit's hair, like the rest of her, is relatively simplistic. Her bangs are not overly detailed. Her twintails, even less so.

It's rare these days to see such simple hair, but I appreciate how clean and sharp it looks. The thickness of her bangs also adds a nice illusion of volume, and while I'm not  sure what has her twintails fluttering about when Margit herself is in a static pose, I appreciate the added excitement.

Margit's hair is a delightful blend of icterine and orchid, which is really a fancy way of saying she's a nice blonde. I rave a lot on sculpt and pose, but in all actuality, it's the paint job that really completes a figure. A good finish adds wonders. No one really buys a figure before seeing the paint job. Margit's hair is beautifully shaded, giving it even more dimension than her sculpt already allows.

On the subject of dimension, take a gander at Margit's head from a sideview. Does it seem a little squished? Although I recognize her proper anatomy, in terms of skull shape, I'm a little disappointed that they didn't make her hair puffier closer to the bottom. It's a preference thing, really. There is nothing wrong with it, but I still wish it were more copious.

Despite her lack of distinction from the typical schoolgirl, Native does put a decent amount of work into her costume. As a result, Margit has some nice, luscious folds, and good clean lines. Look at those sleeve folds. Those are some sweet sleeve folds.

Moving onto more, ahem, important areas of an eroge figure.

Like previously mentioned, Margit is not the most detailed figure. Her modest breasts are modestly painted, without much distinction or shading. They're small, unobtrusive, and relatively well hidden by her legs and outfit. I suppose the creators wanted audiences to focus on her amply proffered backside, but it would have been nice to see some distinct areolae.

Now, to the real star of the show: Margit Suzuki's butt. As a Native figure, Margit certainly doesn't suffer from Barbie syndrome. She has a fully crafted vulva, carefully drizzled with gloss to ensure a, er, moist, appearance. Sure, it's not the most detailed vagina I've ever seen, nor that Native has ever sculpted, but it's adequate (and rather cute, if I do say so myself).

Here's the thing though. Margit is her strangely placed anal sphincter. It's positioned too high up. Since the prototype pictures were released, I had hoped Native would rectify this by shunting her sphincter down a millimeter. They didn't. Thus Margit's desolate butthole remains woefully out of place. Is it a small point of contention? Perhaps, but as an eroge company, I expected slightly better anatomy.

Turn Margit upside-down and you'll see how she stays on her chair. Margit depends on a hunk of PVC fabric to keep her upright, which is perhaps not the most prudent way of keeping a figure set on its throne. A good magnet up the butt, however, would have done wonders. Alas, there's little to be done at this stage. Margit can be a bit wobbly, so be careful when moving her.

Moving "lower", Native has given Margit's panties a semi-translucent panties. Really, they're less panties than a sheet of cloth with two holes cut into it. Not that panties are a bit feature in this case, but still. With all the focus they put into her wonderful folds, could they not give Margit's poor panties some volume? Or opacity?

Here are some shots for the foot-fetishists out there.

I am impressed by Margit's feet. I've said this before, but I'll say it again, many figure companies skimp out on the sculpt of feet. Besides Alter's Menma, I have not seen much attention go into any of the figures I have purchased. Margit's feet, on the other hand, are well-formed, detailed, and pleasing overall. Hip hip to feet.

I've harped a lot on Margit's lack of detail, but Native does come through in some areas, namely, the lovely face print on her tie. Her red glasses (which are not removeable, to my frustration), are well shaped, with lovely, transparent lens.

Now, for the unhappy part: Flaws.

Perhaps I've been hard on Margit so far, but I have high expectations for Native. Having impressed in the past, and producing only exclusive, limited figures, I know first-hand the type of quality they can pump out. Unfortunately, it seems Margit got the short end of the stick in many aspects.

First, seams. She's covered with seams, the most blatant of which is in the back of her head. There is no real reason to not smooth down the seams for her hair. It's not like her hair is a monstrosity of individual locks. It's a chunk with some minor grooves, which, if anything, makes the seam more obvious.

Going downwards, you can see seams in both her sleeves and even her legs. Yikes, Native. What happened?

Moreover, Margit has patches of roughness here and there that also detract from her overall quality. At 10k, Margit is not inexpensive, and being a Native product, I expected better. Native in the past has not disappointed me with their figures, so let's hope this is a mild blip on their record and not a new norm, hmm?

At last year's Anime North, I had a brief conversation with a figure vendor about figures, where she referred to Margit as the "froggie slippers girl", a term that is both accurate and endearing. Funny how a small accessory can take all the glory.

Margit's froggie slippers are undeniably adorable. Look at those derp faces. They can hang off her feet, but they aren't very steady. Any small jostle will knock them back down, so I prefer to leave them hanging around her chair like adorable sentinels.

One might think I'm disappointed with this figure, given my many negative observations thus far, but let me assure you, I am harsh because I am fond. My high expectations of Native are reflective of their consistently superb output and my disappointment with them does not reflect disappointment in the figure itself. To make it short, they've spoiled me. A subpar Native figure is like a subpar Alter figure: Still incredibly worthy. Margit Suzuki might not be the best figure I've received from Native, but she's certainly not a bad one by any means. She's cute, she's partially naked, and she doesn't appear fazed by any of it.

Followers of this blog will know that Margit made it into my "top 3" figures of the year, a placing that still baffles me. I am generally a huge fan of technical accomplishment, and many of my favourites coincide with higher quality, so the fact Margit stands out in my mind frustrates me to some extent. I am often quick to denounce low standards, and happy to write "blam" reviews, so why do I hesitate to treat Margit with the same harshness that I would endow other figures of subpar quality? Is it her cuteness? Is it because she's Native? Or do I just feel bad yelling at half-naked girls?

Perhaps the source of my fondness will always be a mystery. But for the moment, let us attribute her attractiveness to her many, many moe points. Red glasses. Red eyes. Lab coat. Oh, and the slippers help.

As a 1/7 figure, Margit makes great collaborations with Cat Lap Milk other 1/7 figures.

I hear this new teacher has an "interesting" way of punishing tardy students.

Here's my photographer's dilemma. The more I take photos of one particular subject, the less interesting they seem to become. Questions of repetition and monotony come to mind. After all, once I've exhausted all angles, where do I go? There are only so many props and backgrounds I can get my hands on without expending too much energy (and money), so what can I do to spice things up?

As someone that gets bored relatively easily, I try to make every photoshoot somewhat different from the last. It's a task that becomes harder the more reviews I write. Reviews are by nature, a technical endeavor. There is a pattern to be followed. A standard to keep. Certain details that need to be covered. And there is always the risk of the post becoming stale. The technical shots are the easy part. Point, shoot, clean, resize, and post. It's the half dozen photos near the end of the review that take up the majority of my time.

With silhouette shots, LCD screen backgrounds, photoshop effects, and dioramas covered in my last few posts, this time, I decided to revisit an old favourite of mine: Dramatic angles. I admit, the results are "interesting". Not good. Just interesting. Marigt is not a figure that lends well to many angles, given her scrunched up pose and, er, photobombing legs.

 

How, in the end, shall I grade Margit Suzuki? She are not my shining star, yet I am undoubtedly entranced by her spells. Proof that being cute goes a long way? Perhaps. Either that, or I'm struck by her "exclusive + limited" status. Rarity breeds fondness, indeed.

Or maybe it's because she's so darn cute.

That being said, Margit is definitely not a figure for everyone. Her backside is very much on display, and she's, er, has a very youthful presentation. She's also not the most technically accomplished Native figure out there. On the bright side, she does have quite a few positives going for her, including her enigmatic expression, her sheer adorableness, and a great number of moe points. Also, she's a Native figure, which means her resale value will probably skyrocket as time goes on.

So, without further ado:

The Run-Down

Box	10/10	Like all Native boxes, it's classy and enjoyable.
Base	6/10	The chair is an acceptable base on its own, but I'm not fond of the green circle. She's also just a bit wobbly.
Pose	7.5/10	It is what it is. It shows off what it will.
Sculpt	7/10	Seams here and there. Some roughness. BUT, very nice folds.
Paint	9/10	Good shading. No real complaints. A wee bit of blemish here and there.
Overall	7.5/10	I like her, so I'm perhaps more biased than usual, but she's still far from perfect.

Manufacturer: Native
Price: 9259 yen
Purchased at: Nippon-Yasan

Box Dimensions: 22 x 17 x 20 cm
Weight: Approx 600g
Shipping method: Small Packet SAL (or fancier)

AWAY,
Jenn