Figures: Chrono Trigger Formation Arts
Chrono Trigger, an RPG masterpiece developed by Square-Enix (then just Square) for the SNES, is one of my all-time favourite games. I’m certainly not alone in that regard, so it’s quite surprising that Chrono Trigger figures are so scarce. In fact, as far as I can tell this set in Square-Enix’s Formation Arts line of blind box/trading figures may well be the first. We can only wonder as to why Square-Enix, a company who’s no stranger to milking all sorts of merchandising out of their franchises, has taken so long to grace us with these, but in any case they’ve now rectified the problem and have thankfully done a pretty good job of it.
Figure: Momohime (1/8 Scale by Alter)
From Muramasa: The Demon Blade – a Wii game with a gorgeous hand-painted visual style – comes the possessed princess Momohime, now lovingly crafted as a 1/8 scale figure by Noritaka Fukumoto for Alter. I’ll admit that I’m yet to complete Muramasa but I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve played so far and it’s just such a beautiful game to look at, so when I saw the previews for this figure I was pretty quick to make a pre-order. It looked incredible in Alter’s official promo shots, but those can often be misleading as certain elements become too difficult to mass produce or, more simply, quality control isn’t quite perfect. As a figure collector, you come to expect those differences and, within reason, accept them. With Momohime, Alter have managed to deliver a work of true craftsmanship that has absolutely no trouble living up to its promise.
Figure: Figma Haruhi (Chouyusha/Brave version)
Up until recently, my Figma collection consisted solely of two Haruhi Suzumiyas: the regular version and the summer uniform version. I’d often considered the thought of collecting all of the Figma Haruhis, but there was one thing that got in the way: the limited edition Figma SP-001 Chouyusha (or “Brave”) Haruhi. Without it my collection could not be complete, and I’d rather stick with just two than a collection that’s missing just one. Of course, the reason this very post exists is because I’ve managed to get Chouyusha Haruhi for a great price thanks to comrade Fabrice. I suppose this means I’ll be going for a squad of Figma Haruhis after all!
Figure: Asuka Langley Shikinami (1/6 Scale by Kotobukiya)
I passed over Kotobukiya’s 1/6 scale Asuka Langley Shikinami from Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance when it was originally released late last year, and although I wouldn’t say I regretted that per se it did stick out as I figure I’d have liked to have bought. Naturally, when I found out that Kotobukiya planned on re-releasing it I decided not to pass a second time. I find that there’s a certain ‘wow’ factor that some figures have when you get them in their first release that seems to disappear if you’ve seen dozens of photos before seeing it for yourself and that was certainly the case here, but it’s a lovely figure and I’m very glad I got another chance to pick it up.
Pre-Order: Figma Mari Illustrious Makinami
Although my figure collection is gradually being focussed on fixed-pose scale figures (mostly 1/8), I’m not entirely unable to be enticed by figures of the articulated variety under the right circumstances. In my case, just about anything Evangelion is “the right circumstances” so I was pleasantly surprised to see that Max Factory will be releasing Figma versions of some Evangelion characters, starting with Rei and Mari in their Plug Suits and Asuka in her Test Plug Suit. It was a surprise because one of the Figma line’s main competitors, Revoltech’s Fraulein series, has a history of releasing figures of the Eva girls and in fact they’re bringing out a new set – of the same characters – at pretty much the same time as Max Factory’s Figmas.
Pre-Order: Black Rock Shooter -animation ver.-
Possibly one of the year’s most anticipated figures, Good Smile Company’s 1/8 scale Black Rock Shooter -animation version- became available for pre-order yesterday and I wasted no time in making my own order. This is a first for me: in the past I’ve only bought figures of characters I’m familiar with, though to be fair in the case of Black Rock Shooter there’s not a whole lot to be familiar with yet. The character was designed by artist Huke, that artwork inspired a song by Supercell and the resulting phenomenon has led to a number of figures and an anime due for (free!) release later this year which looks pretty cool.
With all that said, I quite like the character design and was immediately drawn to the dynamism of this figure; its appeal has only grown with each stage of production. With these promotional photos from Good Smile, Black Rock Shooter has certainly become one of my most anticipated figures of the year, and I have a feeling I’m not alone.
Black Rock Shooter -animation version- is due for release in October 2010. You can pre-order this figure now from J-List, AmiAmi and other reputable online stores.
Figures: UCC Evangelion (by Kotobukiya)
It should come as no surprise that the upcoming BD/DVD release of Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance is accompanied by a wave of advertisement and merchandising. UCC (a coffee company that’s no stranger to Evangelion cross-promotion) and Kotobukiya have teamed up to release this trio of coffee-plus-figure sets featuring three of the film’s characters: Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Shikinami and the brand new character Mari Illustrious Makinami. Though the partnership of Evangelion, UCC and Kotobukiya is a somewhat strange one, when you consider each brand separately there is certainly potential for great results. Let’s have a look and see if the novel idea of packing figures of the Eva girls holding UCC cans with real UCC cans was a good one.
Figure: Yui Hirasawa from K-ON! (1/8 Scale by Alter)
K-ON! should need little introduction to most anime fans. The first season, aired last year, was a huge hit and with the second season in full swing it’s no surprise to see plenty of merchandise available. Alter has joined the party with a series of exuberant 1/8 scale figures of the Houkago Tea Time girls, beginning with bassist Mio earlier in the year and now guitarist Yui. I passed on Mio (although the figure did look great) but couldn’t resist Yui, probably my favourite character from the show. This is my first Alter figure, so I was keen to see if it lived up to their reputation.
Figure: Canaan (1/8 Scale by Good Smile)
After a few months of delays, Good Smile Company has finally delivered their 1/8 scale figure of Canaan (from the series Canaan, of course) sculpted by Kunihito Iwamoto. I watched the anime – which is a spin-off from visual novel 28: Fūsa Sareta Shibuya de – late last year and pre-ordered this figure shortly after finishing it. I enjoyed the series despite some obvious shortcomings, liked the eponymous character and thought the figure – at the time due out in January – looked great. Here we are in April and it’s finally arrived, so let’s see if it was worth the wait.
Figure: Figma Haruhi & Winter Campaign
You may remember that I got the Summer Uniform version of Figma Haruhi a couple of months ago, and I’d always planned to get the regular uniform version eventually to get a bigger range of faces and other extras. With AmiAmi running a 50% off shipping promotion throughout February and Max Factory offering bonus accessory sets as part of their “Winter Campaign”, I figured now was a good time.
