Preorder Outlook XXXIII

A number of figures have been announced recently, including many that we saw at last month’s Wonder Festival, so let’s take a look at some that I’m considering ordering. Most of them are very pricy, which unfortunately seems to be the norm nowadays, and for some reason most of the ones listed here have ship dates crammed into August. Happily for me, I’ve got some credit card points and a larger-than-expected tax refund to draw from, and that should cushion the checking account shock a bit. Meanwhile, let’s get going with the post.

July

Kaori Nimii from Space Battleship Yamato 2199
The next Yamato 2199 girl is Kaori Nimii. As nice as she looks – and she does look extremely nice, in terms of body, outfit, and pose – I couldn’t help having a couple of reservations about reserving her. One, I’m still both annoyed and perplexed at how Yuria Misaki’s price crashed, having paid full dollar for her. Two, while I haven’t seen Yamato 2199, I know a little bit about Kaori’s character, and the superficial bit that I know makes me wonder whether I want her. That’s neither entirely fair nor consistent with my prior purchasing practices, but I have no compunction against personal inconsistency. But then, I figure that she is pretty and if I’m not very familiar with a character, that’s really the only thing I ought to look for.

August

Mika Jougasaki from Idolmaster
Despite having collected figures for some time now, I don’t own any from the Idolmaster series. Or at least, I don’t think I do. Most of them haven’t really caught my eye but Mika Jougasaki has piqued my interest. Her pose is certainly distinctive, as is her outfit, with her hooker boots being particularly appealing. I’ve got a couple of reservations about her, though; well, three, if you count the price, but that’s true of virtually every figure I’m interested in these days. One, I’m not entirely sure about her grin, which could turn out badly, and two, I don’t really have a lot of confidence in Phat Company. Admittedly, I only own one of their figures and it’s been three years since that one came out, so perhaps they’ve gotten better. The pictures at the GSC blog look promising, so I’m leaning towards ordering her.

Rias Gremory from High School DxD
Characters like Tamaki Kousaka and Miku Hatsune are common muses for figure makers but occasionally, a less ubiquitous character suddenly catches fire and gets a bunch of figures all at once. Such was the case with Ignis and Haruka Takamori back in the day, and now it seems it’s Rias’s turn. She’s got several figures coming out this summer but none are larger than FREEing’s version which, at the customary 1/4 scale, just barely edges out the A+ version. Her large size is an attractive element in its own right; FREEing’s bunnygirls are often not very detailed and their product photos don’t always impress, but their appeal becomes very obvious when they are placed next to ordinary-sized 1/8 scale figures. Also, while the bunnygirls don’t always feature interesting poses, one can’t indict Rias on that score, as her booty-centric pose makes it obvious where your attention is intended to be focused. So, she looks great, and she’s got a lot of good things going for her and yet, those same things make me less inclined to buy her; for one, her large size will be difficult to fit in my rapidly-dwindling shelf space, and her showy pose means she’s going to take up more space than she otherwise would. As it is, I have to reserve money and space for FREEing’s Freezing figures, which feature Satellizer on all fours while Elizabeth sits on her ass. I mean, who would say no to that?

Kotone Kamishiro from Oyako Rankan
Alicesoft’s games often feature very attractive character designs. Historically, figure makers have agreed with that assessment, as Sengoku Rance, Beat Blades Haruka, and Daiteikoku have all gotten a number of figures over the years. The next Alicesoft game to get a figure is Kotone from Oyako Rankan. She’s the oldest daughter in the game which, from what I’ve heard, is unfortunately an NTR game. It recently got a single-episode anime adaptation which was kinda nice but could’ve used a larger animation budget. As with Kaoru, I’m going to try to ignore the source, as the character looks too nice to pass up.

Mea Kurosaki from To Love-Ru Darkness
Max Factory has been on a tear lately, rolling out one great figure after another. They’ve already released Momo from To Love-Ru (review pending here) and the next figure in the series will be Mea Kurosaki. She’s lacking the bridal veil and wedding accessories, which is too bad since I admit I have a liking for that sort of thing, but she still looks fantastic, and being both 1/6 scale and cheaper than most of the figures listed here makes purchasing her an easy call.

Hakufu Sonsaku from Ikki Tousen
As far as I know, this figure first popped up at Wonder Festival last month. When I saw it, I thought it was Panty from Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, and was surprised to find out that it’s actually Hakufu Sonsaku; despite being the nominal main character of Ikki Tousen, she doesn’t seem to be nearly as popular as Kanu Unchou or Ryomou Shimei. Further, it’s been a while since Ikki Tousen’s heyday (and with Tokyopop’s demise a few years back, I’ve lost track of the manga). Hakufu wasn’t one of my favorite characters from the series, and I suppose I wasn’t alone in that sentiment, as she seemed to get progressively shunted towards the background in both the manga and the anime spinoffs. However, I really like this figure, not just because the character is attractive but also because it’s a rather unusual take on Hakufu’s design, giving her a more realistic and adult-looking body. She ain’t cheap but being that she’s 1/6 scale, I think she’s worth the price.

Touko from the Native Creators Collection
Native is going back to their roots with Touko; the product page says that this is their third figure based on Tony Taka’s art but by my memory it’s actually the fourth, following Nozomi Watase, Kotone Ousaka, and Collet. I mentioned earlier that sometimes certain characters get a number of figures all at once; occasionally, the same thing happens with concepts, as is the case with the toilet here. I’m not sure why, but commodes have gotten really popular lately; Kaitendoh’s shown off a few figures featuring girls on cans, Daiki Kougyou has released one lately (review pending here), and now Touko will be coming with a throne of her own. She also comes with removable fabric clothing and I really hope PVC figures don’t suffer the same staining problems that vinyl dolls do; then again, I don’t know that one would buy a figure like this to keep her clothed.

September

Shimakaze from Kantai Collection
Kantai Collection is the big huge sexy thing in anime culture these days, so it’s no surprise that the big figure makers are jumping on the bandwagon. The most popular girl, if one goes by fanart counts, seems to be Shimakaze. Unfortunately, I like much of her fanart more than I like this figure’s design. Her pose is really nice but I don’t like her face that much. I definitely don’t like her price either, and I don’t think she’s worth 12,000 yen; I’ll probably pass and take another look if she ends up in the bargain bin like so many other Good Smile Company figures.

February

Satan from the 7 Deadly Sins
The newest figure in the main 7 Deadly Sins lineup is Satan. Astonishingly, this figure is available for order despite not being scheduled to ship until February 2015, and given the casual regard Orchid Seed has shown for deadlines, I expect the figure to slip several months past that. Aside from all that, she does look very nice, and she doesn’t have an objectionably-large bust or an overly small head. I think I’ll order her, and I’m guessing she may be the last of the main figures I get; I don’t think I’m interested in the other girls.

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35 Responses to Preorder Outlook XXXIII

  1. Tian says:

    Mika Jougasaki and Mea Kurosaki are my favorites out of this group. I like Shimakaze too for the somewhat mischievous grin on her. I don’t actually have any of these on order though because GSC delays have ensured that my next few months are all filled up.

    I’m not a fan of Native’s Touko, but I have their upcoming Margit Suzuki figure on order. Still I feel like she’s a bit tame. None of the explicit ero figures have appealed to me lately; the good ones all seem to lack… detail.

    • Tier says:

      I was kinda inclined to pass on Mika just because of the Phat Company factor but now that I think about it, I’m liking her more and more. Conversely, I think I’m liking Shimakaze less and less the more that I look at her.

      Detal is very important when it comes to ero figures; a realistically-sculpted birth canal really gives them a big boost. Yeah, even though Tony has done a lot of artwork for eroge, it seems like his work and all the adaptations thereof tend to lean more towards cute rather than full-blown raunchy. I’m really hoping Dragon Toy’s policegirl figure bucks that trend since it seems they have no compunction against exquisite detail.

  2. Devastator001 says:

    Definitely Getting Satan ^_^, As for Rias am more leaning towards orca toys version of her (http://myfigurecollection.net/item/167363), the pose is Ok and overall face is also good 😕

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I like that figure a lot as well; it looks like they got the anime version of her face right, which doesn’t seem to be the case with all of her other figures. The main thing I dislike is her price (she’s so expensive that it’s hard not to think about getting the much larger bunnygirl version) and her kneeling pose; I really wish she were standing up instead, and I probably would have bought her for sure if she were.

  3. Aka says:

    When I saw how much they were asking for Shimakaze, I knew they were just trying to milk it for everything they could. Shameless.

    Mea and Momo are cute. Though I probably wont pick them up unless I get a deal on them like I did Megahouse’s Misaki Yuria. Which isn’t likely. Picked her up for a measly $16!

    • Tier says:

      Shimakaze’s price reminds me of their Black Rock Shooter animation figure, whose price crashed shortly after release. I’m hoping the same thing happens with Shimakaze. I probably should have waited on Yuria, too; I thought that she might be in high demand because of how expensive Yuki Mori became after her first release. Man was I wrong on that.

  4. Dvalinn says:

    Mea is missing something for me. I’ve got Momo, and she’s awesome, but I don’t have the slightest feeling of ‘I want this’ with Mea for some reason. She does looks nice and I like how her hair is done, but I guess the lack of a true wedding getup like Momo’s kind of hurts her for me. She just doesn’t look as exciting. Not to mention I don’t like Mea as much as Momo character-wise. Still, I do hope they’ll make more of these wedding Love-ru girls based on the illustrations. Looking at the original pic, Nana, Yami or Haruna would look pretty nice.

    GSC’s Shimakaze face bothers me as well, and I can’t say I like the figure or its price too much in general anyway. Amakuni’s version is better, in my opinion. Though I won’t be buying either since I have no affection for the series, so let’s see if the anime changes my mind. And even if if does, that one will probably cause such a torrent of new figures that the ones coming out now might be superfluous.

    Also, the whole trend of girls on a toilet weirds me out. I don’t find it appealing in the slighest, but hey. Wonder if a Mr. Hankey will get included as an accessory at this rate.

    • Tier says:

      She does lack that fetish appeal that Momo has (at least, to anyone who likes that sort of sexy bride look); I do like Mea a lot, though, since she’s in lingerie and for some reason or another, that isn’t a common thing with figures. I’m not sure why swimsuit figures are so common while figures in lingerie are not. I don’t know too much about Mea’s character, having only gone through the first few episodes of Darkness, but I think I can kinda extrapolate what she’s like, since most of the characters from the show seem to stick strictly to the usual archetypes.

      Yeah, I like Amakuni’s version better; it doesn’t have the same sort of showy pose but the face is better and that’s more important to me in this case. I thought about ordering it and I guess I still am (at least, I think it’s still available at a few stores) but I’m probably inclined to pass on it as well; as you say, she’s such a popular character that I’m sure there will be a ton of figures to pick from later on this year.

      I really can’t say I have a thing for toilets (or excretion, really), either. It’s a really weird phenomenon and I’m at a loss to explain why there are so many figures coming out with them.

  5. Asa says:

    I’ve considered Mea, just because I have Momo… but she’s not as eyecatching, to me. So I can live without her, I think. Nothing else here on my radar. I noted the Yamato girl, but the alien I ordered (and just paid for today, actually) will be enough for me from the series. I haven’t even seen it yet. And as you say, aftermarket prices on them seem worrying. So I can just get more later if I end up wanting them.

    • Tier says:

      Waiting till after release seems like a smart thing to do, if it doesn’t look like a figure is going to sell out right away. This seems particularly true of GSC/Max Factory stuff; it seems like even hugely-hyped figures like most of the Black Rock Shooter stuff and a lot of the Fate/stay night stuff was still available even long after release. Even if they don’t hit the bargain bin, their stuff doesn’t seem too hard to find, most of the time.

  6. Wieselhead says:

    Yamato 2199 is really great, telling a story is it’s focus, instead of showing attractive anime girls jumping around some main character *rofl* Well, the Yamato girls are quite pretty to be honest. Nimi is one of them, but I am a bit dissapointed with this figure I don’t like the pose so much. Im still on the fence about the nurse haha.

    Mika Jougasaki has a great outfit, pop stars often dress up with ho fashion so it’s no odd idea to present her like this. Her smile is somewhat crazy.

    Rias Gremory is on the way to become a new Tamaki, I think the other characters would deserve a figure as well. Good to know that there will be a bunny Akeno soon.
    Thinkin of it I found the cow costume in the anime really rude, Akeno is a fine woman and no “Holstein”

    Mea Kurosaki is the mosten rotten girl in Tlr, I never liked childish, perverted yandere girls XD Well, of course the design is beautiful, I really like how Momo looks, Mea will probably also turn out great. I would love to have Kotegawa as bride figure from Max Factory, I think I could barely resist ;>

    The Ikki Tousen figures of Dragon Toy are great, as I saw this Hakufu I got super excited, as excited as with Kan’u back then. She looks stunning in this elegant pose combined with damaged clothes, I love the articulation. She has great knees, I also like face with it’s different style. Actually I like all Ikki Tousen charaters, the blonde baka musume quite a bit more.

    Shimakaze is really a bit more expensive, GSC is quite demanding these days.
    I must admit that I liked the figure more as she was unpainted, the face is a bit strange.
    Maybe Ques q can present something else, the prototype has lots of potential.

    • Tier says:

      I should watch Yamato 2199 one of these days; I went looking for Blu-rays a few weeks back but all I found on Amazon was the Japanese version, which was really, really expensive. I don’t know if anyone in the US has picked it up for localization but if someone does, I’m thinking I’ll give it a look.

      Haha, I pay almost no attention to modern popular culture (which is a strong indicator that I’m really old now), but I have heard that the way underage female musicians dress and dance is a topic of great debate XD I’m not too familiar with the kogal style that Mika is supposed to be showing but regardless of whether it’s accurate, I’m thinking I’m liking her more now than I did at first.

      The cowsuit thing seems strangely popular in anime; I’ve seen it a number of times and I can’t really say it’s my thing. I guess it’s supposed to go with Akeno’s bust size or something; personally, I’m hoping she gets one in her bondage outfit instead, since she’s supposed to be an assertive girl.

      I don’t know much about Mea but I think I can imagine what she’s like. I am definitely hoping Yui gets a sexy bride figure as well, even though I dislike the tsundere personality. I’m also hoping they do one of Mikan, especially since I’m still on the fence about Alter’s figure and an MF version would settle the issue for me.

      Yeah, I noticed Hakufu’s knees as well, which is a strange thing to look at, but I was really impressed by how detailed her muscles and joints are so intricately sculpted. I don’t have a fetish for those things or anything, but it seems rare to see that kind of detail in a figure, particularly one from a relatively minor manufacturer like Dragon Toy.

      I had not noticed that Ques Q is making a Shimakaze figure, but now that you mention it I’ll have to take a look and see what it’s like. I think I’m skipping the GSC one and probably the Amakuni one as well, so hopefully they or someone else makes a nice figure of her (though personally, I’m probably more interested in figures of the battleship girls).

  7. Steve Chen says:

    Getting the Tony figure by Native………..who can resist a “cr@pper” throne? Good thing they opted for real clothes this time…….no more worries breaking the parts. And you are correct about the Tony taka fig count, must be a typo in Native’s part.

    And Satan has my attention too………..maybe coming next March if Orchidseed follows their “timeliness”.

    Sonsaku also has my wallet pinned. Second Daiki/DRAGON TOYS Ikki gal. Character wise, a pity that she got shunted off in place of Mou-chan and Kanu (talk about like having Optimus Prime overrided by Jazz or something)………though we can’t have too much Kanu but, there’s just too much Kanu lol!

    I’m conflicted for the Skytube Alicesoft character……..due to August having several figs coming that my wallet might just not survive it………d@mn figure prices pushing at Yen 12,000+. But she IS beautiful and Skytube is recently on the roll.

    • Tier says:

      Who indeed! I figure that this hobby is strange enough, a toilet bowl accessory isn’t going to look too out of place, especially with a naked girl on top of it. Haha, I have to admit I was pleased that Kanu jacked the spotlight, since Hakufu isn’t among my favorite characters; admittedly, that might be largely due to the translation, which wasn’t faithful in any way, at least not initially. Yeah, these prices are nuts; I was already thinking that I should cut back on figure purchases, that I should eliminate the figures that I’m on the fence about, and these recent price listings are going to make it easier for me to do that.

  8. Cerberus says:

    I’d preorder Touko if it was not with the fabric clothing. I still don’t quite accept this idea about putting these on scale figures. It turned out nice on this particular one though. But what I don’t want to happen is that once I get Touko and get used to the fabric clothing on PVC/resin body I would go ahead and start to buy dolls.

    • Tier says:

      Haha, it does seem like collecting girly anime figures leads to collecting dolls (though in my case, I started with dolls first and then got into figures later). I collect both now though figures are my main focus; I don’t actually like dressing dolls all that much, nor do I change their poses, since I don’t have much of an imagination for that sort of thing.

  9. Tsunami3k says:

    Kaori I’m just going to get. I love the Yamato girl lineup thus far and I know I want them all and their prices have been pretty reasonable even despite the nearly inexplicable binning of Yuria. Edit: Upon reflection, I take that back. Kaori seems to have gotten a significant price hike as compared to her predecessors. Maybe I will wait for a sale!

    Satan is a must for me. The designs are great and I’ve liked a lot of characters in the series, enough to have even picked up a couple, but nearly all have something off-putting (like being waaay too top-heavy in most cases) that keeps them from being perfect and with today’s figure prices, I’m getting pretty darn picky. For the Satan sculpt I can honestly say I can’t think of a single issue I have with it. She’ll look good with Lucifer and Leviathan.

    Mea hits the trifecta: good looks, good price, good scale. Her pose is admittedly simple but it’s a really clever use of her braided hair to spice up what would be an otherwise fairly bland pose.

    I’m right there on the fence with you regarding Mika. I love the rich details of the sculpt bu the price…. If I’m going to drop a big chunk of cash on a super-detailed figure, that massive Sheryl Nome figure by Max Factory is far further ahead in line save for the fact that shipping for her is almost guaranteed to be ridiculous. Thankfully most Idol Master figures seem to hit a sale eventually so there’s hope that this one can be gotten for a fair price.

    The details of Shimakaze are undeniably great, particularly when factoring in the full scene of goodies that ship with her. If she hits a price I’m willing to pay before I discover another figure of her at a pleasing price point then I’ll get her then.

    All in all, I pretty much love your whole lineup for this round. It seems like the rapid price inflation is on the minds of every figure collector so it’ll be interesting to see how this ultimately affects the figure industry and fandom as a whole. Heck, I’m just curious as to how many of these ladies I’ll actually end up with. Priced “normally”, I’d probably end up with most of them [space be damned!] but these days I’ve even found myself passing on “sale” pricing that merely reduces them to what should have been their normal price in the first place.

    Ah well, these are just first-world problems. I’m thankful that I can eat today and tomorrow and the next day and can own a car that I can get around in a world without the fear of snipers or bombs. A few fewer plastic women here or there isn’t such a big deal after all. ;D

    • Tier says:

      MegaHouse is taking advantage of the times, it seems; I could swear that Yuki Mori was closer to the 6500 yen mark when she was first released. I wonder if this is just opportunism on the part of manufacturers or if there are some adverse economic conditions that are forcing them to charge higher prices? I recall that GSC and Alter shifted to new production facilities one or two years ago, so I’d understand if the price increases were confined to them, but it seems to be everybody that’s charging more.

      The funny thing is, I think I like the 7 Deadly Sins figures less than most people; which is not to say that I dislike them, but most of them have one or two small things that drop them just a little bit in my esteem. I think with Satan, I don’t like her horn style as much as Lucifer’s, but otherwise she still looks great. I’m kinda hoping they do a Santa Satan figure at some point, too.

      Yeah, it’s pretty cute how Mea’s hair is wrapped around her like a tentacle. Max Factory has made some really great sexy figures recently; I feel kinda bad I haven’t done the dark elf review yet since it’s so nice.

      First world problems indeed! I must admit that life is pretty good. I’ve been fairly stressed recently, which is one reason why posts have been slower than normal (partly due to work and partly since I’m hoping to buy a house in the next year or two and need to plan and budget for that; also partly due to my dad’s health problems, though he’s out of the hospital now, at least). However, if those are the things that I have to worry about – minus my dad’s health, anyway – in the broad view, I’ve got a better life than the vast majority of people on this planet. Those Satellizer and Elizabeth Mably figures would make it even better, though.

      • Tsunami3k says:

        I’m sorry to hear about your dad’s troubles but I hope the fact that he’s out of the hospital mean’s he’s doing better. I doubt you’d frame it as such but I do regret painting life with an overly broad brush when such weighty matters inevitably loom on the fringe. I tend to make a habit of reminding myself of the so-called “big picture” as a means of keeping myself well-grounded but, as is often the case, I find myself starring in another episode of “when keeping it real goes wrong”.

        Heh, I deliberately avoided noting that Mea’s hair was…tentacle-like but I won’t deny that it’s absolutely true. As far as the “Seven Deadlies” go, I’ve been surprised myself at how non-obsessed I’ve been about getting them all. I have no issues with the horn vareity but I can say that most easily put me off by being top-heavy to the point of deformity. I’m most perplexed by Belphegor since, at least on paper, she pushes a lot of my buttons but in practice she falls mysteriously short. A rare case in which the sum is less than the parts.

        Santa Satan borders on brilliance if done right. Hopefully the powers that be are tracking your site and have already dispatched their elite teams to focus their cumulative sculpt-foo into making your concept a reality. Let’s just hope they do better than Christmas Melty and hit the relevant holiday on time!

        Gah, I’m not sure if I should thank you or curse you for making me aware of Mrs. Mably! I thought I was just one figure away from being complete on my Freeing/Freezing girls. Not so anymore. Crap, their new Elizabeth figure looks amazing too! So yeah, I’m leaning towards the fist-shake now…

        • Tier says:

          He seems to be doing better now, so that’s good. I think he’s having a difficult time adjusting to his new dietary needs, though, since he has to massively cut down on his sodium intake. Aside from his issues, I’m kinda freaked out myself since there’s a history of cardiac problems running through my dad’s side of the family (my grandfather died of a heart attack when he was only in his 40s, and I’m not all that far away from that myself).

          Yeah, I’ve been a big completionist in the past but I don’t really feel the need to complete the set. I don’t really have a huge thing for demon girls to start with, and there are some aspects that I like better than others (I like Lucifer’s horns but I don’t like Leviathan’s, for instance). I’m also kinda expecting the upcoming anime adaptation to be awful.

          I was a little surprised they went back to Satellizer, though I suppose she must have been pretty well-received (the review here is also one of the most popular posts on this site). Even though I don’t really care for Freezing (though I haven’t watched the second season), that kind of pose is way too good to pass up.

  10. Galih says:

    Mika Jougasaki pose and grin are very striking! I think she will be a good photo material. You don’t have any interest in any other Idolmaster’s figures Tier? I always thought they have many good figures, especially Rin Shibuya (new gen ver GSC), she is really beautiful, her hair, dress, and pose all look pretty.

    Hmmmm…. Rias Gremory, I like her in the anime, at least season 1 (haven’t watch the 2nd season), she is beautiful, sexy, and more importantly badass with her dark-crimson aura. She looks especially really badass when she appears to help Issei at near death situation at episode 1. But too bad that she has many figures, but they are barely resemble her, her face to be precisely. Is her face really hard to be sculpted? The figure above actually is not really bad, but i think Rias’s face is not should be like that. What i haven’t seen from her figures is her badass form (all that i have seen are her sexy form), i imagine she is standing, her wings are open wide, she is about to turn around, her face is a bit serious, but in general she looks badass and sexy at the same time. (XD just my imagination!)

    Mea Kurosaki, i haven’t watched the anime, but i have read the manga for quite a lot, and i think she is a bit dark (skin tone) in this figure don’t you think? And that’s why i don’t really like her.

    Shimakaze, i agree with you that her face is a bit off. But other than that she is perfect. Even perfect with turrets around her, just too bad about her face.

    Finally Satan from 7 deadly sins, actually i want to see if there are any collector that have all 7 stand side by side, i think it will be very cool. They all generally divided into 2: “small body” or “not”, satan is in that “not” category, i think in this category she is not really interesting. Her art and pre-painted figure all look delicious, but when she has been painted, i’m not interested at all, perhaps that’s because the red is not striking, i prefer the red hair (rather pink) on asmodeus. Well if they have a repainted version of satan probably i will be interested.

    • Galih says:

      oh sorry, it should be “unpainted” not “pre-painted”, i don’t know that before

    • Tier says:

      I think there were a few I was interested in but I never bought any of them; I have to admit I’ve never been into the whole entertainment idol thing. I do like Rin Shibuya’s design, though I think the figure I want of her would have her in her usual dress shirt and loose necktie with her unfriendly expression; I don’t think anyone has shown anything like that but I figure it’s just a matter of time.

      It is kinda weird that nobody seems to have hit the mark with Rias yet, though the upcoming Orca Toys version seems to do it. I can understand why nobody has done a figure of her in a fighting stance though … they really push the fanservice hard, especially in the second season, which is pretty much nothing but fanservice (in fact, there’s a funny moment in the second season where Issei sculpts a figure of Rias; it is, of course, naked).

      I am not too sure about Mea; her skin tone doesn’t look too unusual to me but perhaps it’s just the lighting they used. Personally, my biggest qualm about her is her face design but I still like her enough to buy her (even though the face is almost always the most important part of a figure to me).

      I bet quite a few people will collect all of the 7 Sins, though I won’t be among them. Yeah, I agree her color scheme is not too eye-catching; I’m okay with the orange bikini outfit but the burgundy part is pretty boring. It feels like they could’ve picked some better colors to complement her hair.

  11. sienar3 says:

    Speaking of Panty, this Hakufu Sonsaku can go cast-off, and unfortunately she’s wearing undamaged plain white, which is kind of dull to me. I was told that she is actually based on some illustration (which I failed to find to this day), so, yup, apparently it has to be white.

    Anyways she’s been wallpaper for my iphone since WF, both lock and home screen (although I know it’s NSFW) because she’s like omgomgomg sooo perfect, and considering Daiki’s caliber, I think she could easily be a title contender for Best of 2014, well, in her field, arguably.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I was a little surprised at how conservative her panties are. I would’ve liked something fancier as well, but I guess every Ikki Tousen girl wears white underpants. Amiami seems to have gotten their hands on a review sample and she’s looking pretty great, I think.

      • TomTheCat says:

        This Hakufu is indeed based on a drawing. Mind you, it’s a scene in the manga (Not the anime!), so the colors of her clothes are anybody’s guess. I’ve seen scans of the relevant pages on MFC. To be honest, I would love her even more if her shirt came off instead of the skirt.

        • sienar3 says:

          Wow, nice find! Well that was not even a full-page cut, and only shows her upper half. Given that, I love how her left leg realized all twisted and beautiful.

  12. Baronight says:

    I’m surprised you actually consider Satan but not some of the most wanted one like Leviathan, and Beelzebub…but to each of their own preferences i guess…

    I’m on my way to collect all 7 sins and the dark apocalypse ver (3 sins with swimsuit version). Even if there are some that i do not like, mainly Belphegor..i think they all look great when being posed together….especially Beelzebub, her design is just superb

    • Baronight says:

      Too bad they only reserved 3 slot for Dark Apocalypse ver…with that in mind, i do wish they pick Santa Satan and Belphegor pole dancing (or Maybe Asmodeus Bunny suit, ice cream, or Kimono). The rest are pretty meh when it comes to alt costume

  13. Be wary of any figure which has a release date of around 12 months later. That’s just begging for an extended delay. I pre-ordered the Shinonono Houki figure from amiami back in 2012!!! She’s currently due for release in a couple of months after a delay from august last year!

    Have to admit, I’m tempted by toilet girl too! The fact that she’s actually clothed makes her really interesting as a purchase.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, particularly when it comes from a maker like Alter, Orchid Seed, or Yamato/Arcadia, who have reputations for getting stuff out late. On the plus side, it’s not so bad when the exchange rate markedly improves by the time the figure is released (though it’s kinda frustrating if you preorder something that needs to be paid in full before release).

      Toilet girl is definitely pretty neat; I just hope the clothing doesn’t stain. It’s not too bad with a big-ass doll since it can be mostly removed with acne cream and in the worst case, individual parts are usually replaceable but I would guess fixing a PVC figure would be more problematic.

  14. Somnophore says:

    Must admit that Touko looks very appealing, both as an ero figure, and a figure in general. I love the facial expression, but what sets it apart is the use of real fabric. I really think it pays off, and looks wonderful. If I were to get this, I´d actually display it like that. To me it´s the most interesting figure on this list, but I have other priorities, so I am unlikely to get it.

    • Tier says:

      The fabric clothes are pretty cool, particularly since they should be less fiddly than plastic clothes; the novelty of removable clothes wore off a long time ago for me, and I dislike castoff systems that are difficult to deal with. Hopefully staining won’t be an issue on figure PVC like it is with some vinyl dolls.

      • Somnophore says:

        Ha, I was reminded of this figure only after browsing your site.. Then I found out the deadline was the same day. Wish I had known sooner.. I couldn´t make a decision in those few hours, and when I finally did, the deadline was passed. Oh well. Ordered 2 other figures instead.

        • Tier says:

          If you change your mind, you might be able to pick her up off the secondary market later on, or even from an American retailer; Native figures often don’t seem to be too difficult to find after release. I even saw one US store running a discount sale on Trunk Girl and Elfriede the other day.

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