It’s the end of the first month of a new year and it’s also preorder outlook time. First, though, a bit of administrative commentary: I usually do a post enumerating my five favorite figures of the previous year. I think I’m going to roll that into my site birthday post next month since I do not actually know yet what my five favorite figures of last year might be. As sad as it might sound, I haven’t actually opened most of the shipping boxes containing the figures that I purchased and thus haven’t actually looked at many of the figures I bought, and I feel I ought to actually consider them in person before I decide if they are amongst my favorites of the year.
I had intended to cut down spending on figures this year, but rising prices and the rampant proliferation of porno figures and 1/4 scale bunnygirls is severely testing the mettle of this resolution. Accordingly, it seems like many of the figures on this list are either lewd or are sporting leotards and cottontails.
April 2020
Utaha Kasumigaoka from How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend
This is a sort of re-release of an earlier version of this figure, subtracting both the tights and a healthy number off of the previous version’s price. I think I like the FREEing bunnygirls better without the pantyhose, to be honest; aside from the appeal of bare legs, the omission also removes the threat of unsightly fabric stains on the figure’s surface. I had contemplated buying the earlier version but decided against it, in large part because she sold out rapidly and her price from secondary retailers rapidly approached the absurd, but I think I will get this re-release.
May 2020
Eriri Spencer Sawamura from How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend
The same story applies to Eriri, in spite of how appallingly dreadful the source material the two of them come from is.
Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion
I remember when Rei could make a strong argument for primacy of place amongst all the girls of anime. It’s inarguable that Asuka has superseded her lollipop-maned counterpart in popularity in contemporary times, which is a little sad to me as I like Rei quite a bit more. Consequently, we’ve seen relatively few figures of Rei in recent years; it’s thus nice to see a new one coming out this year. The relatively reasonable price tag makes it all the more appealing.
July 2020
Shizuku Kamino from the Art of Parsley
The appeal of this figure is obvious, though it does remind me that while I have a thing for anime girls in bridal-themed underwear, I don’t recall that I’ve actually reviewed a figure espousing this theme. I know I’ve never reviewed any of the Max Factory To Love-Ru wedding lingerie figures nor Ashikaga Chachamaru. That’s a little shameful.
Wet JK from Sex Symbols
This unfortunate girl does not even get the courtesy of a name; instead, she’s just “Wet High School Girl,” apparently. She looks very cute, nonetheless; she reminds me a bit of Fumika from one of the Idolmaster series.
August 2020
Fairie Queen Elaine
I’m still a big fan of the butterfly-winged Tony Taka girls that Kotobukiya did some time back, so I’m very happy to see Native making a figure in much the same vein, except with fewer clothes. I was surprised to see that this figure is 1/5 scale; it’s unfortunate that this figure won’t fit in size-wise with the aforementioned Kotobukiya girls but I’m never going to argue against a larger-scale anime figure.
Hurdle Shoujo from the Art of Kekemotsu
Another girl with no name, the appeal of this figure is also obvious. I wish she were 1/6 scale like so many other SkyTube products but them’s the breaks.
Muramasa from Soukou Akki Muramasa
Despite owning a number of figures from Nitroplus video games, I don’t think I have a figure of Muramasa. That’s not for lack of interest; there are a lot of them that I’ve liked, but I think I like this one the best, for obvious reasons.
Yuzuka Takayashiro from Amakano ~Second Season~
This is a somewhat rare 1/4 scale figure that’s not a bunnygirl. This is yet another reminder that I need to take Olga out of her box one of these days. Yuzuka looks great, even if the fake semen looks more like pastry frosting instead.
September 2020
Rio from the BINDing Creator’s Opinion
Here’s a 1/4 scale figure that is indeed a bunnygirl. While I prefer figures that are posed in a standing position, I appreciate this sort of pose when it’s featured in a figure of this size. I don’t have a lot of shelf space capable of displaying a standing 1/4 scale figure, so I should be able to make some room for Rio when she arrives.
October 2020
Rindo Kobayashi from Food Wars
This is the second bunnygirl figure by FREEing from Food Wars; unfortunately, I missed out on the first one due to waffling and I’m thinking it’s going to be too expensive to procure after release. Too bad, since Erina has an extremely impressive bust. I’m not going to make the same mistake with Rindo, despite my total lack of familiarity with the source material. FREEing’s bunnygirls tend to lack an emotive component but that is not the case here, which is a nice bonus.
Yukino from the BINDing Creator’s Opinion
Yukino is apparently meant to accompany Rio, so I’ll be buying them both. I’ve noticed in photographs of BINDing’s released figures that they are often lacking in anatomical detail, which is too bad but not surprising. That’s made me a little less enthusiastic about buying their figures, but I’ve missed out on a few that I greatly regret not ordering, so I figure ought to get the ones that I do like. They seem to hold their value reasonably well, at least.
April 2021
Prinz Eugen from Azur Lane
Sixteen months from its scheduled release and featuring an eyeball-popping 37,800 yen price tag, this figure really stretches both my ambition and resolve as a figure collector, no matter how fond I am of Azur Lane (which is quite fond, if anyone is curious). As much as I like this figure, I do not think I can justify that price tag when I can probably get two much larger bunnygirls for the same price or save up for my other collecting hobby (purchasing wristwatches). My gut quails at the knowledge that Alter is going to make a figure of St. Louis that I am not going to be able to resist. I do not know whether I should hope that they get the rights to Baltimore and Essex or not.
I’m early…there was a meme about that this past decade…
I have/will have a few figs from How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend so I plan to watch that, no matter how bad they say it is. Same for Date a Live.
I preordered Wet JK from Sex Symbols – but how will I display her? Probably with the undies/bra, totally naked doesn’t look that good to me.
I wish I could have gotten the Fairie Queen Elaine version with the real hair. Not enough money. Why don’t they make more statues with real hair, is there a chemical reaction problem?
I already saw Prinz Eugen from Azur Lane…it’s dreamy, especially with all the Iron Crosses…well I guess that makes you a n*zi haha. KanColle also has Prinz Eugen
https://www.101figurine.ro/produs/kantai-collection-144/kantai-collection-pvc-statue-prinz-eugen-21-cm-11004/
Offtopic but I got these two on sales
https://www.101figurine.ro/produs/anime-bishoujo-statue-18-76/strike-the-blood-pmma-statue-1-6-yukina-himeragi-bikini-ver-21-cm-10020/
https://www.101figurine.ro/produs/anime-bishoujo-statue-18-76/original-character-by-necomi-statue-1-8-tasting-girl-ichigo-milk-15-cm-11290/
Just to set things straight: Iron Crosses are not a nazi symbol, what you’re thinking of are swastikas. I admit I don’t know the exact origin of the curved-edged iron cross symbol. I believe it can be traced back as far as the Order of German Knights in the 14th century. However, they were first used as national insignia on a large scale on World War One German planes. Already later in that war, they were replaced by straight-edged crosses. During World War Two, the German Luftwaffe also used straight-edged crosses on its planes. Swastikas were only carried as “tail flashes” on the tail fins of Luftwaffe aircraft. (And civilian ones, too.)
Iron Crosses are the national insignia of the current armed forces of Germany. So, unless you’re saying “Everything German = Nazi”, you can hardly call the Iron Cross a Nazi symbol.
Hehe wasn’t expecting to get this kind of response but I won’t take it in a bad way (as backlash or passive-aggressiveness). We are on the same page so “chill” and eat some chili lol. I was making fun of the sjw culture and the “cancel culture” they have created in the past few years (especially since meetoo). I sort of have some trad-con inclinations in me, and I love most european cultures including most things german. And I kind of hate rap music (and rap subculture especially) so if anyone is a white soup cream it’s me haha (this was just another joke lol).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teutonic_Order
Oh I forgot to mention (I’m sure everyone knows this in 2020) that the sw isn’t necessarily a 3rd Reich symbol either. It existed way before “the moustache” in MANY world cultures, especially indo-european. I hate how sjws are forcing east-asian cultures to give up this symbol. Like how they are forcing japanese authorities to drop it as a symbol of buddhist temples in Tokyo “for the sensibilities” of western and jewish tourists. Sure, in the west it might be iffy, but in Asia too? wtf
Don’t worry, I’m one of the most “chill” persons you’ll ever meet. No offense taken, and none intended. The only thing I wanted to point out is that the Iron Cross is not a Nazi symbol.
I was already composing a lengthy blurb about how the swastika was used as national insignia on Finnish airplanes, which had nothing to do with the support that Finland received from Nazi Germany during their war against the USSR. That one has its roots in the fact that the swastika is a lucky charm in Nordic mythologies. It has been said to symbolize Mjöllnir (Thor’s hammer), among other things. And I’m aware that the swastika has been known in eastern Asian cultures for centuries, obviously entirely unrelated to any “western” interpretations, recent or ancient.
Personally, I like the geometric beauty of the swastika, but being German myself, I’m acutely aware of the concerns that are associated with it. It’s just that I wanted to point out that people shouldn’t confuse the swastika with the Iron Cross, because the latter one is not a Nazi symbol.
Peace 😀
A story about swastikas; I knew a guy back in school who married an Indian woman. He invited several of his classmates to the wedding and when they got to the venue, it was festooned in swastikas. They were a little taken aback until it was explained that the swastika is a religious symbol in south and southeast Asia (I think I’ve heard that it’s bent the opposite direction from the Nazi symbol but I don’t know if that’s universally true).
Certainly the Iron Cross is not a specific Nazi symbol but I can see how its association with German military history could be linked to the Nazis. I’ve noticed how a lot of relatively innocuous things have been co-opted into provocative symbols as of late. The Pepe frog character and the American Gadsden flag are two such things that come to mind.
I should have linked this from the get-go, WIkipedia is actually…a good website…huh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika
American bikers started using the Cross ever since the 50, for shock value mostly, and also for european heritage signaling (a white pride thing, like the Jamaican Flag is used by some white rastafarians and white raggae/ska fans), of course these days sjw’s are offended by white stuff, but not by black/indian/native/asian/etc stuff, because of the oppression hierarchy (lol)
Pepe is love, Pepe is life. He is the messenger of Kek, the helper of Donald Trump (the God-Emperor) and he is the cousin of Shrek…or his uncle maybe? It all started in 2015…
Gadsten flag is for libertarians. Self-defense, and the Nap.
Should I even say anything about what the Rainbow Flag? “What’s that? You won’t Bake the Cake?”
I was looking at my MFC profile and I think I have the Good Smile Company figure of Utaha. I honestly don’t remember buying it and I have no idea where it is if I actually do own it. It’s a little sad how I own several figures from this series that I really loathe.
I think one of the reasons for not having hairs on figures is that it often doesn’t look that great; I actually have one figure that has hair but the strands are so stiff that it doesn’t really look right. I have a few dolls which have that problem as well.
Man, I wish I could afford Prinz Eugen. She’s not one of my favorite characters from Azur Lane, though. But when someone makes a figure of Enterprise, I’m just gonna have to ignore the price and go for it.
Those figures look great! I wish they hadn’t cut Yukina off at the thighs, though; it doesn’t seem like it would’ve been that hard to make the legs.
Ichigo Milk has some rough surfaces where the stockings meet the meat of the thighs. It looks like she has a little cellulite. But she was chaper so meh. Also had a ton of little plastic wrappings in many places
Yukina is made of PMMA (pvc-L) and is hollow on the inside. She has textile clothes that almost come off, uncoloured nipples and no vg. And her box says “Made in Japan” and I think that refers to her- not the box. That is fantastic imo. I also have another figure from FOTS Japan, but that one’s box has nothing in english and no mention of where it was made…but might also be made in Japan? I hope.
As long as I’m here, here’s something you might like. So your last article was about a demon girl. Well, I just found this site, this week
https://www.novacdawn.com/shop
They are a brand new company (founded in 2019 I think) from my country. These kinds of things aren’t very popular over here, so I’m glad to see them taking this kind of risk. Since they are just getting started, I thought I’d give them some free publicity. No, I’m not payed to do this lol.
If you like resin model kits, check it out. Or send it to others that might be. They ship outside the EU too https://www.novacdawn.com/faq
Also I think I might be able to convince them to make some anime related products in the following years, like OC anime girls,. For now they have good prices, I would say.
But for now I guess I’m gathering intel to see if there would be demand for that.
If you are not interested, I guess you don’t have to publish this comment, I’ll understand.
Interesting; thanks for the link. No worries about giving them publicity, I figure people can choose for themselves whether there’s any risk in buying from them. (I’ve put deposits on a couple of Chinese-made statues but I do not think I will actually ever receive them. It’s sort of a depressing story.)
I only buy stuff online using cash, never credit. That’s how cool my country is haha.
I will get that demon kit, I’ll tell you how it all went, but maybe in april or may.
And I am sorry for your loss of money. Winnie the Pooh has to take his slice of the honey…and your slice too.
http://resourcemagonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/35981786905_c312979aeb_o.jpg
It seems senpai likes bunny girls. I’ve always liked Rindo in Food Wars but I never thought of her as sexy until this figure was announced. Average body, but great face. Concerning those those 1/4 scales from BINDing, I’ve been lusting for Sawara Ayaka for a half year, but this year’s looking tough for me, and she’s only going to get more expensive 🙁 Buy them while you can!
I preordered the Parsley seated bridal figure when she was announced, as I find wedding scales to be quite elaborate and beautiful. I do have the Sansei Muramasa to match Chachamaru you mentioned, and she’s amazing.
As much as I hate to admit it, I think I really do like bunnygirls. I really, really wish I had gotten the Homare-designed one; I’m a big fan of his art and I’m really not certain why I passed on it.
Well, I totally forgot that the preorder period for Muramasa ended a couple of days ago. I’m going to have to either look around for a shop that’s still selling it (I’m guessing Nippon Yasan still is) or wait until she appears on Mandarake.
Enjoyed the preorder posting.
I like the Fairy Queen Elaine figure best, as it exudes a sort of shy sexiness, though the Muramassa, the Bridal, and the Rei Ayaname are nice as well. I don’t recognize the dark Rei plug suit; I assume it’s from a movie or original illustration…?
I think Rei is from the movies, but I haven’t watched them yet so I am not certain. Watching the TV series was probably more than enough Evangelion for me.
I have another comment lol. I’m not too familiar with Azur Lane, KanColle or Warship Girls R. I just looked up some gaming footage…I know it’s not the same as playing them but whatever. I actually have/will have some figures from these franchises because I love the designs and I could afford them.
So I was thinking of Prinz Eugene over here. I don’t think I’ll get it even if I love her design. But I’ll wait to see if a company will make figures with these ones I’ll link. Especially Bismark. I want some statues in my collection that encapture the old german spirit. And some of these would be perfect. And they are ship-girl fusions so that’s an added bonus lol.
https://azurlane.koumakan.jp/Admiral_Graf_Spee
https://azurlane.koumakan.jp/Deutschland
https://azurlane.koumakan.jp/Bismarck
https://azurlane.koumakan.jp/Tirpitz
https://azurlane.koumakan.jp/Admiral_Hipper
https://azurlane.koumakan.jp/Graf_Zeppelin
Azur Lane (and a lot of mobile games, really) has some great designs, with the Ironblood having some of the coolest-looking characters of all (which I hate to admit, being very partial to the US faction in the game). I would certainly expect to see a BIsmarck figure someday, since she’s a really prominent character. I kinda also expect to see an Admiral Hipper, since she’s kind of a straight clone of Asuka from Evangelion.
Admiral Hipper is Asuka? I can tell by her face.
They say that men are islands/ports, and women are ships. The man builds himself up, and the woman comes, takes, and probably leaves for another island, and demands alimony or child support too. So i’ll just have to wait for one of these german women to lay down their anchor on my dock one day.