Tag Archives: Review

Lacia from BEATLESS

written on January 10, 2012 by Tier
Lacia from BEATLESS

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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Fate Testarossa from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (Swimsuit Version)

written on December 21, 2011 by Tier
Fate Testarossa Swimsuit Figure Review

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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Miku Append from Vocaloid

written on December 11, 2011 by Tier
Max Factory Miku Append Figure Review

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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Dakimakura Review – Charlotte Dunois from Infinite Stratos (NSFW)

written on December 6, 2011 by Tier

It’s time for pillowcase show-and-tell, and today we’ve got one from Infinite Stratos, that sci-fi harem show whose most notable contribution to anime culture is the tremendous amount of quality porn it has inspired. While the show’s plot is nothing special, several of the characters are agreeable enough, with Charlotte Dunois perhaps being the most likeable. Leaving aside her initial assumption of a male identity named Charles, she’s the one sane girl in a school packed with psychotics and lunatics. Even-keeled, friendly, and cheerful, she stands out amongst the principal members of the cast, and so it’s not surprising she’s got a ton of doujin merchandise, including a bunch of pillowcases. This one is from Evening Call, a circle that specializes in making dakimakura covers.
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Ming Yue

written on November 27, 2011 by Tier
E2046 Ming Yue ORI Figure Review

Ming Yue is the latest figure in E2046’s ORI series. Probably best known for making prepainted figures of recast resin, E2046 also sculpts their own figures, which they label their ORI lineup. Many of their figures feature female fighters, and while Ming Yue doesn’t appear ready to throw down, she belongs to the same fictional universe as figures like Jian Xue. These figures belong to the “Elegance” subgroup within E2046’s ORI product section, and that’s a fitting name since Ming Yue is elegant indeed.
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Ivy Valentine from Soul Calibur IV (Queen’s Gate Version)

written on November 22, 2011 by Tier
Ivy Valentine from Soul Calibur Figure Review

There ought to be more figures of fighting game characters, and of the fighting game characters who deserves figures, Ivy Valentine should be near the top of the list. She has one of the most easily-identifiable designs in fighting games, she is one of the mainstays of one of the best fighting game franchises in existence, and yet, only three or four figures have ever been made of her, and one of those is from Todd McFarlane’s toy company. Fortunately for Ivy fans, Hobby Japan has recently shipped a brand new figure of her as part of their Queen’s Gate figure lineup. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as good as one might have hoped for.
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Sasara Kusugawa from To Heart 2: Dungeon Travelers (Paladin Version)

written on November 16, 2011 by Tier
Volks Sasara Kusugawa Paladin Figure Review

Despite not being particularly religious, I always like to play as a paladin in role-playing games. I’ve always admired the ethos of the paladin: the self-sacrificing knight devoted to justice and charity. My party leader in the Bard’s Tale games was always a paladin. My Baldur’s Gate parties always had two paladins – my player character and Ajantis in the first game and Keldorn in the second. I played a paladin in EverQuest despite the hindrance of the hybrid experience penalty. I stayed away from World of Warcraft for years because I was told that paladins were only good for healing and I didn’t care to spend my game time staring at a CTRaid status window while mindlessly spamming the Decursive key (I wound up doing that after I bought the game, anyway). When Volks announced that their Sasara figure was called the “paladin” version, my curiosity was piqued, and when I saw the promo pictures, my interest was confirmed. I had some slight misgivings because Volks’s Moekore figures tend to not feature the cleanest production quality, but I figured Sasara looked good enough that I wouldn’t care. I figured correctly, because pally Sasara is a very impressive figure indeed.
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Yui Takamura from Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse (Lingerie Version) (NSFW)

written on November 11, 2011 by Tier
Alphamax Yui Takamura from Total Eclipse Figure Review

The sexy bodysuit is a staple of science fiction anime. The most famous, of course, are the Evangelion plugsuits, but personally, the Muv-Luv Alternative pilot suits are my favorite designs. They are borderline ridiculous and very sexy, and are instantly identifiable by anyone with even a passing familiarity with the series. There aren’t many Muv-Luv figures out there, so I was happy to hear that Alphamax was going to be making figures of the Total Eclipse characters, and I was looking forward to seeing Yui in her black suit and the Scarlet Sisters in their distinctive navy and turquoise suits. But instead of featuring the distinctive Muv-Luv piloting suits, Alphamax has chosen instead to put the characters in their underwear. Oh well.
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Dakimakura Review – Vivio from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS (NSFW)

written on November 6, 2011 by Tier
Vivio from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Dakimakura Review

Though Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha has finished its television run – at least until they decide to animate ViVid and Force – its popularity continues to flourish thanks to a huge spectrum of goods featuring its characters. The list of official goods is impressive, comprising cups, notebooks, cell phone straps, video games with its own impressive selection of goods packed in, and so on … and of course, where licensed makers choose not to provide, doujin circles are there to step in. This is particularly true with pillowcases, and while the Nanoha series has some competition from Madoka for the throne of the magical girl genre, the new contender cannot contest Nanoha’s popularity when it comes to dakimakura covers.
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Strength from Black Rock Shooter (Animation Version)

written on November 2, 2011 by Tier
Good Smile Company Strength from Black Rock Shooter Figure Review

As we get older, it seems that time moves quicker and the world changes more rapidly. However, there are some constants that do not change. Death and taxes are among the less comforting, but for figure collectors, there are at least two happy certainties: Good Smile Company will continue to make exceptional figures of the Black Rock Shooter characters, and those exceptional figures will invariably find their way into Amiami’s bargain bin. I initially waffled on preordering Strength and then decided to pass on her. However, after seeing some reviews of the figure, I changed my mind and thought about buying it for full price. I felt a price cut was likely, though, and the maxim that good things come to those who wait sometimes holds true in figure collecting – more so with the BRS stuff. So it happened that Strength got her price slashed by more than half; not quite the 2,500 yen or so that Black Rock Shooter herself went for, but still a very welcome discount.
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