Poke the Merch

Hey all, it's been a while since I pumped out an artbook/doujinshi review! I have an explanation! I swear!

Today we'll be looking at one of the only doujinshi I picked up in the past year. Magic by Yuu (last name currently unknown) is a short, yet spectacular orgy of pastel softness and astounding detail. But hey, don't trust just my word. Take a look for yourself.

If you have been following this blog, you'll know I imposed upon myself a stringent set of rules in the year of 2013. Growing financial commitments and a series of inconvenient events made me hyperaware (and rather nervous) of my shaky monetary situation. One of my self-imposed rules, unfortunately, involved cutting all leisurely paper products from my collecting habits. So for the past year, I have not touched, or even bothered to look at doujinshi, artbooks, posters, or other printed merch. Does that mean I've stopped collecting art? Not in the slightest. I mean to pick up where I left off, as soon as my situation allows. Consider it a hiatus of sorts.

That being said, I still have a buttload of doujinshi from previous years that dearly need reviews, so never fear! There will be art reviews for months to come.

As aforementioned, Magic by Yuu is one of the last books I picked up before my rules took effect. Boy, am I glad I found this little masterpiece before going cold turkey. This small, but potent collection is choked to the brim on fantastic pieces that do nothing less than stun the visual cortex. It's like being bombed. With artistic excellence. At only 24 pages, it hasn't the same bulk as other doujinshi, and at B5, it's smaller as well, but what it lacks in size and bulk, it makes up for with sheer colour and detail.

This is its cover. Look at its cover. Look at that delicious, golden frame. You know we're in for a good ride.

I have never heard of this Yuu or their circle The Door of Arcadia (sounds like something right out of Dungeons & Dragons), but from the very first page, I was a fan. Magic's illustrations stretch from border to border, without a single blank space in sight. Each are finished, fully coloured, and professional. Seriously, I would love to see some of these pieces blown up into wall posters.

Yuu's art is filled with light. Not simply brightness, lightness. There's an airy atmosphere to the illustrations that makes you feel as though they might dissolve into thin air if you're not careful. And they're mad detailed.

I like to refer to Yuu's pictures as "framed chaos". Yuu has a wonderful way soft-framing a picture, i.e. not using definitive borders while still containing the details within a certain shape(see chocolate girl on the left), while simultaneously filling the page with minutiae. The softness of the subjects mixed with the sharpness of the details make for some wonderful contrast. Only on my third look did I notice there were three girls in the picture on the left.

Unlike many artists, Yuu pays just as much attention to backgrounds as they do characters. Instead of drawing attention to one feature or another, the pictures are a harmonious clash of colours and patterns. Characters can be so swamped theyare almost hidden. With no definite focal points, your eye is allowed to wander and savour freely, to take your time with each page and really look. In fact, it's in the wandering that you notice many of the pictures' details. It seems the best way to take in the lovely nuances of each page.

There are no sections in this doujinshi, only brilliant art. As far as I know, Yuu only includes original characters, but there is one illustration that obviously pays homage to Alice in Wonderland.

There are only a couple of two-page spreads in Magic. This doujinshi, unfortunately, does not have a strong spine. It's is glued together, and takes badly to bending. In the process of taking photos, I accidentally tore several seams in my copy (and consequently swore a lot). If there is one, just one, downside to this gorgeous collection, it's its physical fragility. I almost wish it were held together by staples instead, like Kurogin's Archive Illustrations 2006-2009, and Rco Wada's Toka + Toka 2.

My one other grouse involves the doujinshi's matte finish. It's actually not an issue to the naked eye, but it does make the paper seem grainy in photos. My camera is more sensitive than my eye, apparently. So excuse the extra noise in the photos. As they say, too much of a good thing, in this case, clarity, can do more harm than good. Again, I'm just grousing here. If you don't plan on taking photos of the doujinshi, this is a non-issue.

Although there are no sections in this doujinshi, Yuu does includes a series of age-themed pictures. There are six in all, all beautifully framed, all corresponding to a certain time of day, all with its own, unique colour palette, starting from "the childroom in morning" to "the bedroom at midnight". For no particular reason, it made me a little emotional. Life, bro. Life.

And, whoa, we're done!

I keep forgetting how short 24 pages is. Believe me when I say this book feels longer than 24 pages. The amount of time I spent staring at each picture, admiring its details, carefully flipping through the pages, then doing it all over again, is astounding.

Is this doujinshi worth getting? Yes, absolutely.It's a real gem. Magic is sold out in stores at the moment, so your best chance of snagging it is to stalk stores that sell used items, such as Mandarake. It can be hard to find, but believe me, it's worth the effort.

Title: Magic
Author: Yuu (憂)

Circle: The Door of Arcadia (アルカディアの扉)

Size: B5(7.3 x 10.2 in)

Pages: 24

Price: 1400 yen

Purchased From: Alice-Books

Cheerio,

Jenn

The following the a true to life reaction of Poke the Merch upon seeing Winter Wonder Festival 2014: "My god, it's ALL Kan Colle!"

We're not kidding. We might even be a bit traumatized. Sure, there were other figures here and there, but it was mostly Kan Colle. How one series became so dominate in terms of representation is a mystery to us. We suspect conspiracy (or overwhelming firepower). So we ducked our heads, peeled our eyes, and sought out the few figures brave enough to stand among the crush of personified war machines.

Jenn's List

The Want

Max Factory's 1/7 Psychic

I'm psyched to see Max Factory continue their 7th Dragon 2020 line. For no particular reason, I feared they would stop after releasing Idol Miku (she seemed like one of those end-all releases). Considering I already have Samurai, Hacker, and Idol Miku, is there any doubt I would skip Max Factory's Psychic? Besides, Psychic's prototype is killing it. Look at that leopard print and those legit bell-bottom stockings. That's some serious 60s-80s-futuristic fashion fusion right there. Mix in a mean smirk, a gorgeous body, and some good ol' Max Factory quality, and who am I to say no?

Alter's 1/8 Asuka

Alter didn't have the most impressive WonFes showing this time around. But hey, at least they got their act together well enough to pump out a gorgeous Asuka.

See, my enduring complaint about Asuka figures is that, for whatever reason, the market is saturated with vapid, happy Asukas that just don't reflect her self-destructive-bitchy-badassness (oh look, my first Mammutwörter). But this one breaks the mold. Just look at her world-weary expression. That's pure Asuka grump. You can almost hear her sigh of annoyance. She's seen some shit, and now she's got more shit to deal with.Ugh. Awesome. Plus, her quality is obvious. My wallet is ready!

FREEing's 1/8 Racing Miku Sepang

She's cute. She's tan. She's mostly naked. Enough said.

But seriously, of all the Racing Mikus out there, this one strikes me as most memorable. Her beach-pixie characterization is a welcome deviation from the standard, sleek, sporty Racing Miku look. She looks like she's having fun. Genuine fun, not the sort of exaggerated, commercialized fun you witness in mascots. I look forward to her undoubtedly gorgeous, semi-transparent wings. Oh, and I like her buns (the ones on her head).

Amakuni's 1/8 Beelzebub

When I first began collecting the Seven Deadly Sins line, I swore to obey the compositional rule of odds, i.e. I will collect either 3, 5, or all 7 Sins, so that I can arrange them advantageously on the shelf. (I impose some...weird collecting rules on myself sometimes). Having already procured Leviathan and Lucifer, and skipped Asmodeus, I planned to round out my collection with Belphagor and be done with it.

But then Beelzebub got a paint job, and oh man, what a paint job! That semi-transparent skirt! Those clear, detailed eyes! And she's cute! Although there are still aspects of her I'm not too big on, such as her bright orange base, everything else looks deliciously high quality. So it looks like I'm reneging on my prior promise to collect an odd number of Sins, unless, of course, Satan comes out swinging.

GSC's 1/8 Mikasa Ackerman

I was worried when Mikasa's sculpt came out with weird looking hair, but it seems GSC heeded our cries and fixed it up. Now she looks perfect, with her high-flying action pose, business face and gorgeous paint job. I have nothing else to say except, TAKE MY MONEY AND BE DONE WITH IT. Oh, and humour me by making a Hange please, because crazy scientists make my day, every single time.

The Watched

Union Creative International LTD's Psycho Pass figures

Despite my whimsical exterior, I really enjoy serious shows, especially if they come with a yummy sci-fi atmosphere (cause my favourite passtime is mentally navigating what-if scenarios...no joke), and Psycho Pass was one of the few shows I really enjoyed in the last few years. Sure, it emulates Minority Report, but hey, I really enjoyed Minority Report too, so I'm not complaining. Plus, it has Akane Tsunemori, one of the best female leads I've seen in a long time. The only thing holding me back is my unfamiliarity with Union Creative International LTD as a company, and their lack of prototypes.

Orchid Seed's 1/8 Satan

Excessive red is a surefire way to my heart. If the colour red were a person, I'd snog them. Thing is, Satan came out more of a tomato-soup red than the sultry, heartblood red I was hoping for. Also, isn't she supposed to have more magenta on her? Hmm. So instead of shooting to my Want list, I'm watching her and hoping her weird colours are due to bad lighting or an incomplete paint job.

Alter's Magical Emi

This came out of the left field, and holy sheet, am I glad it did! I have never seen an episode of Magical Emi, the Magic Star. Still, the presentation of this figure was enough to leave me breathless. Her delicate hairpiece, flowing ribbons, soft colour palette, all converge to promote a girlish delicacy that's rarely found in the figure world. I've always been a fan of art nouveau. Something about it's symmetry, contrast, and flatness appeals to me. Kind of like vectors (which I also enjoy). I don't even care that she's missing her legs.

So what's stopping her from making my Want list? My lack of knowledge of the character, and her distinct presentation. She has such a different feel that I can't really see her in my collection. In many ways, she reminds me of Max Factory's Belldandy. Absolutely beautiful, but ultimately not for me. Still, we'll see. I have a feeling much will depend on her price.

Megahouse's 1/8 Marika

I got all excited when this Marika was announced, then became considerably less excited when I realized her coat was red instead of black. Nothing against red, of course, but this Marika is plagued by the same not-quite-red issue as Satan. Red is a very specific colour. Unlike blue, which looks great in just about every shade, red begins to look like ~~crap~~ crud if it leans too far into pink, magenta, orange, or any other off-red variation, and Marika's coat is far too saturated for my liking. But I like her pose, and I like her sass, and I like the way she crosses her legs. So...

GSC's 1/8 Ceil Alencon

Damn, GSC. You can really come out with some gorgeous stuff if you apply yourself. I haven't played God Eater 2, but when have I ever needed context to pick up a gorgeous girl with impractically enormous weapons? The details in her hair, skirt, and weapon appeal to my perfectionist heart. Plus, she has a lovely face, and you know how I get around lovely faces (i.e. all swoony). Her one downside? Price, of course. And shipping price. I don't even want to imagine how much she'll cost in total.

All of the Homuras. Seriously.

I've been meaning to get a Homura for a long time, only to be disappointed by most her figures. Maybe I'm picky because she happens to be the type of character I respect, a.k.a. a professional, efficient, hard-working lady who isn't afraid to get her hands messy while still maintaining a sense of humanity and purpose (I mean, if we disregard the Madoka Rebellion, where she goes a little loopy). I want my Homura with guns everywhere, hair everywhere, steel in her eyes, standing on a pile of dead Kyuubeis, not looking bored, being awkward in a bikini, or dolled up like some cheerleader. The one costume I might make a exception for are yukatas, cause...yukatas.

At the moment, it's a toss-up between FREEing's 1/8 Yukata Homura, GSC's 1/8 Haregi Homura, or Aniplex's 1/7 Homura. A part of me still really wants demi-witch Homura with gorgeous, splatter-wings, but the chances of getting one seems remote now that Akuma Homura has made her debut (I guess I could get Akuma Homura to match Godoka, hmm, decisions, decisions). I guess I'll wait and see if any of them tickles my fancy. I can be patient. I guess. Like a stalker.

Everyone's Kan Colle

If I had an accurate moniker for Wonfes Winter 2014, it would be "The Kan Colle Show". Not that it's a bad thing. Don't get me wrong. I'm just surprised at how absolutely everywhere they were. Usually, girls with big guns are a no brainer for me, but the sheer number of figures made me hesitate. There are certain series I refuse to collect (even if they're gorgeous) because I know my collector's mentality would drive me to buy the entire godforsaken collection and I'd be out on the streets panhandling for PVC.This is true of Alter's Hyakka Ryouran line, and now, also of any Kan Colle line. This doesn't mean I don't have my eye on some of their more unique sculpts though, namely, GSC's Wo-Class, and to a lesser extent, Max Factory's Yamato.

Suich's List

Watching

Good Smile Company's Link Nendoroid

Last year, Good Smile Company announced a Nendoroid for Link from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. It took me by surprise, but I was excited that a big figure company like GSC wanted to release a Nendoroid for Link. I thought, finally I can put a Link figure on my shelf! I was actually hoping GSC had a sculpt for him at Wonfes, but they instead surprised me with a painted version!

One of my favourite things about this figure is the pose. I love how Link looks as though he's about to conduct with that tiny baton! It definitely makes me want to play Wind Waker HD again. I wouldn't call this a downside, but I noticed there's a hint of eeriness in Link's expression. With the dark gradient in his eyes and the shadows of his bangs covering half his face, he looks possessed and almost evil. That smile doesn't help either. I mean, Link looks great and very much like his in-game design, but his expression can really throw me off. It's funny because the game is so bright but we're going to get this evil little guy. I'm expecting him to come with at least one more face and a few props. I'm actually crossing my fingers for a little pig from Outset Isle!

I'm probably going to buy this little guy. Him or the Sakura Kinomoto Nendoroid...or both. I want to see if the quality of GSC's more recent Nendoroids are better than their old ones. I still don't like how my Totori falls apart, but maybe GSC's much better now. If I do get him, I'm going to see if I can swap that evil face with my other small figures. Then everyone can look evil!

FREEing's 1/8 Kagamine Len - Senbonzakura

I love Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F. I picked the game up when it was released in North America and I had so much fun that I decided to import Project Diva F 2nd. I ended up liking Vocaloids a lot more thanks to that game. Seeing the characters dance so merrily on my television screen in various costumes just made me grow fonder of them. I guess I just like them all animated!

One of my favourite songs from Project Diva F is Senbonzakura, which is where Len's costume comes from. All the characters look fantastic in their Senbonzakura outfits, so it's no surprise they're getting figures made. Len's little bang-bang pose here is absolutely adorable and I love how his cape flows. I would be incredibly excited about this figure if I wasn't concerned about his face. I admit I'm not very fond of FREEing's 1/8 Miku - Senbonzakura figure because of her face. It's definitely different from all the other Miku figure's I've seen out there. It's new...but is it a good new? Maybe I just have to get used to it. One of the major selling points of a figure is the face after all, so if I don't like Len's face then unfortunately it's a deal breaker. I'll have to wait and see how Len looks when he's painted. I have a feeling his face will be similar to Miku's. Maybe he'll look better with it. I also really hope FREEing keeps his eyes blue too.

Good Smile Company's Sakura Kinomoto Nendoroid

It's hard to say no to buying Sakura because she's from one of my favourite classic magical girl series. Plus she's just plain cute. I do love that GSC kept her classic look. Sakura's got it all! The little winged costume, her staff, a clow card, and even her stuffed sidekick, Kero-chan! I may just cave and buy this adorable little lady. I'm really looking forward to seeing her extra face(s) and props!

On another note, I almost laughed when I thought Sakura was giving the finger, but that's just the way she holds her cards.

I hope they bring out a Syaoran nendoroid someday. I would definitely buy them both. Gotta pair them up after all!

Ash's List

Grabby-grabby

Megahouse's 1/8 Dandy

The insane, surreal and fabulous Space Dandy is a series that hits my nostalgia button hard and brings me back to the days of after-school cartoons but with an adult twist. Considering that the series is still relatively new, this figure announcement came as a delightful surprise. Looking like the badass alien-hunting mofo he is(n't at all really), this 'BooBies' aficionado is throwing some serious smolder my way as Dandies are wont to do. However, it's not ALL good. I feel deflated taking in those proportions. His legs appear oddly stout compared to his torsoand rather than being from the G.E.M. series line, he's part of the not quite as reliable Excellent Model line. I also would have preferred if he wielded his gun instead of his fishing-rod-sword thing, even if it would have been rendered ineffectual by his legendarily bad marksmanship. Despite the myriad drawbacks I just listed, and barring any unforeseen disasters, Dandy is still a must-buy for me because he's Dandy, baby. Now just announce a QT and Meow, so I can get the whole Aloha Oe crew!

Megahouse's 1/8 Kise Ryouta

Megahouse is clearly determined to continue posing its Kuroko no Basket characters frozen mid-play, gravity be-damned. It's a good thing Kise is smiling otherwise this pose could be viewed as an impending sports injury. Sculpt-wise, Kise is a beautiful specimen, just like Kuroko. He has taut muscles and dynamic action. The good folks at Megahouse even made the effort to painstakingly sculpt his shiny earring. I worry about finding space for a figure whose pose is so very...splayed. I also wonder about his optimum display configuration. From the position of his face, it looks like he's meant to be viewed from above but the placement of his limbs suggest otherwise. I can only hope a killer paint job will somehow solve my conundrum.

Alter's 1/8 Natsume Takashi (Renewal)

Yes, I own the original but that doesn't stop me from wanting the renewal as well. Leave it to Alter to look back at their already lauded older figures, a singular sample by which most other figure companies would bolster their reputations, and instead think to themselves, 'What is this crap? We can do better than this'. Using newer techniques, they're breathing fresh life into the already exquisite 1/8 Natsume and Nyanko-sensei. Natsume's face is much more like his manga version (which is admittedly better) and Nyanko-sensei is chubbier (an obvious improvement). All this while retaining the exquisite and tranquil beauty of the original figure. I am looking forward to seeing the paint job.

FREEing's 1/8 Kagamine Len -Senbonzakura ver.

When you're a Vocaloid fan and a male figure collector, desperation is the name of the game. This translates to my wallet-shriveling, 'I'll take it where I can get it'-mentality. Am I disappointed at the lack of KAITO? Yes, very much so, but Len's adorable, lively sculpt puts a smile on my face. FREEing did a rather admirable job in capturing both his cuteness while utilizing the naturally beautiful flow of his Senbonzakura costume to its fullest. Like Suich, I worry about how his face and eyes will turn out. Senbonzakura Miku has solid black eyes and a contentious face but its possible that Len, by virtue of his younger age, might be able to pull off what she could not.

Ogle-ogle

Good Smile Company's 1/7 Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster

I may not know anything about Fairy Tail but whatever, look at those abs. I'm happy to see GSC getting into the male figure scene. A quick internet search reveals that Gray is eighteen so I feel a lot less creepy about leering at his scarred, rippled chest. There are a lot of things to love about Natsu's figure as well. He's tan, he's buff, his hair is gorgeously detailed and that transparent flame is gloriously rendered. I'm also looking forward to Gray's paint job and hopefully, like Natsu, GSC will incorporate his elemental ice magic somewhere into his sculpt. Last year, Max Factory demonstrated their intention to make serious dents in my wallet. Now, years after their Len Kagamine figure, it seems like GSC has finally decided to enter the male figure game in earnest.

Union Creative International Ltd, Wit Studio's Levi

Heichou's looking damn slick. I can't help but imagine him with an Italian-American accent, making offers that prove to be irremissible, and having doors closed in peoples faces. The little teacup is adorable too. While most figure companies aim to present the battle-ready, 'hero of humanity' Levi in his capacity as a hacking and slashing maestro, UCIL actually captured the other side of his character. This is the Levi who's in a position of privilege as a high-ranking officer of the military, engaged in the backdoor wheelings and dealings that ultimately have a greater impact on the future of humanity than all the Titan expeditions and pyrrhic victories combined. It's a sad truth but doling out emotional gut-punches is sort of this series' metier. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with UCIL's quality so for now, I'll be keeping an eye on this Levi figure with the sort of qualified optimism I'd never dare feel while reading the series itself.

A tack-on list (because there were a crapload of other Attack on Titan figure announcements):

Okay, so it wasn't on the scale of Kan Colle, but Attack on Titan did have a fairly decent showing at Wonfes this year. Various figure companies, both famous and relatively obscure alike, have brought forth a contender in the form of an Attack on Titan figure. Sentinel drew first blood with their Levi figure and they already have prototypes for Eren and Armin. While Sentinel seems to favour grim, determined, pre-battle poses (see: they stand still while looking vexed), Kotobukiya's Eren is right in the thick of a fight, flaunting that 3-D maneuver gear like it's 849. I've read a lot of complaints about Kotobukiya's Eren looking nothing like the character. He does look younger, and certainly more wide-eyed but it isn't the face with which I take the most issue, it's the hair. By that same token, Sentinel's Eren appears to have a bad case of Saiyan-forehead and while w'ere on the topic of potentially wonky heads, let's talk about Sentinel's Armin. I'll concede that he's adorable but that's a given and you'd really have to screw up somewhere for him to turn out otherwise. It's their decision to give him such voluminous hair and an open-mouthed expression that gives me pause. I'm reserving judgement until I see their paint jobs.

After seeing their beautiful Mikasa prototype, I have high hopes that GSC will deliver when it comes to Eren and hopefully, the other members of the Attack on Titan cast. Depending on how his prototype goes, I will probably throw my lot in with GSC when choosing my Attack on Titan figures.

Along with Armin and Eren, Sentinel also announced plans to release Erwin and Hange. Hey, I hear no one say, I thought you only collected male figures! Why is Hange listed here? Well you see, No One, Word of God has yet to confirm Hange's gender and has elected to keep it deliberately ambiguous even when asked outright. So there you have it. Not that it really matters either way. Based on clues from the series, my theory is that Hange would self-identify as an androgyne, Titan-sexual and damn it, that's good enough for me! Okay, so the frugal part of my mind knows that I'm just using this ambiguity as a convenient loophole to my stringent collecting rule but to that, frugality, I say tough titties (which Hange may or may not have). I'll probably get Ozymand-Erwin too (though not necessarily Sentinel's). Though I have to ask, did he always wear a bolo tie and how did I manage to miss that? Though I suppose it's a good thing it's there because otherwise his aura of genius would make him virtually unapproachable. The presence of a bolo tie is probably a calculated faux pas on his part that's meant to trick people into thinking he's capable of erring like the rest of us. I can't wait to see those prototypes!

And that concludes our bi-annual Wonfes spazz out. Even with the field flooded with Kan Colle (and to a certain extent, SnK), there are some undoubtedly gorgeous figures coming out way. We at Poke the Merch are bracing our wallets and facing the storm. Onward ho, into the new year!

So, what tickled your fancy this time around?

Signing off,

Poke Crew

As a character, I found Aladdin really intriguing. On the surface he seems like a typical 'shounen-style' hero what with his sense of compassion and his being really hungry all the time. He's also a being sent to the world by a higher power to restore peace and unite the world. I assumed that he would act in a manner befitting such a protagonist. He would be the cool, righteous voice to the morally ambiguous deuteragonist, Ali Baba. Imagine my delight when I found out that wasn't the case at all.

Despite his starring role in Solomon's plans to redeem mankind, Aladdin isn't afraid to waste his time in brothels, party all night with his friends and get fat when left unattended. He's self-indulgent, perverted and at times, very childish. He shows us that the real key to world peace is remembering that, despite all of our cultural differences, everyone loves a good party. That, my friends, is a messiah I can get behind.

Aladdin is the adorable protagonist of Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic. The series is very loosely based off of the famed Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Eastern fairy tales. In the Thousand and One Nights, the characters do inexplicably stupid things despite very clear warnings, or inadvertently stumble into someone else’s dark circus of the soul and are disproportionately throttled by the universe as penance for their idiocy and/or bad luck. It’s fabulous reading, actually. In a slight departure from its source material, the characters in Magi are dealt a brutal hand by fate and try to better their lot by employing the use of magic, friendship and more recently, puberty. It’s a fun series to read, actually. There are also Vikings, gladiators, and dungeon-crawling thrown in for the hell of it because if a story is willing to accommodate such things, then what kind of abstemious monster would fail to take advantage of that?

Aladdin’s role in this madness is to restore order by selecting a candidate who will become a ‘king’ and occasionally guide his candidate through mysterious towers called ‘dungeons’ where he will obtain the power to rule over people with the power of the bling-a-rific loot found therein (some of which happen to host the elemental magical fury of djinn). Aladdin and his friends spend their time journeying through exotic lands, forming bonds, engaging in magical battles and playing the politics game in an effort to bring about substantial peace in the Middle East...and force an Eastern superpower to reduce their imperialist presence in the area. So Magi could be seen as a dressed up metaphor for current geopolitical problems or a very clever way to ensure the series lasts forever and ever and ever.

Now that we're all on the same page, let the scrutiny commence!

Aladdin’s box is woefully average. It is also one of the busiest boxes I’ve ever seen. The whole thing is littered with graphics. The stylized windows, which might have been a nice touch in more restrained hands, only contribute to the chaotic, inelegant mess. The nicest things I can say about his box are that it is relatively small and that it does its job of protecting Aladdin and his flimsy hair. I’m also partial to its vibrant shade of blue.

Aladdin’s base suits him quite well. The transparent blue goes really well with his colouring. Admittedly, it is an unimaginative piece of round plastic but I like that it is embossed with intricate detailing inspired by the aesthetic of the Middle East. It’s no sculpted base, to be sure, but the little show of effort warms my heart.

Aladdin’s dynamic and buoyant pose is the main reason I couldn't pass him up. He’s frozen in the midst of a giddy twirl with a look that says, ‘Are you watching me?’ Really, the only thing Aladdin is missing here is musical accompaniment and a dazzling retinue of shining rukh to encircle him.

Just look at those bright eyes and that big smile. Aladdin is the very picture of childish lightheartedness with nothing held back. In my collection of sneering bastards, this expression of pure joy is refreshingly sweet. His eyes are easily my most favourite thing about this figure. They’re huge and gorgeously painted. His nose is practically a non-existent little button, which I believe is in keeping with the aesthetic of ‘moe’.

Megahouse took a risk by giving Aladdin an open-mouthed smile. It’s too easy for a small slip of a knife to render his adorably exuberant expression into a gaping rictus straight from a nightmare. Luckily, Aladdin pulls it off even if it does seem like he’s sticking his tongue out at some angles.

Aladdin’s cuteness wasn’t ‘cute’ enough apparently so Megahouse decided to upgrade him to ‘heart-meltingly darling’ by painting tiny little blushes on his cheeks. He’s sweetness in puffy pants.

I’m going to give the sculptor the benefit of the doubt here and say that they were trying to emulate the anime’s stylized aesthetic when they sculpted Aladdin’s proportions. His head is much larger than his body, and his limbs and torso are twig thin. Luckily, Aladdin’s huge head makes this disproportionate composition interesting as opposed to off-putting. This is largely due to Aladdin being a young child. Small, hyperactive children tend to be scrawny, after all. His body parts, when considered separately may seem freakish but the aggregation results in a very youthful figure when considered as a whole. My overall impression of Aladdin’s proportions is that Megahouse clearly aimed to maximize his cuteness and I think they succeeded.

Aladdin’s hair is a strikingly beautiful azure blue. Its colour and motion really grabs my attention. The shading and highlighting of his hair is impeccable as well. It makes the colours really pop.

Aladdin’s hair comes in four pieces: a turban which connects to jewelled bangs, and a plain back hair piece which connects to unadorned bangs. My attempts to mix and match these hair pieces resulted in a hard lesson about playing god. His turban is dutifully rendered and it slots very easily into Aladdin’s head. The jewel on his hair is painted with a really lovely shade of red. I love that it sparkles in the light. It's strange that his jewel appears to have no visible means of support. What’s keeping it on his head like that? Magic, probably.

The figure seems more complete with his turban and hair jewel but his plain hair is actually really nice. Without his turban, he becomes so wonderfully blue and his appearance becomes wilder and more natural. It’s hard to say which one I prefer.

Despite my earlier adulation, Aladdin’s hair is far from perfect. Lurking in his vibrant locks are some nasty seam lines, particularly on the sides of his head. There are also a few clunky clumps of hair. If you look really closely, you’ll notice that there are some paint issues in the form of flecking on some of his bangs.

His braid is very fragile and I can imagine that attempting to fix something so bottom-heavy and airborne would be very frustrating so I have to be careful when slotting it into the back of Aladdin’s head and when moving the figure. Aladdin’s braid is also odd looking and I wish Megahouse could have made it look less plastic and more like actual hair. Also, there is an unnatural break where the braid ends and the tuft of hair begins and no attempt was made to hide the seam. Despite its flaws, I love Aladdin’s hair. It’s vibrant, eye-catching and it really pulls the whole figure together.

Hair just doesn't do whatever the hell this is doing.

I’m a sucker for vibrancy and pleasing colour palettes. There is something about his pinkish skin, his bright Capri blue vest and the golden flute that creates a really pleasing combination. It’s reminiscent of a desert landscape. Aladdin’s vest is wonderfully buoyant with the wrinkles and creases placed exactly where they should be. It does have quite a few seam lines however. They’re not intolerable unless you look very closely though I have to say that marring such a gorgeous vest is heart-breaking.

Aladdin’s flute is stunning. They used a very conspicuous shade of gold which really catches the light. The minute details are carefully and faithfully sculpted.

Fans of the series will probably note the absence of the magic circle that was inscribed on his flute at the beginning of the series. After a certain event, the circle disappears so rather than being a mistake on the part of the sculptor, it may indicate that this Aladdin is from a point in the series after that incident took place. While the lack of the magic circle doesn't lessen my affection for the flute, I would have preferred if they had included it, if only for the sake of having another lovely detail to ogle over.

Aladdin’s staff is beautiful. It almost looks like it's made of actual wood. The texture and colouration are wonderfully rustic.

Aladdin’s hands were clearly neglected in terms of sculpting and painting. His left hand has his fingers splayed, which is fine, but it means that I can clearly see how severe the webbing is between his those little digits. Just get a load of that wonky thumb. It makes his fingers appear stubbier. His right hand is an absolute mess. Luckily, his staff diverts my attention away but when viewed up close, it looks like it was made of dirty Plasticine with each finger monstrously thicker than those on his left hand.

Aladdin's feet look minuscule when contrasted with his substantial pant legs but those tiny little bare feet are scrumptious. His feet and toenails were diligently and neatly sculpted.

Aladdin’s pants are ridiculous and adorable. It’s like he’s wearing a big cloud on his legs. Unfortunately these also have some seams but they’re small and thankfully situated on the back where I don’t have to see them. His sash has a dramatic, yet subtle swish to it. The knot is odd in that it doesn't look like it’s attached to the rest of the sash but I will once again concede that it does look like the source material.

Aladdin’s sash is also completely loose. It is not attached in any way to Aladdin and merely hangs there, staying in place thanks to gravity and Aladdin’s puffy pants. There is an odd surprise waiting for the depraved among us who decide to lift his sash and gaze at what lies there (like me). You may have noticed how low both his pants and sash ride. Well, there's a reason for that.

I have no idea why Megahouse thought I’d want to see a ten year old's bare ass but lo and behold, they gave me that option anyway.

Thanks?

Now, is this photo blurry because, A: I had to use my one of my hands to hold up the sash while taking the photo with the other, or is it B: because I smeared a little Vaseline on my lens to create an appropriately ‘porn-ier’ mood?

Answer C: My camera has more shame than I do.

What conclusions can I draw here? Well, other than the fact that Solomon’s proxy doesn’t wear underwear for some reason, and coupled with the knowledge that this isn’t even the first underage character figure from whom a touch of unannounced and unexpected nudity awaited those who purchased them from this figure company, I’ve concluded that they need to do better background checks over at Megahouse. A little hint to whoever is in charge of hiring over there, maybe it’s time to have a little talk with the guy at the office who greets your kids with his hand down his pants. Oh and in case you were wondering, I did take pictures of Aladdin’s exposed Adonis lines as well.

And with this review, Pokethemerch finds itself on some unique government lists.

Aladdin isn’t a technically flawless or complex figure but despite the drawbacks, I think he’s absolutely darling. In terms of quality, he is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Megahouse which is to say that I am neither disappointed nor utterly blown away by this figure. Nevertheless, his cute face, lively pose and bright colours allow him to make his presence known on any shelf. He turned out to be a solid purchase and I’m genuinely glad I didn’t pass on him.

Aladdin is easily one of my most photogenic figures. I don’t know whether it is due to his pose, his colouration or a combination of both but it was a remarkably easy shoot.

Breakdown:

Box	5/10	Why so busy?
Base	7/10	An unremarkable base but it gets points for effort and suitability.
Pose	10/10	The dunes are alive with the sound of muuuusicccc~
Sculpt	7.5/10	Thought was put into this sculpt and I think it met its goal but what is the story behind those hands? And goddamn, there are so many seam lines.
Paint	8/10	Yes, there are specks and roughness but look at those glorious colours.
Overall	8.5/10	♪Genuflect, show some respect, down on one knee!♪

Manufacturer: Megahouse
Price: ¥6070
Purchased from: AmiAmi

Did you really think I could end this without referencing that movie at least once?
Ash

I'm not sure why it took me so long to pick up Max Factory's swimsuit Menma. I've been a fan of her unique look since the very beginning, but even when her resale price dropped to 3000 yen, I waited. What was I trying to prove? That I'm patient or something? How illogical.

So, after a year of staring at photos of her on the Internet (like an apex creeper), I finally threw up my arms and ordered her. Instantly, a thousand weights lifted from my shoulders. Hallelujah!

Menma is the cheerful ghost girl of (deep breath) Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, a.k.a. We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day, prudently shortened to "AnoHana" by fans. I mean, the original name's poetic and all, but seriously? Now, I don't recommend many anime. I'm notoriously prickly when it comes to tight plots and prudent character development. Give me a story, and I will critique it. Mercilessly. So trust me when I say the show is at least worth a watch. It's an odd mixture of cutesy and cathartic, with strong depressing overtones. I mean, how happy can you get when your main character is dead? It's not among my favourite series, but it did make a decent splash. I also happen to like the closing song. Watch it. Shed tears. It'll be fun.

Now, onto more pressing matters. PVC matters, to be precise.

Menma comes in a long, uncorrugated cardboard box with pleasing blue and white tones, and many, many windows. Unfortunately, the windows on her box render her pink backdrop useless as a photographic accessory, which was a bit miffing—but it wasn't like I was short on pastel pink backdrops to begin with, so it's not a huge loss. The flower decals are also a nice touch.

(**Click to enlarge photos**)

Menma's base is a clear plastic circle with more blue and green flower decals (the green doesn't show up well in photos). It doesn't make as much sense as a sandy beach base, but it does match her figure nicely. I can almost imagine her wading in a shallow pond of floating petals.

Menma's not the bustiest 16-year-old out there. Rather, I'm not even sure I can call her 16. Sure, she appears in a 16-year-old body, but she's technically trapped in the mindset of an elementary school child.... Aw man, now I feel like a real creeper, having a swimsuit version of her on my shelf.

Anyhow, despite being a bikini figure, there isn't much about Menma that's advertised as erotic. I mean, it's not like she's sucking on a cylindrical popsicle or proffering her booty or anything. Even with all her skin on display, she looks like she's just out for a casual, beach stroll.

My favourite thing about Menma is her huge, disproportionate head and her huge, disproportionate eyes. Her expression is curious, if not a little surprised (it's hard not to seem surprised when your eyes occupy a third of your face). The paint job Max Factory has given her eyes is absolutely superb. All clean, bold lines and clear shades.

Another wonderful addition to Menma's face is her adorable little mouth, complete with adorable little chompers.

Side-ponytails are hilariously hard to pull off in real life. Take it from someone who's tried. They're slippery, and kinky (not in a sexual way...in a knotty way), and all-too-eager to whip innocent passerby across the eyes. Thankfully, what doesn't work well in real life finds refuge in sculpt, and Menma looks fantastic with a side-ponytail. The sharpness and semi-transparency of her tips adds an extra flair, and Max Factory did a wonderful job sculpting various pull lines and details.

The hibiscus in her hair adds a nice pop of colour.

There's irony in Menma's outfit, given her relationship with water (hint: they don't mix). Menma never actually dons a swimsuit in the series. But hey, why not? Artistic license and so on an so forth. It's a cute outfit, young and frilly, befitting of her eight-year-old mindset. Curiously, the polka-dots on her top and bottom are different shades, but a quick scan of her original art proves it's different by design, rather than error.

Menma may seem lacking in colour at first glance, but upon closer inspection, she actually has some nice shading going on. See her bottom? It actually a fine, lavender.

Very subtle, Max Factory. Way to make white more exciting!

Menma has all the ungainliness of a growing teenager. Look at those stick legs. Damn woman, retain some weight! And do her feet seem large to you? They seem large to me. There is a lesson in contrast here. Her stalky shins make her feet look like oversized flippers in comparison. Or maybe that's just me.

Figure manufacturers have long since become experts at sculpting fingers. However, not too many manufacturers sculpt nice toes. I can't blame them. Toes are weird and freaky, and I'd rather not spend too much time on them. But after seeing Alter's Menma's cute little feet, I was a bit disappointed to see that Max Factory's Menma has bland, indistinct toes.

As mentioned before, Menma has a neat style that sets her apart from the standard, female figure. Her long limbs and slim body ignites a righteous urge in me to feed her and not stop until she's of satisfactory mass. If you checked up her swimsuit top, you would notice her sculptor has actually given definition to her ribs. Yeesh. Like I always say, "If you can see your own ribs, you should probably be eating more."

Still, despite her general gangliness, Menma has some nice contours. I'm especially fond of the detail they put into her neck/collar area. Dats some genuine bone anatomy, Max Factory. Kudos all around.

Just to further show off her lines, here are a few higher-contrast pictures of her body. Nice shoulder blade definition, nice hip-bone definition, subtle flesh fold around her armpit, well-shaped elbows, good lines on her stomach and back. Yup. Menma's got it all. This sort of detail is why Max Factory consistently ranks among my favourite figure makers.

The goodness doesn't stop there! Look at the soft lines in her flower, the little flower on her bikini straps (a tiny detail that made me squeal inordinately loud), and the cute tufts of hair sticking out of her neck. My one wish is that her hibiscus had just a bit more shading. That would have been absolute perfection.

Menma comes accessorized with a clear, floatation donut, etched with Japanese characters of which I only recognize three (one, fire, and mountain). As such, I have no idea what it says, but I like its design nevertheless. I'm glad they went with a clear, sleek design rather than a dopey, plastic blue or white.

ONE. FIRE. MOUNTAIN.

So, she's getting a 10/10, right? With all this adulation, the only possible score I could give her is perfect, right? NAY. Mayhap her quality is enough to please most, but I am an insufferable, militaristic perfectionist who delights in finding the slightest mistakes, and pointing them out as a means by which to promote my own cleverness. Oh ho hoho ho!

Ahem. Theatrics aside, there are a couple of incredibly tiny details that bug me.The first is the thickness of her bikini top. Max Factory can obviously sculpt thin, as shown by her lowest tier of frills, but the mid-tier is chunky, as though made of an entirely different material. What gives? It's not a huge mistake, but it did make me scratch my head.

Secondly, there are just a few places where her bikini straps seem to cut into her skin...literally. Take a look at the way her strap buries into her right shoulder. Looks kind of painful, huh? Makes me cringe just looking at it. Vicarious sympathy and whatnot.

Finally, there are just a couple of missed opportunities. The hibiscus in her hair could use a few pull lines. Her ice cream could have more shine (or even some semi-transparency, or mmm, some drip). And the connection between her hips and bikini bottom could be just a tad more snug.

Menma is officially listed as 1/7, but feels large for her size. She's significantly larger than Alter's 1/8 Menma, as expected, but also a bit larger than Max Factory's 1/7 Kureha, which is less expected. I mean, unless Kureha's a shortie or something.... Finally, she towers over Alter's 1/7 Nanoha. Going by these comparisons, I think it's safe to say "scales" are really more approximations than actual scales, but hey, I'm not complaining. I happen to like my figures massive.

Max Factory's Menma is 23.5 cm tall, which according to math, would be 165 cm in life. According to ~~Google~~ her official profile though, she's only supposed to be 147 cm tall.

There is a lot to like about Menma, and very little to criticize. There are literally no bad angles on Menma. She's cute from all sides, but not stereotypically so. Menma has a cuteness that belongs strictly to herself. A recognizable cuteness, even. At first glance, her strangely shaped head and disproportionate limbs might seem odd, but she's become one of the few characters I find legitimately adorable in every representation. There's just something about her...

I credit her eyes for much of her allure. Those are some spectacular, armor-piercing oculars. It doesn't matter which angle I use, which colours I impose, where I am, or what I do, her eyes stand out above all else.

I have a secret. Well, not really, I already mentioned it in my Alter Menma post. But I'm not a huge fan of Menma's character. She was your standard, cheerful, do-good ghostie with far too many selfless qualities and not nearly enough faults to be interesting. She served as a cathartic catalyst for other characters, and had very little development of her own. Then again, one could argue her development had reached an unfortunate impasse, due to her state of heightened death. Still, she managed to be one of the few characters of whom I have more than one figure. In fact, I think her figures actually increased my opinion of her character. Weirder things have happened.

Speaking of ghosties, I like the transparency Max Factory gave to the tips of her hair. In the light, they give her an ethereal feeling.

Question: Why is Menma's resale price so affordable? For a figure of such calibre, why is she going for only 4000 yen in the after market? Could it be the influx of Menma figures during the time of her release? Or the relative static nature of her pose?

Anyhow, she's a steal for under 5k, and easily one of my favourite figures acquired this year (granted, I've only picked up about 3 figures so far...so that's not saying much). Max Factory once again proves why they are deserving of my trust, adulation, and, most importantly, hard earned money. If they keep pumping out consistently spectacular figures like Menma, they're going to do some serious revamping to my "favourite companies" list. To Alter's expense. Watch out, Alter.

The Run-Down

Box	6/10	It works, but it's nothing special.
Base	7/10	Pleasant to look at, but could have used a bit more innovation (like awesome water ripples).
Pose	7/10	Casual and loose, but not too exciting.
Sculpt	9/10	Excellent. Just slight mishaps on her swimsuit and straps.
Paint	9.5/10	Almost perfect! Great eyes. Slight splotches on her polka-dots.
Overall	8.5/10	Platinum.

Manufacturer: Max Factory
Price: 6476 yen
Purchased from: AmiAmi

Box Dimensions: 29 x 14 x 14 cm
Weight: approx 350g
Shipping Method: SAL small packet or fancier

Sent from my iPhone,
Jenn

Hello dear readers, Poke the Merch will be heading to Anime North 2014 and we're hoping to see you there! Due to the success of our "Sinbad's Treasure" giveaway last year, we've decided to give more goodies out! Be sure to find us on Saturday, May 24, 2014 to claim a piece of our merch!

How will you find us?

This year the Poke crew will be cosplaying as characters from the game: "Hatoful Boyfriend",a.k.a. the notorious pigeon dating game that results only in trauma! Hey man, don't judge. We can feel you judging. Go try the game! Try it now. It's short and fun, and it changed our lives forever. No joshing. We'll be cosplaying as the following characters: Ryouta Kawara, Anghel Higure, and Shuu Iwamine. In human "form"...not bird (although that would be an amazing cosplay).

Suich will be cosplaying as Ryouta in his shrine maiden outfit so be on the lookout for her if you want to claim a prize from our goodies basket! She will be holding a silver basket full of goodies.

Of course, you can always look out for other members of Poke the Merch! Ash will be cosplaying as quirky little Anghel, and Jenn will be cosplaying as Doctor Shuu. If you hear the "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" coming from someone, it will be from Jenn. Yes, she comes with her own theme song. HINT. HINT.

THE PROCESS

HOW DO I GET DEM GOODIES?!

To acquire an item from Ryouta (Suich):

Ask me, "How's your mother doing?"

And that's all you have to do to pick out any one item inside the goodies basket! It will be first come first served and one item per person! We hope to see you there!

Remember, Saturday, May 24, 2014 only! Please note that if we no longer have the goodies basket it means all the items have been given away.

THE GIVEAWAY

SHOW US THE GOODIES ALREADY

Magi Chara Fortune Series charms by Mega House (x6):

We have available one of each character you see below: Aladdin, Ali Baba, Morgiana, Judar, Ja'far, and Sinbad. All are new and in their original boxes, with the exception of Aladdin and Ali Baba which were opened for photographs.

Animal Crossing: Choco-Eggs, by Furuta Confectionery (x10)

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (the game) was such a smashing success that we've decided to give out these Choco-Eggs! They're just like Kinder Eggs, but with Animal Crossing characters inside. All of these are new and unopened!

Bakemonogatari prize figures, by Taito (x3)
We've got two Senjougaharas and a Hanekawa to give away.

Attack on Titan: Rubber Straps, by Kotobukiya (x10)
All rubber straps are new and in their original packaging.

Prince of Tennis: One coin grande figure collection by Kotobukiya (x10)
All figures have been opened and displayed but are in excellent condition.

B-B-BONUS!

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

We have not one, but two main draws this year!

Shining Wind - 1/8 Elwing, by Kotobukiya

Everyone loves elves, right? Here's your chance to win an elf of your own! Elwing/Elwyn (however her name is spelt) is like new. Never displayed. Removed from box for photos.

Sailor Mars plush by Bandai

To celebrate the upcoming Sailor Moon series we have decided to give away a brand new, unopened Sailor Mars plush at Anime North 2014!

To be eligible for the draw:

Go to Shuu and yell "I WANTED TO HEAR YOUR VOICE."
Go to Anghel and call him by his real name (HINT: Not Anghel)

Doing one of the two things above will allow you to put your name in for one of the prizes (Elwing or Sailor Mars)

Should you shout out both of the above phrases, you can do one of the three things below:

1) You can put your name in twice for the Elwing figure

2) You can put your name in twice for the Sailor Mars plush

3) You can put in your name once for Elwing and once for Sailor Mars

Post it on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, or where ever else and share the love! Tell your friends about this giveaway! Tell your friends to tell their friends! TELL EVERYONE.

Speaking of Twitter, we will be tweeting about our whereabouts during the giveaway! See if you can try and hunt us down! Follow us today!

*One item per person. In the event of any inappropriate conduct, we reserve the right to withhold prizes.*

-The Poke Crew
Suich, Jenn, and Ash

She's pink. She's bubbly. She's the princess of Zaphias! Estellise Sidos Heurassein (or Estelle for short) makes an appearance at Poke the Merch as my first 1/8 scale figure! Alter seems to be shelling out lots of Tales of series figures and thanks to Ash and her sister Lisa, I managed to get one of them! It was hard to say no to Estelle because she looked incredibly sweet and lovely in the preview pictures. And I must say, she looks just as lovely displayed on my desk.

Estelle's the kind, naive, and caring type of princess that gets into all sorts of shenanigans after leaving her castle. Like all naive princesses, she can be a bit troublesome even though she has good intentions. Despite the little flaws (and the cliché character) Estelle's still quite cute at times, like when she didn't know how to give a high-five to Yuri the first time. Her character certainly didn't blow my mind but there were moments in Tales of Vesperia where she shined. Based on aesthetics alone, you can assume she's the main healer or light magic user in the game. Sure she can sort of fight with a sword but I usually want her to focus on keeping the team alive. That or she should be busting out a variety of AOE (area of effect) light magic. Her spells are all so pretty and shiny.

Thinking about it now, it would have been an awesome twist if she was evil.

In any case, let's move onto the figure itself!

Estelle's simplistic box does its job and it's a shame that nothing about it really impresses me. I would have been more content had a background been included in her box, but here we have three windows to show her off to the world. I guess I can appreciate that. You can view her from almost all sides without having to remove her from the box. That's great for the collectors who don't want to remove her from the box.

As my first 1/8 figure, I have to say Estelle is quite a stunning choice. Although she's quite delicate, I love the colour palette and the fact that she resembles a lovely bell flower (especially when you flip her upside down). Her pose also gives off the feeling that she's a bit of a dainty princess. Just look at the way she's taking her step and the way her hands are positioned. It certainly gives off a graceful vibe, and I wouldn't have it any other way with Estelle, given the fact that she's one of those proper princess types.

Base

Having read comments about defects and broken parts on the internet, I was worried my Estelle figure would have an issue as well, like a warped base or a broken foot. I crossed my fingers and hoped hard that I would not have issues with my Estelle figure, but unfortunately I ended up with one with a slightly wobbly base. Her foot does not completely fit in the plastic peg either, but she's able to stand at least.

Alter doesn't see it as a big enough issue to send me a new base but I can live with that. It was worth a shot to try and get a better, flatter base, but it's not the end of the world if I'm not granted one. She may lack a bit of balance, but I have her inside a self-made case so if she falls at least she won't go far.

Taking her out for photographs can honestly be a bit of a chore if I don't hold her foot down and wrap my hand around her torso.

It would have been great if Alter included an extra right leg with a short pole or peg to attach it to the base. It would certainly increase the stability of this figure, but I suppose I shouldn't mull over it too much...

On a more positive note, her base, which is a nice dirt path, is quite detailed. There are a few layered rocks on the base and then the tiny specs of dirt in the crevices, which I really like. The short patches of grass resembles moss and adds a nice touch of colour to the path. It's simple but pleasant.

Face

When I first saw the prototype photographs Alter released, I was floored by how amazing Estelle looked. Her expression was just so calm and lovely that I thought, "Wow, Alter nailed it!" Even now, having Estelle on my desk, I think her expression is perfect. I'm thankful it's not bursting with excitement or emotions. Somehow this sweet calmness suits her really well.

The gorgeous pastel pink used for Estelle's hair and dress reminds me of bubblegum or cotton candy. And yes, Ash has mentioned she wants to take a bite out of her but hey, PVC's deadly so that's a huge no-no.

There are a few seams in her hair but nothing that's out of the ordinary. There aren't any particularly bad features I can point out since she has short hair, but that's a good thing. Lots of long haired figures tend to have hideous seams here and there but Estelle doesn't have that issue.

Body

It's fairly obvious Estelle's design was based off a bell flower. All you have to do is look at the shape of her dress and then under it. The way her dress flaps out is similar to how a bell flower opens when it blossoms. Even her pants resemble the stamens that grow behind the petals. Fujishima did a fantastic job designing Estelle, and Alter did an amazing job turning it into a figure. I appreciate the gold linings all over her dress, mostly because it's far better than using yellow, which is part of the original design. The shine really draws your attention to her.

Unlike many other figures out there though, I can't criticize or gush about fancy folds or creases in her outfit. She has a few wrinkles in the lower back but nothing grand. The dress details are simplistic but well done as there are very few paint spills. The only one I really noticed was the chipped gold piece above Estelle's left shoulder. It wasn't noticeable until I took photographs and started cropping them for the review. It's small enough that it doesn't distract me from the beauty of the figure.

The only real issue I have with the dress is that the white flaps are incredibly thin. I accidentally brushed a few fingers against it once and thought some part of it would snap. The back flap happens to be the thinnest layer on this figure, so I have to handle her with care when moving her around. Estelle truly is a delicate piece of work...

On another note, Estelle is probably the safest figure for work out there. She's literally covered from neck to toe with garments, gloves and boots included. Think you'll find something risque underneath that dress? Wondering if she might actually be a bit of a naughty princess? Well, sorry to disappoint, because Estelle's all covered up there, too! I'll admit the black tights hug her legs and behind nicely, but there's nothing "adventurous" underneath that floral dress. If you're disappointed in your findings here, I can almost guarantee that reading one of Jenn's reviews will make up for it.

Too safe for work!

Of course there's nothing wrong with having a safe figure! I would have liked her either way. Frankly, I'm just surprised there's a character who's that modest! This just goes to show how much of a proper princess she really is.

Blastia

The Blastia, which is the ornament wrapped around Estelle's wrist, is one of prettiest features of this figure. The design is very feminine but it's elegant as well, especially with the way it weaves around the princess's wrist. I never noticed this before since Tales of Vesperia doesn't exactly show the bracelet off at various angles, but Estelle's Blastia has a little heart shape on top. Really nice touch.

The gold shine and red orb stand out nicely from the actual glove. While it can be a tad difficult to see them from a frontal point of view, you can certainly appreciate it from a side or birds-eye view.

Staff and Shield

One of the weakest elements of this Estelle figure would definitely be her staff. Sure, the details engraved in the gold handle are a nice touch, but the plastic pink and white bits ruin the prop. Surprisingly enough these plastic parts make the staff seem cheap. Alter could have used a slightly better material. Nothing about it shines like the rest of the figure. I can display Estelle without the staff, but she doesn't feel complete without it.

The shield on the other hand is grand and heart-shaped! It's very Estelle.

I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered the little screws and details on the back of the shield because I was expecting plainness. Note to self: expect intricate details from all of Alter's creations, including little props.

Armed with a staff and shield, Estelle looks less dainty and a lot fuller as a figure. It's far more obvious she's from a video game, too. With those items equipped, Estelle is ready for more adventures and any hardships that come her way!

Finally, we have our super-deformed Estelle figure. In the game, it's an attachment you equip to Repede (a party member). Its alternate name is "Overdrive Princess".

Admittedly, she's adorable but, her expression is much nicer on the Tales of series Nendoroid Petit Estelle. I can't help but compare them because they have similar heights, but both have their share of endearing qualities. Alter's little Estelle figure is very detailed for something so tiny. I'm amazed the paint job is so clean. Additionally, they used gold paint on the dress, so she matches the 1/8 Estelle perfectly! While I appreciate the pose and expression more on Good Smile Company's Nendoroid Petite Estelle, Alter's Chibi-Estelle is more detailed overall.

I personally don't think Estelle is as photogenic as many other figures out there, but she can certainly rock natural areas quite well. I mean, she's already treading on her dirt path of a base, so why not in the forest or in a field, like in the opening of the game? Maybe she could be dancing at a party as well. That little step she takes could be part of a dance!

Overall, Estelle is a fantastic figure. She is definitely well worth the price she goes for at Mandarake, despite the little flaws. Frankly, having her on my desk makes me want to invest in another 1/8 figure, because she's just so darn pretty. It's almost a shame I don't have space for another figure in my room.

If you're a fan of the Tales of Series, or a fan of cheap Alter figures, I recommend picking her up. She usually goes for about 5000-7000 yen on Mandarake these days, so if you're looking to spend on a pretty figure at a decent price, Estelle's a great choice!

Summary:

Box	6/10	There's nothing special about it but you can view Estelle from various angles without taking her out.
Base	6.5/10	Very fitting for Estelle who's journeying around the world. Unfortunately, it's a bit unstable.
Pose	9.5/10	Estelle's pose makes her look lovely, like she's taking a little hop
Sculpt	8.5/10	The sculpt is smooth and clean. The downside is that Estelle's dress feels very delicate
Paint	9.5/10	The paint job is almost impeccable with the exception of a paint chip here and there.
Overall	9/10	Estelle is a lovely figure with minor sculpting flaws

Manufacturer: Alter

Price: 6500 yen

Purchased at: Mandarake

Thanks for reading!
~Suich

Seventh Dragon 2020 Miku is a prime example of an obligatory buy. With Max Factory's Samurai and Hacker already under my belt, was there any viable doubt I would add Idol Miku to the mix? None. Blame my rampant collector's mentality.

So, did collector's mentality result in a good purchase? Maybe. Maybe not. I speaketh no spoilers. Not in this preview, anyway. You'll just have to read on.

But before we start, an announcement, if you will.

Friends, I seem to be taking multiple, consecutive, unannounced hiatuses, and for that I am most repentant. I, like the classy and responsible lady I am, will immediately point the finger at school, work, and travel. But now, with things settling down, I plan to dedicate more time to this poor, neglected blog and re-enter the exciting world of figure reviews. I have much to catch up on. Will I actually be able to catch up? Doubtful. But darn it all, I'm going to try!

7th Dragon 2020 Miku, as far as I know, hails from a Japanese video game that never made it to North America. 7th Dragon Miku is also, as a quick Google search denotes, a non-playable character who shows up to sing songs, look morose, and occasionally get rescued. Yet, despite her minute role, she's inexplicably popular enough to warrant a figure. Because, let's admit it, Miku is a brand that perpetuates herself.

So when this Miku was first announced, I wasn't entirely delighted. I wasn't unhappy, per se, but I wasn't tickled-giggly. I was about 75% excited. Not because I'm a rampant Miku opposer, no sir, but because 7th Dragon 2020 has a slew of colourful cast that could have perhaps taken priority over a non player character that doesn't appear very often. Nevertheless, I knew I would get her (even though I tried hard to dissuade myself). After all, any collaboration between Max Factory and Mira Shirow is bound to be good.

Miku's box is effective, I suppose. It's relatively standard in terms of heft, strength, and overall boxiness. There's really very little to say about boxes. They're uninteresting in almost every manner. In fact, I wonder whether the box should warrant a rating at all, considering it's only there to provide safe passage for the figure. Hmm, food for thought. Either way, without getting too technical, Miku's box is somewhat elegant, with elegant blue swooshes and typical prototype pictures.

Miku is a girl of many faces, and equally many outfits. This particular incarnation rocks an elegant, feathered dress, a-la-Swan-Lake. It's not a radical outfit by any means, especially compared to the offbeat costumes of other 7th Dragon 2020 characters, but it looks good nonetheless. Despite its non-too-inspired blue-white-black colour scheme, it does impress with its elegance, detail, and sheer horizontal presence. This Miku, if nothing else, takes up substantial shelf room.

Besides getting a classier dress, this Miku rendition also comes with a welcoming pose. Arms thrown open and posed mid-strut, this Miku is ready for some serious greeting duties. It's a pose that relays both motion and enthusiasm. Sure, it's not the most stable pose in the world, but she's got sashay, and that's all that really matters.

My love of checkered patterns is well known. Ask anyone. "Jenn is a classy sir," they'll say, "and also, she loves checkers." So when my gaze first fell upon Miku's glorious checkered base, my reaction was to squeal and perform gestures that indicate great excitement.

Miku's base is large, oblong, and completely suitable for her substantial, horizontal presence. She still wobbles a bit, being, well, horizontally substantial, but it does support her adequately.

It took me a while to get used to Miku's face. It's not a stereotypical anime-girl face. It's not conventionally cute, or even beautiful. Look at her angular head, that simultaneously bulbous and flattened forehead, that tiny pointed chin and jutting nose. And her eyes. Eyes so wide usually indicate some sort of yandere tendency. I was turned off, even repulsed. Ugh, I said. What an unsightly canvas. Away with thee, vermin.

But as time went on, her face grew on me. Hmm, I said after a little while, it's very faithful. And it's strictly within Mira Shirow's style. It has characterization. It's got personality. It owns itself. And that's sexy. Somehow.

Also, her mouth is absolutely fantastic.

There's a certain leeway allowed when transitioning between two mediums. As a rule of thumb, I usually want my figures to resemble their artwork, but exceptions are always necessary. See, sometimes, the funky disorientation of 2D work doesn't translate well into 3D. Can you imagine trying to construct the Penrose stairs in 3D? Yeah, it wouldn't work.

Like the Penrose stairs (to a lesser extent) Mira Shirow's bold lines don't translate well into 3D. Fortunately, the clever peeps at Max Factory got around this minor obstacle with gumption. The 7th Dragon line uses sharp angles and exaggerated proportions. From a distance, they somewhat simulate boldness. Take Miku's twintails for example. Instead of individual strands, they're clumps of ribbon-esque trails. And while it's not exactly bold lines, it works.

Let's also pause for a moment and admire the Miku's generous gradients. Gradients are significantly preferable to single tones. If I had to name my biggest complaint about the majority of Miku figures, it's that her hair is too flatand monotonous. Sure, simple turquoise is soft and liminal, but it also has the an uncanny resemblance to spearmint toothpaste. And turquoise twintails triggers far too many associative memories. Mostly of chewing gum. Lots of chewing gum. Much chewing gum. Wow.

I have never worn a corset in my life. Nor do I ever wish to. I value my lung capacity, thank you very much. But that doesn't stop me from admiring the gentle curve of a well-made whale-bone chest-compressor. It does accentuate the bust. Yes it does.

That being said, Miku's corset is very...even. And clean. It's almost preternaturally smooth in front, but there are some nice wrinkles in the back to offset its otherwise stiff appearance.

When I was a young, spry collector, I loved folds. They indicate motion, which is very exciting for a static block of PVC. My fondness of folds has not ceased over the years. In fact, the sight of well-sculpted curves still sends my heart aflutter, and Miku's abundance of books propels her straight into the innermost grottoes of my full-sized aortic pump.

Of course, the obligatory panty shot. Miku's panties are nothing to write home about. White, plain, with a cutesy bow to top it off. It's not the most magnificent part of this figure, but with everything else going on, that can be forgiven, no?

Wait, pause. I urge you once more to take in the spectacle of Miku's gradients. Look at that subtle transformation from ocean blue to periwinkle sky! This isn't some lazy airspray job. This is a carefully planned, carefully applied wonder.

Moving down, we get a nifty set of legs. Or perhaps nifty is the wrong word to use. Like the rest of this figure, Miku's legs are drawn out and exaggerated. Really, how does she support her monstrous skirt on such wee ankles? Does she have incredible bone density? Let's assume so.

She also has incredible knees. I noticed long ago that I get strangely excited over well-sculpted knees (and ankles). I'm not even sure why. I suspect it has to do with the fact that they're so often overlooked in the world of chests and glutes.

Figure collecting is an interesting hobby. In what other world are you required to explain to visitors why the plastic lady on your desk has bazongas resembling weather balloons? Not many, that's a certainty. Perhaps it's audacious to expect proper proportions from an industry of cartoon characters, but I tend to like my girls (and boys) to fall within certain proportional boundaries.

So at the risk of being labeled a pervert, let me direct your attention to Miku's surprisingly beauteous, and hidden cleavage. From the front, she's flat as a prairie field. But as with everything in life, a change in perspective can have significant affects. Coming from a bird's eye view, well, hello.

Notice verisimilitude of Miku's chest in terms of size, shape, and suppleness. Take a good, long stare, folks. This is what separates a good figure company, from a great one.

And by that I mean verisimilitude, not cleavage. Yes, that's what I meant.

There are many inspirational quotes about detail and it's relativity to greatness, none of which I will recite, but let me assure you that Miku's tiny details are a wonder to behold. From the lace on her collar to the ribbons on her wrists, every minutiae of Miku's outfit is carved with explicit care.

Long ago, when I was a wee and eloquent toddler, I had a shiny pair of dolly shoes that I simply refused to take off. I wore the shoes outside. I wore the shoes inside. I'm pretty sure I tried to wear the shoes while sleeping too. Then I outgrew them. A tragedy, really.

So seeing Miku's shiny, dolly shoes brings back good memories of my parents telling me how much I loved those shiny shoes (a two-year-old's memory is, er, not stellar). So, like a common corvid, I find myself drawn to them. Something so shiny can't possible be bad.

As I get towards the end of my reviews, I am struck by a familiar sense of doubt. How do I judge something that's so subjective? Do I judge figures based on how faithful they are to their original art? Or by their proportions? Or by their technical accomplishments? If I find a figure's cleavage to be too large for my enjoyment, do I then assign her a lower score? Somehow, that doesn't seem completely fair. What is this arbitrary madness?

For example, are these minor (and mostly hidden) hair seams really impeding my enjoyment of this particular Miku? Is the merit of a figure not judged by its technical accomplishment, but by the joy it brings lowly sods such as I? Do I deduct 0.5 marks for these slips in hand, or a whole 1.0? They are barely mishaps, and yet it dampens my spirits to know they exist.

Miku's twintails have a curious attribute: They can be removed. As such, 7th Dragon 2020 Miku has a wide variety of hairstyles at her disposal, including short bob:

Sidetail:

And twintails:

Which style do yo prefer? I think the sidetail is cute.

If I had one complaint about Miku, it would be her skintone. She's pale. Pale like a bloodsucking creature of the night. This is especially apparent in harsher light, where her skin looks downright monochromatic.

Other than that, I'm happy with Max Factory's rendition of Miku. I don't think I've ever had a Max Factory figure not meet my standards, or at least score very high in my views, and this Miku is no exception. Yes, her face takes some getting used to. Yes, she's not for everyone. But all together, she comes together in a wonderful conglomeration of quality and art.

As usual, all dynamic figures make good silhouette shots. Miku is no different. Take note of the translucence in her scrunchies and hair. Muy beun.

Despite seeming like an awkward mix of gangly features, 7th Dragon 2020 Miku presents an compelling whole. With her arms spread wide, she's positioned in a pose of perpetual welcome. She looks ready to introduce basically anything you stick in the background, whether it be a stage, a sunset, some majestic mountains...

Or even her own game!

As far as I can tell, 7th Dragon 2020 Miku can be found for under retail price. Take advantage, because she's a beautiful addition to any collection. Whether you are a Miku fan or not, this Miku incarnate is different enough from the stereotypical "Miku" that she sets herself apart.

Plus, she has good shelf presence.

Now, Max Factory, an alternate 7th Dragon 2020 Miku, please? I happen to like the magenta-black combination.

The Run-Down

Box	6/10	It's your typical box. The backdrop is pleasant.
Base	7/10	Relatively sturdy, though she still wobbles a bit. Checkerboard pattern is a plus.
Pose	10/10	Reflects a sense of serenity, joy and movement. It's casual and dynamic.
Sculpt	9/10	Excelsior. Loses points for a few hairseams though.
Paint	9/10	Wonderful gradients and excellent shading. Really, really pale skin though.
Overall	9/10	A lovely addition to any collection, Miku lover or not.

Manufacturer: Max Factory
Price: 11 238 yen
Purchasedat: Nippon-Yasan

Box Dimensions: 40.1 x 32 x 18 cm
Weight: approx 1450g
Shipping Method: SAL (although some sites will auto-EMS)

Still alive,
Jenn

Finally, it's appropriate to review Santa swimsuit Sonico (stranger sentences are possible, but rare). See, I've had this Sonico kicking around since Alter decided to release her in May, but never bothered to take pictures of her, because a Santa hood would look too darn silly against a lush, green lawn.

When Alter announced they were finally jumping on the Sonico bandwagon, I did an unsuccessful backflip. Sonico and Alter? Talk about blowing my mind.

Sonico is a good example of making something out of almost nothing. Following the Japanese tradition of turning mascots into full-blown cultural phenomena, Sonico began as nothing more than a cutsey, 2D representation for a Nitroplus-sponsored music festival. Since then, Sonico has made her way into the figure, music, manga, video game, and animation, proving once and for all that ~~boobs go a long way in this world~~ the world is a strange and unpredictable place. Here is a trailer of SoniAni: The Super Sonico Animation. Take a shot every time you see gratuitous fanservice. I dare you.

Here's my not-so-well-kept secret. Despite my uncharitable thoughts on moeblobs, fanservice, and the colour pink, I like Sonico. She's represented as smart, hard-working, kind, and optimistic. Not to mention, she's smoking hot. She also happens to be the target of a lot of undeserved hate. Here's my question to all those who look upon Sonico with disdain: In the world of art, is it the subject or gaze that bears the brunt of responsibility? Certainly, Sonico herself has not done any wrong. She isn't sentient and has no agency. If Sonico is overly-sexualized, and represented in an unsavoury manner, who are we to blame? Consumers for buying her merchanise and therefore encouraging the market to produce more, or creators for providing the product, and therefore enabling the masses? Or is it all a massive feedback circle?

Anyhow, it's Christmas and I've had a lot of wine, so excuse my ramblings. Of all the characters in the world, I have the most figures of Sonico. Santa swimsuit Sonico is the fifth Sonico incarnation I own. This Sonico comes in one a new-fangled, mostly plastic box that doesn't quite tickle my fancy. Figure collectors of old, do you remember a time when boxes were made with solid, corrugated cardboard, where opening it presented a real, and painful risk of extreme papercuts? Yes, those were the days.

Sonico's box is not unattractive. Rather, I like it's cutesy, pastel presentation. The snowflake decals are especially adorable. BUT, the box is flimsy. Just after a few uses, the top flap is warped, and its entirety is shaky at best. Sure, it allows a view of Sonico from all angles, but I don't have boxes so I can oogle figures (I'd take figures out for that. It's more personal.) Also, it doesn't come with a useable backdrop.

Kneeling and sitting figures have the distinct advantage of not needing a base. Perhaps, taking this into consideration, I feel the same way about Sonico's base as I feel about her box. It's nice. It's innocuous. It's mostly transparent. And it could have been better. Imagine, Sonico perched on a pile of presents, or a snowdrift, or something else related to her festive attire. The snowflakes are nice but they're just that. Nice. Not spectacular. Nice.

It does fit her form though. Has anyone else noticed how hearts kind of look like butt prints?

At first glance, Sonico has a strange fashion sense. A warm, fuzzy half-hoodie with a swimsuit? What endearing dichotomy! Then again, I suppose clothing sense isn't top of the list of the busty model/college student/part-time waitress's duties. After all, she has a life to attend. And a busy one at that.

Believe it or not, this is one of the less lewd Sonico figures out there. Hard to tell by her gratuitous presentation of skin, huh? Posed with a charming, almost shy smile, she's immediately likeable, and so incredibly cute.

Here's the thing, I'm not fond of Sonico's hood. It's bearable from the front, where I am invariably distracted by her cute face and, ahem, lady parts, but there's something about the back that bothers me. From the back, it looks less like fabric than bloody sorbet. Or a blood-soaked cotton ball. Ugh, darn associations. I can't unsee! It's the texture. Something about it is off. I would have much preferred Alter just stick with a harmless, sleek look.

Luckily, if you are not into the blood-soaked cottonball look, Sonico comes with an alternate head, which you can switch in at your leisure.

One thing I've noticed about my Sonico, is that her hoodless head has some trouble attaching to her body. Either the peg is too large, or her head-hole a little small. Anyhow, it takes a lot of wriggling and force to get it on, which makes me nervous.

Pictured: Not creepy.

It always surprises me how many complaints there were about this particular Sonico not being cast off. Alter doesn't partake in the naughtier side of figure manufacturing, so was it really a big surprise? Is poor Sonico not scantily clad enough? I mean, use your imaginations, folks. Some things are better left half-hidden.

That being said, Sonico's red hood can be removed to expose her pink hair in all its pink glory. Does this count as a true "cast-off"? Perhaps not, but it does reveal a whole lot more of her than was previously shown. As usual, Alter does a good job on both the sculpt and paint of Sonico's hair.

Sonico is also one of the few figures that does not have a noticeable seam line between her bangs and the rest of her hair. Let's thank her giant headphones. Thanks, giant headphones.

Sonico's innocuous face is one of the highlights of this figure. Alter always does good work, but it looks like they put extra effort into making Sonico super-sweet. The faint flush across her cheeks is an added plus. I, for one, am happy that she doesn't look like she's about to be violated by some off-screen menace. Sonico is certainly cuter happy than she is caught in a compromising position.

I mean, look at this face. How can you dislike this face? Look at her cheeks, and those gradients in her eyes. That's quality, folks.

Awwwwww.

As usual, Sonico has an amazing body. Her hip-to-waist ratio is unbelieveably robust. Alter ensured Sonico has her telltale meatiness, which I appreciate. Skinny girls are all fine and dandy, but I, for one, like a lady with some padding over her bones.

With such heavenly curves, it's hard to think that this is one of the more modestly proportioned Sonicos out there.

Sonico gets a lot of flack for being a fanservice character. Sure, she started out as a glorified mascot for a software company, but she's not a hateful or unlikeable character in the least. And when has having the ability to monopolize the male gaze qualify you as deserving of hate? The poor girl did nothing wrong.

Anyhow, instead of degenerating into a pointless philosophical debate about the ethics of plastic portrayal, let's just oogle some girly bits and be satisfied. Sonico's ladyjunk has been sculpted realistically, and with care. I have just one small complaint about her bra/bikini top. See that discreet zigzag in the left strap? No bra does that and sticks so tightly to the wearer's skin. A zigzag means slack. A bra supports its contents. It doesn't slack, at least not in Sonico's current pose, where the bulk of her mammories strain against her bra. Unless her left cup were wet, and the material stuck to her skin, there wouldn't be zigzag like that. That's physics.

Although sometimes ignored, Sonico has a meaty bottom. I'm not sure what style of underwear she wears (it strikes me as a half-thing of sorts), but I'm impressed it doesn't get vacuumed into those busty cheeks. The small fold lines are well appreciated, and the discreet pattern along its top saves it from being boring. Usually, I'm not too impressed by white underwear, but Sonico wears it well.

My anaconda does want some.

Moving even further, er, under, we see that Sonico supports a telling camel toe.

By nature, bikini figures are not very detailed, but trust Alter to take care of the small things. Not only does Sonico's bra have sufficient pull lines, it also has a cute spattering of lace. Furthermore, it sets itself apart from others by supporting a small, cute, festive bell. Now I know a lot of peeps were upset they couldn't remove the bell, but honestly, how many people would be able to remove a detail so small without tearing apart her entire bra?

...Or perhaps that was the point. Anywho.

There are a couple of telling details I zoom in on in every figure evaluation. Hair and hair seams, clothing folds, shoelaces and ribbons, and hands. You'll notice that Sonico has several of these features done to a tee. Her hands are well-shaped, with sculpted fingers. Her bra and panties have cute, well formed bows, and her nails (both finger and toe) and polished.

Another area where figures usually fall short are feet. Whether it's especially difficult to sculpt feet, or whether figure-makers are just too lazy to perform some worthwhile podiatry is debatable, but most figures have less-than-gorgeous feet.

It's not like Sonico's feet are ugly by any means, but there doesn't seem to be as much effort put into them as, say, her fingers. Look at those little sausage toes. Cute, but somewhat lacking. Then again, it's Sonico. Are her feet really going to be her biggest selling point?

There's not much more to say other than that she is a solid, and well made figure. The thing with "swimsuit" figures is that there isn't much to talk about. Their appeal is self-explanatory. There's no need to go into excessive detail or artistic minutiae. They're often "simple".

But simplicity can be a blessing. Simplicity can be refreshing.

Sonico is an enjoyable figure, and also incredibly easy to take photographs of. No, seriously, I just point and shoot. She's one of the rare figures that looks good from all angles.

Whether she's swathed in pastel blue against the backdrop of an overcast sky, or posed alone on a simple, pink backdrop, Sonico manages to look good.

Alter's santa swimsuit Sonico (no matter how many times I say that phrase out loud, it sounds funny) is 1/7 in size, and looks especially good when paired with her Alter-made, busty friend, Asuka. I display them together on my shelf.

BESTIES.

And naturally, one cannot write about Santa Sonico without presenting some festive photographs.

I wanted to perhaps play with some Christmas light photos, but never actually got around to pulling the Christmas lights out of their boxes. Such is the story of my life. Nowadays, Sonico hangs out on top of my piano, mostly naked, among Christmas decorations that never made it onto my tree...mostly because I didn't erect a tree this year, on account of laziness.

I'm so bad at Christmas.

Good thing Sonico's around to cheer me up.

Despite having a market saturated with Sonico figures, Sonico's popularity doesn't seem to have an affect on her selling price. That being said, you can find Santa swimsuit Sonico in the aftermarket for just under retail price (6000-7000 yen or so), so grab her quick. If other Sonico figures are an indication of anything, she won't get much cheaper, and may potentially get more expensive.

Would I recommend this Sonico to others? Well, it depends. If you're looking for a naughty cast-off playmate for the holidays, then you might want to pass on her. There are hordes more Sonico, many with more NSFW display options. However, if you like Sonico for the sake of Sonico, she doesn't get much higher quality than this. She's cute. She's simple. And she's Alter. It doesn't get much better than this.

The Run-Down

Box	4/10	It's cute, but not very sturdy.
Base	5/10	Again, cute, but not really necessary to enjoy this figure.
Pose	7.5/10	Simple, but effective. I like her head-tilt and the position of her hands.
Sculpt	8.5/10	Good, slight deduction for her hood and feet.
Paint	10/10	Nothing to complain about here.
Overall	8/10	I like her a lot.

Manufacturer: Alter
Price: 9200 yen
Purchasedat: AmiAmi

Box Dimensions: 22 x 17 x 20 cm
Weight: Approx 600g
Shipping method: Small Packet SAL (or fancier)

To all a good night,
Jenn

As the year draws to a close and a new one commences, I am forced once again to confront the financial and emotional budget of my wonderful hobby life. With 2015 sweeping away the woes of 2014, how, might we say, did my collecting journey evolve? The new year is a time for reflection, resolutions, and a brand new outlook on life. Learning experiences are abound, realizations are to be made, and statistics are to be analyzed. So, without further ado, I present to you a summary of my plastic conquests.

The Rules

As you remember, I followed a set of rules last year which helped me stay within a self-imposed budget. Although I have become slightly more lenient in how I spent (thanks to acquiring some extra spending money), not much has changed this year. The rules are as follows:

Order only scaled figures. No nendoroids, paper merchandise, keychains, or other tchotchke.

Do not have more than one new order per month, or, pending delays, more than 12 new orders for the year.

No more than one used figure per month.

No auctions.

You'll notice I got rid of the spending limit on used figures, which made me nervous at first, but didn't end up being a problem in the end. Perhaps I'm getting more disciplined, or perhaps I look at my saturated shelves and think, no more, but I had almost no inclination to impulse buy or defy my own restrictions last year. Sometimes, I look back and reminisce upon a time when I was young, willful, and daring, but then I remember the days I spend mourning my battered wallet and breath a sigh of relief. Thank goodness those days are over.

The Statistics

Although I've loosened my rules, my figure intake in 2014 was the lowest of all years. Only 15. That's right. One. Five. I imagine my rapidly diminishing shelf space is to blame. No space, no figures. It's as simple as that.

Surprisingly, Nippon-Yasan wins out this year despite their iffy customer service. Their willingness to carry exclusives at decent prices is what pushes them to the front of the pack. Being only able to order one figure a month puts a lot of pressure on the choices I make, and given the chance, why wouldn't I order an exclusive? AmiAmi falls to a distant second, monopolizing only 22% of my figure pre-orders this year.

On the other hand, AmiAmi still does well when it comes to the used figure category, occupying a full 50% of my purchases. Although Mandarake has been my go-to site for used figures, I feel like I avoided them in 2014 to stop myself from impulse buying, and the decision has largely played in my favour. Out of sight, out of mind, see?

I also ended up ordering one figure from a fellow figure collector this year, a transaction that went both quickly and smoothly. Thanks, fellow figure collector.

Last year, I ordered from a large variety of companies. This year, I've defaulted to my tried and true figure companies. When you have a limit per month, a certain sort of apprehension haunts your decisions. You want to play it safe. Or, at least I do. I can't afford to risk spending my one choice on something sub-par. I know Alter and Max Factory do good work, so I felt relatively confident buying their products.

Amakuni, Stronger, and Native also snuck in there with one play each. As previously mentioned, with a limit per month, I tend to stray more towards safety, quality, and, to a certain extent, rarity.

Best of 2014

Favourite Releases of 2014

Stronger's Homura Haregi ver.

This is a no-brainer. I knew I would buy this incarnation of Homura as soon as she was announced. This is what happens when your favourite character from a good series gets dolled up in a beautiful, flowing, traditional attire that emulate the rays of a dying autumn evening. She radiates elegance, quiet, and mystery. Stronger is a new company, but boy did they make a good first impression. There's not much more to say about this Homura other than she's worth every penny I wrestled from my teary, despairing savings account.

Native's Suzuki Margit

Native figures always seem to inexplicably show up in my end of the year reviews, and I can't really figure out why. I suspect it has something to do with their exclusive status and NSFW nature (therein on referred to as the Forbidden Fruit Factor) that keeps them at the top of my mind. Suzuki Margit is not the most technically accomplished Native figure. She's certainly not as detailed as many Native girls, and her colouring is average at best. She isn't as impressive on the shelf, nor does she have the flawless presentation of many other Native figures.

Even so, she ends up on my top three list simply because I have trouble forgetting her. There's a reason this is a "favourites" list rather than a "quality" list. She hits a lot of my moe-points. Red glasses. Red eyes. Lab coat. Association with science. Cute froggie slippers. It's all about the froggie slippers. Moe-moe through the roof, y'all.

Alter's Santa Sonico:

Ugh, you collectively sigh, don't we have enough of Sonico?

No, I ejaculate brightly, one can never have enough of Sonico, especially when she's as well-made as this. There aren't many figures out there that look better than their promotional pictures, but Alter has a special way of giving their figures a little extra pizzazz in life. Not only does this Sonico have one of the most adorable faces out there, she also has a very fair body sculpt. She's one of the only Sonicos to look busty without having awkward proportions. Her breasts are just right. Not grossly inflated. Her waist-to-hip ratio is large, but not overly so. Her pose is suggestive and flirty without being discomfiting. And she's cute. Being cute will get you a long way, folks. A long way indeed.

Favourite Hunts of 2014

Alter's Kos-Mos Ver.4

Some figures you watch for years. Some figures you pine for in the dark recesses of night. Some figures haunt your very existence, and Kos-mos is one of them. Take one popular character, a good design, one kickass sculptor (Yagyuu Toshiyuki), and the result is a beastly output of aesthetic pleasure. I hunted her for a long time, but I always managed to hit a snag. Either she was too expensive, too used, or I was too late. Finally, sometime during the snug summer months of our balmy city, she showed up on AmiAmi for a reasonable price, and I pounced on her like a starved mountain cat. Victory, I ululated, and ate a raw horse heart in celebration.

And yes, she's worth every penny. Looking at Kos-mos, you'd never guess she was released over half a decade ago. That's right, over half a decade ago. Compare her to a figure released just a month ago, and their qualities are comparable.

Max Factory's swimsuit Menma

Sometimes, simplicity is best. See, I don't find bikini girls very appealing, but there is something about this Menma that captured my heart. She's calm, clear, clean, and sets herself apart from other bikini girls. Most, I find, try too hard to be sexy, but Menma presents a naturalness that I find refreshing. Floating ring tucked under arm, hibiscus in hair, and popsicle at her lips, she's ready for an afternoon of languid repose. It's like I came upon her while walking down a boardwalk. And if anything, I love figures that come with their own atmosphere.

Also, she photographs beautifully.

Max Factory's Cerberus

My last choice was a toss up between Cerberus and Maiko Madoka, with Cerberus inching out Madoka by a mere millimeter. Why? Because of her incredible quality.When Cerberus was first announced, I was impressed, but not too interested. Did I really want to spend my one pre-order on a character I knew nothing about? Not really. But as time went on an her price began to drop, my interest piqued once more. I began surfing the aftermarket for an acceptable version. She's incredibly shiny. And so detailed. And very sexy. Plus she has puppy hands. Adorable puppy hands. Now that I have her, I'm surprisingly attached.

Almost but Not Quite of 2014

Max Factory's Tharja: I love Tharja. She was one of my favourite Fire Emblem units. She literally carried my team till the second generation came in and swept everything, so when Max Factory announced a Tharja figure, I pirouetted. Everything about this Tharja is amazing. Great body sculpt. Beautiful face. Sexy stack of tomes. Awesome, flowing costume. So what stops her from being in my top 3? Her back-breaking pose. No spine is meant to bend that way. It makes me cringe.

GSC's Madoka Maiko ver.: This Madoka is a good figure. Her traditional garb is beautiful, her quality is high, and she has tons of cute and wonderful details. She came very close to making my top three, but fell just short. Firstly, take a gander at her yandere eyes. It's amusing, but perhaps not the best reflection of her character. It's also an example of how one small slip up can add an entirely different tone to a figure. Secondly, I got Madoka as an accompaniment to Homura, not as an independent entity. That alone is enough justification in my mind to bump her from my top 3 list. When she was first released I had very little interest. As time ticked on, I continued to feel ambivalent about her. But when Maiko Homura was announced, I stood and declared, they must be together. The collector's mentality is a strange beast, to say the least.

Max Factory's Miku: This Miku almost made my top three. Almost. She's a brilliant figure. Good folds. High quality. Impressive presentation. Details galore. Her quality is apex, and she's beautiful on the shelf. The one thing that stops her from making top scores is her pallid skin tone, and the fact that I have no real emotional connection to her. Perhaps if I played 7th Dragon 2020 (and I would dearly like to), she would be higher on my list, but seeing as I have not, she just skims the top 3 list.

Munnies and Otherwise

Wow, you saved a lot! So did you eat amazing foods with all that extra munnies?

No. The answer is no. I suspect the answer will always be no, at least until I become famous and inherit my own luxury island somewhere in a semi-tropical climate. Here's how things went down in 2014.

My total expenditure adds up to approximately 161 900 yen, which equates to less than single term of a single Masters course. Good. Sort of. Putting things onto a chart also allows me to see just how meager shipping costs are in comparison to the actual figure. I'm glad to announce that I did not EMS anything in the last year, which remains consistent to previous years.

My expenditures have also stayed consistent from 2013 to 2014, which is a feat to be celebrated, given increasing figure costs and inflation. Though I only bagged 15 figures last year (versus 20 the year before), I found that I ordered many more limited and exclusive figures than before. New figures cost, on average, 11 832 yen a pop, and used figures, 9 235 yen a pop (shipping excluded). And to think, when I first began this hobby, new figures were showing up for 5000 yen.

Outlook for 2015

Seeing as this "rules" thing has worked two years in a row, I don't expect to be giving them up any time soon, but with a new year comes a new outlook, and new possibilities. Will I finally land a high-paying job this year? Will I stumble upon some inheritance? Will I move into a bigger place with more detolfs to store my plastic goods? With 7 figures on pre-order until April (and Maiko Mami prepaid), I might be squeezing myself a little tight, but with other pressing financial obligations lifting in 2015, I expect to have a little more spending money anyhow. Here's what I have going on at the moment.

Thus completes my analysis of 2014. It was not the most bountiful year, but I didn't expect it to be, but it's been a good year. I am satisfied with almost every figure I received, and I did not go too far in terms of expenditure. With space issues looming, I look forward to selling some of my older figures and creating some room for the PVC beautifies that I expect in 2015.

So, folks, how was your year? Did you have a good one? What were your favourite purchases? Got any horror stories for us? Here's to another great, no, transcendental new year. To all the beautiful PVCs coming out in the future. To all you beautiful people reading our blog. And as always, to the merch. Always to the merch.

Peace, birdies,
Jenn

Another day, another review. This time, we're headed to the classroom, where a naughty, half-German professor who definitely looks old enough to teach chemistry (wink wink) once again takes off her panties for the sake of science. Because, "If you're going to do science, it had better be German" (Native, 2013). Yes'sir, it's just another beautiful, typical day in Japanland.

Yup.

Ok, down to business. Native is a well-known player in the naughty figure business, and the only one thus far that has a solid reputation for churning out high quality goods. My first Native figure made such an impression on me that I have regarded the company with fondness since, and they have done little to let me down. Unfortunately, when Margit Suzuki was announced, I had my doubts. She struck me as less "naked and creative" than "typical schoolgirl with pants off." Naked? Yes. Creative? Eh. With companies like SkyTube quickly climbing the naughty figure ladder, I thought perhaps my money could be better invested elsewhere.

So, I stewed and stewed, because nothing clears the head like a few weeks rumination. After nights of tossing about, staring at my wallet, and making complicated budgeting schemes, I managed to convince myself she was worth it. No Native figure is cheap, but I also have an incredible weakness for all things science-based. The power of fetish compels me.

Let's start with Margit's box. It's a typical Native box, in that it's minimalist, discreet, and tasteful.

(**Click to enlarge photos**)

Margit Suzuki comes with a green base, but I'm somewhat baffled by its colour. Is she teaching on a lawn? Is the classroom floor, despite all convention, green? Anyhow, Margit displays fine without it, so I don't use it. I would have much preferred a nice tile, or some wooden flooring.

Can't tell if butt print, or heart...

Is her name Margit Suzuki, or Suzuki Margit? I'm so bad with Japanese ordering. Anyhow, for this post's sake, we'll go with first name Margit, last name Suzuki.

Margit Suzuki is posed on a schoolroom chair, experimentally poking her nether-regions. One can only guess whether this blatant display of lewdness is a regular in her classroom. I, for one, have never encountered a science curriculum with such a direct approach, but who am I to disagree with another's teaching methods?

Let me say outright that Margit Suzuki is not the most distinct Native figure out there. Without her job description, I would never have guessed she's a scientist. At short glance she seems like another generic school girl, pleated skirt and all. The only feature that points at chemistry is her test-tube (which is conveniently tucked away between her legs). But she is very cute, and I suppose that was the point all along.

Given her price tag and relatively bland get-up, Margit Suzuki is not the sort of figure I usually buy. However, as with all unusual purchases, there is something specific that tipped the scales in her favour: Her expression.

Yes, it's blase. Yes, it's underwhelming. But that's where the intrigue begins. Margit Suzuki is postured in a chair, very much exposed, with a borosilicate glass tube in close proximity to her female genital tract, yet her expression is very much unpronounced. What am I supposed to take away from it? Is she embarrassed? Uncomfortable? Aroused? Ponderous? And why can't I look away? It's not a standard eroge expression, and such ambivalence mystifies me. See, I have a thing for closure, for knowing, and for being confident in what I know, but Margit's expression baffles me. What am I suppose to take away from her nondescript expression? I don't know, and that's awesome.

Ahem, moving on. Margit's hair, like the rest of her, is relatively simplistic. Her bangs are not overly detailed. Her twintails, even less so.

It's rare these days to see such simple hair, but I appreciate how clean and sharp it looks. The thickness of her bangs also adds a nice illusion of volume, and while I'm not sure what has her twintails fluttering about when Margit herself is in a static pose, I appreciate the added excitement.

Margit's hair is a delightful blend of icterine and orchid, which is really a fancy way of saying she's a nice blonde. I rave a lot on sculpt and pose, but in all actuality, it's the paint job that really completes a figure. A good finish adds wonders. No one really buys a figure before seeing the paint job. Margit's hair is beautifully shaded, giving it even more dimension than her sculpt already allows.

On the subject of dimension, take a gander at Margit's head from a sideview. Does it seem a little squished? Although I recognize her proper anatomy, in terms of skull shape, I'm a little disappointed that they didn't make her hair puffier closer to the bottom. It's a preference thing, really. There is nothing wrong with it, but I still wish it were more copious.

Despite her lack of distinction from the typical schoolgirl, Native does put a decent amount of work into her costume. As a result, Margit has some nice, luscious folds, and good clean lines. Look at those sleeve folds. Those are some sweet sleeve folds.

Moving onto more, ahem, important areas of an eroge figure.

Like previously mentioned, Margit is not the most detailed figure. Her modest breasts are modestly painted, without much distinction or shading. They're small, unobtrusive, and relatively well hidden by her legs and outfit. I suppose the creators wanted audiences to focus on her amply proffered backside, but it would have been nice to see some distinct areolae.

Now, to the real star of the show: Margit Suzuki's butt. As a Native figure, Margit certainly doesn't suffer from Barbie syndrome. She has a fully crafted vulva, carefully drizzled with gloss to ensure a, er, moist, appearance. Sure, it's not the most detailed vagina I've ever seen, nor that Native has ever sculpted, but it's adequate (and rather cute, if I do say so myself).

Here's the thing though. Margit is her strangely placed anal sphincter. It's positioned too high up. Since the prototype pictures were released, I had hoped Native would rectify this by shunting her sphincter down a millimeter. They didn't. Thus Margit's desolate butthole remains woefully out of place. Is it a small point of contention? Perhaps, but as an eroge company, I expected slightly better anatomy.

Turn Margit upside-down and you'll see how she stays on her chair. Margit depends on a hunk of PVC fabric to keep her upright, which is perhaps not the most prudent way of keeping a figure set on its throne. A good magnet up the butt, however, would have done wonders. Alas, there's little to be done at this stage. Margit can be a bit wobbly, so be careful when moving her.

Moving "lower", Native has given Margit's panties a semi-translucent panties. Really, they're less panties than a sheet of cloth with two holes cut into it. Not that panties are a bit feature in this case, but still. With all the focus they put into her wonderful folds, could they not give Margit's poor panties some volume? Or opacity?

Here are some shots for the foot-fetishists out there.

I am impressed by Margit's feet. I've said this before, but I'll say it again, many figure companies skimp out on the sculpt of feet. Besides Alter's Menma, I have not seen much attention go into any of the figures I have purchased. Margit's feet, on the other hand, are well-formed, detailed, and pleasing overall. Hip hip to feet.

I've harped a lot on Margit's lack of detail, but Native does come through in some areas, namely, the lovely face print on her tie. Her red glasses (which are not removeable, to my frustration), are well shaped, with lovely, transparent lens.

Now, for the unhappy part: Flaws.

Perhaps I've been hard on Margit so far, but I have high expectations for Native. Having impressed in the past, and producing only exclusive, limited figures, I know first-hand the type of quality they can pump out. Unfortunately, it seems Margit got the short end of the stick in many aspects.

First, seams. She's covered with seams, the most blatant of which is in the back of her head. There is no real reason to not smooth down the seams for her hair. It's not like her hair is a monstrosity of individual locks. It's a chunk with some minor grooves, which, if anything, makes the seam more obvious.

Going downwards, you can see seams in both her sleeves and even her legs. Yikes, Native. What happened?

Moreover, Margit has patches of roughness here and there that also detract from her overall quality. At 10k, Margit is not inexpensive, and being a Native product, I expected better. Native in the past has not disappointed me with their figures, so let's hope this is a mild blip on their record and not a new norm, hmm?

At last year's Anime North, I had a brief conversation with a figure vendor about figures, where she referred to Margit as the "froggie slippers girl", a term that is both accurate and endearing. Funny how a small accessory can take all the glory.

Margit's froggie slippers are undeniably adorable. Look at those derp faces. They can hang off her feet, but they aren't very steady. Any small jostle will knock them back down, so I prefer to leave them hanging around her chair like adorable sentinels.

One might think I'm disappointed with this figure, given my many negative observations thus far, but let me assure you, I am harsh because I am fond. My high expectations of Native are reflective of their consistently superb output and my disappointment with them does not reflect disappointment in the figure itself. To make it short, they've spoiled me. A subpar Native figure is like a subpar Alter figure: Still incredibly worthy. Margit Suzuki might not be the best figure I've received from Native, but she's certainly not a bad one by any means. She's cute, she's partially naked, and she doesn't appear fazed by any of it.

Followers of this blog will know that Margit made it into my "top 3" figures of the year, a placing that still baffles me. I am generally a huge fan of technical accomplishment, and many of my favourites coincide with higher quality, so the fact Margit stands out in my mind frustrates me to some extent. I am often quick to denounce low standards, and happy to write "blam" reviews, so why do I hesitate to treat Margit with the same harshness that I would endow other figures of subpar quality? Is it her cuteness? Is it because she's Native? Or do I just feel bad yelling at half-naked girls?

Perhaps the source of my fondness will always be a mystery. But for the moment, let us attribute her attractiveness to her many, many moe points. Red glasses. Red eyes. Lab coat. Oh, and the slippers help.

As a 1/7 figure, Margit makes great collaborations with ~~Cat Lap Milk~~ other 1/7 figures.

I hear this new teacher has an "interesting" way of punishing tardy students.

Here's my photographer's dilemma. The more I take photos of one particular subject, the less interesting they seem to become. Questions of repetition and monotony come to mind. After all, once I've exhausted all angles, where do I go? There are only so many props and backgrounds I can get my hands on without expending too much energy (and money), so what can I do to spice things up?

As someone that gets bored relatively easily, I try to make every photoshoot somewhat different from the last. It's a task that becomes harder the more reviews I write. Reviews are by nature, a technical endeavor. There is a pattern to be followed. A standard to keep. Certain details that need to be covered. And there is always the risk of the post becoming stale. The technical shots are the easy part. Point, shoot, clean, resize, and post. It's the half dozen photos near the end of the review that take up the majority of my time.

With silhouette shots, LCD screen backgrounds, photoshop effects, and dioramas covered in my last few posts, this time, I decided to revisit an old favourite of mine: Dramatic angles. I admit, the results are "interesting". Not good. Just interesting. Marigt is not a figure that lends well to many angles, given her scrunched up pose and, er, photobombing legs.

How, in the end, shall I grade Margit Suzuki? She are not my shining star, yet I am undoubtedly entranced by her spells. Proof that being cute goes a long way? Perhaps. Either that, or I'm struck by her "exclusive + limited" status. Rarity breeds fondness, indeed.

Or maybe it's because she's so darn cute.

That being said, Margit is definitely not a figure for everyone. Her backside is very much on display, and she's, er, has a very youthful presentation. She's also not the most technically accomplished Native figure out there. On the bright side, she does have quite a few positives going for her, including her enigmatic expression, her sheer adorableness, and a great number of moe points. Also, she's a Native figure, which means her resale value will probably skyrocket as time goes on.

So, without further ado:

The Run-Down

Box	10/10	Like all Native boxes, it's classy and enjoyable.
Base	6/10	The chair is an acceptable base on its own, but I'm not fond of the green circle. She's also just a bit wobbly.
Pose	7.5/10	It is what it is. It shows off what it will.
Sculpt	7/10	Seams here and there. Some roughness. BUT, very nice folds.
Paint	9/10	Good shading. No real complaints. A wee bit of blemish here and there.
Overall	7.5/10	I like her, so I'm perhaps more biased than usual, but she's still far from perfect.

Manufacturer: Native
Price: 9259 yen
Purchasedat: Nippon-Yasan

Box Dimensions: 22 x 17 x 20 cm
Weight: Approx 600g
Shipping method: Small Packet SAL (or fancier)

AWAY,
Jenn

I've been a fan of the Tales of series for a while now, and it's hard to believe they're celebrating their 20th anniversary. I suppose that means a plethora of new Tales of merchandise will be available by the end of 2015. The more recent games have been lacking in some areas, but overall they're pretty fun. I found myself liking the majority of character designs and artwork as well. When it was announced for pre-order, I ended up grabbing this gorgeous art book showing off Mutsumi Inomata's Tales of series designs!

I'll admit that I wasn't a big fan of Mutsumi's style back in the day. I remember looking at the earlier Tales of games like Tales of Destiny and Tales of Eternia feeling less drawn to the artwork. This is most likely because I was more exposed to Kosuke Fujishima's work, having played Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Symphonia, and Tales of the Abyss during the earlier years. The first Tales of game I played was Tales of Symphonia, and it was the coverart for the GameCube box that drew me to the game. I never got to play Tales of Destiny or Eternia back in the day because I never had a Playstation 1, but I own Tales of Destiny R and Tales of Eternia for the PSP so I can happily say I'm grateful for remakes and ports.

Now that I've seen her work for the later Tales of games such as Tales of Hearts R, Tales of Graces F, Xillia, Xillia 2 and Zestiria, I find myself really liking some of Inomata's designs. Let's dive into the book now, shall we?

The "Mutsumi Inomata Art Works for Tales of 2004 - 2015" is a collection of artwork Inomata did for the games that were released during these last fourteen years. So this book includes illustrations and concept work for Tales of Rebirth, Tales of Destiny R, Tales of Destiny 2 (PSP) Tales of the Tempest, Tales of Innocence, Tales of Hearts (R), Tales of Graces (F), Tales of Xillia, Tales of Xillia 2, and Tales of Zestiria. That's quite a few games, right? That's why this book is quite meaty.

Having flipped through the book a few times, I can say that there's a lot of white space. About half of the illustrations in this book are high quality, full body shots of the main casts of each game. The other half are very colourful art pieces. They're mostly promotional works or cover pieces for the games and their light novels. Some sections will have short comments from Inomata herself, and there are a few pages in the back that show off rough sketches and novel illustrations.

Although there's a lot of white space, I will give QBist props for not shrinking any of the main illustrations. More often than not, I'll buy an artbook and for some reason, the publishers or layout artists feel the need to shrink really nice images. It can be difficult to enjoy pictures the size of thumbnails.

Right off the bat, we have a couple of lovely bonus pieces for Tales of Destiny and Tales of Destiny 2, which I'm sure fans will absolutely love. Leon/Lion fans especially. The game with the most art work would be Tales of Destiny, which should come as a surprise to no one since that's the second Tales of game in the series, and it's also the first one Inomata made artwork for. Not to mention it had a nice PS2 remake (Tales of Destiny R).

In any case, both illustrations are gorgeous and colourful at the same time and to me it also reflects how fond Inomata is of Destiny. Or...it just shows how popular Leon/Lion is.

The book is put together in chronological order from when the games were released. Tales of Rebirth (for the PS2) is the first to show up in the art book because it was released back in 2004. Although I never played Tales of Rebirth, I found myself drawn to the soft pastel-coloured illustrations in this book. I also want to note that both Rebirth and Destiny R each have about 20 - 25 pages of gorgeous artwork. They're a mix of promotional artwork, game covers, and light novel covers, so we have quite a few pieces. I definitely can't say the same about the other games.

After you pass the Rebirth and Destiny R sections, you can expect a lot of character art. Each game has a few really colourful pieces and then they follow up with approximately 6 - 10 character pieces. Tales of Destiny 2 appears to be the exception, because there is only one piece of artwork for this game if you exclude the bonus piece at the beginning of the book. It's really just the cover art used for the PSP game, which in my opinion, seems a little sad.

I admire Inomata's creativity. Her style is unique and distinguishable, yet she's able to compose a variety of costumes and character designs for each game. Some remind me of characters from a couple of previous games, sure, but the majority of them feel fresh. I also love that her spreads and full-colour illustrations do provide me with a sense of fantasy. Her designs definitely translate well into game models and animated cutscenes.

It's fair to say that the older games have far more illustrations than the later games. I must admit, I'm really disappointed in the fact that Tales of Xillia, Tales of Xillia 2, and Tales of Zestiria sections have little to offer compared to the other Tales of games.

All we have in these sections are the main character illustrations and the cover designs used for each game.

Perhaps it's because Inomata shared the spotlight as a main artist with Kosuke Fujishima, Daigo Okumura, and Minoru Iwamoto, but I'm bummed out nonetheless. I love most of her designs for these three games, so it's a shame there are no extra pieces or spreads for them. I had crossed my fingers for them originally, but evidently that was just me hoping for too much. Even Tales of Tempest has a full spread and I'm aware that game didn't do very well in Japan. That said, I'm still happy with my purchase since everything in this book is still splendid.

Finally, near the end of the book, we have novel illustrations and some rough sketches. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot in this section, which is a tad disappointing since this book is a collection of Inomata's works. When it comes to rough illustrations, you would find more purchasing complete or perfect guides of each game, but here we have bits and pieces. I would just consider them samplers. They do look nice though.

Would I recommend this to Tales of fans? Despite the lack of illustrations from the more recent Tales of games, I still say absolutely! The majority of illustrations are of high quality and bursting with colour, and any fan of the Tales of series would be proud to own this.

Should another Inomata artbook come out within the next 20 years, I'll be sure to buy it! Who knows? Maybe then there will be more illustrations for Tales of Xillia, Tales of Xillia 2, and Tales of Zestiria! Now the question is... will Kosuke Fujishima release a Tales of book of his own?

Purchased from: Amazon Japan
Company: Qbist & Bandai Namco Entertainment

Number of Pages: 175

Price: 3700 yen

Thanks for reading!

~Suich

Anime North 2013 has come and gone, and now we're filled with all the melancoly associated with coming off a caffeine high. We can't stress enough how much FUN we had this year. Amazing events, amazing people, and amazing cosplays every single day. It was an added pleasure to meet fellow blogger and dashing character, Chag of Hobby Hovel, who snapped a buttload of awesome photos for us. This year we went as a Magi group with our friends. Did you see us? Did you catch some pictures of us? (In which case, send 'em over, we love to stare at ourselves.)

Group cosplaying was a new experience for us. We've been going to Anime North since the beginning of time (for about 5 years), but this is the first time we decided to attempt a group cosplay. Con is a very different creature when you're in a group cosplay. Here's what we learned.

1. Travelling always takes longer than expected. Because you will get stopped for photos. On Saturday, moving from the Dealer's Room to a nearby Harveys, a trip that would normally take about 3 minutes, took over half an hour. But when you have all that love, who needs food? No one! That's who.

2. Mundanes are lifesavers. Mundane is a word we use fondly for people not in cosplay, and we love them with the fire of a thousand suns. They'll watch your bags when you're busy posing. Big thanks to our various friends for acting as our pack mules over the weekend, and sacrificing their own comforts for the sake of making our lives a little easier. A thousands kisses to every single one of you beautiful people.

3. Sometimes, you channel a character a little too hard. Jenn began unconsciously winking at passing ladies on Sunday, and didn't even realize it. Easy there, ladykiller. Are you Jenn, or are you Sinbad? (Jenn: I-I don't KNOW!) This rule however, does not apply to Suich because let's face it, Ja'far channels her, not the other way around.

Saturday we hosted our giveaway, and it was a resounding success! Huge, huge, huge shout outs to everyone who hunted us down! It was a blast meeting our readers, and we can't thank you enough for supporting us. Congratulations to Michael, who won our draw for a Strength Nendoroid!

Congrats, man. Congrats hard.

Though the giveaway was the highlight of Saturday, it was also a day of amazing events.

Anime Idol this year blew our minds. We have attended Anime Idol every year since it's conception, and this year was by far the best of them all. Damn, these people can sing.

Of course, then there was Totally Lame Anime After Dark, which never fails to deliver. Coupled with amazingly sarcastic commentary, we sat through clip after clip of devestatingly bad anime. They were so bad, they could only be hilarious. Which they were. We all dropped about 3 pounds laughing. It's even better if you bring a friend who has never seen nor heard of this event before. Their expressions of giddy horror give the occasional repeat/classic clip fresh hilarity. If you think any anime is bad these days, just watch one episode of Chargeman Ken. It'll throw your standards for a loop.

Then there are these depressing commercials for Suntory Beer.

Holy crap, that's some heavy stuff! What were they even trying to say about the beer? Life is hard, and nothing will make it better, so you might as well have a beer? Is that the fatalistic message they're sending? Does the penguin shed a single, world-weary tear in every commercial? Well, no. Sometimes it's his girlfriend instead.

...Deep.

Moving on. We can't go to Anime North without scoring some great deals! We paid to get in, so we might as well go home with some souvenirs. Unfortunately, it was disheartening to see some dealers trying to push fake figures. We found a booth selling an obviously fake Goddess Madoka (we didn't manage to get a picture, but here's a picture of the exact fake they had). Jenn was badly tempted to start some shit with the seller, but settled for warning potential buyers away whenever she had the chance. Always be careful at conventions, folks. Not all that glitters is gold.

But don't let a few bad apples scare you off. Sometimes, gold really is gold, and Jenn cheered up substantially after snagging herself Trunk Girl from one of the legit sellers there. Ash also managed to grab Kotobukiya's Shiki for an excellent price. Nevermind the buttons and prints and bookmarks available from all the brilliant artists in attendance.

We finished off the weekend by attending a Anime North Music Video Competition replay. A great event to end our Anime North 2013 adventures. One of our personal favourite videos? BaBOOM!!!! by LoneNinja11, because it reminds us of the first law in life: Everything explodes (and also because it was hilarious, etc).

And, of course, given our cosplays, how can we ignore this amazing AMV, "A Friend like Ugo" by nicolio1313?

As Anime North wound down, and members of our group cosplay retired, the Poke crew took some time to be our silly selves and recorded it on our economic point-and-shoot camera. Maybe you spotted us?

Sinbad, the Monkey King.

No, Ja'far, don't feed the troll!

Plush Sinbad stealing actual Sinbad's thunder.

Ja'far and Judar going at each other behind Sinbad's back.

Then pretending it never happened...

BAD SINBAD.

Judar: "LOVE ME, BAKA!" Sinbad: "N-NO!"

This year, we saw some amazing cosplays. We had our eyes open for the "big cosplay" that we seemed to get every year, but didn't spot anything quite as crazy as the Meowth Balloon cosplay from a few years ago, or Blue Eyes White Dragon from 2012. This year, it was all about Baby Avatar. Yes, Baby Avatar wins con. Because nothing beats baby cosplay.

We didn't take as many pictures of awesome cosplays this year, but Jenn did get to spend some time with Castiel from Supernatural and Kazuaki Nanaki from Hatoful Boyfriend (if you haven't played Hatoful, you must play Hatoful). Only her two favourite characters anywhere. She only spazzed a little bit, but we all know she had exploded inside. We could tell by the way the light left her eyes that a part of her soul stayed with both of them.

Pictured: Inner explosion in progress.

The fun thing about conventions, and any large gatherings of fans anywhere, is the potential for spontaneous moments of pure awesome. What were our favourite moments at Anime North that were purely fan-driven?

Jenn: On Friday night, while walking one of our darling mundane friends to the bus stop, a girl leaned out of a car (torso and all) and screamed "SINBAD" as she zipped by. That she recognized my character in the dark, and that she blatantly disregarded her own health by leaning out of a speeding vehicle, earns her a special place in my heart. I'm sorry my pathetic "WHOOO" paled in comparison to her loving serenade. It was all I could muster given our brief encounter. Kudos to you, random girl. Know that Sinbad would fall into depravity for you.

Suich: Seeing a couple of Hatoful Boyfriend cosplayers while standing in line to grab some burgers from Harvey's was a real treat for me. A cosplayer with long, brown hair tied into a pony tail with a red ribbon came out the door. I stared for a moment, wondering if it was Shuu from Hatoful Boyfriend. She did have glasses on, but I was still a tad sceptical. Then I saw a blond cosplayer (Nanaki) come out and I literally screamed, "HATOFUL!! You're cosplaying as characters from Hatoful, right?!" I kind of felt bad for screaming when they were practically in front of me but I was incredibly excited that Hatoful was getting some love at Anime North this year! I only got to see them for a moment on Saturday, but they were awesome! You Hatoful cosplayers were fabulous!

By the way, Jenn moping about not seeing them was an added bonus for me! (Jenn: Good to know some good came out of my heartbreak. Hatoful is only my one true love, after all.)

Ash: During idol, a girl sitting in the row in front of us noticed my TEAM KOUEN jersey and my twin sister's TEAM ALI BABA jersey (we were cosplaying as Judar and Aladdin respectively). The jerseys were my sister's brilliant solution to the inevitable ass freezing we experienced at this year's colder-than-usual AN. She burst out laughing upon spotting our attire (which happens to be my favourite reaction to just about anything) and then said that she's aligned with Ali Baba's team to which my sister enthusiastically exclaimed, "One more for the underdog!" and I responded with, "I'll claim your soul for the dark side someday, just you wait!". In true Canadian fashion, I just couldn't help adding a 'please' when I asked people to fall into depravity. I'm evil, not rude. Playing the villain was a lot of fun!

And that was how our Anime North went down. Sure, we don't get the big name celebrities, but there's a certain easygoing atmosphere at Anime North that sets it apart from larger, more well known conventions. Nevermind that it has an adorable, Canadian flair. Everyone asks politely to take your picture, then thanks you after. There was no shoving, no attitude, and a thousand apologies for accidentally whacking others with props. And there was hugging. Lots of hugging.

Sinbad's feeling the love. And the weight.

And the love.

That concludes our Anime North 2013 adventures. It was too much fun. So much fun it hurt. Between our group cosplay and the success of the giveaway, we're already looking forward to next year. Look for us in our Magi/Hatoful cosplays (disclaimer: probably).

Suich is already planning next year, because that's just how she rolls.

Thank you, and goodbye (for now),
Jenn, Suich, and Ash
Poke the Merch

Has it really been almost a decade since Last Exile aired? Where did all that time go? I'm not sure I remember much from the show except that I marathoned it one weekend and enjoyed it.

When Alter announced their new Alvis and Lavie figures, my frugal senses went wild. Sure, they're tiny, and sure, they're not that fancy, but they're still two figures in one box, and that was enough to warrent a pre-order. Plus it's Range Murata and Alter. Team of champions. READ ON.

If there's one thing I love about Alter, it's their ability to surprise. Rather than rely on old faithfuls, Alter sometimes whips a figure straight out of the left field. Like Buddy. Where did she come from? Why did she get a re-release? Methinks there be a private fan within the Altersphere, but that's either here nor there. Naturally, there's risk involved when engaging older lines, but I respect a company that's willing to test the waters. Toss a bone and see who jumps. Do it out of curiosity, if nothing else. After all, it's not like Alter's reputation could go down for humouring a few oldies like me. If they ever release a Deedlit figure, I'd buy the hell out of it.

Alvis and Lavie get neat new designs in Fam: The Silver Wing, but as someone who grew attached to their child incarnations, I'm glad Alter decided to stick to their younger forms. It's nostalgic.

The two girls are tiny, and come in an appropriately tiny box. The cardboard is slightly metallic, with a bright orange backdrop that contrasts nicely with the grey. The sides are stippled, and free of redundant figure shots.

(**Click to enlarge photos**)

Late last year, I surprised myself by buying several seated/reclined figures in quick succession. (Alter's Menma, Orchid Seed's Blanc Neige, GSC's Mayoi Hachikuji, and these two). Earlier, I had a distinct dislike for seated figures. Their positions leveled out their butts, they were boring, they took up too much horizontal space, my complaints went on and on.

But predilections have an odd way of working, and 'lo and behold, seated figures won me over with their deployability. Their ability to sit in any environment is, for the lack of better words, totes bitchin'. As an added plus, they also tend to come with miniature furniture, and miniature anything is automatically adorable.

Alvis and Lavie come with a wonderfully detailed, metal bench. Alter also provides a polished, black slab with the Last Exile logo, but it attracts fingerprints and doesn't do much for me, so I tend to go without. The bench looks cold and inhospitable on its own...

...but it's nothing two adorable girls can't solve!

Alvis and Lavie are based off the cover illustration for Prismtone: Range Murata Anime Works 1998-2006 Art Book. Both characters are displayed in adorable, casual outfits. I hesitate to call them pajamas, but that's what first comes to mind. Lavie's appears to be a babydoll version of her tomboyish tang-and-shorts, while Alvis shows off her legs in a short summer dress.

Since Alvis and Lavie are essentially two separate figures, I'll look at them each on their own.

Lavie comes first. Perched on a tiny, cylindrical, superglue case, she kind of looks like she's ~~squatting on the can~~ levitating. Of the two characters, Lavie was the more memorable character. Her spunky, genki-girl attitude, mechanical aptitude, and cute 1920s bob cut ingrained her in my hippocampus. Alter did a great job capturing her amiable personality.

I sort of wish she had a wrench dangling from her left hand though. That would have elevated her to a whole new level of perfect.

For the longest time, I promised I would pick up one of Range Murata's art books. Alas, that promise has yet to be realized. Range Murata's art is so prolific you probably recognize his pieces, if not his name. His baby-faced, almond-eyed characters are easily recognizable. As usual, Alter translates his style into 3D with ease.

Many attempts at sculpting tongues end up looking like pokey piece of pink PVC protruding from a facial hole, but Lavie's tongue actually works well with her carefree pose. She's not forcing a funny face, or photobombing, or posing. It's like the camera just happened to capture her in a moment of natural goofiness. Awesome.

By the way, look at her cute little fingers. Fantastic.

I'm not really one for short haired girls. Sure, a cutthroat bob works well on the professional businesswoman types, or a Roaring Twenties flapper, but I've never been a huge fan of the style. I, for one, was forced to have an adorable bob cut as a child, which made me look like a rotund mushroom stuck gracelesssly onto a pair of human shoulders. Not exactly flattering. On an aesthetic level, shorter hair just doesn't have the whoosh factor of longer hair. Lavie is actually the only "true" short-haired girl I have in my collection.

Thankfully, Alter did such a spot-on job on Lavie's 'do that I think of her as a trailblazer for future short-haired girls rather than an amusing oddity in my collection. Unlike GSC's Misaka Mikoto, Lavie's hair is full to her nape. She does have an unfortunate seam line that I think could have been better hidden under her goggles, but so many figures have this seam I've almost become blind to it.

I love illusions. I love octopi that look like coral, leafy seadragons that look like weeds, and fuzzy ptarmigans that look like snowballs. I love fooling my occipital lobes, thereby sticking it to millions of years of evolution (take that, nature!). Along the same tangent, I love when PVC imitates fabric. Over the years, companies have improved tenfold with their representation of clothes. Take any 2008 Alter figure and stand it next to a 2012 one. You'll be lucky to get one or two folds in the 2008 figure. As for 2012...

Folds abound! Look at that intense, rectitude to physical law. Delicious-max. As though that's not impressive enough, Lavie's dress is also well shaded. It's difficult to see on camera, but each fold is adorned by a pale, purple hue.

Of course, I never talk Alter without talking about detail. Lavie may seem plain, but her sculpt and paint are top notch. Her goggles have a lovely metallic sheen. And her boots have equally lovely treads. I do wish her goggle lenses had more transparency though. More like Shinobu's.

Moving onto Alvis: The cute one. Ok, they're both cute, but she's certified cute. By certified cute, I mean "cute" is her defining characteristic. She was the closest thing to a mascot Last Exile had—a mascot that powers up while answering riddles, the capacity of which saved her from being a total moeblob.

Alvis is a shy character, at least compared to Lavie, and her pose reflects thusly (oh la la, "thusly", pinkies up, folks). Her arms are drawn around her plush, and she doesn't have Lavie's slouch. Her expression is more reserved. Without Lavie to lean on, she looks a bit stiff, like a loud noise might scare her away.

Alvis' face isn't quite as spot on as Lavie's. She's a little thinner in the face than her promo pictures show. Nevertheless, she's still awesome cute. I'm glad they went with twin tails rather than buns. A girl's gotta let her hair sort of down sometimes, y'know?

Like with Lavie, Alter put work into Alvis' hair. I especially like pompons in her headband. The texture is delish. They look like charred meatballs. And I mean that in the most complimentary fashion possible.

Unfortunately, her hair's not perfect. There is some roughness towards the tips that brings down its overall quality. It doesn't bring down the quality by a lot, no sir, but it does put a bump in an otherwise smooth ride.

Once again, like with Lavie, Alter paid close attention to Alvis' dress. The flower print is clear, all the folds are in the right places. I also love the way her bloomers peek from underneath her dress. Details, my friends.

Speaking of details. The paint job on Alvis' flower pattern is rutally kosher. The flowers are tiny and perfect. Tiny. And. Perfect. Thanks to their puniness, they don't even look like flowers from the get-go, which makes the feat even more delightful.

Clearly, a stencil of some sort was used to achieve this bright and massive outcome, which only leads me to my next question: How did they stencil so finely on a wrinkled surface? Surely the pattern isn't painted on before the PVC is wrinkled, and stencils aren't known for being excellent at rounding corners. Maybe they're using some sort of soft stencil that adheres to crinkled surfaces, but even then, Alvis is so tiny, I can't imagine them getting the stencil to seal tightly enough for such clean lines. Maybe they use tiny stamps instead. Or magic.

Of course, there's still the chance that each flower is hand-painted (their yellow middles are done by hand, since some of them are off-center), but I can't imagine the patience it would take.

But enough fixation! No need to clog this blog with my personal obsessions. ONWARD, to the next section!

Goat are cute, yeah? When they're not headbutting you to death in Eternal Sonata, yeah? Alvis' plush almost makes hearty baas upon physical punishment. Not in the figure, though that would be awesome. In the show.

Hey, hey, did you notice something?

Alvis and Lavie are wearing boots that match each another. Alvis has orange soles to match Lavie's hair, and Lavie has green soles to match Alvis' dress. Oh snap! Cute factor just jumped through the roof!

As I mentioned, sitting figures usually have flattened out butts, which looks hilarious when they're not seated properly. It's still one gripe I have with seated figures, but I guess the alternative would be equally hilarious butt-prints in their base.

Here in Canada, we finally got two weeks of decent-like weather. I stuffed Alvis and Lavie in my pockets and rushed into the largest lightbox known to man, a.k.a. outside. If anything, the great outdoors was too effective of a lightbox, and many of my photos ended up overexposed. Thanks, great outdoors! On the bright side (no pun intended), I managed to land a few decent shots before the hail swept in and killed both my flowers and my spring-specific sense of renewal. Canada: Where you can experiene sunburn and frostbite in the same day, eh? EH?

As with all sitting figures, I had a ball mixing and matching. Sometimes, I'm tempted to buy a figure just for the base. It's not financially intelligent, but it sure is fun. Here they are comadeering Menma's and Totori's bases respectively.

And Tsubasa Hanekawa's.

NERDS. NEEEEERRRRRRDDDDSSSSSSS.

And doing what they do best, sitting on more stuff.

And watching the sunset over the mist of an industrialized fantasy world.

You'll remember Alvis and Lavie made it to my top releases of 2012 in my yearly review. Knowing my general preference for dynamic, windswept girls, it was a surprise to find them lodged so firmly in my heart. I searched long and deep for answers, and came up with this: They're just the right combination of atmosphere, technical achievement, and nostalgia. They give off a relaxed, summertime feel, they're high quality, and I just so happen to have some attachment to their characters. GSC's Triela wriggled her way into a high score for the exact same reasons.

Which is why it hurts so much to see them lounging in AmiAmi's bargain bin (granted, they're not on sale by a lot, which soothes my outraged heart). Seriously, folks, they're a beautiful, adorable pair. What's up? Maybe Last Exile really is too old to re-engage. Or maybe, despite what I see in them, they're just not that interesting. Or maybe they lack proper panty shots. Or maybe they're just plumb tiny.Whatever it is, they're a real grab for fans of the show, old or new.

(Did I mention you're getting two figures in one? If that's not a good deal I don't know what is.)

Their cuteness compels you.

The Run-Down
Box: 7/10 (Small, with nice stipple)
Base: 9/10 (Detailed bench , but the black square fingerprints too easily)
Pose: 10/10 (Two girls chillin' like girls ought to do)
Paint: 9.5/10 (The smallest of slips here and there)
Sculpt: 8/10 (Funny, flat butts, some roughness, otherwise really cute)
Overall: 9/10 (Outstanding)

Manufacturer: Alter
Price: 8800 yen
Purchased From:AmiAmi

Hoot, birdies,
Jenn

Heartless. They’re incredibly adorable until they slash or backhand Sora across the face, causing him to lose heath. Then it’s all about beating them and then (maybe) feeling bad later. I mean, they don’t know any better! Personally, I can’t help but feel bad every now and then for beating one of these little guys in battle even if they attack me first. They’re really cute for enemies, which is why I ended up purchasing this plush. Let’s take a look at Square Enix’s latest plush toy!

Much like the Wonder Nyan / Meowow Plush I reviewed a long while back, the Shadow Heartless is big, squishy, and sewn really well. I guess you can’t really go wrong with making a plush that’s 95% black fabric and cotton. If Square managed to screw that up then I wouldn’t have any hope left for their products. It’s bad enough their figures are poorly made. Honestly, if they were to have a third party manufacture their figures they would sell far more than they do now. It’s not just about design, Square. Quality matters too!

In any case, Square's Heartless is approximately 25cm tall when it is sitting upright, antennae included. 35cm if you hold it up and add its dangling legs to the height. This little guy is made of polyester, just like the Wonder Nyan / Meowow plush, so both of Square Enix's official plush toys are relatively soft. It would be much easier hugging the Heartless than the Wonder Nyan / Meowow plush simply because it’s not stuffed to the brim. I remember trying to hug the Wonder Nyan plush before and it was pretty stiff. Jenn and I even made jokes about that cat being punt-able.

The fun (and sad) thing about my Heartless plush is that it’s remarkably listless. Seeing how broken this creature actually makes me feel bad about ever attacking the Shadow Heartless in the Kingdom Hearts games. Good job, Square. Good job.

When I held it up in the air for the first time, its arms and legs just dangled like there were no joints—which there aren’t in the plush, but it certainly makes this poor thing appear defenceless. Its arms and legs are stringy making it look incredibly weak and vulnerable. While I do like the Heartless plush the way it is, I’m just concerned that a simple tug or two could result in me tearing its arm off. The stringiness, in a way, cheapens the product, but at least the rest of the plush is solid.

As a huge Kingdom Hearts fan I can dismiss its little flaws. If I can excuse Square's Formation Arts figures, I can most certainly excuse some weak limbs on a Heartless plush. It’s not like I’m going to tug on its arms or legs like a sadistic monster anyway, but for those of you with pets or younger siblings who are curious, you guys best be careful! Also, keep in mind you shouldn't hold the Heartless by its arms or legs. It's best if you're cautious.

In any case, I'm rather impressed by the overall quality of this plush. The eyes definitely don't feel as though they'll fall out any time soon. They're really stuck in that Heartless's head! The antennae are really stable, much firmer than the limbs. Its head is securely sewn to its body so no one needs to feel worried about it tilting in any direction.

I'm really content with the fact that cotton isn't spilling from any of the seams. Clearly there's the right amount of stuffing in its head and body.

There is, however, one small flaw with my plush. This may not apply to all the Heartless plushes out there. After placing the Heartless on my shelf I noticed it likes keeping one of its legs twisted. I tell you, this one's a peculiar little guy...He has one leg facing forward and one completed twisted the other way. I often try to adjust it, but it insists on looking even more deformed than it already is. Every so often it submits to me and keeps its legs facing the right direction though, but that requires a bit of effort.

Its head is slightly bigger than its body, but because there are beans packed in its bum, it’s able to sit up against a vertical surface without toppling over. Seriously, if you grope its bum, you’ll notice there are lots of beans inside! Huzzah for groping weird creatures! But on a serious note, I’m glad Square put those in. Otherwise my plush would be stuck face planting for life, and that’s just unimpressive, even for a lowly Shadow creature!

Sometimes it can sit up on its own too and I must say it looks adorable!

I was impressed with how well my photos came out. I didn't have to struggle to keep my Heartless in a sitting position, which saved me a lot of time and effort.

I noticed that most of my photos make the Heartless look incredibly sad, as though tears should be streaming down its face while its expression remains...well, blank. It's like a broken-soul cry. The tears could tell all the tales...if it could cry. There are times when its eyes can just rip through your soul, but that depends on how sad a story you give it.

Every now and then, when I stare at the Heartless on my shelf, I want to give it a hug, especially since mine insists on keeping its leg twisted. Heartless already lack proper bodies, brains (probably), and hearts, but this plush almost pushes it to the edge. Maybe it just needs to feel something since it's already missing so much in its hopeless little life. This Heartless can look sad and broken from all angles. One glance at the preview icon I put up says it all! It's leaning against a wall looking dejected, like it's mulling over its horrible day! Or maybe it's mentally preparing itself for a beating. Once Sora finds it, that's it man. Game Over. I finished off a Heartless by stabbing it in the bum with Sora's Keyblade in Re: Chain of Memories one time. Jenn won't let me forget it even though it was an accident. I can't help but feel guilty and my only excuse is, "It attacked me first!" Not a very good excuse mind you, but it is one nonetheless.

Seriously, I feel the urge to hug it because it's just so sad! If you look at its eye in the picture above, it's slightly narrowed, making it seem as though it's about to choke out a sob or two. Angles can really change your perspective on things...

I think from now on I'll be wincing a little every time I beat a little Heartless in battle. Playing Kingdom Hearts is going to get rough from here on out... Once again, thanks a lot, Square for making this cute but depressing little plush. It's making me feel things!

World-wary Heartless just needs some love.
And some alcohol.

There’s not much else to say except good job on another decent product, Square Enix! Keep it up!

The Shadow Heartless is a wonderful addition to my Kingdom Hearts and weird plush collection. Poor Flynn is just surrounded by strange creatures. Are they friend or foe? Who knows! But I suppose he has a good reason to look unhappy now.

In any case, I recommend Kingdom Hearts fans pick this cute little guy up. He looks great on my shelf and let’s face it, there were lots of us waiting for an official Heartless plush for a long time. I hope people don't purchase the counterfeit ones anymore because this little guy is simply adorable!

Supposedly Square is going to release a Dusk (KH2) and Flood (BBS) in the future. Let's look forward to those as well!

Manufacturer: Square Enix
Price: 2490 yen
Purchased from: Amiami

Thanks for reading!

~Suich

Behold! Tenshi descends from heaven to grace the earth with cuteness and charm—

Wait, wait, wait, didn't I already do a Tenshi review? Well, yes I did, and kudos to you for being so clever. But it's common knowledge that everyone could use an extra angel, so the when GSC announced they were releasing an exclusive Tenshi, complete with glorious, sweeping wings, I freaked like balls.

See, my flighty nature prevents me from committing to any one character for long, and my urge to buy repeats of any given character is actually quite low. Unlike more dedicated collectors out there, I have never mastered, or even understood, the art of shrining. Tenshi, however, has a quiet badassery I wouldn't mind indulging.

Tenshi hails from Angel Beats!, a series developed by Jun Maeda, creator such dramas as Clannad, Kanon, and Air. Unlike it's predecessors, however, Angel Beats! hits hard with the comedy, and falls flat on everything else. Such aimless meanderings I've yet to see in South American tributaries. The plot was a mess, the pacing, hackneyed, and the gaping plot holes made me wonder whether the writers were shot. Tenshi's was the sole reason I saw it through. She was, to put it lamely, the wind beneath my wings.

Lately, GSC seems to be going down the road of fully covered boxes (see Racing Miku 2011), and I'm not sure I like the idea. I enjoy peeking through windows. Makes me feel all through the looking glass. Fortunately, Tenshi's box is relatively pleasant, with a lavender gradient wash and copies of Tenshi's promo pics on all four sides. For an exclusive figure, I would have preferred a plain white box with silvery words, and elegant, shining wings (as opposed to Lacia's sleek black box), but hey, as long as it does it's job.

(**Click to enlarge photos**)

Like the previous Tenshi, this version can be displayed with or without wings, though once you've seen her with wings, it's difficult to see her "streamlined" version as somewhat lacking.

Without wings, Tenshi looks like any old anime girl, casually flipping her hair in that enticing way girls do but don't realize. In fact, she looks so relaxed I almost want to plop a bag of groceries in her left hand. You can almost see her taking an afternoon walk on a street of solid cheese.

Wait? What cheese? No, I'm not making schizotypal associations. I'm talking about her joke of a base. I could write an entire essay on why her base drops the ball. I have high expectations of exclusive figures, if not for anything other than their higher price tags. If I'm going to pay extra, I want it all. I want ball-busting detail, glorious paint jobs, dynamic poses, and decent bases.

But what disappoints me about Tenshi's base isn't that it's simply round, plain, and otherwise unadorned. Plenty of exclusive figures have plain, round, unadorned bases, so that alone isn't enough to rile my ire. It's when a base detracts from a figure that I begin to bristle. Tenshi's base looks unfinished, like GSC went for imitation sand and failed to pull off the texture. Is it hard to imitate sand? Not really. So what happened, GSC? Caught a bout of halfassery, did we? If you didn't want to bother with a nice base, just use a clear, circular piece of plastic (like they did in promo pics). It would have looked better than a half-baked, half-decent, non-aesthetic chunk of semi-ripe cheddar.

Breathe deep. Calming down. Moving on.

Tenshi isn't one for strong emotions. Till the last few episodes of the show, she operated with the unreadable professionalism of a practiced poker player. It surprised me that GSC decided to go with a smile on both her figures, considering she smiled only about once in the entire series. Nevertheless, her shy smile and slight blush are too sweet too criticize.

I've been bothered by the appearance of Tenshi's bangs, but couldn't put my finger on it till recently. Then, as I was taking photos, it suddenly clicked. Tenshi's bangs are a little wide and squashed, which makes her head look a bit flat.

Naturally, Tenshi also has a seam line between her bangs and her hair, but it's a feature so common it might as well be tradition. Still, I look forward to the day manufacturers get around this minor nuisance. Alter made a good attempt at hiding Stocking's seam line, after all.

Neither her slightly misshaped bangs or bang seam are a big deal given the generous sweep of her remaining locks. There's some nice whoosh in there, and the tug lines around her hairband are a plus.

There was a hubub about Tenshi's dress a little while back when GSC teased a shot of her (nsfw) cast-off. There was an even bigger hubub when consumers realized that GSC trolled everyone, and that Tenshi is not a cast-off. You could, of course, cut her dress off. It's not attached to her body in any fashion, and there's a convenient seam line you can use as a guide, but the entire procedure has a do-it-yourself, IKEA vibe that doesn't sit well with me (much in the same way GSC's nendoroid-sticker-faces don't sit well with me).

Either way, a cast-off option would have been wasted on me. There are girls I would like to undress, and girls I wouldn't, and Tenshi falls into the latter. Rather, I enjoy the summery flair her dress provides. Its semi-transparency is significant enough to provide an ephemeral feeling to her overall character, but opaque enough to censure her lady bits.

Tenshi is not very heavily shaded, a prudent decision on GSC's part given her angelic atmosphere. Her buttons and ribbons provide all the spice she needs. The sculpt on Tenshi's dress is pleasant and detailed, though I find it strange that her ribbons so not have holes through their loops, though clever placement of her ribbon ends actually negates the need for holes.

Tenshi has thin, girly legs. Look at how tiny her calves are! Careful on those sticks, girl. Angels with broken wings are acceptable. Angels with broken fibulas are just silly.

On first inspection, Tenshi seems like a chaste girl. But a closer inspection reveals she wears an enticingly short dress. One naughty gust of wind and she'd be flashing her panties at the world.

And since we're going there anyway—

Tenshi wears safe, white panties. Did you really expect anything else?

Getting down to the nitty gritty. I've said before I like my exclusives to have ball-busting detail, but not all characters are as ornate as I want them to be. Tenshi is a keep-it-simple girl, but that doesn't mean GSC can slack on her detail. Rather, whatever scant detail she does possess needs to be crisp to the umpteenth degree. After all, it's easier to forgive folly when you're bogged down by a million nano-lines than when you just have one ribbon to paint.

Tenshi's details are all right. She has fingernail definition, but they're not too neat, and her toes seem a bit stiff.

I have too many fetishes to count when it comes to character design. They include large weapons, glasses, striped leggings, red-black colour schemes, snazzy uniforms, futuristic latex suits, anything steampunk, and wings, namely, avian wings. Birds are my home boys, guys. I love them with all the might of my wee, villainous heart. So I'm glad to report Tenshi's wings are exaclty as beautiful as I expected. GSC went all out in creating a set of believable, relatively anatomically correct flight apparatuses. Look at all those glorious, individual feathers.

Now, to the real nitty gritty. Tenshi has a couple of paint problems. Her hair comes with several small scrapes straight from the box, and the paint on her wings transfers very easily. You risk rubbing paint off her wings just by popping her head on, since the action beings her hair and marginal coverts into contact. Her wings are also dreadfully fragile. During assembly, one of her wing pegs snapped off. Superglue (binder of the universe) fixed the problem, but it was disconcerting nevertheless. Take extra caution!

Tenshi also has a couple of seams in her hair that could have been smoothed over, but they're generally well hidden. Without her wings, Tenshi also sports two gaping back gouges, which I will neither count for or against her given their necessity.

Pictured: Sadness

Finally, it's hard to have two versions of Tenshi without comparing them. Looking back, it shocks me that I only gave GSC's previous Tenshi a 6.5/10. I must have had a bad day when I reviewed her. It must have been raining. I was probably splashed by a bus on the way home. I probably had my mouth open. Something or the other. Looking back, I was unfairly harsh. She's not a bad figure at all. I feel like I should re-evaluate her one day.

Comparing the two Tenshis might be like comparing apples to oranges. Her alternate outfit makes it difficult to compare them directly, but there are certain qualities that I can still work with.

Side by side, you can see Tenshi's previous incarnation has a slightly pinker skin tone. Her eyes are darker, and her face a little rounder. Her bangs are also more detailed. In terms of face, there's something sweet and alert about previous Tenshi's wide eyes that exclusive Tenshi lacks.

Exclusive Tenshi has grown out her hair! Previous Tenshi has more lavender in her hair, while exclusive Tenshi has more blue. Exclusive Tenshi also has fewer gradients in her hair, giving it a more matte appearance overall.

Both Tenshi are light and breezy in their own way. Previous Tenshi has an airborne pose, while exlusive Tenshi has a lighter colour scheme and breezier dress.

When I first laid eyes on exclusive Tenshi's prototype I thought she would blow the previous Tenshi out of the water. But when they're side by side, it's actually rather difficult to chose one over the other. On one hand, GSC's previous Tenshi has excellent quality (again, I'm not sure why I rated her so low). Her sharpness and spot-on face are difficult to beat. On the other, GSC's exclusive Tenshi has beautiful, pursuasive wings, and a lovely, angelic atmosphere.

Which would you choose?

One interesting side effect of being a figure collector is that you get very good at stacking boxes. Seriously, I can Tetris that ~~shit~~ snazz in half a minute flat. Unlike more steel-souled individuals out there, I can't bear the thought of throwing out, or even flattening my boxes to save space. On the bright side, having lots of boxes also means having lots of backdrops, many of which I employ in moments of photographic-desperation.

I wish I were a photographic genius, but my process can only be described as trial and error. As I once explained to a piano salesperson, "I like to take a bite out of every sample, then when I find a sample I like, I eat a whole bunch." I don't think she quite knew what I was talking about. In retrospect, I'm not even sure what I was talking about, or why I was conversing with a piano salesperson about food samples. What I think I was trying to convey was my need to experiment. In photography, as in life, I get uncomfortable relying on old patterns. What works works, and that's totally cool, but there's nothing quite like the rush of trying new things.

For the longest time I avoided taking low-lighting pictures. One, because my camera can't handle high ISO settings without spitting out grain, two, because I don't have a strong tripod, and three, because I'm plumb lazy. But a few weeks ago I kicked myself and did what I do best: winged it. Here's what I learned.

Soft lighting is a real ~~bitch~~ bother to get right.
Having a heartbeat is really inconvenient. I could be my own tripod if I didn't have such pulsating muscular spasms.
You can kind of imitate an off-camera flash by flicking a lamp on and off (I call this frugal-flashing)
Piles of textbooks make excellent, albeit heavy, tripods. Ha! If that's not frugal living I don't know what is....Though if I sold all those textbooks, I could probably afford a very nice tripod. Damn it, Jenn. Start thinking things through!

While I see Tenshi as more cute than sexy, the silhouette of her body through her dress is oddly erotic. Mmm, oh yeah, look at that kinky shadow play.

As much as I like Tenshi, and as much as I like this figure in general, I have to say I'm a little underwhelmed overall. Maybe my expectations were too high. I saw her prototype and clapped like a broken toy monkey. I was so excited. When her actual figure came into being, she wasn't quite as spectacular in person as my mind imagined her to be. At the risk of sounding douchy, let me reference Wordsworth, who once wrote, in his embellished, roundabout way, that the physical world could never live up to the spectacles wrought by the mind's eye (to which I jumped up in class and shouted "OBJECTION", but that's a whole other story). While I bite my thumb at most Romanticism, I admit Wordy might be partially correct this time. Nothing makes a disappointment of reality quite as effectively as high expectations.

Besides her wings, which are glorious, though not the best I've ever seen (best goes to Alter's Gwendolyn), Tenshi is really standard-run quality. My real beef is aimed at her ~~lazy-ass~~ lazy-butt base, but her small slipups also detract from my enjoyment of her overall. Sure, I sometimes put her on a windowsill, recline on the floor, watch the glorious sun rise over her head, and smile, but other times, I mingle her with my other figures and think, "She's nice, but she's not that nice."

As a GSC exclusive, it may be more difficult to get your hands on Tenshi in the future, butshe'll show up on Mandarake eventually. As I always say, believe in the Rulers of Time and you shall reap. Would I recommend her to others? It depends. For Tenshi fans, yes, and moreso if you're a suck for angel wings, but otherwise, you might want to think twice. Her price tag of 8000 yen isn't hefty for an exclusive figure, but neither is it cheap. She easily goes for 10k+ on proxy sites. Despite her beautiful wings, I would argue that there are better, more interesting, exclusive figures you can get for about the same price.

Though as usual, it's all about preference.

The Run-Down

Box	5/10	Pleasant colours, but no windows...?
Base	4/10	Unimpressive, lazy, would have preferred a clear base instead
Pose	7.5/10	Breezy, feminine, with a good sense of movement
Sculpt	8.5/10	Seam in dress, bangs are a wee bit funky, otherwise splendid
Paint	7/10	A bit flat overall, paint rubs off wings very easily
Overall	7.5/10	Not perfect, but nice nevertheless

Manufacturer: Good Smile Company
Price: 8000 yen
Purchased from: Anime Island

It's over 9000!
Jenn

Occasionally, there is a figure that appeals to Poke as a whole rather than Poke as a half. Suich has extensive experience with Atelier Totori, but also the common sense not to get sucked into this messy "figure" business. On the other hand, Jenn's is Atelier-ignorant, but bought her figure anyway. That's just how she rolls.

Given our respective expertise, this only makes sense. This is the only way. You can even call it fate. Time for a joint review.

Jenn: Let's come clean straight off the top. I bought Totori for her base and girly pastel colours. I have no idea who she is, or what her character is like. Guide me, Suich. Enlighten this lowly ignoramous.

Suich: Totori's a sweet and optimistic little lady who's trying to find her long-lost mother in the second title of the Atelier Arland trilogy. In order to travel around the land she earns a license from Arland to become an "Adventurer". It's mostly because the world's dangerous, so she needs to gather items and synthesis bombs and healing items. Speaking of synthesizing, little Totori is also an alchemist! But enough about the basic stuff. Let it be known that Totori's just one of the best characters in the Atelier series simply because she's just so darn cute! Even when she accidentally creates an explosion in her atelier she's adorable.

Jenn: Moe moe kyun~

(**Click to enlarge photos**)

Jenn: With a plain white backdrop and no real colour (other than some promo pics), Totori's box is one of the less inspired boxes I have. You think it would be fitting to give it a pastel wash.

Suich: Agreed. Phat should have taken inspiration from Mel Kishida's artwork. That box could have been covered in glorious pastel colours, and it could have stood out more, but instead they just stuck with plain white. What a waste.

Jenn: At least the floral border is kind of pretty?

Jenn: Some people are unsatisfied with Totori's face. As someone who has never played the game, I think she's cute. Her dimpled smile, round eyes, and tilted head remind me of a little turtle.

Suich: Her expression is decent at best in my opinion. Something about it really throws me off. I'm thinking it might be the nose because it makes her look a tad strange on some angles.

Jenn: Looking closer, it looks like she has a bit of an overbite? Maybe it's just me.

Jenn: Totori is my first figure from Phat, and despite my sympathy for new companies attempting to make a dent in the figure business (how cute), I must say I expected more.

Suich: Totori's hair is so clumped together it looks cheap, like Phat wasn't even going to try and shape it into something prettier. I understand that her hair is meant to be a bit wavy, but the execution was poor.

Jenn: I think it looks wet, like she just stepped out of the shower (oh, good mental image). Pictures of Totori show her with longer, fluttery hair, but Phat fails to capture its levity. On a more technical level, she also has several small seams, all of which could have been smoothed out.

Jenn: Totori wears a dollish dress complete with semi-transparent tutu-esque skirt and wide-collared vest. She wears a delicious, opalescent, semi-transparent bow in the back. I use "delicious" as a descriptor because it reminds me of a gummy.

Suich: The bow is coloured in nicely but it falls down in a really strange manner,. It's possibly due to the fact that Totori is a really flat figure, so she gets a flatter ribbon as well.

Jenn: Totori isn't exemplar in the detail department, but she does have a few clean lines going for her. The decoration on her sleeve and collar are relatively precise. Makes me question under what conditions sculptors whip out stencils versus wing-it by hand.

Suich: It's one of the very few good qualities about this figure...

Jenn: Unfortunately, the rest of Totori isn't nearly as attractive. First, let's talk seams. Totori is plagued with small, weedling seams that muddy her quality. You can find them on her coat, in her hair, and along her knees. Yes, Totori has knobby knees to the utmost degree. A visible line runs from her knees and through her boots.

Suich: I'm used to seeing seams in the hair when it comes to figures, but damn, Totori has seams everywhere. Looking at her up close isn't exactly pleasant.

Jenn: Despite Phat's attempt at detail, Totori's "details" are more damning than impressive. There are a dozen places where she could have blown my mind, but falls far short. For one, she's holding a darn ratty notebook. In fact, it doesn't even look like a notebook. It looks more like a pastel cigarette case. Is Totori tapping out cigs that look like litmus paper? Arland is a darker place than I first imagined.

Suich: I agree with Jenn on the details. I'm severely disappointed in them since Phat had such a lovely design to work with. Perhaps Phat was going for a tethered look for that book of hers, like they were trying to show that Totori used her book every day to the point where it looks ragged. Ah, who am I kidding. It really just looks like a cheap sculpt and paint job.

Jenn: Did you also notice? No fingernail distinction. Her fingers might as well be rolls of dough. It doesn't speak well of Phat, considering most manufacturers have made fingernail distinction a commonality.

Jenn: There's something else about Totori that bothers me. Look at her sleeves. I mean, into them. Do you espy with thine little eye what I doth espy with mine? Her sleeve is filled!

Suich: I'm severely disappointed in this detail. Phat could have put more effort into making it look better, and frankly more realistic, and really, it isn't as though they're making space for any particular detail. It's just arm space!

Jenn: Phat could maybe get away with it if both her arms were lowered, but this just looks like they were too lazy to carve out a proper arm.

Suich: It definitely stands out since her arm's raised. People would definitely want to check out the whole sleeve in this case, but Phat probably didn't take that into consideration.

Jenn: Overall, Totori's paint job is wracked with roughness. It's almost as though Phat using a lower quality paint than companies like GSC and Alter.

Suich: Their paint is...kind of shitty.

Jenn: Whoa there, you mean "shoddy". Think of the children! The only figure I can really compare her to, paint-wise, is Kotobukiya's Kureha.

Suich: Ouch.

Jenn: You know what the worst part of Totori is for me?

Suich: What?

Jenn: How flat she is.

Suich: Jenn, are you checking out a 14-year-old gurl?

Jenn: Yes, and no. Totori's lack of rack might be a subject of humour in the games, but I'm taking "flat" on a more technical level. Take a look at her sideways. She's like Paper Mario.

Suich: We had this conversation before. What did we compare her to?

Jenn: A Stunfisk.

Suich: Right. It could have been beautiful, but then someone stepped on it.

Jenn: Is there a reason her skirt and ribbon and barrel are so horizontally challenged? No? Then why, Phat, why?

Suich: There's no excuse for that really...

Jenn: I feel like we've grumbled enough. There's one great thing about Totori I want to get out there.

Suich: Shoot.

Jenn: Her staff-head. Sure, the actual staff is a tube of plastic (I would have really liked to see some metal in there, for stability's sake), but the cute, heart-shaped staff-head is pretty darn clean. Nevermind the red gem shines like a beacon in the right lighting. Actually, I'm big on Totori's semi-transparency in general. It softens her up.

Suich: Speaking of good things, let's look at her decorative little base! Each item represents something in the game. The barrel is a reference to all Atelier games, I tell you. Every time you get a character to walk up to a barrel and interact with it, all they say is, "Barrel" and that's it. It's an ongoing inside joke, but a very strange one, yet all the fans of the Atelier series will know what it is.

The sign in front of the barrel on the base actually hangs on the door outside Totori's Atelier in the game.

I don't recall a wheel being in her room, but Totori does end up owning a ship later, so that may represent the adventurer in her, which is cute because she's working so hard just to find her missing mother. What a great daughter!

The flask and beakers are items she uses for alchemy. It's too bad they didn't include her cauldron but it would probably overwhelm the figure...though Phat could have flattened it quite a bit if they wanted to.

Jenn: Wow, thanks, professor. That was quite a detailed summary. Considering Totori's base is the sole reason I bought her, it pleases me that it's at least as substantial as her promo pics promised.

Suich: I love the bunny plush the most out of all the props. It's one of the only items on this figure that actually has some texture, and it actually looks really cute. I'm a sucker for bunnies though, so I'm being quite biased towards that plush, but who can resist that face? It's got cute little eyes and an "X" for a mouth!

Jenn: My favourite part of Totori's base are those sexy test tubes. They appeal to the latent scientist in me.

Jenn: I'm also fond of the frumpy curtain. It's gross ochre presentation is endearing in its ugliness.

Suich: So it's so ugly it's cute?

Jenn: Yes, like a pug.

Suich: You have strange tastes.

Jenn: You got it, bra. But before we continue, allow me one more grump. Totori doesn't fit properly on her base. Sure, she sticks to it, but her right foot is too loose around the peg and her left foot is too tight. If others hadn't reported experiencing the same phenomenon, I would have written it off as a defect unique to my Totori, but seeing as they have, we can conclude it's a result of a less-than-ideal design.

Jenn: Oh wait, did I say one more grump? I lied. I have more grumps. I would love to end here and say Totori's base is her salvation, but not all is right in paradise. Oh, the flatness! Such persistent flatness, not only in sculpt, but also in paint. Those bricks are so flat they might as well be chunks of cheese. Her steering wheel looks like milk chocolate rather than wood (it needs grain). Then there are additional paint defects. Look at that crumbling sign. Is it supposed to be so rugged?

Suich: Don't think so.

Jenn: Well, guess we should move on. Never have I wished for a tallship of my own so acutely till I got my hands on Totori. Then I could snap all sorts of seafaring photos with her.

Suich: Would you really spend 30 grand for a fancy prop?

Jenn: I think tallships cost more actually. Much, much more.

Jenn: Sunset channel is my home boi, yo.

Jenn: Analogy time. Any sadomasochistic, high-achieving student understands it takes more work to achieve the final 10% than the previous 90%. As such, I am happy to pay good money for that smidgeon of extra quality control that levvies an "A" figure into an "A+". Call it a perfectionist mentality. As such, the knowledge that a mistake exists hurts me more than any aesthetic impact it might have. Some people can forgive seams, rough paint, and strange sculpt. Not I. I roll and roll in agony.

Suich: Where are you going with this?

Jenn: Hmm, I wonder.... Oh, right. Paying extra for the icing on top. Unlike some companies, who will work their fingers bloody to achieve perfection, Phat gave up early and went to bed. Totori is passable, in terms of having shelf presence, but she isn't the smoothest, cleanest, or the most 3D figure out there. Nor can she compete with the high quality output of companies like Alter, Max Factory, or GSC. Instead of working a few extra hours to make sure she's spotless, Phat threw up their hands and settled for passable. Totori's an A. Not an A+. Actually, she might be more like a C+.

Suich: For people that have played the game, Totori's figure doesn't completely capture Totori's character. Phat hasn't managed to get all her cuteness. Her face is a bit...long, maybe? I don't know, but it doesn't look right. Her hair is too short. It's not exactly the right colour either. Totori in the game has greyish hair, but her figure's is more brown. She doesn't look exactly like Totori from the game. For people who go in blind, she's passable, even if her quality isn't all that high. Fans of Totori might not be too pleased with how she looks though.

Jenn: Good enough, right?

Suich: Er, not really.

Jenn: Right, I think we've made it clear how we feel about her. All we have to do is apply the finishing blow. So, my love, what's our final conclusion?

The Run-Down

	Jenn	Suich
Box	5/10 (Box is box)	5/10 (Disappointing and boring, but at least she got a box)
Base	7.5/10 (Lovely, but could use more depth in both sculpt and paint)	7.5/10 (Good references to the game itself, which is nice. It's also pretty cute, but I hate the flatness.)
Pose	6.5/10 (Cute head tilt, but otherwise unremarkable)	7/10 (I think it's cute. I like how her hip's pushed out a little)
Sculpt	6/10 (Why so flat? Many small seams)	6/10 (Totori and her base are flat!)
Paint	6.5/10 (General roughness, lack of shading, lost opportunities on the base)	6.5/10 (Too many spills. She could definitely use shading as well)
Overall	6.5/10 (Decent, but not resplendent)	6.5/10 (I'm disappointed in the treatment Totori got from Phat)

Manufacturer: Phat Company (Dat company so phat, yo)
Price: 9000 yen
Purchased from:AmiAmi

Poke it good,
Jenn and Suich

Did I not tell you I was as shallow as a hastily assembled grave? Half the figures I have are of characters I have no knowledge about, and Leviathan is yet another notch on my stick. According to my research, the Seven Deadly Sins aren't anything. Not a show. Not a manga. Not a game. Not yet anyway. An anime production is in the works, but so far, only two episodes have been confirmed. Nevertheless, figure companies weren't going to let these busty beauties slip through their fingers, not when there was a chance to capitalize.

But going in blind with Leviathan has a bright side. It means I can impose a personality on her. Tabula rasa, and whatnot. Have some fun. Remember a time when you gave all your stuffies debilitating mental shortfalls and set them loose in an all-out battle royale of epic proportions? No? Was that just me? Anyhow. Given Leviathan's cornucopia of incongruent body language—the frustrated expression mixed with her slight blush, her in-turned toes despite her aggressively forward chest, her awkward, unbalanced posture—I propose that she is tsundere, thereby childish, abusive, contrary, peevish, stuttering, and perpetually in a state of denial. I will eat a metaphoric shoe if I'm wrong.

But less speculation, more review! Leviathan hasn't a confirmed personality yet, so any energy spent disparaging her "character" is energy wasted. Leviathan comes in a sturdy, corrugated box decorated with attractive, pentagram windows. As usual, pictures of Leviathan grace its sides, but they're discreet, and don't distract from the box's attractive burnt-bronze texture.

(**Click to enlarge photos**)

There are two options with Leviathan's base: a huge pedestal, and a simple circle. Herpedestal comes with faniciful patterns and delicious horny sculpt (and by horny I mean horn-like, gosh). With a base so substantial, I can only find one complaint. Unlike her sister, Asmodeus, who has a matte base, Leviathan's base is glossy, and looks rather plasticky.

Leviathan is a small girl, and doesn't completely fill it out her pedestal, which could, on a certain level, account for her uncomfortable expression. I prefer Leviathan on her smaller base as a result. The top of her pedestal can be popped out to provide a less intimidating circle.

Leviathan's base has an interesting pattern. I call it smoky-blue marble.

Leviathan has a punk-rock costume, and excellent sex appeal, both of which I enjoy. Her pose is tailored to show off both her bust and butt. I also like that she's a bit chubby for an anime girl. It's cute.

Amakuni has given Leviathan an expression that's both flustered and curious, like she's seeing you for the first time and doesn't know if she can trust you. In a sea of happy smiles, and serene stares, it's refreshing to see a grumpy face. This is my first figure from Amakuni, and there's much to admire. From the slight blush on her cheeks, to the crease above her upper eyelid, to the smooth slope of her jawline, Amakuni spared no effort making her photogenic. Her eyes are wide and ringed (reminescent of Huke's characters).

She also has a little fang, but it's so tiny it could be mistaken for a cold sore. I kind of wish it were a lip ring instead. Because how awesome would that be?

The back of Leviathan's head looks just about as good as her face. I'm always disappointed when figures end up with bowling ball head (I'm looking at you, Stocking), but happily, Leviathan's hair has all the right physics. Her right side is especially interesting, with a mini side-tail and lightning-bolt sideburn.

I remember a time when I rocked Leviathan's t-shirt-over-sleeves look. It was way back in middle school, when I roughed and rebelled with the rest of 'em. It's a look I fondly associate with the fiery throhs of youth and ignorance.

Overall, Leviathan's outfit is well rendered. The folds along her t-shirt are realistically sculpted, and the lines are, for the most part, clean. Her ENVY symbol is clear and obviously stenciled, and the knot in her t-shirt adds individuality to her design.

But Leviathan's outfit has two bright and massive weaknesses: Terrible seam lines along her side.

Leviathan's cast-off is one of the clumsiest I've ever seen. It's as though Amakuni didn't bother to check that she could be properly cast-on before releasing her. The pegs don't always match up with the holes, and more often than not, pushing one peg in means another will pop out. To make matters worse, some pegs are too large for their corresponding holes, and require some manual intervention to push in. With some patience, a blowdryer, and some needles (for precision), you can get her properly clothed, but there will still be substantial gaps in her shirt.

At times like this, I'm reminded of why I look upon cast-offs with some trepidation. There are clever, convenient ones, like the majority of Orchid Seed's. Then there are Leviathans. There's no telling how successful cast-offs will be until you have them in your hand. Given Leviathan's price, Amakuni should have considered including an exchangeable bust. Though on second though, that would mean seam problems lower down on her body...

I wonder if anyone's ever attempted a magnetic cast-off. That would be neat.

Moving south. Leviathan's belt is detailed, metallic, and, most importantly, stays out of the way of her super butt. As to not encroach on Native's territory, Amakuni has provided Leviathan with a bandage to cover her nether-regions. If you're naughty, you can peel it back, but it's a futile endeavor. Leviathan has Barbie crotch, smooth as butter and just as undefined. Since I lack the dexterity to perform such surgical manouvers myself, I learned this by stalking Leviathan photos online. Orchid Seed even provided a packet of extra bandages. Just in case.

We need more punk rock girls in our lives. Look at the mischievous grin on Leviathan's boots! I love it! There are slight paint slips on the buckles, and a thin seam down the middle, but her boots are so spankin' I really don't mind.

Leivathan comes with a pet bat-thing with a gas mask to obscure it's undoubtedly wide smile. Who doesn't want to be plastered against cushions so fine?

Unfortunately, Leviathan isn't without faults. I've already mentioned her clumsy cast-off. At closer glance, both her sculpt and paint job is not as strict as I would have liked for an exclusive figure.

Leviathan also has a few smaller inconsistencies that make her feel unpolished up close. There are mistakes that could have been smoothed over if the sculptor only spent five more minutes ensuring quality.

Her horn could be pressed closer to her head so that it's not floating above her hair, and the fingerprints along her stockings could have been remedied with a quick swab. It's the small things, my friends. It's always the small things.

But enough grump, let's get to the important part: Taking off her shirt.

Leviathan comes with an extra set of arms to compliment her nudity. Without her clothes, her pose is a little strange. She's either angry you stole her shirt, or trying to seduce you with a huffy chicken dance. But really, when you have measurements like hers, it doesn't matter what you do. It's all good.

Leviathan has wide, child-bearing hips, and subtle muscle lines around her stomach. I wish she had a modest stomach pouch, for a little extra chub in her midregion, but there's no love lost with what she has. She also has great sculpt on her back.

Leviathan cups her glutteal maximus in a manner most pleasing to the eye.

Tthat butt's working so hard it should clock overtime.

Of course, while Leviathan's generous rear end needs an equally generous topside. She's busty, but not overly so. Her boobs are gravitationally regular, and enjoy all the hang and perk of real boobies. Her nipples are pink and detailed. Amakuni even included the wrinkle in their center that lead into her lactiferous ducts. Yep. Biology. The more you know.

The one thing I enjoy about cast-offs is the ability to control just how naked a girl gets. I'm not a huge fan of all out nudity. I find it boring. Semi-nudity, however, is a whole other beast.

You can also switch in Leviathan's original arms for some extra coverage, but Levi-tan looks awkward flailing about (though I like to imagine she's about to spank herself), so it's best to include her bat friend. I'm sure the it's happy to partake of her generous curvature. Leviathan's smooth, unadorned butt doesn't have the best traction, so a belt is necessary to keep her pet in place.

The only trouble with using her striped arms is that they don't fit as snuggly as her unstriped ones. While her t-shirt usually obscures this, the gaps between her flesh and buckle become apparent when Leviathan is cast-off.

I wish Leviathan came with a guitar. Everyone looks good with a guitar.

I was late ordering Leviathan, and couldn't get her without her exclusive item. Therefore, instead of just having a figure, I also have a sexy handkerchief. Is the handkerchief worth the extra ten dollars? Well, that depends. Would you like to rub your face against a picture of a boobalicious anime girl?

Wait, don't answer that.

Illustrated by NIΘ, well known designer of the Hyakka Ryouran girls, the hankie depicts Leviathan in all her busty glory, propping up her ample bosom, and wearing nothing but buckles and a quizzical expression. Both sides are definitely not safe for work, though one side is slightly more censored than the other. What I would give for a figure of her with only blue nipple cups. What I would give...

Leviathan is one of the few exclusive figures I have. I don't pander in exclusives often because, let's face it, figure collecting is already financially punishing with standard runs. It's difficult to convince myself to buy exclusives unless they're cheap in the resale market (ha, good one), or I absolutely need them in my life. That being said, Leviathan is a character I know nothing about. She's not that fancy, or large, or well-known. Pass, right?

Nope. Something about her sucked me in. Incredible, considering I managed to talk myself out of more impressive exclusives, such as Alter's Hyakka Ryouran line and Amakuni's Noel Vermillion (a decision I now mildly regret). I can't say exactly what got me in the end. Maybe it's her punk outfit. Maybe it's her strong sense of character. Maybe it's her mix of youthful awkwardness and carnal allure, like she's just stumbled upon her own sexuality and doesn't quite know how to wield it yet.

Or maybe it's just that she's not wearing pants. Who can deny the call of supple, protruding buttcheeks? It is about the simple things, after all.

Amakuni must be confident The Seven Deadly Sins franchise will do well to release figures so early on in its development. Sure, the Seven Deadly Sins has been done to death, and wacky harems has also been done to death, but when have busty girls ever let a franchise down? Never underestimate the power of a good jiggle.

And while I'm not big on shows that shove ladybits down your wazoo, I have to admit I respect franchises that know exactly what they're doing, and advertise themselves shamelessly. After all, if you're going to do anything, you might as well own it.

Every time I do a photo shoot, I notice something new about the figure.

In my adventures with Levi-tan, I found she isn't all that versatile on angles. While she isn't exactly lacking from any side, it's clear she's sculpted with a specific presentation angle in mind. The shape of her face, as well as the sweep of her hair, all work best straight on. As much as I tried diversifying, I kept coming back to her front. After some contemplation, I figured it out. Leviathan's stare needs a target. Having a more serene figure stare blankly into the distance makes them seem contemplative, but Leviathan has a confrontational expression, and having her glare at thin air is just awkward.

Exclusives, exclusives, exclusives, you poor, scrutinized spectacle. I tend to judge exclusives with a severity I reserve for literature and employee performance reviews. I can tell myself that as long as I enjoy the product, I have made a good purchase, but my judgemental mind rejects such wish-washy rationalizations. To say the price of something has zero effect on my appreciation of it is tomfoolery. I can't deny my critique of a product is partially swayed by the amount I shell out. In a sense, I judge figures like I judge food. If I grab a coffee off the street, I don't mind if it's mediocre, but if I'm paying a hundred bucks for a gourmet cuppa, it better be a numinous orgy of flavourful ambrosia on my tongue. I better be crying by the time I finish it. Crying diamonds.

As with all exclusive figures, I ordered Leviathan with a healthy dose of doubt. Do I really want to pay that much? Will she turn out as nice as her promo pics advertise? Should I instead save for other figures? Is she worth the fifteen used books, or six sushi buffets, or 1/133 of a master's degree I could get for the same price?

Well, is she?

That's a hard one. Happily, I'm quite fond of Leviathan. Sure, she has her troubles, and her awkward cast-off is unfortunate at best, but her unique outfit, well rendered face, and excellent measurements overwhelm her minor disappointments. However, she's expensive for her size and quality. As an exclusive, she's still not as impressive as some of the standard run figures I possess, both in terms of quality and shelf presence. Mingle her into my collection, and she disappears against heavyweights like Alter's Dizzy, GSC's Ultimate Madoka, and Max Factory's Aoba. Sure, her base is fancy, but it can't really compete with the equally heavy, more atmospheric bases of GSC's Black Rock Shooter line. Other exclusives I have, such as Alpha x Omega's Alice, have cleaner details and cleaner cast-offs.

Even after this review, I'm ambivalent about her purchase. I like her, but she's expensive. Perhaps a part of me likes her because she's expensive. While I don't regret paying a hefty sum for Leviathan, the fact that her price was hefty will always be in the back of my mind. Then again, that's just how exclusives roll. If I ever feel bad, I can always just take a look at her resale values and preen.

For more pics of Levithan, visit more prompt and masterful blogs, Wieselhead, and Figyura.

The Run-Down

Box	7/10	Sturdy, nice windows, great grunge
Base	7/10	Choice between two bases, but big version looks too plastic
Pose	8/10	Aggressive, full of personality, great proportions
Sculpt	7/10	Fail cast-off, some seam and roughness issues
Paint	8.5/10	Minor roughnes, but nothing damning
Overall	8/10	Sexy and cute overall

Manufacturer: Amakuni
Price: 8381 yen (Upwards of 11-12k by proxy)
Purchased from:Big in Japan

Circle, circle, dot, dot,
Jenn

Ah, it's been a while since we last had an Oh Noes! How nostalgic!

Sadly, the longer you collect, the higher your chances of having a mishap. Nevermind fault or folly, accidents happen. Stuff breaks. Things fall. We have naught to do but take to the Internet, vent our frustrations, and mope. If anything, they at least make interesting stories. Oh life, you and your villainous trials!

I like to think Hacker's mishap infused with purity. That is, no one was directly culpable, and there was no deception or malice intended. A pure and radiant accident. Like getting caught in a hailstorm in the middle of July. It's hard to get angry because there's no one to blame. Responsibility, if any, is spread so thin that emoting strongly seems childish and wasteful. As the British say, Keep Calm and Carry On ~~Drinking~~.

I have learned many things in my collecting career—things that I can store for future consultation, or better yet, use for anecdotes. One thing I picked up early, is that rattling noises are bad, especially with scaled figures. Rattling means something has come loose, and nothing should ever come loose when you're dealing with fragile pieces of PVC.

So when I picked up Hacker's box to hear the distinct bicker of loose parts, I heaved a sigh and steeled my soul. Let it be a joint dislocation rather than a straight-out fracture, I thought, as I gazed skyward towards some presumed figure diety, so I can at least attempt to repair her without leaving scars.

As I popped open Hacker's box to ascertain the damage, the source of her rattle became clear. Hacker was missing an arm. Well, not missing, per se, just misplaced. Her amputated limb was getting snug with one of her twin tails in the blister box. To vindicate the good people at AmiAmi, her box was well padded with an exccess of packing paper. There was no sign of physical damage on her box.

Beautiful, I thoughtwith some trepidation, but hey, accidents happen. In a batch of hundreds (maybe thousands), it's expected to get a few bad apples. Both humans and machines make ocassional mistakes.

I snapped a few pictures, and opened her blister box for further examination. Not surprisingly, all that PVC on PVC action lead to some nasty paint transfers. The navy of her sleeve had rubbed dark streaks into her hair.

And vice versa, though the yellow wasn't nearly as obvious. I've highlighted the yellow smudge on her arm.

In vain, I poked her arm back into her shoulder, only to have it tumble back out. I repeated this action three times, for reliability's sake, then I mulled. I considered my options. What to do? Do I glue her arm back in, ignore the stains, and carry on? No, such inertness didn't sit right with me. After all, a factory defect is a factory defect, and figures aren't cheap. Besides, I had heard of GSC's legendary customer support when it comes to broken figures, and thought it the perfect opportunity to try it out myself. So I snapped more shots, and sent a polite email explaining my situation.

(For those that are wondering whey I would email GSC about a Max Factory figure, the two companies have a long-standing relationship, and GSC distributes all of Max Factory's figures, so they fall under the same umbrella.)

Then, I brewed myself a cuppa, and waited.

Three days later, I got a straight-froward reply.

Ah, I thought as I performed a brief, undulating dance, so, this story has a happy ending. And, more importantly, Good Smile Company's customer support is as legendary as rumoured.

Three weeks later, a package arrived in the mail. Huzzah! I love that they priced the package at 1 yen, so even if customs decides ~~to be an ass~~ to do their jobs, I could hardly be charged anything at all.

Replacement Hacker's arm is exactly where it should be. Happy times.

Also, notice that replacement Hacker does not come with a box or a base. I'm guessing some finanacially motivated people out there attempt to procure extra figures off GSC's customer support just to make a profit, and such measures are taken to (rightfully) make their lives harder.

Pictured: Awesome customer service.

All in all, I could have called it a day, but I'm not one to abandon one Hacker just because she hadn't an arm and couldn't stand. She looked sad being horizontal and incapacitated, so I got to work. I bought some Superglue and stuck her arm back in, careful to ensure none of the glue squished out of her shouler socket. After a few minutes of of setting, I gave it a few good flicks to make sure it stayed in place (it did).

Satisfied, I went matchmaking. I pulled out my boxed figures and examined their bases. I sifted through them until I found one that fit Hacker—Fate Testarossa's base, plain clothes version. One of her pegs slips snuggly into Hacker's foot. The base is a little small, and Hacker's a little wobbly, but until I can create a more suitable base, it'll do.

Water proved futile when tackling her hair stains. Instead, I grabbed my rubbing alcohol and swabbed the stains with a Q-tip. If anything, the alcohol worked too well, and lifted off both stain and paint. I went from darker lines, to faded patches, which was only a slight improvement. Anyone looking close enough will still see the damage, but it's less obvious than before.

When I was done, I was left with two upright Hackers, looking equally beautiful and unimpressed.

Apathy twins will apathize.

On an interesting note, I have never gotten two versions of the exact same figure before, so this was my first opportunity for a direct compare and contrast. It shouldn't have surprised me that the two Hackers have differences, especially in shading. My original, broken Hacker had darker shading overall than my replacement Hacker. Even in the picture above, you can see the different shades in her twin tails. In fact, replacement Hacker seems a midge paler when it comes to colour. Neat.

Overall, Hacker's amputation was a pleasant experience, as far as accidents go. So, wide world, have you ever recieved a broken figure? Have you ever contacte GSC for replacement parts? I'm a lucky duck, in that many of my mishaps were easily remedied. My worst experience with a "new" figure goes to Max Factory's swimsuit Clalaclan. My worst experience with an used item was when one of my figures came snapped in half (Superglue fixed that one too, but it was unpleasant). Have you had an especially hair-tearing experience?

I feel like I have to dedicate a paragraph to lauding GSC's famous customer support. In all honesty, they could have easily blamed the post office and left it at that. "Not our problem after it ships" is a popular excuse to dodge responsibility, but GSC rises above such petty defenses. If I've learned anything about running a business (which I don't know how to do in the slightest), it's that healthy customer service is positively correlated with long-term profitability. So, GSC, good on you, for understanding that taking care of your audience means taking care of yourselves. Respect, birdies.

Cheerio,
Jenn

"Let's initiate the survival strategy!"—Princess of the Crystal

Once in a while, I pick up a figure that doesn't have guns a-blazin', booty a-bouncin', or bases a-stounding. Once in a while, I pick up figures because I like the character (shocking, I know). Princess of the Crystal had a slew of memorable moments in Mawaru Penguin Drum. She's flamboyant, blunt, dominating, and able to deliver a deadpan seiron senryaku. She made me laugh, and laughter is a surefire way to my heart.

Mawaru Penguindrum was an—interesting show. It has the special distinction of making me legit cry without fully understanding why. The only other entity to do that was the last paragraph of Cormac McCarthy's The Road (trout, guys, trout). With heavy symbolism, numerous cross-references, a nonlinear narrative, and a preoccupation on theme, Mawaru Penguindrum exactly the sort of show I usually dismiss as pretentious, except that I actually enjoyed it, damn it. It's artistic direction, beautiful soundtrack, well-rounded characters, and incredible atmospheric development made up for whatever downfalls it might have had. Sure, it got ambiguous and poetic at times, but it also refused to hold my hand, and dared me to engage.

I could happily write essays about this show, but that's not what we're here for. We're here for plastic goodness.

Princess of the Crystal's box is heavy, corrugated, and made to catch your eye. Nevermind grace or coordination. This box is all about blam. It has symbols abound, bold text, and glaring red circles. I love it. GSC nailed her backdrop. It's a beautiful, brazen pink. Promo pics of the Princess are made to stand out. It's in no way an elegant box. It just wants to be noticed.

(**Click to enlarge photos**)

Princess of the Crystal has an enormous base. It's the size and weight of a frisbee. This is no wafer-thin piece of plastic we're talking about. We're talking about dinner-plate-style mass. I could eat off this appletini slab, it's so sizeable. Thankfully, its semi-trasparency is rather attractive, and as you'll see below, her highness doesn't actuallyneed a stand at all.

Princess of the Crystal has an unique sense of fashion. If I were to describe it in one word, it would be: Ringmaster. Her theatrical clash of colours, leotard, and nonsensical penguin hat give her a strong, circus flair. This ain't your mother's school uniform, sir. The Princess sets her own trends. Her thigh-highs and high cut panties add a sense of fetishism to her figure.

Posed with one hand outstretched and heels firmly planted, Princess of the Crystal gives off an aura of dominance and assurance. What do you think she's saying? Probably, "Listen, you lowlifes who will never amount to anything. Obtain the Penguin Drum." While I'm a little disappointed she doesn't have this pose:

IMAGINE!

I'm still relatively satisfied with the pose we got. Now that I think about it, her dynamic pose would require a more dynamic face (otherwise it would seem forced and silly), and figure companies are, for whatever reason, reluctant to sculpt shouting expressions.

Princess of the Crystal wins my award for Most Delayed Figure (though some of Alter's 2013 figures will surely surpass her). Slated for release November of 2012, she was finally released June 2013. See, I'm a patient person, but half a year, GSC, half a year. Sit down, and reflect upon your actions!

Thank goodness she's near perfect. With the last few GSC figures being either a bit of a flop (Racing Miku 2011, and Inori) or less impressive than I imagined (Tenshi), GSC was overdue for a good one. Princess of the Crystal looks just like her promo pictures, maybe even a little better. I love her eyes. She has very distinct, ~~laser~~ magenta eyes, and GSC doesn't disappoint.

Princess of the Crystal's hat isn't removeable, and covers many of the nasty hair seams we're so used to seeing on figures. The back of her hair could have been a bit less, clumpy, and more layered, but it's not enough for me to list it as a fault.

Princess of the Crystal's hat is an interesting entity. On one hand, it's a hat. On the other, it's one half of a small girl's soul. Never you mind who. I speaketh no spoilers. The sculpt of her hat is clean, and the paint is sharp. The penguin hat even has little nostrils, which I find eternally endearing.

In the past few months, GSC has tumbled from my second favourite manufacturer to my fourth. Much of their descent is thanks to the questionable quality of their more recent figures, but Princess of the Crystal infuses them with a much needed dose of esteem.

Princess of the Crystal is one part girl, two parts dress, and GSC pulls through mightily with her outfit. Look at the cleaniness of her lines, the excellent gloss, the discreet wrinkles of her coat, the glorious indents in her skirt! The variation between gloss and matte gives her costume a mixed-materials appearance. Her top, sleeves, and heels looks like vinyl, while her skirt and hat appear softer. Oh my, material verisimilitude! I do enjoy material verisimilitude.

Princess of the Crystal gets naked frequently, and it's little wonder why. Her dress is enormous! If I had to drag around half a hot air balloon, I'd want to get rid of it too.

Princess of the Crystal was auto-EMS thanks to her enormous skirt. It easily increases her size twice (maybe even thrice), which, if I have learned anything from zoology, establishes her as a dominent member of her species. There are no real sculpt or paint issues to grump about. I assume the white bits were wriggled on after the black and red sections are painted to prevent paint bleed from occuring. Clever.

There are a couple of what appear to be oil stains on the black regions of her dress, but they're not noticeable at most angles.

Princess of the Crystal has some fabulous boots. Having tried 7-inchers maybe twice in my life, I can attest to the skill it takes to stand, let alone strut, in heels. The added height gives a satisfying sense of dominance, but the extra ankle-twisting wasn't worth it. Thus was born my immense respect for women (and men) who can work these babies on an everyday basis.

The wrinkles along the back of her ankle are gorgeous, and the sheen, oh my, the sheen. Look at the light reflect off her calves. Not a single fingerprint or blemish in sight. It's positively orgasmic!

GSC is a Big Name when it comes to figures, but they aren't renouned for producing the most detailed work. As I always assert, Alter is the true champion of Byzantine frou-frou, set on a pedestal so lofty that other companies can only keen for scraps from below. (Ok, maybe that was a slight exaggeration. Please don't break my limbss, other companies. I need those to pick up Alter figures.) This time though, GSC almost nailed it.

Princess of the Crystal has wonderful distinction on her buttons and hat. The tassels on her penguin hat end in attractive pearl adornments that are both finished and clean. Her fingernails are glossed. Her folds are crisp, especially around her sleeves. The only imperfection I can spot is the slight smidge where her forearm meets her sleeve. I suppose her ribbon could be a little less laffy-taffy too.

Yes, the Princess is a cast off. With a bottom so substantial, was there really any doubt it would come off? Nevermind that Princess of the Crystal has a certain proclivity for disappearing her garments anyhow, making her cast-off 100% cannon. She comes apart easily at the waist to release her jumbo dress.

Despite the skirt not covering much in the first place, Princess of the Crystal seems much more exposed without it.

I'm not sure I dig the Princess's high-riding leotard. Sure, it lengthens her legs, but it also looks like it would chafe. When her promo pics first emerged, I worried for her crotch region. From a distance, her panties seemed to cut into her crotch zone, giving her two seams in a very delicate place. In addition, it seemed plain and unrealistically smooth. Thankfully, no seams are to be found on her figure, though the plainess remains.

Fortunately, GSC makes up for it with a frilly rump. The ruffles add a bit of spice to her rear, and, as an additional perk, distracts from her pancake butt. Yup, the Princess is a flat as a Stunfisk. You can bet she's not one for squats and lunges. She's the opposite of asstastic. She's got no junk in the trunk. There ain't no cushin for the pushin'. On a scale of one to badonkadonk, she's a badonkadon't. Someone stop me. Please.

Sure, she's technically 14 (who knows how old the Princess is in her soul), but let's not forget most girls begin puberty at age 10, which means by age 14, what you see is mostly what you get.

Thankfully, everyone knows a girl's true appeal doesn't lie in her measurements, but how she wears them, and the Princess certainly does not give a single ~~fuck~~ damn what anyone thinks.

Besides, she has a nice back. MOVING ON.

There's only one place where GSC messed up with Princess of the Crystal, and it has nothing with what's already present. Let's consider.
1. Princess of the Crystal can stand without her base while cast-on.
2. Princess of the Crystal can't stand without her base while cast-off.

Is it more important to provide a proper base for her cast-on, or cast-off? Right, it makes more sense to give a proper base to her cast-off option, considering she can't stand without one. However, GSC decided to give her a base best suited for her cast-on option, leaving those who want to display her cast-off with an awkwardly enormous frisbee.

Now, I have nothing against her huge base, but GSC should have foreseen the possibility that some people would want to display her without her skirt, and included a second, smaller base. After all, lack of space is a collector's Dire Enemy, and maximizing space is a necessary skillset in this hobby. As is, the cast-off Princess looks silly hogging a base that could plausibly hold four of her.

Princess of the Crystal is sculpted by Iwanaga Sakurako, who happens to be one of my favourite sculptors in the figure business. His slender female forms are a breath of fresh air amid the juicy bazongas that are so prevalent in this hobby. Having knockout figures like Love is War Miku under his belt only helps. Unfortunately, Sakurako's sculpts all seem to lean towards the small side, and Princess of the Crystal is no exception. She looks closer to 1/8.5 or 1/9 than 1/8. Here she is next to two other Sakurako figure, looking proportionate.

Here she is next to Senjougahara (my go-to figure for 1/8 comparisons, for no particular reason), where her smaller size becomes obvious. At 19 cm tall, Princess of the Crystal would only be 152 cm in life, which actually seems plausible given the petite size of her character. Still, I would have liked to see her a mite taller. She gets dwarfed by most 1/8 figures.

Her small size is especially apparent when she's cast-off, but her dress partially compensates for her puniness. She's like a bird. Mostly puff.

If there's anything that can make or break a figure, it's the face, and Princess of the Crystal has an amazing face. She smiles with her eyes. If that's not an example of sculpting finesse, I don't know what is.

I had some difficulty thinking up backgrounds for Princess of the Crystal. After all, what could be more perfect than the backdrop GSC already provides? Unlike many girls, who I can plunk amidst some flowers and snap away, Princess of the Crystal demands special attention. She resides in an entirely different dimension, filled with rocket ships, teddy bears, and all sorts of flashy pizzazz. It's not like I could just snap shots of her in any old flora. And I was not willing to take her onto a crowded subway. I feel like I could have some fun with glo-sticks and precious gems, but alas, I have neither at this moment.

Another challenge in my photo journey with the Princess, was her colossal dress. Carrying that thing around was like carrying another DSLR. No dainty poses for the Princess, no sir, her skirt demanded the presence of solid ground at all times. No placing her on tree limbs, or whimsically hanging her off my old skool clock. I could brain someone with that fluttering clam. No joke.

I hoped that after a 6 month delay, that GSC would give her a trio of penguins. After all, what is Princess of the Crystal without her avian minions? How awesome would it have been to have her standing on them (perhaps too awesome for the universe to handle)? That she lacked penguins was a missed opportunity in my books. They could have been the extra little detail that elevated the Princess to a whole new level of perfection. Sure, she's still gorgeous in every possible way, but she's missing that little extra oomph. Now, I'm tempted to buy her nendoriod just for the penguins.

Recently, I found myself grappling with an unsettling phenomenon. Figures haven't been able to take my breath away like they used to, or, at least, they haven't been able to take my breath away with the same intensity or frequency as when I first began collecting. When I recieved Alter's Gwendolyn, I spent hours turning her around in my hands in reverence. Now, even with dynamic, high-quality, objectively stunning figures, I rarely get the same level of, for lack of a better word, YEEOWZA. Blame it on burn-out, or the recent delays in production, or increased financial pressures, but my figure intake in the last half year has declined dramatically. I was beginning to wonder whether my passion for the hobby had waned.

Clam.

Thankfully, Princess of the Crystal managed to inject me with a good ol' dose of excitement. You would think a six month delay would put a damper on my mood, but the Princess's allure proved too powerful to diminish. While she doesn't crack my top 10 list (which only speaks of the quality of those top 10 figures), she's definitely up there in terms of quality. Her gorgeous face, excellent paint job, and overall cleaniness gives GSC a good reputation boost in my books. You could even say she redeems GSC's for their recent faceplants. Plus, I find Princess of the Crystal's design ridiculously magical.

So, would I recommend GSC's Princess of the Crystal? Yes, with the passion of a thousand pasadobles! Several other companies offer their own Princess of the Crystal, though none have quite captured her with the same adeptness as GSC (except perhaps Alter's). Mawaru Penguin Drum fan or not, she's an asset to any collection.

It's too bad that Princess of the Crystal seems to be the only character from the series that major companies seem willing to immortalize. After seeing GSC's fantastic rendition, I would love to see more of the cast. The recent influx of male figures gives me slim hope that I'll one day see a Kanba or Shouma, or even better, an electrifying Dr. Sanetoshi (a certain pigeon dating game has endeared to me gorgeous, morally questionable doctors with energetic twin sidekicks). I doubt any of them will get anything substantial, but just for the record, I would die if Dr. Sanetoshi got a figure. I would die, and buy him from beyond the grave.

Until then, Penguin Drum fans will have to be satisfied with Princess of the Crystal. GSC's version is still available at most major figure outlets, and given by her sale trends, will probably show up on resale circles at about market price. Pick her up if you're interested! You won't be disappointed.

Princess of the Warhol?!

The Run-Down

Box	8/10	Corrugated cardboard with bold symbols
Base	6/10	Relatively attractive, but too large for her cast-off option
Pose	9/10	Fitting, but could be slightly more energetic
Sculpt	9.5/10	Beautiful face, great details, but a mite small
Paint	9.5/10	Tiny, tiny oil stains in her skirt, otherwise perfect
Overall	8.5/10	Gorgeous, but her lack of penguins, small size, and too-large base takes away from her overall presentation

Manufacturer: Good Smile Company
Price: ¥9333
Purchased from: AmiAmi

Box Dimensions: 29 x 27 x 27 cm
Weight: approx 1500g
Shipping Method: EMS

Share ALL the fruit of fate,
Jenn

Summer Wonfes has come and gone, bringing with it a veritable orgy of plastic goodness to tease and tickle the senses—and what a numinous orgy it was! Here at Poke the Merch, we are solemnly consulting physicians to discover which organs we can safely pawn in exchange for figure funds. After all, we have our priorities straight.

So, given the better-than-expected showing this Wonfes, what did we find especializing tantalizing?

Jenn's List

The Want

Alter's Aty

Red, check. Dynamic, check. Alter, check. Glasses, check! Is it any wonder Aty shoots to the top of my watch list? Of course not. I've never played Summon Night 3, but that's neither here nor there. After all, I need as much context to appreciate figures as I need an astrophysics degree to appreciate stars (a.k.a. none). Aty's aesthetically appealing enough on her own to stoke my collector's lust. I will pre-order her with the speed of a thousand octane engines!

Alter's Sonico

Sonico + Alter = Win! It's not opinion, it's math, and math doesn't lie. Besides, it's about time a big company succumbed to Sonico's bodacious charms. Look at those big eyes, those curves, that sweet smile, that fuzzy hood! I must have her. Even as a sculpt, she looks amazing. Knowing Alter, her paint job's going to be spectacular as well. There's little doubt in my mind that I will pre-order her. Girls in hoodies for life!

Max Factory's 7th Dragon 2020 Miku

7th Dragon 2020's Songstress Miku is an odd entry. I can name half a dozen things I dislike like about her. Her head is funny-shaped. Her eyes look sketchy. Her hair looks plastic. Her skirt reminds me of Hacker's. She's wide. She'll be expensive. Her blue-white-black colour scheme isn't as daring as either of her predecessors', and, well, she's another Miku. Yet despite my misgivings, there is something about the way she comes together that's different, and not in a bad way. Her big eyes, open arms, and almost cheesy strut is oddly charming. Plus Max Factory's quality is undeniable. I expect this figure, much like Samurai and Hacker, to grow on me over time.

Sentinal's Levi

When Sentinal unveiled their Levi figure, I screamed forever. Yes. He's perfect. Levi is always perfect. Sure, Sentinal isn't known for their high quality figures, but Levi will elevate them by presence alone. As long as Sentinal nails his deadpan expression, I don't care what they do with the rest of him. It's his defining characteristic, after all. I'm also keeping an eye on Kotobukiya's Levi. I will get all the Levis. I will carry them around in my pocket. Yes.

GSC's Mikasa Ackerman

Continuing the Kyojin love! Is it a surprise Mikasa Ackerman got a scaled figure? Of course not. Badass without sacrificing her humanity, Mikasa is exactly the sort of female character I adore. Given GSC's female-only policy (disclaimer: not an actual policy, disclaimer: Len excluded), I wouldn't be surprised if she were the only character of the series to get a scaled figure (although if they do a Hanji Zoe, my year will explode out of sheer stupendity). I can't wait to see Mikasa's prototype.Give her a flying action pose, GSC, and you're guaranteed my money.

Native's Margit Suzuki

By Native standards, Margit Suzuki is a simple figure. She doesn't have hair everywhere, or complex props, or an unique outfit (we've all seen the school uniform + thigh high combination before). She has only her lab coat, her red specs, her froggie slippers, and science. Look at her face. She's not embarrassed, she's contemplative. She's not playing with herself, she's engaging in experimental clitoral stimulation, and I must have her. In typical Native fashion, her lady parts are displayed unconventionally—through the feeble censorship of a transparent test tube. My only gripe with this figure is her childish appearance. I like my dirty figures curvier.

Alter's Shinobu

She's doesn't have a prototype yet, and she's already on my want list. The mere announcement that Alter is picking up Shinobu was enough to send me into spasms of excitement. It looks like she's getting a cute, sunhat too. Yes! Shinobu is one of the few ladies I am willing to shrine, and Alter is one of the few companies in which I have full confidence. Unless something goes very, very wrong, I'll be picking her up.

Amakuni's MarikaKatou

Ok, so she wasn't announced at Wonfes, per se, but we did get many more tantelizing pictures. I've been waiting for Marika to get a figure. Mouretsu Pirates seems like a silly premise (school girl pirates in space? Pffft), but it turned out to be an enjoyable run, and Marika is difficult to dislike. She's silly, devious, hard-working, and charismatic all at once. Her costume is a pefect mix of school uniform and pirate captain. Look at her almost-smirk! Oh, and that trailing cape is too cool for skool. I'm a bit worried about her price, given that she's an Amakuni exclusive, but that's really the only misgiving I have about her.

The Maybes

Megahouse's Dragon's Crown figures

I'm on the fence about Megahouse's Dragon's Crown series. I dig their dynamic poses and beautiful faces, but I'm not sure I like their proportions. Even Archer, who is the least stylized of the girls, has a disproportionately tiny head given the size of her body. I wish Alter picked up the Dragon Crown girls, given the fantastic job they did on their Odin Sphere and Muramasa lines, but Megahouse is by no means a shabby company. Still, I will need to see their paint jobs before making a decision.

Alter's Hayate Yagami

Finally! Some Hayate love! I've been waiting for Hayate to get a good child sculpt for years. I'm just disappointed it doesn't vary much from her adult form. She's still got her wide-legged stance. She still has her staff in one hand and Book of Darkness in the other. As much as I love her determined expression, I'm not sure I'm as in love with her as I want to be. She's on my watch list for now, but whether I'll order her remains to be seen.

Kotobukiya's Olivia

My reaction to Olivia goes exactly as follows, "Oh my god, pretty wings! Oh, wait, it's a Koto." Koto, what am I supposed to say? My contempt towards them isn't exactly a secret. After all, they have a history of disappointing me. Their paint jobs have never been spectacular, their sculpts are lacking up close, and they have a tendency to present prettier prototypes than finished products. So yes, Olivia looks fantastic now, but I doubt she'll be mind-blowing in the end. If, if, if Kotobukiya can nail this one, I will put them back in my good books. Until then, Olivia stays firmly in my peripheral vision.

Pulchra's Yukari Yuzuki, Max Factory's Cerberus, FREEing/Max Factory's Senbonzakura Miku

These three ladies caught my eye, but I have no real desire towards ordering them yet. Yukari Yuzuki is one of the gorgeous, V3 vocaloids, and one of my favourites to boot. Pulchra has her sculpt down to a tee, but I'll need to see her painted before making any financial commitments. Senbonzakura Miku may or may not come out fantastic, depending on which company is actually doing her (does anyone know for sure? Is it a collaboration?). Her floppy sleeves and yummy outfit look fantastic, but again, it's yet another Miku figure. Finally, I have no idea who Cerberus is, but she was interesting enough to catch my attention. Puppy dog hand gloves? Wut, wuuut?

Ash's List

Fighting against every basic human instinct for food and shelter for:

Max Factory's Benten

Yes, this prancing confusion of limbs is a guy. He’s from a manga called Zone-00 and the only things I remember about the series are the sexy nuns, and pacing so erratic, it gave me whiplash. Zone-00 is a relatively obscure manga series with no anime, and Benten isn't even the main character. So this announcement is very much a cross-section of numerous unlikely decisions. Max Factory clearly aimed to shock and amaze with this one and they absolutely succeeded. Even if I didn't know who Benten was, I would want him anyways. His design doesn't just hit my buttons, it freaking smashes them. A cursory glance reveals an ethereal being, all feathers, hair and lutes but on closer inspection, you get a glimpse of a tattoo, a cigarette and eye make-up that would shame a hooker. He's a gorgeous blend of grace and grit, like a bewinged pin-up. Based on Aoba and Benten, it's clear that Max Factory is aiming to be a major threat to the male figure collector's wallet.

Megahouse's Ginpachi-sensei

Gintama is my favourite series so predictably, I've set out to grab every scaled figure from the series that I possibly can. It's worth noting that Gintoki figures alone comprise about 20% of my current collection so to say that I'm shrining him is putting it lightly (you can never have too much badass in your collection, after all). The be-spectacled and consumate fetish-fuel, Ginpachi-sensei is one of Gintoki's many personae. He is a teacher at Gintama High and sometimes actually manages to do his job occasionally despite his obvious lack of fucks. I'm digging the devil-may-care stride of this figure. And as though he wasn't delectable enough, he's fetching cake (or books depending on the attachment). Combined with his unruly appearance and a face that screams, "the hell you lookin' at?", he would have been on my must-have radar even if he wasn't already my favourite character.

Alter's Nanase Haruka

When Alter announced that it was going to release Free!'s Nanase Haruka, it came as a shock to a whopping 0% of the fans. Seriously, this show is as famous for its hype as it is for its rampant homo-eroticism. It's only five episodes in and I bet there's already a movie in the works. Nevertheless, this news is definitely not unwelcome. In fact, it's exactly one of the things I'd been looking forward to when I first got into the series. Nanase may be one of the first scaled male swimsuit figures ever and given his preternatural relationship with water, I can't think of a more appropriate character for that honour. When Alter offers me an unrealistically rippled pretty boy in a skintight swimsuit, I don't need a prototype. My baser urges are pretty much in the driver's seat at that point.

Megahouse's Kuroko Tetsuya

Check out that dynamism! It's as though Kuroko's been frozen mid-play. I'm impressed with the subtle sculpt of his musculature and focused expression (no doubt readying himself to troll some unsuspecting player through misdirection). I'm highly delighted with his sculpt already. His clothes and limbs are expertly rendered and I look forward to seeing it painted. Megahouse also captured his face's natural cuteness. The precarious pose is a bit of a concern for me. I love that Megahouse is taking a bit of a risk with this pose but I hope that leaning won't be an issue. With Megahouse taking up Kuroko no Basket, Kotobukiya taking up Prince of Tennis and Alter taking on Free!, I'm looking at a finance-depleting collection of anime athletes and you'll hear no complaints from me.

FREEing's Senbonzakura Kaito and Len

I have a burning propensity for Taisho era-inspired clothing. It's the enticing combination of clean, power-exuding military uniforms with the floral, swish of traditional Japanese clothing that can utterly rob me of any sense of frugality. Not to mention that I've been waiting for Kaito to get a scaled figure ever since I started collecting. He's my favourite Vocaloid and woefully underrepresented. So imagine the joy-fueled paroxysms I experienced when FREEing announced that they were going to release the Senbonzakura version Vocaloids. I'm a fan of Len and Kaito's Senbonzakura designs so I'm looking forward to seeing the prototypes. Though simply by releasing the first scaled Kaito figure they've secured a purchase from me. Like Sentinel, FREEing doesn't have the credibility that companies like Megahouse, Alter and GSC have but once again, like Sentinel, they have managed to pander to my tastes completely. Speaking of which...

Sentinel's Levi

I know Jenn already mentioned him but this announcement bears repeating. His fabulous ornamentation coupled with that annoyed and cold expression sing to me the virtues of my impending poverty. He's sporting a military style but with a roguish flair so I honestly never stood a chance. He's also packing. Is there a single inch on his body that doesn't promise certain doom for any wandering titan? Nope. With just a disdainful glare from the first picture he can probably cause a lesser titan to drop dead from shame. His prototype looks superb so I'll give Sentinel a chance despite their lack of street cred.

Megahouse's Aladdin

Doesn't it look like he's about to burst into song? I'm tickled by Aladdin's playful dance-like pose but the things that won me over the most were his eyes and expressive face. They're gorgeously painted and exude Aladdin's happy magic. Not to mention the painted prototypes suggest that he's strikingly vibrant where it counts. He's just so wonderfully blue and puffy. His flute and wand are also beautifully detailed. I'm even willing to overlook the fact that Aladdin can come off as toothpick thin because his adorably big smile is just so darn persuasive.

Alter's Jinguuji Ren, Hijirikawa Masato, Kurusu Shou, and Shinomiya Natsuki

I'm not going to get into how I feel about Utapri and its characters. I'll leave that to my Tokiya review. I will say that based on Tokiya (who is from the same series as these four) and that fact that they are from Alter, these gentlemen will, in all likelihood, be technically stunning. It's hard to ignore scrupulous craftsmanship and bright colours and I've very good reason to believe that Ren, Shou, Natsuki and Masato will have all of those things in spades. Whether I'll buy all four, pick and choose between them, or ignore them completely remains uncertain right now. I'll keep these boys in my sights for now and wait for their painted prototypes.

Kotobukiya's Malik, Yami Malik, and Yoko Kurama

Poke the Merch is very vocal about its criticism of Kotobukiya, but to be fair, they are asking for it. Most of the time their prototypes are deceptively enticing but then they fail to deliver. I suspect this will be the case with Yoko Kurama whose prototype is sublime. So I'm naturally cautious about ordering him. In other cases, the prototypes actually resemble the sub-par product you will ultimately end up paying for which is basically the case for the YuGiOh! line. Unfortunately, Koto knows how to prey mercilessly on my sense of nostalgia. I am sorely tempted by Yu Yu Hakusho's Yoko Kurama and YuGiOh!'s Malik and Yami Malik. In fact, I want all the figures from those series but I can't stand the idea of paying good money for crappy paint jobs and wonky hips. They already got me with their Prince of Tennis figures and now with their YuGiOh! and Yu Yu Hakusho figures baiting me, I'm starting to understand why they don't bother improving their quality. I mean, why bother when they can just as easily appeal to the impetuous little kid in us all?

Suich's List

Appreciating, but probably not buying:

It's true! While I most likely will not be buying the figures displayed fabulously at Wonfes, I can certainly appreciate them! They're all eye candy!

Alter's Tales of Symphonia Line

I'm really glad Alter picked up the Tales of series because it really deserves top quality figures! Plus the costumes generally look nice. Alter's definitely captured Zelos' character, though I will admit that he seems geared more towards the female collectors. I'm not saying the males won't be picking him up but you know Zelos wants a lady judging by his pose! I'm sure Alter and/or Tales of Symphonia fans will want to add him to their collection. It's a male figure so naturally he'll be cheaper than all the female figures done by Alter! Get your money ready, fans!

Good Smile Company's Nendoroid Link

I'll admit it. I didn't see this one coming. I didn't expect GSC to pick up a Nintendo character, but I sure as hell am not complaining! I love Link! I also love chibi-fied characters, so yeah, I might be tempted to pick this little guy up. I know a certain hard-core Zelda fan who will definitely pre-order him the second she saw him. The Zelda series could definitely use more affordable figures, so I'm glad GSC's releasing a Nendoroid of Windwaker Link! Hopefully they grab Zelda or Midna next! Link should have a buddy on the shelf!

Can you imagine a Navi Nendoroid? Not as an attachment for Link. Just a Nendoroid. It'd be pretty bad, right?

Megahouse's Aladdin and Morgiana

I love how the Magi characters look as though they're dancing! They're so carefree and happy I can't help but smile when I look at them!

Aladdin, being the adventurous 10-year-old that he is here, looks adorable and full of spirit! I always appreciate the sense of movement in some figures. Just look at the "whoosh" in his pose. His hair bounces out as he lifts himself with the balls of his feet. I love it! In addition to that, I believe he comes with a tiny (derpy) dancing Aladdin as well! Too bad it wasn't on display with big Aladdin.

I actually really like that Aladdin's staff has a bit of texture. Well, at least from here it looks like it does. We can't judge him properly unless he's in our hands, right? In any case, I'm happy G.E.M. Megahouse picked him up!

Next we have Morgiana who looks absolutely lovely here, what with her elegant dancing pose and her smashing smile. I think most of us Magi fans imagined her in her standard outfit if she ever got a figure, so I think we were taken by surprise here! Not only is she wearing her dance festival costume but she's actually smiling, which is quite rare! I think Magi fans all around would be happy having this amazing little lady on their shelves! Until she's ready to be released, you can only gaze upon her unpainted splendor online! Hopefully Morgiana will come with a mini Mor. I'm counting on you to do a good job, Megahouse!

And that concludes our Wonfes spazzing! There were plenty of amazing figures on display this year and chances are our wallets are already weeping. Some figures aren't available for pre-order yet, so it's time to start saving up!

It was a pleasure to see more male figures on display this year. They're finally getting the love they deserve so let's look forward to seeing more!

What figures are you all looking forward to?

Peace out,
Poke Crew

Yuu's "Magic" (Doujinshi)

Wonfes Winter 2014

1/8 Aladdin - G.E.M. Series (Megahouse)NSFW

1/7 Menma swimsuit ver. (Max Factory)

Anime North 2014 Giveaway (Updated: May 03, 2014)

1/8 Estellise Sidos Heurassein (Alter)

1/7 Miku Hatsune ver. Type 2020 (Max Factory)

1/7 Sonico Santa swimsuit ver. (Alter)

2014: Year in Review (NSFW)

1/7 Margit Suzuki (Native) NSFW

Mutsumi Inomata Art Works Tales of 2004 - 2015

Anime North 2013!

1/8 Alvis E. Hamilton & Lavie Head (Alter)

Shadow Heartless (Square Enix)

1/8 Tenshi exclusive ver. (GSC)

1/8 Totori Helmold (Phat Company)

1/8 Leviathan (Amakuni) NSFW

Oh Noes!: Hacker's Amputation

1/8 Princess of the Crystal (GSC)

Wonfes Summer 2013! (some NSFW content)