Preorder Outlook XXI

It’s that time of the month again. No, not that time, it’s time for me to discuss the figures I’m thinking about possibly preordering. Figure makers were busy showing off their new goods at Wonder Festival last month and we’re starting to see some of those goods go up for order. Hard to believe that there’s stuff up for sale that won’t be released until next February, but that’s the way collecting goes.

October

Girlfriend from Houkago Play
God I want this doll. She’d fit in perfectly with my collection, and given that my doll collection will be expanding in the future with big-ass Saber arriving next month (hopefully) and maybe Inori Yuzuriha coming out next year, I could use another aggressive, dominant-looking doll. The trouble is, she’s pretty expensive – as most 1/3 scale dolls are – and, despite her fearsome appearance, she’s actually a fairly anodyne character. That’s the trouble with getting dolls based off of existing characters, it can be difficult to overlay a new personality on them once you know what they are supposed to be like. But even so … damn, I want this doll. It’s only around 38,000 yen. That’s not a whole lot, in the long run. If I sold off a half dozen figures, I’d probably make most of that money back. Damn.

Sasara Kusugawa from To Heart 2: Dungeon Travelers
Ever since manufacturers started making figures of the To Heart characters in their Dungeon Travelers outfits, I really, really wanted someone to make a figure of Sasara in her bikini armor outfit. Fortunately, my wish has been granted; unfortunately, Griffon’s the one who has granted it. She’s not really looking that great here, which is a real shame. Sasara deserves better. Hopefully somone else will make an attempt at it.

This reminds me that I ought to take samurai Sasara out of her box one of these days.

Yozora Mikazuki from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
Quite a few makers have showed off figures of the Haganai characters, but I haven’t been very impressed with many of them. That’s a shame since it’s a great show with attractive character designs and a lot of material for figure makers to work with, but thus far all we’ve seen are swimsuit figures and school uniform figures. Griffon is looking to change things up, and their version of Yozora looks really cool. In fact, it might be the best Yozora figure I’ve seen thus far. How sad would that be, if the best Yozora figure on the market is made by Griffon? Judging from the photos – never an exact enterprise, to be sure – she seems to be better-made than their Sasara figure. I think I’m going to order it and hope for the best.

December

Elsa from Diskvision
Now this is a figure that I’ve been waiting a very long time for. I really like Diskvision’s (D-zou’s) figures; their Iroha figure is one of my favorites (a very underrated and overlooked figure, in my opinion), and I also really like Eve (which, curiously, is the most popular post on this site by a substantial margin). It should come as no surprise that I’m going to get this figure, even though it comes with a really, really big flaw: like Eve, she seems to have no genitals. That’s a shame. Hopefully the production figure will be more explicit, but I’m not counting on it.

Nanoha Takamachi from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
You know, I don’t even have a thing for bunnygirls, nor is Nanoha my favorite character amongst her show’s cast. Even so, I’m interested in this figure and I’m leaning towards picking it up. For one, Nanoha still looks pretty sexy, and for another, it’s a 1/4 scale figure. I like the leotard and the fishnets. Don’t really like the tail or the bunny ears so much, but sometimes you can’t have everything. Also, the corresponding Fate figure looks really cute. It seems like it’d be a crime to separate Fate from her enemy/buddy/partner/lover/wife.

Saber Lily from Fate/unlimited codes
Saber (and her various incarnations) sure does get some odd designs. She’s gotten a very masculine business suit, a red dress with a curious ass cutout (anyone who screams “That’s a different Saber!” in the comments is getting banned), an awesome white catsuit with a bridal veil, and this one, which is Saber Lily minus the armor. Instead, she’s got some high heels and a shoulder-baring evening dress. Even though I already own Saber Lily, I put in an order for this one, too; I think she looks substantively different enough from the armored figure so as to be able to stand out on her own. Moreover, I really do not like the photoshoot I did for Saber Lily and I’m hoping to do something better for this version of Saber, who really deserves much nicer.

Speaking of weird Sabers, I’m still waffling as to whether I should review this one.

Sena Kashiwazaki from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
I bought GSC’s Yozora but I don’t think I’m going to get Sena. Sena has the same boxy face shape as Yozora, which I don’t think I like, and I’m not sure why she’s wearing that odd, somewhat constipated-looking scowl while she’s running (actually, I suppose that description provides its own explanation). Her left leg also seems to be curved in a painful manner. I’m going to stick with my original plan of displaying GSC Yozora with Alphamax Sena.

Yoko Ritona from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
I’m not a big action figure collector (though I do have the T-elos Figma preordered), but Yamato’s Neuromancer line of poseable toys looks pretty neat. I’m not too bothered by ball joints, and they appear to be around the same size as a 1/8 scale figure. That mitigates my biggest beef about most action figures, which is that they’re too small. On the other hand, these toys are really, really expensive, and I never really do much with them; my Figmas are literally lying in a big pile on one of my shelves. Maybe the larger size of the Yamato figures will compel me to pose them with my static figures.

January

Fate Testarossa from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
It’s yet another loli Fate Testarossa figure. It’s no secret I am a big Fate fan and I am thus obligated to give this one its due consideration. I’m not really digging the face too much, and that’s probably going to weigh against ordering it. I do like the way her clothes are all tattered, though; if she were more naked, I’d get this figure for sure. I’ll get this figure and if those superpowers show up in the second season of the anime, I’ll give it another shot.

Medaka Kurokami from Medaka Box
I was compelled to watch the first episode of Medaka Box by the titular character’s breasts. However, even those two sizeable factors weren’t enough to keep me interested. Nor was the curious thing I heard about the original manga’s later chapters, which was that the main characters got superpowers or something. Man, this figure looks great, though. The colors are bizarre, but somehow all those shades of blue come together perfectly.

January

Fate T. Harlaown from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
I was surprised when I saw that Alphamax would be doing 1/6 scale figures of Fate and Nanoha. But then, I shouldn’t have been; Alphamax has very quickly gone from being a manufacturer of niche polystone statues of characters nobody has ever heard of to making tons of PVC swimsuit figures of very popular anime characters. And who’s more popular than Fate and Nanoha? Alphamax’s figure looks pretty good, but Alter’s figure is coming out in a week or so. I think my interest in Alphamax’s figure is going to be dependent on how much I like Alter’s figure (and being that I’m still very concerned about Alter Fate’s, uhh, visible package size, I may have reason to dislike Alter’s figure).

Nanoha Takamachi from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
My interest in Fate will also depend on whether I get Alphamax’s Nanoha. She’s looking great, but being that I have Alter’s figure – which I very much like – I’m not sure whether I’m inclined to get the Alphamax figure. I do really like the fact that she’s standing up and doesn’t have a squished-out butt, though. And I don’t recall that Nanoha is quite so racked but I wholeheartedly approve regardless. Thinking about it some more, I’m kinda thinking I might pass on the two Alphamax figures and make FREEing’s Fortress Nanoha the next Nanoha figure I get, with the hope that they’ll do a Fate figure from Nanoha Force in the near future.

April

Leviathan from the Seven Deadly Sins
I was feeling like I might have made a mistake about ordering Asmodeus. I like her outfit but she’s more heftily-built than I typically prefer. However, the next two figures in the Seven Deadly Sins series look fantastic and have me feeling much better. Leviathan has a very attractive pout and her outfit reminds me a bit of Mizore Shirayuki’s, whose design I like a lot. I think that I’ll probably order her. I’m definitely planning on ordering Lucifer, who looks amazing.

Miu Ousawa from Hagure Yuusha no Estetica
Miu comes from the show Hagure Yuusha no Estetica, which is a pretty dumb anime that I (kinda) enjoy anyway. I can’t really explain what it’s about because from all I’ve seen, it’s about a guy and a girl who come to the normal world, enroll in high school, and get into fights. It’s probably not worth spending time pondering its significance, being that it is strictly meant to stimulate the penis rather than the brain, but at any rate, Hobby Japan is making a figure of the twintailed pink-haired lead girl. She looks sorta cute, although she doesn’t look like she does in the anime. Actually, her face looks pretty blank, like there’s nothing behind her eyes. I suppose that’s appropriate given the sort of show that she comes from. This figure is a Hobby Japan exclusive and thus will require going through a proxy service, and so I’m not sure whether I am going to get it. The thing is, she hits on my affinity for scantily-clad fighter girls, but well, the face is almost always the most important aspect of a figure in my consideration. Looking at her face again … ehh, I dunno. I’ll think about it.

Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2
We can’t go a month without at least one Tamaki figure coming out, it seems. Though Tamaki isn’t one of my favorite character (disregarding the number of her figures that I own) and though I’m not really a big fan of Clayz, I think I’m going to get this figure. Tamaki’s outfit looks fantastic; there aren’t enough figures of anime girls in lingerie (versus plain white panties). The pose looks great too, though I’m kinda concerned that she might faceplant herself one day (though then again, I’ve only had one figure that ever faceplanted and it was an Alter figure).

This entry was posted in Preorder Outlook and tagged , , .

36 Responses to Preorder Outlook XXI

  1. Steve Chen says:

    Leviathan…….Go for It!
    Saber GK right? Equally out there………review please!
    Yoko? Another winner!

    • Tier says:

      It sounds like people want a review of wacky Saber! Maybe I should get that backdrop ready for gangsta lean Saber and hold a Weirdo Saber Review Week. I probably ought to review that one summer wear Saber that Alter released a year or so back … I almost forgot that I own that one.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Wow where did you preorder that Saber Lily from?

  3. Man, that Girlfriend doll looks great. I’d love to get her too, but I really can’t afford such an expensive item….right now, anyway. Trust me, if I had the cash, I’d order Girlfriend in an instant. I honestly think Houkago Play sucks, but you can’t deny that the girl’s got a striking design. She almost looks like a forgotten Hellsing schoolgirl character.

    That Sasara looks…blah. Bikini armor is one thing…but that’s just a bikini. Couldn’t they have at least added ornate metal nipple clips to it or something? Look at Yozora! She’s essentially wearing a school swimsuit, but has enough stuff over it to make it look like a cool hunter outfit.

    I’m still torn on GSC’s Sena. On one hand, I really like her paint job. On the other hand, that facial expression and pose DO NOT GO TOGETHER (unless she’s running to the toilet, as you implied). I guess having a figure that looks like it’s going to shit its pants is fun in its own way.

    The Alpha Max Nanoha and Fate are absolutely adorable. I’ll hold off on pre-ordering since January isn’t a good month, but I’d love to get them later down the line if possible. Nanoha especially looks really sweet.

    • Oh! And before I forget, you should totally review that silly parasol Saber. Boy did she come out weird looking.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I remember Kotobukiya (I think) did a figure of Girlfriend about a year or so ago, and I thought it looked amazing. I didn’t get it but it definitely made an impression. Houkago Play made a different sort of impression on me, I guess, in that it really was not what I anticipated. The characters were kind of endearing to a degree but I was really expecting something less bland, given Girlfriend’s very sinister look.

      But man, that Girlfriend doll and Azone’s 50-centimeter Inori Yuzuriha doll dressed up in a bondage outfit … the possibilities are tantalizing.

      Yeah, Sasara isn’t too ornate, but I really like her design, in some part because she reminds me a lot of Tyris Flare from the Golden Axe games (going back to what I wrote in that Samus post, there’s another franchise that Sega mismanaged, judging by the criticism that Beast Rider got. I don’t think Sega even had a hand in developing that game.). Plus Radical Dream has some fantastic Sasara artwork with her, her axe, and some tentacles.

      Yeah, both of those Nanoha and Fate figures look really great; I kinda wish that they weren’t coming out just a few months after Alter’s figures and those FREEing bunnygirl figures since it’d be easier for me to justify getting them. It is good to see that Alphamax is interested in doing figures in 1/6 scale, though, which seems to be a relatively rare scale size these days.

  4. bear says:

    Thank goodness for re-release! I originally got Distant Avalon thinking it a suitable replacement for the ridiculously expensive (in resale) Golden Caliburn, but it held nowhere the same appeal for me.

    I had the same reaction to bikini fighter Sasara. My heart jumped in joy at first seeing the preview pictures in the news, then it sank when the manufacturer became apparent. Definitely have to wait and see how the batch turns out before considering purchase 🙁

    Elsa kinda disturbs me with her mix of realism and perfection. Does the uncanny valley exist for figures? Still, I might have ordered her if she weren’t so tall (just barely oversized for Detolf shelves).

    I agree it’s really a shame how Haganai characters have not gotten any great figures thus far. I’m going to be cancelling the Alphamax bikini meat due to “breast-flap” issues and ordering the Kotobukiya meat since they fixed her skirt colors and the modesty bit is apparently cast-off.

    I’m still undecided about Leviathan. I’m not a fan of t-shirts. While her breasts do look good when cast-off, I would rather she had some other kinky outfit on (perhaps like on the special edition handkerchief).

    I’d forgotten about Miu Ousawa until I saw her picture here. I didn’t know she was painted.

    • Tier says:

      There seem to be a lot of figures going up for re-release this year. That is a great thing for people who either missed out the first time around or got into figure collecting just recently.

      Yeah, I remember seeing the prototype of Sasara during the Wonder Festival coverage a few weeks back; I was elated until I saw that Griffon logo. I think I will take the same approach; I will be rather surprised if she sells out before release (though I don’t think I will have any regrets if she does).

      Elsa does kinda have a doll-like look, particularly given her lack of anatomical realism. I hope she doesn’t come with those silly thigh wings that Eve has.

      Yeah, I fully agree that some sort of kinky outfit would’ve looked great on Leviathan, like Asmodeus’s bondage harness. I’m of the opinion that more figures should wear bondage harnesses. I wonder what Lucifer and Satan will look like when their clothes are removed; those are the two characters from the series that I like the most.

  5. azn0will says:

    Great outlook! However, I think the most awesome one is the Saber Lily 😛 She looks so cool!

  6. Wieselhead says:

    A nice list, I wish I had unlimited space, the boxes are mainly at fault.

    You should totally get the girlfriend doll, I like the exotic yet evil face expression.
    Well actually she’s quite cute like that and she has lovely black long hair.
    I once bought a figure from Griffon and hated it. The material they used for hair and skin looked so cheap and all. I wish they would use the better kind of plastic. This Yozora looks very nice in that alternative outfit.

    GSC’s Sena seems to have diarrhea, I think figures should be presented in a more appealing way. A puking Sena would look better than this; I can’t describe how much I dislike this mouth expression.

    I was looking forward to this loli Fate as she was unpainted, she looks kinda cute with her angry action face and the small body. Even though my expectations weren’t really met, the yellow of her hair should be more intense and the base is somewhat strange in terms of appearance.

    After Wonfes I was slightly biased for the Medaka of Megahouse, but Max Factory made something very nice, I love her wild and erotic looking face a lot. These slanted eyes are so hot. Haha I watched this show to the “bitter” end, it was odd to see some good action in the last 3 or 2 episodes, overall the beginning and the middle part were rather odd, but I liked the main characters and also Medaka.
    I will probably get her in the end and the Megahouse one as well XD

    I couldn’t say no to Alphamax Nanoha, I admit that I prefer young Nanoha, but this one is quite convinicing, I love the kindness in her nicely painted eyes and the overall body looks nice. On the other hand their Fate leaves me cold.

    I have a thing for punk rock girls and that’s why I like Leviathan, she’s a totally sweet demom girl and I love her outfit, these long sleeve sunder her t-shirt are so good ^^. And it’s a nice extra that she’s fully castoffable.

    I like Hagure Yuusha no Estetica, instead of the generic wimpy male lead character this guy is an ass who likes to be kind and sadistic towards girls at the same time, he uses them as playthings XD I like Miu even though she’s not really smart and self-confident. It’s a shame that this figure only resembles anything but her cute face from the anime. Well dress and boobs are very appealing.

    This Tamaki also caught my attention. I like the mix of cute face expression and totally sexy posing in fancy lingerie. She would definitely look nice here ^^

    • Tier says:

      Haha, yeah, the Griffon figures I own are generally among my least favorite figures. Though I do really like that swimsuit maid Sasara figure that they’ve decided to re-release; it’s a personal favorite though I would not say that it’s a great figure.

      Haha, such distaste for this Sena figure! Yeah, I’m not liking it too much now. Maybe Alter will take a crack at doing figures of the Haganai characters; they’ve never had a problem with doing figures of characters in alternate outfits (being that they’ve done figures of Saber as a maid, in a casual jacket and skirt, in a white bikini, as an evil maid, in a tank top and shorts combo, but they’ve never done a figure of her in her blue dress).

      I’m thinking the second season of Medaka Box might be a better jumping-on point than the first. I didn’t really care for how Medaka was portrayed as a completely perfect person who could solve everyone’s problems. If the show becomes more about people beating each other up with superpowers, I think it’ll be much more entertaining to me.

      Hagure Yuusha no Estetica is one weird show; I have to admit it’s pretty funny to see a completely cocky, somewhat misogynist male character (and I definitely prefer that sort of character to the sort of completely wimpy male lead that so many shows have. Like Guilty Crown … man, I gotta write that post already …)

  7. Flowermilk says:

    I already have Elsa in the tan version with black nurse outfit and she’s one of my favorite figures, He unique realistic style is a breath of fresh air in a market crowded with anime looking characters. Sena Kashiwazaki is super cute. I’m thinking of getting her. I can never seem tired of schoolgirl figures for some reason 🙂

    • Tier says:

      Elsa sure does look great; I’m hoping that Daiki/Dragon picks up Angelica and the other Diskvision figures for PVC production, too. And hopefully with less of a time interval between garage kit and PVC release than Elsa.

  8. Halbred says:

    Yeah, Nanoha (bikini version) and Medaka look fantastic, and very tempting. But like I said before, I’ve gotta cut back. Maybe they’ll be up at MFC on sale someday when I can afford them. 🙂

    • Tier says:

      I’m guessing they probably will, or they’ll show up on Mandarake. Given the sheer number of Nanoha figures, I am thinking that finding them on the secondary market shouldn’t be a problem.

  9. Aaron says:

    This is an interesting preorder outlook this month. There are a few figures I really like, a few I absolutely can’t stand, and a few that just make me go meh.

    I’ll start with the mehs which are because I don’t know the characters or sources or just don’t like the character but think the figure looks good.

    Anything named Fate does not do anything for me (and that also goes for girls named Saber in Fate named games). I think they both look good in terms of sculpts, but I don’t really like “her” design, (even though I have never seen the anime or manga for the series Fate is in and have never played a Fate game). I’d much rather look at Nanoha (and Rin Tohsaka), but I think Alter’s Summer Version Nanoha you reviewed a month or two ago is absolutely great, and the two here just don’t have as much going for them. I do really like the bikini Alphamax Nanoha is wearing though (and the size of her breasts). And is it just me or does BUnny Nanoha have a giant head?

    The other mehs are Tamaki, Miu, and Sasara. To me they all seem plain although I will give it to the look of Sasara (bikini and armor which I like). I’ll even throw in Else because I think she has a great sculpt, but her shiny hair puts me off. I also doubt whether she will get genital definition. Heck, I’ll throw in Yoko too. I have no problem with figmas, but besides her character design (bikini, thighhighs, booty shorts…I love it), I have no basis for liking her character.

    As for the hates, I can’t stand the look of Sena or Medaka. I never noticed Sena’s hyperextended leg which looks really funny and never saw the constipated look, but she should be smiling when running like that. Kotobukiya’s Sena looks much better in her schoolgirl outfit. Medaka has great colors that strangely work well together and huge breasts (which I am normally not fond of, but like on this figure), but the pose is bleh and the armbands make her look ridiculous.

    I am sorry, but I hate Girlfriend. Her eyes creep me out. I have a feeling that the people who buy her are going to end up like Telly Savalas in the Twilight Zone.

    As for the figures I love, we are left with Yozora and Leviathan. Both of these charcters look great. Although I don’t know the charcters that well, the designs really get me.

    Yozora has interesting colors and appears to have a nice ass, and she has a sweet ass bow. I put her on my wish list at mfc, but then I learned that she is from Griffon, and I have not heard anything good about Griffon. I may wait to get her when she hits bargain basement prices.

    Leviathan had me from the first time I saw her sculpt. I love the punk rock girl look she has with the t-shirt, striped leg warmers and arm warmers, side pony tail, and even the fang. It also helps that she doesn’t have enormous horns protruding from her head like 4-5 or the other sins. Add in a cute gas-masked flying something and they have sold me on her. Unfortunately, I can’t have her in my collection because of the wife and kids. I will just have to rely on the pictures people take.

    I did end up preordering Alter’s Erica Hartmann (as well as the re-release of Alter’s Eila and Volks’ Hannah Justine-Marsaille) on my quest to own a bunch of Strike Witches. Now I just need a re-release of Shirley.

    Also, review Gansta Lean and Parasol Sabers already.

    • Tier says:

      Man, even Saber Bride doesn’t do anything for you? I do not have much familiarity with the psychology of Fate/stay night fans (other than that they seem to love telling other people how much they know about Fate/stay night’s in-universe magic mechanics [I kinda notice really hardcore Muv-Luv fans are the same way]) but I have the sense that Saber Bride provokes a love-it-or-hate it reaction. As silly as parasol Saber might look, Saber Bride might look even sillier (but even so, Saber Bride looks way, way more awesome. Maybe even more awesome than Saber Alter. I’ll have to think on that one.).

      Man, I need Girlfriend now. Her creepy factor is the main thing she has going for her. Too bad that creepiness does not seem to show up in her manga.

      Yeah, I tend to stay away from making blanket denunciations of figure makers (I will ardently defend Yamato, who seems to have a ton of detractors and I still maintain a theory that that largely comes from a certain post made by a certain very famous blog owner, and I won’t even criticize BEAT too badly, even though I’d really like to offload all of the BEAT figures that I own), but I’m not a big fan of most of Griffon’s stuff. They’ve occasionally had a few figures that I was interested in – like school swimsuit maid Sasara and the gothic punk Mikuru that I foolishly passed over for the Orchid Seed equivalent – but their Ryofu figure was the first disappointing figure I ever owned, and that’s not something that I forget.

      Man, what can I do for parasol Saber … gangsta lean Saber I already know how I want to shoot, but I don’t know what I want to do with that wacky Saber. I could do something flowery and girly, or I could do something completely inappropriate, like putting her amid ruined rubble. I hadn’t thought much about that but now I’m tempted.

  10. Medaka box is… weird. The anime did the right thing and stopped before it got really stupid but yes, Effectively all the characters get superpowers later on. It was part of the whole structure of the manga where the writer basically wanted to lampoon all the various tropes of shounen jump titles. The first few were the comedy bits, (that’s where the anime took on) and then it moved onto battle mangas… They just finished an arc which dealt with the weird battle manga types, like Hikaru no go and YU-GI-OH!. Stuff which have ppl fighting eachother but not in the usual ways and often requires special interpretation of the rules for victory.

    Still, tempted to get Medaka. Her voice actress was toilet and didn’t suit her at all but the character is lots of fun in the early stages!
    Miu is a maybe but I might get the seven deadly sins Lucifer. Best one so far but only a few images have been released and there’s currently no release date.

    • Tier says:

      That sounds promising, then; I think I might’ve skimmed the second episode, hoping that the anime would get past portraying Medaka as an absolutely perfect person who can solve everyone’s problems, but it didn’t seem like it was going to. It sounds like skipping the early episodes and picking it up in the middle of the series is the wise thing for me to do.

      That said, it made a much better impression on me than Accel World, which I dropped after around fifteen minutes (which was about how long it took me to recognize the pig’s voice actor).

      Yeah, I’d hoping they show off more of Lucifer soon; she’s my favorite one thus far and I’m pretty sure she’ll be my favorite one overall, unless Satan comes out looking slimmer than I expect her to.

  11. ImmLff says:

    The Girlfriend doll is freaking awesome! Perhaps I’m overreacting a bit because it took me by surprise, hadn’t seen her before, but I’m just amazed. Would preorder her without a second thought if only I could afford it.

    Both figures from Alphamax look really good.
    Takamachi Nanoha from FREEing is also very nice, mainly because of fishnet pantyhose and her legs as a whole. But I still think that I like the Alphamax one a bit more.

    I also like Leviathan and Tamaki figures very much.
    Tamaki-nee is all-around sexy, just like she should be, plus I really like her personality (well, I do like onee-sama type characters in general, so there’s no surprise here).

    As for Leviathan, she is quite good in many ways. It’s somewhat hard to list what draws me to her because I would need to name almost all her noticeable features. Her cute face with a fang, ringed eyes, figure (sizable breasts and wide hips), posture (leaning forward with arched back), fingerless gloves, lots of belts… I like this one more than Lucifer figure so far.

    Too bad they messed up with the Asmodeus. I don’t have anything against large breasts, quite the opposite, but they look kind off unnatural at the final sculpt. Which is a shame because illustration this figure is based on looks all good to me. I hope they’ll release the artbook with all related illustrations after finishing with the figures.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, my enthusiasm for the FREEing one mainly comes from it being 1/4 scale. And because Fate looks pretty good. I would really prefer that FREEing make 1/4 scale figures of Fate and Nanoha in their barrier jacket fighting outfits, but that does not seem to be in the cards (quite a shame, I think, since I think thus far Alter has been the only company to make really good figures of 19-year old Fate and Nanoha in their barrier jacket outfits, and I recall quite a few people weren’t thrilled with Fate’s face).

      I think Leviathan hits on a lot of things that people like. I’ve got a friend who likes punk rock-looking girls and I showed him both Medaka and Leviathan and asked him whether I should buy them. He was extremely enthusiastic about Leviathan, who is probably the sort of figure he’d buy if he were more into anime figures. (He’d probably also like Leviathan to have a tattoo, maybe.)

      Yeah, I mainly wish Asmodeus’s head were larger. I don’t mind big breasts and big hips but I like the head to be proportional in size to the rest of the body. Leviathan and Lucifer have correctly-sized heads, which is one reason why I’m really liking the way that they look.

  12. nagisa says:

    I guess I’m the only who doesn’t like those bunny suits. Maybe on the colors and overall build. The alphamax ones are very subtle but fate’s face looks different. Might consider nanoha even though I have the alter one since the later has her butt cut off and we need a remedy for that, haha. But take note that this figures are based on their 25 year old versions while the alter ones are from their 20’s…I think.
    There’s also Medaka. Having a student council with weird superpowers remind me of something, but the figure itself is accurate from the source material, as expected from max factory.
    Oh, and the golden caliburn looks splendid. I guess there will be more figures to look forward for your review and tentacle hijinks.

    • Tier says:

      To be honest, I don’t have a big thing for bunny suits. Actually, I’d rather that they be wearing almost anything else other than an animal suit. I do like their big size, though, and – at the risk of sounding like an insensitive cad – their fine breasts.

      Yeah, that is true, they are from Force, which I didn’t know until looking at the Hobby Search listings again. I wonder if Isis and Lily will get figures? And if they do, I wonder what Lily will be wearing … she seems to be naked in a lot of the official Force art that I’ve seen.

      There shall indeed! Saber Lily is going to get her turn with the tentacle stand. But big-ass Saber is going to be next, I think.

      • nagisa says:

        It will be great if they will add more characters besides nanoha and fate. But looking at the franchise direction, it looks like they’re testing the waters first, hence they release the two most popular characters. Now, does everyone here has an age preference for magical girls?

        • Tier says:

          LOLI. Hehe, well, from what I’ve seen, people seem to like magical girls that look quite young, often prepubescent. Me, I’d probably prefer the young adult age range. I’ve got this big loli Nanoha figure here, though, which will probably be the next figure I review.

          • nagisa says:

            oh yeah, looking forward for her review; she’s better than her adult counterpart. It looks like you’re not interested in mirakurun this time.

          • Tier says:

            Yeah, I’m not interested in Mirakurun; I don’t know a thing about Yuru Yuri. I’m pretty far behind with anime watching in general, but she doesn’t look like the sort of figure I’d normally be interested in.

  13. Blackimari says:

    nice line up. ever thought about Photographing your entire collection as a whole?

    • Tier says:

      I have not; I think that it is actually impossible, unless I were to stitch the pictures together into one of those 360-degree view animations you sometimes see on the web. My collection is a mess, though; I’ve got to clean things up and get the figures I don’t like as much put back in their boxes already.

  14. Kaia says:

    That Girlfriend doll. I had stumble across it on MFC by accident and liked it myself due to the creepy look she has. I wanted to get her… until I saw that price. It’s really too bad as I could use a creepy looking thing in my room to freak me out every night, haha.

    Elise! I also came across her by accident and I really wanted her. I don’t have anything like her and she’s really pretty. But, as you said, it sucks that she has no genitalia. The only thing that bothered me was the pink against her skin and how her blond hair shines. It seems almost *too* perfect. I may see if I can track her down later, though. I hope that they release the other girls because the others don’t seem as perfect.

    Last, but not least, Leviathan! I was really really surprised by her sculpt then her finished figure. The original illustration didn’t catch my eye too much and she didn’t seem like Envy. But, this sculpt blows the illustration out of the water and she now looks envious (and cute) with that pout! I really hope the quality stands up. I have to say that the art on the handkerchief looks a little ridiculous with how her boobs look (they seem bigger almost?). I got it regardless, though, hahaha. I can’t wait to see her and Asmodeus in person. As for Lucifer, I’m sort of disappointed in the painted sculpt so far (the neck mostly) and I’m kind hoping they’re touching her up some. But, even if they don’t, it’s not going to stop me from getting her; she was one of the two I’ve been waiting for the most. I’m excited to see how the rest will look like! Especially Satan.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, that price may be prohibitive for me, as much as I want it. Still … Inori + Girlfriend would make for a great pair. Maybe if I just sell off some of my excess camera stuff …

      No detailed anatomy on Elsa kinda sucks; figures – and anime in general, it seems – have been moving towards a greater acceptance of risque elements so the Barbie crotch is disappointing to see. Though in a sense, maybe it’s appropriate given that Elsa seems to be going for a Barbie-style glamour look. I kinda like that; it’ll make her stand out on my shelf, since few of my figures are overtly glamorous.

      That reminds me that I should put in my order for Leviathan already, before I forget, which I what I almost did with Golden Caliburn Saber. I’m pretty impressed with how Leviathan looks; I had some misgivings about Orchid Seed handling the series (after Alter did the Samurai Girls figures with Hobby Japan) but it looks like they’re going to do a fine job, which hasn’t always been the case with their figures.

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