Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade


Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

I was very surprised when I saw the first pictures of Alter’s Momohime figure; she was one of those characters that I had hoped would get a figure but didn’t expect to. Alter had already shown some love to Vanillaware’s properties, having produced Gwendolyn over a year before and having announced Mercedes by then, but I had thought that they would unveil a figure of Velvet next. Instead, we got a figure of Momohime, and I’ve got no cause for complaint as it is a gorgeous figure indeed.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Momohime is one of the two playable characters in the Nintendo Wii game Muramasa: The Demon Blade. The other character is a male ninja named Kisuke, who is not likely to get his own figure any time soon. Muramasa is something of a spiritual successor to the games Princess Crown and Odin Sphere, being a 2D action RPG with environments modeled on a specific culture and history. Momohime is a young princess who is possessed by the spirit of a malevolent warrior and is thus forced into battle.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

This figure is manufactured by Alter and is in 1/8 scale. Excluding her base, she’s about 18 centimeters tall, and while she seems smaller than Alter’s other 1/8 scale figures, presumably she’s of slighter build than many other characters. Unusually for an Alter figure, she comes with some extra parts so that her sword can be displayed either sheathed or brandished in her hand. She also comes with a very nice base, which features plastic water in a style reminiscent of the video game.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

The first thing that strikes me about Momohime’s character design is the pattern of colors on display, black alternating with the vibrant red, sea green, pink, and violet of her clothing. The pastel tones suggest that she is a delicate, innocent young girl, but the dark silver and black of her armor and sword reveal the peril of assuming such. The next thing that I notice are all the details of her outfit. Her forearm guards include tiny rivets, and the soles of her sandals feature a woven pattern. The white, pink, and red flowers on her sleeves have four, five, and six petals, respectively, giving them both chromatic and geometric distinctiveness.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Alter loves their action poses, and Momohime is one of the nicest examples I’ve yet seen. The illusion of movement is breathtaking and makes her one of Alter’s most dramatic figures. Momohime looks equally good from any frontal or side angle, which is a quality that is very rare among figures.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Vanillaware’s character designs are grounded in the familiar anime style but they still maintain a sense of uniqueness, and Alter’s done a wonderful job in sculpting Momohime’s face. One of the nicest touches is that she has a lower lip, which imparts depth to her expression. She could be anxious, pensive, hesitant, or perhaps completely cold-blooded – looking at her, I can easily convince myself that she’s any of these.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Momohime’s sword scabbard is marvelously detailed, as is her sword. The blade of her sword features a metallic texture but it still looks like plastic and nobody is going to confuse it for actual metal. It seems oversized for her – which is appropriate, since one of the aspects of Muramasa’s gameplay is switching between small and large swords – and is one of the things that gives this figure its charm. The size disparity also accentuates Momohime’s apparent frail nature and provides an additional contrasting element to her design.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Alter generally refrains from swappable parts and gimmicks, but Momohime is an exception to that tendency. She comes with an additional left sleeve and right hand that allow her to be displayed with her sword out, gripped in her left hand.

While this is a very nice touch, it’s also the source of the most glaring problem with this figure. The seam where her left sleeve detaches is extremely conspicuous, particularly because it’s a straight arc around her arm and cuts across the folds of her clothing. I think it would’ve looked better if they had disguised it as a fold, but perhaps that wasn’t possible.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

There’s not really a lot I need to say about the paintwork; Alter’s quality speaks for itself, and the pictures do a better job of describing it than I can. I’ll just say that it’s astonishing.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Momohime is one of my favorite character designs in video games, and when Muramasa was released I was very tempted to pick up a Wii solely to play it. I never did so, and so I’m glad that I now have Momohime on my desk instead. Alter’s quality is second to none, and Momohime is an outstanding figure; she is dynamic, dramatic, and beautiful, a superlative work of art that stands out even amongst Alter’s most exalted figures.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

For another review of this wonderful figure, check out Exelica Meteor.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

I’ve tried to keep this review classy, but I would be absolutely remiss if I didn’t include this picture:

This artwork was done by George Kamitani, the founder of Vanillaware and director and lead artist of their games. It appeared on the cover of the now-defunct Play Magazine. Hey, you know the name of this site, I had to show it here.

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

Alter Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade Review

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55 Responses to Momohime from Muramasa: The Demon Blade

  1. Giolon says:

    Very nice photo review. I received my Momohime on Wednesday morning and find her stunning. I can’t decide how to display her! If she faces left, I can see her face better, but if she faces right, I can see the pattern on her scabbard and kimono sleeves better. AAARGH choices!

    This figure also reall underscores just how SHORT her kimono is. It’s never really quite so obvious in the game, but if you look, it is indeed quite accurate. Put some pants on before you go out to fight girl!

  2. Shashin says:

    Once again, this is another figure I knew I had to have when I saw the production shots, despite not playing the game myself. Of course, I figured it would turn out well given the company, but I’m glad to see that it looks as great as I thought it would. Mine is about 3-4 days away, shipped with all my other Hobby Search goods for the month.

    So Play is defunct now? That’s too bad. They were always very, very hit or miss with their reviews, but the magazine was rather unique. I dropped all my subscriptions around the time EGM died, but Play was always one of my favorite magazines to read when I got it. Except for their year in review issues; those were a major pain in the ass.

  3. super rats says:

    Very nice shoot of one of best figures ever. The interchangeable sleeve is kind of a bummer, though one does fit better than the other.

    Back when I still bought magazines I used to enjoy Play.

  4. motaku96 says:

    She looks lovely. Muramasa is the only game I’d consider getting a wii for. I loved odin sphere. Getting alter’s gwendolyn when it gets rereleased in October. It’s too bad I’ll probably never play muramasa unless they port it.

  5. Tier says:

    >> Giolon
    I just sort of move her around on my desk depending on how I feel, that way I get to see her at all angles throughout the day. I think I like her facing to the left, since that way her eyes are directed forward.

    Yeah it is XD I found it very amusing that her armor comprises some wristguards, two huge shoulderplates, and a big plate draped over her backside.

    >> Shashin
    That ought to be a happy package. I think most of my cool stuff has come in, I just need to put in another doujinshi order with SMJ so I can get them to ship some other stuff.

    Yeah, they’re gone, though I heard the staff just regrouped and relaunched Gamefan. That used to be my favorite game magazine while I was growing up, but I haven’t seen any of the new issues. Always looked forward to seeing their Japanese game coverage, since few other magazines spent a lot of time on that, from what I recall.

    >> super rats
    Thanks! Yeah, it’s a curious thing; off the top of my head, I can’t think of an Alter figure with a detachable arm so maybe they don’t have a great deal of practice masking that sort of seam. I think they could’ve maybe sculpted a ridge or fold over the gap to partially conceal it; I could swear I’ve got some figures that do that, though I can’t recall which.

    I liked Play a lot, though it could be kinda pretentious at times. It was the same with Gamefan; it could be annoying at times but also endearing, since I always liked how they would champion less well-known games like Gunstar Heroes.

    >> motaku96
    I feel the same way; I had very high hopes that it would get a port to the 360 or PS3 when Marvelous announced plans to do more cross-platform stuff, but then they just ported over No More Heroes and called it a day. I’ve still got my fingers crossed, though, cuz I really don’t want to have to buy a Wii to play this game.

  6. Shashin says:

    Two Alter figures, a Kotobukiya figure, and a tapestry; not my largest order but it should be a good one.

    I’ve canceled a good number of figures set to drop in August, as I’m expecting my D-Stage invoice to drop. It was a very painful decision for me; I didn’t have an exact limit on what I wanted to spend, but I just knew that eight figures on top of a $1000 SMJ order was too much. In the end, my pervy side won out. All the figures I kept had the ability to display boobs, while I canceled two figures I really liked from Good Smile Company (Clalaclan Philias) and Alter (Saber Triumphant Excalibur.)

  7. Sloth says:

    Back when this was announced I had no doubt in my mind she’d turn out as jaw dropping as she has. I won’t say I’m glad I ordered her because she’s exactly what I expected from Alter.

    I have noticed since first time visiting your blog that most pictures you post have this smokey, soft look to them. Almost blurry sometimes. It’s like the depth-of-field present in the games nowadays. I’m not sure if it’s a limitation of your equipment or a favorite filter of yours in photoshop but I’d personally like to see sharper images. Of course this is only a suggestion and it’s your own blog so you can have it the way you like.

  8. Ashlotte says:

    Mmm she looks quite lovely…Had her on order before, but then I played the game and ended up canceling her because of that. >_>

    I thought she was a strong gal, but I quickly fond out she’s either A. Possessed by a less then like able guy or B. Her normal personality which is various shades of doormat…

  9. Tier says:

    >> Shashin
    A good choice in a difficult situation, the display of boobs is always the right way to go. I’m sitting here wondering whether I want to buy $70 worth of doujinshi, since I’ve gone nuts with buying stuff the last couple of weeks. Fortunately I think that this month is pretty quiet; I’ve only got one figure preordered (Daiki Kougyou’s Reina) and I wouldn’t be surprised or upset if it got kicked back.

    >> Sloth
    It’s mostly an intentional choice to use a narrow depth of field, particularly if I’m using a particular background or going for a certain effect; I’m generally not too interested in replicating the photos on Hobby Search or Amiami. I probably should’ve stopped down on some of the full-body shots though since I always focus on the eyes and I overlooked that her eyes are about an inch in front of her body.

    >> Ashlotte
    That’s pretty much what I gathered from having read the previews back in the day. It would’ve been nice if she were a naturally resolute fighter girl, I always like that sort of archetype in video games and anime.

  10. here-and-faraway says:

    I didn’t know who Momohime was when I saw her come up for pre-order on Amiami, but I was immediately struck by her appearance and I have to admit I really liked the base too. (I think I’m easily seduced by bases. I received another character that I don’t know, Natsume, with my Momohime order because of his base too.)

    As always, thanks for the photos and review. Glad to see Momohime didn’t disappoint.

  11. Aka says:

    I’ve got my Momohime sitting in her box still. Every set of pictures though makes her look amazing. Great pictures make her look great, terrible P&S pictures make her look great. When does that ever happen? I also remember mentioning or having a conversation either on my site or Rico’s where blushing was mentioned and how it’s rarely done. Momohime has rosey cheeks and they look great.

    Good set of pictures, but I find it interesting you chose to be tasteful with her. It’s like, she’s so beautiful even you can’t defile her image. I like that. And yes, I did see the tentacle picture, but technically you didn’t do the defiling there.

  12. Tier says:

    >> here-and-faraway
    The base is beautiful, but it does make the figure slightly more difficult to photograph. I didn’t include her feet in the bamboo forest photos since running water would look a bit out of place there.

    >> Aka
    Not very often, and it helps that she looks great from every angle so even questionable composition will turn out fantastic, too.

    Yeah, I gotta admit that I thought about making some octopus arms, but that’d would’ve taken a lot of effort and talent, and I wasn’t willing to give the former and I lack the latter. It still might be a good idea down the line, though; I had another idea for photographing her that didn’t work out but I’d like to give it another shot, so maybe I’ll see if I can craft some clay cephalopod parts sometime in the future.

  13. Chag says:

    My case is pretty similar to Ash: saw figure, got curious, pirated game, but didn’t feel too strongly about the game in the end. I guess I still need a good deal of attachment with the source material in order to commit to figure purchases. BRS is an exception, of course, on the account of Dead Master’s ass.

    I know it ain’t your style, but a closeup on the scabbard would’ve been great, since your mention of it in the review got me pretty curious. On that note, a good look at the blade would’ve been nice as well.

    Anyways, I love the speed effect on some of the shots! I was pretty puzzled to see this figure along with the the mountain of k-on/brs/vocaloid figures on MFC’s “figures on fire” section, but your photos and your review cleared things up for me. Like the Samurai Girls figures, Alter has proven that it does not need the support of popular franchises to produce popular figures.

  14. VF says:

    Once again, I’m amazed at how speedy you get these reviews up! I just opened Momohime’s box and came online and you already have this review up!

    Two things that surprised me though:

    1) You didn’t mention anything about her rear end, which I think was fairly nicely sculpted (and no shots of her rear end at that)!

    2) You didn’t do any shots with water, given that her base has water and rocks. =P

    I’m hoping to get some outdoor shots of her so I can put up her review too. I scoped out the location today, I think it might work, although kinda hard to get access to.

    It’s great that Alter provided different parts so you can decide how to display the figure, I wonder how I will display her – both sheathed and unsheathed looks great. What about you? =)

  15. Tier says:

    >> Chag
    I suppose that makes me feel better about the fact that I’m not likely to ever play the game. Pretty much the only way I’m getting a Wii is if Blizzard announces that Diablo III is going to be a Wii exclusive, and I’m not sure if even that would be enough.

    Yeah, I probably should’ve done more close-ups. I was culling pictures and I realized that I didn’t do anything in close and I think that’s because she’s so pretty that I didn’t want to cut her face out of any of the photos. The problem with that is that I’m looking at all my pictures at full size whereas everyone who hits the page is just seeing thumbnails for the most part. I’m gonna try to shoot Fate tomorrow so I’ll see if I can get a few shots of the sword and add them in here.

    I remember I saw the unpainted prototype at one of the conventions and I was like, “Oh wow, they’re making Momohime, that’s pretty cool” but she didn’t get a lot of buzz. Then the painted photos came out a bit later and bam, instant classic. The colors really help make this figure what it is.

    And thanks! I wish I had made the zoom effect more pronounced, I should’ve tossed more light on the background, I think.

    >> VF
    I am the hardest-working man in the figure review business! Sort of. Not really, I guess. Though I do notice that I’m going through batteries like crazy these days. God I hope my Eneloops get here soon; Amazon must’ve shipped them by bike courier or something.

    Yeah, I was trying not to too much of a pervert here, because I really like this figure and I felt it deserved a more elegant presentation. I gotta admit that I feel really strange now, saying that.

    However … there’s something to be said about staying true to yourself. And there’s also something to be said about knowing what your audience wants. I’ve done a lot of figure reviews recently, and some of them are my most creative, I think … but looking at my traffic stats, the five most popular reviews on this site in the last three months are Giga Pulse’s Aaliyah, Rika Shiraki, Hyper Nurse Victory Yuno, Shoujo M, and Diskvision’s Eve. They’ve all got something in common and dignity ain’t it. When I photograph Fate, I’ll try to get a shot right up Momohime’s butt and add it in.

    The lack of water wasn’t for lack of trying, but even I’m not crazy enough to build a running stream on my computer desk. Maybe. I like photographing Momohime though, so maybe if something comes to mind, I’ll try to incorporate that, since you can get cool effects out of water.

    I like the sheathed look better; it adds drama, I think, since she’s running but hasn’t yet engaged in battle. I think that it adds a feeling of uncertainty and danger that goes along well with her facial expression. I’m pretty sure I’ll put her other parts back in the box for safekeeping and display her that way.

  16. Phil says:

    Shoot. First things first….i’ve been following you for a long time. Behind Rob Bricken (Of Astro Toy fame) I think you are one of the best figure reviewers in the business. Now here is why im commenting…I am totally pissed off. First and foremost I am a Vocaloid collector, but lately your reviews has compelled me to dredge for figs in new arenas. I odered Senhime, and I see this review. I just bought a new Dell XPS laptop, so I have no way of buying this. And your friggin reviews make me want one. Badly.
    And I like your photo direction, everyone is doing sharp photos these days, its cool to see someone doing something different.

  17. BioToxic says:

    Momohime looks amazing. (I hope I spelled it right this time, I noticed I was spelling Vivio as Vivo and facepalmed once I’d submitted.) Another amazing figure by Alter. I especially like her face, she looks beautiful and cute.

    I had no idea where she was from, she looked like a character from Samurai Girls when I first saw her up for pre-order. Although from the comments it sounds like Muramasa isn’t a very fun game to play. Still – her figure looks fantastic.

  18. softz says:

    The photos look great! I’ve known this would be a great figure when I saw the promo pictures, plus the fact that she is from Alter. Yesh! The colors really make her shine and stand out from the rest. Oh man, now, you’ve made me… unable to sit still. I can’t wait for mine to arrive. 🙂

  19. Ashlotte says:

    Haha Tier your like me…I take shots then I go back and see that I completely forgot to take ones of important details or angles…ah I fail as a “Review” type photographer I think…Should just mail the figures to Chag after I take the “artistic” shots I want to and make him do the rest of the crap… >_>

    @BioToxic

    Oh no no no Muramasa is a helluva lot of fun to play and absurdly beautiful to look at…Its just Momohime is a rather meh character herself. I found Kisuke’s side much more interesting story wise with some nice character’s unlike Momo’s.

    Wonder if they’d ever make figures of the Foxes…sure Tier would like one of those… :p

  20. Pingback: Momohime 1/8 (Alter) review | Exelica Meteor

  21. Shashin says:

    Yeah, there really wasn’t any question in which figures I was going to choose in the end, but it was still a rather heart wrenching choice. If I wanted to trim it down even further (from 5 figures), it would be nearly impossible. No way am I dropping Kenshin, I really liked your Hustler and Yagyu reviews, and the MegaHouse Shigy and Alphamax Kanu come with amazing asses. Now I don’t necessarily need another Kanu, but it should give me an indication of Alphamax quality, and how much I’ll regret their Queen’s Blade Tomoe I can’t cancel next month.

    As for the doujinshi, I say go for it. I don’t think you can ever have enough, and I have 4-5 full boxes worth.

  22. Tier says:

    I went back and reprocessed some of my pictures because I thought Momohime’s skin tone was a bit too yellow in some of the photos. Man I love RAW, I wish I’d started shooting in that format earlier.

    >> Phil
    Thanks for the kind words! And I’m glad that this site has been helpful. Assuming you’re in North America, perhaps some US retailers will stock her in a couple months and you can pick her up then.

    For the bamboo forest pictures, I intentionally went for a hazy look, since I wanted them to have a surreal, dreamy look to them. The other photos were just me shooting at too wide an aperture. Though a lot of figure review blogs I follow abuse a narrow depth of field to a certain degree; it’s something I’m trying to avoid because I do it all the time, too.

    >> BioToxic
    Haha, yeah, I noticed that, but I wasn’t sure if I should edit it or not. I’ll go back and correct it then.

    Alter’s on a pretty good roll … and both Momohime and Vivio were on time, too! How rare is that? Next Alter figure I’ve got ordered is Sasami … anyone think she’s going to be on time? Yeah, me neither.

    >> softz
    Thanks! Hope you get yours soon, you certainly won’t be disappointed.

    >> Ashlotte
    Yeah, I’m not really trying to do a “review” in the sense of objectively describing a figure and providing a comprehensive set of photographs, I’m more interested in explaining what I feel or like about a figure and presenting a figure in a creative way. Which is another way of saying that I’m all about showing off, which I will shamelessly admit is a major motivating force behind this site.

    I might! Though I’ve got this thing against animal ears and tails. On the other hand, I’ve seen some pretty good pictures on Danbooru involving Kongiku so I reserve the right to change my mind.

    >> Shashin
    Yeah, I hate cancelling, since I know I’m generally not going to get a second chance to pick it up later. Or skipping, like I did with Alter’s Fate figure that I picked up for way too much money.

    I think you’re right; plus while you can find figures later on if you look hard enough and are really desperate, I’ve found it more difficult to find rare doujinshi. Might as well pick them up while I can.

  23. Wisedog says:

    Momohime looks great but there is something that’s bothering me that I can’t unsee after I saw James’ review.

    In the 17th image her left leg looks disturbingly bent too much just below the knee. It makes me think that there was a last minute change in the sculpt but didn’t have enough time properly apply the changes and resorted to bending the leg. I cringe just thinking how painful that would be if it happened to someone in real life.

    All of the other angles look good and if I had money to spare I’d get her.

  24. Halbred says:

    Oh my gosh DO WANT. Even though she’s flat as a board, this is a GORGEOUS figure. I didn’t even realize she was out yet. Unfortunately, it’ll have to wait. Back-to-back expensive figures (Velvet & Kasumi) mean that my wallet hurts right now, but mark my words: Momohime will be mine. Wonderful photos, too. They helped convince me of her quality.

  25. Phil says:

    yeah I live in North America about 15 minutes from D.C. And NO, I am not under any circumstances a Redskins fan. They lose against the most ******ing god awful teams and somehow win (sometimes) against the good ones. So I save myself the pain and ridicule and stay distant away from them. Though I hope McNabb does SOME damage XD.

    But yeah, after the initial rush dies down, I hope some local sites will have her for cheap.

  26. Fabienne says:

    Ah she’s so cool and pretty.
    I have her too but nobody can match your review speed XD maybe I can upload my review next week.

    due to her origin her look is pretty unique in comparison with other figures which origins are mainly anime shows.

    the effect of the first three and the last picture looks really interesting, could you explain it in short?

  27. Tier says:

    >> Wisedog
    Hmm, yeah, looks kinda like there’s another joint in her shin from that view, doesn’t it? I didn’t notice that when I was looking at her but it’s pretty easy to convince yourself of that, if you look at it for a while. Incidentally, while we’re talking about football, if you want to see a real-life example of a human being who briefly had a chicken walker-type leg, go search Youtube for “napoleon mccallum”. I remember seeing that live on television; it was pretty gruesome.

    >> Halbred
    Fortunately she’s still in stock at Hobby Search, as is Vivio, which makes me wonder if Alter ramped up production quantities or if they just weren’t as popular as, say, BRS or Vocaloid figures. Hopefully she’ll be available for a while so you can pick her up, since everyone ought to own her.

    >> Phil
    Ha, and it brightens my heart and lightens my step everytime they lose! The other day, I re-watched the clip of the swinging gate fake field goal they called last year against the Giants; I’ll never get tired of seeing that. I’m pretty sad to see McNabb on the team; I like D-Mac, I’ve had him on my fantasy team probably like five or six times in the last ten years, but now I’m going to have to root for him to blow out his ACLs during the season.

    Hopefully they will, although I dunno if it will come cheap; I’m seeing BBTS is still taking preorders at, uhh, $105. I guess the exchange rate isn’t doing domestic retailers any favors.

    >> Fabienne
    I will look forward to seeing it! Yeah, I seem to gravitate towards video game characters rather than anime characters; I ought to do a count to compare how many of each I have (I’ve been planning on doing a figure wardrobe survey one of these days, too).

    It’s basically me using a desk lamp to light up the background and three flashes on the figure. The light sources are blocked so that they’re only lighting up what they’re supposed to, although a bit of light coming off the background was reflected onto Momohime. I flipped to manual focus, focused at about 24mm, zoomed to 85mm, set a pretty long shutter speed – around two seconds, I think – tripped the shutter, and then zoomed down to 24mm while the exposure was being taken. That gets the zoom effect; I also put a clear plastic bag over the lens while the shot was being taken, and pulled it off just before the exposure finished, and that gets the blurred, dreamy effect. The flashes were set to rear curtain sync so they fired at the end of the shot, mostly freezing the figure. I also set the white balance to 2500K on the blue shots and 10000K (!) for the warm shot, and used a couple of cuts of CTO and CTB gels respectively on the flashes to get those lights looking reasonably natural.

  28. Shashin says:

    Talking about doujinshi again made me put in an order on Mandarake. I actually didn’t see as much as I wanted last time. Most of the bookmarks I had made for items and some of the items in the email list I had created are no longer working, so that’s a bit of a bummer; I should have taken all the links from the Doujinshi database site. Though most of the ones I had wanted to get from that site I wasn’t able to find on Mandarake anyway.

    Still, I put in a decent ~20 item order for a fairly varied selection of doujinshi; I don’t think there’s anything outstanding in the order other than maybe an Ishikei doujinshi that I don’t think is in one of the bigger book collections, but it should still be enjoyable to go through when I get it.

  29. phossil says:

    Im really impress about the high quality this image has. Also the color combination, its really good.

    Great pictures 😉

  30. Tier says:

    >> Shashin
    I’ve had a few things bookmarked that got sold recently; I guess I should’ve acted faster, since there was one book in that group that I really wanted. I’m trying to put together a list of stuff I want to send to SMJ; I really wish Mandarake stocked new or recent stuff, because going through SMJ is nuts as far as cost goes, and there’s really just one book that I want. I was thinking of asking one of the Comiket buying services to see if they could pick it up at the show, but since it’s a somewhat older book (that is, it was released earlier this year), I’m not sure if they’d be selling it there.

    >> phossil
    Thanks for the kind words XD

  31. Shashin says:

    I think it’s more luck than what they choose to stock. I’ve noticed that they do sell some new (as in unused) doujinshi, but most of their stock is second hand. I’ve been able to purchase some doujinshi that came out this year, only a month or two after the release date they listed. So while it’s highly unlikely that they’ll carry multiples of a newer item at one time, you may get lucky and be able to snag something newer eventually. Though the chances of them acquiring the particular doujinshi you’re lucky for aren’t that great.

  32. Tier says:

    Ah, okay, I haven’t had a great deal of luck finding newer stuff. Though I did see Cyclone’s T-01 book a couple times, I guess that came out sometime last year.

    I wound up asking a different dude (Ash, formerly of Comiket Service) to try to order some doujinshi for me; I’ll see if his prices work out better than SMJ’s for this sort of thing, since right now I don’t have any good options for getting new doujinshi.

  33. Fabienne says:

    >> Tier
    thx for the good explanation,
    but I think Im too lazy for trying that myself =D

  34. Tier says:

    That is completely understandable XD Sometimes I really miss just taking shots on a black blackground, I could knock out a shoot in about an hour or so.

  35. Pingback: Shadonia » Momohime – Alter

  36. Shashin says:

    I can confirm that Mandarake does sell some pretty recent stuff if they get their hands on it. When I was placing a doujinshi order a week or two ago (around the time C78 was going on) they had the newest Ishikei doujinshi that debuted (as far as I know) at C78. Wish I had picked it up, but I didn’t. Still, I’m glad to be ordering doujinshi again; it was such a joy going through the package one doujinshi at a time, flipping through all the pages before sticking it back in the plastic covering.

    While it’s still too early to tell, we may be able to rejoice soon. I saw an item on the Japanese Hobby Search page that was listed as R18 a few weeks back, and then found it on the US site without the R18 labeling. I thought it was a fluke, but they have another figure that they just listed today that’s the same way. While it’s no guarantee that they’ll start selling adult items again minus the R18 bumper on the Japanese pages, it looks like they’re trying to be sneaky with a few at the very least.

    I really like the figure they listed today, too:

    http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10125374

  37. Tier says:

    I checked just now and you’re right, they do have some C78 stuff up. I put in an order with another guy to get some stuff; hopefully that’ll ship soon and hopefully the commission fee won’t be insane. I’ll also be getting some stuff from SMJ pretty soon. I wonder how SMJ handles preorders? There’s a couple dakimakura I want but I’m not sure whether to go through SMJ or M-World (which is how I usually do high-cost preorders).

    I probably ought to bag all my doujinshi with backing boards; I also need to get some short boxes for them. Actually, what I really need is to inventory them, because I don’t have a record of my collection.

    That sounds promising, though I’m guessing they won’t be putting any Gigapulse figures up on their international site any time soon. Hopefully they’ll extend that to dakimakura and other stuff, too (though what I’d really like is if they sold ero-manga and H-games on the English site again).

    That figure looks great, I’ve got a couple of Diskvision’s figures and I love them (particularly Iroha). I’m really hoping Elsa gets a PVC adaptation; I’m thinking it’s reasonably likely, since both Daiki Kougyou and Yamato have done so before.

  38. Shashin says:

    Yeah, I’ll be keeping up with C78 upload threads for the next few weeks to see which doujinshi I really like before I track them down in the physical copy. I’m not entirely sure with SMJ on preorders. The order I put in about three months ago has been paid for according to SMJ, and I’ve yet to receive an invoice. I’m assuming they’ll bill me once everything is in stock, but I’m not sure if they’re storing the rest of the stuff in America or Japan (as they only allow you to store items there for one month normally.)

    I need to do the same. I’ll be moving soon and I’ll probably have a full cabinet or two just to store doujinshi. I’d probably be too lazy to take an inventory, but I was thinking of sorting them in a variety of ways. Still haven’t decided if I wanted to do it by circle, type/fetishes, or if I want to go through all of them and then just order them in the order I like them; I’d imagine that would take the most amount of time, but it might be worth it.

    Yeah, but I’d be more than willing to welcome any adult figures they want to list on the site. I doubt they’ll ever sell ero manga/H-games again, but that would be absolutely overjoyed if they did. We don’t really have any good venues for that without a proxy. Erogeshop has a nice selection, and I guess they aren’t too overpriced considering most games sell for $80-90 as it is; J-List is just overpriced all around, though.

  39. Tier says:

    I ran a search on their forum and it looks like they don’t bill you till they get billed. That’s not a bad deal, though I wonder how that works with the bid limits set by your deposit. I probably ought to switch to a credit-based limit.

    Mainly I need to do an inventory to make sure I don’t buy something I’ve already got, particularly with Cyclone’s doujinshi, which have wonderfully descriptive titles like 667, 667 Kai, 767A, F840, F840 Bad End, and so on. I figure if I do take an inventory and categorize my collection, I’ll probably sort it by circle, since I usually buy doujinshi based on which circles I like.

    Yeah, I’d really like it if they did, though it looks like BeNippon has a decent selection of h-manga. I haven’t ordered any from them, but I did order a figure from them a while back and the transaction went smoothly, so I might look there if there’s any ero manga that I want.

  40. Shashin says:

    That would make sense, but they’ve apparently already paid for a large portion of my order; and I’m not sure if you have to pay for preorder purchases upfront with D-Stage. Either way, I don’t think I have to worry about them charging me a late fee or anything as they haven’t sent me an invoice, it’s just a bit weird. Though I think I should email them just to see what’s up and to make sure I didn’t somehow miss a payment. A good chunk of my limit has been tied up for three months. (Un)fortunately, I had the foresight to request an $1800 limit, so I’ve only had one instance since I made the order that I’ve had to wait for something to clear before bidding on another item.

    Understandable, especially with the weird titles. It’s not that big of an issue for me, as I tend to make my purchases based on the cover. With the exception of a few circles I actively seek doujinshi out for (Udon-ya, Ishikei, Tony, etc) I just browse through Mandarake or stumble upon a doujinshi I must have and go from there. I have a pretty good memory when it comes to pervy things, but I’ve still picked up a double or two.

    That looks to be a fairly decent site; I ‘ll have to check them out when I have more money to spare (figures, D-stage order awaiting, and I just bid on Tony’s C78 collection.) If I do order from them in the next few months, I’ll let you know how it goes.

  41. Pingback: Alter: Momohime

  42. Tier says:

    I guess they’re covered by your deposit or being able to charge your credit card. On the flip side, I recently put in an order for some C78 doujinshi with a proxy guy in Japan; I’d never used his service before so I wasn’t sure what his policies were, and I was surprised as hell when he went and ordered a bunch of books off of Toranoana and Doujin-dou for me. No payment up front, no deposit, he just went and ordered them.

    My limit is like under $200, which sorta sucks since it badly limits my bidding options for bigger-ticket stuff, like rare figures or dakimakura, which are probably the main things I’m interested in getting. I’m also kinda interested in model kits, since I’d like to get into that, and they tend to cost even more than completed PVC figures.

    I usually do the same for circles that I am unfamiliar. If I find a book that I like, I’ll start looking for other stuff from that circle. That’s pretty much how I learned about Cyclone and Studio PAL. I’m trying to get as many of Cyclone’s Nanoha books as I can, since they’re great stuff.

  43. MONOLITHIC says:

    Man, those pictures are incredible, especially the first three! They almost look like very high quality/very espensive CGI action shots! Excellent work, Tier!

    Mine’s still sealed in the Hobby Search shipping box with Senhime… I’ve got no room to display either figure.

    Due to the dynamic pose, great colors, awesome detailing and whatnot, Momohime is easily one of the best figures of 2010!

  44. Tier says:

    Thanks! That was sort of what I was looking for, I was trying to get some realistic-looking motion blur (without resorting to Photoshop). A figure like this makes me think of movement; even the base looks like it ought to be moving.

    Yeah, I’ve got no space, either; fortunately Momohime’s footprint is pretty small so I’ve got her parked next to miko Kanu. I gotta find the boxes of the figures I don’t care as much about and box those up to clear out more room.

  45. Blowfish says:

    Ahhh what a shame! I thought Ive finally found a fellow gamer who played the game but it turned out you just bought her for the same reason thar probably all other 95% of her owners did.They wanted to have a cute chick with a badass sword.

    Kudos to you for doing your research though.Shows you actually somehow care about the characters background and you arent only in it for some cute tits.Okay youre probably in it for cute tits and background but yeah uh…Ill shut up…

    Mine is still stuck in customs since the 13th august and hope that shell be released from there sooner than later.But then I wont be able to unbox her anyways thanks to my wet wall/ mold problem in my flat >.<

    • Tier says:

      I did! I have no pride, I fully admit that I was seduced entirely by her wonderful backside. I’d get the game if it weren’t on the inferior console but unfortunately that is the way it is.

      That’s a long time for the feds to be imprisoning her >.< And that mold problem sounds all kinds of messed up. And as I understand it, that's not the sort of thing that can be easily fixed.

  46. Pingback: Review: Momohime by ALTER

  47. Ayra says:

    I finally got mine! She got stuck in the duties a long time too like Blowfish… But based on how wonderful she looks, I can’t blame the duty agents to want to keep her for a while! 🙂 Apart from the fact that she’s my only figure at 1/8, she’s absolutely wonderful.

    On a completely unrelated subject, did you get the Tsukasa Bulelt Compact Hog after all? I recall seeing her in your “preorder list” and she’s been out for some time now so I’m a bit surprised not to have seen any review of her yet!

    • Tier says:

      Congrats! I think Blowfish still hasn’t gotten his. I sometimes complain about the delivery services here, but after some of the stories I’ve heard about huge customs fees and mysterious delivery delays, it seems like Americans have it great. Pretty much the only thing I beef about regarding the USPS is how long the lines are at the post office.

      I did get Compact Hog, she’s sitting happily up on the shelf right now. I’ve been lazy with the review pace, especially since I’m trying to think up more interesting ways to do the photos, but she’s definitely in the queue; she’s probably third or fourth in line now, depending on whether I can think of a creative way to photograph Daiki Kougyou’s Leina. I’ve got some ideas for Compact Hog so she might jump to an earlier spot.

  48. Izanami says:

    Hi!!!

    Momohime… this figure is wonderful! and you did a great job with photography!
    I am fascinated by the figures that reflect the true essence of Japanese culture.
    Muramasa is a good game. In fact, I think the characters are the best.Momohime and Kongiku … are my favorites. I really hope that after there is a figure of Kongiku. I am sure that Alter do an outstanding job.

    • Tier says:

      Thanks! It’d be pretty cool if Alter continues the Muramasa lineup, or continues the Vanillaware lineup by producing a Velvet figure. I’m a bit surprised that there’s no sign of a Velvet figure from them yet.

  49. Pingback: Alter Momohime | Kodomut

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  51. Steve Chen says:

    Just like Tier, I also got Momohime, partly because of this fantastic review. And yes, I agree, s does have a fantastic backside but overall, backside aside, this is one hell of a beautiful figure!

    Now where to get the extra cash for either Queen’s Gate Junko, Senhime or Qwasor no Stigmata. Heck I’m also partial to the upcoming Hyakka Yoran girl with the lance/naginata whatever……………

  52. Pingback: Kongiku | Emency Blazer Works

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