Preorder Outlook XXVIII

It is time for the pre-Wonder Festival preorder post. Doubtless we will see all sorts of cool new goodies there – hopefully more than just the usual Miku, Tamaki, and Super Sonico stuff (no offense to fans of Miku, Tamaki, and Super Sonico) – but in the meantime, let’s take a look at figures that are already available for order.

August

Mitsuru Kirijou from Persona 4 Arena
Being the sort of capable, take-charge female character that I like, Mitsuru was one of the mainstays of my party in Persona 3. She was attractive then, though I guess Atlus felt she didn’t look quite kinky enough because when they put her into their crossover fighting game, they squeezed her into this leather catsuit instead. I’m certainly not going to complain, though; she looks fantastic here. I’m not familiar with the maker – Vertex doesn’t even have their own listing on Hobby Search or Amiami – but I’m reasonably confident that this figure will be good, and I preordered it right away.

October

Arthur from Eiyuu Senki
I’m not too familiar with Eiyuu Senki, though I’ve heard some good things about it. The artwork for the game was done by Oyari Ashito (link is not safe for work), whose style I like, and that’s why I’m thinking about picking up this figure. Certainly it doesn’t look like the sort of figure I would normally buy, but there’s something about it that I like – I think it’s her body posture, particularly her wide-spaced stance, which highlights the length and shape of her legs. I’m still thinking about it. (Even if you don’t know the artist, the figure’s style may still look familiar to you; Kotobukiya did a figure of Kasumi from Dead or Alive based off of his artwork a while back, and Native did a pretty nice figure of Morudina about a year ago.)

Rei Ayanami from Neon Genesis Evangelion
This version of Rei has actually been up for order for a while but I don’t think I’ve written about it before, so I’ll include it here. It’s part of Arcadia nee Yamato’s Neuromancer lineup – since renamed C:MO, I guess – and as such is a 1/8 scale action figure. I don’t know how good the Neuromancer figures are, and I guess I should do some checking around to see if anyone has evaluated them, but I’m thinking hard about picking this one up. I haven’t gotten a Rei figure in a while and for some reason, it’s really hard to find a good figure of Rei where she’s standing up as opposed to kneeling or sitting or lying down. If I do get this figure, it’ll actually be the fourth poseable Rei that I own (I also have the Figma, the original Medicom Real Action Heroes doll, and this little action figure that came with one of the manga volumes).

Rika Shiraki from Bible Black
About a year after releasing Imari Kurumi, Dragon Toy has put up this figure of Bible Black victim Rika Shiraki. She’s got a great pose and a great vibrator accessory, and she looks superb all around. Am I going to get this figure? I think you know the answer to that.

I’m pleased to see that Bible Black is getting more figures. Hopefully Yukiko will get one from Dragon Toy or Daiki Kougyou, too.

Yuria Misaki from Space Battleship Yamato 2199
I started watching anime back in the late 1980s, with shows like Robotech (Macross and a couple other series stitched together), Voltron, and Tranzor Z (Mazinger Z). Oddly, I’ve never seen Space Battleship Yamato, despite its status as one of the paramount classics of science fiction anime. But then again, I’ve never seen any of the Gundam shows, either. Space Battleship Yamato recently got a reboot, and I wonder if I should watch it, since it seems like something I would like. Certainly I like the outfits the female characters wear, which is why I’m considering getting this figure despite not knowing very much about the character. I also know that Yuki Mori’s figure is in extremely high demand for some reason, so if I pass on Yuria now, I might not get a chance to pick it up later.

November

Futayo Honda from Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere
Happily, we’re getting a new figure from the Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere series. They’ve been slow to trickle out, but hopefully we’ll see more at the upcoming Wonder Festival. Anyway, this one is by Kotobukiya and features Futayo Honda, the spear-wielding battler. As such, I kinda think that a more action-oriented pose would be more suitable for her but well, beggars can’t be choosers, and this pose is pretty good on its own merits, anyway. Certainly it lets us get a better glimpse of her ass, which is sort of an important thing.

Kanna Tanigawa from Waiting in the Summer
I’ll be honest, I don’t know a thing about this character or the show that she comes from, other than that one of the characters looks a lot like Mizuho from Onegai Teacher. The first thing I thought when I saw this figure was, “Cool, a new Alter figure.” The second thing I thought was, “That skirt is short as hell.” And that’s pretty much all the thought I gave to it until I saw that this figure is 1/6 scale, and thus it now commands much more of my interest. Even so, I think I would still pass on this figure, but that tiny skirt makes for a really good hook, and the price is pretty decent for a figure of this size, not to mention a figure of Alter’s quality, so I’m going to think some more about it.

November

Psylocke from X-Force
I was a big fan of Kotobukiya’s Marvel Bishoujo line, in spite of their numerous flaws. Now, though, I’ve kinda cooled off on them, mainly because a lot of them just don’t look very good. The early figures also had the problem of being quite small for their specified size, though as I understand it they’re now being made in 1/7 scale (I could check this for myself, I guess; I’ve got Ms. Marvel sitting around here somewhere). The thing about them now is that their eyes look kinda weird to me; a lot of them look like they’re dealing with a really bad hangover. Also, isn’t it weird how these figures are basically the only figures being made off of Shunya Yamashita’s artwork? I remember back when almost every manufacturer had a Shunya figure.

At any rate, Psylocke is one of my favorite characters in all of entertainment media, so I’m going to get this figure, even though I think X-Force is pretty lame. Her new costume is also really lame but fortunately Kotobukiya is going with a modified take based off her classic look, which is by far her best look. (Psylocke is one of three characters whose merchandise I will immediately take a long, hard look at. I wonder if anyone can guess the other two?)

(Edit: of course, the very next day after I upload this post, a new Shunya Yamashita-derived figure goes up for preorder.)
December

Daisy from Tony’s Heroine Collection
It’s another figure based off of Tony’s artwork. The face reminds me of another figure – Melty, I think? – which is the usual complaint when it comes to figures derived from his illustrations. That said, I really like the way this figure looks. She’s got a very cute pose, a cute expression, and most importantly, she’s not wearing any pants. I always think Tony’s best work is his ero work, and though this isn’t strictly ero, it’s close enough for government work. Oddly, this figure seems to be in really short supply; I snuck in an order at Hobby Search, but it seems to be sold out already. However, I’m guessing that it’ll show up at US retailers fairly soon. You remember Kotobukiya’s figure of Kobato Hasegawa? It sold out real fast but you can get it at BBTS still. (No, this isn’t an ad. I could still put up ads in the future but I make no money off this site at all.)

Tharja from Fire Emblem: Awakening
Fire Emblem is one of those games that I will unfortunately never get to play. A little part of that is due to my admitted console fanboyism (or more appropriately, antagonism; I have this perception, like a lot of people, that Nintendo’s titles are for kids. This isn’t fair, but my sentiment comes almost entirely from Nintendo’s art direction from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and they only have themselves to blame for that). However, most of it is because I just don’t play portable console games all that often. As such, I’ll never own a 3DS, and I’ll probably never get a PS Vita either. It’s too bad because I think I’d like Fire Emblem; Sega’s Shining Force games (the original games, not the post-Sega Saturn games) are among my favorite games, and I’ve heard that Fire Emblem is similar (though far more punishing) in gameplay. Tharja is one of those characters that amplifies this regret, since she looks great, and if I never get to play her game, at least I’ll get to put her on my shelf.

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63 Responses to Preorder Outlook XXVIII

  1. Kyzel says:

    At first I actually waited so long for Futayo Honda, but after seeing her up on preorder I changed my mind. I actually wouldn’t mind waiting, especially since http://myfigurecollection.net/item/120932 ‘s preorders are opening soon. I’d rather know I can limit my budget somewhat. Getting Tharja and Rika though (the latter a bit later on). I’m on the fence on that T2 figure. I like it, but I hate hate hate the fact his works are still mostly the ones that get attention. God I really know how the mainstream haters feel, except I’ve had no bias liked for his works before he became uber popular. Also debating on that other Vertex figure you didn’t link — Ikaruga, if I should preorder or try to manda instead.

    • Tier says:

      Ahh man, why are all these Horizon figures exclusives? Most peculiar it is. Strange that there seems to be no listed manufacturer, either.

      Ha, I can understand that … I’ve long had this inclination to massively dislike anything that is mainstream. I’ve gotten better at it recently, though. (However, I think I may be the only person on the planet who has neither seen nor heard that Gangnam Style thing. Certainly I must be the only person of Korean descent to have not done so.) In this case, though, Daisy’s size and brave choice of underpants wins out; if she were wearing a skirt like almost all of Tony’s female characters do, I’d almost certainly pass on the figure.

      Yeah, I was thinking of Ikaruga, too. For some reason, I haven’t experienced anything with respect to Senran Kagura; I know very little of the game, I haven’t seen any of the anime, and I’ve hardly seen any of its fan art. It’s a little weird since it seems like the sort of thing that I would like.

      • Kyzel says:

        No waaay! No effing way! That’s impossible! I mean as of this reply, Gangnam Style has 1.7 billion views on YT. SERIOUSLY! You’re pretty amazing in that regard LOL. *Ahem* I actually like Ikaruga’s simple design (must be the hime cut), and since I also have that Katsuragi by Ami zero on Preorder too so, I might as well get another Senran Kagura fig to go along with her.
        I’m hoping that Mary Stuart fig (with a lack of a listed manufacturer) won’t break the bank and be done justice. I agree, why are Horizon figs mostly exclusive? I’m also watching Aoi Kimi probably by next year. She’d match well with Tomo.

        • Tier says:

          Yeah, I still haven’t watched it. In its entirety, I mean; I did watch the first ten or fifteen seconds while showing it to my mom, who is almost completely computer-illiterate (then the video started buffering and I closed it, since I really didn’t care to see any more of it). Being a fan of rap since I was in middle school, it kills me that this is probably the most-heard rap song of all time.

          I still have to watch the last few episodes of Horizon’s second season but thus far, Mary seems like a really sweet girl so I’m hoping that the final form of her figure will be good, too. Hmm, yeah, I hadn’t noticed before, but Volks’s Kimi does indeed look quite a bit like Tomo. Maybe they’ll look good ass to ass. (Why is that sort of thing always the first thing I think of?)

  2. Asa says:

    I’m really tempted by Daisy, but my winged girl shelf is already full, and she has no source I can identify with. I like to know where all of my figures come from, beit anime, manga or game. So gorgeous figures based off random artwork are always difficult on me.

    Nobody else here on my radar, though Yuria tempts me because I loved Yamato in my youth (my first anime in the 70s). I really should watch the remake, though apparently various characters from the original have been turned in to girls to appeal to modern audiences… I do believe Yuria is one of them. This is fine by me, however, because I like girls.

    • Tier says:

      She comes from a Tony picture! I assume, anyway. Truthfully, I’m wondering where she comes from as well; I’ve never seen the source artwork and I wonder what “Peacekeeper” denotes. That said, she is big and she is cute. I wish Dizzy were 1/6 scale; they have some thematic contrasts that would look pretty cute together.

      That sort of genderswapping makes me think I ought to put Yamato 2199 higher on my list. Maybe I’ll go looking for it; I’m kinda winding down my Warcraft experience and I think I will have some free time this summer, being that I need to burn off some vacation but I don’t plan on traveling anywhere.

      • Asa says:

        Well, modern animation and all the benefits is a big plus, too. The original is incredibly dated now. Plus it’s just a different era, so even the storytelling is quite different to what we’re used to now. Still worth the watch if you are interested, certainly, but it may be difficult on people who have only watched anime the past few years, as stuff from 00s onward has changed significantly from 80s and 90s, let alone the 70s.

        I know you’re an older fan like myself, not a teenager, but still worth mentioning. I like modern animation and the abundance of girls these days, but there is something to be said for the GARness of older stuff. When men were actually men, not whiny emo shitbags abundant these days.

        • Tier says:

          True indeed, and I am susceptible to preferring the look of modern anime over older shows. I’ve been thinking I ought to pick up one of the Robotech sets (it seems like there’s a half dozen of them), since I’ve never actually watched the show (or its constituent shows) in its entirety (I was living in Korea at the time, and the Army station only showed the Macross saga up to the episode Battle Cry, and they only showed the first two episodes of the third generation. They did show the entire Southern Cross part but that was the one I liked the least.). Some part of me thinks that I’d never get through it, though, since it is an older show, not to mention that I now prefer to watch anime in the original Japanese language.

          I still wonder why is it that anime makers are so intent on making their male characters weak-kneed and diffident. I wonder if it says more about the anime makers or their audience.

          • Asa says:

            Well, southern cross had nothing to do with Macross, it was one of the three completely unrelated series that Harmony Gold retooled in to “Robotech”. Robotech is not Macross; Macross was just the beginning of Robotech.

            I do suggest Macross Zero > Macross > Macross Plus > Macross Frontier. You can quite happily miss 7 since it is abysmal. The movie Macross – Do You Remember Love, is a condensed version of the original Macross saga, if you just want to do a movie instead of watching 30whatever episodes.

            Keep in mind Zero is quite recent, but set before the original. The animation is superb, they truly went above and beyond during the making of it. The animators actually went up in fighter jets and stuff so they can learn first hand how they really move. Took 6-9 months per episode (for a total of five) instead of the usual pulp crap churned out quickly. It surpasses F’s quality, even though F was a few years later.

            Oh, Macross Plus has a movie version, or the four OVAs. The movie version is just the OVAs with a few bits cut to fit in to a movie length format. Either or is fine.

            So, yeah. For the quickest route, do Zero (5 episodes) -> DYRL movie -> Plus (movie) -> F (25 eps+two alt timeline movies). I do highly recommend it, though keep in mind all of them have kind of annoying male leads, though they do all mature through it unlike most anime where they like keeping males worthless.

            Which I do think is an audience thing, but if the makers stopped catering to such, the audiences could just adapt. Bring back worthwhile male leads.

          • Tier says:

            Yeah, I know; there are a ton of people out there who despise Robotech because of the liberties taken with the three original series, it seems, but personally, I love it. It is the single biggest reason I got into anime in the first place. (I don’t really care for Harmony Gold’s current activities, though.)

            Yeah, I’ve seen Plus and Zero; in fact, if you asked what my favorite anime series of all time is, I might just say Macross Plus (though I’d probably need to think about it a little longer). I have not seen 7 or more than the first few episodes of Frontier; I don’t think I’ll ever watch 7 (though Mylene is pretty cute) but I do want to get through Frontier sometime.

            I saw DYRL as a kid; I thought it was amazing, except for the voice acting. The version I saw was dubbed, and very badly dubbed at that. I later heard that the voice actors were foreign language students or something, but unfortunately, the first impression has already been made.

    • icelava says:

      Daisy is from Tony Taka. That is more than enough reason. 🙂

    • Steve Chen says:

      Peacemaker as in she’s flashing the “V” sign? I think…….

      • Tier says:

        Hmm, maybe; it hadn’t crossed my mind that she’s making the peace sign with both hands. I guess whenever I hear “Peacekeeper,” i always think of the United Nations (probably because when I play Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, I always pick the UN Peacekeepers as my faction [and I always try to roll over those psycho Christian zealots as early as I can]).

  3. Halbred says:

    WIND WAKER IS AMAZING YOU SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH!!

    I mean, uh, *ahem* their kid-friendly perception has been nurtured since the PS1 came out.

    • Tier says:

      Ha! I remember I was over at the apartment of one of my friends, back when Wind Waker came out. His roommate was playing at and I thought … well, it’s not currently socially acceptable to say what I thought so I won’t say it, but I will say there was nothing there that compelled me to ever want to play the game. I’m sure that it really is a good game, though.

      I think it goes back a little further, at least to when Mortal Kombat came out on the Genesis and SNES. I remember being a happy Sega fan back then, even if I did need to buy a new controller to play that game.

  4. Wieselhead says:

    Oh Wonfes is close? I hope to see a few better Sonico’s this time, the majority of recent figures of her character disappointed me a bit, Orchid Seeds 1/5 scale appears like a nice a exception though.

    I also would like a figure of Rei Ayanami, maybe a moveable one likes this would be nice.
    She looks so nice in her white plugsuit, the figma of her already looked pretty good.
    In 1/8 that sounds better, I will take a look at that.

    Rika Shiraki looks too good, she is quite the porn figure as well, but the major impression is that she’s just beautiful. I totally love her face and how she touches her tongue. I would get her, but I don’t want the Vibrator and squirt accessories, it might be a funny ecchi option, but it’s embarrassing.

    I love Space Battleship Yamato, I watched the first season recently (the final wasn’t subbed yet) and it was so damn epic, it also shows how charming old anime was, the music and the slightly outdated animations were a great experience. Haha, ok the voice acting is a little stiff at first, but I would recommend it. The renewed version is as good as this, only the opening song lost a little charm.
    The new show has a more elaborate storytelling and a more multilayered way of portraying the villains. The animations are now state of the art of course. Yuria Misaki is cute, but I rather want the nurse and Niimi.

    I don’t want their Daisy, on first look it looks lovely, big and cute, but I can imagine disliking this one after a few days of being on display.

    Futayo Honda, well it’s good to see a real figure of the best anime of all times after Space Battleship Yamato. But Im not sure the face is not right on the mark, it’s appears a bit plain. In terms of pose and appearance it still looks good. I could apply the rosy cheeks on my own and the figure would be awesome. XD

    Oh this Psylocke is cool, better than the asian model with the broad back, that you reviewed previously: p The face looks a little emo, but makes the whole figure more expressive. I really like this adaption.

    I also ordered Tharja, the subtle sex appeal is just too good, Im a lazy gamer, so it’s ok for me to get a figure without knowing the origin.

    On another note I could puke that griffon makes figures of things I actually want like Isshiki Akane, Shinomiya Himawari and Yui. I know what to expect from them in the end so no thanks X<

    • Tier says:

      I think it is! At least, it’s historically been held in February and July, I think. I don’t know when it is but the Good Smile Company blog keeps mentioning it. Funny how all these big pop culture conventions (SDCC, Wonder Festival, Comiket, Anime Expo, and Otakon) are all held right around the same time.

      Ahh man, I love Rika’s accessories; they make it so that I won’t need to supply my own XD Though I do already have my own. I guess I should think up some ways to photograph her already.

      Yamato 2199 sounds like a show I ought to watch. I did order Yuki Morii when she went up for re-release; I’m surprised at how high her secondary market price was right after she got released. I don’t know anything about her but any cute female anime character in a tight suit is going to get at least a cursory look from me.

      Haha, yeah, I guess if I put Daisy on my desk, that big smile and happy pose could get a little disconcerting. Sort of like Issei’s cheerful alarm clock in the High School DxD anime. I’ll just keep her next to my porno Saber figure.

      I think Tharja’s sex appeal is screaming right into your face XD I’m pretty happy that Max Factory is making figures like this; I used to expect Alter to make these sorts of figures and the GSC companies to make happy figures that are more cute than sexy, but it seems like they’ve swapped philosophies.

      Haha, yeah, I guess I give credit to Griffon for trying, but it doesn’t seem like they are improving a whole ton. Though some of their figures have looked sorta nice. I kinda liked their one figure of Misaka Mikoto (or uhh, whatever the Railgun girl’s name is …), if only because it actually looked like the anime character, which isn’t usually the case with their figures. I wonder if all these new figures are still using that enormous black oval base, though.

      • Wieselhead says:

        I’ve read that Wonfes is on the 28th, it actually always seems to be on this date, one day before my birthday ^^

        Would you be interested in taking a visit to this event? I would love to.

        • Tier says:

          In my mind I’d like to, but I have this thing where I get really uncomfortable in crowded places. Back when I was in school, there were a few times where I went to football games or some local bars and started getting really nervous just because I hate being in crowds. I kinda think that I wouldn’t feel too happy in a crowded convention area.

          • Wieselhead says:

            Ah yeah I also would prefer calmer places than this.
            In Japan everything seems crowded, I would try to avoid the subway at all costs, not sure how cramped Wonfes itself is, but maybe I could endure this for the new figures 😀

          • Tier says:

            Indeed! Seoul was always very crowded. Washington DC is very crowded. I hadn’t been in DC for a while but I went to go visit the museums and stuff with some friends last year, and I was amazed at how crowded it all was. (I was also amazed by how many people were carrying cameras around.)

            I wonder how crowded WF is as well; I don’t actually know where it’s held. I do know that Comiket is crowded as hell, but I would guess WF isn’t quite as popular. Few things are as popular as Comiket, it seems.

  5. Steve Chen says:

    Daisy is like sold out everywhere. Also managed to sneak in one at HS (Y 400 difference from amiami hah!, it took like .00000002 sec for her to sell out at the latter)

    Good thing Thalia is coming out in December, gives my wallet a chance to recuperate (btw Tier, the sculptor behind her, pardon the pun is the same guy who did (another pun)Samus and the Maxfactory Samurai girl with the long neck)

    Its the Shiraki thats giving me the headache………..she’s being given the same release window as Maxfactory Sheryl and this other Daiki fig http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10232102 (arrg!)
    by the same guy, Vispo who did several of your figures https://www.tentaclearmada.com/tag/keumaya/

    The other DOA fig you mentioned, Kasumi right? That stank to high heavens, head too big, body too spindly, but this Arturia figure is just right a design.

    On the Spacebattleship Yamato front (it was surprising too that Yuki sold out and now commands unbelievable prices in the secondary market), heck, even her re-issue is now sold out would you believe………………she came like out of nowhere and for a while almost made me get her but I lost interest in her to my regret) I made a little research on her, Yuki, MH’s SRP on her was kind off high compared to the online shops, but I noticed that amiami and HS sold her a little bit on the expensive side too, as in not like their usual average of 20% off, it was like around 11% this time (they must have smelled a block buster in her)

    Btw, on an unrelated note, Celia from Romancing girl knights has been delayed(again!) by Daiki. Heck, the Kaitendo version already beat them to the release date…………thanks for allowing me to kind of rant……….all your choices are tops!

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, she sold out really, really fast; I had an order at HLJ the day she went up, but then I ordered it from Hobby Search instead. I wonder why some of these Kotobukiya figures are selling out so quickly; it’s particularly odd since their US distribution operation seems to have no problem stocking a lot of those rare figures.

      I think that sculptor also did the upcoming L2 elf mage figure … I should check when that figure is coming out, being that I am pretty far behind on where I want to be with respect to reviews.

      I ordered Yuki Morii’s re-release at HLJ …. we’ll see if they do get her in stock, since she sold out pretty fast (again). Interesting how popular she and Akira are, being that I don’t really hear too many people talking about Yamato 2199.

      I guess that’s not surprising, Daiki Kougyou is definitely not one of the more punctual figure makers out there. I remember gangsta lean Saber got kicked back nearly half a year from her original release date.

  6. Mekagheist says:

    If you liked Shining Force, I can only highly recommend you to try to play to one of the Fire emblem game (I would recommend FE: path of radiance on the nintendo gamecube which is truly excellent (plus, it’s not on a portable console :P)).
    Pretty figure by the way! I really like her face…. And her pose is interesting too
    I think I’ll preorder one.

    Actually, one of the reason for the which I ioved TLoZ: Twillight princess was because of its more mature look (screw wind waker :P)
    a true breath of “fresh” air for Nintendo “childish” design policy… A shame they stopped there… (with a little exception for metroid…)

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I think I’d enjoy those games; I really like tactical RPGs, even the crummy ones like Agarest War. Maybe I’ll look into it someday; I kinda collect old game consoles and old RPGs. Not nearly to the extent that a lot of game collectors do, but it’s something that I enjoy doing. (In fact, when I started this website, I had planned on writing reviews of old or obscure RPGs. That never really came to pass, though.)

      • Mekagheist says:

        It ‘s never too late you know to start reviewing video games 😉
        In fact, I wonder how you’d manage that (considering I love your figure reviews, I am pretty curious of how it would look like)

        I also have a passion for collecting video games 😉
        Actually, the video game collector part of myself just beg to see one of your potential review xD

        I am in japan right now (in Kyoto to be exact (I’ll be in Tokyo next week)) if you want me to look for something, just let me know!

        • Tier says:

          I think there’d be a lot of personal anecdotes and a lot of rambling and discursiveness and a lot less discussion about the actual game, which is sometimes how my figure reviews go. Indeed, I have a figure here that comes from my favorite game series of all time, and I’m probably going to write more about that series than the figure.

          Ah, that is cool; you should enjoy yourself there! I don’t think I’m looking for anything in particular but if you don’t mind, after you return I would like to know how easy it is for a person who doesn’t speak Japanese to get around. The biggest reason I don’t travel internationally is the language barrier (particularly since I’d feel something like a fool in Japan, being of Japanese descent but not able to speak Japanese). Enjoy your trip!

  7. Dvalinn says:

    Vertex might hold a lot of promise in the future, going by this Mitsuru and others like the entry plug Eva girls. But though I liked the game and this character, overall she’s a bit too expensive for me, and my August was full already. I also don’t have the must-own reaction with game characters that often, actually (with a few noticeable exceptions), possibly because I mostly collect figures as a type of mementos from the shows I’ve watched over the years, and well, with games the game case and whatnot already serves as such.

    I think I’m holding of on Futayo as well, because she doesn’t quite convince me. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but it’s probably a combination of the pose and her face. I might pick her up someday, but not now. I’m looking forward to Koto’s Tomo though, from the teasers they’ve shown she’ll be in a more actiony pose than the Max Factory version.

    And Kanna is 1/6? Whoa, didn’t know that. Because, damn, that skirt really is short. Still though, I feel she’s rather boring pose-wise and she’s not a character I need more of than the prize I already have.

    And boooooh, the Wind Waker is awesome! The sense of adventure you get from sailing round the world is rather unmatched, really. Unlike the realistic titles, the graphics will never age either (though I’m puzzled why they made a HD release of it, give me Majora’s Mask dammit) and it’s not as if this style is Nintendo-specific either, for that matter (Ni No Kuni on the PS3 comes to mind). I prefer the cellshaded style of WW to any drab ‘real is brown’ modern game any day.

    But I digress. Tharja is one of those exceptions as far as video game characters go (possibly because she’s technically not a major character) because I immediately jumped on that pre-order. She looks distinctive and detailed, and as a character she was awesome as well, both in combat and in personality. I mean, she could slaughter armies with easy in my game, creepily laughing as she wiped out one poor sod after another, and there are good laughs to be had from her conversations. She stalks your main character (and mine was a woman, something the game actually accounted for), goes around using your army as guinea pigs for her hexes and is generally moody, creepy and sarcastic throughout. Definitely one of my favourite units in the series, so I knew I had to have this figure as soon as I finished the game.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I agree that something is off with Futayo. She resembles Alter’s Gotou Matabei from a couple of years back, but Matabei’s pose and expression seem to be more natural whereas Futayo looks sorta confused as to why she’s spreading her legs so widely apart. The way she’s holding her weapons parallel also looks a little odd.

      I think Moeyo took some upskirt photos of Kanna (never let it be said that they are not devoted to their duty to mankind). I think she was wearing regular white underpants; if she were wearing something racier, she’d definitely be on my preorder list, but as it is, I’m still waffling.

      I know nothing of Ni no Kuni, being that I still lack a PS3. I don’t mind the cel-shaded look, though; Jet Set Radio Future is one of my favorite games of all time. (I don’t mind the realistic look, either, I guess; I enjoy the Halo games. I do not play any of those Call of Duty/Battlefield whatever games, though, particularly the ones set during the Iraqi/Afghan wars; I find it really distasteful for a game company to make money off of a war that is currently ongoing.) The artistic approach that they took with the character designs is what I dislike. Isn’t that the game with some character called Tingle or something?

      Tharja sounds like a really cool character. It really is a shame she is stuck on a handheld. Maybe some day someone will make an anime off of Fire Emblem or something.

      • Dvalinn says:

        Yeah, Tingle’s in WW, but the game he originated in was one of the realistic Zelda’s though. And eh, tastes differ. I quite like the Disney-esque colourful look. As for wargames, I’m not too fond of them either. I would recommend Spec Ops: The Line though, if only because it serves as a brutal deconstruction of the Call of Duty’s of the world. I mean, damn, that game is pretty much the Apocalypse Now of videogames in terms of subject matter.

        And it always stings to see cool characters (and games) stuck on platforms you have no interest in. While I have a 3DS, I don’t own a Vita, and seeing Atlus games come out for it is worrying – while they’re mostly ports for now, I’d miss out on any new games coming out for it. Same with the PC, for that matter. And while an anime might be nice, I doubt there will ever be one (besides the crappy one from the…90’s, I think?). Nintendo doesn’t really let its more mature stuff be turned into anime, it’s mostly just Pokemon, Kirby and Animal Crossing. Shame, really.

        • Tier says:

          Haha, Spec Ops: The Line was one of those games I was thinking of when I was thinking of games I will not play. Admittedly, this comes entirely from their ads, which were really in-your-face about trying to establish the game’s credentials, which I thought was really silly. Homefront (at least, I think that’s what the game is called … it’s the one about North Korea conquering the US, which is hilarious) is another one of those kinds of games. They try so hard to be taken seriously that I can’t take them seriously. (This isn’t limited to those American-designed FPS games, though. I view Metal Gear Solid the same way. Admittedly, I have little familiary with the Metal Gear Solid franchise, so this isn’t really fair on my part, but I do own Metal Gear Solid 2, and I know about the box. And Raiden running around nude.)

          All these games are military games, and my personal background affects how I view these games, too. I grew up on a military base and when I went to school, I came very close to joining the military. This was right around the time of the dot-com boom, though, and I felt that I’d be better off getting a tech job than joining the Army, so I turned down my ROTC scholarship. My decision not to become a soldier gives me a dim view of games that simulate being a soldier.

          Anyway, I’m sure Wind Waker is a fine game. It’s not the cel-shaded graphics or the colors I dislike, it’s entirely the character design. The solid black eyes freak me out. If I remember right, they went to a more realistic look for later Zelda games and I think I liked that style a lot more. (I can’t quite remember if that was an actual game or a tech demo, though; I don’t really keep up with Nintendo news all that much.)

          • Dvalinn says:

            Spec Ops is quite a different kind of beastie than that silly Homefront game though – whereas Homefront tries to go all super serious and looks ridiculous as a result, Spec Ops is more meta and goes for mindgames, exploring the relation between player and character and criticizing the genre itself (specifically the power fantasies and glorification of violence, especially in a modern setting). It’s a…disturbing game, to say the least.

            It might still not be your thing, but know there’s at least games that address the problems you have with modern shooters.

          • Tier says:

            Interesting; it sounds like they took a more nuanced approach than what I sort of expect from these games (I kinda expect these games to do one of two things: take the player-as-badass, gung-ho approach, or to go for the shady, gray-area, ethically ambiguous approach, which seems like a very popular theme in this post-9/11 world). Shame that the commercial was so awful; I remember it had this sequence where they kept showing the face of the protagonist, except it got progressively more bloody, and he showed all the emotion of one of the default models from Poser. I’m guessing that that was what they wanted to convey – that he’s been shell-shocked into emotional or moral inertness – but it looked so ridiculous that it’s going to be really tough to reverse my initial impression.

  8. Tian says:

    I’ve got Vertex’s Mitsuru on order. I’ve never had any Vertex figures, but they make the ridiculous 1/6 Eva pilot + cockpit sets that go for like $300+

    As for C:MO (I think it’s short for Creative Motion, which makes more sense than Neuromancer), a few of them have been reviewed on Tomopop. Generally they seem to be of good quality, but the articulation can be limited. So really it doesn’t seem that different from a figma in terms of articulation, but C:MO figures would be bigger and much more expensive.

    That said, I do have a bunch of 1/8 scale weapons from my Strike Witches that would do well with a 1/8 posable figure…

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, those figures are nuts. I have to give them a lot of props for making figures like that; it takes a particularly ambitious company to manufacture such figures, particularly one without much of a track record. I kinda thought about buying Rei, but then, I’d really be getting it for the figure and not the cockpit prop, and that probably defeats the purpose of buying the set.

      Ah, I suppose that sounds acceptable. I guess I will also have to see if they reviewed Yoko, since that was the one that I was originally interested in. Not that she’s in stock anywhere anymore.

  9. dp says:

    I like Dasiy, Tharja and Psylocke… what’s up with Rei? Her face is looking blanker than usual, like her mouth is really faded…

    I recently started watching the Yamato 2199 reboot, and it is simply stunning. Best anime I’ve seen this year (never seen the original). Very epic in scope, especially from about episode 3 on when they get into space. Very attractive female characters in tight form-fitting suits as well….

    • Tier says:

      She is an action figure, so I guess they wanted to give her a bland expression. I kinda thought she should look a little more apathetic, though; she looks more thoughtful or inquisitive or something there.

      Everyone is saying good things about Yamato 2199. I started watching To Love-Ru based off some recommendations here and I like it a lot (though the amount of buildup without any payoff at all does get sorta annoying), so maybe I should watch Yamato as well. Aside from DxD and maybe Neptunia, I don’t know that there’s a lot I am interested in this season, so I should have time.

  10. I was rather unimpressed by the preview shots of Mitsuru despite her being my fave P3 girl so I gave her a miss.

    Shiraki looks surprisingly well done, especially for an ero figure. I’m all over Futayo tho! but I’m holding off till I recover my funds a little. I still have the Infinite Stratos Houki from Amiami coming in a few months… She’s going to be huge and massively expensive!

    Might try and sneak in Tharja tho. Need to play more fire emblem but I’ve got too many games to get thru, and I can’t stop playing project Diva f…

    • Tier says:

      I’m really looking forward to Shiraki; I’m pretty impressed that Daiki Kougyou is making such a figure. Even with their reputation, it seems like they’ve shied away from overtly sexual themes in the past. I have to give them props for, well, their props.

      Ah, yes, Houki is definitely huge. Is that the figure that started out at some insane price and then they dropped her cost by like ten thousand yen after a lot of negative feedback? I’m a little bummed that none of the major figure makers is doing any figures of the Infinite Stratos figures in their pilot suits … I mean, I even got through the anime. Well, most of it.

  11. illuna says:

    Tharja from Fire Emblem was no brainer for me, as soon as i saw her i put my preorder.

    As for Rika, that pose is kinda vulgar for my shelf. I like to display figures on open, so even if i buy figure whit little clothing i still put her on shelf where anyone who comes to my house can see it. Rika’s pose however makes it kinda akward to put on display. Ooh well have to think about it, maby i decide that f all and get her, or i make some “dark” shelf ;D
    I think she would look very nice on same shelf as Marie from starless, maby even as combination…. waah.

    • Tier says:

      She could be a conversation starter! Certainly a figure like Rika would be a unique thing to see. Plus she looks to be very finely made. Maybe people who see her will admire her for her solid workmanship and bold body posture.

  12. Somnophore says:

    First ever comment here:
    Our tastes mostly don’t overlap, but when they do, I can always expect some good reviews with spectacular photographs on your site! It was your review of Velvet which compelled me to go for her re-issue (so thanks!). I seem to be ordering more and more of these figures (.. I should maybe reevaluate my priorities), and therefore I recognise more figures in your updates.. I generally choose my figures based on their immediate apparent sexiness and/or awesomeness (and/or sometimes cuteness) factor, I don’t require any knowledge of their source material (I rarely watch anime anyways, so this would exclude almost every figure).

    From this pre-order outlook I ordered Mitsuru and Tharja. Mitsuru Kirijo simply looked awesome and hot in her tight outfit. As a Nintendo fan, I am actually familiar with Tharja, even if I don’t own the latest Fire Emblem game yet, so this was a must-buy anyway, but she happens to look spectacular! So that was an instant pre-order. On the note of Nintendo-related stuff: The Windwaker had several problems, but the cellshading and the artstyle weren’t one of them!

    From your previous pre-order outlook I ordered Kazuno. I am totally not familiar with the anime (so I don’t care she is actually a minor character), but she looked simply too awesome to me to pass up. I’m also starting to become a fan of Alter, eventhough the few figures I have right now are from several manufacturers. I also ordered Marie Mamiya, which would mark my first ero-figure (well, technically my second, but I don’t count Sigrid of the Thorn as an ero-figure). This is an example of not caring about the source material is a blessing, as I looked it up and I’m not liking it! I ordered this figure solely based on her face. I don’t care for ero-figures in general (or even swimsuit figures for that matter), so this is kind of an exception. If it weren’t for her face I would not be interested in the slightest.

    2 notable (in my opinion) figures I have ordered which I haven’t seen mentioned on this site (yet) are that other Yamato girl, Yamamoto Rei. I think she looks the sexiest of the 3, her outfit is slightly cooler, and she has more detail (her helmet and jacket). I think the other 2 look lovely as well, but can’t have ’m all. The other figure is a relatively new pre-order, Enoshima Junko, from something called Super Dangan-Ronpa. Another figure which I thought looked simply sexy to pass up.

    Anyway, I also saw creepy Woody is being re-issued. Seems to me he’d fit with your sense of humour. Maybe Obama can use an accomplice?

    • Tier says:

      I used to have several rules about figure collecting, including one where I needed to know something about the character. I ditched that one pretty fast. The one that lingered the longest was that I didn’t want more than one figure of a specific character, but I had to drop that one when I picked up Yamato’s Rei Ayanami, and I’m glad that I did. Now I pretty much get whatever I want to get; I find that it’s a lot less stressful and makes me a lot happier (which is, of course, the major theme of this site).

      I’m kinda thinking again about getting Kazuno; I do like the way she looks, and I’m sure Alter will do fine job with her. I didn’t mention Yamamoto before, but after seeing how expensive Yuki became, I did look around for her; unfortunately, she’s sold out just about everywhere, which is too bad, since I like the dark-skin/light-hair look, not to mention her exposed cleavage, which is pretty nice. I’m not at all familiar with Danganronpa, so when I saw Junko’s figure, I thought she looked insane. Then I looked up a Youtube video of the game and I guess she’s really supposed to be insane or something.

      I’ll be honest, I’m not really a big Toy Story fan (which is to say, I’ve not seen any of the movies so I don’t have an opinion one way or the other) so I don’t plan on getting Woody. I kinda think he’s overused in photos, to the point that I don’t really pay attention to any pictures with him.

  13. banana says:

    I debated a long time over Arthur. I love all the details of her dress, stockings, and hair (those little white bows on wavy blonde hair are especially enticing). The hot pink of her bear and shoes rubs me the wrong way, however. The way she holds her mic also bugs me. But what troubles me the most is the shape of her upper head. The combination of two meat balls and a crown seems to make her forehead size XXL. Or maybe her upper cranium was designed to be that big to spread out the three lumps to avoid crowded appearance. In any case, I’ll probably end up passing on her even tho I still can’t quite make up my mind.

    Yuria Misaki is pretty darn cute, although after extensive deliberation on Yuki Mori, I’ve already decided that the Yamato uniform designs just don’t hold my attention for the long term.

    Kanna Tanigawa reminds me of a more… boring version of Unico. I wish Alter would stop picking design elements I hate. I want to buy your high quality stuff, Alter! Imagine my disappointment when I saw the two latest figures were jersey and school uniform.

    Daisy was a weird one for me. At first I was disturbed by her apparent airheadedness. She looks like she’s got about as many brain cells as the number of fingers she’s holding up. But the more I see her pictures, the more I like her, which is a very desirable trait for a figure. Now to play the waiting game.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I think that’s part of Oyari Ashito’s style; his style doesn’t seem like it’d be easy to adapt into a figure. The Kasumi figure based on his art had the same problem with the gigantic forehead. I’ll give Kotobukiya props for trying, though.

      I heard that Alter was having some manufacturing difficulties, and I wonder if they’re having some sculpting difficulties as well. They used to make a lot of ambitious, complex figures, but a lot of their recently-unveiled figures have been rather nondescript. That’s pretty disappointing given their track record. (I’m glad Max Factory’s been picking up the slack this year.)

      I kinda had a similar reaction with Daisy; I woke up, saw her up for preorder, and my first thought was, “Oh good, another Tony figure, that’s just what the world needs.” I had kinda thought maybe I wouldn’t order her (I hadn’t noticed how big she is) but after thinking about it a little more, I’m now really excited about her. She looks really cute, the pose is growing on me, and she has a lot of thematic similarities to Dizzy. Even her name sounds similar.

      • banana says:

        Turns out, I didn’t have to wait long for Daisy. Her preorders started on Monday for Kirin Hobby and BBTS. I’m not sure what you mean by similarities to DIzzy though.

        I don’t know what’s going on with Alter, but I hope they do well. I need more miracles like Momohime.

        • Tier says:

          I think she has some thematic similarities; the wings, of course, but also the basic hairstyle with the twintails and hair ribbons, the panties, the exposed belly button, the short dress with the ends that flare out from the hips, the bare shoulders and big cleavage, the short boots and thigh high socks. Admittedly, overall, they don’t look too much alike, but I thought it was neat at how many little things they have in common. (Curious that we were talking about Dizzy and Alter’s current situation, and then they put Dizzy up for re-release just the other day.)

          • banana says:

            A lot of those elements are just what I like, and many of my other figures have those elements, so I guess it doesn’t seem as big of a coincidence to me. I also perceive Dizzy more as three figures in one (which she basically is), and that puts even more distance between them.

            As for Alter re-releasing Dizzy, while I’d like to imagine the world caring about what I want, if it actually cared, I would’ve won the lottery by now.

          • Tier says:

            A lot of people have that view, but I usually see Necro and Undine as just wings, probably because in the game, they’re not usually visible unless you’re attacking. (They would never do this, but it would crack me up if Alter had created a variant where Dizzy’s tail had its gigantic shark mouth, making it four figures in one.)

  14. Steve Chen says:

    http://www2.moeyo.com/img/13/02/11/4/416.html

    It’s by Native(I think) and based on Tony’s art. So we expect a double whammo dynamic duo ero fig right? But this sort of reminds me of one of your Native figure, Nana iirc……..Naked and Creative……..but NOT naked lol!

    • Tier says:

      The pictures make it look like her clothes are made of fabric; if that’s the case, they should be removable, I think (in the worst case, I suppose one could just cut them off).

    • Tier says:

      MF’s on a good roll, no doubt. Great to see them making figures like this. I’m hoping Arcadia keeps rolling out those TERA figures; if they do, then I’ll be a pretty happy figure collector/MMO player.

      • Steve Chen says:

        Could you please release a fig review on that Elin figure by French Doll? How’s the quality? Up to Alter or Maxfactory levels?

        • Tier says:

          Most likely not; I didn’t buy it so unless somebody’s willing to loan or give it to me, I can’t really say anything about it. I dunno if anyone is up to Alter or Max Factory levels, though I guess Yamato (and Daiki Kougyou) can occasionally get there, but in my experience, Yamato’s larger figures tend to be pretty decent.

          • Steve Chen says:

            Me so stupid. I just recently learned that Arcadia is/once was Yamato. (So you didn’t pick up the Elin fig after all……..I was under the impression you did).

            As for the Arcadia/Yamato inference which I just picked up…..been looking at the original Macross Valkyries (1/60 scale) which are Yamato’s forte. Well in amiami, its manufacturer is also Arcadia. Same model, same make. Why the change?

          • Tier says:

            Yeah, I didn’t pick it up; I was thinking about it but I’ve got this thing against animal ears and stuff. I admit I do check time to time to see if any of the stores have it in stock, though.

            Yeah, Arcadia is basically just a new name for Yamato; they went through a peculiar reorganization earlier this year. I heard it was for financial reasons. As far as I can tell, it seems to be business as usual for them, except their products are now offered under new brand names (their vmf50 dolls are now Angel Philia, their Neuromancer action figures are now C:MO; I presume their SIF EX figures and such will also get new name for the product line). Curiously, their US branch is retaining the Yamato name, it seems.

  15. Wolfheinrich says:

    Lucy you got Daisy! I was at Anime Expo and lost out on the Pre-order for both Amiami and Hobby Search. However, I managed to secure a pre-order at Crunchyroll so it might be just fine, but then I saw a bunch of them at YJ! hovering around 9500 yen so I snatched one there too just in case.
    I see that Yuria has caught your attention, she is among one of the cute girls at the reboot Yamato. I watch Yamato when it was first aired in the 70s, back then I was too young to understand anything. Fast forward to a few years ago when Yamato was adopted as live action starring Takuya Kimura as Godai is my first real impression of Yamato. I watched reboot anime too, and I am very happy with it so far.

    • Tier says:

      Having a backup plan is always a good policy. I think some American retailers like BBTS are taking preorders for Daisy, though; strange how some of Kotobukiya’s figures sell out so rapidly at Japanese retailers while remaining in steady supply at American ones.

      Yeah, Yuria’s got my attention, as does Yuki. I kinda wish I’d put in a preorder for Akira Yamamoto, but maybe they’ll do a second run of her, since the figures seem to be exceedingly popular.

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