I had hoped to space out this post a little more after the last one, but figure makers have rolled out a ton of new stuff since then. This post already took way too long to write, so let’s go ahead and look at some stuff I’m thinking about buying.
September
Dark Elf from Lineage II
For several years, Orchid Seed has been showing off promo artwork of a Lineage II dark elf figure. Max Factory has beaten them to the punch, even using the same artwork as the inspiration for their figure (though Orchid Seed actually used two pictures and would presumably prefer to use the line art now instead). I played Lineage II for about a month, pretty much only because I loved the way the dark elf females looked, so I’m really excited for this figure. If I had my way, I’d have picked the doom plate armor (I think that’s what it’s called; I never got past level 16 and never got any cool stuff) or even the newbie armor (the older version, not the NCsoft-nerfed version). But this is good, too. I’m getting the version with the blue skin, but there’s one also one with dark brown skin.
Estellise Sidos Heurassein from Tales of Vesperia
Tales of Vesperia was the first game from the Tales series that I played, and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I thought it’d be a silly and cartoony sort of game so I was surprised by how much I liked the characters – even the males, who I usually ignore in RPGs. Inexplicably, Alter still hasn’t announced any plans to make a figure of Judith, unquestionably the coolest and best character from the game. Hopefully they won’t exclude her but in the meantime, they are peddling a figure of the game’s lead girl. I might pick this one up, though I’m leaning against it right now.
Inia Sestina from Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse
I already have Yui, of course, and I think Cryska is supposed to ship this month. That makes picking up Inia a straightforward decision. I just need to decide where to buy her.
Kazuno from Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere
Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere is replete with attractive female characters, which ought to make it a fertile source for figure companies to plunder. Thus it’s a bit mystifying that Alter has picked one of the less sexy characters (though that is admittedly a matter of taste and perspective) for their first figure from the series. Kazuno had a really cool scene in the show, and I liked her (though she got very little screentime overall), but I don’t have a big thing for normal maid costumes, and if I were to get this figure, it’d be more because I liked the show rather than because I like the way that this figure looks. I’m not sure that’s a good enough rationale to drop the amount of money Kazuno is going for.
Marie Mamiya from Starless
This is the figure that I am perhaps most conflicted on here. I like the character design, and she has one of the prettiest faces I’ve seen on an anime figure. However, she also has the small head and large body combination that caused me to pass on several other figures. It’s less apparent here than on some other figures, but I still notice it, and I have the feeling that if I were to get this figure, it’d bother the hell out of me. Right now, I think I’m inclined to wait and see if it hits the bargain bin or gets a big discount on Mandarake.
Mikan Yuuki from To Love-Ru
Mikan is, like the girls from the Nanoha series, a character I’m familiar with mostly through various erotic doujinshi. I haven’t watched or read much of To Love-Ru, which is a little odd since I have the sense I’m squarely in its target audience, but from what I know of Mikan, I think she’d be one of my favorite characters. And well, she’s pretty cute in those aforementioned doujinshi. That’s perhaps not a great reason to pick up a figure – I don’t expect that most people would agree with that line of thinking – but for me, it more than suffices. After all, if I didn’t feel empathy for characters in porno comics, I wouldn’t have as many Fate Testarossa figures as I do. Also, it’s pretty obvious that her clothes are removable and that’s a big plus in my view (why they don’t provide any castoff photos, I don’t know; I would think that their main aim is to sell figures rather than assume an air of coyness).
(Speaking of that erotic doujinshi, it’s pretty cool stuff. I’m not quite sure what it’s about – it seems to have something to do with a space alien who enslaves Mikan – but I enjoyed it anyway. On a similar note, I was playing this H-game a few days back in which the main heroine gets drugged and raped a bunch and supposedly dies, which made me feel really sad for a while. By my understanding of the term, this means that being a sex slave is moe.)
Miu Takanashi from Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father!
This is one of those figures that, if it were 1/8 scale, I’d acknowledge that it’s pretty cute and then moved on. However, this figure is 1/4 scale – God’s scale – which automatically warrants closer consideration. It is indeed pretty cute, and while I don’t think it’s anything special, its size means I’m thinking really, really hard about picking it up.
Incidentally, Miu is apparently supposed to be ten years old. I feel like that ought to make me feel worse than it actually does.
Nyarlathotep from Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
I watched the first episode of Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, wondering what the Cthulhu connection was. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of one, from what I could tell; rather, the show appeared to be a standard high school romance comedy. Maybe I’ll give it another try sometime later. This figure though, has my interest, for obvious reasons. It’s very cute and I’m pretty sure I’ll pick it up.
October
Akane Isshiki from Vividred Operation
I haven’t watched much of Vividred Operation, apart from one of the later episodes which features a hilarious scene involving the dietary requirements of a bird, and though its main hook – an excessive emphasis on the buttocks of the principal cast – is very appealing, I’m not really sure that’s enough to get me interested. Fortunately, I don’t need to know anything about the show to be interested in the figures. I don’t really know if I’m going to get this figure, though. Something about the face looks a little off to me; somehow, the Figma looks cuter. Then again, I do dig the shorts (enough that I bought this wallscroll). Maybe that will be enough to sway my decision.
Meiya Mitsurugi from Muv-Luv Alternative
After chucking out a number of figures of the Total Eclipse characters, Kotobukiya is going back to the original source and bringing us this figure of Meiya Mitsurugi, the lead girl of Muv-Luv Alternative. It’s a good-looking figure, though I wish she were standing up instead of curled up in an odd floating fetal position. I guess figure makers just don’t want to allow the girls of Muv-Luv to stand up. I also wish that she were wearing the see-through suit rather than the black suit, but it’s not surprising that they stayed away from that. At any rate, seeing how as I haven’t skipped any of Kotobukiya’s Muv-Luv figures yet, I suppose I’m not going to start doing so now.
Sheryl Nome from Macross Frontier
This is one of the more epic – and, consequently, expensive – figures from Max Factory. A lot of people were taken aback by the price tag and I have to admit, I was, too. However, I was more surprised by the scathing reception that this figure is getting. I checked her score on Hobby Search and it’s pretty bad. Thinking that maybe that was just because a bunch of gaijin couldn’t understand her charms, I checked her Japanese page and nope, her score there is even worse. In fact, her score is worse than gangsta lean Saber’s. (Note to self: review gangsta lean Saber already.) Her face appears to be her most contentious aspect. I think she’s pretty. Plus, she’s got shiny clothes, cute hair, a thong, hooker heels, and full-body bondage, what more could you want? Regardless of the controversy, this is probably my most anticipated figure on this list.
November
Keiji Maeda from Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls
The newest Samurai Girls figure from Alter is of the recently-introduced Keiji Maeda, who shows up in the middle of the show’s second season. I’m a little surprised that D’artagnan is apparently missing, seeing as how she’s been left out of the television show and there is no sign that she’ll get a figure of her own, but I guess I can’t complain too much because Keiji looks really nice. Unsurprisingly, she’s a Hobby Japan exclusive, which means needing to go through a proxy service or shopping at a store that sells limited-edition goods. I went with Hobbyfan; we’ll see if they come through for me.
Kuroyukihime from Accel World
This is another character that I know mostly from ero-doujinshi. It’s a good-looking figure, though I’m already ordering Max Factory’s figure and it’s pretty much impossible to top that one. I’m pretty much only interested in this one because the Good Smile Company preview says that the skirt is removable, and it looks like you might be able to see her ass. That’s pretty much the main reason. I’ll wait and see if some sample reviews show us that.
Momo Velia Deviluke from To-Love Ru
Oh my. I don’t know anything about this character at all (unlike Mikan, I’ve not seen this character in any doujinshi) but I do know what I like and I like this very, very, very much. Max Factory is having one helluva year; it’s kinda like someone over there was like, “Hey man, let’s make some sexy figures to go with all those Figmas.”
Rikka Himegami from T2 Art Girls
It’s a little surprising that Alphamax is making this figure rather than continuing on with the characters from Fault!!, but as Tony Taka’s ero artwork is always good (except when he screws up the hands and feet), it’s not an unwelcome decision at all. Rikka has a thematically similar look to their earlier figures: sultry pose, long legs, and a relatively realistically-proportioned torso. She effects a different look, though; I think it’s her eyes, she’s got sort of a dead, expressionless look in her eyes that’s a bit disconcerting. That’s not a bad thing at all, though; indeed, it could be considered appealing. Anyway, it’s a pretty easy call to pick this one up.
December
Ran Misugi from the Native Creator’s Collection
This … actually is a Native figure, despite appearances to the contrary. The style and theme of this figure is obviously of a different sort than Native’s other figures, which were certainly explicit but still generally maintained a level of dignity. Well, maybe; dignity is, perhaps, in the eye of the beholder. I am going to guess that this figure is not going to go over too well within the figure collecting company. Me, I think it looks cool as hell. I used the picture of the ahegao face for comedic value but she does come with a normal face, which is the one I’ll be displaying her with, and apparently the lettering is removable. Also apparently, one of the phrases written on her legs reads “niku benki ♥,” or “meat toilet.” The “toilet woman” phenomenon has a long and illustrious tradition in ero manga and anime, and I’m happy to see that it’s getting represented as a figure, too. Definitely looking forward to this one. Also, it appears that unlike earlier Native figures, this one is open to direct order by international customers, whichis a welcome change.
Super Sonico from Nitroplus
I think it’s safe to call Super Sonico this year’s It Girl. I’m not quite sure how she came to be so popular amongst figure makers … but then, Ignis and Samurai Shodown’s Iroha were It Girls of previous years and I can’t explain why they were so popular, either. So here’s Sonico in a bikini, standing rather stiffly in a decidedly unexciting pose. Nonetheless, this figure still looks really cool, thanks in large part to her generous proportions. To top it off, this figure is 1/5 scale, which is not as good as 1/4 but is better than 1/6. I’m still on the fence on this one – Sonico is suffering from Tamaki syndrome, where even if I like a figure, the fact that I have so many of that character automatically starts it at a disadvantage – but I’m leaning more towards ordering it, particularly if December doesn’t have a lot of releases. (Historically, that has not been true.)
January
Alleyne from Queen’s Blade
Orchid Seed hasn’t really been into the Queen’s Blade thing – off the top of my head, I think this is their first one – but Alleyne looks fantastic. She reminds me a bit of the Jun Tsukasa-inspired Risty, except in a much larger size, being 1/6 scale rather than 1/8. This one was an easy call, too.
Alleyne, Sonico, and Ran, are my most anticipated — in that order. While you might find it hard to find out why certain characters are more popular, I’m more dumbfounded that T2’s works still gets so much coverage when it’s pretty bland now. I’m on the fence on Keiji from Hyakka, I’ve stopped watching fanservice animes so I don’t know how she’s like but I do like her overall aesthetic design, also debating if I should pre-order a Dark Elf by Max F.
Hey Tier, could ya review Tomo As(s)ama by Max F? I like her a lot but I need a lil more convincing to commit. LOL
Yeah, his work is sort of lacking in variety. I do like his porn, though; I’ve always thought he should do more porn, and my apathy regarding his work stems from his non-porno Shining series/Vocaloid/etc. stuff. His blonde-haired green-eyed pointy-eared elf girls all start looking the same, but when they’re fully working it, I find that I cannot complain.
(Though I have to admit, I thought the scene in the second Fault episode with Reiko dressed as an elf was kinda boring.)
It seems Keiji only shows up in a couple of episodes, though maybe she’ll get more time in later episodes. Uhh, let’s see … she’s a biker girl who is also a raging lesbian. She actually has a more mature voice than I thought she would; I thought she’d have a high-pitched hyperactive voice like Jubei. (I just looked up the show’s cast information and it seems Mamiko Noto does her voice, which I guess explains that.)
Tomo is on the short list to be reviewed … indeed, this post was supposed to be Tomo’s review but I am colossally lazy. Either her or Kuroko will likely be the next post, though.
I don’t have any of these on order, though I strongly considered Nyarlko and Sheryl, I opted to wait for a better possible Nyarlko, and I really don’t like Sheryl’s face. It’s a shame that the Macross licence is so hosed and figures from it so limited, because I’d like some more higher end options of her, hopefully with better faces. (and I own dozens of Griffon figures, so I know bad faces).
I may still get GSC’s Kuroyuki, even though I have Koto’s. But probably not. Space is too big a problem for me to just buy for the sake of it.
Momo also kinda tempts me, but I already have Alter’s (as badly shot here http://myfigurecollection.net/picture/470545&ref=user%3AAsako+album%3A6602 ) though I like this sexy wedding night version.
I chose the wrong time to get in to figure collecting, really. Three years and I’m out of space already, yet the quality (and seemingly, the quantity) of figures seems to be increasing quite a lot.
It’s going to be my mission to make Sheryl look amazing.
I had forgotten that Alter made a figure of Momo (actually, I completely overlooked that figure). It is pretty cute, though seeing it and MF’s version really emphasizes how Max Factory has gone for fan service in recent times.
It does! It is a great time to be a collector. Lots of great stuff, the exchange rate has improved miraculously, and I’m even getting my Irma figure, after all this time. Life is good.
I look forward to seeing what you can do with Sheryl’s face. I’m really put off by all of the promo shots that show her face. Other than that, she’s gorgeous, but the face just isn’t right.
It’s going to be an interesting shoot, I think. She seems to have a more prominent nose than just about any other anime figure, so I guess I’m going to have to use a pretty big light for her. I don’t think I’ve ever tried the classical beauty light style of lighting but maybe it’d work well for her. Speaking of big noses, Milla Maxwell has a bigger nose than I expected; I wonder if anybody took notice of that.
Same here, i will wait for better Nyaruko.
They should have just made Nyaruko in school uniform whit CQC weapon, but that’s just for my taste, its kind of hard for me to imagine Nyaruko in other clothes.
And this Nyaruko also got some kind of strange face and haircut.
Oh shoot, man, January figures already?
Yeah, I was sorta amazed by that too; we’re not even into summer, technically, and now we’re already seeing stuff slated for next year.
Long time reader, first time poster on this site.
You’re not mentioning the A- 1/2 Sonico? I’ve got my PO in yesterday and I’m stoked. Can’t wait for this 91cm beauty to get delivered. Have you missed her (no way I think) or are you just not interested in the figure? If it weren’t for the 1/2 scale Sonico I’de have gone with th 1/5 scale. She is very cute and I haven’t got a Sonico yet.
Did you or anyone else notice that 1/2 Sonico MADE THE JAPANESE HOBBY SEARCH TOP 10 LIST?? Wow….and Tier, you alway say you like ’em big….
I was going to mention it just to talk about its size, but no, I’m not going to order it. This is mainly because I don’t have much confidence in the manufacturer and also because as much as I like big figures, there is such a thing as a little too big. (Though if a different manufacturer were to make a figure of a character that I liked in 1/2 scale, it would definitely be worth rearranging furniture).
No confidence in the manufacturer? What’s wrong with them? When I started collecting the Freeing statues I also heared that about Freeing. A-/A+ isn’t a company I’m familiar with, but looks to be a solid (not literaly) statue. She’ll be standing in my movie room being pretty. Here’s hoping she survives the shipping to The Netherlands.
As I understand it, they are a successor of sorts to Taki Corporation. It’s hard to get a big, diverse group like figure collectors to agree on anything, but I would guess that many figure collectors would have agreed that Taki made the worst figures of any of the major manufacturers. I try not to classify manufacturers like that – I’ve heard a lot of negative criticism of FREEing and Yamato that I don’t agree with – but Taki’s figures looked so bad that it was hard not to agree with popular opinion.
That said, A+ is a different company and Sonico doesn’t look bad at all. I’m looking forward to seeing how well she turns out once she gets released.
Figure collecting has taken a backseat to my dakimakura collecting over the last few years, but I’ve started to pick up the pace on preordering again. As such, there are quite a few figures on this list that I’m really looking forward to. The two that I’m hesitant on are Marie and Sheryl. I love Marie, but she’s a bit more than I’d like to pay for her; price is a similar issue with Sheryl, but I’m really not sure how I feel about the face. I think her face has been growing on me since my initial reaction, and the figure it absolutely beautiful otherwise. If either hit the bargain bin, I’ll absolutely purchase them.
Thanks for pointing out Native’s English site. I’d be really happy if they are shipping internationally and keep it up. I like the Ran figure a lot, but I’m in an awkward position when it comes to castoff figures and the like; of cost being able to remove clothes is always nice, but I personally prefer when a figure is a solid one piece. As far as the text goes on her legs, I know the text on her right leg says “creampie ok.”
Yeah, both of them are pretty spendy, and both of them have certain problems I have an easier time accepting Sheryl than Marie, as I wrote, and like you, I think she’s getting prettier the more that I look at her. I am guessing that the size and shape of her nose is what is causing the issue, and that’s going to make her interesting to photograph.
I’m not sure whether I’m more surprised that Native put up an international store or that it took so long for them to do it. The GSC companies have always seemed more progressive about catering to their foreign customers, so I would have thought that they would’ve done it sooner, unless they thought the explicit nature of the figures might get them in trouble or something (sort of funny; it kinda seems like the United States has a reputation for being prudish when it comes to nudity and sexuality, which I suppose is true, but then, it also seems like much more content is permitted here than in many other places).
What? No 1/2 Sonico? Lol
I thought about including her, but I had no plan to buy her and the list was already way too long. I did want to give props to A+ for bringing it to market, though; that is a bold and rare move that deserves some admiration.
The collaboration with DRAGON Toy may explain why FREEing have finally been able to produce a 1/6 scale with a good looking face. I’m still on the fence with Marie, I can’t say her proportions are bothering me though it doesn’t help that her breasts seem to be twice the size of her head.
Man, if only Udon-Ya (and Kizuki Aruchu in particular) got the same attention as Tony Taka does. Can’t fault the figures Alphamax are putting out recently though, their sculptor is doing wonders with what he’s given. Not a fan of the cape/robe Rikka is wearing but fortunately that can be removed.
I do find comedic value in two things regarding Native’s Ran. One being how the extra head looks like she’s goofing off while high on cocaine rather than expressing some kind of pleasure; and two, how very thin the line is with collectors lavishing derriere and bust but as soon as you expose genitalia they jump ship. Lastly, kind of an odd decision to premiere the international shop with this figure which I’d assume would draw far more attention from the Japanese crowd.
Another Sonico reminds me of the unexpected reunion between Michael and Toby in The Office. That pretty much sums it up. To be fair though, this is one of the better versions out there.
Never been a fan of Queen’s Blade but Alleyne is probably too good to pass on, convenient foliage or otherwise.
I’d definitely approve of Kizuki Aruchu getting more of his work adapted (though I would guess most people know him through Udon-ya’s Monster Hunter doujinshi, and I would further guess that there is no chance any of his designs in those books would ever get a figure). I guess Tony’s stuff must sell really, really well for figure makers to keep coming back to him.
Yeah, the ahegao face doesn’t really look like the classic ahegao look to me; it looks like she’s goofing off in front of a camera or something. The community response to Ran is indeed vastly amusing, and I’m wondering how people will respond if Native continues making figures of this sort. It comes to mind that they did pass out little 1/7 scale vibrator accessories at one of the Wonder Festivals in years past, so it’s not like they are above incorporating sexual aspects (rather than straightforward nudity) into their work . I did also think it was very funny that this was the one that they decided to inaugurate their webstore; I would’ve thought that the Gamer Girl would’ve been a more logical choice, being both relatively inoffensive and fairly typical of Native’s catalog.
Uhh, is The Office a television show or something? The comparison is completely lost on me, I must admit, though I seem to recall hearing people talk about it. (Kinda like I hear people talk about Game of Thrones all the time. Whenever I hear people talking about it, it is so, so difficult to repress the urge to blurt out, “Hey, y’all want to know what happens to Jon and Daenerys in the books?”)
Marie is on my watch list. Her proportions speak to me, but you’re right–her head is a bit small (maybe it’s because her rack is so big). I haven’t looked into it, but I suspect she’s expensive. I think she’s 1/6, isn’t she? I might wait for somebody to sell her on MFC. I’ve already ordered Sonico, so she’s a done deal. Love the scale, love the simplistic posture, love the cast-off. The Dark Elf is mighty tempting, but she wouldn’t fit in with the rest of my collection–that sort of thing bothers me. But I do think she looks wonderful. Alleyne is also on my watch list. Something about her face bothers me, but I can’t put my finger on it.
I’m still waiting for Orchid Seed to actually release Asmodeus, because I’ve had her pre-ordered since…something like July. I was joking with a friend that the Mammon and Satan figures will be painted and up for pre-order before Asmodeus gets to my house. I’m also waiting on that Mai Shiranui figure which was supposed to release in May…but clearly did not, because SHE’S not at my house either. Asmodeus and Mai are my first proxy pre-orders, so I’m not familiar with the process, but it’s kind of irritating.
Oh well. I’ve waited this long already.
She is indeed very expensive, although the improving exchange rate helps a bit. Though shipping considerations might push her into the prohibitive range.
Yeah, I was surprised that Leviathan came out before Asmodeus. I don’t quite recall if Asmodeus is being done by Orchid Seed or Amakuni, but if it’s the former, that might explain some things. MFC is saying she’s due to ship on June 7, so at least it’s not that much longer of a wait, assuming that’s accurate. If you’re talking about the Alphamax Mai Shiranui, I think that’s also due to ship in mid-June, so at least you’ll get a couple of happy summertime presents.
Hi. I watched this site since several month, and this is the first time I see such a perverted thing (‘m talking about the Ran Misugi figure). Well, I’m just… highly surprised. Will this website go in a more perverted direction? I used to find it rather refined in its category – tentacle sets and Obama figure excepted.
Refined! Really? This site? Wow, I am honored. I don’t think anyone’s ever called this site “refined” before. (I have heard this site described as “disgusting” or somesuch, and some of the commentary up there is an admittedly passive-aggressive response of sorts). Would you like to see more perverted stuff? I don’t have any plans to do any perverted posts in the near future (well, except for maybe when I get that Inori Yuzuriha doll, if it’s good enough to review), but if you want to see one, maybe I can do a doujinshi post or something … I’ve got some pretty cool doujinshi, including this one Sword Art Online one and this one Fate/zero one with Sakura and those bug room bugs.
Dude, someone called your site refined!! I’m just running thru your dakimakura reviews now. And then, there were those bible black figures you reviewed too…
I am a man of culture and dainty tastes! It shows in my work. Man, those dakimakura covers, the doll posts … how about the doll post with the Mothra larva? That was pretty good. I don’t think I even uploaded the raunchiest pictures. I really wish the Mothra larva had some joints, though, since it’d be a lot more useful for that sort of posing.
I think he means refined like the Giga Pulse figure review.
That was quite probably the acme of this site. Particularly the pictures of the bull and of the eels. Shame the figure itself wasn’t that great. Gee, I wonder if maybe I should take a similarly irreverent approach with Ran Misugi …
I looked for your Giga Pulse thing (I didn’t see it before).
And aw man, it just traumatized me. Please, don’t do such a waste for any other review. All this irony was really unnecessary, and this wasn’t really a review, juste a huge big pervy waste. I didn’t recognize the spirit of this blog at all, and I suddenly feel like I’m gonna throw up the whole day. Regards.
@Aron: you’re kidding me, seriously. You’re kidding me to the highest point.
Me, seeing more perverted stuff? This wasn’t really what I tried to convey in my previous comment…
But thanks for your reply anyway, it’s cool to be replied to. And I don’t remove my previous words about refinement (yeah, I meant it’s presenting sexy figures and dakimakuras neatly, without being dirty like “OMFG a pussy I’d suck it so hard” and such booru-level comments.)
Well, if you change your mind, just let me know! I’m always happy to put up such stuff. Funny how every time anyone links to this site, they always seem to put in a disclaimer that goes “Might not be safe for work” ..
And I do appreciate your comment a lot; while this site generally stays fairly irreverent and I don’t have any fear of posting adult-oriented pictures – indeed, I wish I did more of that – I do try to keep the level of discourse here at a mature level. You’ll never, ever see anything here like the stuff you’d see on Gelbooru and such. (I’ve only ever gotten a few such comments here and I generally delete them when I see them.)
So… when are you going to review an Orient Doll? 😉
I have no idea what that is, so I had to go google it. Didn’t that Danny Choo guy used to have a CandyGirl doll or something? I remember he used to talk a lot about them before he went all commercial.
There’s also a 1/2 scale Sonico figure if you’re interested.
http://myfigurecollection.net/item/140928
Indeed there is! Nah, not too interested, though A+ ought to be commended for making such a product. (Gee, even if I did get this figure, it wouldn’t be nearly the most money I’ve spent on a single figure, which is sort of confounding to think.)
Well… Plenty of interesting new release!
I didn’t knew that Sheryl was so bad ranked (and it is really a surprise for me begcause I think she is simply outstandingly gorgeous)…
When I saw it on HLJ I didn’t thought twice and mashed my keybord in order to preorder one ASAP (Yeah I know this is stupid, but the second I saw it, I began to be worried about not being able to preorder one of theses bondaged beauty).
I was also really surprised to see ALTER releasing a figure of Estellise Sidos Heurassein… Which makes me think that (Maybe) ALTER plan to release a figure of all of the character (especially knowing that, as you said, Judith still doesn’t have her own Figure, which is a shame because I think she has lot of potential as a figure)
Tales of Vesperia was my second “Tales of” (the first one was “Tales of Symphonia on the nintendo gamecube (a game that frustated a lot me because everybody seemed to think it was a masterpiece while I was barely finding it fun to play or interesting…). ToV was certainly a game that surprised me a lot! I must have played more than 300 hours and none of these was annoying.
What I find intriguning in the game is that it is not the story that keep you playing, but you’re sympathy for the main characters (there is none of them I don’t like!). Btw: Rita and Raven are my favorites.
Although I am interested in Estellise’s figure (as I would be for any character from ToV) the one I was anticipating the most was Rita Mordio the Genious Mage! (I love that girl btw (you cannot imagine how happy I was when I saw that Alter was planning to do a figure of her… (eventhough I am a little bit desappointed by the figure…))
Yeah, I was taken aback by that, I thought that it was going to get a solid reception, since most of her earlier figures seem well-regarded. It’s not even the worst face on a Sheryl figure, I think; I think Megahouse’s nose art figure takes that prize. That said, looking at the figure again, I can see why people aren’t too enthusiastic about the face, since it’s definitely a different style than most anime-style figures.
I only played through Vesperia once, and I don’t think I got the best ending, but I really enjoyed it. It took me a while to understand the combat system but once I did, it was a lot of fun having Judith bounce around in the air (I never did do the common thing of controlling Rita and going into blah-blah-blah mode). The game struck a good balance between humor and gravity and like you said, all the characters were appealing … well, except for Karol, maybe, but I always dislike the little kid characters. I’m a little sad that the DLC costumes aren’t available internationally (unless one imports the PS3 version, I suppose); Judith looks really good dressed up as KOS-MOS.
I didn’t get the Rita figure, though I was tempted because of my fondness for the game. If Alter ever does release Judith, I might regret that I didn’t, since I think I’d be compelled to want all the Vesperia heroines as a set.
Evenso… All this ruckus for her nose… It is kind of amusing considering that as a whole thing, she look pretty damn gorgeous.
Plus, the fact that her nose looks so “uncommon” is a part of why this figure appeals me.
Well… I cannot wait to see it released and see how it looks with my own eyes ^^.
Do not ask my why (because I couldn’t explain it rationaly (a fact that afraids me sometimes)) but I bought a PS3 (not any PS3, the tales of Xillia limited edition) for the only purpose of being able to play the PS3 version of ToV (oh!.. And Valkyria chronicles, which is a must-have on this system (if you do not own it, buy it right away!)). It frustrated me ALOT when I saw all of the extension that were provided on the PS3 ToV:
-2 more playable characters (+ the additionnal story that go with them)
-More (almost the double) voice acting
– A wide variety of the additional costumes (I agree, the Kos-Mos outfit looks great on judit
-More items (especialy one that alows you to add more Arte shortcuts on your controller (the Xbox allow you 8 shortcuts, the Ps3…. 16 (which would allow you to play Rita without spamming the same 8 spells)! Or the one that give you a level 5 Over limit)
-the possibility for the character to have two mystic arte AND, the possibility for some characters to have them combined (for exemple Yuri and Flynn)
and more…
It disgusts me just naming all of this stuff :S
Yeah, Karoll is annoying and is certainly the less interesting character… However, you should try playing with him once (it is really fun actually and more complex than it seems (especially with some capacities equiped))
It is indeed a lot of fun fun to play with Judith. Her ability to “fly” (gosh… she can jump hree times in the air with a capacity Oo) and slaying anything that is on the screen with her artes at light speed is pretty cool.
I found that playing with Rita was annoying… She has an enormous list of spells and only a few of them can be used (unless you re-assign some during the fight, something terribly annoying). But her “blah blah blah” skill is terribly funny ^^
I hope for you that if it happens, You’ll have the chance to find one for a decent price… If not, don’t mind asking me, I have a brand new one hidden somewhere in my room (the fact that I own this figure twice is absolutely no a sign that my love for her is boundless (oh… I didn’t did anything weird with it… I promise ^^).
It would be an honor for me to do that kind of favor to the proud owner of this marvelous place ^^
It’s a sad thing that I don’t yet have a PS3. I’ve been meaning to get one but I guess I don’t play as many games as I used to … just the list of recent RPGs that I own but haven’t yet played through or completed is pretty sad (this includes Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4, Final Fantasy XII, Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Lost Odyssey, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, all three Neptunia games, Valkyria Chronicles, the Xbox 360 Star Ocean, Dragon Age, and probably a bunch more). Given that, it’s amazing that I completed Tales of Vesperia at all. And yes, I do own several PS3 games despite not owning the console … to me, the recent PS4 and the new Xbox unveilings were more depressing than anything else.
I remember some people on some other website called the Xbox 360 version the beta test version of Tales of Vesperia, and they were all jeering at how the PS3 version had a number of new additions. Well, all I can say is, regardless of all the stuff the PS3 version has, I got to play the game and it was a lot of fun.
I guess I ought to get a PS3 soon, seeing that Tales of Xillia will be coming out soon. At the rate I play games, I’ll probably be picking up the PS4 and Xbox Next sometime around 2016.
Haha, thanks for that; if I do decide that I need a figure of Rita, I will know who to ask. I really, really hope Alter shows off a Judith figure soon.
Going for Sheryl, Meiya, Sonico, and Alleyne for me although am having a hard time deciding between the blue skin or the brown skin version of the lineage 2 Dark Elf >.<
Blue skin is better imo. But to each his own.
Yeah, I like the blue skin version more, obviously, since that’s the one I’m ordering. That comes from my game experience with both Lineage II and EverQuest, though (I assume the L2 dark elves were based off the EQ elves [and I’m sure those were based off the Drow race from D&D]); that was the first time I had seen blue-skinned elves and I thought they looked really cool.
Aaah Tier you should post a picture of your living space and collection sometime! You seem to have a lot of merchandise along with your figures and I’m just really curious hehe.
It would be absolutely horrifying, I think. I am not the tidiest person – something my mother lamented – and I have stuff strewn everywhere. Much of my stuff is actually boxed up or stored away because of a lack of display space.
Sheryl is a tricky girl to get right as she seems to have a different look for each angle you look at her. Each figure has a slightly different face but this one is fairly accurate to the art its based on. Not that I care either way. She’s Sheryl Nome so she’s going into my army regardless!
As for Momo, you’ll like her! She’s devious, manipulative and doesn’t mind getting dirty. Basically, she’s actively trying to get Rito into the harem ending. That’s all!
And I think Max factory may be going back into the figures biz cos they;re running out of figma to license and release!!
Momo technically looks nice, but feels kinda strange they only supplying the lingerie outfit without the full wedding dress as per the book illustrations. I would’ve ordered if there was a wedding dress option.
Yeah, she seems to have a very unique facial design that doesn’t always come out quite right in figure form (like in that Megahouse nose art figure from a while back). I’m expecting Max Factory to be able to pull it off, though; if they can’t do it, no one can. (And even if they can’t do it, well, the figure has some obvious appeal in other areas, anyway.)
Ah, she sounds like a pretty cool character. I ought to watch To Love-Ru, I have the feeling I’d like it. Heck, I’m even enjoying Samurai Girls’s second season due to its brainlessness; sometimes those shows can be fun to watch.
Ha, yeah, it’s nice to see them rolling out lots of figures; I remember a year or two ago, it seemed like they hardly released any PVC figures at all. Now, they’re chucking out lots of good stuff (and it seems like Alter is hardly releasing new figures at all). Though I guess if they wanted to, they could just chuck out one Miku Figma after another and they’d probably sell really well …
I think you may be better served reading the To-Love-Ru manga. The first anime season mangles it quite a bit with its own story line.
That sounds like a good plan; I’ll watch the third season and read the manga to fill in the rest. I was about to check if anyone is distributing the manga in the United States and then I remembered that the manga publishing industry has been decimated; I guess I’ll see who’s doing scanlations, instead.
Skip To-Love-Ru and just go straight into the sequel, TO-Love-RU darkness. The damn thing is as close to borderline ero as you can imagine!! The only thing you lose is some of the character introductions.
That is what I am going to do; I’ve watched the first couple of episodes of Darkness and I’m enjoying it a lot. The characters are pretty sweet and likeable (versus the characters in Samurai Girls and Infinite Stratos, two of the other relatively-recent harem shows I’ve seen). I really like Momo and Golden Darkness so far; maybe I should pick up that Alphamax figure of Yami after all.
The only one i’m ordering is Yuuki Mikan. I have a strong feeling the cast-off feature is down to her underwear, similar to Orchid Seed’s Kotegawa Yui.
Yeah, I think so; I think Moeyo got a shot of her underpants. You can always count on them to put those high ISO camera capabilities to good use.
I was planning to pass on Inia, despite picking up both Yui and Cryska. I feel like my primary motivation would be to complete the set, and I’m thinking that’s not a very good reason for getting her. I think I might find her more appealing if she didn’t look so similar to Cryska.
Kazuno looks pretty cool, but she’s priced sky-high because of the blade props. I don’t realistically see myself displaying her with them long-term because they’re going to take up a ton of shelf space, so I kind of hate to pay for them at all. At the same time, the blades are part of what makes the figure unique.
Definitely planning to pick up Meiya. She’s long been my favorite Muv-Luv heroine, aesthetically speaking.
Sheryl looks absolutely amazing. No complaints about the face, but that price is another story. I understand why she’s that expensive. The sculpt is complex beyond almost anything I’ve ever seen in a bishoujo figure, but I’m still having a hard time justifying her instead of a couple other quality figures.
Keiji is the only figure from your list that I already have on order. Alter’s Hyakka Ryouran lineup has pleased me greatly over the past few years. Almost every figure in the series has been worthy of consideration. I just hope they keep it rolling as long as possible.
Alleyne is definitely on my to-do list. I was pleased when they revealed that this particular source artwork was getting converted, and the final prototype is looking quite good. I’m a little concerned about how well the cast-off-able bikini is going to fit snugly, but Orchid Seed has plenty of experience in that area, so it shouldn’t really be an issue.
Yeah, Inia’s character design could be the least compelling of the female Total Eclipse characters, just because she’s so similar-looking to Cryska. That said, they do look pretty good as a pair; there’s a level of symmetry and contrast there that looks appealing.
I have the same problem with Kazuno; I’d probably just keep the blades in the box. I could see this figure hitting the bargain bin, at which point it might become a more attractive purchase, but for now, I just don’t think I have the room for the figure.
I almost missed Keiji completely (I didn’t even know about the figure until Fabienne tweeted something about ordering her). They’ve done a really nice job with those figures; I wish they’d make more stuff in that vein. They used to do a lot more stuff like that, but it seems like a good deal of their unreleased products is lacking that same level of ambition and complexity.
I liked Vesperia a lot as well (after Symphonia it’s my favourite Tales of) but I don’t feel much of an inclination to get its figures asap. I don’t know why, really, as they do look really nice. The newly announced Tales of Symphonia figures, on the other hand…
I’m skipping this Inia, since I think she doesn’t provide enough added value to the Koto swimsuit Inia I already have. Too bad she’s lacking the bear, too. I may pick her up someday to complete the set, but I won’t pre-order her.
Kazuno doesn’t appeal to me enough, though I do like the Horizon series. Without her giant blades (which I don’t really have room for) she looks kind of awkward, and she’s pretty expensive too. She only had a few episodes as well, so she didn’t grow on me as much of some other members of the cast, so I’ll pass.
I find it odd that you haven’t seen any Momo doujinshi – there’s a ton featuring her. Her, together with Mikan and Yami, make up the majority of it. Anyway, I’m already getting the Alphamax’ swimsuit version of Momo, so I’m skipping her for now, maybe I’ll get her later. Momo is one of these rare characters I don’t mind getting multiple figures of, because I find her to be awesome. In the series she’s very adept at winding people around her finger by acting all sweet and innocent, but on the inside she’s anything but, and watching her scheme and tease her way through the series is hilarious. It’s one of the things that make the show a guilty pleasure, really. Mikan is another character I like in the show, being Rito’s snarky little sister (and a brocon, obviously), and who always sees right through Momo. She’s a figure I did pre-order – mostly because she barely gets any figures. Also, word of advice if you’re ever getting into To Love Ru – it’s not until Darkness that it gets really fun, and the first anime sucks, so avoid it.
Nyaruko is basically a big parody of pretty much anything, being a series of rapid-fire slapstick jokes and whatnot, and I quite like it (the other Lovecraftian deities do make an appearance, but they’re all played for laughs). The figure, on the other hand, is missing something for me. Considering there’s a gazillion figures of her, I don’t have to be picky anyway.
Vividred Operation was a terrible show, so I’m skipping that figure, though it does look nice. Also, I find GSC’s Kuro to be dreadfully dull – every other figure of her looks more interesting.
Miu Takanashi I do like, though, but for me her scale makes it so I won’t buy it. I kind of liked the show, and her (besides her annoying catchphrase), but it would be kind of awkward for my biggest figure (as I don’t have any other 1/4’s) to be a giant loli in a swimsuit. Eh, the downsides of not living on my own. Maybe I’ll go for the Alter one instead.
I think that if I were to only own one Inia, I’d get the upcoming one, since I like the way she and the other Total Eclipse characters look in their piloting suits, and I kinda wish I only had this one and the earlier Kotobukiya one; however, I still have the Alphamax swimsuit one sitting her waiting for a review and I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to it (maybe I will during a slow week or something).
Kazuno struck me as a very peculiar character to make a figure of, since she got so little screentime and (arguably) has less commercial appeal than the other characters. But I guess that’s something Alter likes to do; they’ve certainly gone their own way when it comes to selecting characters and character designs (I’m still wondering why, after they and everyone else have made so many Sabers, they’ve never made one of Saber in her blue armored dress). I will definitely give them respect for the complexity of this figure, though, since some of the figures they’ve recently unveiled haven’t been all that inspiring.
I have to admit that when it comes to doujinshi, except for a few characters and properties, I tend to go for themes more than anything, and I’m guessing most of the To Love-Ru doujinshi are happy and fun (a lot of the stuff I look for is decidedly not happy and fun). I think I’m going to start with Darkness, as while I’m not too familiar with the franchise, I think I know enough about it to start with the third season (as I understand it, it goes something like, pink-haired girls move in with teenaged boy and his sister, and they plus a dangerous blonde-haired girl all attempt to secure his sperm for themselves. Figuratively, anyway.).
Nyaruko was one of those shows where I watched the first episode and I didn’t really feel much about it, but that’s better than other shows that I hated after the first episode (such as Guilty Crown and Infinite Stratos – though I warmed up to the latter after Houki got marginalized). The character designs are appealing enough that I might continue watching it later, but it’s hard to find the time to do so.
I had high hopes that Vividred Operations would be good, just because of the excessive, singular focus of the promotional artwork, but then I saw their magical outfits with the really silly-looking shriner hats and I decided it wasn’t something I cared to see.
I had thought Listen To Me Girls was a run-of-the-mill incest show but it sounds like it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had initially thought, so that improves my opinion of Miu’s figure. Describing this figure that way is pretty funny, but then I look at my collection and I see 1/4 scale Nymph and 1/4 scale Kuroko here and I’m wondering why I’ve get all these gigantic loli figures.
Yeah, Alter does have a habit of making figures of side characters, which I can appreciate quite a lot at times. Take their Amane Suzuha, that I still have on order – while she was quite important to the plot of Steins;Gate, she was still a side character, and thus ignored by every other company. Alter on the other hand skipped the main characters and just went straight for her, which I am grateful for. As for their recent figures, they do show a certain decline in complexity, though the franchises they’ve been working on don’t really allow for much spectacular figures either (as they’re mostly just schoolgirls and whatnot).
Thinking about it, even though she’s the most sexualized character in the series, most of Momo’s stuff is rather consensual, oddly enough. Probably because the hardcore stuff is more popular for more ‘innocent’ characters. As for the plot, it’s rather simple, really; nice guy has an alien princess fall in love with him (the pink-haired girl, the other two are her sisters), and hijinks ensue. Because marrying an alien princess would make him king of the universe, he’s got assassins and whatnot after him, and in the meantime pretty much every freaking female character falls in love with him. Dumb, but it has a certain charm. For me anyway. Not to mention the Darkness manga has gorgeous art, so that one’s worth reading for the pretty pictures alone.
I was actually kinda hoping that Vividred was going to be at least kind of fun as well, but the entire thing was just cringeworthy and stupid. At least there was a certain amusement to be gotten from really dumb moments, like the time hundreds of soldiers died because one of the main characters was angsting about not liking tomatoes.
Listen To Me Girls was actually a show that I wasn’t expecting much of either, and just started watching because some people were making a fuss about the premise, but it’s actually not all that bad. It is flawed at parts (the oldest sister is a generic tsundere, for one) but the trials and tribulations of the main characters are well portrayed and I liked how they handled the side characters (like the MC’s supportive college friends) as well. I thus wouldn’t mind getting more figures of the show besides the two prizes I have, though I think giant Miu is relegated to ‘find on the aftermarket one day’ quite some time from now.
Yeah, Amane was one of the characters I was thinking of; she doesn’t seem to be the intuitive choice for a figure versus Kurisu, who seems quite popular. I really wish they’d do figures of eroge characters like they used to; I think they’d do a really awesome job making figures of the characters from something like Majutai, for instance.
I watched the first two episodes of To Love-Ru Darkness and they’re a lot of fun; I find myself smiling a lot while viewing them. Momo seems like a very sweet girl and I like how she keeps formulating plots and schemes. I like Golden Darkness a lot, too; it makes me wonder why I don’t yet have a Golden Darkness figure. It also makes me think I ought to review that Yui Kotegawa figure soon, too.
Vividred sounds pretty bad … I read about how in one of the later episodes, a characters gets consumed by a bird. Thinking that had to be an exaggeration, I took a look at the episode and yep … the character really does get consumed by a bird. I have no idea what the context of that scene was, but it looked so ridiculous that I don’t know that there can be any sufficient explanation.
Maybe i should try watching Listen To Me, too; I’m not really watching too much stuff these days and I find that World of Warcraft is losing some of its appeal, which leaves me with more free time to get back to other stuff. I had planned on watching more series from this season but all I’m really watching is Samurai Girls. I keep hearing things about the Titan show but I’m not sure if they’re the sorts of things that I want to hear.
Yeah a lot of cool stuff has been out for preordering recently
MF’s elves are damn sexy and look beautifully sculpted, on the next thought they scare me a bit with the non anime ish faces. I prefer the brown one a bit, actually.
But gladly Estellise Sidos Heurassein looks like a sweet straberry cream angel *lo* I know nothing about her, but she fits in my image of super cute. She could wear something more revealing, but anyway Im interested.
Kazuno …Kazuno !? Being non mainstream is cool ALTER, but I really want the young ones 😉
Chapter 5, Anime logic: Adult women have small heads and buxom bodies. On Marie it’s a bit toned down, but still prominent. But yeah the face is simply beautiful. Hehe she reminds me of her funny scenes in the hentai, she’s a charming lady, but her fetishes where ridiculously odd and icky, I can’t stop to giggle.
Listen to Me, Girls. I Am Your Father! was such a sweet anime. Miu has the same VA as Nanoha, so of course I adore her. A bikini is nice, but I’d rather see her in her good night outfit with these adorable fingerless gloves ( ღ’á´—’ღ )
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san is so wonderful scatterbrained, I love it.cIt’s one of the best Xebec shows imo. The characters are very likeable and every of the cute girls have a healthy dose of lewdness ^^.As for the figure, yes it’s cute, I somehow wanted to see her in a casual outfit, though.
It happened quite often recently, that I was totally excited about a grey prototype and lost interest as it was painted. This happened with Akana. as you said, the face isn’t as cute as it should be and I also think that her ass appeal is that well portrayed in this figure as it should be.
I ordered that Sonico, Keijj and Alleyne. This is among the three best Sonico figures for me, she has a cool pose, a unique outfit, a lovely face and she’s damn great big. There have been a number of Sonico figures that didn’t convince me recently, on a 1/2 scaled figure, you shouldn’t come up with a bad face ^^
I sold all of my Hyakka Ryouran girls from ALTER, but I want Maeda Keiji, since I think it’s the best 😀 Well, she is very close to the nitro+ characterdesign, it’s lovely ^_^ I got Alleyne because she’s an Elf and because she’s sheduled for next year. Lol I remember that Im still waiting for my magical Chouhi, they changed her release date somewhere in summer 🙁
Ran Misugi actually looks like from this porn figure manufacturer which name I’ve forgotten.
Seriously it’s a totally dirty girl figure haha, but the crazy face is cool and has a lot of appeal, It appears like a troll attempt from Native, how far they can go, but it’s high quality.nevertheless. Would be funny if the figure could spray water (my dirty mind) XD
Estelle is a very friendly, kind, but rather naive and airheaded girl. She also has a little bit of a complex regarding her inferior chest size compared to Judith. She’s a really cute character, though as you say, I’d be okay if she were wearing fewer clothes.
I was interested in what Starless was like, having liked Bible Black (the anime, anyway). I looked through the CGs and I was like …. yeah, I don’t really want to see an uncensored version of these.
It sounds like Nyaruko and Listen To Me Girls are decent shows. Maybe I should be watching them; if I can find time to watch Date A Live (which is pretty dreadful), I ought to be able to find time to watch something worthier.
I’m kinda hoping that maybe they’ll do more figures of the Vividred Operation characters. I dunno how much I like Akane, and given how frequently GSC’s figures get discounted, I think waiting would be a good decision on my part, but I do like the character designs, at least when they’re in their school uniforms (not so much their drum major hats).
I’m still waiting for Orchid Seed to do the princess figure based on Toshihide Sano’s art. It seems like we’ve been waiting forever for some of these figures. I have no doubt that they’ll show off some of the same artwork at Wonder Festival in a couple of months.
I saw the figure of Ran and was astonished that it was from Native. That said, thinking it over, I guess I’m not tremendously surprised … I mean, it’s not like their Mahou Shoujo figures come from clean properties. I hope it’s big for its 1/7 scale size, so that she can interact with the president.
Dark Elf – I was not expecting the first figure to be her, but YES. She was an instant pre-order. I love how she looks even though I have never played Lineage II. (She really makes me want to play it, in fact.) I also choose blue skin, because, c’mon, when are we going to see such beautiful blue skin again?
I really need to play Tales of Vesperia so I can see about getting the awesome figures that have been coming out. (I just wish they made figures for Symphonia and Destiny too…)
Tony Taka’s Rikka – She’s another I want to get. I like the pose, it’s sultry yet pretty casual. I can see what you mean about the eyes, but I think with an original character I can think it’s a part of her character and make it a positive rather than a negative. Plus, that purple ribbon always catches my eye and just makes her stand out.
Oh man. Ran Misugi from Native! You’re right on the mark that it didn’t go over too well (at least not on MFC) because for some it looked too much “like Giga Pulse”. I don’t know what they mean, Ran doesn’t look as ridiculous and lulzy. xD I think it was the ahegao that makes me want to buy her the most (I’m also interested in the few goodies Native is giving with their site’s pre-orders). It’s so funny and practically perfect. She would definitely be an eye catcher, that’s for sure. I would display her with the ahegao face since I… kinda like ahegaos. I certainly wouldn’t mind if Native made a separate division for high quality hentai figures. We could seriously use some.
Sonico – I know what you mean with the syndrome. I have 2 Sonicos and my current self-imposed limit is 3 per character so I can have money for new faces. It was between the bikini & boots or the cheerleader ver. I choose the cheerleader ver due she’s not posing “still” like the bikini & boots version. Honestly, I had started to become less interested with this version for some unexplainable reason. She does look amazing, nonetheless. I’m hoping the cheerleader ver comes out as good or even better. Sonico has too many damn good figures.
Alleyne – Is there anything that needs to be said? Instant pre-order; she was irresistible the moment she was painted. Especially those abs. Now I just need to watch some Queen’s Blade.
I downloaded Lineage II about a year ago, since it’s now free to play. It wound up crashing on my computer, which didn’t give me the best first (or second) impression. I never did get the hang of playing it the first time I subscribed, and I didn’t really know what I was doing the second time around. The biggest problem I had with the game was that they censored the dark elf newbie outfit; they used to wear thongs, now they wear more conservative underwear. I’m not sure why they did that.
I was wondering where Rikka comes from. I guess “shirayukihime” means something like Princess Snow White or something? I’m not sure if there is any connection with the western story; I initially thought that she was supposed to be a snow demon, like Shirayuki Mizore from that one anime series whose name I can’t quite remember off the top of my head (I always seem to confuse that show’s characters with those of To Love-Ru, for some reason). I guess the fact that she’s holding up an apple makes that unlikely, though.
Haha, I was thinking Ran would get a very negative response from MFC. Well, there’s always the regular face for anyone who doesn’t like the ahegao face (and in truth, I prefer the regular face, but I like knowing that there’s an ahegao face available). It’d be funny indeed if Max Factory went ahead and made another marque for sexually explicit figures, separate from Native. Certainly I wouldn’t mind if Native (or any other high-quality maker) made for figures like this; I mean, it’s not like anime hasn’t become more and more sexualized in recent years. It seems reasonable for figures to follow suit.
Yeah, I’ll be honest – I like Sonico but I don’t feel any compelling need to own every figure of her that I think looks good (unlike, say, Fate Testarossa or something). I do very much like that this one is 1/5 scale; at 1/7 or 1/8 scale, I probably wouldn’t have thought too much about it, since I already have a ton of bikini figures, but the bigger size makes it more compelling to me.
I need to get the Queen’s Blade Blu-rays; for as much as I say that I like those sorts of themes (i.e., scantily clad female warriors duking it out with swords and fireballs), I haven’t actually watched many of the Queen’s Blade episodes in their entirety. I pretty much skipped through to watch Irma’s scenes, and I feel like I ought to watch the whole thing.
Very true about Max Factory just making a bunch of sexy women. But I’m for it. Both dark elves, Sheryl, Momo, I pre-ordered them all. Marie and Alleyne too, why the hell not. The second half of this year’s gonna be full of plastic boobies for me.
As for the Native figure, I think it’s awful. Just terrible. A complete letdown by everyone’s standards. I mean it says quite plainly “meat toilet” but you’re telling me this is a toilet woman?? She’s clearly squatting over a desk. Shoddy, shoddy workmanship. It demonstrates a serious lack of attention to detail. 2/10 would not bang.
“Meat toilet” and “toilet woman” are pretty much equivalent, I think; meat toilet (nikubenki 肉便器) is actually probably much more commonly used than toilet woman (benki onna 便器女), although I’ve seen both used, such as in the title of this doujinshi. Also common is the simple phrase “public toilet”, which is one of the themes of Dairiseki’s art. Indeed, one of his comics – also titled Koukai Benjou, or Public Toilet – got a recent anime adaptation. The title, of course, refers to the characters rather than the object, though an actual commode does make an appearance in one panel.
I hope that this was helpful! Perhaps it might even be the start of a new interest on your part.
Hmm I appreciate your explanation of the phrase (such work ethic too!).
The issue is that she isn’t done up like a proper meat toilet, nor is she anywhere near an actual toilet. She’s not even in bondage gear! I can write “giant sausage” on the inside of my thighs, but unless I got the hardware to show, it’s all just words.
The phrase really refers to the function of the girl rather than referring literally to the household appliance. That is, it denotes that the girl herself is a passive receptacle for various liquids, much as an ordinary toilet is. Now, obviously we’re lacking those liquids, and not supplying such could be considered a failing on Native’s part, but then, we can always procure our own fluids in the baking aisle of the nearest supermarket. (Or from various highly personal activities but we won’t go into that.)
If you do insist that “meat toilet” requires an actual toilet, here is a more literal interpretation of this idea. Poor Luserina. (And if you want to see more, I’ve got more! Just say the word.)
Yes, that’s what I expected.
Oh god yes so many amazing figures coming out.
Dark Elf – Perfect, no other words to describe it. I too only played Lineage 2 for the dark elves, and when Orchid Seed had this figure planned I was ecstatic. I still find it hilarious that Max Factory managed to announce, prototype, paint and release this figure all before Orchid Seed even made a prototype; damn they’re slow. Anyway, I consider this figure the pinnacle of figurines, and it will probably be the most beautiful thing I own. I got both colored versions, they’re just that amazing. Honestly if I had the money, I’d be one of those obnoxious rabid idiots and buy several of these from every distributor that exists.
Kazuno – I didn’t watch the show, but I did see that particular fight, and it was amazing. Not really my type of figure (not a fan of standard anime faces on figures) but objectively its quite good.
Mamiya Marie – The face is, as you say, one of the best (not better than perfect dark elf though). I don’t think her head is that much smaller than her body, at least compared to some of the other figures with this problem. Its probably her huge breasts that make it seem worse than it is. I’ve been wanting her since I saw her prototype, but after learning the price and estimated shipping, I’m now on the fence. She seems rather popular, so I’m not too sure if she’ll end up in the bargain bin. Even if secondhand hits Mandarake, I think she might be rather hard to secure; the sought after goods last only a few hours before they get snatched.
Nyaruko – non-figure comment: I don’t think I was the only one completely disappointed with this show. I had honestly expected more of the Cthulhu mythos to play a part, but the only thing to do with the mythos are the names. Also the romantic comedy aspect ended up bland. DISAPPONTED!
Meiya – I really like serious looking faces, and this one hits that mark quite well. Her pose is odd though, and I have not played the VN, so I have no idea if she’s even a character I would like. I’m on the fence with this figure. But seriously, wtf kind of pose is this supposed to be? The fuck is she supposed to be doing? http://myfigurecollection.net/image/bredoman1231369419265.jpeg I don’t really like the fact that she can’t be viewed from the side without seeing that.
Keiji Maeda – I really like her character design (because lack of clothes lawl), but I don’t really like open mouths on figures. I do like that flowing thing she’s wearing (no idea what its called, modified kimono?), plus unzipped shorts are yummy. Also the placemat she comes with is both cute and sexy. Well, I still have a few days to decide before preorders close.
Momo – To-love ru character designs are so deliciously juicy, its almost a crime. The figure is awesome and captures the art very well, which most figures of the anime/mango fail to do. It would be nice if they did the dark-skinned loli with this same level of quality.
Tony – Hawt. Not really outstanding compared to other figures though, but not everyone can be a dark elf or Alleyne.
Ran Misugi – I don’t care for the figure, but the amount of rage and butthurt over this is completely ridiculous. The words and ahegao are optional, and without those it is completely in line with other Native works.
Alleyne – Instant preorder. Also perfect, though if she comes with barbie anatomy I will be disappointed. Unfortunately it seems likely.
Kazuno’s starting to grow on me. This isn’t what I really want to think, since she’s expensive, but I’m digging the headgear and her shoes (oddly enough) more and more as I like at her.
I think you’re right that Marie probably is not going to stay in stock for too long; I kinda doubt they’ll make very many of her, and I’ve seen some figures unexpectedly command a great deal of demand. Tranvestite Yoko from the same sculptor comes to mind, as does the recent figure of Yuki Mori. I know I’ve looked for several older FREEing figures on Mandarake and they’ve never been that easy to find.
Sometimes I forget just how isolated ero-anime culture is. I tend to think of things like NTR and tentacles and the body writing (and tally marks – I’m kinda surprised Ran doesn’t come with tally marks) to be fairly mundane, but then I hear of things like some video game writer getting all offended by the bust sizes of the characters in the Dragon’s Crown video game and I realize if people are shocked by big boobs, then these sorts of things must seem absolutely obscene to them. Oh well; they can be offended if they choose. You know you live in a pretty safe, sheltered environment when you can pick and choose the things that offend you.
I left my preorder on Mamiya, and i strongly think about Momo.
However when i saw Ran Misugi from Native i was like wtf, way to vulgar for my taste, im going to be passing on this one even tho i like Native figures quality in general.
Haha, yeah, I was astounded when I saw it; it really does not look like the sort of figure Native would make, even with their Naked & Creative motto. As obscene as it is, I’m looking forward to photographing it.
i regret clicking that “erotic doujinshi” link
cannot unseen
Why would you want to unsee it? :O Mikan is a sweet girl. Maybe I should’ve used the picture where she gets pierced instead.
welcome to the internetz ;D
seriously tho on scale from 1 to 10 this pic rates about 4 on my “The Dark Hentai Image” meter, be careful around hentai if this scarred you ;D
PS: Tier, what doujinshi is that ? so i can look it up
There is some really, really nasty stuff out there, for sure. This book is titled “Mikan Darkness 2” and is by Chi-Ra-Rhyzm, or something like that. It’s a really cool book though a bit difficult to find, I think.
Just preordered the Sonico. I’ve always liked the character, but a lot of her figures just didn’t do it for me. Something about this one caught me though and the 1/5 scale is pretty damn big.
Yeah, I think this is one of her better figures. They did a very nice job with her face and her body shape; some of Orchid Seed’s earlier figures of her had very short legs which looked rather weird, but this one certainly doesn’t have that problem.
Alleyne was also a love at first sight for me. I just couldn’t resist those sexy abs LOL.
http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=FIGURE-000783&page=top
look at this Tier. Its not by Daiki but uses the same sculptor, honey, who also did Imari. Imho, she looks even better (though not quite sure if Dragon’s quality is any better)
Yeah, she looks pretty great. I’ll write more about it later this week, I think, since we’re about due for another one of these. I’m assuming Dragon Toy is just Daiki Kougyou by another name now; I’m not sure what’s up with all this rebranding going on.
They’re the same company?! Aww drat! Those jokers are releasing 2 equally hot figs at the end of October! Already pre ordered this Daiki figure http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=FIGURE-000505&page=top
then Shiraki shows up………..d@mn!
This is not MFC, so I’m glad I can direct your interest towards one of E2046’s current offers: http://www.e2046.com/product/18194 It’s the prepainted version of this garage kit: http://www.e2046.com/product/18075 (Check this listing for a couple more sample pics)
The character’s name is Megan, and I can’t find any mention of this anywhere else. (Which doesn’t mean anything by the way, but oh well…) So I assume that it is sort of an original design by E2046. The kit is scheduled for the end of July 2013, while the prepainted version is expected at the end of August.
The figure is quite pricey, but the scale is 1/3, which should put the price into perspective. Moreover, you’re not getting tired of telling us that you like bigger-scaled figures, so this should be right up your alley 🙂
They are indeed very diligent (and vigilant) about excising references to that site. That is an interesting figure indeed. I’m not so sure it’s original, though; it doesn’t look like their style and whenever they make an original figure, they always mention it prominently. It looks sort of like Shungo Yazawa’s style, though I don’t know if he’s ever done anything that large. Thanks for the heads up.
Hi there, I was wondering where you get your pictures in the thumbnails from
If you’re talking about the figure thumbnails, I usually jack them from Amiami or Hobbystock, but they’re the same promo photos that every retailer uses and you can find them pretty much anywhere. If you’re talking about the header, I usually find them on Danbooru or, in the case of characters from eroge, from the game CGs.