It’s been a couple of months since the last one so I think it’s a good time to take a look at some of the figures I’m thinking about preordering. Time is flying right by, it looks like a lot of figure makers have shown off their products through much of the first half of this year. Me, I’m still struggling with remembering to write 2011 instead of 2010.
March
Felicia Andress
Here’s an unusual figure from Yamato. Part of their Fantasy Figure Gallery line, it differs from the others in this series in that Felicia is apparently a modern-era spy rather than a blade-wielding woman in a chainmail bikini. Also, while the other figures are based off illustrations by well-known Western artists like Boris Vallejo and Luis Royo, Felicia is designed by Shungo Yazawa. Anyway, this is a bit of an odd-looking figure, with Felicia’s long body and doll-like face. And the rooted hair, which is definitely unusual. I’ve preordered it for obvious reasons and I’m looking forward to it.
Fate Testarossa from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
This list would not be complete without a Fate Testarossa figure, though this isn’t really a figure. Rather, it’s a doll by Azone; they’ve done a bunch of Fate dolls, including a large-size 50-centimeter one that I briefly considered buying, mainly because I thought it’d be funny to take off her clothes and put her in a bondage harness. I don’t have a good reason for considering this one, either; I’m mostly interested in her so I can pair her up with my Barack Obama doll to form a dynamic doll duo. I’m not sure if that reason is compelling enough, particularly since I’m not too enamored with Fate’s face here. We’ll see. I’m leaning against picking this one up but that’ll also depend on whether Good Smile Company’s actsta figures are large enough to run with the president.
April
Akira Midorikawa from Maid Bride
Based on an illustration by Kizuki Aruchu of well-known doujinshi and h-manga circle Udon-ya, I’m not too certain how good this figure is going to be. For one, it comes from Q-six, who do not have an impressive track record, and second I’m not sure the pose and overall look are all that appealing as a figure. In particular the panties look pretty bad, though they’re removable. On the other hand her backside is a bit saggy. The worst part of it is the 15k yen price, which is astounding. Yeah, it’s polystone, but I don’t see a big difference in quality between polystone and PVC, I only see a big difference in price. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be passing on this one but I’m still thinking about it.
Haruka Morishima from Amagami
I’m not too familiar with Amagami though I watched part of the first episode which was enough to like Haruka and her odd mannerisms. So I’m happy that she’s gotten a figure and even happier that she’s bent right over and giving you a solid view right up her ass. The product description says something about kissing the back of her knees or something but me, all I’m seeing is her ass. A lot of swimsuit figures – like Max Factory’s Shining Wind series – aren’t all that memorable … and yes, I do realize how desensitized you have to be to think that a cute girl in a swimsuit is boring, but nonetheless, Haruka puts a cool spin on a tired trope by inviting you to look at … to touch … well, to do something with her ass. I’ve got her preordered and I’m looking forward to having her ass on my shelf.
Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2
Speaking of unmemorable swimsuit figures … okay, this one doesn’t look that bad. And it’s 1/4 scale – God’s scale – which I’ll admit is one of the big reasons I’m even looking at it. If it were 1/8 scale I’d ignore it but any halfway-decent figure that’s done in 1/4 scale will get a chance from me. Looking at it, I like everything from the neck down; great body, sexy hips, and more than a hint of naughtiness. The problem is her face, which doesn’t look right to me. Now I don’t want to say that Tamaki looks like she ran a hundred-yard dash in a ninety-yard gym but her face is looking kinda flattened out. And of course, the simple fact that this is yet another Tamaki figure counts against her. With April looking like an expensive month (though I’m sure all these April releases are going to be delayed) I’m thinking I’m gonna pass on this one and hope she winds up in the discount pile.
May
Charlotte Yeager from Strike Witches
I haven’t gotten any of Alter’s Strike Witches figures which is a bit strange since I like cute girls, cute girls in panties, mecha musume, and I’m a World War II history buff. The big problem is that I really don’t like anime girls with animal ears and tails. Hate it, in fact. Dunno why but I do. On the other hand, I wouldn’t call that a strong conviction of mine – heck, I’m not a religious person in real life, why would I get religious about an anime trope? – so I’m thinking about picking up Charlotte. She looks pretty good, she’s got a cool gun, and being American I naturally cheer for Americans. Liberians. Whatever. Yeah, I’m thinking the Liberian girl might be a worthwhile pickup. Will she change my world? Probably not, I still wish she didn’t have the animal parts.
Cryska Barchenowa from Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
Here’s a bit of a surprise; I remember seeing her prototype in an issue of Hobby Japan but I didn’t know that it was going to be a PVC figure, let alone one from Alphamax. As a big fan of the Muv-Luv character designs, I’m really happy that she’s getting a figure, though I would’ve preferred one with her in her bodysuit, as Muv-Luv has the coolest bodysuit design in all of anime-style art. Despite knowing almost nothing about Total Eclipse, Cryska shows up in a lot of stuff I buy. That’s also kinda odd since as far as I can tell, the main characters of Total Eclipse are Japanese-American Yuuya Bridges and Japanese girl Yui Takamura, so it’s a bit odd to see this busty communist get a figure before them. Cryska’s looking pretty good so I’ve got her preordered.
Nymph from Sora no Otoshimono
This was the first figure of Nymph to be shown off in painted form. However, it looks like Nymph is going to be a popular girl in 2011 as Kotobukiya has also shown off their rendition and Grands will be following up their Ikaros with a Nymph figure that seems to be derived from an Atelier Sai model kit. I preordered this figure pretty quickly since I like the pose; what I just wrote about Haruka Morishima pretty much applies here. I’m less sure about the quality of this figure; actually, I’m expecting it to be pretty bad. I also wasn’t certain about her face since the promo shots kept her turned away from the camera, but Moeyo’s picture seems to show that it’s okay. It’s kinda blank and doesn’t have the cuter expression the artwork features but oh well, her ass still looks nice.
June
Houmei from Shining Wind
I’ve got this impression that Alter isn’t releasing as much stuff as they used to. I dunno if it’s just me or if their male figures are taking away from their female figures or something but this post covers about four months and only two Alter figures are going to show up in it. Anyway, Houmei looks pretty good and I’m probably going to preorder it. Man she’s expensive though. I can justify shelling out five-figure yen prices on a 1/8 scale figure like Dizzy since I’m a big Dizzy fan but I’m much more ambivalent about the Shining series of games for reasons I’ve written about elsewhere on this site. Still, it’s an Alter figure so I know it’s going to be pretty good. I wish she didn’t have that little hat, though, I don’t like it all that much. Trivia note: this is only the first second figure that Alter’s done that is based on a Tony Taka design.
Kaguya from Shining Wind
Man, it’s another Shining Wind figure. How many manufacturers have done figures of Shining characters? Max Factory and Kotobukiya of course, Wave, President Japan, and Orchid Seed have done some, and Yamato and Alter have their own versions upcoming. It must be really easy to license these figures. I guess it’s pretty easy to tell why Sega put in something called a MOE system into the gameplay of Shining Hearts. Anyway, Kaguya looks nice. Probably nice enough for me to preorder. I’m not digging her color scheme nearly as much as Maxima Enfield’s, though. Maxima’s got a very contrasty, eye-catching color scheme; by comparison, with her red, white, and blue clothes, pastel hair ribbons, and ankle bangles Kaguya looks kinda like a 1960s-era Vietnam War protester. Oh well. She’s cheap and still looks good.
Saber Lily from Fate/unlimited codes
Now here’s a figure I’m conflicted on. GSC has done the definitive Saber Lily but Gift’s version is sufficiently different enough to warrant a look. Her armor looks spectacular and I like her face a lot – it’s different, more mature, but still looks good. On the other hand, the pose isn’t all that interesting and I’ve just got this feeling that she fits the profile of a figure that is headed towards the bargain bin: popular character, lesser manufacturer, kinda unexciting overall appearance. But on the other hand, she has a lot of qualities that might make her sell out – she looks good, she’s a super popular character, and I don’t know if a smaller maker like Gift will do a large production run, especially since they seem to be affiliated with GSC, whom I’m sure do not want anybody impinging on their ability to chuck out nendoroids. What I’m really hoping for is for Volks to make a polystone version of Saber Lily which has much the same pose as Gift’s but is in a colossal 1/4 scale, making it far more appealing to me. And expensive. Them’s the breaks in this hobby.
Tsuneko from Maid Bride
I saw the garage kit version of this figure at one of last year’s Wonder Festivals, I think, and I thought that it’d be a good candidate for Daiki Kougyou to pick up. And to my pleasure they’ve done so. That’s two figures from Maid Bride and Orchid Seed will be doing another figure based on Kizuki Aruchu’s art, so it’s a good year for Udon-ya. To be frank, I’m not too thrilled with Tsuneko’s face here, and I’m not really sure you can see Kizuki’s style much but damn, that ass! You think I can turn that down? There’s no way I’m passing on that.
July
Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2
And … another Tamaki, this time from Daiki Kougyou. And yeah, she’s in a swimsuit. So not the most original figure, but it’s pretty cool how she’s washing off her tit. Though that’s gotta be cold. She seems to have a slightly different look than a lot of Tamakis, with a more compact body and sort of a vacant expression. I’m pretty sure I’m going to preorder this one. I’m really hoping that Daiki looks back at Diskvision and picks up their Elsa and Angelica figures, though. And I guess there’s no chance of them picking up Cobra Kai’s Fate T. Harlaown. It’s a good thing I picked up that prebuilt figure when I did.
On a side note, damn are the promo photos ugly. I mean, it’s bad enough that the pale blue background washes out the figure but look at all that JPEG artifacting in the photos. What is this, 1998?
August
Nana from Nana to Kaoru
Native’s last two figure announcements have been all kinds of WTF, being that they look much more like Kotobukiya figures than Native figures, but it’s good to see them getting back to the grown-up stuff. Nana doesn’t look castoff-able unlike most of their figures but her clothing is definitely more on the sexual side. In particular, there aren’t enough good-looking figures in bondagewear out there – more shame, that – so I’m happy to see her decked out in red or black strappy leather. I’m going to order this figure but the difficult thing is figuring out how I’m going to do that because it seems like the Tokyo Hunter guy has gone missing again. I hope he’s not dead or something because I’ve got Junko Hattori and Gotou Matabei ordered through him.
Houmei was not planned for me, but once I saw the promo pictures it became a must-buy. The details on it look pretty amazing, and the pose is unique…plus gotta love those eyes!
Saber Lily look pretty sweet, but there’s only so many Sabers one can buy that seem to mostly have the same style of pose. Guess I’m not enough of a fan or something, heh.
Was there any explanation behind Tokyo Hunter’s last “disappearance”? I remember you mentioned it before, but don’t think I ever saw anything on his site about it. I’ve ordered a couple times from him in the past (Volks Fate and Suzuka), but hearing about this makes me hesitant should I want to use his service in the future…
Yeah, Houmei really does look pretty. And very distinctive too. I’m pretty sure I’ll be preordering her, as I know there’ll be no issues with her technical quality.
I think that’s what’s bothering me so much about that Saber Lily; Volks is doing pretty much the same thing in a much larger size, and it also looks very much like the original Saber that Gift put out a couple years ago that almost everybody has already. It makes me appreciate Alter’s Saber Lily; I skipped that one since it was announced right around the same time as GSC’s, but I’ve grown to like the happy expression and strolling pose she has more now than I did back then.
Not that I know of; he was gone for a couple of weeks and then his website got a flurry of updates, if I remember right. I know he went to visit China a couple weeks ago for the Lunar New Year holiday. Uhh, I hope nothing happened to him there. I’m sure he’ll pop up again in the future; people have left some recent feedback on his eBay profile so hopefully he’s there and just busy with other things.
Ah, so you are considering the maid in the nappy then?
I saw Daiki’s Tamaki with shower a few days ago and thought you’d be after that… she is pretty cute, but as usual these days I’m a bit put off by certain views of her face; from some angles it just looks a bit too oval.
I have been tempted by several of the recent Shining Wind & Shining Hearts figures (are those 2 series related?) but have yet to commit to any except a reissue of Xecty. Still deciding on Maxima.
I have been considering Cryska (still undecided) and noticed Nana a few days ago… if she is not a cast off I think I’ll pass, the cost of using proxies is just too much on the whole.
I imagine anything Saber Lily related will sell out pretty damn quick, but I finally got off my arse and (late-)ordered Gotou Matabei a couple of weeks back so may well skip this one. Her face does appear almost like an old porcelain doll’s.
I did notice that Kaitendo has announced a new 1/4 scale Kanu. Unfortunately I bought their Miss Photogenic (stupid, stupid, stupid) and this is sculpted by the same guy… I will be skipping that!
Only other thing I may be interested in is one of Touhou’s Reimu Hakurei’s. Seem to be a glut of her figures on the market at the moment and am still considering either the Hobby Japan exclusive or one of the more accessible ones… all being well I should finally have another qualification shortly and a decent pay rise to accompany it… may need to celebrate somehow!
Yeah, I’m thinking about Akira, Maid Bride is a fun manga and Akira is a cute (though sorta taciturn) character. I like Udon-ya’s work in general so I’m happy to see people making figures out of his art. I think that price is too much of a deterrent, though.
I think they’re kinda related, though I’m not sure if they are explicitly linked. At least, the Shining games on the Genesis and Saturn didn’t have much of a link as I recall, besides interface style and similar musical themes and graphic style. I guess I can’t rag on the figures from Shining Wind/Tears/Hearts too much since I’m looking forward to the Blanc Neige figures we saw at Wonder Festival.
Matabei is looking great, she’s probably my fourth most-anticipated figure of this year thus far. That 1/4 scale Kanu is … hmm … well, when I was writing this post I originally wrote “any figure that’s done in 1/4 scale will get a chance from me” and when I was proofreading it, I changed that to “any halfway-decent figure” and that Kanu was one of the figures I thought justified that qualification. The odd thing is the guy who sculpted that figure and pretty much all of Kaitendoh’s stuff is the same guy who appears to have sculpted the big-breasted Max Factory Tamaki figure that I am so found of.
More money is good, you definitely should treat yourself to something nice to celebrate. I am not familiar in the least with Touhou other than knowing that they are bullet hell shooters and that there is a helluva lot of fan art of the characters, but Reimu looks pretty cute. And I’ve seen some pretty good porn of her on Danbooru. That may be an odd reason to buy a figure but the main reason I buy so many Fate Testarossa figures is because she has a ton of great porn out there. I don’t actually know very much about her otherwise.
Was trying not to grow attached to any of these figures, as I’m trying to pull away. But that is one glorious ass…
I had considered the Maid Bride figure, but was apprehensive for the same reasons you were: manufacturer and price. If it were done by Orchid Seed or something, I’d preorder it without a second thought. But as it stands, I’m going to hold out in the off chance it hits the bargain bin.
I really like the Haruka Morishima figure, despite not having any idea about the source material. Certainly the proper way to go about a swimsuit figure.
It is indeed! And yeah, I think 15k’s gonna be too much to pay for a figure from a manufacturer I don’t know much about. And since it looks like they have some affiliation with BEAT, that makes me even more apprehensive.
Yeah, I dunno much about Amagami either. Very cute character designs, though. High school romance anime isn’t really my thing but maybe I’ll go through some of the episodes if I have time.
Both of the Tamaki figures look great, and I was oh so tempted to preorder the 1/4 scale. Her face ruined it for me. I would have been completly won over if they did not flatten it so much and gave her a bit of a naughty look I think. The other Tamaki figures looks very interesting though. This is the first time I have ever seen it. Depending on the price point I may pick it up as well.
Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking as well. It’s too bad, her body is killer but the face is always the most important part of a figure to me. The other Tamaki is running around 10k yen … not cheap at all, but she looks pretty good and Daiki usually does a decent job with their larger figures.
Sadly theres been very little announced lately that got the fires burning…Although thats all gonna change when Lat Miku goes up this week obviously. :p
As for what you listed here…mmm…I’d say I like the Daiki Tama-nee figure the most even if her face is slightly off from certain angles, but everything really seems to have that “It’s nice BUT” factor this time round. :p
I’d agree with that, and I’d extend it to a lot of stuff that got shown off at Wonder Festival. I haven’t seen a whole lot recently that’s really set my balls on fire. It’d be nice if Alter or Daiki or someone announced a figure that we aren’t expecting … there’s only so many Tamakis and Fate Testarossas that I care to buy.
I am having the same problem with Maid Yome. Polystone is rather expensive a material for figures but from experiences only a few manufacturers can pull it off with exceptional quality and definitely Q-Six are not one of them. I got long time ago the polystone Saori Otakawa from them and it a poorly painted model indeed such to the point where I want to respray her and repaint her it is irritating me so much. Tsuneko on the other hand is gorgeous, I have her as a GK she is a very alluring figure that is for sure.
Ah, that’s unfortunate. I saw Q-six recently did a ninja girl figure whose name escapes me right now and while I liked the design, the painting looked kinda bad. And so did the sculpt. And, uhh, it had an amputated arm option which kinda freaked me out. I mean, I’m not too bothered by tentacle figures or anything but I don’t really like seeing bone and muscle fibers hanging out of someone’s arm.
The kit version of Tsuneko looks great. I’m really looking forward to her, it’s been way too long since I got a good bra-and-panties girl figure.
nice list 😉
I have two from it on order as well. This Harka figure was an instant get for me, because she has pretty and cute face, comes in a quite unusual pose and she looks damn hot in this tight black swimsuit *drool*
Charlotte is also a great a figures, she will be my first SW figure as well.The colorsetting on her looks great as well as her detailed face, in my opinion she has the coolest looking striker unit in the Strike Witches team. I only like fox ears and cat ears on anime girls, but I don’t mind the bunny ears on her 🙂
To me Plum’s Nymph looks a bit too slutty XD Well on the other hand Koto’s Nymph looks too innocent, but I prefer this Nymph and will probably buy her.
The showering Tamaki looks really nice, I like her face a lot, but looking at the price makes me sad ;(
Another figure from your list which I like a lot is Nana, she looks very cool in her outfit, nearly as cool as Risa in her sm dress ;D the red one also looks good. The face is also quite pretty, too bad she isn’t scaled 1/8, so I probably won’t get her, but she would look great on my desk I guess:)
Yeah, Charlotte’s striker unit caught my eye too, with the bold colors and shiny metal finish contrasting with her tan drab uniform blouse. I haven’t watched much of Strike Witches so I’m not sure what her personality is like, but I like how she looks all business here.
That is the exact reason I’ve ordered this version of Nymph XD She’s not my favorite character in the show but she’s pretty cute. Hopefully Grands or someone will make an Astraea as well. I could do without Chaos, though.
We need more figures in S&M dress. Hopefully Nana and bondage version Sonico are just the first of many to come.
There isn’t much screentime for Charlotte, well the facts I can remember is that she loves speed and to be hugged by Lucchini XD
Astrea is also a cool character, a figure of her would be good.
Haha I think Chaos looked just too stupid with her crazy yandere grin
What I want the most from this anime is still a Sohara figure.
Its not that I fell very aroused by girls in s&m dresses,but at least I think
It looks cool on some figures 😉
Haha, true indeed; I’m not a big fan of Chaos or the last half of Forte. A Sohara figure would be great; I wouldn’t mind one of Mikako in her yakuza kimono, either. Uranus Queen Ikaros could be pretty cool too, though I dunno if anyone but Alter could properly pull off something like that.
It does! It doesn’t look right on every character but it does turn heads.
As I was scrolling through the first thing that came to mind to say was… That’s an odd place to put a table. Followed shortly by ‘dat ass. Haruka was a fun character in Amagami and really started off the series quite well, though by the end of it she was far from my favourite. Ai, Tsukasa and Kaoru all topped her IMO. Of course, none of them seem to have netted themselves a figure like Haruka has. But I’ll hold out just incase.
How many Tamaki figures do you own now? I get the feeling she’s your favourite character. They should really stop producing figures of her. If they want to produce a figure from an Aquaplus property they should produce me a good Eruru/Aruru set.
Charlotte, the one Strike Witches figure I’ve ignored completely. Not really a fan of bunnygirls, less so large breasted ones. I think I almost agree with you though, removing the animal ears and tail might actually help this figure, perhaps it’s just the white doesn’t go well with the hair colour. I’m curious why they’ve skipped out on a Lucchini figure, she seemed like a popular character when the series was out originally. Personally I’m still partial to Sanya v Litvyak.
Houmei is win, except her price and now that hat. I didn’t notice the hair until you mentioned it and now I keep looking at it thinking what a stupid hat that is. Thanks a lot! Before you mentioned it all I saw was legs, feet, face, and nopan.
Another Tamaki? one every 4 months isn’t enough, you need two?! Hmm.. I suppose if Horos were pumped out as quick as Tamakis, I’d probably be doing the same thing as you. So, is there any context as to why she’d be washing off her tit? It just seems like a really random thing for a figure. I guess that makes it unique and somewhat more worthwhile than the above 1/4th scale Tamaki.
When I ordered my Native figure I did so through Hobby Fan, not sure how reliable or cost effective, but they were reliable with the one order I ever made with them. Perhaps they’ll have this figure? I think Toyslogic does orders like this, but not sure how reliably.
Yeah, I think I should watch this Amagami show sometime. Maybe I’ll bring in the files to work sometime or something. I know nothing at all about the other girls but enough people talk about the show that I figure I ought to give it a shot. One thing I like about Haruka is that she often seems to have this wide-eyed, psychotic look on her face, like she is jazzed up on some highly illegal stimulants. I’m not sure why I find that attractive but I do.
I have three Tamakis now. If love for a character were proportional to number of figures owned, then Asuka would be my favorite character. That’s sorta strange since I’m more of a Rei guy (I like the quiet girls) but I have six Asukas to five Reis, I think. And I’ve got four Fate Testarossas and four Meiya Mitsurugis, though that ought to have an asterisk since one’s technically a duplicate. I also have four Sabers if Saber and Saber Lily are the same person or entity, and I don’t actually know if they are or not.
Yeah, I thought Lucchini would be one of the first ones they’d put out; she seems to be a fan favorite and has a lot of physical characteristics that let her stand out in the cast. I wonder how many of these they’ll make? At the pace they’re going, it’s gonna be years before they get all the major characters done.
I can’t stop looking at Houmei’s hat. It looks like a teacup or something and every time I see her, I have to wonder why she’s balancing a teacup on her head. Is her wry smile due to her apparent adroitness at balancing porcelain on her noggin?
I guess that Tamaki figure was based off of some artwork though I am not sure why she is cleaning off her tit and only her tit. It could be something completely innocent or maybe it’s some kinky fetish she has. It makes her more attractive, I think.
Yeah, I might have to go with one of those two. I went with Toyslogic for MegaHouse’s pantsless Yagyu Jubei and they came through fine, so if Tokyo Hunter doesn’t respond and if I don’t roll with a different proxy service, I think I’ll still be able to pick Nana up without too much worry.
Amagami wasn’t bad, the way they split it up was pretty decent. Allowed him to win each girl.
I think if numbers indicate anything, Horo’s still my fav, but Asuka and Saber are slowly catching up I think. I’ll happily consider Saber and Saber Lily one in the same, it’s far easier that way and they resemble eachother too much to be different characters.
I suppose Amiami propositioned a Lucchini figure. But I’d like to see Alter or Kotobukiay take their hand at it. Preferably Alter with Kotobukiya’s mentality though. Crotch in your face Sanya was more amusing than Alter’s better produced figure.
The other nice thing about each girl having a self-contained storyline is it makes it easier to decide to drop the show should the male lead be too much of a spineless simp. Instead of hoping things’ll get better, I can just watch Haruka’s arc and make that determination much more quickly.
Hmm, now that I think about it, I have five Senhimes and she actually is one of my favorite characters (along with Psylocke and Dizzy). The thing is, three of them are the same figure – one’s an E2046 recast and two are authentic Volks products, one of which is slightly damaged so I bought another to replace it. Maybe that’s a stronger expression of my love for this character than numbers alone.
Yeah, I liked Kotobukiya’s pose for their Sanya figure. Strike Witches is not the franchise to be treated with sensitivity; if and when Alter gets around to Francesca, I hope the stripes are right there for the world to see.
i’m planning on getting Nana from Nana to Kaoru, but my mind is bit doubtful lately, i just wish NATIVE could put some effort work on some dynamic pose rather than typical stereotype standing pose which kinda gives me reminiscent of some KOTOBUKIYA works. I just wish some figuremakers in Japan explore some sense of dynamicism in there figure.Geez!!!
You know what I wish Native would do? I really wish they’d do another tentacle figure. They’ve done one already (which I kinda regret not getting) so they’ve got no problem with tentacle figures; I bet they could do an absolutely epic one.
I believe Hou Mei is not the first Alter figure to feature a Tony Taka design.
The first would be Shining Wind Clalaclan Philias Armor Ver. Complete Figure[Alter] http://www.amiami.jp/shop/?set=english&vgForm=ProductInfo&sku=FIG-MOE-1700&template=default/product/e_display.html
If you ask me she is one of the most underrated figures as she was in the bargain bin for a while. I have one and boy is she detailed and heavy!
Oops. you are right. I was just thinking about that figure a couple of weeks ago too, while looking at all the Shining Wind/Tears/Hearts figures that got shown off at Wonder Festival. She does indeed look great and strangely, there aren’t a lot of reviews of her out there; that’s particularly odd since she’s an Alter figure. Thanks very much for the correction.
While I love the concept of a swimsuit figure where she’s rinsing salt off her boob, I cannot justify getting a 3rd Tamaki! Oh but the uniqueness factor is calling me. It really is.
I freaking hate animal ears on cute girls, but damn Strike Witches really loads up on the other factors to make me okay with it. 🙂 Wasn’t expecting Charlotte to be one of the girls released by Alter, but I’m happy since Charlotte is my favorite of the witches.
As far as Native is concerned…I’m wondering what’s going on there. I thought the stuff they released up to and including Shoujo-S was awesome. Everything since, I don’t like, even that Ishikei based chic in the tub looks off to me.
I’ve finally sound somebody who shares my distaste for animal ears! With all the anime girls sporting cat ears and dog ears and bunny ears, I was thinking maybe I was just some weirdo with no taste. I need to finish watching that show, since I don’t think there’s any risk of me deciding that I dislike it halfway through the series – unlike, say, Beck, or Fate/stay night.
Yeah, I was hoping Native would keep up their trend of making high-quality ero figures. The two they announced a month or so ago – I don’t even know their names – were really odd. I like Chie and Nana, but it seems like they peaked with Collet and Kotone. Hopefully they get back on the ball and hopefully they make another tentacle figure.
Daiki’s Tamaki looks better every time I look at it. She looks like she’s thinking about something while she cleans herself but I’m not exactly sure what that might be.
I have to say that I am a little disappointed in you Tier. How could you overlook such an obvious candidate for “figure of the year” as this?
Don’t you like fat drag queens or something? Shame on you!
To be honest, there seem to be fewer great figures coming out at the moment (though I’m sure that will change when I get to see some of the more eclectic offerings).
Still, think you may have missed a trick on this one!
That figure renders me speechless. I really don’t know what to say about it. Just … wow.
Okay, I can say something in its defense, it’s not the worst scale-size figure I’ve seen (that would be this famous Melona) but man … there’s a lot you could say about what’s wrong with that figure if you can get over the initial shock of seeing it.
Yeah, there’s a lot of nice stuff but not a lot of great stuff. Hopefully we’ll see some surprises in the near future.
I rather liked the original art for the maid bride figures but the figures themselves left me really cold. Tsunekko is the better of the 2 tho. Not really surprised that maid bride got picked up for figure releases, especially not after honey blonde and Brandish! Besides, Maid bride was apparently the most popular eromanga from last year! Think I read that from YQII.
I’m also a little tempted to go for the red Nana. Nana to Kaoru is actually a funny read!
And don’t worry about Tokyo Hunter. He’s still around. I got 3 WF items from him and they just got shipped. He’s just kinda bogged down right now cos he’s working on a bunch of stuff. Once that’s out of the way, it should be BAU.
Also, Haruka is AWESOME!!!
Yeah, Tsuneko isn’t perfect and Akira is less so. Tsuneko’s face could use some re-working but I like the rest of her body. I hope Orchid Seed does a good job with the blonde game-playing girl. It’d be really cute if they included her love doll too.
I liked Nana to Kaoru as well, or the part I read, anyway. I think I got mixed up when the title changed or something.
Ah, that’s good to hear. Hopefully he responds to my e-mail soon. Hopefully he’s less busy whenever Junko arrives.
I will have to take your word for that, other people seem to like the other girls better. Most curious, and now I really am curious about all these characters I hear so much about but know nothing of. At least nobody has said that the male protagonist is an ineffectual jellyfish, that is promising.
Nah I wouldn’t call him that…He sometimes has bouts of stupidity during certain arcs, but in general he’s rather normal and a bit of a perv at times, which is always more enjoyable then the “OMG NAKED GIRLS WAAAAH MUST AVERT EYES!” sort…
Ah, well that’s promising. One of the things that really annoyed me in Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls was what a gimp the male lead was whenever he encountered tit. The Seikon no Qwaser approach to tit is much, much better than that approach.
It’s funny how so many of Tamaki’s figures make her look so submissive, which is a stark contrast to her actual queen-bitch personality in ToHeart2. Not that I’m complaining since I absolutely love sexy and submissive women.
Yeah, I hear she’s the alpha female of the To Heart 2 cast but I’ve only seen maybe two or three figures of her where she looks like she’s in control. Kyou Fujibayashi kinda seems to be in the same boat. I guess maybe the figure makers just like seeing a fiery redhead on her knees or something.
A late entry for consideration, also from AlphaMax. She looks pretty good and seems to have the flexy clothing which seems to be the latest gimmick.
Have to say that I have reservations though… it looks like the figure designers forgot to give her a nose (and I’m not a great fan of that mouth either).
Man, just a week after I put up this post there’s like a half-dozen more figures I’m considering: Alter’s cheap Saber and Rin, the two gothic lolita figures from Questioners, Jubei, Volks’s Sasara bunny-eared paladin. Nice sideboob on Jubei. I kinda thought Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls was gonna be an Alter and Hobby Japan thing but it looks like everyone’s getting that license. Yeah, I’d agree with that, her lower face structure looks a bit odd.
That reminds me that I gotta take MegaHouse’s Jubei out of her box and get her photographed already. Maybe after Kyou.
Hmmm…. well I suppose you could always delete this thread and post a revised preorder outlook with all the new things and the best of the old… preorder outlook ix (mark ii)
Nah, I’ll just save them for another post a month or two down the line. Doubtless I’ll be looking for material to put together a filler post by around then, the way stuff is getting delayed.
That is quite the preorder list there.
I like the Tsuneko Maid Bride and Cryska Muv-Luv. Looking forward to your review of them. 😀
Hmmm..Nana looks kinda confused as in “Why am I wearing this?” but she does looks cute.
Are you still getting the Alter Dizzy?
And do you know of Diabolus Inclinatus?
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10126781
The most recent Hobby Japan showed some pictures of Yui Takamura from Total Eclipse so I’m looking forward to that figure as well. It’s nice to see Muv-Luv get more PVC love though I’d like to see them wearing their pilot suits rather than their underwear.
Yeah, I’m definitely getting Dizzy, she’s the most anticipated figure on the list. I do remember seeing the Diabolus figure as well, and I remember hearing there was some mishap with her castoff option. I never got it though, since I was going to wait and see how Kagari turned out and preorders for the demon girl closed before Kagari shipped. She’s a good-looking figure, I kinda regret passing on her … I wonder if anybody has her in stock still?
Yeah funny story about Diabolus Inclinatus. Seems the factory mistook the instruction (or they are prude or something) and glued her top on.
Good for Embrace Japan to recall all shipment and give a free fixed one even to those that already gotten it.
The fixed one is arriving in March. I’m trying to get that one and hope it’s good. 🙂
I see that the revised version has hit stores in Japan. Maybe I’ll look into picking her up if any of the usual online retailers get her in stock.
Can’t say I have ever used E2046… but you might be vaguely interested in this!
I’m not sure if it’s the lighting, the backgrounds or a new colour scheme… but Amiami keeps issuing new promos for characters which always seem to look worse than the original shots takeMaxima and Kriska.
They keep doing it and I keep changing my mind on whether I like the figures or not. Alphamax’s Sonico was another obvious one. Thought she was amazing… til they changed the shots
Am still very conflicted over Daiki’s Gothic Shimei Ryomou. Love the character (Manga only) but can’t decide if I like the figure or not… it’s certainly not bad from the promos.
With delays I currently have 6 figures on pre-order (2 paid for). Hope Tokyo Hunter reappears soon or I’ll miss the deadline for ordering Reimu… can feel another SMJ trip coming on if so…
Yeah, I’m hoping Daiki picks up that figure, and Elsa too. They’ve done a few figures from Diskvision, and Yamato’s done at well, so I’m cautiously optimistic someone will do a PVC version of Angelica.
I still like Cryska but yeah, they coulda dialed down the lighting on Maxima, there’s so much light coming off her head that her hair looks like it’s turning gray. I’m not too worried about her quality though, since Kotobukiya’s already done a billion Shining Wind figures. The only thing I’m worried about is whether she’ll be tiny; I’ve got their old Blanc Neige figure and she is really small for 1/8 scale.
Yeah, I like that they made a Ryomou that actually looks very unique, but I don’t think I dig her haircut all that much. It kinda reminds me of the Vulcan Starfleet officer in Star Trek VI. I’d seriously think about picking it up if it hit the bargain bin, though.
Tokyo Hunter is around, I got my order in for Nana recently. He’s revamping his website and ordering system, so I guess he’s pretty busy. You might want to just go through a different proxy if that deadline is coming up really soon.
I’m looking forward to your review of 1/4 scale Saber.
I know how impressed you are by Volk’s garage kits and also how much you like this scale… so this must be a no-brainer right? And the release date is less than a week away.
Better get ordering Tier!
http://tokyo-hunter.com/category/figures/resin-kits/product/14-saber-lily-resin-kit
P.S. I don’t have that kind of money!
That review is so delayed … I came up with some ideas for photographing her a year and a half ago, when her preorder opened up, but I’m too lazy to put it together.
That would indeed be a no-brainer, except I have no ability to paint or assemble a model kit. What I’m kinda hoping for is that Volks does a polystone version of it sometime down the line; they’ve done that with a number of their 1/4 scale figures. Though I’d like one of Chorosuke’s Mai Shiranui above all.
Uuugh. 48,000yen and unpainted? What’s it made of? Platinum?
Assumed she was a prepainted garage kit…
Didn’t you get Volk’s 1/4 Kos Mos though… so if they don’t issue one, E2046? Or do you have a bit of history with them? I noted that you used to have a link to their website here.
Yep, unpainted and unassembled … model kits are expensive as hell. I do plan on giving model building a shot one of these days; an airbrush and compressor has been on my buy list for a couple of years now.
Yeah, I’ve got the E2046 recast KOS-MOS; E2046 is also doing a recast of 1/4 scale Saber, but I’m looking at their ORI one instead. It’s hilarious and awesome. It makes you wonder what exactly they were thinking when they came up with the idea.