Preorder Outlook XLIX

Bah. I definitely had intended to post more stuff on this site but life has a habit of getting in the way, so I don’t apologize or even feel too badly about the dearth of content. That’s not to say that the infrequent posting schedule hasn’t had a detrimental effect on my life; being that I have a policy of not displaying figures until I’ve reviewed them, I have stacks and stacks of unopened Hobby Search boxes containing figures from the last couple of years. They’re taking up a lot of space and I want to see the figures that I’ve bought, so more posts will be coming soon.

A lack of posting on a personal website sometimes indicates a downturn in the site owner’s life, but I have to say that life is going pretty decently, aside from the results of the recent election in the United States (though I’m slowly getting over that). I got a new job earlier this year that pays quite a bit more than my previous one, and more importantly gets me away from my former employer’s management, which had driven me insane for the better part of two years (the reduction in posts the last couple of years was due in large part to stress and fatigue from that job). I got a new car last month – it’s literally nothing special but I like it a lot. I recently found out that sports photography is a lot harder than it looks. I’m burning out on World of Warcraft again – despite the recent release of its latest expansion – and that can only be a positive thing in my life. My fantasy football team has strung together seven straight victories after starting the season 0-5 (and losing my first round draft pick to a knee blowout). Life is pretty good, but life is better with new figures, so let’s take a look at some of the ones I’m considering picking up.

March 2016

Rinko Akiyama
The first figure from Lilithsoft’s well-known demon rape game Taimanin Yukikaze is not the eponymous, flat-chested heroine but her busty sidekick Rinko Akiyama. She’s stroking a stripper pole, posed in the sort of suggestive stance the series is known for. The promo pictures are kinda awful, but the character design is strong. I don’t really expect this figure to turn out great but I’m inclined to pick it up anyway.

Tsubasa Kazanari from Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Here’s a figure where I like the character design but don’t know much about her. I watched the first couple of episodes of Symphogear but didn’t stick with it, mainly because I didn’t like Hibiki Tachibana’s character design all that much. But that’s obviously not a problem with this figure. What is repellant is its exorbitant price tag, unremarkable size, and my complete unfamiliarity with the manufacturer. The tricky thing about figures like this is that it’s hard to tell whether they’ll sell out before release or end up in the bargain bin. At any rate, I don’t think she looks terrible.

Reika Shimohira from Gantz
Now this is another figure where I like the character design, don’t know much about her, but I do have some familiarity with the manufacturer due to their figure of the Major, which I did like. This is a relatively large figure at 1/6 scale, is reasonably priced for that size, and that ass really cannot be denied. Preordering Reika really was not a hard decision to make.

April 2016

Astraea from T2 Art Girls
I was happy to see that SkyTube was planning on adapting this figure; I expected that we’d basically get a lewd version of Annabel without the wings. However, the finished sculpt doesn’t look quite right to me, which is rather strange and completely unexpected since the sculptor’s done a ton of Tony figures; I own about eight of his sculpts myself. The nude version of this figure looks particularly odd, which is unfortunate since the castoff capability is one of its main draws. I’m still thinking of ordering this figure but if I do, I’m prepared to be disappointed, which is not something I’ve thought of a SkyTube figure before.

Heroine X from Fate/grand order
Here is yet another Saber figure and though they’ve been done to death, this one still manages to look very unique. I do have Alter’s version of Heroine X, but Kotobukiya’s figure puts her in sort of a futuristic bodysuit, and that’s what appeals most to me. I wonder if her shorts are removable, as they kinda look like they should be. Another nice thing is that this figure is 1/7 scale, so hopefully she’ll fit in with Good Smile Company’s lineup of 1/7 scale Fate/stay night figures.

The US Kotobukiya site is selling a special edition of this figure which includes a second face.

Kotori Takigawa from Nanairo Reincarnation
This is another figure where the ass sells the figure. Doubtless I’ll have more to say about the figure whenever I review it, but I’ll just mention that being curious about the source material, I looked up the game graphics for Nanairo Reincarnation and uhh, there is a lot more blood, gore, and decapitation than I thought there would be.

May 2016

Ayaka Futaba from Issho ni Shiyo
Strangely, SkyTube didn’t provide any pictures of this figure fully nude, but it seems apparent that her clothing can be removed, as their fit on her body is absolutely awful. I’m not sure why they didn’t provide such, as they’ve never been that shy about doing so in the past. Regardless, I’ll probably order this figure, as I like Saitom’s character designs and I very much like SkyTube’s past work.

Utaha Kasumigaoka from Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata
The illustration that this figure is based off of had Utaha in a bikini, but FREEing is dressing her in a bunnysuit instead. I think I’d prefer the swimsuit but this is alright, too. The price isn’t too bad, she looks cute, and while I detest the anime that she comes from, I like her character design and I’m glad that she’s standing up here, rather than kneeling or lying down like so many of FREEing’s 1/4 scale figures; it’s a lot easier to find space for these figures when they don’t take up that much shelf surface space.

June 2016

F-ism Girl from F-ism
I was surprised to see that this character was receiving a figure adaptation; Murakami Suigun’s work isn’t exactly mainstream and bondage isn’t all that common a theme amongst figures. Nonetheless I was very happy to see this figure, and I’m particularly pleased that it’s being sculpted in 1/6 scale. Technically, there’s really nothing stopping anyone from taking a nude figure (and there are a ton to choose from) and just tying it up shibari-style with some cord, but it’s nice to see a manufacturer unafraid of providing this sort of content from the start.

Iowa from Kantai Collection
I’m not much of a Figma collector, particularly not of ones that are this expensive, but Iowa triggers my proud sense of patriotism in so many ways. Her design is completely over the top and I love it, enough so that I’ve even given some thought to ordering the Nenderoid despite my general revulsion for those deformed gremlins. I’m awaiting the scale-size figure (of which I will be happy to buy the more expensive, full-armament version) but until that shows up, this little Figma will do nicely.

June 2016

Saber Bride from Fate/EXTRA CCC
This is a somewhat different take on Saber Extra; most of her figures give her a more arrogant look in keeping with her personality but her, she looks sweet and shy. It’s a good look for her, though her eyes seem to be more yellow here than they ought to be, but I haven’t played Fate/EXTRA CCC, being that it never made it to the United States, at least as far as I know. Again, she’s sort of expensive for a 1/8 scale product but the attractive pose and character design do a good job arguing for this figure.

June 2016

Camilla from Fire Emblem if
I’ll likely never be able to play Fire Emblem, being that I have no real desire to buy Nintendo consoles, so buying this figure would be the best way for me to express my appreciation for Fire Emblem’s character designs. I have to imagine that her armor style provoked some ire from the Tumblr crowd, and if so that only makes this figure more appealing to me. Again, I have no idea who the manufacturer is but the promo photos look promising.

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20 Responses to Preorder Outlook XLIX

  1. Probably Not My Real Name says:

    So glad to hear you have figures to review, that life is going well, and that you have figures on the horizon you are interested in. Give up on WoW, and I say that as someone who has sunk way too much time into a similar long term game.

  2. Tian says:

    I really like that Reika figure too, especially her face and the high-tech body suit.

    As for the F-ism girl, is it really bondage though? Her limbs aren’t restricted at all. It basically looks like the manufacturer did what you were talking about. They just took a normal nude figure and wrapped some cord around her.

    Camilla is the other one I thought about getting. It’s being sold via GSC so it’ll probably be decent? I guess?

    • TomTheCat says:

      From my limited experience reading manga, it appears to be quite the fetish for men to see their women moving around in public wearing rope bondage. Preferably they’re wearing not much else, like a coat or, in this case, a school uniform (?). For the being-in-public part they need to be otherwise unrestricted, so this figure appears to portray this particular fetish.

      • Tier says:

        Yeah, that does seem to be a popular thing (hidden vibrators is a common theme along similar lines). I have to admit that shibari isn’t a big thing of mine in terms of anime art, but I do like the intent, generally-speaking.

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I guess it really isn’t bondage, since she’s not actually bound. I guess you could call it fetishistic or somesuch (I’m guessing that’s what the F in F-ism stands for, but that’s only supposition). The knowledge that this figure comes from a bondage (and rape, admittedly) publication is appealing, though.

      I kinda hope that GSC distributing (or whatever their involvement might be) the Camilla figure is a sign of quality, though I do have at least one Phat Company figure that I don’t think too highly of, and they go through GSC too, if I remember right.

  3. TomTheCat says:

    Out of these, I was only interested in three: Reika, Astraea and the F-ism Girl. I’ve already ordered the latter one, but I’m very doubtful that I’ll get the others.

    Astraea has an awkward backward lean imo. Additionally, she’s too slender in my eyes, although a lot of people complained that her boobs are too big compared to the original art. You could probably get this one cheaply from the bargain bin…

    Reika does indeed have a very shapely backside, and the rest of her also looks pretty good. A user on MFC asked what’s the matter with her gun. Is she out of ammo and about to hit an alien around the head with it? LOL

    • Tier says:

      Yeah, I’m kinda leaning towards holding off on Astraea. The nude shots look odd; she’s too skinny as you mention, and her backside looks a little misshapen too (well, I guess it looks realistic, but in an undesirable way).

      Ha, yeah, Reika is definitely striking the glamour pose with her gun. To be honest, I didn’t even notice that she was holding a gun till you mentioned it XD

      • TomTheCat says:

        Just a few days ago, a colour version of Reika was announced. She’s holding a katana instead of a gun (Makes more sense with this pose), and she’s showing A LOT of skin…

  4. wieselhead says:

    Congratulations on your new and hopefully more enjoyable job and the nice blue car.

    Rinko (⁄ ⁄^⁄ᗨ⁄^⁄ ⁄)!
    I’m definitely amazed by this shameless posing and the lewd dimensions of her butt.
    I actually like the whole figure, her curves are lovely and I also like her face.
    A full castoff or nude display option would have been cool, though.

    Ah, I ordered the Kotori Takigawa figure, she looked just too adorable and sweet.
    She also caters my liking for short legged girls with cute curves (‐^▽^‐).

    F-ism Girl from F-ism, man her face(s) are really beautiful, I already accepted her to be half nude, also her bondage theme, but when I saw these optional sex toys, it freaked me out. I don’t need these things. It’s really mean that her faces look so nicely detailed and cute XD

    Oh, Camilla looks really pretty, I really like her face with the one eye covered hairstyle and her kind expression.

    • Tier says:

      Thanks XD

      Rinko looks great, and it’s always nice to see Lilith characters getting figures. Hopefully Yukikaze gets a figure sometime, too. And an Ingrid figure would be great.

      Kotori seems like a random figure for anyone to make, but I’m glad that they did; I miss the days when even major manufacturers like Alter and GSC would make figures of relatively obscure eroge characters.

      Ahahahaha; the F-ism girl should come with some bodily fluid accessories too XD I wonder if Native will offer such things …

      There have been a number of Fire Emblem characters with good designs (I’m reminded that I never did review Tharja; I haven’t even taken out of her box. Hell, I don’t actually know where her box is right now …). I’m a little sad that I likely will never play any of the games.

  5. Aya says:

    I Am just Glad this blog alive XD Congrats for your new job and everything 😀
    ps : hopefully within next year a 1/6 Figure of mr new president will be made 😀 The girls already Line up 😛

    • Tier says:

      Thanks very much XD Ahh, I do need to find a new prop … I’m guessing it’s reasonably likely that the incoming president will get a doll but I’m gonna feel a little conflicted using him. On the other hand, the way that I might pose him is not going to depict anything he hasn’t actually done before – and that’s gonna be kinda weird to think about, too.

      • Aya says:

        But posing Him in such pose would give better “NTR” Feels to audiences XD as he described as sort lol
        Thought personally, I would love ‘Jabba the Hut’ become the new prop XD

  6. emikochan says:

    Great news, I’m glad you’re doing well 🙂

    • Tier says:

      I’m glad that the ladies (and males who like this sort of thing) have an ero option; fair is fair, I think. I have zero interest in the figure myself, though.

  7. byte says:

    congrats on your new job. hope it works out well for you.

    I think I started a new direction with my interest in figmas starting with Iowa. I had previously acquired and sold a large marvel & DC bishoujo collection along with my remaining dragon toy bible black figures. PVC figures are too large and I wanted to downsize some. I’ve been trying to stay away from Kancolle but with Iowa I can’t help it and I preordered from GSC. What do you think of the Bandai equivs? I really want to add Musashi but their quality really look hit or miss.

    Always looking forward to and appreciate your content, regardless of how often you have time to update.

    • Tier says:

      Thanks XD Things seem to be going pretty well so far.

      I don’t know anything at all about the Bandai toys; I don’t own any myself and I don’t think I’ve ever even read any impressions or comparison of them against Figmas. On one hand Bandai is a really large and established toy maker; on the other hand, I don’t know that they have a reputation for high quality (my only familiarity with them – and this is only from reading other people’s opinions – is through their Macross toys, in which they weren’t particularly well-regarded compared to Yamato’s products).

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