Tentacle Armada

The Ikki Tousen franchise is a licensing juggernaut, and with five Kanu Unchous in my collection, I am scarcely immune to its wiles. However, while the manga fields a bewilderingly large cast, for years my only non-Kanu figure was Griffon’s awful Ryofu Housen figure from way back. Now, with Daiki Kougyou’s Ryomou Shimei in my collection, that count increases to two.
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While Western popular culture features a number of parallels to its Japanese counterpart, one aspect that does not have a corresponding analogue is doujin, the vast conglomeration of self-published comics, video games, music, and more. Doujin is such an integral part of both the culture and industry that such works can command influence and popularity far beyond their humble origins; for example, the Touhou Project started as a series of 2D shooting games but has since grown into a powerful franchise complete with its own fan-made doujin works, and its significance as a cultural phenomenon is probably greater than its importance as a video game.

When one thinks of doujin, one often thinks of comic books, and probably pornographic ones at that. Certainly fan-made comics are a huge part of this mass of culture worship – the attendance figures of Comiket are proof enough of that. However, doujin encompasses all forms of media, including figures. There are numerous fan-made figures, usually sold in very limited quantities as resin model kits. Preassembled figures, however, are quite rare; while it is not technically complicated to create a comic book or a music video, manufacturing a complete, painted figure seems to be beyond the means and ambitions of many creators.

However, there is one doujin circle that is known primarily for their PVC figures. Keumaya has been making their own figures since 2006 and selling them at conventions and on Toranoana. They’ve carved out a comfortable niche as an independent figure creator, which is quite impressive even without taking into account the quality of their products.
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The battle bikini is one of the most stereotypical tropes in fantasy art but if you ask me, it doesn’t get nearly as much appreciation these days as it should. For example, when Sega resurrected the Golden Axe franchise, they did the right thing in selecting Tyris Flare as the heroine but then they revealed an appallingly lowbrow taste by giving her pants. To be fair, her famous battle bikini is unlockable, and since the game seems to have been quite awful I doubt anybody else cares, but the mere option of pants still demonstrates the disrespect this timeless battle uniform receives. Also, when Wrath of the Lich King was released, Blizzard inexplicably made all of the armor sets as puritanical as could be, despite having gone entirely the other way when they designed The Burning Crusade. Now, one could argue that a battle bikini might provide inadequate protection in a frozen wasteland, but I have my doubts that a heavy suit of full plate is any more practical for trudging about in the arctic. Furthermore, if realism were really the name of the game, all of the characters would be wearing fur coats and mukluks, as even a full-body cast iron tuxedo ain’t going to protect nobody when a hundred foot-long dragon decides to step on you.

Fortunately, the beauty, utility, and elegance of this piece of equipment is still apparent and to that end, we have here an homage to the battle bikini in the form of Wind Goddess Rafale. I don’t see anything here that validates her divinity, but I will take the manufacturer’s claim for what it is worth.
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Backstage we’re having the time
Of our lives until somebody say
Forgive me if I seem out of line
Then she whipped out her gun and tried to blow me away!
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We all have our dreams, things that we hope to do, things that we hope to become, things that we hope will come to be. For me, this figure represents the culmination of a dream that I’ve dreamt for a long time. It’s one that I always wished would be fulfilled but never really expected to. After waiting for so long, after holding out hope for so long, my dream has come true: I can finally say that I own a figure with a realistically-sculpted anus.
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Now here’s a figure that I’m still a bit surprised to own, mainly because I didn’t buy it. E2046 does a monthly drawing where they give away free stuff to people who post product feedback. Guess who won the most recent draw?
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We have here Iroha, another female combatant from a fighting game. Iroha has had a peculiarly enduring presence in the figure world considering her limited exposure in the Samurai Shodown series. Here we have the latest figure in her likeness, sculpted by diskvision and manufactured by Yamato as part of their SIF EX lineup.
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Hobby Link Japan had this free shipping dealy going on a couple weeks ago, and I took advantage of it to pick up Cammy. This version of Cammy comes from the Street Fighter Zero/Alpha games, as does my other Cammy. I like her Delta Red costume more, and it’s a bit curious that figure manufacturers seem to prefer depicting her in her Shadaloo uniform.
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It’s yet another prepainted kit from E2046, but unlike the prior two reviews, this one does not come from an anime. Indeed, Jian Xue may be an original figure; E2046 often sculpts characters from existing properties but I do not think I’ve seen this character design anywhere else. She looks vaguely reminiscent of something from Dynasty Warriors, or perhaps from Sana Takeda’s artwork, but I dunno. I do know that this is an outstanding figure.
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It’s Saber clone! Like Charlotte, Sylvia is one of the love interests in the game and anime Princess Lover! but her most conspicuous trait is her resemblance to Saber. Sylvia wears trousers instead of a skirt and wields a rapier rather than a broadsword but the similarity is blatant, even egregious. Homage or ripoff, you decide.
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