GSC’s Bakemonogatari line has been a story of success, they made distinctive and elaborate figures,  based on the Blu Ray or DVD covers of Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ4E8BXc6cA

So far I only had bought 2 of these figures, I picked the figures I liked the most, based on visual appeal and character preference, Shinobu and Kanbaru. A recent addition was the figure I’ll review today. It’s about time that they make a good figure of Koyomi.

Tsukihi was released on the 7th of April this year, the figure is scaled 1/8 with an overall height of 23 mm. She was sculpted by Hiroshi who made a number of figures with a distinctive look.
GSC also offered a second color variant of her that featured the look from the anime with different colors and pattern. I prefered her in pink so I received this copy a few days ago.

What first meets the eye is the pipe construction, the base of this figure. It is a perfect model of pipe framework for kids, Americans call it jungle gym, everything was already assembled and looks quite clean. Everything follows the theme of the so popular summer festivals in Japan, the pipes are equipped with different fox mask and also one demon is hanging down.

The figure of Araragi Tsukihi is a real eyecatcher, not only because of the base, the figure is eceptionally well done and everything together creates a certain, convincing atmosphere.

Hair & Face

In the anime Tsukihi changes her hairstyle in a very regular manner, this figure presents her with a pretty bob, in my humble opinion it suits her the best. Her hair is black and shows nicely sharp yet rounded strands. As member of the Araragi family she has an ahoge.
At the backside the hair is really round, she looks a bit like Kafuka from Zetsubo Sensei.

As decoration for her hair, she has a sunny side up egg, which looks surprisingly fitting at the side of her head, when desired there is the option for it to be exchanged with a fox mask.

I’m in love with her innocent expression, Tsukihi has such a beautiful shaped face with great details, such as blush marks, a cute stubs nose and a small mouth. The depth of her eyes is incredible with this spot of reflection the level of detail is simply amazing. There is a little sadness in her eyes, a feel of thoughtful sadness, it gives her a lot of personality and appeal.

Outfit & Body

Putting her short temper aside, Tsukihi is a somewhat traditional person and appears very  feminine in a pure sense, especially in comparison with her boar like sister, Karen. She is always wearing these Japanese clothes from a period long ago. The Yukata is crafted carefully with all the €convincing details like inlays, wrinkles or the wide sleeves or the big obi that ends in a huge red ribbon. Who can tell the differences between a Yukata and a Kimono?

The Yukata here is colored in a nice bright pink color with a flower ornament pattern printed on it, on some areas a red Phoenix and some feathers can also been seen. This particular dress is a bit short to do climbing exercises. A character like her doesn’t need to look sexy. Compared to Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari still has smart dialog, but is quite heavy on the fanservice side involving the younger girls. So of course Tsukihi is ought shows at least a bit of her legs and how her dress tightly wraps around her butt, magnificent sculptwork.

The sculpting of the figures body is done very well, starting from the articulation, to the body who is still in development with the long slender legs this figure is convincing, even her toes are nice and look lively. These are some high soles under her feet.

Tsukihi is an enchanting, beautiful girl who would make every teenage boy happy, my fancy regarding female anime characters goes more into the direction of Hanekawa san.

Base

Putting her on the base is rather simple, Tsukihi grabs onto one of the upper pipes , the other hand has a little dent, where one of the upward pointing pipes slides in. The pulled up leg also helps with balancing the figure. GSC provided a little support for one foot for additional safety, but it works without it, even bumping against the desk won’t make her fall.

The pipe framework would be able to stand on it’s own, but for a more complete look, a floor base in the shape of a sunny side up egg, has been provided, unfortunately it is just plain white. It appears like a last minute idea, a more elaborate texture on it would be better.

However, you don’t have to use it and it won’t make the figure look bad in any way.

Final Words

“write slave, write!” So lets wrap this up now. Tsukihi is an amazing figure, she shows an interesting pose and has a beautiful outfit. My favorite part about the figure is the detailed face, it is beautiful and has a strong expression that shows personality. Also a cool base is another convincing part of Good Smile Company’s Araragi Tsukihi.

Overall it is an awesome, high quality figure ^^

Another review is availabe at Reflective Boundary and Hobby Holic

Another amazing figure that I received in the first months of this year, 2014 has been really great in terms of figures. Numbers don’t mean much, but this is my current Top 4 ranking.

1. Maeda Keiji
2. Araragi Tsukihi
3. Super Sonico PKG ver.
4. Sallya

Next time I’ll probably review Alleyne or a crazy Idol.

Welcome to Wieselhead‘s personal coverage from the Wonder Festival 2013 summer version, which was held on July 28th. It’s the biggest, most popular event for figure collectors around the world. There are two Wonder Festival each year, once in winter and once in summer.

Also in this year many manufacturers of figures and other anime related goods featured and announced interesting and most of all beautiful figures, most will hopefully (or hopefully not ^^) be available in the upcoming months. Due to the amount of interesting figures the Wonder Festival 2013 summer coverage will be divided in two posts full of bishoujo figures.

In these posts I will talk about the figures, that I considered to be worth mentioning…

I was most impressed by the things from Max Factory, seems like they finally realized their talents next to manufacturing action figures. It’s a remarkable number of nice figures.

Shingeki no Bahamut – Cerberus

This was the first figure of this years Wonderfestival that caught my interest, maybe a top favorite. Fans of demon girls have a nice time recently, first the Seven Deadly Sins and now other demonic beauties. Cerberus has slightly less anime-ish characteristics than other figures, but she still has a beautiful youthful appearance with a cute face, a sexy body and furry hands… furry? ok ;D. I really like how Max Factory adapted this figure from the to me unknown source.

sculptor: no data  – release date: no data – scale: no data

Sword Art Online – Asuna 

This a surprisingly nice portray of a damsel in distress, Asuna/Titania has a very seductive appearance, it looks totally like Max Factory qualiy, I mean her face is so beautiful and this expression  is so detailed. The chained up arms it gives a slightly sadistic touch to the figure.

sculptor: no data  – release date: no data – scale: 1/7

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai – Kashiwazaki Sena / Mikazuki Yozora

More Haganai figures, this time Sena and Yozora in cat ear leotards, I think they would look nice next to the previously released Kobato and Maria. Well, as much as I wished for something like this after the lovely Maria and Kobato in cat costumes, Im not that hyped for it. These two or better said Sena in particular is a little off. Her face appears a bit strangely captured

sculptor: YOSHI   – release date: 2014 – scale: 1/7

Sasami-san@Ganbaranai – Yagami Tsurugi

The anime was a bit super strange, but also very funny and with likeable characters. I actually mistook Tsurugi for her younger sister Tama, but ok I don’t favor any of these characters.
The figure is sculpted in a very cute pose and the side ponytail is another nice charm point.
Im already enchanted by the figure and will most likely purchase her when the time comes.

sculptor:  no data  – release date: no data – scale:  1/7

Strike Witches 2 – Francesca Lucchini

The good stuff comes at last, I always wanted a NICE figure of Lucchini, the mischievous and cheerful loli character of the witches. The prototype looks already very cute and portrays the character of Lucchini very well. It will probably be turned into a promising Strike Witch, ahh her machine gun is so huge. Too bad that I sold her bosom buddy Charlotte to someone in Hawaii.

sculptor: no data   – release date: 2014 – scale: 1/8

Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai! – Takanashi Miu

Miu ≧(´▽｀)≦, Miu is a fine young lady with a sophisticated sense of fashion, I really liked her personality from the anime. The saucy lunatic smile is a bit unique for a young character, it’s like she says  “I don’t mind but you’ll get arrested for sure” A bit of improvement here would help her face I think, even though it would be funny to have a loli figure with such an expression.

sculptor: Aketagawa Noboru – release date: 2014 – scale: 1/8

Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena – Labrys

Im honest, I don’t know whats this about, but it’s cool, the mecha girl characterdesign is totally cool, I like Labrys. The commanding pose and the huge battle axe make this figure even better, I hope the paintjob will bring out my positive image of this figure  in the final state, as well.

sculptor: Saitou Fumiki  – release date: 2014 no data – scale: 1/8

Nitro Super Sonic – Sonico – 1/7 – Santa, Swimsuit version

A Sonico figure from ALTER, who would have ever expected this any time!? This is a nice figure for sure, half nude, but with a non teased facial expression this is quite a nice change of pace compared to other figures of her, even though her best figures show her in a teased of embarrased state. There are also Sonico figures I don’t like, because of too exaggerated proportions or questionable poses, but let me say this, these hipster Sonico fans who say thing like “that would be the first Sonico I’d ever buy cause the others look cheap”, “if Sonico would have smaller boobs I’d like her”  totally annoy me. Accept how Sonico in general is or get lost.

sculptor: Hide, Makio Munetoshi   – release date: 2014 – scale: 1/7

Summon Night 3 – Aty

This Game seems to have a really nice characerdesign, even though I never played it. I like how Aty looks her as redhead magician with a fluffy hat and glasses, glasses are the best. The bright blue eyes, her face reminds me of Hattori Hanzo, I wouldn’t have mind if Aty had a slightly more young appearance than this. Anyway the outfit is pretty cool, I love the tight fit dress with the striation design, the belts around her waiste are a nice touch as well as the high boots.
Actually no one would wear these boots in daily life, those are mainly used in red light districts, it’s too bad. All Hail anime fashion, your characters can wear such clothes with attitude.

sculptor: Yagyuu Toshiyuki   – release date: 2014 – scale: 1/8

Nisemonogatari – Oshino Shinobu

Wasn’t it a pleasant surprise as the formerly silent Shinobu turned into a naughty, talkactive Vampire wearing an bishoujo summer dress in Nisemonogatari? I love it and now here is a figure of her also wearing a ladylike hat. In gray she already looks nice, I can’t wait until she’s painted.

sculptor: no data   – release date: no data – scale: no data

Nisemonogatari – Senjougahara Hitagi

This appears also like a nice figure from Nisemonogatari. Senjougahara sama is portrayed with her caring yandere side, to keep her boyfriend from doing dangerous exorcistic activities. I like the whole presentation of this figure, sitting on a chair with a piercing look in her eyes.

sculptor: no data  – release date: no data – scale: 1/8

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II – Asama Tomo

Kotobukiya’s second Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon figure, Tomo is posed in a powerful shooting stance, while her very female curves are accentuated nicely. It’s a nice looking  prototype, but still It’s still not my kind of dream figure from the Horizon anime, I want something standing in a more casual fashion. Sometimes I’m just too picky with figures where I know the origin.

sculptor: no data  – release date: 2013 – scale: no data

The Idolmaster (TV Animation) – Ganaha Hibiki

I enjoyed Idolm@ster the anime a lot and Hibiki was among my favorite characters next to Haruka. Here the unique style of the show is captures very well, yeah the mouths are big, either you like it or not so much. The clothes of Hibiki are cool, Im a big fan of her heavy duty boots and the hotpants. The energetic pose is another thing I like about this figure of  Hibiki.

sculptor: Mazaki Yuusuke – release date: December 2013 – scale: 1/8

Fate/Stay Night – Saber – Pajama version

GK adaption ! Yay! I have a weak spot for Saber in alternative outfits, Saber in pajamas is something unexpectedly cute. She was made several years younger, her vulnerable and shy pose awakens protective instincts ^^.  The floating pose can be interpret as dreaming, but I think she needs a bed.

sculptor: Hashimoto Ryou   – release date: November 2013 – scale: 1/7

Nitro Super Sonic – Sonico – Mouse version

Sonico with mouse ears, I like it ﾍ(ﾟ∀ﾟ*)ﾉ.I approve of all the changes that were made compared to the source material, the hair is more three dimensional, a better face expression, toned down breast size and an altered pose. The arched back accentuates her well defined butt nicely.

sculptor: no data   – release date: no data – scale: no data

Nitro Super Sonic – Sonico – Child version

Making figures of characters as child is a new or maybe very unique idea, child Sonico is based on an illustration from the booklet which was included in the Sonicomi game. Ahh why huge headphones again, you should listen to what your parents say about a healthy diet. Sonico must have old headphones or she’s a cyborg, whatever joking aside it will depend on the pose if I’ll like this or not, her face actually looks adorable, somehow I prefer her grown up though.

sculptor: no data   – release date: no data – scale: no data

That’s it for part one of the Wonfes 2013 Summer, I hope there was something in for you, tell me what you liked. If not there will be a part two with more figures.

related post

Wonder Festival 2013 Winter – part 1

Wonder Festival 2013 Winter – part 2

Welcome to my impressions from the Wonderfestival of winter 2013 which took place on the 10th Feburary 213,  I’ll will make this a two part post, because I liked way too many figures this time. In this part 1 I will take a look at the presented figures of the bigger manufacturers that caught my interest. Not everything is a must have for me, but I like all listed figures.

Ah this turned out so long, sorry

Isshiki Akane – Vividred Operation
sculptor: Kiking – release date: no data – scale: no data

Akane is quite the archetype of an cheerful and athletic loli character, she has short pigtails and a happy face. Despite her petite appearance Akane has a very attractive butt *yay!* The pose is quite nice with a “driving” happy Akane in her light summer uniform sitting on her detailed jet bike. Im really glad that they decided against the 1st stage magical girl uniforms in Vividred Operation, I don’t like this parade uniform style very much. I actually had preffered her with the red bloomers, but the school uniform isn’t too bad. Im looking forward to see her painted.

Araragi Tsukihi – Nisemonogatari
sculptor: Hiroshi – release date: no data – scale: 1/8

WelI, I really couldn’t understand the price of Karen, but I think Tsukihi would justify a similar price, this figure of her is just wow, these traditional outfit is beautiful. And then this climbing  frame with so many pipes that comes as her base. I would love to make pictures of Tsukihi.

Sorceress – Dragon Nest
sculptor: Usagi- release date: no data – scale: 1/8

Here is already my newly announced favorite figure of this Wonfes 2013, I love the design with the wide face and the pink hair. Also her stylish yet revealing outfit is very appealing to me.
Even though I never played or heard from that Game of her I totally want to get this Figure.

Kuroyukihime – Accel World
sculptor: Bakusatsu shooter- release date: no data – scale: 1/8

Kotobukiya already made a very nice figure of Kuroyukihime with piggy Haru, but here is another figure of her which presents this character in a more shy and vulnerable way. I recently completed Accel World and was quite enchanted by the female characterdesign, Kuroyukihime in her butterfly dress is exceptional pretty. Im curious about the color textures that GSC will use for this figure, maybe some transparency on the wings. I bet she’ll look delicious with color.

GOOD SMILE Racing – Hatsune Miku – Racing 2012
sculptor: Sanzigen- release date: 2013 – scale: 1/8

The racing 2012 version will be made in 2013, this backwarding manufacturing is kind of irritating. I actually thought that GSC pushed the new racing Miku to FREEing, but I was wrong and they are making their own apparently, the design is very stylish and Miku’s face has a cartoonish look. On overall comparison this looks much better and detailed than the FREEing figure, but I would say that their Miku face is still better though.

Shibuya Rin – iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls
sculptor: Tokunaga Hironori – release date: 2013 – scale: 1/8

Hmmm who is that? Anyway it’s a nice looking figure of a beautiful idol. The face looks quite charming and her outfit with the frilly skirt and boots is gorgeus. In case the paintjob won’t dissapoint I would like to buy Rin with her microphone stand. Aww these frills.

Takatsuki Ichika – Ano Natsu de Matteru
sculptor: Yokota Ken – release date: no data – scale: 1/7

Haha took you ages for that, huh? It really feels distant that I watched this anime, but that shouldn’t bother us. Surprisingly the busty alien Ichika will be a 1/7 scaled figure. Her sitting pose creates a nice atmosphere. Aside from being bouncy I like her lovey dovey face expression a lot, it’s really cute how her hand i playing with her hair. I actually wanted a figure of her close to something like in this picture, but this will never happen for obvious reasons.

Saber Type Moon 10th Anniversary Edition by Alter
sculptor: Hashimoto Ryou – release date: July 2013 – scale: 1/7

A happy Saber in an enchanting, pearl white flower like dress with a huge ribbon at her back. I’ve rarely seen a figure of Saber like that, she’s beautiful. I love the design and her super pretty face. She is a standard run and her retail price is set at 9200 Yen, so around 7xxx Yen at the big shops… maybe this is another nice Saber figure for me. Oh she can be ordered  already!

Tanigawa Kanna – Ano Natsu de Matteru
sculptor: Tanaka Touji – release date: no data – scale: 1/8

ALTER isn’t any faster with figures from that show XD They made Ichika’s rival as a 1/8 scaled figure in a slightly alluring pose with both hands behind her back. In grey there isn’t much to say about this figue in her plain summer school uniform, maybe her face will bring this figure to life.

Melty de Granite – Shining Hearts
sculptor: Hane Monokatsu – release date: 2013 – scale: 1/8

It’s Melty from the sweet yet shllow anime Shining Hearts, will we ever get a second season? Well, Melty sitting on an strawberry ice is a quite cute sight, it’s looks nice and creative. Her extravagant loli witch outfit looks quite pretty and attractive. I like the gigantic hat, the hat does come off and I think the figure looks cuter like this since her pointy ears come more into focus. Her monster friend Sorbet will also be included.

Sheryl Nome – Macross Frontier
sculptor: Chieri – release date: 2013 – scale: 1/7

This a very detailed and alluring looking figure from Max Factory, you wouldn’t think that is a PVC on first sight. Aside from all the details of her outfit and the base, Sheryl with her female curves is just stunning in this pose, The aroused and submissive expression in her face makes her even hotter. Im not a fan of her character, but her appeal can’t be denied.

Nyarlathotep – Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
sculptor: YOSHI- release date: no data – scale: no data

Yeah a figure of Nyaruko san from Max Factory, I like the naughty alien girl. As in most cases MF makes figures in the non everyday wear outfits from the animes. I don’t like the naked apron style in particular, but she looks good in everything. Ah yes she seems to very much undressed in this figure adaption, but she has a crowbar. Knowing that she will have the Max Factory quality Im super exited about this naughty figure.

Miyuki Mana – Se Kirara
sculptor: Nakayaman- release date: no data – scale: 1/7

With the later Max Factory figures from Se Kirara, I found myself more drawn to them. I really like their Kawamura Yuu figure and now tghey presented the probably last character of this line up. I like this one very much alread, she has a cute clumsy pose and nice bookworm glasses, this might be an instant preorder.

Jack The Ripper – Fate/Apocrypha
sculptor: Patton – release date: no data – scale: 1/8

I love Phat Company for quickly adapting the Garage Kits I like into figures, first Hibari and now Jack The Ripper. I like this sculpt a lot and this cool suit of her. The wide face and the huge eyes give her an extraterrestial appearance overall, but she’s cute killer alien. Her body is petite but hips and thighs have more female curves.

Katsuragai – Senran Kagura
sculptor: Amasu – release date: no data – scale: 1/8

Senran Kagura turned out quite different than I expected, the manga is far better, but the curvy and cute characterdesign is something I like a lot. This Katsuragi is also based on a garage kit. Aside from her pervy voice, I like Katsuragi and her look of a buxom blonde. She has big boobs and a nice outfit with striped panties. The purchase is as good as set in stone, I think Katsuragi will look great next to Hibari.

Okita Sawa – TariTari – Phat Company
sculptor: no data – release date: no data – scale: 1/8

Oh look it’s pretty Sawa from  the Tari Tari opening, Phat really knows what I  like. It’s nice to see that there will be a Tari Tari figure of my favorite character in  the outfit I like the most on her.

Caster EXTRA – Fate/Extra CCC
sculptor: Itandi – release date: no data – scale: 1/8

Caster EXTRA is a  fox magician in a visual key dress. I like how they adapted the rather static posed illustration into something dynamic and playful. The design of Caster is very cute and appealing in this verion, I like the huge sleeves and her killer cleavage corsage.

Hasegawa Kobato – Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT
sculptor: no data – release date: 2013 – scale: no data

Actually the figure is an adaption of the DVD cover from the first season from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, but who cares about this minor detail, when seeing a cute goth loli with bicolored. I love this anime, but so far I only bought Maria from Max Factory. This Kobato is dressed in her special everyday wear clothes, I really like this girlydress with the slightly inappropriate details. I also like the cute pose and that this classy chair was added to the figure.

Maou – Maoyuu Maou Yuusha
sculptor: Abe Masato – release date: 2013 – scale: 1/8

The first  figure of Maou was announced rather quickly, since the show just started a few weeks ago. I like Maou’s design and kind personality a lot, the red and black colors theme of her is also very appealing. As you can see she is really busty, I like figures with big bouncy boobs, but Maou is already a bit on the borderline side, well in comparison with her voluminous skirt it appears at least a little less huge, so that it is ok for me. Im looking forward to see the colored prototype.

Honda Futayo – Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon
sculptor: no data – release date: 2013 – scale: 1/8

If someone had asked me aboiut I had wished for a different Horizon in the middle of nowhere character as figure, but Honda is also ok, she has her cool battle suit and compared to other character relatively normal sized boobs. Close up her face expression is also quite attractive.

Ganaha Hibiki – The Idolmaster
sculptor: no data – release date: no data – scale: 1/7

Another Idol@master Beach figure that caught my interest, even though I’ve never bought any of them. The wild and well trained Hibiki comes with her her hamster friend and shorts.

Mistral Nereis – Shining Blade
sculptor: Matsumoto – release date: 2013 – scale: 1/8

ALTER already announced a nice figure  of Mistral, but for whatever reason I can’t deny that I somehow prefer this one alreadya little bit more. The pose here is a little more playful overall.

Original Character – Kantoku
sculptor: no data – release date: no data – scale: no data

Ah yes, I like the Kantoku arstyle a lot, it’s really nice how he draws his bishoujo characters. Here we have a little kitchen accident of a cute redhead. She comes with many kitchen equipment. This might be a very cute figure when she’s painted, Im looking forward to it.

Cover Girl – Komatsu Eiji
sculptor: Ausa Rei – release date: no data – scale: 1/7

Komatsu Eiji also has a dwaing style that I really like a lot, this girl here is presented in her falling apart school uniform. She has a large amount of hair and a cute face. I like the mixed design elements of  her a lot and will probably order her when she will be available earlier or later.

Sonico PKG version
sculptor: Ishiyama Satoshi – release date: 2013 – scale: 1/5

Muhahaha… hahaha… KYAHHHHHHHHHH!!!… 2013! … I can order her this year Hell Yeah!
This Sonico figure looks really gorgeous, no complaints from me here at all, her outfit looks great and I like how her sculpting and painting has turned out now, especially her cute face. I might get an heartattack, when this holy Sonico grail goes up for preorders, haha hopefully not.

Snow – Blassreiter
sculptor: Clumsy Rei – release date: no data – scale: 1/7

Oh it’s been many years since this illustration was shown on Orchid Seed’s booth and then a few days ago I couldn’t believe my eyes. Someone is actually working on Snow!!! It seems like they changed a few details, as figure she now looks seductive and cool. I hadn’t mind the very aroused look from the illustration, but Im still very interested. Snow is sitting on her bike and looks great in her racing suit, the black and red colortheme might really rock in the final product.

Maybe in 1 or 2 years.

 – Fin of Wonfes 2013 impressions part 1 –

Hello everyone, time for the first New Preorders Post in this new year 2013. I ordered and preordered a few things recently, a little bit of restraint is still present, but that might change soon and I will be back into the devastating Passionate Collector Mode!

last minute orders

Yoshi Hotori from Native – You know, I have this “No pantsu No purchase” rule and even though it hurt, I decided to pass on this figures because of her exposed rear. But Im only human and even my restrain has it’s limits, after MastraCustom, Tier and Bakayaro “rubbed” their purchased Hotori under my nose, I was quite angry that I hadn’t ordered her before like they did. Well, in the end I tried my luck at the german figure shop Yorokonde and surprisingly I got the very last copy for a fair price. I actually wouldn’t have mind the figure to be more dressed, since her nudity wasn’t the thing that convinced me get her. I like the long twintails, the pretty face and the outfit of this figure. I kinda feel dirty though, let’s see if I can display her anywhere.

Yoshi Hotori was released in June 2012 and the figure is scaled 1/7 with a height of 23 cm. This January month actually shouldn’t end with two purchased figures, but it can’t be helped now.

new figure preorders

Chouhi Ekitoku from Orchid Seed – After I was kind of dissapointed by the outcome of this figure at first, after a lot of seesaw I gave in and finally ordered magical Chouhi. I rewatched Ikki Tousen Dragon Destiny recently and found quite a liking to it again. I like the wild and loud character of Chouhi a lot and in this cute costume, Im kinda enchanted by this figure. Other than my first impression I really think that she looks like the Chouhi Ekitoku I know. She is cute and a little  naughty, Which as nice combination I like how her pose is focused on her cute butt.

Chouhi Ekitoku is scaled 1/7 and has a height of 18 cm, the figure should have been released in December 2012, but was delayed to early spring of 2013, I guess I should receive her in March.

Cat Lap Milk from Native – I passed on too many nice Native figures which where released recently, partially because of the lewdness of their figures. But this figure should be mine, since she is wearing optional panties, Im relieved. I like maid outfits as well as cat ears, so I didn’t need much time to make this purchase. Cat Lap Milk offers many different cast off stages. It’s really hot how her big boobs with the pointy nipples are pressed on the transparent floor/wall.
This figure looks really naughty with her flushed cheeks and her little tounge out and the whole milk on the floor situation, but I like this figure. It is said that a second pair of boobs for a different display option will be included, even though I don’t know how this will work in the end.

The figure is scaled 1/7 which makes her 180 cm long and 12 cm in height. Like everything from Native, Cat Lap Milk is a exclusive figure that has to be bought with the help of a proxy buyer, the release is sheduled for July 2013.

Okumura Yukio G.E.M MegaHouse – Ah yeah, Waver Velvet won’t be my first figure of a male character, I bought Yukio from Ao no Exorcist, what I really enjoyed to watch instead. Initially I planned on getting his brother Rin, but I didn’t liked how his faces turned out, I guess I couldn’t have looked at it without feeling annoyed after some time. Well, Yukio comes with a kind and handsome bishounen face expression, which was one of the reason I considered this purchase at first. He also has a serious alternative face and also an optional arm will be included.

I think he looks very bad ass  in his black long coat and his Springfield M1911A1 guns. I never expected to get a male figure, but I think it’s worth to give this figure a try. Okumura Yukio is scaled 1/8 and has a height of 23 cm, the release is sheduled for the 29th January 2013.

Jingai Makyo Ignis of the endless winter  from Orchid Seed – I don’t know the Game she is based on, her personality. I haven’t even followed her development at first. But I think it’s a very pretty looking figure, it seems like she’s something special that I didn’t want to miss. I like her elaborate white outfit, that looks like a combination of a wedding dress and straitjacket ;D. Joking aside, I really like so much about her design, red hair, pointy ears and a very pretty face. Ignis is also castoffable, the transparent bodytight is quite sexy and she has pretty boobs.

Whatever silly game happened between AmiAmi and Orchid Seed during the last year, on the bottomline AmiAmi is selling Orchid Seed figures again. In my “The figure year 2012 in numbers” post, I find faulty that I haven’t bought enough Orchid Seed figures, that should hopefully change in 2013, maybe they can finish one of the big Sonico’s. This figure of Ignis was accounced three years ago and now her release is sheduled for the end of February 2013.

I’ve ordered a GK figure

Mashiroiro Symphony – Sena Airi from Gathering/E2064 – I rember that I saw this GK a few years ago and I wanted it quite badly, one proxy tried to grab one for me but it didn’t work since the GK was sold out in seconds. A few more months later this proxy offered me the unfinished GK, but 160$ appeared a bit much to me. At the end of this year I saw this finished GK of Sena Airi at E2046 for a fair price. I gathered all my courage and hit the order button, partially because I wanted the figure that I couldn’t get a few years ago, let’s call it delayed gratification.

Mashiroiro Symphony has a lovely characterdesign and very pretty schhool uniforms and I like how it was adapted in this GK figure, let’s hope that she comes close after these promo pictures in the end. Sena Airi is scaled 1/8 and has a height of 21cm, they could give me no info about a release date,but it shouldn’t take too long, so Airi should arrive somwhere this year.

Maybe Baby List

Nisemonogatari – Karen Araragi from GSC – Here is the lovely Karen on a steamroller, but wait holy shit! her retail price is around 11238 Yen, I don’t know what about her is worth that much money. It’s a nice figure but c’mon. Anyway her release date is sheduled for July 2013.

Racing Miku 2012 version from FREEing – Yeah that’s the latest Racing Miku figure and she turned out rather cute, I think her wide face is really cute, the upper front teeth line is so nice. I like the design mix of space princess and grid girl a lot, she is showing a lot of skin, even more with her transparent parts. She is scaled 1/7 and has a height of 26 cm, her release date is sheduled for June 2013. The retail price is 12190 Yen *lol* whats up with these prices recently!?

Surprisingly this figure won’t be produced by GSC, it’s a collaboration of Dragon Toys (Daiki Kougyou) and FREEing. I find Racing Miku 2012 quite appealing and I will consider her purchase.

Se Kirara – Kawamura Yuu from Max Factory – A more possible purchase may be the enchanting Yuu from the Se Kirara game, as I saw her yesterday morning I fell in love with this lovely figure. There is so much life in this dynamic pose and look at that beautiful face of her.

Yuu is scaled 1/7 and has a height of 21 cm, her release date is sheduled for May 2013. With a retail price of 7429 Yen she’s rather cheap compared to these other two. I love you Yuu.

preorder roadmap

Today I will talk about Shinobu from Good Smile Company, as you might know she is based on the Bakemonogatari anime/light novel, some people still haven’t watched it, how weird ;p

Bakemonogatari was well received by the audience and manufacturer GSC turned all of the 6 heroines of the show into 1/8 scaled figures, they were all based on the Blu Ray/DVD front cover illustrations. Other Companies like Kotobukiya or ALTER also made nice figures of that franchise, but from my impression Good Smile Company offered the better looking figures, overall. I was tempted to buy the figure of Kanbaru, but I was doomed by the sold out tag, actually I wanted to wait for a price discount. Unfortunately that never happened.

A few more months ago a prototype of Shinobu was shown at Wonderfestival. I really liked the cute appearance of her sitting on a donut pile with a motorcycle helmet. I waited for pre orders being opened, her price was quite good and I better not wait for the sold out curse.

For this shooting I wanted to recreate something like in this illustration and did some arts and crafts, I bought a cheap medium density fiberboard and cutted out an rectangular shape, I used some adhesive tape to cover the holes in the board and sprayed everything with grey to get the run- down cram school look, the other props were already in my posession so I was good to go.

I wanted to test my newly aquired wireless PixelKing TTL flash trigger and so I didn’t use my 60×40 softbox lamp this time, instead of that I’ve used a combination of natural light, my now wireless external flash and my little automatic slave flash. It worked surprisingly well for a noob.

Anyway in Bakemonogatari, Shinobu is a cute little vampire girl, she was a grown up vampire lady before, but she was somehow turned into a small girl, the story about the true reason behind it will be revealed in Kizumonogatari. Being turned into loli might be a reason for her mainly gloomy and bored appearance in Bakemonogatari, she didn’t even talk in any episode.

The reason for buying this figure was actually based on the design than my liking towards the character. In the Nisemonogatari adaption of the Monogatari novels, it seems Shinobu got used to her new self and cheered up, it was a big surprise as she started talking, she’s naughty, but enchanting at the same time. I hope GSC will make a figure of her like this in the future as well.

On top she is wearing this great vintage helmet with cool brown straps and a goggle part, painting and shading on it are top notch, as little extra you can take it off. Beneath you see her long blonde hair, the tips have a interesting comic banana look, the strands and bangs in her face are clean and detailed and show some sublime orange shading.

The face of Shinobu turned out very nice it’s really cute how her eyebrows shine through her bangs. She also has beautiful detailed eyes, BUT the fact that the figure is based on the Blu Ray DVD front cover illustration  she differs to her appearance in the anime. The eyes are red instead of a gold yellow tone. In the anime they gold/yellow all the time, I’ve checked this to be sure.

On her cheeks she has rosy marks which give the face a very lively expression, have you also noticed her spiky ears kawaii! The face is overall very well recreated. In her mouth she has a soggy donut. Good Smile Company also created a little extra here, the donut comes off, but it leaves no silly looking gap, there is a fully sculpted mouth with upper front teeth lines behind it. That way she looks a bit like “Hau Hau buy me donuts, my master!”

Shinobu is wearing a light pink summer dress with a white petticoat inside. The fit and sculpting of it are nothing less than great, the shading on it is also great, I’ve never seen such a realistic looking shading on a dress before, it looks really pretty. Shinobu also has a little bit erotic going on with dress and the ribbon hanging down between her legs. Some people proofed (R18) that the dress is castoffable with some force, but the mere thought of it is just wrong in my eyes XD

As to be expected from a 1/8 scaled loli figure, Shinobu is small if not even tiny, but she’s very detailed nevertheless, the little toes and fingers have sculpted nails. In the right hand she is holding a donut, which can be turned a bit in her hand. Her pose is also very well done with her arms placed backwards and the bent legs sitting, she looks good from many angles.

Hahaha you are probably wondering where I hid the pictures with Shinobu and her base, but rest assured there is also a base included and some pics are below this block. As I’ve mentioned earlier the base is a pile of donuts on close view the shading on it looks a bit blurry, somehow like donut mud, but overall it looks good. As last figure from the Bakemonogatari anime (I doubt that GSC will ever make a Araragi figure, unfortunately) it is very fitting that traits of all the characters are incorporated next to the donuts. There is Araragi‘s hair with a stapler at his ahoge and the fried egg hairclips from his sisters, Hanekawa‘s cat ears and glasses, the bandage arm of Kanbaru, Hachikuji’s backpack and Oshino‘s shoe , but I can’t remember the yellow flower?

Final Words

Well, what should I say, I think I never had so much fun with photographing a figure from Good Smile Company before, ok I don’t own that many figures from them to tell you the truth, but anyway this was a convincing figure for me and I’m very satisfied with the final product. Shinobu is a great figure in a cute yet cool looking dress, everything on her is done in a very detailed way.

The base has an interesting design and the opportunity to display her in different places, without her base is a nice gimmick as well as the helmet and donut in her mouth which can be taken off.

At first I only bought her for the cute and interesting design, but after watching Nisemonogatari I even found a liking to her character, which increases the value of the figure for me in this case.

Another (sweet) english review can be found at neathgrim and a japanese one at figuephoto2

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Hi there, todays post is about the anime shows of the winterseason 2012 lineup I recently started and enjoyed so far. Without further ado here are my short impressions about each show.

Another– P.A. Works – 04/12 episodes

Another is a suplimal spooky horror anime, with a deep and slightly scary atmosphere.
Im glad that it is done in a sublime way without *in your face* horror and silly emo faces.

In the spring of 1998, the 14yr old Kouichi transfered from Tokio to the rural town, Yomiyama.
He had the luck to be put in the class of weirdos who seem to hide a creepy secret from him.

One day he meets Misaki, a mysterious girl with an eyepatch, she tells him that it won’t be good for him to get in contact with her. But Kouichi feels attracted by her and uses every chance to talk with her. Because of the suspicious behaviour of his classmates and Misaki, Kouichi tries to gather his own informations his aunt also provides him with informations. As if this was a good idea…
Soon some mysterious deaths occur in the town, even people close to Kouichi will be involved.

The animation quality of Another looks really good only the opening by Ali Project is shitscary.

Amagami SS plus – AIC – 04/12 episodes

It’s the second season of the very popular Amagami SS franchise, it continues where the different arcs from last season left, each arc contains 2 episodes about Junichi and one of the 6 heroines.
Amagami SS plus delivers the same, friendly, cozy and especially romantic atmosphere as its predeseccor while taking the relationships between the couples to the next level. It’s so nice.

Ano Natsu de Matteru – J.C. Staff – 04/12 episodes

Make a figure of her like this, onegai!

The red haired Ichika is an alien and accidently crashes into the life of our male protagonist Kaito and starts living at his house, the fact that Ichika is an alien wasn’t noticed by anyone so far.
She gets easily accepted by Kaito’s lively friends and all spend their summer holidays together.

What might turn out as a bit annoying in the progress of the story are the overlapping love intersts inside the group of friends, that can only go wrong. Shows like Persona 4 show that platonic relationships between both genders work yet it’s so rare in anime :(. There will probably be a romantic development between Kaito and Ichika even though both seem to be a bit dense in that regard. Aside from that the comedy is very good and the animation quality is quite appealing.

Highschool DxD – Genco – 04/12 episodes

Highschool DxD is a straight action anime with lots of (uncensored) fanservice. This kind of anime became really rare over the last few years, UNFORTUNATELY! The main character Issei is an hot blooded, testosterone guided high school boy. He has no luck with girls, but one day a cute girl approaches him to ask him about going out with him. Issei is overjoyed, but on the day of his first date his girlfriend turned out as a sadistic fallen angel and Issei got killed by her. Fortunately Issei got resurrected by the demon Grimore Rias and became her demon servant. He also became a member of Rias demon team family. The story so far is solid and the characters are also likeable.

Inu x Boku SS – Studio David – 04/ —

This is one of my favorites so far, main heroine Ririchiyo is a half breed between human and a supernatural creature, she never received earnest love from someone, not even her parents. Because of her difficult background, Ririchiyo developed a facade to protect her fragile self.
She speaks in an abusive way towards other people, so that they won’t get close to her.

Ririchiyo left her family and moved to Ayakashi Kan, a mansion for half breeds and Youkai.
As special service of this residence the inhabitens get a special agent who takes care of their needs. At first Ririchiyo is irritated by her agent Soushi, who shows dog like admiration torwards her, but because of his kindness and charming personality she keeps him as agent. The show follows their daily life, the ‘s backgound of the girl causes some drama but also good comedy is included, so far the balance of both is very well done. The animation style looks very well-

Nisemonogatari – Shaft – 04/12

Araragi is back, after the great success of the Bakemonogatari anime in 2009, Shaft blesses us with a continuation of the stories. At first it isn’t clear which way the new story will take but the reunion with all the characters we loved in Bakemonogatari is really nice and entertaining.
There is quite an amount of high quality fanservice included, that lucky Araragi is such a player.

During the dynamic dialogs we learn a few things piece by piece that slowly develop the first arc, which is about Araragi’s sisters. Not that I would miss Senjougahara, but so far only had few screentime and in the time she had she did not appear like a girlfriend someone wants to keep. Haha the other girls were way more appealing so far, I would choose Kanbaru with her grown out hair she is quite pretty and she’s a wild one ^^. Nisemonogatari still has lively and fast dialogs, but the fast bombardment of text screens from Bakemonogatari seems to have stopped.

Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! – Feel – 04/12

Yuta lives his newly started College life. One day Yuta’s visits his big sister, Yuri  and her daughters Sora, Miu and Hina. The main reason of the meeting is that Yuri wants to go on honeymoon with her busband and so her brother should take care of her daughters for a few weeks. On the first day Yuta and the girls have a lot of fun, but destiny strikes and the flight of the parents went missing. It is assumed that they are dead.

After the funeral the relatives want to seperate the girls, because none of them has enough space or don’t want to take care of all three girls, which is just cruel after they lost their parents a few days ago, Yuta doesn’t want this to happen and suggests to take care of all 3 girls, the relatives don’t really agree on that, but in the end Yuta and the girls move in his small appartement without real permission. They start to live in the small apartment, and the reign of chaos begins.

The end of pisode 02 was rather depressing, the mere thought of young children loosing their parents gave me the creeps. I wasn’t able to watch the next episode for some weeks. Nevertheless I picked this show up again. The anime is labeled as comedy but it won’t be overly light hearted I guess. It will be quite difficult to raise the girls with part time jobs and no support from anyone. it keeps me worried. Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai! has a interesting and heart warming story. Its nice how Yuta tries to take care of them and how the three sibliings interact.

Rinne no Lagrange – Production I.G, Xebec – 04/12

This appears as a happy toned mecha anime with enchantingly cute female pilots and very good visual effects. In the calm, placed next to beach, city of Kamogawa the bubbly Madoka likes to play hero and saves people in need whenever she can. One day an unknown girl named Lan takes her along to the hangar of a special agency, because of her abilities she is chosen to activate and pilot a certain robot. Without further ado they put her into cockpit to repress an incoming mech from outer space. It appears that Madoka will get support from Lan and another pilot, called Muginami in fighting against the bishounen aliens who are after the robot called Vox.

So far I really enjoyed this anime, it’s funny and nicely animated, also the characters are interesting and most of all likeable, there might occur a darker development in the future, a 2nd season is already announced.

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes Dai 2 Maku – J.C. Staff – 03/12

The cute yet stupid detectives are back, the season starts where the last one ended, Cordelia, Hercule, Nero and Sherlock still have no Toys and have no privileges in the academy, they have no own rooms, not good food, their treated really badly to sum it up. All the characters from last season are back, Arsene, her silly trio and the incompetent G4. Arsene desperately wants that Milky Holmes gets back to their old selves and triggers certain events. Tantei Opera Milky Holmes is a show from lunatic for lunatic. It has a special kind of humor which won’t be everyones taste.

The animation style is not that appealing, but decent it has the appearance of an anime for kids, even though it is not suited for this audience. Anyway, what I can say for certain is, that the girls are cute. Hopefully the girls will get their tools back this time and keep them eventually.

Zero no Tsukaima F – J.C. Staff – 04/12

Im a big Zero no Tsukaima fan and I like the character of Louise a lot, I also have a huge wallscroll of her over my TV ^^. The fourth and last season of  Zero no Tsukaima finally started. Unlike the final season of Shakugan no Shana, the begining of Zero no Tsukaima was better made. There is something wrong with Shakugan no Shana Final *sob* what have you done to my beloved anime.

It took some time for the fourth season, but its nice to see all the old characters again and hear the nice background music. The 4th season also radiates the essence of the previous seasons and it still has the action, comedy and romance mix. In terms of Saito you’ll notice some development, putting all the bumping in harem girls aside (I think they should stop the harem thing near the end), he sets most of his attention torwards Louise. A letdown is, that Louise always gets interupted by the other girls when she wants to be alone with Saito.

Louise  still freaks out on the next possible ocassion and uses her “explosion” spell on Saito, which is somehow sad after three seasons of Zero no Tsukaima. I finally want my romance.

The setting and story of Zero no Tsukaima had always been good, but the end and also the impression of the whole franchise will depend on Louise and if she will finally fully accepts her feelings torwards Saito. I would be really dissapointed when they’d end this with an open end.

So thats all for now, the anime of this Winterseason 2012 turned out better than expected at first. Shows I would suggest to you giving a try are: Another, Nisemonogatari, Inu x Boku SS, Rinne no Lagrange and Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai!

picture are from Gelbooru, Konachan and shuushuu