by The life-size figure of Chizuru Mizuhara, the heroine of the TV anime ‘Rent-A-Girlfriend,’ which is currently airing in the second season, is attracting attention. In the same size, the human body and costume are usually integrated. Still, at the request of the original author Rei Miyajima, the clothes were changed to cloth and detachable during production.
It took about ten months and 3,070,000 yen in production costs due to the number of days and prices increase. Many applications were received for a “real date” project with a figure recruited in the serialized “Weekly Shonen Magazine.” At the exhibition being held at Shibuya PARCO in Tokyo, it was lit up like a model of her. Heroine shines.
She is 165.5 cm tall (170 cm, including pumps). She weighs about 40kg. When I saw Chizuru Mizuhara, who faithfully reproduced the cover of her first volume, she had a definite presence that made my heart tremble. Until November 6, original goods are on sale, and life-size figures are displayed at 1/ONE SLASH on the 5th floor of Shibuya PARCO. As the person in charge of PARCO said, “We produced a realistic model so that people would appreciate it more as art.” It makes sense that she has fans who can’t help but talk to her.
A popular romantic comedy centered on the relationship between the main character, Kazuya Kinoshita, and Chizuru Mizuhara, whom he met through the “Rental Girlfriend” service, and ex-girlfriend Asami Nanami, Ruka Sarashina, who admires Kazuya, and Chizuru’s junior, Sumi Sakurasawa.
In the June 22 release of the magazine, they announced a plan to charter Hanayashiki in Asakusa, Tokyo, and take a dating photo with a life-size figure inside the park. As a result, it is said that the number of applications for dating partners was the highest in the history of “Kanokari.”
The person in charge of Kodansha said, “I want to go on a date with Suwon, even if it’s just once in my life!” Once again, it was a project where I could feel that the readers love the character Chizuru Mizuhara. He said, “I hope you can enjoy a luxurious time with your ideal girlfriend, Suwon!”
This reaction is probably due to the high perfection of the life-size figure by Design Coco, which has a reputation for 3D modeling. Beautiful long hair, white skin, long legs… A beautiful girl with an outstanding style is perfectly reproduced. Wearing real clothes is unusual, and the effect is conspicuous in various places, such as the texture of the shoulders that can be seen through the gaps in the straps.
Kodansha requested production from the company on August 6 last year. On the 31st, the costume was changed to cloth at the request of Mr. Miyajima. Then, on February 3 of this year, Mr. Miyajima himself attended, supervised the prototype, selected the materials for the costume, and delivered it on June 2.
The person in charge said, “When Mr. Miyajima said that he wanted to make the costumes that are usually integrated with the figures into realistic cloth, there was not enough time to deliver them, so I felt like I wanted to refuse. However, I am requesting production. When I consulted Design Coco, they replied that it was straightforward. Still, I was worried about whether or not they would be able to create a costume with the same design, pattern, and texture as the illustration in Volume 1 of the comic.
Thanks to Mr. Design Coco’s efforts, Mr. Miyajima showed me a cloth sample of the same costume as the illustration, and when I got the OK, I thought it was good that I was particular about it. We had no choice but to adjust the delivery date,” he recalled.
When it comes to putting on the clothes, “If it’s a normal mannequin, you can’t break the clothes, so it’s divided into parts such as arms, wrists, necks, and legs. You can see the joints here and there.” But, he explained, “Priority was given to the appearance of the figure, so I tried not to divide the parts of the figure as much as possible and used a method to fasten the costume with Velcro.”
Regarding the reputation after completion, “There were a lot of surprised voices, and we received a lot of reactions, mainly on Twitter, such as ‘It’s already real!’ Coupled with the recruitment of “photoshoot dates” that I received compliments (?), I think that more people than I imagined were aware of it. Many people have started reading the original work with this figure as a gateway. I am thrilled with it!” he continued.
Mr. Miyajima, who proposed producing a life-size figure as part of the promotion for the second season of the anime, seems very satisfied. “One of my long-cherished wishes since the beginning of the serialization, when I received the offer of a 1/1 Chizuru Mizuhara figure, I was overjoyed and asked for one thing. ‘Please make sure to remove your clothes.’ I am grateful to the production staff who said that they were motivated. I feel that I was able to do full-fledged adult pranks that are typical of ‘Kanokari.'”
