Tentacle Armada

Sometimes when you first see a figure, you know right away that you’re going to get it regardless of price or difficulty of acquisition. You religiously scan all the figure news sites for the latest scoop, you load up Japanese pages and run them through Google Translate and do your best to interpret the results, you count down the days until its release date, and above all, you fervently, feverishly pray to all the gods above and below that the manufacturer please, please, please doesn’t screw it up. How many times have you’ve seen a figure’s prototype shots, excitement building unabated, and then, when the production sample photos come out, felt anticipation displaced by distress, lust metamorphosing into ire as you wonder, “How the hell did this happen?”

Then, when you get your shipping notice, you hope that maybe you overreacted, that your concerns were unmerited, and that your pretty little anime figure will rekindle the love for it that you first felt.
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MMORPGs seem to be quite popular in Asia. This is particularly true in Korea, from whence a dizzying array of titles have spawned. Some – such as Lineage, Aion, and RF Online – have been published on this side of the ocean. Others – principally free-to-play games – haven’t received a formal release in the United States. Red Stone falls in the latter category, and I hadn’t ever heard of the game before I saw pictures of this figure. While I have minimal experience playing Korean MMOs, I do like their character designs, which are almost always awesome. The lancer girl passed the eyeball test with little difficulty, and now here she is.
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This figure came out a couple of months ago, but I ordered her from an American retailer (Otaku Fuel, if anybody is curious) so I received her only a few days ago. I also got a second Kotone Ousaka, which was a bit surprising. To my knowledge, Kotone was sold exclusively on Native’s website in Japan, but she’s gotten a regular release among retailers here in the States. I wonder why that is?

Anyway, I wrote Kotone’s review weeks ago so enough about her, let’s take a look at Nana here.
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HARUHI: Alright, since our last movie was so great, our next movie has to be even better! And we need to make sure that it appeals to the Americans.
KYON: Why America?
HARUHI: Because all the best movies are big in America! If we can make a movie that hits it big over there, we can expand the SOS Brigade overseas. We’ll start the SOS Brigade North American Division! I’ll still be the leader, of course.
KYON: … I see. And just what sort of movie are you planning to make?
HARUHI (pacing in a circle): It has to be profound. It has to speak to the cultural sensibilities of Americans. It has to emphasize their rich history, their resiliency, their unshakeable passion for freedom and their love for life. And it has to have sex. And lots of violence. And sex. (looks up) I’ve got it!
KYON (thinking): Oh no.
HARUHI: The movie will be called … “Mikuru Asahina in Escape from Guantanamo Bay!”
MIKURU: No!

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Orchid Seed dispenses with pretension when it comes to understanding their niche in the figure industry: they make ero figures, and good ones at that. The Hustler girl, sculpted in a solid 1/7 scale, is the latest in Orchid Seed’s burgeoning lineup, and there is a lot to like about her.
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As one might surmise from the above image, the following post should probably not be viewed in a professional environment.
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