Tag Archives: 1/8 scale

Horizon Ariadust from Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere (Wave Version)

Horizon Ariadust Figure Review

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere was one of my favorite shows from the fall 2011 anime season. It features a compelling setting, a likeable cast, a delightfully dense plot, and some of the nicest character designs in all of anime. Those designs, plus the sheer volume of characters in the show, would suggest that the series would be one that would get a lot of figures.

So one would think, anyway; however, it’s now been about a year and a half since the show debuted and only a handful of figures from the series have made their way to retail. Even more perplexing is that all of those figures come from Wave. Unsurprisingly, the great majority of those figures belong to their 1/10 scale Beach Queens line, but they did make one anomalous figure of Horizon Ariadust, which is what we’ll be looking at here.
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Inori Yuzuriha from Guilty Crown

Inori Yuzuriha figure by Good Smile Company

When you get down to it, figure collectors are really just grown-ass men and ladies who buy lots of toys. And of course, one of the best things about having toys is playing make-believe with them. In that spirit, we’re going to pretend that Inori doesn’t come from one of the most wrongfully overhyped shows of the past few years. We’re going to pretend that Inori isn’t a terrible character from an even worse series because Inori, you are so pretty and you don’t deserve all the things that were done to you. You deserved a much better show. You don’t deserve to be the concubine of the Shührer or the wet nurse of a different character. You deserved better writers and a better director. And well, while this figure isn’t bad, per se, you definitely deserved a bigger figure.
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Retia Adolf from Daiteikoku

Retia Adolf, leader of Dokutsu

Continuing our tour of bikini figures, today we are going to look at Retia Adolf, the adorable and lovable, uhh, führer of the Third Reich of Dokutsu.
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Naoe Kanetsugu from Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls (Swimsuit Version)

Naoe Kanetsugu, the Warrior of Love from Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

Back to the bikini figures, and today we’ll be looking at the self-described Warrior of Love, Naoe Kanetsugu.
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Miku Hatsune from Vocaloid (Cheerful Version)

Miku Hatsune Cheerful Figure Review

Back to figure reviews, and what more appropriate character to feature than Miku Hatsune, that ubiquitous, protean pitchwoman of software products, racing teams, and Toyota automobiles?
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Samus Aran from Metroid: Other M (Zero Suit Version)

Samus Aran from Metroid Figure Review

I have to admit that lately, I haven’t been too enthusiastic about Good Smile Company’s or Alter’s figure lineups. It doesn’t take any extraordinary talent at prognostication to look at a seasonal anime chart and guess which shows are going to get Good Smile Company figures and lately, Alter’s been eminently predictable as well. Unfortunately – for me, specifically – many of the characters they make figures of don’t interest me or come from shows that I don’t know much about. That leaves Max Factory in the role of the eclectic scale-size figure maker. They’re not nearly as capricious as, say, Daiki Kougyou or Yamato, but well, when one tires of buying Nanoha or Vocaloid or Strike Witches figures, one takes what one can get. Fortunately, Samus Aran surely doesn’t count as a compromise.
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White Cat from Planet of the Cats

White Cat from Planet of the Cats Figure Review

We looked at the Cat and Chair a little while ago, and now it is time to give White Cat her turn. No name for her, apparently, but at least her title is a bit more descriptive than her counterpart’s.
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Satsuki Shinonome from Love, Election & Chocolate

Satsuki Shinonome from Love, Election & Chocolate Figure Review

Who doesn’t love chocolate? And elections?
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Noel Vermillion from BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (Queen’s Gate Version)

Noel Vermillion from BlazBlue Figure Review

Voice synthesis software and eroge company mascots get scads of figures but fighting game characters are mostly an afterthought in the corporate mindset of figure makers. Heck, I’ve got another Super Sonico on order and another one still in its box, and I’ve got an unopened Miku Hatsune figure sitting on the stack, waiting for me to build her machine of joy. If you’re looking for a figure of a fighting game girl, you’re going to have to look at Kotobukiya’s Tekken figures or Hobby Japan’s Queen’s Gate series, which is where this version of Noel Vermillion comes from.
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Yagyu Jubei from Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls (White Swimsuit Version)

Yagyu Jubei from Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls Figure Review

When you don’t have a belt or a strap to hang your swords off of, you make do the best that you can.
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