22 Feb, 2012

But didn’t we just see a K-ON! figure review I hear you cry? Indeed we did, with a review of Alter’s Yui Hirasawa just a few months past.  This time though, we’ll be looking at her bandmate behind the drumkit, the feisty Ritsu Tainaka, in what might be the most elaborate figure we’ve yet seen.       Ritsu comes in a...

18 Jan, 2012

Time flies huh? It was back in July of last year that we previewed Nendoroid Mami from Puella Magi Madoka Magica and now here she is in the flesh (or rather, the plastic). Ever since that preview she’s been highly anticipated by collectors everywhere, so let’s get down to business and see if she lives up to the...

3 Dec, 2011

Of all series in the last few years, none has quite dominated the figure landscape like K-ON!. Even stalwarts like Evangelion and Lyrical Nanoha pale into insignificance compared to the absolute torrent of merchandise that has been pumped out featuring the five girls of Houkago Tea Time, from dolls to trading figures to figmas to everything you could possibly...

15 Oct, 2011

As anybody who’s an anime fan knows, Studio Shaft’s dark reimagining of the magical girl tale Puella Magi Madoka Magica has been this year’s breakout hit, so it’s no surprise that we’re beginning to see a flood of toys, figures and merchandise related to the franchise though. You know you’ve really made it though, when you...

26 Sep, 2011

If figure companies were car companies, then Alter would be Rolls Royce: the quality tends to be high, the craftsmanship extraordinary, the delays inevitable and the price painful to behold. Regardless, their top notch construction and fantastic sculpts have made them the darlings of the figure collecting community, and anything bearing their name comes with...

1 Sep, 2011

August 31st marked the fourth birthday of Hatsune Miku, the iconic symbol of the ‘Vocaloid’ series of music synthesizer software, and already one of the most portrayed characters in the world of figures today. Not to let the occasion go to waste however, Good Smile Company have stepped up to deliver perhaps the most stunning representation of Miku...

10 Aug, 2011

Charming, delightfully drawn and full of amusement and whimsy, Kiyohiko Azuma’s manga series Yotsuba&! has become a much beloved staple of the anime & manga community, near universally beloved by all those who read it. It’s therefore somewhat surprising that there haven’t been a great deal of toys or figures based around it. Fear not...

26 Jul, 2011

  From the popular anime and light novel series My Little Sister Can’t Be this Cute! comes a figure of Ruri Gokou, better known as Kuroneko. Beautifully sculpted by Kotobukiya, this figure is based on an illustration of Kuroneko and friends attending the ‘NatsuComi’ convention. In an unusual move the normally heavy dressing Kuroneko has...

14 Jul, 2011

  From this year’s breakout hit show Puella Magi Madoka Magica comes an adorable Nendoroid version of magical girl Mami Tomoe! Lovingly recreated in the trademark super-deformed Nendoroid style, Mami comes packed with extras including additional rifles, her ‘Tiro Finale’ finisher weapon and even a scale model of her nemesis, the evil...

12 Jul, 2011

  With it’s enjoyable mix of drama and comedy and  engaging characters, Angel Beats! quickly became one of the breakout hits of last year in the anime community. With such popularity it was only a matter of time before we saw some scale figures emerge and today we’ll be looking at one of the best yet from Good Smile Company, depicting the...