March proved to be a slow month on the review front. I have been experimenting with different lighting setups and backgrounds for my upcoming (GSC) Saber Lily review over the course of the month, but I couldn’t find a setup I liked in time to post a review.
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I wanted to have my Saber Lily review ready for today, but evidently it’s just not going to happen. You’ll have to make do with more previews instead. *sigh* -_-
Alter - 1/8 Momohime
Preorders have started for Alter’s Momohime. I think she looks even better in the official photos than she did at Wonder Festival, last month. It looks like she’ll have a switchable forearm in case you want to display the sword unsheathed.
I’m planning to pick up Momohime even though the budget’s getting pretty tight. I don’t have any particular attachment to Muramasa: The Demon Blade, but this figure looks too good to pass up.
Good Smile Company - 1/8 Misaka Mikoto
GSC’s new Mikoto figure looks rather mundane next to some of the other figures they’ve pushed out recently. As such, she’s probably going to appeal primarily to fans of the To Aru series. I haven’t see either show, but they look like something I’d like to watch eventually.
I do find it interesting that GSC tucked shorts under Mikoto’s skirt rather than the typical pantsu. I imagine this it some kind of nod to her character design rather than a concerted effort to be different, but it’s nice to see all the same. Also, the clear base shown in the preview shows is probably a good indication this this figure won’t be getting the fancy base treatment GSC has been doing of late.
Kotobukiya - 1/8 Senjōgahara Hitagi
Here’s the final version of the Hitagi figure Kotobukiya showed off at WF2010W. I definitely like GSC’s version better, but I guess Koto is technically first to the market with a scale Bakemonogatari figure. I like the motion conveyed in Hitagi’s skirt, tie, and hair, but the tentacle thing is just creepy. -_-‘
PS: Somebody needs to hurry up and license this show!
The Miyazawa Model Exhibition 2010 (Spring) was held this week in Japan. Like Wonder Festival, this is a major industry trade show so it follows that there would be some new goodies unveiled here. Continue reading
I don’t have any new reviews ready yet and there have been several interesting new releases since my last roundup, so I’m doing this post earlier than usual. February’s roundup was kind of lengthy anyway, so maybe this is for the better. ^_^’
Alter - 1/8 Clalaclan Philias ~Armor Ver.~
Alter showed off their upcoming Clalaclan figure at WF2010W, but she really didn’t catch my eye for whatever reason until I saw these official release photos.
Clalaclan definitely isn’t my favorite Shining Wind character–I’m embarrassed to admit that I actually thought her name was “Clanclan” previously–but Alter’s rendition is looking awesome in her full battle regalia. There are a lot of unique and interesting visual details to be had here, like the multi-layered skirt and diadem, but I particularly like the medieval shield, which is a relative rarity among anime figures.
There’s a pretty decent chance I’ll be picking this one up. ^_^
Kotobukiya - 1/8 Feena Fam Earthlight ~Royal Dress Up Ver.~
Here we have the completed version of Kotobukiya’s prototype Feena Fam Earthlight previewed earlier at WF2010W. The good news is she looks much, much better than I thought earlier. The bad news is she’s another Japanese online and mail order exclusive. -_-
I’m a bit conflicted on this one. Feena is rather high on my list of characters for whom I want a nice figure and Koto’s Feena looks pretty good from what I can see here. That said, this is a terribly expensive figure for its size and my (limited) experience with Koto in the past has been decidedly average. IMO, average doesn’t cut it from a 12,000 yen 1/8 scale mandatory-proxy-buy figure.
So, do I give Koto the benefit of the doubt or hope for another Feena?
Max Factory - 1/7 Seena
Max Factory’s new Seena figure is–from what I’m reading–the first of four Shining Wind figures we should expect to see from MF this year. I’m not terribly exited about this particular figure–I think the outfit and pose are rather plain–but I am optimistic about the prospect of more Shining Wind figures from a top manufacturer like Max Factory in the near future. Personally, I’m hoping to see Xecty in her normal outfit.
New Line - 1/6 Revy ~Swimwear Ver.~
New Line actually managed to sneak their new Revy announcement last month after my February recap post, so I’m covering her in March. -_-
Black Lagoon initially flew under my radar, but it proved to be a great series once I got around to checking it out. Revy totally makes the series work and she’s a great character that deserves some great figure treatment.
Unfortunately, I have yet to see a Revy figure I really like and I think New Line missed the memo on this one. The bikini feels terribly out of character for Revy and smacks of blatant fan-service on New Line’s part, which is really too bad considering that their other Revy might well be the best one to date.
Fresh from my recent Galett review, I have a new desktop wallpaper ready for consumption. As with my first Figyura wallpaper, this one’s formatted for 16:10 widescreen displays. Enjoy! Continue reading
Bit of a quiet month on the orders front compared to January, but that’s to be expected with the way I structure my budget. I was swayed into ordering MegaHouse’s 1/8 Kasugano Sora figure after seeing the overwhelmingly positive reviews at HappySoda and foo-bar-baz. I already had my eye on the Sora figure and seeing two figure blogs I greatly respect give their approval helped convince me to go ahead and pick her up.
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Alter - 1/8 Nakano Azusa
Alter showed off their upcoming Azusa figure at WF2010 and online shops started taking reservations for her a few days later. Azusa is probably my favorite K-ON! character design after Mio, mostly owing to her hairstyle. I would probably display her in Azu-nyan mode, but I’m always a bit leery of customizable bits on my fixed-pose figures these days after seeing too many unsightly gaps or loose parts on figures I’ve purchased in the past.
Griffon Enterprises - Tomoe
When I first saw Griffon’s new Queen’s Blade figure on the Hobby Search page in a modest outfit and pose with no mention or images to suggest a cast-off ability, I was impressed. Figures from the Queen’s Blade series so often fall into the generic ecchi/cast-off/crap category that seeing something more normal is refreshing. Or at least it was… until I poked around further and found that the figure is does indeed feature a cast-off ability. Ugh.
Alter - 1/8 Senhime
Senhime is Alter’s latest entry in their line of Hyakka Ryoran figures. I have to admit that I really like the character designs for this series. They’re definitely fan service-oriented, but it’s not generic fan service.
I’m liking Senhime’s outfit. The neatly pleated skirt seems to be the visual centerpiece and the purple/red/black color combo works very well here. The one thing that I’m not so sure that I like is Senhime’s expression here. I’m guessing it’s part of her character, but the frown she’s wearing seems to suggest she’d rather be doing other things. -_-
Alter - 1/8 Sanya V. Litvyak
February seems to be the month for Strike Witches figures; two from Alter and one from Kotobukiya. I haven’t personally seen the series–though I do have the DVD set on order–but I have noticed that the series has been thoroughly vilified in the West for reasons I can understand, but don’t necessarily agree with. Regardless of how you feel about Strike Witches, you have to admit that it is at least unique from a character design standpoint. The moefication of girls as WWII fighter planes isn’t something you see every day, even in anime.
Sanya isn’t my favorite design among the Strike Witches characters–that distinction probably belongs to Lucchini–so I can’t say I was exactly looking for a Sanya figure, but I can see some appeal here. For one, I find the dark colors of Sanya’s outfit and her Striker Unit appealing. I also think there could be some value in the fact that this Sanya is probably going to be one of the tamer figures from the Strike Witches series, for someone who’s conscious about their figure collection.
Alter - 1/8 Miyafuji Yoshika
Alter’s other Strike Witches figure for this month is a re-release of main character Miyafuji Yoshika. Sometimes I wonder how and why manufacturers decide to re-release certain figures and not others. I considered Alter’s Yoshika briefly the first time around, but ultimately decided to pass. Among the motley assortment of character in Strike Witches, I actually find Yoshika kind of plain. Sad but true.
Kotobukiya - 1/8 Erica Hartmann
As mentioned in the Sanya comments, Kotobukiya also got in on this month’s Strike Witches action with their own Erica figure. Like the others, Erica isn’t my favorite character design from the series so this figure doesn’t win any brownie points there. It also looks like stand Koto is using for Erica would be more visually intrusive than the minimalist metal pins that Alter is using. I’m not a fan of bases that have visible supports in the first place, so the less I see, the better.
Gift - 1/4 Minamoto Chizuru
You’ve got love a figure that’s gratuitous in more ways than one. Outrageous outfit. Enormous size. Massive price tag. Gift’s latest is a 1/4 scale bunny girl who does all things in large proportions. ^_^
Kotobukiya - 1/6 Kousaka Tamaki ~Panic~
It seems that Kotobukiya isn’t quite done milking To Heart 2’s Tamaki for their 4-Leaves series. Here we have the third 1/6 scale Tamaki figure in a similar crouching pose. This one features a slightly different sculpt with Tamaki in the middle of a wardrobe malfunction rather than supporting her bra using her mouth as in the previous 4-Leaves figures. Of the three, I think I like the look of this version the least.
FREEing - 1/8 Akiyama Mio
Yay! It’s another Mio figure!
Boo! She’s not wearing her ending sequence outfit! -_-
FREEing’s new Mio was one of the handful of upcoming Mio figures shown off at WF2010W. It’s hard not to compare her to Alter’s maid Mio, which I probably liked more between the two. I’m missing the musical references from the series here–Alter’s maid Mio is shown holding her guitar–which I think leaves Mio looking a little too generic. I’m also not particularly fond of the troubled expression she’s wearing here. Oh well, the wait continues…
Time for another review! This time I’m taking a look at Resinya’s 1/6 Galett Fey Sowauge completed PVC figure.
Galett is a princess hailing from the Shina Dark manga series. Judging by the way she carries a sword, along with her fierce expression, we can also assume that she’s also a capable warrior.
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In case you missed it, Wonder Festival 2010 [Winter] was held this past Sunday in Japan. Wonder Festival is a major trade show for the figure industry so almost all the major manufacturers were on hand to show off a bunch of new figures at various stages of completion. Like most fans outside of Japan, attending WF2010 physically would have been less than convenient for me, so I had to make due with blog coverage of the event.
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Figyura (フィギュラ) 