I was watching Spice and Wolf–the first season–for the first time not long ago and it occurred to me that my collection lacks a Horo figure. Given how great a character Horo is–she practically carries the show–and the fact that my collection is rather lacking in animal anthropomorphism, this simple fact immediately struck me as a grave injustice. It was time to go shopping.
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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
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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It’s drawing near the end of the month, which means it’s time to look at some of the interesting new figures that opened for reservations this month. ^_^
Good Smile Company – 1/7 Saber ~Triumphant Excalibur~
Good Smile Company has another Saber figure hot on the heels of their Saber Lily figure released late last year. This new figure features Saber wearing her original FSN battle armor in a nice aerial action pose. I’m thinking her face looks a little funny in one of the official photos, but otherwise the new Saber is looking top-notch. I haven’t preordered her yet, but I imagine it’s only a matter of time.
Kotobukiya – 1/8 Xecty ~E.V.E.~
Kotobukiya has another Shining Wind figure ready for preorder. This one features Xecty sporting a bit of a different look than what I’m used to seeing. Her new outfit reminds me of Kingdom Hearts for some reason.
Kotobukiya – 1/8 Kasugano Sora ~Sukumizu~
Here’s the next entry in Kotobukiya’s 4-Leaves series, featuring Kasugano Sora from the eroge Yosuga no Sora. I like Sora’s character design, but this particular figure comes across as a bit too generic for my liking. Considering it as a school swimsuit figure, I can think of other examples I like better (To Heart 2‘s Tamaki has several that come to mind). As a Sora figure, I think MegaHouse did a better job of capturing her character.
Yamato – Creator’s Labo #024 Tsukasa Bullet Compact Hog
Yamato’s newest entry in the Creator’s Labo series features the work of Tsukasa Jun, whose style here reminds me of Range Murata. While I am appreciative of Jun’s artistic style and this particular piece is eye-catching enough, it doesn’t quite push all the right buttons to make it my first steampunk figure purchase. Interesting, nonetheless.
Well, I think that about does it for this month’s new release roundup! See anything you like? I think Saber’s a pretty sure bet for me.
In my last post, I took a big-picture look at my budget plan for the year and how it turned out. Now, I’m going to examine the figures I obtained over the course of the year and decide which ones were the best purchases and which were the worst.
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Clayz has translated a gorgeous piece of famed ero artist Tony Taka’s artwork from E2 (Etsu) magazine into figure form. I am a huge fan of Tony’s work so I was immensely pleased to see some of his work outside of the Shining Tears/Wind series get the figure treatment.
Other than the lofty price, which is largely mitigated (IMO) by the fact that you’re essentially getting two figures in one, the trouble with this figure is that it’s an exclusive for two Japanese online shops: E2 (Etsu) and AmiAmi (see links above). Ordering through E2 will probably require a proxy, but it looks like AmiAmi has an English website and will ship internationally.
Kotobukiya has what looks to be a quality large-scale ecchi figure that does *not* include a cast-off feature. What’s not to like?!
I actually had Tamaki on order, but RightStuf canceled my order so she’s back in the watch list until new funds free up.
Figyura (フィギュラ) 