My Five Favorite Figures of 2017 (NSFW)

Here is the fashionably late list of my favorite figures from the departed year. 2017 was a very good year for figure collectors, I think – particularly if you liked your figures raunchy, as there were no shortage of figures of anime girls in skimpy outfits or spread-legged or equipped with accessories that a collector might be hard-pressed to explain to one’s family. Unsurprisingly, this list reflects this trend. What a time to be a figure collector.

#5. Reika Shimohira from Gantz: O

Reika Shimohira from Gantz: O

Fifth place is naturally the most fungible entry on this list; I like the vast majority of figures that I buy, being that I’m not inclined to spend large sums of money on things that I don’t care for, and so there are a multitude of figures that could go here. But why not go with Reika, the telegenic heroine from Gantz. This is the more limited version of this figure, and I prefer it for obvious reasons. Her outfit looks great, baring her backside as it does, and while the way her spine curves looks unrealistic and a bit painful in truth, it does a great job of accentuating the principal aspects of this figure.

Other figures that might have slotted in this sport include Sasara, SkyTube’s Chie, and FREEing’s Yui Takamura and Ilfriede von Feulner bunnygirls.

#4. Ping-Yi from T2 Art Girls

Ping-Yi from T2 Art Girls

A 1/6 scale Tony Taka figure has been a fixture in this list for the last few years. This year, my favorite of that group is Ping-Yi, the first (to my recollection) of SkyTube’s premium line of figures. Being that virtually everything SkyTube makes is of impeccable quality, that label really just means it’s a pain for overseas collectors to buy it, as they are not sold at the usual retail webstores. But the effort is well worth the hassle and expense as Ping-Yi looks marvelous. She can look classy and nonplussed, as she does her, leaning forward with zither in hand. She can also look entirely pornographic while being penetrated with a dildo, which will no doubt be the dominant mode of display when I finish photographing this figure. Either way, she looks fantastic.

#3. Slingshot Babe from the Native Creators Collection

Slingshot Babe from the Native Creator's Collection

Native appears to be gearing up in a big way to contest SkyTube’s dominance of the high-quality adult figure market. SkyTube made their mark largely due to their penchant for producing a variety of figures based on the work of popular illustrators. Native – via partner company Rocket Boy – is doing much the same, with the Slingshot Babe here being one of the first (if not the first) figures based on Cle Masahiro’s work. It’s a superb figure that looks good both clothed and unclothed. Native’s lineup for 2018 is one of the most intriguing aspects of this hobby, and I look forward to seeing how much they expand this year.

#2. Yayoi B. Lutwidge from Hapymaher: Fragmentation Dream

Yayoi B. Lutwidge from Hapymaher

As lewd as figures has become, sometimes one thinks that figure makers have gone as far as they can go. And then you see something like this. I was very glad to see someone make a figure of Koku’s art but I didn’t expect a figure company to go with this sort of design. Again, as with all SkyTube figures, this figure is of stellar quality but the theme is something else. This is a figure that needs to be seen to be believed.

I flip-flopped between Yayoi and the next figure for the number one spot a number of times (and Slingshot Babe made a good argument for the number two spot, as well). In the end, size won out.

#1. Sara Pezzini from Witchblade

Sara Pezzini from Witchblade

Though size wasn’t the only thing that mattered here. I’ve been a Witchblade fan for a while and I’m pleased to see her get a high-quality statue. That she’s wearing the skimpier version of her suit is a huge plus, being that she’s more recently been depicted as wearing a full suit of armor (the Witchblade comic was rebooted last month, apparently; it appears that they will be going with a far more modest type of outfit for the new Witchblade bearer. A shame, that.). And of course, this is a gigantic 1/4 scale statue, the way all figures would be made if I ruled the universe. That sort of size is more the exception than the rule when it comes to the sort of figures I collect, though, and so the unusually large size of Sara tips the scale in her favor, and she’s my favorite figure of this past year.

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13 Responses to My Five Favorite Figures of 2017 (NSFW)

  1. issei says:

    I too, did not expect skytube yayoi to be this good. i dont even know the source of the character. and i even planned to abandon it when amiami doesnt allow it to be shipped via dhl. especially like how they color the black “skirt”. really is a great collection.

    • Tier says:

      Oops, I completely missed that your comment was hidden in the approval queue. I’m not too familiar with Hapymaher either, aside from having looked up the game CGs a while back, since I like Koku’s art style. Yayoi was indeed fantastic, though. SkyTube might be my favorite thing to ever happen to the figure industry.

  2. BostonBrandon says:

    Happy New Year Tier!
    As a big fan of the manga Gantz I was very happy to see Reika finally getting released as a premium figure. However, I don’t feel like they got her face quite right and am holding out for the freeing bunny version. Also, as long as the size is right, Yayoi might look nice paired with an Alice ver. of Cat and Chair from Embrace Japan.
    And while she doesn’t really fit my style of figure, I was happy to see Sara Pezzini. I really liked her and Jackie Estacado way back when. I’m very excited (futanari everywhere) for the coming year as far as figures go, as you say what a time to be a collector.

    • Tier says:

      Happy New Year! Yeah, I can see that; to be honest, my fondness for the Union Creative figure is more about her backside than her face. I’m also looking forward to the FREEing version, I hope it incorporates some elements of her Gantz gear with the usual bunny stuff but we shall see.

      I only have one of the Embrace Japan Cat figures but just looking over at her, I don’t think the sizes work out, unfortunately; Yayoi is a solid 1/6 scale figure. It seems like Alter and such don’t make as many 1/6 scale figures as they used to (not that they ever made a lot, I guess) but it’s great that SkyTube and Native make a lot of 1/6 scale hentai figures.

      I’m still thrilled to own the Witchblade statue, despite its impressive cost. Ahahaha, and yeah, while I’m not at all reticent about admitting that futanari is not my thing, I suppose it makes sense for that to be one of the upcoming trends in figures. We’ve already seen a bunch of bondage figures, and sex toys, and fake bukkake splashes, futanari isn’t that much of a stretch after all that.

      • BostonBrandon says:

        I can understand your sentiment, she has a lovely fanny. The silhouette of Freeing’s Reika at least looks like they’ve incorporated the boots from her actual costume so fingers crossed there.
        As for the feta figures, it almost seems like there is an “unusual” trend each couple of years or so. Before it was girls with toilets, now it seems to be the later. No complaints on either.

        • BostonBrandon says:

          There’s six futa girls in the pipeline, at least that I know of.

        • Tier says:

          Ahahaha, you’re right; there were quite a few figures of girls straddling the throne. Not that I’ve ever been much of a fan of watersports in porn and hentai, but I don’t think I’m going to be buying many more figures based on that theme; the one Native figure (Touka or Touko or something, I think?) didn’t turn out too well.

          Now that you mention it, I think I remember seeing Lechery or someone showing off a figure that was both futa and supplied with a toilet. What a hobby this is.

  3. Gutiman Reggae says:

    I agree! Reika & Ping YI I like them…

  4. TheDuskwalker says:

    No. 1 comes as no surprise.

    No. 2….well that figure really is something you don’t see everyday.

    • Tier says:

      I wonder what SkyTube’s design meetings are like. Do they have some guys (and maybe women, who knows) looking over at hentai art while asking their sculptors, “Can you guys make this?”

  5. wieselhead says:

    Oh, your top 5 aren’t only porn figures, cool XD

    The carrot girl is hilariously lewd, personally I would feel awkward with figures where you can insert something, but I won’t be a killjoy.

    If the “normal” figures won’t please the customer, manufacturers offer enough desireable, half nude and porn figures to fill the gap o the collectors shelf.

    I actually have the problem that figures based on animes I like simply aren’t made, I don’t watch the most popular shows all the time, but the manufacturers really have tunnel view
    always focus on the next most hyped shit. In 2017 I bought around 4 figures of anime/game characters I really like, the rest were pretty sexy figures I chose by their lovely design.

    I could also make a ranking, but it’s always so difficult to decide… Suma Maya from Dragon Toy could easily be my favorite or Umi from ALTER. Slingshot Babe was really awesome this year,too. nicely sculpted and of nice size, I really like all the Rocket Boy stuff that isn’t too pervy, Succubus san or Chitose for example.

    • Tier says:

      Indeed! They were, uhh, only mostly lewd. Like Yayoi, she’s pretty lewd. I think it’s hilarious how SkyTube is offering so many figures with huge, gaping, cavernous orifice openings. It’s even better how those figures would otherwise just be really cute (like Yayoi) or classy-looking (like Matsuri) figures otherwise.

      Yeah; not to rag on Kantai Collection – since I know you like Kantai Collection – but it can be a little tiresome seeing figures from the same popular series over and over, like Kantai Collection, or Black Rock Shooter, or Vocaloid. That said, I guess if I were a fan of one of those series, I’d be much more positive about that. I’m still annoyed that Cross Ange never got a single figure, and that Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere didn’t get nearly as many figures as I had hoped it would.

      I have to admit that doing my rankings seems a little silly since I haven’t actually reviewed many of the figures that I put at the top. I had kinda hoped it might serve as some motivation to do so, but I think it just makes me feel a little bad that I’m so lazy about getting the pictures done.

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