It’s the end of the month and that means it is time to look at some figures that I am thinking about ordering. This past month’s Wonder Festival saw many great figures make their public debuts, and though not many of them have shown up at retail websites yet, there’s still a lot of nice stuff that is now available for preorder. Let’s take a look at a few of those figures.
April
Nymph from Sora no Otoshimono
One of Plum’s very first figures was a rendition of Nymph. It was one of the earliest Sora no Otoshimono figures to be released, which gave it some additional appeal, but looking at it now, it leaves quite a bit to be desired. Plum’s second Nymph figure (curious that they’ve chucked out two Nymphs but no Ikaroses) looks a huge deal better. She’s depicted in a similar bent-over pose which enhances her obvious qualities (also curious, being that Nymph seems best-known for her jailbait loli appeal rather than having a sexy rear). It’s already a great looking figure but Plum sweetens the deal by making her in 1/6 scale; she’s listed as 29 centimeters tall, which I’m sure includes the outstretched arm but even so, she looks like she’s going to be pretty big. I’d probably say Nymph is my least-favorite female character in Sora no Otoshimono (which, of course, is not the same thing as disliking her) but despite that, I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting this figure.
May
Sean Ari from Bastard!!
The third figure from Bastard!! by FREEing, Sean’s offers the same type of specific appeal as Nymph, though she can’t make any pretense of innocence as Nymph can. That’s fine with me, of course, and being that I’m not that familiar with the manga or its various adaptations, I’m pretty much judging this figure by its looks, and I surely do like what I see. I’m leaning pretty heavily towards getting this figure, even though I forgot to order Ashes Nei before her preorders closed up everywhere. (I’d be even more inclined to get this figure if her clothes are removable; they look kinda like they are, but there’s no confirmation that a castoff feature is implemented here.)
Sena Kashiwazaki from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Next
Sena seems to be the fan favorite of Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai – it’s either her or Kobato, I think – and fittingly, she’s gotten a bunch of figures over the last half year or so. This one comes from the second season of Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, which I haven’t yet watched. This outfit definitely piques my curiosity, though, and I love how the front part of her loincloth is opaque and the rear part is transparent. Unfortunately, I really don’t like her skinny neck, and being that it’s listed as only being 17 centimeters tall, I think that for now, I’m going to be sticking with the one Sena figure that I own.
Asuka Langley Shikinami from Neon Genesis Evangelion
After a spate of figures featuring Asuka in her test plugsuit, Kotobukiya is going back to her classic look, albeit with an eyepatch. It’s nice that they’re doing so, since after this figure, I’m thinking that most companies will be making figures of the Evangelion characters in their new plugsuits. Me, I think the original plugsuit look is by far the best, and Kotobukiya’s done a great job giving Asuka some attitude here, too. They’ve made a number of Evangelion figures already and they all seem to be pretty good; I’m expecting Asuka to be as good as her predecessors.
She seems to be sold out at Amiami and Hobby Search already, but US customers can order her over at BBTS and other domestic stores.
Erika from Diskvision
When I wrote the Elsa post, I mentioned that I was hoping that Daiki Kougyou (or Dragon Toy) would make more PVC figures from Diskvision’s sculpts. In particular, I would like to see a figure of Angelica, but I specifically didn’t mention Erika. However, she’s going to be the next Diskvision figure to be mass-produced, but I’m not sure that I’m going to get her. She’s got a very tall, stretched-out look, which works okay for a figure like Katanako, but looks strange on a figure with a relatively realistic body build. I’m probably going to skip this one and continue to hope that Angelica gets a figure.
Nanoha Takamachi from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Alter is making this figure of Nanoha, presumably to go with their figure of Fate, which was released well over a year ago. As I already have a very similar-looking figure, I don’t think I’m going to get this Nanoha, but I thought it was interesting that Alter’s 1/7 scale figure is listed as 24 centimeters tall, just four centimeters shorter than Gift’s 1/4 figure (admittedly, the base counts for a centimeter or two on the Alter figure). And it’s about 60% of the price. If I didn’t have either, I know which one I would get.
Aozaki Touko from Mahoutsukai no Yoru
This is the second figure of Touko from Alter, the first being this one, which came out back in 2009. I thought about getting that figure back when it was released, but passed on it because I despise cigarettes and cigarette smokers. I know very little about either Kara no Kyoukai nor Mahoutsukai no Yoru, other than that the latter has at least one really cool doujinshi (a suggestion: do not click on that link if you are in a public space). This figure looks pretty nice, though, and it’s nice to see Alter making a figure of a visual novel character. I might get this one, though I’m on the fence, and I might need to do some research on the character to solidify my opinion (I’m certain there are a number of Type-Moon fanatics out there who can offer some insight on the character and the game).
Saber from Fate/stay night
Saber! What a great character. She is dignified, beautiful, powerful, and faithful – the very epitome of a strong female warrior. Furthermore, she’s also a rare instance of a successful female character whose sex appeal is almost always deemphasized in favor of her personality and abilities. However, in spite of all that, she’s also a main character in a porno game, in which she is depicted as completely reliant on (and literally subservient to) one of the most tiresome and annoying male wankers to ever appear in a video game. And despite normally being presented as strong, aloof, and elegant, her appearance is readily adaptable to commercial requirements. Need an evil Saber? Done! Need a slutty Saber with big tits and with her asscrack hanging out of a hole in her skirt? You got it! * Need a girly mascot for your company’s tenth anniversary? Here you go! Okay, moving past the editorial, Saber looks pretty good – more girly than I would like, though, I’d like this figure more if she kept her sword – and she’s 1/7 scale, which matches most of Good Smile Company’s Fate/stay night figures. I was recently thinking very hard about buying the Banpresto Saber which wears this same outfit, so I should probably consider this release to be serendipitous.
Manami Ichijou from Menkui!
Apart from a curious and short-lived ban on foreign sales at Amiami, Orchid Seed has been fairly quiet the last year. They’ve rolled out a bunch of re-releases (to be fair, so has everyone else) and for a while, it seemed like their most exciting product developments were the artwork they kept showing at Wonder Festival conventions. But finally, we’re seeing some of those figures come to market. I’ve had my eye on this figure for a while, being that I like the source artwork, but I’m not sure I like the figure so much. Something about her thighs and the way they connect to the trunk of her body looks kinda off to me. Not sure if it’s just me or not; if you want to decide for yourself, there’s a sample review over on Akibahobby.
Miku Hatsune from Vocaloid
Being that every high-profile Good Smile Company figure invariably hits the bargain bin, if I were inclined to get this figure, I think I’d wait for the inevitable discount.
Yui Takamura from Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse
There just aren’t enough figures of the Total Eclipse characters in swimwear so Hobby Japan is stepping in to fill the void with their own offering. Unfortunately, it’s a Japan-exclusive, as all of Hobby Japan’s stuff is, but there are ways around that. It’s a cute figure with a lot of personality, and I might have gotten it if it were available through normal retail channels. I still might get it, if I can find it at a reasonable price, but otherwise, I’m not sure if it is worth it.
This variation of Asuka is finally striking me as perhaps interesting enough to get… maybe… Just waiting for the right one to come along. It’s such a gamble with EVA since you know there’s going to be more.
True indeed; the Evangelion merchandise machine is never going to stop, I think. I think this one is a pretty good one to get, though, unless you prefer her new plugsuit and the big floppy hat she seems to wear with it; I’m expecting to see some figures of her in that outfit very shortly.
I just got my monster hunter Sena a few days ago, so I won’t be ordering this new one. Though I’m sure Griffon will give her a smaller base; http://myfigurecollection.net/picture/644348&ref=user%3AAsako is pretty stupid.
I’m vaguely interested in the Touko, though not sure of sources other than KnK, in which she played a relatively minor role. Also been tempted by the Nymph, but resisting because I already have one, and I’d rather get an Ikaros and Astraea before more Nymphs.
It does look to be another good year for collectors, though. Even if I’m cutting back my spending significantly as I am pretty much out of display space. I’ll be picking up a few more figures I have not yet planned for, I’m sure.
Ahh, Christ, I just realized I forgot to include the new Fault!! girl in the list. I guess I’ll write about her in next month’s edition.
I didn’t get Sena, mainly since I have this thing about Griffon, but she looks like she turned out great and I’ve been checking Mandarake for her. It’s hilarious that they’re still using that enormous oval base with the nameplate, though. I have no idea what their infatuation is with that base design; maybe they got a supply of those bases really cheap from some wholesaler or something.
I’m a bit bummed that the other Sora no Otoshimono girls don’t seem to be too popular as figure subjects; I’d like to see more figures of Astraea and Ikaros, but I’d also like to see at least one of Mikako and Sohara; I think Mikako in her gangster kimono could make for a really cool figure.
I was pretty happy to see all the stuff at Wonder Festival; the previous few Wonder Festivals seemed a bit weak in comparison, but I saw lots of stuff that looks great. Though Alter’s catalog didn’t impress me as much as I had hoped that it would. That’s a bit depressing since they’ve been my favorite figure manufacturer pretty much since I got their first KOS-MOS figure.
No pun intended but I would’ve liked to see a bit more meat on the second Sena offering from Griffon. In their defense though, at least this figure and the recently released sword-wielding one actually do resemble Sena Kashiwazaki quite a bit. Dig the outfit and clever use of transparency too.
Everything I liked about Elsa is sadly gone with Erika. Don’t care for the pose at all, especially the position of the right arm and hand as well as the pose of the left hand. Angelica is a different story but I’ll reserve judgement for her when and if she goes up for pre-order as a PVC figure.
Despite T&A making the world economy go round I do feel that Orchid Seed messed up Manami which is an impressive feat with that awesome artwork to go along with it. The face and intended drink spill seen in the illustration do deliver a sense of playfulness and tease that Orchid Seed simply failed to recreate. Even if I could look past the lifeless facial expression or the tacky red fishnet like thing she’s wearing, the thing that bothers me the most is actually the direction of the liquid which in the figure version won’t even hit the intended area that gave the original artwork that little extra. One could go on with the thigh issue you mentioned but I guess my picky meter is already through the roof.
To put an end to the never-ending ranting my favorite of the bunch presented in this post is by far Aozaki Touko. Great sculpt, pose and coloring plus shading; the green coat in particular. She may appear a tad plain but without execution figures are nothing and in that regard Alter did a commendable job.
Yeah, Erika has a lot of problems. She looks like she’s hiding stilts under her socks, too. Though maybe it’s just that I’m intimidated by tall women.
I’d agree about Manami, too; something really seems to have gone awry with the sculpting process. You know, I didn’t check, but looking at her legs again, I am suddenly reminded of their Super Sonico figure, and I wonder if they are sculpted by the same person (After checking, it looks like they were sculpted by different people, though Manami’s sculptor goes by a pseudonym.) Hopefully their other figures turn out better; I’ve been looking forward to that one Toshihide Sano figure for a long time now.
Ha, you know, I was gonna rag on that olive green coat but then again, my wardrobe is almost entirely black, white, or blue, so what do I know about fashion. I agree, Alter definitely knows how to put a figure together. Touko definitely has that sexy, confident vibe going on. (She has a great pose, too, with a lot of attention to the subtle details. Scrolling down this post, I’m looking at Yui and thinking, “What’s she supposed to be doing?”)
Nymph and Miku are cute no doubt. Don’t think I’d mind owning them, though World is Mine and Append are still my favs. Deep down, I want something out of Bacterial Contamination, though I doubt it will ever get an official release.
Saber…her happy in that dress just…throws me off. That’s the dress that Caster more or less raped her in during UBW wasn’t it? I want a Saber figure. I just…I can’t. Not her. I’ll just wait for another nice Saber Alter in lolita.
On an aside…now that I’ve popped my figure cherry (Al Azif of Demonbane by Beat) I want more. I always favored something I could pose how I want, but there’s just something about a nice sculpt without joint lines. I get it now.
I must admit I have no idea what Bacterial Contamination is, although if it means Miku is covered in gangrenous fissures, I think that’d be really cool. Not as cool as the Calcium variant, though.
Now that you mention it, Saber’s dresses do look very much alike, though I think they are not the same thing (if I remember right, Saber’s dress in Unlimited Blade Works was longer. But even a nominal connection between that scene and this Saber makes Alter’s figure even more appealing.
Man, your first figure is by Beat? That’s sorta like one’s first taste of southern barbeque being a McRib. But regardless, it is great that you are getting into this hobby! I like poseable figures too but I so seldom actually play with them that the lack of joints on PVC figures isn’t a drawback for me (moreso because when I do pose my dolls and Figmas, the poses tend to look pretty dumb).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00AY23ooFNc Bacterial Contamination MV. She does look a lot like Calcium variant so it might be the same variant, or a variant of. She has a lot of freaking variants.
I could get into a SN Rider figure with that sort of mindset. I mean, who couldn’t. My favorite scene with ‘good’ Saber was the bonus/shower in HA. Saber Alter, in anything bondage related, would be a different question.
I like the loli version of her more than the mature one Orchid Seed (?) put out. Sure, there’s a few issues (some white spotting on the face, under the hair…most likely from the adhesive) but you don’t notice them once you’re a foot or so away. The mirror base, pearlesque shine to the dress, and translucent hair are nice too. Over all, more than worth the $50 (nib) I got her for. The grimores were my favorite girls in the VN, particularly Al and Etheldreda.
I’m constantly fiddling with the two Ianeira shinki’s sitting on my computer now. For the longest I thought about getting the Al Azif and Etheldreda MDDs, but their faces just…don’t do it. I’ve got a set of gashpon from the series coming too that I’m tracking like a hawk.
I was thinking about Saber and Manami aswell ;D especially Saber since i liked her in anime.
did you see preorder on amiami on Celia from Walkure Romanze ? i wasn’t familiar whit character but really liked figure so i left my preorder on that one.
I did! Yeah, I don’t plan on getting that figure right now, though I could maybe possibly change my mind down the line, especially if she goes into the bargain bin like a lot of Daiki Kougyou figures do. I really like the figure but I wish her head were larger.
Asuka looks fantastic, she has a nice rear view and is already sold-out at japanese websites. That shiny red is so sexy. I don’t like Sena, the neck and bra straps look strange, but the overall outfit is great, it´s from a great scene from the anime.
Asuka looks really great; I’m also glad that she’s 1/6 scale rather than the 1/7 scale of some of their more recent Evangelion girl figures. I was a bit bummed out that those figures were smaller, since their first batch of Evangelion movie figures were 1/6 scale, if I remember right. Yeah, I agree about Sena, I didn’t notice the straps at first but looking at them again, I’m not sure why they are crooked like that. Maybe they’re supposed to be glued to her skin or something, I guess.
The Banpresto Saber figure (personally at least) looked horrendous. Heck, all of the Mahou Tsukai no Yoru figures by Banpresto all looked… off… In that regard Alter’s Saber attempt looks far superior. Though still not something I’d consider. As you said, Saber ain’t Saber without them swords.
The Racing Miku. I know that the 2011 variant can be bought, brand new, on Amazon Japan for 4000 yen. She’s been hitting bargain bins everywhere because of bad QC by GSC (rumour has it GSC changed factories and Racing 2011 was the first figure after that change). I also recall Hobby Search selling her off for 3500 yen in their bargain sale a few weeks back, and kinda regretting I passed; just holding out for AmiAmi to give 2011 another price cut and go from there.
As for Racing 2012. I don’t know. I told myself that I’d avoid GSC stuff for at least a year till they sort their QC issues out (Racing 2011 being GSC’s low point, as well as that Snow Miku 2012 fiasco). But yeah. I think your stance that it’ll hit the bargain bin relatively quickly is spot on. A lot of high-profile GSC figures (notably GSC’s large, angelic-purple Madoka figure) is still in stock pretty much everywhere (Hobby Search sent her to the bargain bin once a month back). Triumphant Saber is still in stock in most places as well after that re-release, due for bargain binning…
Yeah, it doesn’t look that great; I kinda like it but it would strictly have been one of those there’s-no-better-option sort of deals (kinda like Wave’s Horizon Ariadust figure). I do like that the Banpresto figure has the sword; I really wish Alter had included the sword, Saber looks wrong without it, and the contrast between her nice girly dress and a broadsword would’ve looked great. (That said, if Alter won’t let me have my wildly conflicting visual juxtaposition, maybe I’ll come up with my own when I set the figure up for photographs.)
I have Racing Miku 2011 here still waiting for long-delayed review; I kinda wish I’d just waited for her discount. I skimmed over some of the comments made about her and saw some people mentioning QC problems, but I didn’t follow up on them; I really don’t like reading other people’s opinions before I review a figure, since my opinion would probably be affected. I’m not sure what the nature of the problem was but if it isn’t obvious to me, I’m not going to make a big deal of it.
I forgot about their new Black Rock Shooter figure, which looks nice, but I think that’s one of those figures I’ll wait for the discount for. And I’m still waiting for them to make that Snoop Dogg/Lion figure; it’s a great disappointment that they haven’t followed up on that yet.
Despite the skinny neck, I was all set to plunk down some money on Sena, but 17 centimeters tall?! Is she a prize figure?!
I was surprised to see that too; though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Way back in the day, they made a figure of Ryomou Shimei that I was really looking forward to, being that it was listed as 1/6 scale, but when I got it, it was barely 1/8 scale. Very disappointing.
Out of these I got Asuka and Manami Ichijou. I really don’t need any more Asuka figures, but at the same time, I totally do.
Skipped the Alter stuff. They’ve been boring the shit out of me lately. They need more ambition in their designs. Good Smile has far surpassed them IMO in terms of making stuff I actually want. Their Shinkai Shoujo Miku figure shown at WonFes just looks incredible. I haven’t seen Alter trying anything that elaborate for a while.
Yeah, it’s curious how unimpressive Alter’s figures have been as of late. Not only are their sculpts not as ambitious not as one is used to, they’ve picked some boring-ass characters to make figures of. Personally, I liked it better back when they made bunches of characters from eroge; there are a lot of really great character designs from eroge.
Feel like GSC fall under the same issue for me. Vocaloids vocaloids and more vocal kids or whatever is massively popular at the moment. There are less and less surprises from every year of wonfes. I get the impression companies are playing more safe and less likely to target niche eroge characters with their releases.
Yeah, it’s pretty unfortunate, though I can see why they’d do that, as I’m guessing a Miku figure might sell better than some character from a random eroge. Though then again, I wonder if Miku fatigue has settled in yet, and there are a lot of figure that have sold pretty well despite many collectors not knowing anything about the character (like Alter’s Momohime and Dizzy, or all those Ignis figures that came out a few years back). Still disappointing, though.
That Kazuno ( http://myfigurecollection.net/item/117998 ) , I believe, is Alter trying to appease the growing masses voicing the same opinion as you. As of right now, I feel you and the masses have a point….
I don’t know where the the anime clichee that loli’s have sexy butts came from.
Anyway this Nymph looks totally adorable in her swimsuit and the energetic pose.
Hopefully she will be more piggy pink than in the promo shots.
This is GK’s aside my favorite Sena figure, she looks so cute in her dress and the big smile.
Afaik It’s from the OVA where they write short storys, Yozora let Sena being raped by a pig demon.It was not explicit but really hilarious XD Well, but why is this figure from Griffon, I hate that.
The new Asuka looks great, but I don’t like the angle of her neck, looking upwards is always a bit hard to display. Haha ALTER steals from Gift, Is this really necessary? At least the scale is more convenient.
Oh yeah Aozaki Touko has a very nice mature look, I hope there will be a few more details in her face Compared to her outfit it appears a little blank, even though there are glasses. I have to see more pictures before I do purchase her.
For someone who doesn’t feel much for the original Saber, the more feminie look is very appealing to me, the dress is sweet and Saber has a happy face, she looks great.
The Manami Ichijou looks so different compared to other figures from Orchid Seed, if I didn’t knew it I would say she’s not from Orchid Seed ^^. I still think she’s quite sexy and her eyes are just beautiful. Maybe I’ll get her later with discount or not.
I like hyperactive Miku, she looks like she is on funny drugs, very cute ^o^
The drab skin tone was concerning to me, too. I think Hobby Search has some additional pictures that shows her with less of a corpse-like pallor. Very odd that her backside is so emphasized, even with the source artwork, but with this figure and with FREEing’s big Kuroko figure, it’s a trend that I like very much.
Ah, I did not even know that there is a Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai OVA; I had been hoping that they would animate the relay novel scene and it sounds like they did. Yeah, I still have this thing against Griffon, too. Plus I cannot understand why they are still using the huge oval black bases for almost every figure they make.
I was expecting Alter to make a swimsuit figure of loli Nanoha but I didn’t think it would look so much like Gift’s figure. But I guess there’s some precedent for that, Kotobukiya and Alter have made some very similar-looking figures over the past few years, like Haruka Takamori, Nadeko Sengoku, and their Strike Witches figures. There have been a few times where I’ve gotten mixed up on which manufacturer made which Strike Witch (try saying that five times fast).
I like the blue armored dress Saber best, but I also like weird-looking Saber designs, like Saber Extra and her awesome slutty bridal suit, the umbrella Saber figure, and this punk Saber design; I bought a shirt and miniskirt set for Azone’s 50-centimeter Saber to try to mimic that look.
The skin color should be fixed, or the promo pics were just messed up, which sometimes happens. Yeah Im not complaining about pretty backside.
It can be seen in the 13th episode of Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, it’s funny XD What I don’t like about Griffon is the look of the materials they use, a lot of their figures would look better when they would use the same as their competitors. Hehe the big uninspired bases are another bad point.
At first I thought Gift made a older version and just changed the head 😀 ALTER appears very uncreative recently,re-releases and copys like that, do they have any problems?
I wonder if they do; I had heard something about them having some manufacturing problems in China, which I guess could alter the rate at which they chuck out new figures, particularly the more complicated ones. If they are having issues, I hope they get them sorted out soon. (I’m also wondering what’s up with Yamato re-branding themselves as Arcadia; that’s one of the stranger things I’ve seen happen in the figure industry.)
PLUM is certainly improving, looking at this Nymph, so I’m interested to see what else they’ll make next. More figure companies is always a good thing, after all (well, unless they’re like Taki or something). As for the figure, she really does look nice and quite alluring as well – it’s one of the best Nymph’s, I’d say. I never saw the show myself though, so I’ll be skipping her.
Sena looks good too, but I already have a Sena, and while this one’s outfit looks awesome, she’s also not that big and her base will likely suck. I’ll be passing Asuka for the same reason; I already got one (a prize figure, but an awesome one) and I don’t need more. Yui as well – I like the pilot suit version the most anyway, and the fact that she’s exclusive is just the final nail in the coffin.
I think Saber looks beautiful too, as a figure, at least. As a representative of how I remember the character…eh. I’d rather go for a fully armored version sometime in the future. And hah, yeah, Shirou really is kind of a dork. I remember that I quickly got tired of him in the anime as well, and thought the antagonistic relationship Saber and Kuritsugu had in Fate/Zero was a way more interesting use of her character.
As for my own pre-orders this month, I went for something introduced in the magazine scans following Wonfes; Alpha Max’ Kurousagi. Colourful, dynamic, big, not too expensive and from a show I like? Yes, please.
Yeah, their God Eater Burst figures look pretty nice, which is good since their first Nymph wasn’t too great. Sora no Otoshimono is a fun show; it’s a typical fanservice-oriented show but it has a lot of heart. The second season was a letdown, though.
It’s a bit odd that there doesn’t seem to be a really great version of blue armored dress Saber. GSC’s jumping Saber comes closest, I guess, but it’s always bothered me how her mouth is partially obscured by her arm. I still have a soft spot for their old, original Saber figure, but it doesn’t look great by any modern and objective perspective. (And then there’s gangsta lean Saber, which sadly has few proponents.)
Emiya Shirou is probably the male character that I most detest in any form of anime, manga, or anime-centric video game. The guy in Freezing comes close to taking that title but I think Emiya is still the worst. He’s pretty much the reason I stopped watching the Fate/stay night anime after about seven or eight episodes (and the only reason I got that far was because of Rider).
Most of the figures this time are pretty bland to me and I was not interested in much at all.
Nymph, Sean, Sena, Nanoha, Aozaki, Manami, and Yui aren’t doing anything for me. There are some aspects I like on some of them, like the base for Nymph and Sena’s outfit. I think Aozaki is a pretty unique figure but the way the boots transition to the pantyhose is weird.
However there were a few that I am interested in, but not enough to preorder.
The diskvision girls always look good and Erika is no exception. I really like her leg warmers. I have a feeling that her pose was taken from a stripper and she would probably fit really well with a pole set up next to her.
Saber is a figure I am actually really interested in. I love the girly dress and think it is well done, but I am guessing the real reason I like the figure is how the skirt is being lifted in the back. I want to see how she turns out, but I won’t buy her even if she winds up on the bargain bin.
I am not a fan of the 2012 Hatsune Miku Race Queen. I think 2011 is better and 2010 is the best (2013 is looking better so far too). 2012’s face is too round and she has a more of a loli look. Out of all of the 2012 versions (figma, Gift, and GSC), I think GSC’s is the best since they went with a SIlver/Black theme rather than the White/Black theme the other two have. The white/black boots just scream Harley Quinn to me. I may pick her up when she hits the bargain bin, but then I need to buy another car for her to stand next to.
Finally, Pirate Asuka is another figure I really like. Personally I hate the new plug suits so I thought it was great to see this one pop up. Being that I don’t have a thing for eye patches though, I didn’t order her. Everything else looks great, including the taped up plugsuit and I think the ears on the helmet add a cute look. I don’t have an Asuka, but this may be the one to get, as long as she can be positioned to hide the eye patch.
Yeah, I’m liking 10th Anniversary Saber more and more; I think I’ll put her next to Golden Caliburn Saber (if GSC does actually ship her out), since they have similar design themes but very contrasting expressions. Though I do wish she had her sword, or had a hand positioned in such a way that I could put a sword in her hand; I’ve got a bunch of extra Excaliburs laying around here (I have a bunch of figure parts piled up here, and I literally don’t know which sword is supposed to go with which figure.)
This figure is still one of my favorite renditions of Asuka. She doesn’t have a review here, unfortunately (this is another one of those cases where my envisioned idea was far too ambitious for my own good, and so her review never happened), but I’ve talked a few times about how I want to do some one-off photographic posts, and she’s one of the figures I plan to use.
I want to like Dress Code Saber, but at the same time I’m kind of disappointed with her and the rest of Alter’s WonFes lineup for being rather conservative in terms of design. It’s a nice sculpt with a lot of subtle implied motion, but it’s also rather low-key and I think it would have been nice to see something a bit more ambitious for a heroic character like Saber.
Yeah, I gotta admit, when I was looking at it, I was more reminded of Alter’s old white swimsuit Saber than, say, GSC’s recent Fate/stay night figures; something about it just seems more reminiscent of figures circa 2007 or so than anything contemporary. Looking at it again, I think the big smile on her face might bug me more than her dress; something seems kinda off about Saber with a big huge grin. (Then again, collecting weird Sabers is something of a mini-hobby of mine, so maybe that’s a point in its favor.)
Surprising your only getting Eye-patch Asuka from Kotobukiya, they’ve got quite a strong line up compared to Alter this wonderfest.
Personally am going for the following
Pilot Suit Yui, Cryska and Inia from Kotobukiya
Also considering getting Freeing’s Mu-12
Max Factory’s Black/white Bunny Sheryl
HAving a tough time deciding though between Orchid Seed’s CHeerleader Sonico or the PKG version 😕 want to have both though if possible. XD
They did indeed have a lot of great stuff there. The rule of the preorder outlooks is that I only include figures that are actually available for preordering, though, so I won’t be writing about a lot of stuff shown at the show until it shows up on the usual web stores. I’m hoping a lot of the WF stuff shows up for preorder soon – particularly Irma, of course.
Hey Tier
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/9lPPT6fs.jpg[/IMG]
’nuff said!
Honestly… I can’t believe you didn’t include Irma on this list… don’t you want her anymore?
http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=FIG-MOE-8686&page=top
This post was written on February 28; Irma’s preorders opened up about a week later. This is the Preorder Outlook post, not the Stuff-That-I-Plan-To-Order-But-Is-Not-Actually-Available-For-Preorder post; Irma will get a mention in a future installment.
I know… but the timing was pretty exquisite…
So was that a “no, I’m not ordering her” then?
I think that was a “Things he plans to preorder” answer.
The joke was pretty weak the first time, and I can’t believe you’re doubling down on it, but I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Oh my God! A figure of Takamura Yui in her hot yellow bikini standing!?
*Hobby Japan exclusive*
Well, shit.
Tough decision indeed.Any recommendations for sources that will carry it for a reasonable price?
I’m guessing Hobbyfan might be taking orders for her, and I think I saw her available over on Big In Japan. I have never ordered from Big In Japan and cannot vouch for their quality of service, though.