Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

We have now 3 versions of Nanoha in varying stages of mass production. The Alter one has been released and isn’t too bad. The Movic version is expensive but is pretty much the coolest. And now, Kotobukiya joins in the fun.

With a price tag of 5040 yen and standing at 21 cm, this 1/7 scale PVC figurine is at first glance, superior to Alter’s. After all, it has a more wingy weapon. But in terms of pose and appearance, the two are pretty much the same and Koto has this really annoying glossy finish on their figurines. The face of Koto Nanoha also appears to be rather… plump and oily.

The number of wingy spikes are another concern. Sometimes, there’s just too much of a good thing. Here, it just makes everything look messy.

Interesting is the hair though. Nanoha seems to have her hair parted to the left while the Alter version has it to the right.

I’m not too big a fan of Nanoha so I’m skipping this. It’s to be released in November 2006.

The Ignis dilemma strikes again. The previous one was pretty simple with most settling on the more attractive Max Fac version. but now Orchid Seed (it’s sold through Good Smile Company though) is releasing yet another version of the Guardian of Mankind, Ignis. This time, there’s nipples.

Everyone loves nipples. But sometimes, they aren’t appropriate for more formal occasions, perhaps like a party of non-anime fans. The great thing about the OS version is that it comes with an interchangeable chest piece that allows her puppies to be hidden. This means I can purchase this, since the only requirement I have for nude figurines is that they have some sort of cover.

However, I’m not too sure what kind of changeable part it is, as the promo pictures did not show anything besides the titties. One possible issue could be an ill-fitting part compared to Max Fac’s seamless bosom.

Click for a special treat.

The pose for both are different too. While not as dynamic as the Amazonic Alter figurine, the OS one has more emphasis on her katana than the Max Fac version. Ignis is unsheathing the red sword in a very womanly "closed" legged pose. Let’s not talk about Alter’s barbaric pose but Max Fac’s has Ignis open-legged in a more lively open posture. Max Fac has the edge of both dynamicism and classiness compared to OS which has elegance alone.

Max version: Niceeee hair and clothes.

Look at this. It basically says, to commerate the launch of the final episode of Diebuster, a booth will be set up at Wonderfest Summer. The seiyuu of Nono, Fukui Yukari will be making an appearance at the booth. There’ll be static displays of some Diebuster stuff too. But more importantly, it seems that the following two figures will be sold there as well. The action figure is going for 10 000 yen and is an absolute stunner.

The problem is, the action figure may be an event only limited edition just like the Saber one, which is now going for hundreds of dollars on the free market. The text isn’t too clear on this. I sure hope that it’ll be mass-produced but my common sense tells me otherwise. When I first saw this picture I just screamed "YEAHHHHHHHH!", that’s how badly I want a Buster Machine no. 7 figurine.

BOME’s also chipping in with a fixed pose statue in his style - the boring standing pose. This will most likely be sold as a resin kit during the event but later mass-produced. So I’m banking on this for my Nono fix. The price for this has not been set.

Alter are releasing a set of 10 keychains, of the School Rumble season 2 characters in September. This is interesting because being all compulsively obsessed about School Rumble, I will buy the whole set. But these are like, worthless keychains that you can’t use since they’ll get all black and dirty. I have like.. 30 keychains of various anime lying around, they can’t even be displayed nicely.

Anyway, it’s 400 yen each. Click on the picture and the one on the bottom right is the actual size.

Well, I like most of the characters featured save for Mikoto, who’s too much like my own sister. Btw Happy Birthday sis.

Everyone should get at least one of these.

Now that Kanaria has been released and is on the way to me at this very moment, preorders for the next Rozen Maiden is open. It’s the cult heroine Suigintou. As expected of the SR DX Rozen series, the base is quite something. Everything looks nice and rosy from the promo pictures, with her features well defined and sharp facial features captured.

It’s going for 3780 yen (getting more expensive… its now 1100 yen more than Kanaria) and stands at 15 cm tall. Suigintou will be released end September.

Max’s new line up is out too, as HD and Ikimashou have already reported and I can’t be bothered to. Yucanalia’s pretty hot, as is the Shining Tears bikini babe but they are 1/6 and 1/7 respectively so I’ll think about it.

I decided not to get the limited edition Rider figurine after all, as I’m banking on the damn fanboys to drive up demand so they’ll make more non-LE versions.

Lain and Eri 1/8 PVCs have been released, so it’ll probably be sent to me in a week or so. I’m supposed to receive my Saya, Kanaria, Rei Mermaid, King Gainer and Eva-02 any moment now too. Looks like this blog’ll be focused on figurines for quite some time.