Category Archives: Figure Review

Naoe Kanetsugu from Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

written on March 5, 2012 by Tier

Alter is one of the most well-respected figure makers in the hobby, and they have a diverse product portfolio that encompasses a huge variety of properties. There are a few franchises that they seem to particularly prize – in particular, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Strike Witches, and Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls. One could make a good argument that Samurai Girls doesn’t deserve figures of this quality but although the show is quite terrible, the character designs are, at least, fairly pleasing to the eye. They’ve trickled out over the last few years, and though Alter seems committed to making figures of all of the show’s characters, they’ve shown little of the alacrity that they evince with chucking out Strike Witches figures, who seem to get a new one every few months. Nonetheless, the newest one is Naoe Kanetsugu, an evidently happy young girl who carries a very big stick.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/8 scale, Alter, Figures, hammer, hyakka ryouran samurai girls, naoe kanetsugu, Review | 40 Comments

Alice from Queen’s Gate (Designer’s Color Version) (NSFW)

written on February 29, 2012 by Tier

If I remember right, Alice was one of the first Queen’s Gate characters, if not the very first. While the characters of the Queen’s Gate series are, for the most part, licensed from existing properties, I think Alice was an original design contributed by Nitroplus artist NiÎ¸. However, even though she’s a relative unknown in a lineup stocked with famous characters from fighting games and anime, Alice is no less loved by figure makers – she’s represented in the hobby by no fewer than six figures. Her first figure – reviewed at HappySoda and foo-bar-baz – sported light green hair; a second version had white hair and the third version – which is this figure – has black hair. Alice also got three versions of her as a rather buxom grown-up character; as I understand it, that’s one of her combat moves. Or somesuch. Although it’s a bit out of character for me, I like this loli-style figure better. Let’s take a look at it.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/8 scale, alice, Alpha Omega, Figures, gun, loli, megahouse, panties, queen's gate, Review | 47 Comments

Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2 (White Swimsuit Illustration Version) (NSFW)

written on February 17, 2012 by Tier

Daiki Kougyou Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2 Figure Review

Tamaki Kousaka is an exceptionally popular character amongst figure makers and, along with Vocaloid mascot Miku Hatsune and Nitro+ mascot Super Sonico, has had an extraordinary presence in terms of hobby merchandise this past year. However, while Tamaki seemed poised to claim an equal share of the spotlight with the other two characters, one has to feel that her star has dimmed a bit in comparison. Tamaki is a well-developed character with an established personality and background, whereas Sonico is still relatively unknown and Miku is, of course, anything people want her to be. The result is that although Miku and Sonico have received a variety of figures, none of them look unusual or inappropriate – for example, Sonico looks equally comfortable in a nurse’s uniform as she does wearing a bondage collar while rocking out with an electric guitar. Tamaki, in contrast, tends to get stuffed into a school uniform or a swimsuit and one would be forgiven for expressing weariness at seeing yet another figure of Tamaki in the bikini. With this figure, though, Daiki has gone for the hat trick with no fewer than three versions of Tamaki – and I suppose one would say they failed since all of them hit the bargain bin fairly quickly. Not that I saw that coming since if I did, I could’ve saved myself a lot of money. Oh well. Let’s take a look at it anyway.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/6 scale, daiki kougyou, Figures, Review, swimsuit, tamaki kousaka, to heart 2 | 21 Comments

Trunk Girl from the Native Creator’s Collection (NSFW)

written on February 11, 2012 by Tier

Staying with the theme of Japan-exclusive ero figures released a few months ago, now’s a good time to take a look at Native’s Trunk Girl. Native had a bit of an odd year last year, with several of their figures not actually being much more explicit than the average Queen’s Blade figure – though perhaps it’s telling that the average Queen’s Blade figure likely wouldn’t shock an experienced figure collector. However, Trunk Girl and their lineup for this year seem to mark a resurgent commitment to their Naked & Creative motto.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/7 scale, Figures, gun, hentai, Native, nishieda, Review, trunk girl | 40 Comments

Senhime from Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls (Queen’s Gate Version) (NSFW)

written on January 28, 2012 by Tier

Numerous figures of the Queen’s Gate characters have been released, offering different takes on the characters depending on the artist that illustrated the respective game book. The Queen’s Gate version of Senhime, however is rather unusual in that she has no game book; her appearance is based off of a single illustration by the artist Yoshikazu Miwa. Perhaps better known by his doujin circle name Synthetic Garden, I’ve been a fan of his art for a long time, particularly because his work encompasses themes like tentacle hentai, girls in bondage, and girls with big breasts. He seems an unlikely choice to provide a Queen’s Gate illustration, particularly one of a character like Sen Tokugawa, and the resulting figure is one that comprises an unusual synthesis that is much more about his style and much less about the anime character.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/8 scale, Figures, hentai, hyakka ryouran samurai girls, leotard, queen's gate, Review, senhime, spear | 31 Comments

Amane Shiratori from Anata no Shiranai Kangofu (NSFW)

written on January 16, 2012 by Tier

Anybody who’s read this site for a while knows that I like ero figures. And anybody who’s read this site for a while knows that I like big figures. Unfortunately, few figure manufacturers have made big ero figures – at least until recently. However, FREEing has stepped up to the plate to fill this niche, which is quite gratifying, particularly when the figure is as nice as Amane is.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/4 scale, amane shiratori, anata no shiranai kangofu, epic ass, Figures, freeing, hentai, panties, Review | 24 Comments

Amane Shiratori from Anata no Shiranai Kangofu (NSFW)

written on January 16, 2012 by Tier

Anybody who’s read this site for a while knows that I like ero figures. And anybody who’s read this site for a while knows that I like big figures. Unfortunately, until recently few figure manufacturers made big ero figures. However, FREEing has stepped up to the plate to fill this niche, which is quite gratifying, particularly when the figure is as nice as Amane is.
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Lacia from BEATLESS

written on January 10, 2012 by Tier

One of the first anime figures I ever bought was Alpha’s Motoko Kusanagi Hard Disk Version. It’s cheaply-made and primitive by today’s standards, and it’s not a scale-size figure, but even so, I still like it, mainly because I like the character design. Scantily-clad female combat androids are a staple of science fiction anime and video games and, having grown up on that stuff, it’s a theme I like a lot. I hesitated for just a moment on ordering Lacia, since Good Smile Company sold this figure only through their online store and I always consider twice when it comes to paying for a figure up-front. However, after seeing her preview pictures, I felt that this was going to be a fine figure, and now that it’s here, my esteem for Lacia has only grown.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/8 scale, beatless, Figures, Good Smile Company, lacia, leotard, Review | 38 Comments

Fate Testarossa from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (Swimsuit Version)

written on December 21, 2011 by Tier

Alter kicked off 2011 with Fate Testarossa and yet another figure of the blonde mage is among those that will close this year. In fact, Alter released five figures of Fate in 2011 alone, demonstrating that she is one of their favorite characters. Their love affair with the lightning wizard will surely continue unabated, as Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force is still untapped and more significantly, the second movie is on the way, with a new costume for Fate. Admittedly, it looks quite like her old costume with just a few changes but that certainly will not deter figure makers and Fate’s fans will certainly not object.
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Posted in Figure Review | Tagged 1/7 scale, Alter, fate testarossa, Figures, magical girl lyrical nanoha, Review, swimsuit | 38 Comments

Miku Append from Vocaloid

written on December 11, 2011 by Tier

Miku Hatsune’s popularity among figure collectors is ascendant, and though it seemed like she would have to share the 2011 hobby spotlight with Tamaki Kousaka and Super Sonico, most of Sonico’s figures won’t be coming out until next year and many of this year’s Tamaki figures are manifestly forgettable, leaving no competition to contest Miku’s prominence. From her humble origin as an image character of a niche software package, she has become a titan of commercialization, appearing not only in her own games but also games such as Pangya Fantasy Golf and the PlayStation 3 port of Idolmaster 2, becoming the mascot of Good Smile Racing, and selling Toyota automobiles. And of course, she’s gotten figures – not just numerous figures, but a numerous variety of figures. A few years ago, one could justifiably complain that Miku figures all looked alike – Good Smile Company’s Miku looked very much like Volks’s Miku which looked very much like Max Factory’s Miku. However, in recent times, figure makers have offered new takes on the Vocaloid mascot, casting her as a sort of warrior clad in robotic armor and as a pit crew worker. Even more conventional takes on the character, such as Good Smile Company’s Lat-type figure and Max Factory’s Tony Taka-designed figure present distinctive poses and facial expressions. The latest Miku figure to be released is perhaps the most distinctive yet, but whether that’s a good thing is debatable. Let’s take a closer look at it.
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