Category Archives: Figure Review

Kagari from Ninja Girls

written on December 16, 2010 by Tier
Embrace-Japan Kagari from Ninja Girls Figure Review

Back in the day, it was all too common for US anime and video game companies to westernize Japanese titles to make them more commercially viable. Mazinger Z became Tranzor Z, Space Battleship Yamato became Star Blazers, and a whole bunch of titles were rolled into Robotech. My personal favorite title change is Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, which translates to “The Eternity You Desire” but was localized as the much less poetic and much more hilarious “Rumbling Hearts.” The first time I saw the new title, I thought it referred to a wrestling anime. Thankfully, with anime becoming more acceptable, if not mainstream, title and content changes have become much less frequent. However, Del Rey Manga reminds us of history by bringing us Hosana Tanaka’s series Rappi Rangai as “Ninja Girls.” Seriously, that’s the best title they could think of? One of the “girls” isn’t even a girl so what the hell?
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Asuka Langley Soryu from Neon Genesis Evangelion (Creator’s Labo Version)

written on December 2, 2010 by Tier
Yamato Asuka Langley Soryu from Neon Genesis Evangelion Figure Review

For years it’s seemed like Rei Ayanami was the it-girl of the Evangelion franchise, particularly when it comes to figures, and Asuka has been a bit overshadowed in comparison. Alter never bothered following up their movie Rei figure with an Asuka, and Mari has gotten a lot of love in recent times. Yamato also did not look like they were going to follow up their own Creator’s Labo Rei figure, leading E2046 to roll out their own version as part of their ORI line. However, there’s been something of a resurgence in Asuka’s popularity – at least in figure form – as Kotobukiya and Alter announced versions of her in her test suit and Yamato finally decided to give their grown-up Rei a counterpart. It’s a good time to be an Asuka fan, though this Asuka is a bit different than the usual redheaded fireball we are accustomed to.
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Buddy from Voices from Har Megiddo

written on November 26, 2010 by Tier
Alter Buddy from Voices from Har Megiddo Figure Review

‘Tis the season to be thankful and hopeful here in the United States, and I’ve had a lot to be thankful for in my life. Some of the things that I’m thankful for are my figures and dolls – which are the entire reason this website exists, my camera equipment that gives this site its content, gaffer’s tape – an absolutely vital aid to my photo shoots, hip hop, tentacle porn, Wikipedia, and Fate Testarossa’s thong – sadly ignored these days. The things I’m hopeful for are that Irma and Subaru get figures, that Good Smile Company doesn’t screw up Rin and Saber Alter next year, that the Lakers’s team plane explodes in mid-flight, and that this ridiculous postal embargo blows over. I was also very hopeful that Alter’s Buddy figure would turn out well, as she was one of the figures I was looking most forward to. Now that she’s here, I have another thing to be thankful for.
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Black Rock Shooter (Animation Version)

written on November 21, 2010 by Tier
Good Smile Company Black Rock Shooter Figure Review

Some things are just completely review-proof and there’s no real reason to spend any time critiquing them. Harry Potter books and Transformers films fall into this category, and of course, so do any of Good Smile Company’s Black Rock Shooter figures. GSC is gonna make them, people are gonna buy them, and you know what you’re going to get, so we may as well spend our time talking about other things. So let’s begin: have you noticed that not many figure review sites are updating anymore? Or have you noticed that there are a helluva lot of figure news websites these days? I’ll often look at the link feed on Tsuki-board and see the same promo pictures over and over as a half dozen or more sites post the same news. Over and over. Weird. Oh, and have you noticed that Hobby Search only has their Japanese site up? Maybe they’re planning on shutting down international sales! Wait, it’s back up? Never mind then, let’s talk about this figure instead.
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Ikaros from Sora no Otoshimono

written on November 17, 2010 by Tier
Grands Ikaros from Sora no Otoshimono Figure Review

I don’t watch a ton of anime, so it’s rare that I get a character from a series that I’m familiar with. I preordered Ikaros before watching Sora no Otoshimono, but I’m going through the first season now and I like it a lot. It’s a fun, unpretentious show that knows what it’s trying to do and does it well. One of its goals is to establish a cast of sexy female characters that can be exploited commercially, and Ikaros here is a big part of that plan.
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Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2

written on November 12, 2010 by Tier
Max Factory Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2 Figure Review

Here are a few certainties in life: music that people half your age like will always suck, politicians will always lie, the Washington Redskins will always make terrible personnel decisions, and figure manufacturers from Alter to Yamato will always turn to the Ikkitousen and To Heart franchises for inspiration. In particular, Kanu Unchou and Tamaki Kousaka are consistent winners, and with a barrage of Tamakis scheduled to drop in the near future, now seems like a good time to look at the Tamaki that Max Factory released in May of this year.
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Kurisu Makise from Steins;Gate

written on November 2, 2010 by Tier
Kotobukiya Kurisu Makise from Steins;Gate Figure Review

And back to figures. Feels like a while since I’ve reviewed a figure. Remind me not to do an eroge review with that level of detail again. It felt good to take pictures again after taking a break. It’s kinda like when you have a good-ass porno that you really like and you watch the hell out of it, and after a while it becomes much less exciting and you can’t use it anymore, but then you stop watching it and later on, you view it again and it’s as good as you remember. Hmm, what were we talking about again? Oh yes, a figure, we have a figure here. Let’s take a look at it.
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Sasami Sasasegawa from Little Busters!

written on October 15, 2010 by Tier
Alter Sasami Sasasegawa from Little Busters! Figure Review

I guess it’s no shame to admit that I’m a typical shallow, hormone-driven male. When I assess a figure for purchase, I first judge it on whether I like the character but since I’m not familiar with most of the characters that are turned into figures, I mainly judge on looks. In this particular figure’s case, “looks” means panties. I know nothing about the character or where she comes from, but I know that she’s flashing her panties with a smile, and that’s enough to meet the requirements for my collection.
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Kureha Touka from Shining Wind (Swimsuit Version)

written on October 10, 2010 by Tier
Max Factory Kureha Touka Figure Review

At first, I wasn’t too enthused by Max Factory’s line of swimsuit-clad Shining Wind girls and I’m not really sure why. It’s a terrible thing when a man can’t get excited by cute underaged girls in tiny bikinis, however, and I finally decided that Kureha and Xecty had too much appeal to pass on them. It would’ve been cooler if they’d picked out some suits out of Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, though; Kureha looks pretty good here, but she’d be bangin’ in the Venus or Mach.
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Leina from Queen’s Blade (NSFW)

written on September 30, 2010 by Tier
Daiki Kougyou Leina from Queen's Blade Figure Review

Some might say that going into a fight in nothing but your panties isn’t very smart. Well, when your first fight is against a lady with acid for milk, it’s the only thing to do. I mean, anybody who’s seen Aliens knows what happens when you get splashed with acid while encased in body armor; you wind up getting your arm burned off after it goes right through the plating. Nah, when you’re fighting jelly demons and fire mages, less is definitely more when it comes to protective gear.
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