Breather Episode: Episode seven is about Sonico's adventures, during which she encounters and interact with a handful of people. It's relaxed even by the series' standard, and contrasts sharply with the previous episode. Breakout Character: In 2006, Tsuji Santa provided an illustration for a poster depicting a pink-haired girl wearing headphones and sporting a guitar, to promote the Nitro Plus Music Festival. Reception to this poster was overwhelmingly positive, and so, Super Sonico was born. Realising Super Sonico's marketability, Nitro Plus invested in the character to create figures, posters, music, manga, video games and anime were made. In time, Sonico has become the official mascot for their music festivals, and Tsuji Santa became more renowned as an artist, going on to create more characters similar to Super Sonico. Generally, A-Plus did okay with Pochaco's sculpt (particularly her body sculpt), although there are a few quirks on that front. However, this figure has a number of issues with paint work, and all told I would say the overall quality of the figure is below average. As you saw a minute ago, two large pegs attach Pochaco to the base. I was a little concerned about the stability of the figure, given the one-legged pose and her large size, but Pochaco seems quite stable once she's attached to the base. Japanese Politeness: In the first episode's moments, Sonico apologises to someone who ran in front of her bike and forced her to stop suddenly.

Iyashikei: While the series itself won't satisfy the definition, episode seven marks change in pace, being relaxing and slow-paced, with Sonico just wandering around the countryside.but the beer in her other hand looks like it's flat (nothing about Pochaco should be flat, right :) ). At first, I thought this was just a strange design choice, but a number of character goods featuring an illustration of Pochaco in this outfit were released right around the same time as this figure and the illustration depicts the two beers just like this. See ITEM #219698 for an example. The first of many paint flaws with this figure is evident in the shot below, as you can see significant chipping of the paint where the two pieces of Pochaco's hair meet. Power (2011) - Sonico's solo single, was released on iTunes for the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake relief funding. The paint on the front of Pochaco's garterbelt is not *quite as* sloppy, but it's still pretty messy...

In episode six, Sonico and her friends were planning to go to the beach the day after trying out their swimsuits, rainy weather precludes this from happening. Better to Die than Be Killed: Sonico, Fuuri and Suzu jump overboard when they appear to be in danger of being eaten by other passengers during the sixth episode, but the passengers come to their senses and can only watch in horror as the three plummet into the ocean. They are subsequently rescued. On the other hand, A-Plus did a pretty good job coloring Pochaco's hair. Blonde hair often is very flat and uniform in color, but the blonde-to-orange color gradient looks really good. Kinomoto is a journalist who was sent to interview Sonico by her editor in episode five. Despite being against the idea, the editor decides to do it anyway. She later calls up Sonico's agency, thinking they'd reject the idea, only to have Kitamura and Sonico agree to it. One interesting accessory that comes with the figure is a cloth apron. The parts of the apron that go around Pochaco's arms are fairly stretchy, so it's easy to get her dressed in the apron if you want to go that route.

GOOD SMILE COMPANY

Blank White Eyes: Such a reaction ensues when Sonico is asked to wear some questionable swimwear in the first episode, and once again, when she first sees the zombies. Establishing Character Moment: Sonico's manager makes his debut by arriving just as a client tried to take a photo of Sonico in a rather skimpy bikini. His first move is to intimidate them into not doing the shoot with his demon mask, with the implication that it's to him what the headphones are to Sonico. Balloon Belly: In episode nine, Ouka enters a hot dog eating contest at the school festival and her stomach becomes engorged by her efforts, requiring that she be carried away on a stretcher. Book Ends: The series begins and ends with Sonico waking up late, and then riding her bike to the university. Characterization Marches On: There's a fair few subtle but distinct differences between Sonico's characterisation in SoniComi and the later SoniAni. In the former, for example, Sonico views gravure modelling as her main career goal, while in the latter, her heart is more in music.

Food as Bribe: After Fuuri complains about wearing a somewhat skimpy outfit in episode eleven outside in the cold, Suzu tells her that she can have all the meat buns she wants during her break, with great success. Naked Freak-Out: Episode 2 has one happen offscreen at the very end when Sonico's dress melt off her body. While the viewer doesn't see anything explicit (the scene changes right before her nipples become visible) her petrified state implies the audience does, and the last scene is Sonico going fully red before letting out an embarrassed scream. That Wing Sonico is okay. I might take some photos and do a review of that figure sometime this week, but the main points would be something like this:

Super Pochaco: Swimsuit Ver. Figure

The zombie outbreak in episode six alludes to I Am Legend, in which a skin ointment turns people into something not quite human, and the English dub of the episode references Resident Evil by having one zombie groan, "Itchyyyyyy... TASTYYYYYYY!" Nitroplus Blasterz Heroines Infinite Duel (2015) - Sonico is both a playable character and an assist character. Motto! SoniComi - More Communication with Sonico (2013) - PS3 port of SoniComi, features reworked graphics and additional content. In 2016, JAST USA released a PC port with English support.

A Day in the Limelight: Several of the characters get an episode that focuses largely on them, at least in their interactions and relations with Sonico. The sculpt of Pochaco's fingers is a little bit rough. Also, it's kind of funny that one of the beers she is holding has a frothy head... Even though Pochaco is established to have a 107 cm (42 inch) bust, her breasts still appear quite perky! Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite the scary mask he wears all the time, Kitamura does try to look out for Sonico, and attempts to prevent photographers from taking advantage of her.We will see that there is no shortage of little issues with this figure, but fortunately the pose is not one of them. Pochaco is clearly in waitress mode, and her pose gives off the sort of chipper and perky vibe that I tend to associate with the character. One area where A-Plus did fine is with the design of Pochaco's face. Her cuteness is one of her best assets, and her eyes are very vibrant.