Preorder Outlook XXXIX

Happy Black Friday to everyone. Unfortunately for me, the most attractive deals I’ve found have been discounts on character services for a couple of free-to-play MMOs, which is a little depressing. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have anything to spend my money on, and so instead of pursuing instant gratification, let’s take a look at some upcoming figures that are available for preorder.

February 2015

Arianrhod from T2 Art Girls
Perhaps my most anticipated figure on this list and it’s not hard to see why. It’s pretty funny how Dragon Toy didn’t bother censoring the figure’s anus in the promo photos; I suppose they didn’t think it was all that explicit. It does provide an indication of what sort of products they want to create, at least.

Cecilia Alcott from Infinite Stratos
When I saw pictures of the unpainted version of this figure, I really had no idea that it was supposed to be Cecilia from Infinite Stratos. I thought that it was some random eroge character, like Scarlett Togo from Alicesoft’s Daiteikoku. I’m assuming that this figure is based off a scene from the recently-released OVA, in which Ichika – or his evil twin – gropes up Cecilia’s ass. The show would’ve been much, much better if it had more of that sort of thing. Anyway, Cecilia looks nice, though I’m still not sure how good Griffon’s figures are. I suppose I should look around and see how their Charlotte Dunois figure turned out.

March 2015

Alisha from Tales of Zestiria
Alter is fond of the Tales franchise, though apparently not fond enough to make a figure of Judith, the best character in Tales of Vesperia. Nonetheless, Alisha looks pretty nice. I’m pretty sure I’ll order her, while still hoping that they make Judith someday.

Hana Inamura from World Girls Soldier
Anime girls in uniform are pretty neat, but anime girls flashing their traditional-styled underwear while their uniform tumbles off their bodies are even better. That’s the main reason I’m considering this figure. I’m not really expecting this figure to be all that spectacular, and it’s relatively expensive, but I still like the way it looks.

Sakuya from Shining Ark
First she was Maxima, now I guess she’s Sakuya. New name but she’s got the same hair, a lot less clothes, some flappy wings and a formidable new price tag. While the nudity is appreciated, the price is a major obstacle, even though she’s a decent 1/6 scale. I mean, Daisy and Annabel are also Tony figures, they’ve got wings and are also manufactured in 1/6 scale, and they cost about 60% of what Sakuya is listed for. While Sakuya looks very nice, I think I’m inclined to wait and see if she moves into the bargain bin.

April 2015

Cover Girl from Comic Aun
To be an anime fan these days is to be a pervert, or at least to accept a certain level of perversity in cartoons. I mean, even nice magical girl shows like Fate/kaleid Prism Illyastar have scenes of forcible lesbian sexual assault. Still, sometimes one has to think that things have gone too far, particularly when one sees a figure like this. But then, going too far is a great tradition in anime, so why not trample over the bounds of decency? As it is, I don’t think I’m going to order this figure, mainly because I don’t like her hairstyle, but I have to be impressed by Orchid Seed’s audacity.

Irisdina Bernhard from Schwarzesmarken
I was hoping that Kotobukiya would make figures of the girls from the Muv-Luv spinoffs Alternative Chronicles, The Euro Front, and Schwarzesmarken, though a swimsuit figure wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. Nonetheless, Irisdina is a good choice and she looks very nice. I’m a little hesitant to preorder her since every Muv-Luv figure that Kotobukiya has put out has, to my knowledge, hit the bargain bin at some point, but her price isn’t all that bad. Her underboob is very nice, too. I really wish she had some feature that would identify her as a Muv-Luv character rather than a generic blonde girl in a bikini, though.

May 2015

Kobato Hasegawa from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai
Azone’s 1/3 scale dolls tend to underwhelm considering how expensive they are (though I’m quite fond of their Inori doll). I don’t think I will buy Kobato but the one reason I’m even thinking about it is that I could dress her in a skanky leather bondage suit, and I think Kobato would look really cute in that sort of outfit. That idea is probably not worth nearly five hundred dollars but it’s a nice thought.

August 2015

Musashi from Kantai Collection
Generally, I like the battleship girls of Kantai Collection the best. Musashi is one of the game’s more distinctive characters; I don’t recall that any of the other characters are dark-skinned, for instance. Her figure is also distinctive in that, unlike Max Factory’s Yamato and Kongo, Musashi is standing upright rather than sitting down (though, technically, this is a Good Smile Company figure). Her price tag is also more reasonable. I’m leaning towards ordering her, though like Kotobukiya’s Irisdina, I’m wondering if Musashi will be discounted after release, as it seems like almost every Max Factory and Good Smile Company figure hits the bargain bin very quickly.

Inshun Hozoin from Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride
Alter’s Samurai Girls figures are very good, and I’m sure this one will be no exception. The anime was dreadful and I hardly remember anything about this character, but she still looks nice enough to order. The only thing I’d wish for would be for her panties to be a little less modest, given how visible they are, but it’s all good.

Satan from The Seven Deadly Sins
I rather like this version of Satan better than the upcoming Orchid Seed figure, and I’m guessing that this portrayal is a more accurate depiction of what these characters are supposed to be like. Unfortunately, she’s an exclusive so I’ll have to find some proxy service or specialty retailer to order her from, but that won’t be too hard.

Yurisha Iscandar from Space Battleship Yamato 2199
Alright, I like the Yamato 2199 figures and Yurisha is no exception. Her dress reminds me a bit of that old Rei Ayanami figure. But what I notice most is that the photographer left a light reflector in all of the product photos. How the hell does that happen? I mean, even if you’re just doing product photography, you have to take at least a little pride in your work.

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34 Responses to Preorder Outlook XXXIX

  1. Aya says:

    So many seems to be good release and at least see alter continue their Hyakka Ryouran girls, since last I saw Gisen sold for cheap after market, I wonder if they will continue making them or not and yeah still no Charles D’Artagnan being announce even after many teaser for her. The comic aun’s cover looks way too young ahahaha, not that I care about a naked loli fantasy, but yeah she making that kind of pose lol, can’t wait seeing what Mr president can do 😉 . Cecilia looks good but seems she lost her mature look when bathing 😀 . Yurisha looks gorgeous at least that’s the only yamato’s girl figurines that steal my attention. anyway that’s quite imagination for kobato LOL and on other hand it make me think, that you never review any Azone doll I would live to see inori, so far I only seen the Yamato’s Vmf50s here

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, no D’Artagnan is quite weird. I guess it’s not entirely unusual for them, though; they seem to have no problem skipping characters. I’m still peeved they never made a figure of Subaru to go with the two other Beat Blades Haruka ninjas. I’m impressed by how bold Orchid Seed is; not that naked lolis are an unfamiliar sight in anime or merchandise but this sort of thing is still pretty uncommon, and even though Japan has a reputation for strangeness (highly overstated, I’m assuming), I sometimes hear about how the authorities want to crack down on this sort of thing. Gee, now that you mention it, I actually have four of Azone’s 50cm doll line – Fate Testarossa, Saber, Inori, and Charlotte Dunois. Fate is okay, Saber is pretty bad, I like Inori a lot, and Charlotte is so-so. Doll posts tend to not get a lot of interest and they’re a big pain to photograph so I don’t review them often – also, inevitably somebody comes along and bitches about how they don’t like painted eyes and how artificial eyes are better and blah blah. It annoys the hell out of me, since I’ve heard it about twenty times now. Personally, I think a lot of dolls with artificial eyes look like androids.

      • Aya says:

        Who knows what alter think ^^,
        well the authorities will do loli ban thing, I don’t see that ever happen after all… I see, well kinda expected thought, I have seen people bitching the same thing about painted eyes many times….. but people do say to you in pre order post and before you even take pictures of them kinda meh ….

        • Tier says:

          Yeah, I’m hoping it’s just a lot of talk with no action. It’s a little odd how the US gets a (well-deserved) reputation for being uptight but is relatively good about allowing free speech. I’ve heard some funny stories from collectors in Singapore who’ve found their anime books and magazines all cut up by government censors.

  2. Wieselhead says:

    Arianrhod seems ready for everything if it doesn’t involve combat XD
    There seems to be a connection between anime getting more lewd and more figures and more figures presenting their detailed genitals.
    When looking at Amagi Brilliant Park, it’s full of fanservice everywhere, Kyoto Animation was never known for fanservice in their previous shows. And now they are throwing around big tits, hips, thighs and butts like crazy XD Isuzu is so charming that I can’t really complain lol.

    The new IS Ova shows the girls erotic fantasies, judging from a few short scenes it is very sexy ^^ Cecilia Alcott looks attractive here, but I can’t buy Griffon figures, it won’t look like that in the end 🙁

    Hana Inamura looks sweet, I assume she has no legs present, nahh she has legs.
    Figures without legs are not so great. I like the classic hairstyle and pretty face, Im curious how she will turn out.

    Oh man, the bath loli looks so wrong, can’t the japanese see how wrong this is?
    Well, it seems like they are able to produce such things without getting sued.
    I would like the character design actually, since the face is beautiful and expressive, but I would prefer a figure of her which looks 10 years older.

    Azone should swap to resin eyes, to compete with the other doll makers, nevertheless I like their big dolls design, the clothes can also fit my Mirai doll.

    Musashi is one of the more appealing heavy battleship characters next to Nagato, I really have a crush on Nagato and a few other ships ^^. I like the figure without heavy guns better, the more prominent muscles and the tough appearance overall are something impressive, also the big boobs decorated with bandages are really sexy, the mouth unfortunately looks incredibly soulless, I don’t think I can justify a preorder purchase now.

    I was really stunned as I saw Inshun appearing on AmiAmi, she has beautiful details and colors, the extra spear base worries me somehow. I like figures based on Samurai Bride a lot more, look partially (even) more elaborate to me. Why can’t I have a sexy Gisen in bathrobe someday?

    Santa Satan is great, dynamic ecchi is a nice concept and she is really hot looking when trying to fix her tight dress over her butt. Reminds me of a Senran Kagura special where they had a “putting on tight tops” contest ( ̄▽+ï¿£*)

    I found the clumsy appearance of Yurisha’s promo pictures quite cute, the equipment was probably professional, the person in charge not or the person missed the deadline it’s really strange. Still, I like the figure, she looks a little shorter than in the anime though.

    • Tier says:

      Arianrhod definitely looks ready to go! There definitely seems to be a positive relationship between how racy anime can be and how lewd its associated merchandise is. I was surprised by Isuzu’s character design; usually it seems like the lead girl in those sorts of shows is a little more average in terms of proportions, but they went all out with Isuzu’s boobs and ponytail. I was highly, highly disappointed that she didn’t get her proper treatment in the pirate episode, though.

      I think Griffon’s Kasumi figure is supposed to get here by this weekend. I’m kinda dreading seeing how she looks in real life; I just know I’m going to be really disappointed.

      I’m kinda assuming Hana Inamura is going to look worse than she does in the pictures; I saw some pictures of the Traveling Cat figure (which I didn’t buy) and noticed that her socks came out really green-colored for some peculiar reason.

      If they changed the Comic Aun loli’s hairstyle to just some ordinary twintails or something, I’d probably buy that figure. I’ve never been much of a hair bun fan, even after playing Street Fighter II and watching Star Wars.

      Yeah, I prefer the Kantai Collection battleships without their big turrets; I don’t have the space to display them, anyway. I’m assuming there’s a heavy armor version of Musashi but I’m not too interested in it. Hopefully Max Factory or GSC will make a version of Nagato soon.

      Inshun does look quite nice. I’d like to see a figure of naked Gisen, or maybe Gisen in bondage clothes, since that was sort of her thing.

      It’s kinda funny, I think I like these weird alternative 7 Deadly Sin figures over the original versions. It’s unfortunate that they are generally not sold at the usual web stores.

  3. Lord Frivolous says:

    How about Oliga Bunny from Freeing? I thought it would be right up your alley, what with the 1/4 scale and everything.

  4. Steve Chen says:

    Tony Dragontoys=ordered
    Dark Samurai Lolli= ordered (same complaint too Tier, in te manga, Hanzo’s pantsu aren’t as modest as the figure and the anime)
    Soldier Girl= no cast off bad lol!
    Yurisha= attractive and tempting
    Bathing girl= I kind of like the rubber ducky accessories…………….

  5. Moose says:

    I also preordered Alisha from Tales of Zestiria. Haven’t actually played any modern Tales games but the outfits are often interesting. I really like the colours used with Alisha, sorta pastel-like, y’know?.

    • Tier says:

      I didn’t play a Tales game until Tales of Vesperia. It’s a really good game; I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Yeah, I like the more muted tones of her outfit, too; it makes her armor stand out more, and the contrast between her armplates and greaves and her blouse is pretty appealing.

  6. TomTheCat says:

    On Big In Japan, Satan is actually called “Satan Claus” lol

    • Tier says:

      I think the little short story that accompanies the picture calls her that, too, and that she gets shanghaied into becoming the substitute Santa because her name is so similar.

  7. \\/\// says:

    This is enough reason for me to avoid Griffon figures 🙁
    http://myfigurecollection.net/picture/1131406

    • Tier says:

      Ahahahaahahaha … how the heck does that happen? Now I feel pretty good about passing on that figure, pretty good about passing on Cecilia, and pretty worried about ordering Kasumi.

  8. Tsunami3k says:

    I can’t deny the appeal of the Satan/Santa figure if only due to sheer wordplay but something about the Orchid Seed one really pushes my buttons. Have you settled on a Musashi variant yet (red vs. black, light vs. heavy)? I tend to lean towards the “go big or go home” but as big as the Kantai collection is turning out to be, that could easily send my wallet to Davy Jones’ Locker.

    I think I’ll make a point of getting Alisha (well, ok, I already want to get her) if only to make it clear to Alter that it’s definitely worth their time to release a Judith figure as well. I don’t know much about Tales of Vesperia but I looked her up when you mentioned her and I agree wholeheartedly that she must get a figure.

    • Tier says:

      I think I like the black and gray Musashi better … I forget if that’s the Kai version or not. Though I might just wait and see if she ends up in the bargain bin … I think there’s a reasonable chance she will, given the track record MF and GSC figures have had in recent times.

      Judith is definitely awesome. She’s smart, confident, she has some great moves, and she enjoys getting into a fight. She’s one of the better female characters in JRPGs. (I played Tales of Vesperia not too long after giving up on the Xbox 360 Star Ocean, which had some absolutely abhorrent characters.)

      • Tsunami3k says:

        I have a feeling that they’re making these pretty much to order. I don’t know that GSC has outright said as much but I get the same vibe as the Love is War release.

        Maybe I lucked out a little but the [slightly] cheaper red variant really warms up that glorious skin tone in a way that cinches it for me but, regardless of the slight color accent here or there, I can’t help but fall harder for this figure more every time I see it again. (Some figures push long-existent buttons, others create new ones to push. I feel like this one does both.)

        Somehow I managed to let Arianrhod slip completely past my radar. That seems implausible given my strong penchant towards T2 designs but I’m finding it difficult to keep up with the hordes of new figures that come out. I guess that’s what makes these short compilation lists so invaluable in that they provide a who’s-who snapshot of what to keep an eye out for at any given time.

  9. Tian says:

    huh. What the hell kind of show is Fate/kaleid…

  10. cantan says:

    Ok, it’s not the best figure but I expected you to find room for this:

    http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10302698

    Shame on you! Have you forgotten the name of the site?

    • Tier says:

      I knew somebody was going to bring that figure up. No, I’m not interested in buying that figure; if I want to buy a tentacle accessory, I’m sure I can find one on eBay or Etsy for a much cheaper price.

  11. Man, that IS2 OVA was so crap… just like the second season. It was a chance to show Chifuyu kicking ass and they toned it down in favour of more fanservice…

    Well, the pre-order market looks pretty barren for me right now, which is probably a good thing. Need to save for Sheryl and the 1/4 scale Selvaria Bles kit that Volks will be throwing at us next year…

    • Tier says:

      I would prefer it if they just made IS into a porno franchise. With some series, all they’ve really got going for them is the fanservice. (Like Total Eclipse; I watched through most of the series not too long ago. It’s a helluva lot better as a harem show than a giant robot anime.)

      That reminds me that with the exchange rate having gotten so much better in the last year, I wanted to check out some of those pre-colored model kits that Volks puts out; I ought to go look around and see what they’re like.

  12. The sad thing is that the fanservice plays a much smaller part in the source material and it’s less “in your face” when it comes to the stuff involving Ichika.

    And I’m so glad for the exchange rate right now! getting the PG Unicorn Gundam and sneaking an order for the SoC GaoGaiGar is going to beat the corpse of my bank balance. Be careful with the Volks model kits though, they will need painting, the more complex looking, the more important it will be!

    • Tier says:

      I will take your word for it. This may be an unfair statement being that I’ve never read a light novel, but I really doubt that their literary value is all that high and I’d prefer to see more fanservice in light novel adaptations than less.

  13. icelava says:

    Didn’t take a look at “Seiya no Okurimono” Noel Chat Noir ? Although that’s a December announcement… 🙂

    • Tier says:

      Nah. It went up after this post was written so it doesn’t get included, and I don’t like cat girls very much so I’m not going to buy it.

  14. Cantan says:

    I keep thinking I should stop ordering figures. The last 5 or 6 I have bought are still in their shipping boxes taking up space.

    That said, every now and then a figure does come along and, sucker that I am, I just can’t resist ordering them. Have always had a soft spot for Selvaria Bles so have ordered the figure recently announced… haven’t heard of a manufacturer called “Vertex” before… sounds like they should be in the loft/cavity wall insulation business or plumbing trade imo.

    Only other figure I have on order from the last 6 months id Alphamax’s Wang Bailong. Guess I just liked the look of her glowing leg tattoo thing (I know nothing about the character!)

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I’ve told myself the same thing. I actually kinda thought I was succeeding in doing so too, not only because I’m running out of room but also because I’m not really digging a lot of the figures that are coming out. But then I looked at my order list for January and it’s like seven or eight figures long.

      “Vertex” to me sounds like a high-tech company, though that’s probably because I spent some time with FPGA boards when I was in school and Vertex is (or was) an FPGA brand manufactured by Xilinx. I think I actually have a Vertex figure around her though I haven’t looked at it in months.

      I don’t know anything about the character either, but I liked her since she looks sorta like Tifa Lockhart. A search on Google Images returns nothing but figure photos and pictures of Chinese dudes so I guess she must not be all that famous.

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