Another week, another batch of figures to pre-order! This week is a bit short but chock-full of awesomeness, featuring a figure we’ve been waiting over 2 years for, a sexy robot figma, some snazzy re-releases, a Persona heroine in beach gear, a space-age creation from Yamato, and a whole lot more. So hit the jump and let’s get started!
AlphaMax
Yozora Mikazuki | 1/7 | ¥6,800 | November
Inia Sestina | 1/7 | ¥7,800 | November
Leah: I really like short-hair Yozora, and this definitely looks better than the Beach Queen. Inia is pretty cute too!
Stephen: AlphaMax has been getting a lot better with their sculpts recently and both Yozora and Inia look quite nice!
Alter
Nodoka Manabe | 1/8 | ¥6,800 | October
Leah: Thanks, Alter, I totally need the most boring figure on earth to add that extra blah to my collection.
Stephen: Thanks, Alter, for putting out one of the few figures that you’ll produce this year that I won’t buy. My wallet thanks you.
Clayz
Konoe Subaru | 1/8 | ¥12,000 | Autumn
Leah: Why is this so expensive? I want her, but NOT for that much.
Stephen: Cute, but yet again, way too much for a Clayz figure. That said, I have a feeling she’ll hit bargain bins with a price like that.
Kotobukiya
Nanoha Takamachi | 1/8 | ¥8,800 | September
Dark Magician Girl | 1/7 | ¥6,800 | October | Re-release
Leah: I know there are a lot of Nanohas out there, but I really do like this one. And we already have DMG, but it is great to see her getting a (second!) re-release. We had a chance to shoot a color sample in our pre-Plastikitty days so we’ll be putting that shoot up on the site in the near future to give you a closer look at her.
Stephen: Dark Magician Girl is one of my favorite figures of all time, and while I like this Nanoha, I feel like something is just a little off with her face. Maybe if her eyes and mouth were toned down a little, she’d look more… natural?
Max Factory
T-ELOS | figma | ¥4,000 | September
Kyoko & Sayaka | figma | ¥3,500 | October | Re-releases
Kyoko: AmiAmi | Hobby Search
Sayaka: AmiAmi | Hobby Search
Leah: YES finally T-ELOS! I can’t wait to have some fun shooting her terrorizing our figures. Kyoko and Sayaka, though… they were JUST released. A little early for a re-release.
Stephen: T-ELOS! AWWW YEAH! And I have no clue why Kyoko and Sayaka are being re-released already as they didn’t seem to sell out quickly the first time around at all.
Medicom
Madoka Kaname | RAH | ¥20,952 | December
Leah: She is expensive and looks just like the figma… not sure if this is worth getting.
Stephen: Debating this one as most 1/6th scale poseable figures flat out suck at posing. Couple that with a fairly simple sculpt and a price that’s the same as Black Rock Shooter’s, which came with a hell of a lot more and actual cloth clothing, and I just can’t really justify this.
New Line
Senhime | 1/6 | ¥7,800 | September
Leah: For a moment I thought this was the AmiAmi Zero version and got all excited. This is a cute figure, and it’s nice to see Sen getting more attention, but I don’t know if I love it.
Stephen: Her face looks quite good, but I’m not really a fan of the whole triangles-covering-nipples-considered-clothing bikini style.
Orchid Seed
Ignis of the Endless Winter | 1/7 | ¥12,400 | October
Leah: FINALLY! She’s too expensive, but that’s not gonna stop me from owning her.
Stephen: So yeah, I don’t know how one DOESN’T order this. She looks absolutely stunning.
Penguin Parade
Nano Shinonome | Pettanko | ¥2,625 | September
Hideyoshi Kinoshita | Pettanko | ¥2,625 | September
Leah: I love Nano, she is SO cute! Hideyoshi, though, I have no attachment to.
Stephen: I second what Leah said.
Phat! Company
Hibari | 1/8 | ¥6,800 | October
Leah: I am so glad this figure got pushed back from September–she is way too adorable to pass up.
Stephen: Hibari is adorable and looks to have come out great. Couple that with a low price point and I’ll definitely pick her up!
Uart
Tomoe | 1/6 | ¥14800 | July
Leah: Mediocre sculpt, insane price, worst release date ever. This is a big fat pass.
Stephen: Who buys this stuff?
Wave
Rise Kujikawa | 1/10 | ¥3,800 | November
Leah: The only problem with this figure is that she doesn’t come out until November.
Stephen: One of the best figures I’ve seen of Rise and thankfully another non-boring Beach Queen.
Yamato
Mars ~Mukai-san~ | 1/6 | ¥11,100 | August
Leah: I really do like the original look this figure has, and though I wish she was more covered this might be too awesome to pass up.
Stephen: That face just has a feel like this was something they made in 2004 and forgot about and are just now selling.
Well, that’s it for this week! We had robots, and more robots, and even more robots! (Oh my!) There were also some magical girls, an actual magician girl, a cat girl, a bland girl, and a little bit of everything in between. What did you order this week and is there anything you’re looking to pick up, but had to pass on? Let us know in the comments below!
I went with Nanoha, T-ELOS, Hibari, and Rise from this week….
I only snagged Rise, though I really really… want that Madoka.
That said I’m glad to see Alter rounding off their K-ON collection with the lesser-loved characters like Nodoka and Ui, even if they aren’t very dynamic in comparison to the girls with the instruments. It’s good for people who are fans of those characters, even if the figure isn’t as dynamic.
My issue with the K-On! line is how little effort they’ve put into the sculpts. Alter usually does much crisper work with interesting poses, even for lower-tier figures (look at their Momo, for example). But these… it looks like they spent 2 days on them just to get something out to appease fans. It’s just sad to see such a HUGE drop in quality from them, it really seems like a cop-out.