I haven’t posted about any loot for the last six months because I haven’t gotten much in the loot department recently. I was able to save quite a bit of money during that stretch…too bad it’s all going towards the next five months of pre-orders.

If you feel so inclined to know what I bought before the jump I got 6 figures, 2 Dengeki G’s magazine, and one Dakimakura.

What I bought in the last six months doesn’t even come close to what I bought during the same period last year when I accumulated 56 figures (statues, figma, revoltech, nendos, etc). But what I bought this year is definitely more interesting than what I bought last year.

Just a heads up, one of the Dakimakura below might be unsafe for work.

I received Alter’s Nanoha in March because AmiAmi decided to ship it to me two months after her release. I pretty much lost all motivation to review her by that time. She’s not that electric of a figure anyways.

Alter’s Saber Alter -Maid Version-, MegaHouse’s Azusa Miura, and GSC’s Canaan have all been reviewed recently and Max Factory’s Tamaki and Alpha x Omega’s Ranka are next on the review list. In case you haven’t noticed, I also got a new Ikea Expedit shelf for more figure display real estate. I love Ikea furnitures because you can buy furniture from different series’ and the colour will still match.

I bought a copy of Dengeki G’s Festival Vol. 16 Marriage Royale (Minato Ohba) and Dengeki G’s Festival Comic Vol. 12 (Momoyo Kawakami) because of their respective Dakimakura Cover. I love both freebies since they look (and feel) really nice.

My favourite item from this entire loot is definitely the Asuka Dakimakura. I got her for ¥5,000 with 1/2 price shipping when Hobby Search had her on sale last month. It was quite a steal since she came with the pillow casing, which would normally cost the same.

The only downside to Asuka’s cover is the quality of artwork, she’s single sided, and the fabric feels really rough. But she’s Asuka, they can get away with murder with her. I can sleep at ease now that I’ve got Dakimakura checked off my list.

Canaan was the anime that had so much potential when the first episode rolled out last year with its action packed sequences that blew my socks off. Sadly, everything went downhill from thereon. It is quite fitting (and depressing) that Good Smile Company followed suit and produced a figure with the same qualities as the show itself. A figure that had so much potential, but the end product was never meant to be.

Name: Canaan
Series: Canaan
Scale: 1/8
Released: 04/2010
Price: ¥8,381
Sculptor: Kunihito Iwamoto
Manufacturer: Good Smile Company

The highlight of the figure is definitely her pose. Good Smile ditched the lame standing on one leg pose found in so many of their figures in favour of Canaan’s more dramatic, more gravity defying, more eye catching flying in mid-air pose which I strongly approve of. Her cape is cleverly attached to the base to give it a sleek slipping off the shoulders in mid-flight look that pushes the creative envelop in figure making.

The concept for this figure was good, but Good Smile Company failed to deliver. The end product is a far cry from what we saw in the pre-order photos. The most notable change is that her cape is made from three pieces glued together instead of being one solid piece as shown in the their official photos. The result is two nasty seam lines running the length of her cape. Sadly, those weren’t the only seam line visible on this figure. On top of that, the finish is crude as well with many rough surfaces and scratches that needs some attention.

However, the figure’s fine sculpt and beautiful paint work saved this figure from being a disastrous release for Good Smile and Company. An alternative head with her trademark glowing red eyes that appears when she uses synesthesia would have been a nice touch; but alas, it was not meant to be.

The good:

• Amazing pose
• Great paint job

The ugly:

• Low quality
• Large seam lines
• Worlds apart from the promo photos

The overall figure still looks great, thanks to the beautiful paint work and stunning pose. But with all due respect, this figure simply lacks in the quality department that we’ve praised GSC for in previous releases. Her finish is quite crude, and the quality is definitely not up to par for a figure at Canaan’s price range. The least I expect is her cape to be molded in one piece.  It’s a shame that Good Smile Company couldn’t deliver the goods this time.

It’s been a good six months since I updated my pre-order list. I was quite content to see that list dwindle down to two figures at one point, until the figure gods at Alter announced this beautiful Asuka Langley Shikinami Test Type Plug Suit figure. I’m eager to see what Alter will do with her base. No…this isn’t the only figure I pre-ordered.

I’m not really a fan of Little Busters (I don’t even know what it is), but this Sasasegawa Sasami figure by Alter looks really cute…and tickles a couple fancies. Thigh highs, school uniform, and twin tails anyone? Reminds me of Miku for some reason. I just really admire how pretty she looks…and how pretty she’ll look sitting on my desk.

The next beautiful lady by Alter is none other than Selvaria Bles from Valkyria Chronicles. I just recently finished watching the anime, and boy, what a crappy ending. I can say it was uninspiring if it will make you feel better. Anyways, I liked Alicia in the beginning, but she turned out to be one of those annoying cry baby types…unlike Selvaria here. I’m not a fan of big boobs or anything, but I adore Selvaria for her loyalty and determination…to beat the crap out of Alicia that is.

The figure looks gorgeous, but I don’t really like where she’s looking in relation to where she’s pointing her spear. Either way, I am looking forward to this one.

Ah, good ol’Alter and their re-releases. They never disappoint me. I dreaded over canceling Yagyu Jyube after I saw how pretty she looked in real life. I searched for her in the aftermarket, but her price was outrageous. It was a no brainer for me when I saw her up for pre-order again. Another figure that I look forward to an Alter re-release is Shihodo Narika, another big mistake last year.

I didn’t plan on pre-ordering GSC’s BRS -anime version- because I already have a BRS figure, but then, I’m a sucker for figures with dynamic poses. I hope they made a really sturdy peg for her to stand on.

Dead Master? Who is she? I don’t know. She’s a matching pair for one of my favourite figures though, and that’s enough to warrant a purchase for me. It’d be wicked if the eyes on the skull glows or something, don’t you think so? I wonder how many more “original BRS characters” they’ll milk us with. I know I’ll buy them…sad…but true.

GSC’s Saber -Triumphant Excalibur- was on the list since last year, I think. She looks great, and I’ll be waiting for a Saber Alter figure from Good Smile once this has been released.

I was so impressed by how good Kotobukiya’s Asuka Langley Shikinami looked, I’m buying another one! This time Kotobukiya is releasing her in her smoking hot Test Type Plugsuit from EVA 2.0. I was going to watch it, but the sub I got was in Espanol…so I have to look for another one. I can’t wait.

Max Factory’s Saber Alter figma will be my first figma in 7 months. I used to buy random characters that I liked from whatever series because they were fun to fool around with. But I stopped buying them because they started to break on me and Max Factory was being too greedy and started releasing multiple versions of the same character where you have to buy all of them if you just wanted the accessories that it came with. So I made a vow not to buy another one unless it’s one of my favourite character like Saber Alter or the upcoming Asuka Langley and Ayanami Rei.

Max Factory’s Kagamine Rin -Nuclear Fusion- is definitely one of those outlandish, and no-so-popular, figures that people will wonder why I would buy it. I like it because she looks different. And Vocaloid figures are never released without Miku.

MegaHouse’s Klan Klang looks awesome, though I prefer her micron version more. Maybe they’ll re-release her micron version as well?

Did you know I fancy Orchid Seed figures? I’ve never bought one, but that’s about to change because I have three of their figures on pre-order at the moment. The first is their re-release of Super Soniko with Shimapan which, in my opinion, looks much better than the original t-back version. I remember reading about a nasty gap on the arm of the original Super Soniko to facilitate the removal of her apron. It looks like they fixed it by giving her arm ribbons. I wonder how much have their quality improved.

Another Orchid Seed figure that I fancied and is getting a variant re-release is their Sweet Body Hustler -Cardinal Red Version-. I think she looks more mature in this version, and I kinda like the red and black colour scheme a little bit more than the original. I don’t recall reading about any problems with her original release aside from a gap between her upper and lower body in full cast off mode. I doubt I’ll be displaying her like that anyways.

And lastly, I’m ordering Orchid Seed’s Sweet Body Rider because I’m looking for something different for my collection. Orchid Seed definitely delivers in that category. Looking sexy at the same time is definitely a welcomed bonus for me.

As I just mentioned, I’m looking for something different for my collection because it does indeed get quite boring to look at and review multiple figures from the same series all the time. One notable reason for this new change is thanks to Hobby Search for their recent promotions of offering 15% off all figures permanently due to the competition from AmiAmi, and having a special promotion offering a whopping 50% off shipping on all orders and pre-orders placed between June 16th and July 11th that are being paid by Paypal.

What does this mean? It means I’ll be saving about $100 on shipping on top of the $200 I save on the figures. It’s definitely a sweet deal that a shopaholic like myself can’t resist. Good times.

Azusa Miura is the 7th idol to receive the figure treatment in MegaHouse’s Brilliant Stage Idolm@ster line of figures. To my disappointment, Azusa wasn’t released as a pair with another idol like her predecessors. Instead, MegaHouse released her in two colour variants — the one you see here and a purple version with bat motifs on her outfit. I opted for the sunshine yellow version because it fits in with the rest of the set.

Name: Azusa Miura -Sunshine Yellow Version-
Series: THE iDOLM@STER
Scale: 1/7
Released: 03/2010
Price: ¥7,800
Sculptor: Nekomaru (Nekohouse)
Manufacturer: MegaHouse

To be honest, the figure lacks in many of the qualities that made MegaHouse’s earlier releases from the Idolm@ster series great. The only saving grace for this figure is the familiar quality of its paint job and the lovely details that is displayed, two areas that MegaHouse continues to excel in.

Overall, MegaHouse’s Azusa is still a dazzling show piece when she’s displayed alongside the other idols. However, she isn’t as stunning as the other girls as a standalone figure. Her pose is inspiring, her character is charming and equally beautiful, but sadly, they failed to capture any of it in the final product.

What I dislike the most about this figure is how her head is sculpted. Her face looks too flat, and they gave her hair way too much volume. Maybe it’s how they sculpted her bangs to give it a combed up look, but whatever it is, I disapprove. Another area that MegaHouse could’ve improved on is how they did her stockings. I would have much preferred real stockings like FREEing’s bunny girls instead of this cheap painted on look. You might argue that the FREEing’s girls were of larger scale and costs more than Azusa, but I mind you that Azusa costs ¥1,000 more than the rest of the set.

This brings me to why this figure costs ¥1,000 more than the other idols in the series. Azusa came with a crown accessory that you can amuse yourself with by putting it on Chihaya because Chihaya looks much better with it than Azusa. Go figure.

The good:

• A familiar look
• Great paint job
• Lovely details

The ugly:

• Increased price tag
• Too much volume on her hair

MegaHouse brings us a beautiful figure of Azusa Miura with a familiar look that I’ve grown accustomed to in the Brilliant Stage Idolm@ster series. The paint job is beautiful as usual, the outfit never looked shinier, and the attention to detail is still top notch. While Azusa doesn’t have the luxury of looking gorgeous in every angle, she does fit in very well with the rest of the set with a very nice pose. Aside from the extra volume on her hair that makes her awkward to look at in some angles, she is definitely a figure for the fans. After all, you won’t be buying her if you weren’t a fan. Right?

You might also be interested in:

Alter’s Saber Alter -Maid Version- is perhaps the best figure made to-date of this blonde beauty, even though she is dressed in her fan servicing maid outfit instead of her usual battle ready attire. Not that she can’t kick some ass with a mop and bucket.

Name: Saber Alter -Maid Version-
Series: Fate/Hollow Ataraxia
Scale: 1/6
Released: 05/2010 (Hobby Channel Exclusive)
Price: ¥8,000
Sculptor: Kuramoto Ikuma
Manufacturer: Alter

The figure looks gorgeous in typical Alter fashion with highs on quality, sculpting, paint job, and attention to detail. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Alter. Everything about the figure is top notch, too bad the same can’t be said about her accessories.

With all the frills and laces on her maid costume, you would think that Mr. Kuramoto would take the time to give the same level of detail on her accessories — namely her mop and bucket. Don’t get me wrong, she still looks badass with her mop and bucket, but she can look MORE badass with a better looking mop and bucket. The bucket itself looks like cheap plastic instead of the old rusty look the designers were trying to pull off. The last time I checked, metal buckets with that much rust on it are full of dents and scratches as well. Her mop have the same problem as her bucket, a cheap plastic look.

The good news is you don’t really notice the mop and bucket that much in reality because your gaze is locked at either her sexy pair of legs, her pretty face, or mesmerized by her stunning back view.

Sexy eyes.

The checkered base that came with Saber Alter looks somewhat cheap in a way, but I would definitely prefer this base over the dull circular disc that was used in Alter’s original Saber maid figure.

The good:

• Alter quality
• Great attention to detail
• Chibi Saber included
• Saber Alter without the veins
• Lovely maid uniform

The ugly:

• Hobby Channel Exclusive
• Cheap plastic mop and bucket

Alter’s Hobby Channel Exclusive Saber Alter -Maid Version- is definitely a must buy if you’re a Saber Alter fan, and plus one if you also happen to be a fan of girls in maid costumes. The figure is beautiful, quite possibly the best maid figure I’ve seen to date even if the mop and bucket is somewhat mediocre. And as a bonus, Alter also included a Chibi Saber maid for your amusement. Kudos to Alter for releasing another well made figure.

You can also find some lovely photos at:

• WAWAWA忘れ物

You might also be interested in:

Good Smile Company’s Black Rock Shooter — the one that almost got away.  I had her on my pre-order list, dropped her, picked her up again, dropped her again, and picked her up once more.  One of the reason she was dropped twice is the fact that she was delayed one too many times.  The only reason that I picked her up (again) many times after is because she is one sexy figure.  Then, of course, I learned later that she’s a reincarnation of Hatsune Miku, which might have played a big role subliminally.

Name: Black Rock Shooter
Series: Black Rock Shooter
Scale: 1/8
Released: 12/2009
Price: ¥9,334
Sculptor: Hiro
Manufacturer: Good Smile Company

I’ll cut to the chase and tell you the one and only thing I don’t like about this figure is how her hair is sculpted.  She looks gorgeous otherwise.  Her bangs looks great, but her twin tails are a mismatch to the rest of the figure; quite crude in my honest opinion.  There is no harmony at all with the flow of her twin tails and the directionality it suggests.  The result is hair strands that looks like twisted metal from Ground Zero.  Well, the good news is this is the only complaint I have for this figure.

Aside for the blemish with her twin tails, the rest of the figure is top notch in typical Good Smile fashion.  While they didn’t take any creative liberty and stayed true to the original design, they did make a beautiful piece out of it.  Thank god they didn’t choose another lame “standing on one leg” pose with this one.  While her pose might seem boring at first, however, it is a beautiful pose that stands the test of time.

The figure is well executed overall with an emphasis on the details.  The paint job and sculpt looks great too, but it’s all about the details with BRS.  Good Smile didn’t miss a beat with this solid piece.  The wavy flow on her jacket, the creases on her hot pants, the rock cannon, the chain on her arm, and of course, the dioramic base are full of details for your eyes to ogle on all day.  Let’s not forget the scars on her body, Good Smile can make them look great too.

Another reason for the success of this figure the huge colour contrast between her light skin and full black attire.  You might think this monochromatic colour scheme is boring at first glance, but she stands out in a world of colourful anime girls.  BRS is like a black dot on a white piece of paper.

GSC also gave us the option to display her without the blue flames on her left eye, but she doesn’t have the flare (sorry for the pun) and intensity without it.

Black Rock Shooter comes with one of the best looking bases to date.  Period.   The level of detail, and the attention given to make it happen, is unrivaled.  The base elevates the elegance and the display value of this figure to another level that one can’t get a grasp of until you see her in person.  It’s the icing on the cake for this near perfect figure.  For this sole reason alone, the upcoming Black Rock Shooter Blade version won’t even come close to the beauty of this original figure, not to mention matching it.

The good:

• Miku in disguise
• Beautiful design and details
• Lovely dioramic base
• Elegant pose
• Great angles all around
• The best looking figure of 2009

The ugly:

• Huge box
• Twisted metal twin tails
• ¥9,334 isn’t exactly cheap

If I were to give out a reward for the best figure of 2009, GSC’s Black Rock Shooter would be the recipient.  It doesn’t have the razzle dazzle of Alter’s Fate T. Harlaown, nor the popularity of Good Smile’s very own Saber Lily -Distant Avalon-, but it’s got one thing that neither of those figures have — perfect harmony.  Yes, she falls a hair short of being perfect, but she is the closest to perfection out of the pack.  She’s got a beautiful pose that will stand the test of time with great viewing angles, nice colours (or lack of it) that stands out from the crowd, and of course, top notch craftsmanship.  Being Miku with a huge weapon is definitely a bonus.  This is one figure you will not regret buying.

I’ve been falling behind on my blogroll, please let me know if you have a review.

You can also find some lovely photos at:

• Shadonia
• WAWAWA忘れ物

You might also be interested in:

I don’t anticipate anything coming in for me in February, though I was quite tempted by the HLJ MegaHouse sale; however, I resisted somehow.  Here is what I got way back in January: GSC’s Black Rock Shooter, GSC Nendoroid Chiaki Minami, and a shiny new desk from Ikea.  I finally have a proper work area, not that I needed one before.

I was going to post my BRS review last week, but I kinda screwed up on the photos so I need to upload them again; so you’ll have to wait a week(?) for those.  The new desk is a combination from Ikea’s Vika series.  The legs are called Fagerlid and the table top is called Glasholm.  I was going to have the glass custom made because the one from Ikea is 5cm too long, but went for Ikea’s in the end because the custom made one costs twice as much.

I chose the Fagerlid table legs because there’s built in storage space so I don’t have to look for another piece that will fit under the table.  Bought a new Karsten work chair as well while I was there.  Pretty satisfied with the new work area, I just need to get a couple desk lamps and more shelves (or a LCD TV?) for the wall space above.  Next up on my 2010 get list: MacBook Pro and a new camera.

I’ll wait until a MacBook Pro with i7 core comes out (possibly in August), and as for the camera, I’m torn between a Canon 50D or 7D.  Then of course the Macro lens and tele lens…expensive hobby to have.

It’s been two weeks since I last posted something.  *sigh*  Long story short, USB key failed with three weeks worth of homework in it, and life got the better of me.  I’ll leave it at that.

Anyways, I hope to be able to make at least two posts every week from now on.  Maybe even include some of my school work in the future.  Anyways, here’s my January edition of what I’m ordering…not as exciting as what it used to be.  I’m sure you’ve read about her on possibly every other blog that talks about figures weeks ago, so I’ll just announce that I’m getting Good Smile Company’s Saber ~Triumphant Excalibur~ (pretty weird name) as well.  She’s to be released in July give or take six months.  I laughed when I saw the base.  Looks like GSC is pulling an Alter with this set.  Fail.

Yup, Good Smile did it again.  Canaan is delayed to February release because they wanted to push the K-on figmas out so you can get your paws hands on them before WonFes…where you’ll be robbed mercilessly with K-on exclusives.  My faith in GSC is diminishing rapidly.

Quite surprised that Azusa’s not being released as a pair.  I guess they’ll release the Futami twins as two different figures. “orz  Figure gods have mercy on my wallet please!  Seeing MegaHouse’s recent delays, I won’t be surprised if she was delayed to April.

Lovely Tamaki figure by Max Factory.  I’ll wait for her…

This Saber Alter Maid by Alter is one of my favourite figure from my pre-order list.  Mainly, she’s got the best design out of the three incarnations of Saber.  I’m betting my Alter Fate T. Harlaown that GSC will release a Saber Alter to complete the trio!

Alpha x Omega’s Ranka Lee’s got one of the strangest cast off I’ve seen…and believe me, I’ve seen all sorts of weird stuff.  The figure looks lovely, she might look a bit too pale here, but MegaHouse just takes crappy promo photos in general.  They need to hire a new photographer…or have someone better at photoshop design their promo posters.

I’m still quite interested in this figure even if I’m not interested in Touhou.  Might pick her up if I’m not getting Alter’s Nanoha -Exceed Mode- from AmiAmi…

She’s been released for a week now, and I’m sure those who ordered already got her.  Well, all except for one person…and that’s me.  Okay, maybe I’m not the only one.  But I guess AmiAmi couldn’t fill their orders, and I got cut-off.  I haven’t received any word from them, though I’m not really sad about it.  I didn’t like Nanoha that much. :P

And that’s it for my upcoming pre-orders.  It seems like they’re releasing less interesting figures nowadays.

They are every figure collector’s worst nightmare.  More so if you collect scaled figures.  We trust that the sculptors/figure manufacturers does a great job with every release, not only with the sculpt and paint job, but also the base and the tiny pegs that are the difference between a figure standing upright and a figure face planting after falling 5 feet from where she was displayed.  This thought becomes even more scary with the popularity of figures standing on one leg.  It’s game over if the peg breaks.  And that’s exactly what happened here.

I’ve shunned myself from bad figure manufacturers that makes bad figures in general, but it seems that the good ones have their own problems as well.    Figures are released in a rapid rate where I would be surprised if there is any product testing before the product is released.  If you think about it, the figure industry works on a trail-and-error approach, and unfortunately, we are the product testers.  If you happen to buy a figure with inherent problems, you can kiss your money goodbye.  We are never compensated for our loss.  No money back, no replacement parts, and you can only dream of a product recall.  The only thing that we CAN do is fix’em up ourselves.

Good Smile Company creates figures with beautiful bases, I give them that.  But they also have a track record of creating bases with weak pegs that can’t support the figure’s weight.  I have three bases with broken pegs at the moment and all of them belong to Good Smile Company.  Max Factory’s Fauna (first picture) is the latest figure in my collection to join GSC’s Iori Minase (second picture) and GSC’s Rizfis Luttiva Mente (above) in the broken peg club.  The pegs didn’t just snap off, they broke under the weight of the figure over time.  Here’s my word of advice: Think twice before you buy that beautiful figure standing on one leg!

As for the anniversary contest, the winner is enrius who guessed $112.59.  Pretty amazing to be off by only $2.17.  I’ll be sending an email to the address you provided.  Thanks for everyone’s continued support.

Yuki Nagato!  I would like to thank everyone for their “congratulations” (for a lack of a better word that I can think of now).  The answer to my blog’s 1st anniversary question is Yuki Nagato.  Congratulations to enrius and anonymou_object who gets to duke it out one more time for the prize because both of them are long-term readers and got the same tie-breaker of seven — which is wrong and would’ve gotten its ass whopped by Miki.

Sorry for this poorly framed photo, but you can see that I have a total of ten Yuki Nagato figures.  That is a FREEing Yuki bunny on the right in case you were wondering.  The answer was right in front of you if you followed my clues:

1. Look at the wall. Look at the wall-o-figures, which many of you did and saw six Miki figures.
2. More than meets the eyes. Don’t just look at the wall as it appears today, go back in time and look at the wall-o-figures post.  Almost all of my figures have been displayed there at one point in time.
3. Any figure. Scaled figures, action figures, trading figures…any figure counts.  The answer will remain the same even if you didn’t count trading figures.

I never thought I would have this many Miki figures, but they do look dazzling on display.  How do you like Miki?  Blond or Brunette?

Miki Hoshii and Asuka Langley comes a close second with nine figures each.  Since there was a tie after the tie-breaker, here’s another tie-breaker question:  I just received two text books from amazon.ca today, how much did they cost?

Clues:

• One hardcover and one paperback.
• 847 pages in total.
• Shipping was free.

Here are the rules:

• Your answers have to be in the comments in this post.
• Please have your answer in Canadian dollar ($) format.
• You have two shots at it.
• The price must be provided in the following format “Answer: XXXXXX”, replace the Xs with dollar amount.
• First person with the correct answer wins.  IF neither of your guesses are correct, the person with the closest answer wins.
• Deadline is January 16, 2010 @ 11:59:59 pm EST.
• Failure to adhere to the above rules will disqualify you as a contestant.