And here is the much-belated list of my five most favorite figures of 2016. I have to admit that I was less moved by the selection this year than I have been in previous years, likely for two reasons. One, it’s because I’m not much of a fan of Kantai Collection, Love Live, or The Idolmaster, and it seems like there were a ton of figures from those series. And two, I don’t open my figures until I’m ready to photograph them, and I haven’t done nearly as much of that as I would have liked, which means I haven’t actually seen a lot of the figures I own. Doubtless this list will change as I open up figures; I could see that one Dragon Toy tentacle figure jumping on this list once I see it in person. But there’s no reason to wait until then, as this post has already been delayed more than enough.
#5. Sasara Kusugawa from To Heart 2: Dungeon Travelers
First, an explanation: I usually take an original photo for the figures in these posts but I’m using a stock photo here. The reason for that is that I originally had a different figure here but after thinking about it, I decided to place Sasara here instead. She’s a gigantic figure, which I always view as a big plus, and I like the bikini armor motif going on here, with her outfit obviously inspired by Sega’s classic arcade slasher Golden Axe. Since I don’t have my own picture of her here, I think I’ll bump her up in priority in the review queue.
#4. Scathach from Fate/Grand Order
In fourth place is Plum’s Scathach, which I reviewed a couple of months back. I have to admit that a large part of my fondness for this figure is because of the character design, which I really do like a lot. But this is a great adaptation and moreover, it’s the only one available.
#3. Irohahime from Sengoku Taisen
For the last few years the Tony Taka fairy girls have shown up in my favorite figures posts, so it only seems natural to include another of Kotobukiya’s 1/6 scale Tony figures here. Irohahime has a lovely design, with her skimpy traditionally- Japanese outfit and her confident expression. Hopefully Kotobukiya continues making them – or, that Alphamax does just as good a job, seeing as how they swiped sculpting privileges on the latest fairy girl.
#2. Hunter from Bikini Warriors
Here’s another example of the bikini armor motif, from the appropriately-titled series Bikini Warriors. I own a number of figures from this series – which, regrettably, have not yet been reviewed – but this one is amongst my favorites. Hunter has a dynamic action pose, a great deal of detail in her outfit (what little there is of it, anyway), and the figure is exceptionally large – a common theme here. I really need to photograph the figures from this series (and from Hobby Japan’s 7 Deadly Sins series, now that I think about it).
(Oh, and Hunter is supposed to be wearing a jacket, which would cover up that unsightly shoulder seam. I didn’t want to fiddle too much with the figures before I’m ready to review them so I left it out.)
#1. Maria Bernhardt
It should be obvious why this figure is amongst my favorite figures of all time, but if it’s not, here’s why: showy pose, sexy sculpt (from the sculptor of gangsta lean Saber, no less), large size, and a great deal of exposed skin. It’s sort of an oddity amongst figures – as far as I know, Maria is a completely original character from no series or property in particular – but I’m glad to see Daiki Kougyou manufacturing this sort of figure.
And that’s that – unless I change my mind. For another opinion on 2016’s releases, you should go check out Figyura. Let’s hope 2017 is a great year for figures (and personally, I’m really hoping the manufacturers move past Kantai Collection already).
Glad to see that you’re still posting Tier. I get the feeling that its been a tough year and I can certainly understand why you might not have been doing so if my assumption is correct.
*I’m about to David Carradine myself*
In any case, you might be disappointed by the Dragon Toy tentacle figure as her genitals are lacking. That being said I was very happy with her design/sculpt yet her assembly was the most difficult I’ve yet to encounter.
Regarding Alphamax releasing a Tony butterfly girl; well, I was really surprised and a bit disappointed. While I appreciate Alphamax I have also had a soft spot for Kotobukiya (who has been killing it with their butterfly girls) for a long time. I may never know why they receive so much shade.
Thanks XD Tough might not be the right word; it’s more that I’ve been putting off a ton of life stuff that needs some decisions made soon (the car was one example). I always talk about how it seems like time flies fast, and it’s not just in the context of this website.
I took a look at the Oda Non figure and was kinda disappointed in that respect, especially since SkyTube has been doing a great job with their figures. That she was difficult to set up is dismaying since I really hate having to spend half an hour just getting a figure ready for photographing, but she does look good so I ought to get her out of her box one of these days.
Yeah, the butterfly girl that Alphamax is putting out doesn’t look quite as good as the Kotobukiya figures in my opinion, though I still have high hopes, as Alphamax has definitely done some great figures. I’m also confused as to the criticism that Kotobukiya gets, aside from the skin tone on some of their figures (like Daisy) – that I can understand.
I can’t decide for a favorite for 2016 year, everything I received was very nice,
but there wasn’t something distintive except the marvelous butt of Chitose (//∇//).
Ah, so Sasara turned out nice, once again I’m worried about the texture of her skin 《ﾟДﾟ》.
The few user pics provided were so mediocre, that I could not decide if she was worth to get.
Hunter looks really good, an expressive face and her underboob looks quite realistic.
Hobby Japan is a bit restrictive with their limited exclusive, but the majority of these
figures looks amazing and provide lots of fanservice (๑♡3♡๑).
Haha it’s the flexible Maria. Ohhhhhh (｡’▽’｡)!
I like her, she is very pretty and has a nicely sculpted body and the amount of visible skin.
Well the naughty pose is fun, but a little too lewd for wieselhead, even though it’s hidden,
it’s so stretchy and in your face * pero pero* XD.
It’s a great time to be a figure collector XD Maria’s pose is amazing, we’ve been blessed with some really perverted figures. It’s awesome how companies like Daiki Kougyou, Dragon Toy, Native, and Alphamax have been throwing modesty and decency to the wind with so many of their products.
I respect your commitment to keeping your figures in the box until you’re ready to review them. I tried a similar tactic some years back, hoping it would motivate me to get off my butt and write more reviews. It didn’t work. The boxes just piled up and I felt like I wasn’t getting any enjoyment out of my new figures. If anything, the longer the figure sits there in the box, the less I feel inclined to open it. I still have an unopened Gift Yoko from that period that’s been sitting in the closet for years now. I forget I even have the figure for long stretches if she’s not out on display.
The Hunter from Bikini Warriors was also one of my favorite purchases of the year. It’s embarrassing to think she almost slipped under my radar, because she’s a really gorgeous figure. MegaHouse did a really nice job. It makes me wonder if I’m not missing out on anything by not owning any of the other Bikini Warriors.
It’s good to see you thought well enough of Fighter Sasara to include her in this list. She looked rather enticing, but I had put off ordering her until Hobby Search provided motivation with one of their bargain sales. She should be here in the next week or two.
That’s definitely a problem; I’ve got a bunch of figures here that I’ve completely forgotten about. I was looking around MFC and I noticed one of the Lineage 2 blonde elf figures that Max Factory put out. I took a look at Mandarake to check prices and then I realized I have it listed as owned in my MFC profile. I don’t know if I actually do have it but I’m going to assume I tagged it for a reason.
I completely forgot to preorder the Hunter but wound up getting it from Mandarake for about the same price. I forgot to mention it but one of the annoying trends of the past year was that a lot of stuff was Japan exclusive. It’s a little annoying when some figures are exclusive but others from the same series (like the swimsuit Valkyrie figure) are not.