Tag Archives: Figures

Tomo Asama from Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere

written on June 5, 2013 by Tier

Over a year after Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere (or Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, if you prefer the more-grammatically-correct American title) concluded its two-season run, figures have been slow to trickle out. The few that are available have come from a variety of manufacturers; Wave has released a few figures in its Beach Queens series, as well as an anomalous figure of lead girl Horizon Ariadust, which we looked at a while back. Alter, as is their wont, is going with a minor character in an action pose. (I previously expressed some trepidation regarding the figure’s price tag and size but lately I’ve been thinking she’d look pretty cool battling my Yamato 1/48-scale VF-1 Valkyries, and that could also make for some pretty cool photo ops.) Volks’s figures show a lot of promise but nothing yet substantive. Kotobukiya has a few in the pipeline, including an action-oriented one of Tomo Asama, who is who we’re looking at here. This figure, by Max Factory, is decidedly not action-oriented; instead, it is pretty obvious what attributes they wished to emphasize.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/7 scale, bodysuit, bow, epic ass, Figures, horizon on the middle of nowhere, Max Factory, Review, tomo asama | 32 Comments

Preorder Outlook XXVII

written on May 28, 2013 by Tier

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.
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Posted in Preorder Outlook | Tagged Figures, Preorder Outlook, Random Thoughts | 86 Comments

Yui Takamura from Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse (Eishi Strengthening Equipment Version)

written on May 21, 2013 by Tier

There have been a number of figures of the characters from Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse. To date, most of them have put them in swimsuits or their underwear. Not that that’s a bad thing (would you trust a heterosexual man who said he didn’t like panties?), but given the appeal and distinctiveness of Muv-Luv’s pilot suits, it’s a shame that figure makers haven’t chosen to adapt the most iconic look of the Total Eclipse characters. That is, until now; Kotobukiya has finally made a figure of lead girl Yui Takamura in her pilot suit, and that’s who we are looking at here.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/7 scale, bodysuit, Figures, Kotobukiya, muv-luv, Review, sword, total eclipse, yui takamura | 54 Comments

Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2 (Bunny Version) (NSFW)

written on May 4, 2013 by Tier

Another day, another Tamaki figure. Given how much I whine about there being too many Miku Hatsune figures, it’s fair to wonder why I don’t make the same complaint about Tamaki. There are a couple of reasons; the most obvious one is that Tamaki is very often sexualized (even by Leaf) while Miku is not. The other reason is that while Miku has a (more or less) accepted look (embodied in her original Good Smile Company figure), nobody really seems to care much about Tamaki’s official design, and that leads to wide variation amongst her figures. Such is the case with this figure, and as a special bonus, it comes from a (sort of) brand-new figure maker, which gives us something new to talk about.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/5 scale, bunny suit, Figures, orca toys, Review, tamaki kousaka, to heart 2 | 35 Comments

Miku Hatsune from Vocaloid (Racing 2011 Version)

written on April 23, 2013 by Tier

Miku Hatsune Racing 2011 figure by Good Smile Company

Another day, another Vocaloid figure. The Vocaloid phenomenon offers a little something for everyone. To amateur musicmakers, it is an empowering tool, giving them the ability to add vocals to their instrumental tracks. For artists, it is a source of inspiration for their illustrations. For companies, it’s a reliably fat cash cow – slap a Vocaloid image on a product or insert one of the characters into a video game and watch the units fly off the shelves. A few companies have taken this commercial exploitation to another level; Sega, for example, loves throwing her into games that she has no business being in. And Good Smile Company too, who have made so many products featuring her likeness that she might as well be their mascot. At least in the case of their auto racing team, it seems that this is literally true, as this figure represents.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/8 scale, Figures, Good Smile Company, leotard, miku hatsune, Review, vocaloid | 36 Comments

Preorder Outlook XXVI

written on April 17, 2013 by Tier

There’s a certain theme going on here; a certain singular joyfulness, if you will.
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Posted in Preorder Outlook | Tagged Figures, Preorder Outlook, Random Thoughts | 35 Comments

Yagyu Gisen from Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

written on April 9, 2013 by Tier

Many, many companies make figures of the characters from Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls, but nobody does it better than Alter. It has been a while since we’ve gotten a new figure of a core character, though; in fact, it’s been over a year since they released Naoe Kanetsugu. Charles d’Artagnan is still MIA, with not even a hint of a prototype sculpt, but presumably she’ll be along at some point in the future. In the meantime, today we will take a look at Gisen, the erotic seductress whose fiery passion and icy resolve conceal a variety of secrets.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/8 scale, Alter, eyepatch, Figures, hyakka ryouran samurai girls, Review, sword, yagyu gisen | 27 Comments

Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2 (Black Underwear Version)

written on March 16, 2013 by Tier

Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2 Figure Review

Given the prevalence of Tamaki Kousaka figures in the market, it’s a little surprising that we haven’t looked at a Tamaki figure here in 364 days. It seems like you can’t go a month without seeing a new Tamaki figure go up for preorder. As much as some may decry the proliferation of Tamaki figures – and I can’t say that they don’t have a point – there does seem to be a market for them, so let’s look at this one.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/8 scale, clayz, Figures, panties, Review, tamaki kousaka, to heart 2 | 24 Comments

Horizon Ariadust from Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere (Wave Version)

written on March 8, 2013 by Tier

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere was one of my favorite shows from the fall 2011 anime season. It features a compelling setting, a likeable cast, a delightfully dense plot, and some of the nicest character designs in all of anime. Those designs, plus the sheer volume of characters in the show, would suggest that the series would be one that would get a lot of figures.

So one would think, anyway; however, it’s now been about a year and a half since the show debuted and only a handful of figures from the series have made their way to retail. Even more perplexing is that all of those figures come from Wave. Unsurprisingly, the great majority of those figures belong to their 1/10 scale Beach Queens line, but they did make one anomalous figure of Horizon Ariadust, which is what we’ll be looking at here.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/8 scale, bodysuit, Figures, horizon ariadust, horizon on the middle of nowhere, Review, thong, wave | 23 Comments

Preorder Outlook XXV

written on February 28, 2013 by Tier

It’s the end of the month and that means it is time to look at some figures that I am thinking about ordering. This past month’s Wonder Festival saw many great figures make their public debuts, and though not many of them have shown up at retail websites yet, there’s still a lot of nice stuff that is now available for preorder. Let’s take a look at a few of those figures.
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