Posted by Leah Bayer on March 4, 2013 |
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[Editor's Note: Yamato has changed their name to Arcadia, they are still the same company]
Now here is a figure I have been waiting a long time for! As a huge fan of Tony Taka’s work I have regretted for some time skipping Kotobukiya’s version of Maxima from Shining Hearts (along with the Dollfie version of her, sigh), but Yamato’s take on the character had me certain I would eventually own a figure of this double-named beauty. Yamato/Arcadia is as slow as manufacturers come, so it’s taken a while for this figure to get up for order: is she worth the wait?
In my book, hell yes! Maxima looks totally stunning in this figure, the face is spot-on and one of the closest I have seen to Tony Taka’s art. The pose, the dress, it’s all fabulous. Of course this is a pricey company so she won’t come cheap: ¥10,800 with a July release. However, I have never regretted a single one of my Yamato purchases so a little name change isn’t going to stop me from owning miss Enfield! Now to see if there will be any more in the line besides Blanc Neige.
[via moeyo]
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![<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-44316 slb_group[44294] slb slb_internal" href="http://www.plastikitty.com/?attachment_id=44316"></a></p> <p>It was only a short while ago that Arcadia (formerly Yamato) <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/arcadias-super-soniko-prepares-for-pre-orders" target="_blank">showed off the promotional shots</a> of their newest Soniko, and already moeyo has gotten their paws on a color sample! It seems like with her popularity skyrocketing more and more every year, she’s guaranteed to get more than one gallery for every figure release so doubtlessly this is only the first of many.</p> <p>Since this figure involves tiny kitties, I am obviously a fan! It seems to be a running theme with Soniko–in fact her first Yamato figure (<a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/plastikitty-review-nsfw-yamatos-super-soniko" target="_blank">review</a>) featured them prominently. While I still have issues with the anatomy I think overall this is a great figure of her. The face in particular is awesome, spot-on to the art! And I mean she comes with mini cakes. Who doesn’t like mini cakes and kittens? Heartless monsters, that is who.</p> <p>[via <a href="http://www.moeyo.com/2013/05/review_arcadia_sonico_mizugi.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.moeyo.com']);" target="_blank">moeyo</a>]</p>](http://www.plastikitty.com/wp-content/uploads/KittenSonikoHeader.jpg "Arcadia’s New Soniko Is Kitten Around")
![<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-44007 slb_group[44006] slb slb_internal" href="http://www.plastikitty.com/?attachment_id=44007"></a></p> <p>After what seems like an endless amount of teasing, Arcadia’s newest figure is almost ready to make her grand debut! In case you haven’t been keeping track of company name changes, Arcadia is Yamato’s rebranded version of itself: why we can only guess, but it’s the same staff, sculptors, factory, etc just with a shiny new and kind of weird name. Yeah, your guess is as good as mine. It’s not like people hated Yamato and stayed away from their figures, so don’t worry–you weren’t the only one confused as to why <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/summer-wonder-festival-2012-yamatos-soniko" target="_blank">a figure announced by Yamato</a> is suddenly being made by Arcadia!</p> <p>Anyway, back to the lady at hand! <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/preview-arcadias-new-super-soniko" target="_blank">Last time we saw her</a> I was bemoaning her wonky anatomy, and I haven’t at all changed my mind about what is going on with her spine. But I appreciate that they’ve toned down her bust a bit and come on, she’s Soniko and has a lovely pastel color theme along with accessories and KITTIES. Of course I want it. Like all Arcadia/Yamato figures she’s a bit on the pricey side at ¥10,800 and will be released in October.</p> <p>[via <a href="http://www.arcadia.ac/item/detail_adm.php?gid=61" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.arcadia.ac']);" target="_blank">Arcadia</a>]</p>](http://www.plastikitty.com/wp-content/uploads/ArcadiaSonikoHeader1.jpg "Arcadia’s Super Soniko Prepares For Pre-Orders")
![<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-43414 slb_group[43403] slb slb_internal" href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/magazine-scans-april-2013/attachment/scansapril13header"></a></p> <p>Another month, another batch of magazine scans! Is it just me, or have scans kind of tapered off in intensity? I feel like several companies have kind of “dropped out” of the Hobby Japan scans, namely Good Smile Company & co. We really don’t get many big reveals from them anymore! In fact, the scans pretty much seem to be “check out what cool things MegaHouse has, with some stuff from Alter and Kotobukiya on the side. Oh, and maybe Orchid Seed will pop up too!”</p> <p>Decline of the scans or not, we do have a pretty action-packed month for you! Well, if you’re a MegaTen fan at least. Because there are three new MegaTen girls! And only one of them is from Persona, believe it or not! So hit the jump and let’s get started.</p>](http://www.plastikitty.com/wp-content/uploads/ScansApril13Header.jpg "Magazine Scans: April 2013")
![<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-43306 slb_group[43305] slb slb_internal" href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/arcadias-angel-philia-soniko-is-ready-for-dessert/attachment/arcadiasonikoheader"></a></p> <p>I am not sure why Yamato decided to change their name to Arcadia, and I’m even less sure why they changed the name of their vmf50 doll line to Angel Philia. But whatever the reason, <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/preview-yamatos-new-vmf50-super-soniko" target="_blank">their newest Soniko</a> (who is actually the first version, following a barely-clad first release and a Tiger Parka edition) is finally ready for order! This version is based on her babydoll look, which was actually <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/plastikitty-review-nsfw-yamatos-super-soniko" target="_blank">the first figure that Arcadia/Yamato put out of her</a>!</p> <p>Like all bigger dolls, she won’t be easy to get: and at 19.5″, she certainly is large! She retails for a hefty ¥64,762, which is more than many Dollfie Dreams even. Given that she’s a bit smaller, comes with less clothing and isn’t well made that seems… well, not a smart move, but oh well. She’s an exclusive to Azone’s shop so contact your favorite proxy if you’d like to own this beauty and plan on shelling out quite a bit in proxy fees and of course shipping. She’ll hit shelves in June.</p> <p>[via <a href="http://azoneosaka.blog72.fc2.com/blog-entry-1361.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://azoneosaka.blog72.fc2.com']);" target="_blank">Azone</a>]</p>](http://www.plastikitty.com/wp-content/uploads/ArcadiaSonikoHeader.jpg "Arcadia’s Angel Philia Soniko Is Ready For Dessert")
![<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-43220 slb_group[43214] slb slb_internal" href="http://www.plastikitty.com/?attachment_id=43220"></a></p> <p>Arcadia, formerly Yamato, sure does love Soniko. They have already released a Babydoll figure of her (<a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/plastikitty-review-nsfw-yamatos-super-soniko" target="_blank">review</a>) which has gotten <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/yamatos-strawberry-sorbet-babydoll-soniko" target="_blank">two colorways</a>, along with <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/preview-yamatos-new-vmf50-super-soniko" target="_blank">a doll</a> that’s had three separate releases. Then we’ve got <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/check-out-shunya-yamashitas-full-soniko-art" target="_blank">the Shunya Yamashita illustration</a>, and last but not least this version which <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/summer-wonder-festival-2012-yamatos-soniko" target="_blank">was announced</a> a while back! She’s finally colored, and while I still feel like the anatomy is as wonky as it was <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/arcadia-previews-their-new-super-soniko" target="_blank">the last time we saw her</a> there’s definitely been some improvement overall. Her back, though, is still rather frightening!</p> <p>Like the Babydoll Soniko this version comes with both kittens and sweets. In fact, you get two kitties and a whole tray full of goodies along with a cup of tea and a cat toy! Oh, and miss Soniko herself of course. From these shots it’s kind of hard to tell if she’ll be cast-off like the Babydoll one buy given her pose I don’t think it would matter one way or the other. Expect orders to open soon! I wonder if she’ll come out the same month as <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/orchid-seeds-pkg-soniko-will-be-up-for-order-soon" target="_blank">PKG Soniko</a>?</p> <p>[via <a href="http://twitpic.com/cjhrji" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://twitpic.com']);">t_santa's Twitter</a>]</p>](http://www.plastikitty.com/wp-content/uploads/ArcadiaSonicoHeader.jpg "Preview Arcadia’s New Super Soniko")
![<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-41539 slb_group[41538] slb slb_internal" href="http://www.plastikitty.com/?attachment_id=41539"></a></p> <p>Arcadia (formerly Yamato) seems quite enamored with miss Soniko. Their first figure of her, the Babydoll version (<a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/plastikitty-review-nsfw-yamatos-super-soniko" target="_blank">review</a>), got two colorways, and they have two more figures of her in the works! Of course there’s <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/check-out-shunya-yamashitas-full-soniko-art" target="_blank">the Shunya Yamashita version</a>, but we also have this more relaxed take that was <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/summer-wonder-festival-2012-yamato" target="_blank">revealed at Summer WonFest</a>.</p> <p>While I was originally enamored with this version for obvious reasons (kittens! macaroons!), the more I look at it the more I doubt the sculpt. Her back is kind of… non-existent, her butt just merges into her waist. It’s really, really weird if you look at it for a while. Kind of unsettling, actually. Ah well, maybe it will be better with paint!</p> <p>[via <a href="http://ameblo.jp/arcadiaac/entry-11483131109.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://ameblo.jp']);" target="_blank">Arcadia's Blog</a>]</p>](http://www.plastikitty.com/wp-content/uploads/ArcadiaSonikoPreviewHeader.jpg "Arcadia Previews Their New Super Soniko")
![<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-41429 slb_group[41428] slb slb_internal" href="http://www.plastikitty.com/dolls/arcadias-vmf50-angel-philia-maya/attachment/arcadiamayaheader"></a></p> <p>Arcadia (formerly Yamato)’s vmf50 line is not really my thing. I love dolls but I am committed to Dollfie Dreams and smaller anthro BJDs: there is no room in my budget (or dollie wardrobe!) for girls of different sizes, after I learned with my brief foray into Azone’s 1/3 scale girls.</p> <p>But every once in a while there is bound to be a girl that makes me regret that decision, and Maya is one of those ladies! Sure, her clothing is tacky as hell (like pretty much every other doll in the line) but that face! She’s so pretty! Sadly vmf50′s require proxies most of the time, they’re pricey, and they have a different wig and clothing size than my current girls. But… but… so pretty!</p> <p>[via <a href="http://akibahobby.net/2013/03/arcadia_ah_maya.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://akibahobby.net']);" target="_blank">Akibahobby</a>]</p>](http://www.plastikitty.com/wp-content/uploads/ArcadiaMayaHeader.jpg "Arcadia’s vmf50 Angel Philia Maya")
![<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-41295 slb_group[41285] slb slb_internal" href="http://www.plastikitty.com/?attachment_id=41295"></a></p> <p>Another week, another roundup! What happened to last week’s, you ask? My dog ate it.</p> <p>You probably don’t know this but I tend to write the intro for these after everything else is done, and am terrified that one day I will forget and one of my stupid placeholder sentences like “some words” or “a few butts” will pop up on the front page instead. But today is not that day! Today is the day I ramble because we have really slim pickings. Sure, there are some nice figures, but it seems like none of the big companies came out to play. No scaled figures from Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, Max Factory, even Phat! or Daiki. But of course there are some nice figures–check them out after the jump!</p>](http://www.plastikitty.com/wp-content/uploads/Roundup33Header.jpg "PVC Pre-Order Roundup: 3/3~3/7")
![<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-41037 slb_group[41019] slb slb_internal" href="http://www.plastikitty.com/?attachment_id=41037"></a></p> <p><em>[Editor's Note: Yamato has changed their name to Arcadia, they are still the same company]</em></p> <p>Now here is a figure I have been waiting a long time for! As a huge fan of Tony Taka’s work I have regretted for some time skipping Kotobukiya’s version of Maxima from <em>Shining Hearts</em> (along with the <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/let-dollfie-dream-sakuya-steal-your-heart" target="_blank">Dollfie version of her</a>, sigh), but <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/summer-wonder-festival-2012-yamato" target="_blank">Yamato’s take on the character</a> had me certain I would eventually own a figure of this double-named beauty. Yamato/Arcadia is as slow as manufacturers come, so it’s taken a while for this figure to get up for order: is she worth the wait?</p> <p>In my book, hell yes! Maxima looks totally stunning in this figure, the face is spot-on and one of the closest I have seen to Tony Taka’s art. The pose, the dress, it’s all fabulous. Of course this is a pricey company so she won’t come cheap: ¥10,800 with a July release. However, I have never regretted a single one of my Yamato purchases so a little name change isn’t going to stop me from owning miss Enfield! Now to see if there will be any more in the line besides <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/winter-wonder-festival-2013-yamatoarcadia" target="_blank">Blanc Neige</a>.</p> <p>[via <a href="http://www.moeyo.com/2013/03/review_arcadia_sakuya.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.moeyo.com']);" target="_blank">moeyo</a>]</p>](http://www.plastikitty.com/wp-content/uploads/ArcadiaMaximaHeader.jpg "Arcadia’s Lovely 1/7 Maxima Enfield")
![<p><a rel="attachment wp-att-39203 slb_group[39201] slb slb_internal" href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/winter-wonder-festival-2013-yamatoarcadia/attachment/wwf13yamatoheader"></a></p> <p>We all know by now that Arcadia is just Yamato in a clever disguise, so let’s lump them together! After all, there are only 3 new figures in total. The first is the art for that <a href="http://www.plastikitty.com/home/arcadia-teases-a-new-super-soniko-by-shunya-yamashita" target="_blank">Shunya Soniko</a>, which is so cute! I am sure many people will be happy about how clothed she is. The kitten Soniko isn’t painted yet…</p> <p>Then we have a lovely version of Blanc Neige, I hope this means their Maxima will be up for order soon? And finally, an original character from Shirow Masamune. His past one came out so lovely, let’s hope this follows suit!</p> <p>[via <a href="http://futaba.anacel.com/figure/pixmicat.php?res=245345" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://futaba.anacel.com']);" target="_blank">Figure/GK</a>]</p>](http://www.plastikitty.com/wp-content/uploads/WWF13YamatoHeader.jpg "Winter Wonder Festival 2013: Yamato/Arcadia")
