Nanao Yuriko (The Idolm@ster: Million Live!)

After weeks of scouring YJA I was finally able to find a seller that I can actually buy from. I’m excited to receive it. Shame about the socks though. I think I’ll make the most of them while they last. I’ll just double sock it.

Not sure I understand. Do you mean Yuriko? Why didn't you just order her from Volks Japan?

Not sure I understand. Do you mean Yuriko? Why didn't you just order her from Volks Japan?

Lol, shouldn’t post when I’m tired. I leave things out. xD I bought her outfit seperately. But evertime I found it on YJA, buyee wouldn’t let me buy from them.

Which socks? Nanao or Ranko?

 

I haven't tried Nanao's on so I have no idea if they stain. Ranko's didn't stain her for the brief period I had them on her, but the black parts on her bodice did.

 

Not sure which doll you mean, but Ranko is worth every penny if she is the one you are after. I kicked myself for not getting her sooner. Her look is very true to her character, and she's such a cute character to start out.

 

I bought Nanao’s outfit, but I’m sad that they used that material for the diamonds. I’ll be sad when they crack. And then looking at them they’re like that deep blue, and I’m not sure I trust it.

 

Just me and my incoherent 3am posting coming to give y’all a puzzle. ;0

I'm liking this easier availability on dolls, but also hopefully Volks doesn't end up with overstocks of dolls where they decide it wasn't such a good idea after all. Freyja is still available after all.

 

I do worry about that as well. And for the record I think the Volks photo's of Freya are just awful. Gabriel's photos of her show her to be a lot cuter than she looks in the product photos. It's the same with Haruka Amami, she looks a lot nicer in person. The Volks pictures make her face look longer and more angular than it is.

 

At the same time it's giving me hope I can buy her new from Volks next year when I have doll funds again. Now that you have her, please spam post photos of her.

 

Part of the reason there could still be so many was that Volks didn't show her until you could buy her, right? She really came out of left field.

I'm liking this easier availability on dolls, but also hopefully Volks doesn't end up with overstocks of dolls where they decide it wasn't such a good idea after all. Freyja is still available after all.

 

Checking this morning because of Nanao, I see that Freyja has FINALLY hit "low stock." Poor Freyja, the limited no one wanted.

 

I do worry about that as well. And for the record I think the Volks photo's of Freya are just awful. Gabriel's photos of her show her to be a lot cuter than she looks in the product photos.

 

All of two of them. I currently have her all pink lolita-ed up.

 

 

As for Nanao, I'm not a follower of Idolm@ster. I recognize some characters but not her. That doesn't particularly mean anything since I'm not a fan of the games and the series isn't even here in North America.

 

However, keep in mind that she's hitting directly after Luka and right before Kaede. Some people may still be smarting from the Saber pre-order a few months ago. While I don't think it had much affect, there was also the re-release of Sheryl and Ranka to consider. There have certainly been quite a few songstresses recently, haven't there? Clearly Volks customers have more disposable income, but there have been quite a few dolls the past few months. We can't all be Baldylox. Customers might be a bit overloaded.

 

Anyway, I do kind of hope this is an indication that Kaede won't sell out in half a second.

I'm liking this easier availability on dolls, but also hopefully Volks doesn't end up with overstocks of dolls where they decide it wasn't such a good idea after all. Freyja is still available after all.

Checking this morning because of Nanao, I see that Freyja has FINALLY hit "low stock." Poor Freyja, the limited no one wanted.

I noticed that a week or so ago when I was checking if Sheryl and Ranka were still available. I wonder if she just finally got down to that point or if Sheryl and Ranka's rerelease might have increased Freyja's sales a bit.

 

After this amount of time, something else working against her is probably that most people wouldn't expect her to still be available and not even look for her. I may have known she was there before you ordered her but I am a weirdo. I know you ordering reminded me.

 

With the Vocaloids being randomly available from time to time harder to judge anything here, but Len is still, or again, in stock as well. Also I have no clue what is going on with Sheryl. She sold out from the rerelease, was listed as "will be restocked," was restocked and listed as "low stock" is still available now but the low stock message is no longer there. She's multiplying to take over the world!

I’ll try to get some photos up today.

 

At the moment her aftermarket price isn’t much more that her regular price, but I doubt that will last after sales close. I do kind of like the idea that this new release methodology may be hurting the scalpers. I don’t object to aftermarket sales per se, but I really don’t like the way some scalpers game the system to get multiple dolls. The Lorina II debacle was messed up.

 

Overall I think she is really well done, and captures the essence of the character as best you can in a 3D head with a fiber wig. Her outfit is well designed too, except for the socks. To be fair the iron-on material might make it easier for Volks to avoid materials that stain. There would be three thread colors in play otherwise. Probably be a good deal more expensive with hand stitching too.

 

The thing with iM@S is players of the games often seem to think of themselves as producers for a specific character, and even the minor characters have die-hard fans. Yuriko is a cute character, but if you aren’t a YurikoP then you may have zero interest. In ML they are all voiced out of the gate too iirc.

 

I’d really like to see what Volks would do with Mika Jougasaki. We’ve seen Danny’s take, and I suspect Volks would do her as well or better.

 

Edit: One other note, pretty sure a lot of Billy’s dolls are rescues.

I’ll try to get some photos up today.

 

At the moment her aftermarket price isn’t much more that her regular price, but I doubt that will last after sales close. I do kind of like the idea that this new release methodology may be hurting the scalpers. I don’t object to aftermarket sales per se, but I really don’t like the way some scalpers game the system to get multiple dolls. The Lorina II debacle was messed up.

I've mentioned I'm sad I don't have Takane and Miki Hoshii and their aftermarket prices are so high. Having recently looked back through their threads here, I see now if I had even been in the hobby at the time I probably wouldn't have them either because there were so few lottery winners back then, yet there were instantly a significant number of these dolls up on YJA. Resellers are ok with me, but it's totally not ok when dolls are so limited that people who want them can't get them when released yet somehow these scalpers get plenty to sell. Scalpers taking dolls that others wanted is a really disgusting practice in my view.

 

Overall I think she is really well done, and captures the essence of the character as best you can in a 3D head with a fiber wig. Her outfit is well designed too, except for the socks. To be fair the iron-on material might make it easier for Volks to avoid materials that stain. There would be three thread colors in play otherwise. Probably be a good deal more expensive with hand stitching too.

 

The thing with iM@S is players of the games often seem to think of themselves as producers for a specific character, and even the minor characters have die-hard fans. Yuriko is a cute character, but if you aren’t a YurikoP then you may have zero interest. In ML they are all voiced out of the gate too iirc.

That's kind of it for me I guess. I've not played the games since other than some of the mobile ones(?) they've never been released in English, and I don't like playing games on tiny screens that I can't see. But I do have some attachment to some of the characters from the Idolmaster and Cinderella Girls animes, and there's nothing for Million Live. I'm interested most in the dolls that I really like the looks of and/or there is some attachment to the character. Yuriko is cute, but cute in a way that most DDs are so she just doesn't really stand out to me the way Takane, Miki, Chihaya or Ranko do (those are the four I like best I think, also Makoto). And of course mostly those are the currently most-expensive ones.

 

I think it's pretty cool to have them all as you will, but that's too many dolls, and expense, for me.

 

I’d really like to see what Volks would do with Mika Jougasaki. We’ve seen Danny’s take, and I suspect Volks would do her as well or better.

I'd like to see this too.

 

Edit: One other note, pretty sure a lot of Billy’s dolls are rescues.

I know from some of his posts he got many from other people or otherwise. Anyway you look at it it's a lot of dolls though.

Here are some quick images. I wasn't into re-arranging my furniture, so there is a bit of shadow.

 

Edit: One note here is I swapped her to an S bust because I think it fits her character art better, so what you are seeing isn't completely stock.

 

 

 

Closeup of her head. Just right click and "View Image" (Firefox) for a much larger version so you can see all the fine details.

 

Comparison image.

 

Edited July 25, 2018 by Guest

Cute.

 

Very different eye makeup, but her sculpt appears to look a fair bit like Freyja. There's a similar pic of wig-less Freya on this blog:

http://grande-masquerade.blogspot.com/2017/02/dds-freyja-arrival.html

 

Taken on her own, I thought Freyja looked a lot like Yayoi but comparing them they don't actually.

I can see a slight resemblance to Yayoi, Yuriko, and Uzuki in different areas, but I think overall she looks quite different from all three.

 

Freya has a more angular chin and it comes to a sharper point, her eyes are rounder, and I think her mouth is a bit smaller with a more clearly defined upper lip. (Compared to Yuriko.)

 

I will say seeing that head shot has once again showed that owner photos reveal her to be a lot cuter than you would think from the Volks photos. You might want to post that in the Freya Won thread, even though it's a bit of a Necro. It might interest people in her before she finally sells out.

 

To answer some of the things you said earlier.

 

I think Takane's price isn't too bad, but the only part of her outfit that is really worth keeping are her pants, panties, and boots imo. The jacket & bra just don't fit her well. The belt is a bit of a nightmare, it clips on to thread loops with jewelry clasps. The buckle is held on by a sideways cloth loop, and it always falls right off with the slightest movement. You might be better off just buying a head and then putting it on an SWS body from Volks. Her wig is kind of meh too, but likely salvageable with some tlc. The pants look good with the belt from Makoto's outfit.

 

Miki's full set is nice it and her wig is nice too. She would have been the last one I got given her price, but when I saw the anime I loved her character and that upped her priority a good deal. When she woke up from her 4 episode long nap she was quite enjoyable as a character.

 

As far as reselling goes I think some of it can be healthy. Like early on a face up artist got a Len, redid his face as a girl, and resold it on Yahoo Japan. It was a beautiful custom, and I think that's legit even if that person beat someone else out in the lottery or got Len at the Dolpa. They contributed something healthy to the hobby as opposed to just taking money from it.

 

I also think that proxies that help people get event dolls, or FCS dolls, or Dream Choice dolls is legit even though it may be a grey area around their rules. It can be abused, as it was with Lorina II. Maybe that's becoming less necessary though. Volks seems to be changing how it does things, and Volks USA is offering more and more of the limited items through their service.

 

People taking advantage of the misfortune of others bothers me. If you game the system and walk away with 5 dolls thinking "now five people have to come to me and pay a markup" it's messed up, even if it is a perfectly fine example of capitalism at work. Some businessman getting 50 people to stand in line so he could claim all the Lorina II's at the event other people attended to get a doll, just so could resell them in China, was really messed up.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Guest

She still looks like a cuter Karin to me- they have really similar smiles, noses, and face shapes. The styling of her wig and costume are adorable!

I can see a slight resemblance to Yayoi, Yuriko, and Uzuki in different areas, but I think overall she looks quite different from all three.

 

Freya has a more angular chin and it comes to a sharper point, her eyes are rounder, and I think her mouth is a bit smaller with a more clearly defined upper lip. (Compared to Yuriko.)

After I posted that I found via google a pic of Freya and Asuna together, and realized that Freya looks like a younger Asuna, especially with the mouth and chubby cheeks look.

 

I think Takane's price isn't too bad, but the only part of her outfit that is really worth keeping are her pants, panties, and boots imo. The jacket & bra just don't fit her well. The belt is a bit of a nightmare, it clips on to thread loops with jewelry clasps. The buckle is held on by a sideways cloth loop, and it always falls right off with the slightest movement. You might be better off just buying a head and then putting it on an SWS body from Volks. Her wig is kind of meh too, but likely salvageable with some tlc. The pants look good with the belt from Makoto's outfit.

I'm not a huge fan of that pink material Volks used on those outfits and yeah, I dislike the way that bra top looks. The way the darts are sewn into it it comes off looking like she's got big pointy boobs (and pointy in the wrong places ). This is one thing that makes the price a little more palatable is I could sell those parts for something presumably.

 

The thing with her wig is I know the quality is not so great, but there doesn't really seem to be another wig available with close enough to the right style for her. Best I have found is this Crobi:

http://crobidolls.com/shop/step1.php?number=3736&b_code=B20080525084138&c_code=C20080525084214

http://crobidolls.com/shop/step1.php?number=3735&b_code=B20080525084138&c_code=C20080525084214

assuming that's not too large; based on comments here generally that seems to be the better size for theirs; that wig doesn't come in the smaller 8" size. It may need a little tweaking of the curls but it looks about right. The colors are ok I think since even in official stuff her hair alternately looks silver/white/purple/blue.

 

Miki's full set is nice it and her wig is nice too. She would have been the last one I got given her price, but when I saw the anime I loved her character and that upped her priority a good deal. When she woke up from her 4 episode long nap she was quite enjoyable as a character.

Yes, that's a perfect description and perfectly true. I still hope and believe there might be a good chance for her to get a rerelease as a result of the poll voting. I don't think that's going to happen with Takane because I'm sure Rise/Beatrice/Saber Lilly/Saber Extra and who knows who else got more votes.

 

People taking advantage of the misfortune of others bothers me. If you game the system and walk away with 5 dolls thinking "now five people have to come to me and pay a markup" it's messed up, even if it is a perfectly fine example of capitalism at work. Some businessman getting 50 people to stand in line so he could claim all the Lorina II's at the event other people attended to get a doll, just so could resell them in China, was really messed up.

Yeah, that's what I was really complaining about. I'm agreed with the part I cut as those generally being ok. Scalping just to make a profit and take advantage of people is what I don't like. It's legal and part of capitalism so I have to accept it but it's ugly.

The styling of her wig and costume are adorable!

 

I added a note above the photo. I did swap her to an S bust, so chances are her bustline in that outfit would be a bit more pronounced on the stock doll. I actually think given how well she fits that outfit with an S that her M would be tight in the chest.

...

Closeup of her head. Just right click and "View Image" (Firefox) for a much larger version so you can see all the fine details.

She's absolutely charming! I love the lines on her blush, and the little blue details on her eyeliner.

It's a real shame that her fullset isn't great, but at least she looks super sweet without.

 

As far as reselling goes I think some of it can be healthy. Like early on a face up artist got a Len, redid his face as a girl, and resold it on Yahoo Japan. It was a beautiful custom, and I think that's legit even if that person beat someone else out in the lottery or got Len at the Dolpa. They contributed something healthy to the hobby as opposed to just taking money from it.

I wish Y!J kept old listings up - that sounds adorable, and now I really want to see it. Anyone here have those pictures?

I’d have to check, but I might have grabbed them.

 

I don’t think her full set is bad. Just don’t like the socks, but I see dark socks, and never put them on for fear of stains. Everything else in her outfit fits together nicely.

 

I want to try it on Chihaya DDS-SS, and Uzuki DDS-M just to see the chest fit. I suspect it may be ok with SS, but tight on M.

wow she's cute! though she looks aloooot like karin omg. the skull looks identical to me lol. i would love to see someone do a face up on karin to look like Yuriko, jus for the kicks

Looking at the two photo's side by side, and comparing side profiles, I think they are different.

 

Yuriko's head from the front is a bit more heart shaped, and Karin is more of an oval.

 

Yuriko' eyes are more oval compared to Karin's, which seem more circular.

 

From the side Karin's forhead and nose are more of an S curve. Yuriko has a very flat forehead.

 

Their noses are basically the same shape, but the curve on Karin's face makes her nose more pronounced. I think Yuriko's nose is thinner too, but it's hard to tell from photos.

 

Their mouths are identical, and I think the distance between the eyes is the same or very close.

 

Their ears are very different.

 

I took front facing head shots of my iM@S girls, but I want to re-shoot them a bit differently now, and do side profiles. I'm not doing that until I have Kaede, since I really want to do them all at once and keep the image format as close as possible to each other for comparison purposes.

There are a lot of closeup pictures of Yuriko here:

http://blog.livedoor.jp/teaoevo/archives/1897121.html#more

 

She's really cute. She's saying "Buy me!" because she's still available:

https://www.volks.co.jp/page_ex.jsp?CONTROLID=SC0040&BUSINESSID=InitDisp&jancd=4518992419978&version=en

She's still available now which is amazing to me. Did anyone else get her?

It's a really really good thing she isn't sold out. That means I still have a chance to get her in a couple months when I hopefully have some money again.

It's a really really good thing she isn't sold out. That means I still have a chance to get her in a couple months when I hopefully have some money again.

 

Hope it works out for you. Even if Volks sells out I'm thinking her aftermarket price won't be too bad.

 

She's still available now which is amazing to me. Did anyone else get her?

 

I'm surprised more people didn't. I'm not sure I've seen such a lukewarm showing for a DD here.

 

She's a cute DD, so maybe it's her placement surrounded by Luka, the August Dolpa, and the shipment of the pre-orders. The timing really was a bit odd.

It's a really really good thing she isn't sold out. That means I still have a chance to get her in a couple months when I hopefully have some money again.

Yaya will not be pleased. Best make sure she doesn't read this so that she doesn't "accidentally" spend all your money first.

 

More seriously, she isn't listed as "low stock" either so maybe she will still be available when you are ready.

 

I guess we don't yet know if she will be sold on Volks USA.

 

She's still available now which is amazing to me. Did anyone else get her?

I'm surprised more people didn't. I'm not sure I've seen such a lukewarm showing for a DD here.

 

She's a cute DD, so maybe it's her placement surrounded by Luka, the August Dolpa, and the shipment of the pre-orders. The timing really was a bit odd.

There's probably a few things, and I'm sure those are part of it. Her being revealed one day and sold the next, and that being only a week before the online sales, didn't given any time for hype to build, and the announcement was so short before that there was no time to plan for the cost.

 

Million Live probably doesn't have much of a presence for English speakers since, AFAIK, there's nothing of that part of iM@S that's available in English. I know after watching both anime series I got an attachment to some of the characters while I know little about Yuriko. In addition, I'm not sure, but you may be the only one here with a complete IM@S set.

 

For people who buy limited dolls to make their own characters, her being fairly similar to Karin may make that less appealing.

 

Paypal no longer being accepted may have been an issue for some as well.

 

I think she's really cute and if I had a larger doll budget I'd consider getting her, but as it is there are other iDOLM@STER girls I want more. The low price (for a DD) is appealing too.

Yuriko is sold out now on Volks Japan. So far I don't believe there has been any mention if she will be available on Volks USA.

Yuriko is sold out now on Volks Japan.

 

 

It's your fault as you wouldn't stop reminding people she was still available.