SigFigs

2011-02-19T19:55:00.002-05:00

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2010-10-02T20:00:00.006-04:00

It came, it saw, it covered one of its main heroines in a liberal coating of human excrement foul enough to make every other character repeatedly vomit. Do they make chasers for anime episodes? No? This could get dangerous...

The first chapter of what is sure to become a wave-making series aired yesterday to a host of mixed reviews. Now that the energy has dissipated and people are starting to go home and prep their game for next week, I thought I would try to unpack some of the details of what can, should, and will be expected of future episodes of Panty and Stock with Garterbelt.

Starting off, I got the impression that PSG is like a strange birthday present from an even stranger uncle. You know you're getting a present from him; it's your birthday and he's the eccentric uncle who always buys you strange gifts (I'm trying to build a metaphor, just go along with it). The only hint of surprise is that you don't know what exactly what you'll be getting. And in this case, even after the floor is satiated with wrapping paper and dried tears, you still don't know what you received.

I'm not entirely sure how well Gainax succeeds in the mold of a creepy uncle but I think you grasp my point: It's hard to put a finger on what PSG really is at this point.

Don't get me wrong, the first episode duly provided exactly what had been foreshadowed by staff members prior to its airing. Contorted, breakneck action scenes spinning off of every cel? Yep. Excessively vulgar humor? Almost to a fault. A practically verbatim realization of the 3 sentence-long plot? Angels, Ghosts, Heaven, Hell, Panty, Stocking, yep. My point is that, even though PSG may have even exceeded its own hype in the eyes of those willing to see it, it's still very uncertain what we received yesterday. In short, what is PSG?

Though I'm quite certain some people 'think' they know what this little present from Gainax with love is, I've yet to see anything convincing (or sensible) from them. An indecent host of idiot reviewers have crucified the show's "attempt" at humor by irresponsibly elevating to such. Children even more illiterate than them are swearing this is a response to what they think is "moe". There's been complaining, arguing, spamming, diatribe, and all around chaos since everyone's eyes glazed over and minds went numb at the sight of the opening sequence. If you thought PSG was a polarizing anime before it aired, I doubt you'll recognize the average anime fan's response to Gainax in a few months.

So now that I've made it fairly clear I don't find any common ground with the popular estimation of PSG, let me try to communicate my own. First and foremost, PSG is incredibly aware of itself; beneath the frenzied pace and profligate dialogue, it knows what it is and doesn't fall short of achieving that in every frame. Because of its sentience, and I'm going to make a pretty hefty assertion here, I get the overwhelming sense that PSG is every inch of an otaku anime. It's not wrapped in the usual trimmings mind you, but despite the slightest sense of apprehension, this is a child only an otaku could love.

In that understanding, this is classic Gainax through and through: otaku producing anime for otaku. And yet that doesn't quite seem to quench the nerve. If you were to travel back in time and show the first episode of PSG to Toshio Okada, Yasuhiro Takeda, Anno, or any other founding member, I sincerely doubt any one of them would see it in the same frame of reference as he would today. They'd likely be overwhelmed by the modern feats of digital animation, but aside from their fetishistic attention to key frames as animators, they're still sci-fi-laden 70's otaku.

The distinction I'm elucidating to is that though the word "otaku" describes a common denominator, the subculture (and Gainax along with it) has changed. It's hard to state with certainty what qualifies as an otaku today, just as it's difficult to say what PSG is trying to do. Endeavoring to conjoin those two divergent ideologies proves to be a tall task. The only answer I can amass is that this anime isn't for the largest percentage of otaku, what most people think of today when they hear the word "otaku". In some really vague sense, it's an otaku anime that isn't "for" otaku.

The most obvious reason for this is its visual shell. The aesthetics of PSG obviously go far beyond Super Deformed, and into "cartoony". 2chan had no qualms about making the distinction either; the live-viewing thread on Nijigen Jikkou practically mentioned the word "cartoon" every other post. PSG's coarse amalgamation of American and Japanese animation is found at the heart of what what I think PSG is. And, at the same time, begins to chip away at the paradox of an otaku anime not meant for most otaku.

To adumbrate, I'd like to take a look at Imaishi for a moment. He's been animating for well over 15 years but he's only been able to intermittently claim the director's touch. Dead Leaves popped his cherry, Oval x Over taught him some moves, and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann asserted his drill as a force to be reckoned with. The latter (TTGL) marked his TV series directorial debut and showed that the muscles in his head worked just as well, if not better, than those in his hands. The arguable essence of TTGL was a distillation and perfection of all the tropes of the Super Robot genre, each coming together to form an original work that stood on its own two feat as one of the best anime of 2007. I may be alone in this, but I see that same happening for PSG in what remains of 2010. No, there aren't any drills, fits of gattai or instances of unembroidered manly passion, but what the two share is stark. Simply put, PSG is to American animation as TTGL is to Super Robots. The product is different but the formula is the same.

In this way, PSG is a plump contradiction. TTGL had no such impediment, as its two halves were easily reconcilable in the otaku mind; Super Robot and Japanese animation regrouped, redrawn, and perfected. PSG's paradox arises out of the fact American animation and comics aren't prime otaku material, at least for the vast majority. This idea is one explanation I offer for that now famous (and fucking awesome) "Fly Away" transformation sequence at nine minutes and forty-three seconds into episode 1 (see above picture): it was a way for PSG to show its hand and still hold sway over the flow of the game.

The bit of conciliatory resolution comes by way of the fact that only an otaku could realize and truly understand such an idea. Others might focus on the Powerpuff Girl potty-humor, call the show 'trite', and be done with it. My ideas may still only be just that, but I feel like we have much to look forward to in the series' future. Or I just might be completely wrong in everything I've typed and wasted 2 hours because of it. Time will tell. Until then, [spoiler]FLY AWAY[/spoiler].

2010-10-01T02:20:00.011-04:00

As I type this, all that remains of the time standing between the anime-viewing populace and Gainax's newest pet-project is the face of a clock. Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt has raised more than a few eyebrows and emotions but everything will come to a bottleneck when we arrive at that critical hour...

Since the first glimpses of Yoh Yoshinari's shocking character designs, which made their debut in that now well-known June issue of Newtype, the internet has been stirred beyond estimation. And, maybe surprisingly, the English-speaking portion of the web has been more vocal than its Japanese counterpart on the subject. But I hesitate to call the sum total of the Western reaction "hype". The description of "a jumbled mess of mixed opinions, ignorance and outright lunacy" would be slightly more apt in appreciating the din.

People have called and continue to call PSG anything from "Powerpuff Girls" to "garbage" (neither of which deserves any form of intelligent response), with a meager handful of more magnanimous individuals reserving judgment until at least the first episode. Even fewer than those humble enough to judge something after they actually see it, only a select number understand the precedent for what seems like one of the most radical moves from Gainax since...well... maybe ever (which is saying volumes).

No one with even the most fleeting knowledge of Hiroyuki Imaishi would dare underestimate his quirk as an anime director. Comparisons between PSG and Imaishi's more unhinged style (see Dead Leaves) have been made, though in my opinion somewhat irresponsibly. He may be the series head, but most of the grunt work is coming from other animators and animation directors. In as much, and at this point, I'd relegate Imaishi's input to something a tad more sensory than what we would normally see from him as a pure animation director. From the PV that was released some number of weeks ago, it's undeniable Imaishi but that still doesn't quite explain the giant elephant in the room.

It's more reasonable that the prime mover in PSG's unique identity is the result of Yoh Yoshinari, who as of yet is only cited with the single credit of providing Concept Art. Yoshinari's exploits in animation have been heavily touted by advocates of PSG but without any real substance in regard to the show itself. The crux of Yoshinari's contribution to PSG most likely lies in an infamous quote made in a 2008 interview assembled after the success of Gurren Lagann. Various staff members were under the spotlight but when asked what Gainax's future plans were in regards to anime, Yoshinari replied "I don't want to make anime, I want to make cartoons".

What exactly Yoshinari intended to say by delivering that remark has been largely uncultivated. Forgoing that ambiguity, and what stands above both Imaishi and Yoshinari, is the reputation of Gainax originals. Though the studio itself has gone under many changes since its embryonic stage as General Products, Gainax continues to both stray from and cater to the otaku path in a way that only it can. If the same is to be expected of PSG, any irrational fears don't seem to live up to the reputation of one of the most prolific animation studios in Japan. But, if we're to be rational, the answer will present itself in due time.

2010-09-30T20:06:00.002-04:00

This year may be close to turning over but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy these Gunsou wallpapers for the next quarter...

I just came across this series of 2010 wallpapers and regret not finding them 3 months before 2011. Even if you already have the collection, there's a nice Halloween-themed wallpaper with Natsumi and Keroro thrown in the mix.

2010-09-23T15:48:00.015-04:00

Sora no Woto may not have been the sleeper-hit TV Tokyo and Aniplex were hoping for but it certainly resounded with a concentrated group of fans who were gracious enough to look beyond its fleeting aesthetic comparisons to K-ON! and find a solid and endearing title...

Perhaps the most obvious sign of SnW's lukewarm reception is the desolate stretch of figures surrounding its name. Sure, a dakimakura cover here, a big towel there, maybe even a decorated cup or two to throw those mug-otaku a glazed ceramic bone (yes, there are such things as mug-otaku; but we don't talk about them) - the merchandising machine is functioning. But outside of the t-shirts and messenger bags, SnW's fiscal assault on the otaku consciousness has been fairly stingy on the PVC. Perhaps Anime no Chikara isn't trying to sustain itself on merchandise alone, a quasi-noble if not slightly suicidal leap of faith considering SnW's Blu-Rays have been guarding the rear of weekly DVD rankings. Whatever the pretext, we're left without a substantive barometer from which to gauge just how tepid its popularity really is, aside from the average DVD sales and the din of inconsolable overseas fans eager for an unrealistic second season.

Even so, some figures do exist. And, comparably, SnW can lay claim to more PVC than other concurrent TV series, so not everything is doom and gloom for figure fans. FuRyu's collection of the 5 main girls first displayed at the prize figure expo AUO Amusement Fair earlier this year in February was the first and most prominent outlet. Through a combination of their price point and the fact they were the only SnW figures on the visible horizon, I jumped on pre-ordering all 5 girls. But a poignant fact persists, and if you aren't quick on the draw, I'll say it here and now: these are prize figures. Expecting production quality on the level of the industry's top-manufacturers or the sculptural acuteness only seasoned professionals can deliver from FuRyu is the mental equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot.

The alternative? At the moment, there's only one. And it's quite a treat: a 1/8 scale sculpt of Kanata in her breezy summer uniform by the well-established Zenko. Scheduled for release as a PVC in November, after Kotobukiya delivers this gem, it doesn't look like there will be anything else of promise. The astounding lack of SnW garage kits at both this year's Winter and Summer Wonder Festival lends itself to the idea that either SnW can't carry its own weight on today's field of popular anime or there was some discrepancy in getting a license to sell SnW garage kits. The deluge of t-shirts that Cospa and ACG have been churning out would lead me to think that it's more so the former than the latter.

It appears that Anime no Chikara's purpose in creating multiple series to convey what it sees as "the power of anime" also eschews it from giving any undue attention to a single title. Night Raid was for all intents and purposes a flop, but Occult Academy is fairly popular with 2chan, just like SnW was. Unfortunately, none have proven to be mainstays in either the anime or figure world. And for the handful of individuals such as myself who would have liked to see more opportunities to support the franchise outside of the SnW OVAs and t-shirts, it's a tough bit of reality.

2010-09-16T19:01:00.009-04:00

A cleanly tradition that has the potential to leave some viewers feeling dirty, the famous bathing scenes of anime have been soaking in the consciousness of viewers for nearly as long as the medium itself...

While other more mundane activities are certainly exploitable in their own fetishistic right, bathing has reigned supreme as the de facto font of fanservice for well over 4 decades. These animated windows depicting what would otherwise be a ritualistic and culturally-rooted observance for the average Japanese gain a healthy dose of voyeurism as characters bear everything that isn't conveniently veiled by liberal amounts of steam and bubbles.

The holy trinity of the beach episode, the hot spring episode, and the furo episode have never ceased to construct a powerhouse of ratings and DVD sales. Everyone has their favorites, their stories of how amazing the uncensored version is, and their private collection of steamy screenshots.

And it is the purpose of this post to provide a deluge of the latter. A fairly recent thread on 2chan's second Nijigen Ura board (the one most prone to massive image dumps of fap material) saw around 200 some images of anime's bathing best. I've assembled the lot and added a few more to comprise a collection that could never claim to be "comprehensive" but still might be worth adding to your own. Enjoy.

Bath_Scenes .rar

2010-08-28T01:17:00.008-04:00

Yes, I'm going there. This is but one of what will surely be many articles on that little three-lettered animal. The etymology and history of moe are definitely aspects worth investigating, but I've taken a more removed approach here by trying (desperately) to nail down some basic ideas...

In defining a slang word as amorphous and misunderstood as moe, the ability to accurately and definitively determine a competent, objective description settles close to impossible. Resultantly, demarcating parameters from which to aggregate a more wholesome image is by far the most responsible means to draft what approaches salience as a “definition”. Moe is currently many things to many people, but there is a basic underlying structure, a foundation from which contrast and debate can responsibly be fostered. In general, the basic parameters of what moe can be defined as include at the very least this: A personal, emotive attraction, love, infatuation, passion for or related response to two-dimensional characters from anime, manga, video games and other otaku-focused media art.

There is a limited but critically important amount of recurrent traits discernible through the most abstract of opinions on moe. The first and most prominent of which is a focus on the two-dimensional or the image. Moe is not found through interpersonal relationships or ascetic meditation under frigid waterfalls, but instead through mental interaction with visual images, be they static or kinetic, monochrome or colored.

Dissonance has recently been reared around whether the definition of “image” reserves room for three-dimensional personalities, like those of saccharine Akihabara idols projecting a falsified identity, an “image” constructed through nonsensical copulas and a band of flashy accouterments. Thought of as a perversion by some and a natural inclination by others, moe has recently been used to describe people or, more liberally, anything that one could possibly think of as “moe”. No longer are images or characters the sole designees of moe among western newcomers to the word, who have settled its definition closer to “cute” and use it to underscore certain narrative types, character designs, voice actors, or whatever suites their momentary fancy. Quite honestly, most of the free-for-all derives from an inexperience with the original constructs of the word and to that end can be construed as a bastardization driven by misusage, bias, misunderstanding, or outright ignorance. More than anything, and as elucidated to above, moe is ambiguous but firm. It relies primarily on image and emotion. Any further exploration beyond that point dips into a territory separate from the intentions of this article, noble and worthwhile though they may be (read: I’ll talk about it later, settle down).

Whatever its constructs, there is an ascertainable distance between the moer and the moe, the image which projects features collected and organized by the viewer in order to achieve moe. Whether that distance derives from the unwillingness of the viewer to see the Akihabara idol as a real women beyond the pretense of the stage or whether it is sourced from the physical inability of the viewer to interact with a bishoujo image, its presence in all streams of thought asserts it as an undeniable element of moe.

The next critical aspect is the response to the image. Often denoted as the “feeling” of moe, or even moe itself. The evocation of an emotional or impassioned reaction is intrinsic in defining and understanding moe. If nothing is felt by the moer, it cannot be considered moe; if nothing can be extricated from the gap between the image and the one who invokes it, a pallid and apathetic response naturally results. It could be said that the job of the moer, if moe was to be implicated as a task, would be to navigate the gap between himself and the image, going into the front lines and achieving a sense of moe by doing so. The specific sensation is often described as a warmth in the chest or general feeling of well-being, but in order to give credence to these reactions the bounds of physiological and psychological testing would necessarily need to be overcome. And, as yet, no medical professional has dared raise his or her hand to answer that call. Regardless of a literal and physical sensation, the presence of an emotional response in the moe soup has been firmly settled in contrast to more obscure, personal components which still struggle to find similar substantiation.

From a mixture of these two points (the image and the reaction or emotion), numerous subcategories present themselves to deepen the interaction between person and pretense. In one instance, the role of fantasy or imagination is endorsed as a sort of a buffer that allows otaku to view the pretense of flat images in a more visceral, engaging way and thus evoke a unique sense of moe. This is achieved, for example, through projecting a kind of vague mental estimation of a particular character onto an image able to elicit the visual realization of that same character, thus allowing images to become “real” in some sense as the mental and two-dimensional evaluations of a character coalesce into one.

A parallel is seen through the expression of moe-points, certain recurrent traits or tokens whose meanings are communally understood to project an estimation of character and act as fonts of moe. The most common and classical of moe-points would ostensibly be megane, or glasses (most often in reference to a meganekko, or glasses girl, quite simply: a girl wearing glasses). The moer may attach his own meaning to the specificity of a girl wearing glasses in such a way as to interpret that she is intellectual or frail, conceited or bookish. Above all, the glasses have characterized her, have elevated her to a reverential and exclusive position, the exact details of which, again, are not of concern. This is much because the literal meaning or interpretation of a moe-point itself is not exclusively concerned with moe. For example, when a meganekko is seen or a young girl is heard projecting the endearing term for an older brother, the moer mentally, and often subconsciously, navigates the gap between himself and the image, attempting to interact with the latter and gain the thing which we designate as moe. As one would divine a sense of reality from the fictionalized image, moe-points are consumed and processed much to the same ends. Obviously, the exact meaning of a girl wearing glasses is not globally understood, nor does an otaku actually wish for a little sister (and all the hassles and headaches that would accompany her), but through a sense of removed idealism of image, a kind of immediate nostalgia, the otaku can experience reality from fiction. In such a way as this, moe-points could be thought of as themselves images, an image of an image, if you will. However, the distance between the viewer and the image lying inside of another has been abbreviated by a general understanding that these elements have been proven sources of moe and are not left to question or debate as a result. Certain individuals may not grasp or appreciate the appeal of all or particular popularly accepted moe-points, thereby reinforcing the singularity of moe, but the qualities of their existence nonetheless demonstrate their importance in illustrating the inner mechanisms of moe.

This paragraph would ideally be the conclusion. But instead it's two sentences and a lion >:3

If you vehemently disagree with my estimation and analysis, have a question, concern, or complaint, feel free to leave a comment. Or a small book. Whatever you feel is appropriate.

2010-08-25T17:14:00.023-04:00

After discovering Mandarake a short while ago, I was overjoyed to find a few choice Yoshizaki doujinshi in stock. Mine's works have been lionized after Keroro Gunsou broke through into a celebrity status but his name and the long history that accompanies it don't often share the limelight...

Before Mine was riding Gunsou to the top of the charts, he was an up-and-coming but relatively niche manga-ka, doujin artist, and character designer who illustrated his passions with a bishoujo tinge. Realistically, and in so far as that description, his identity hasn't exactly gone under any major renovations. But seeing the progression of his designs, the subject matter he chose to immortalize, and his mastery of the bishoujo style over the some two decades of his career, these personal works epitomize his journey to the top by showing the ardent foundation that ferried him there. Though Mine's modern design flair holds a special place in my heart, I've made room for and come to respect his growth and change alongside the immovable quirks which characterize his poignant sense of humor and bishoujo sensibilities.

But anyway...M Design Works Note 2004, 8 Big Fighter Vol.11, Mine 4, Mine '97, and Mine '99 complete my first order and I'm most definitely not done with Mandarake's voluminous selection. I've uploaded a few samples of their contents for your consideration and enjoyment. As their names convey, M Design Works Note 2004, Mine '97 and Mine '99 are compendiums of Mine's work during those respective years, containing sketches, finalized illustrations and heartfelt manga one-shots from both his personal and public career. Mine '99 is a particularly important year and issue, as this was when Keroro Gunsou was first published in Shounen Ace. Mine 4's title also hints at its contents, though in a slightly more clandestine way: its a 4-koma doujinshi featuring characters from Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, Samurai Showdown, King of Fighters, and further favorite fighting series from SNK, Capcom, and others. 8 Bit Fighter is an expansive doujin series best described as what would happen if the console wars were anthropomorphized into busty bishoujo characters and thrown into a DBZ-esque narrative full of tournaments and power leveling.

2010-08-11T15:44:00.015-04:00

Admittedly, the existence of discrepancies between an advertised image and its final product could never be considered "breaking news" to anyone who's ever dared to leave the safety of Good Smile Company's warm embrace and venture into figures from those other manufacturers...

But then again, for those of use whose tastes extend beyond Figma #3029 and Nendoroid #20194, it becomes a necessarily evil. The most recent case in point to cross my path: Yamato's 1/7 SIF EX Marin PVC (obviously seen above and released in both regular and special editions). I am an avid fan of Junichi Sato's works and I wholly enjoyed Umi Monogatari (the best anime based off of a Pachinko game besides Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angels). Being that and seeing the image of the decoration master on the left, my wallet was spread wide and left vulnerable when she emerged for pre-order many moons ago. Through whatever series of events, I never actually purchased Marin but still had her bookmarked in case of a rainy day wherein I would find $80 lying around and buy another figure (realistic, I know). I regularly checked HLJ to see if she was still in-stock, hoping for a discount sale to come along at the same time and remove any apprehension that still pervaded my mind and prevented by from jumping in.

But, as you can probably estimate, I'm glad I didn't after seeing the final release. I know Yamato to be mid-tier in production, sometimes dipping below standard quality and sometimes rising above, one of the few hit-or-miss companies out there. Once images of a decoration master are effused throughout the net, rarely will vendors other than Hobby Stock update their catalog to accommodate photos of what they'll eventually be selling. In someways, its a matter of indirect admission by omission; they're not going out of their way to mislead yet prescribe to a sure-fire way to dump a few units on unsuspecting customers. But just as often as hobby sites are reluctant to display a phantasmagoria of examples in bad production, there's rarely anything so egregious that it spurs them on. A slight change in color palette, PVC parts swapped for translucent ABS, minor sculpt modifications to ease cast-off or production, the usual rigmarole in PVC collecting. When a bombshell like Marin hits, I suppose that's a different story. To end this story, I really wanted to be able to purchase her. Besides the handful of garage kits released since the series first aired around this time last year, she's the only mass-market scale figure of ANY Umi Monogatari character. And as much as I like to avoid sensationalizing bad production quality (because in reality and honesty, true examples are few and far between), I just couldn't overlook this one.

Update(8/17): I just happened across a thread on 2chan's Figure board dealing with Marin. Apparently I'm not the only one who was blindsided months after her release. Various photoshop edits were posted in an attempt to try and pinpoint exactly what went wrong and where, but nothing came too close to revealing how this official PVC release became tantamount to the quality of a bootleg until someone made a .gif of all the transitions. Makes you wonder...

2010-08-04T21:37:00.014-04:00

The heavily lauded character designer Shunya Yamashita's newest artbook was released a short while ago and I finally procured myself a copy. If you've had even the most fleeting experience with Yamashita's previous two artbooks ("Sweet Dreams" and "Wild Flower" respectively), you'll know the drill for One Voice. That's not to imply more of the same should be a deterrent...

As with Yamashita's other offerings, the artwork is divided into sections from both his personal files (categorized as "unpublished works") and commissioned or 'official' illustrations, those used in game design, promotion or other outlets. Specifically, the chapters include "Unpublished Works", "The Original Works for Figures", "The Original Works for Video Games", "The Original Works for Books and Other", and "Monochrome Illustrations". Yamashita's budding career has considerably expanded the amount of commissioned art work compiled within One Voice when compared to Sweet Dreams, which was released during the period shortly following his entrance into wider areas of multimedia. Since that time, Yamashita has also been more involved in providing illustrations for original figures, one of the most recent of which is the long overdue Creator's Labo Asuka. One Voice offers a nice selection of his PVC exploits from the now expired Shuraki series to Kotobukiya's more contemporary Marvel Bishoujo collection of comic heroines done with a touch of Shunya. I've (poorly) scanned a few excerpts of One Voice's total 122 pages to give you a brief taste. If you're looking to buy the farm, it's still very much in-stock and going for around $30 USD from a variety of vendors.

2010-07-20T21:20:00.003-04:00

I have an upcoming figure review covering Furyu's newly released Sora no Woto Kanata PVC planned for the next week. Being my first post-resurrectional review, you can rest assured knowing it will be meaty and delicious. But for the time being, more articles. This one takes a brief look at how depth of narrative is more than psychological technobabble and Freudian undertones. Enjoy...

A direct premise for a direct argument: K-ON is deep. If you felt any hint of revulsion at that statement, you'd do best to continue reading and change the locks on your brain. To continue, the series just doesn't rely on traditional narrative elements such as plot to achieve the kind of depth familiar to people who consider themselves perceptive of such. Depth of character is one of K-ON's strengths relative to its counterpart in more diegetic settings. The girls are placed in an utterly realistic school setting, they are portrayed in utterly normal ways, without super human abilities or abnormalities, without the NEED for constructing "character" as its understood in the context of classical narrative construction. In K-ON!, and other 4-koma SoL series, character is more accurately the marginalization of an ordinary human identity (the complete antithesis of fictional character) into a fictional scenario. In one understanding, this effective distillation of identity creates an atmosphere more conducive to the viewer's participation in and acquisition of moe. In another, creating unrealistically realistic characters gives them unparalleled depth, the depth of a three-dimensional counterpart capable of three-dimensional emotion, thought, and action. This 3D depth is then marginalized into 2D, where the expression of character is limited but not of a lesser quality. The aid of moe helps navigate the terrain and enables viewers to extract depth from the pretense of what others consider only to be a series of kinetic images.

The execution of K-ON's depth isn't one that relies on an archetypal hero experiencing hardship to learn and grow, giving the audience bits and pieces of social commentary, theme, and character development along the way. While the presence of these things can certainly be argued as observable in K-ON (as with Yui's implied central role and growth over the course of her first year), K-ON's character takes place outside of traditional narrative and is instead supplemented by the viewer's sense of moe to achieve the actualization of "real" characters, of "real" girls, in a "real" school, in a "real" band; all taking place in a fictitious world harbored by the viewer's umbrella understanding of the "K-ON! anime". It's a delicate balance of working deep inside of the narrative and at the same time remaining at the surface to see the series from every angle.

Said another way, K-ON! achieves depth through the exact opposite method classical 3-point series use. Instead of developing character through a traditional method of a temporal flow of plot and character, one that purposely portrays itself as "real fiction", K-ON! holds itself as "fictitious realism", and in doing so endorses a narrative style that fictionalizes human identity; which is pretty fucking deep IMO.

2010-07-01T15:19:00.011-04:00

A timeless dilemma and a homely ornament meet in a simple equation and make cute little math babies who mature for the sole purpose of decongesting my living space. And thus the world continued to spin...

In summary, I have a new bookcase. That abridged compendium would normally suffice but this is a blog so I'm disposed to take up more storage space on Google's servers. 1/1 scale, wood and nails, build time: 1 and 1/2 hours. Purchased from the Chinese, erected by hand. All joking aside, I just realized that it's almost halfway full and hasn't been anything but a few slabs of painted timber for more than an hour. My computer desk is now incandescent with an ebony sheen fit to be viewed by royals, but I'm well aware of the inevitable. Most of what was transferred onto my ligneous buddy was originally (somehow) on the desk pictured to the right. For the time being though, I have a little more room and that's ample justification for a post IMO.

2010-06-28T23:00:00.015-04:00

Everyone seems to have their own circle of definitions for what constitutes a "good" figure. But when the discussion shifts to substantiate those preferences, toes are only bound to get stepped on...

That's not to say wholesome dialogue is impossible in the figure community, it's just hard to come by. But let's start from a common point: There are certainly traits of "good" figures which the majority holds no reservation towards. A figure's countenance being its "soul" (and selling-point) is an industry axiom that both professional sculptors and greenhorn circles abide by with rapturous ferocity. If the face is dry or unattractive, very little else can claim otherwise. Corporal anatomy is also significant, but only insofar as it complements what is already established in the face's fragile nature. An appreciation for dynamics is also commonly held; there should be implied movement and energy that beckons the eye to wander and digest. From there, "good" breaks down into a continuum of preferential extremes ranging from "too this" to "too that". Many people appeal to figures lying squarely in the center of that spectrum. They like "quality" figures, those that "pop" with solid production and an array of "iro points" (industry lingo that rubs shoulders with "moe points", basically key or special aspects of a character or illustration), the type that comfortably sit within the top 10 of store and website rankings until their inevitable release date.

To reveal what makes or breaks a figure is something far too involved for this post (but still on the table). Besides what has already been offered in the way of countenance, anatomy, dynamics, and production quality, the categories begin to dip into what is often considered definite but deeply rooted opinion. The area where the parameters of moe begin to escape the herd and head into personal, and usually inconsiderate, application.

One of the most poignant examples I can provide is a recent imageboard encounter with a very opinionated, very self-assured individual who, though I couldn't gauge for certain, expressed healthy interest and knowledge of bishoujo figures. In some ways this post is a response to his opinion and an attempt to expatiate from it. The quid pro quo communication was mild enough until the subject of Wave's recent Beach Queens series of 1/10 scale PVCs featuring prominent and popular bishoujo in their maritime best came up. This fellow was adamant about his view of how "low-quality" and "cheap" swimsuit figures are, and that they can only be associated with untalented sculptors trying to make a quick yen. Such an example of a bear-trap of unfounded, livid opinion is where my attempt to remain at a neutral magnanimity wears thin. I naturally disagreed and offered numerous points to show how a lack of accoutrements and doodads reveals the sculptors skill at its purest. Creating a beautiful, unique, fanatic and wholesome representation of the female form through character is probably the most difficult aspect of sculpting bishoujo figures. If a sculptor's skill and personal touch cannot shine through in a character's anatomy, it certainly cannot show up in anything as superficial as clothing. And, naturally, he disagreed without much of a defense. What's important here isn't the argument or its victor, but why it happened.

In instances such as these, room to express more intricate opinions while still distancing them from others' is limited at best and unavailable at worst. Every figure maniac has internalized his or her own idea of what this hobby is about to the point where its difficult to unravel. Or the opposite occurs and ostentatious ignorance rears its ugly head. I find that most of the English-speaking figure community is located on these two poles; you either get it or you don't. If you do, finding common ground is rare. If you don't, finding ground is the least of your worries and the worries you cause by sticking your nose in the wrong places. But at the same time, it remains that we are a "community", a group of peers that spans age, race, and gender. We're united by our hobby, even though the largest portion of us have a myriad understanding of it. Each of us has either some kind or no kind of figure ideology we use to take account of our surroundings. Perhaps the gist of my rambling is best expressed as this: It's best to keep an insightful eye peering inwards and another browsing the latest releases and preorders (without going blind, of course).

2010-06-27T00:29:00.020-04:00

Many anime fans are more than familiar with the name Gonzo. And over the past decade, through hills and valleys, Gonzo has done well to earn that recognition...

It became a matter of great contention, then, when news of Gonzo's systematically slow venture into animation production limbo began to surface. Warning signs appeared on the horizon more than 2 years ago in March of 2008 when the Tokyo Stock Exchange sent notifications to shareholders of Gonzo's parent company, the GDH (Gonzo Digimation Holdings) group, announcing the enactment of a year-long buffer period in which Gonzo would be necessarily required to recoup its more than 30 million dollars of debt or face delisting from the exchange (and with it, potential bankruptcy).

At this point, Gonzo's public image was so eclectic and advantageous, news that the studio had been operating under Sisyphean debt caused a monumental hit to GDH's stock and birthed an unhealthy foreboding around the company and its subsidiaries. Despite the bad atmosphere, Gonzo had plenty on its plate: it had just announced the simulcast of Blassreiter and The Tower of Druaga on Youtube, Crunchyroll, and BOST video sites. Needless to say, there must have been a collective understanding that profit was to be made prince as GDH neared the March 2009 deadline to get its finances in the black. Also needless to say, they didn't make it. Before the deadline was even on the horizon, GDH announced massive restructuring plans in November of 2008. Top among the new decree was a mandatory cut in the number of series scheduled for yearly production: from the average 8 to a meager 4. Once again, Gonzo was seemingly blindsided by the announcement; it already had more than 6 titles lined up for 2009. Perhaps the final blow came only months later in February 2009, a month before GDH needed to report positive earnings, when the group revealed plans to cut Gonzo's staff by almost 80% over the next 5 years; from 130 to 30. Even more shocking was the news that GDH would be absorbing Gonzo, taking the studio's name for itself, and selling off Gonzo Rosso (one of its many subsidiaries). The severity of what was occurring behind the facade of GDH became palpable for the first time after the general public realized that Gonzo would never be the same again. The ball kept rolling as then standing President and founder of Gonzo, Shouji Murahama, officially left the studio in April to launch a new company, Lambda Film. Waiting in the wake of this news was Gonzo's Saki and Shangri-La TV series; each only 4 days away from airing.

Now staring at an abysmal future, the infamous studio-turned-charity case put on its best by officially announcing it would animate a second season of its 2008 tour-de-force, Strike Witches. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. Gonzo handed Strike Witches S2 over to AIC in November after (barely) finishing Saki and pulled an Ashita no Joe, giving a silent nod and a quirky smile before its final moment. The once flamboyant animation studio was now a virtual dead zone. Little information came in, out of, or around the studio's name. For a period, it was uncertain whether Gonzo would ever return. Almost appearing as an attempt to shatter those predictions, the recent announcement of a new project from Gonzo at the 2010 Tokyo Anime Fair spear-headed the company's attempt at revival. Planned to incorporate the new 3D television technology currently dominating everyone's attention, Gonzo dropped the ball when they announced the TV series' tentative release date: Spring 2011; almost an entire year in the future. It's safe to say no one knows what Gonzo is thinking, only that Gonzo might not be thinking at all. Will this be an end-all-be-all title for the studio?

Only two days ago on the 25th, Gonzo held its 11th general meeting for shareholders at the Nishi-Shinjuku Building. During the assembly, Executive Vice President Chairman Shinichiro Ishikawa (who also produced Gonzo's Vandread, Hellsing, and KiddyGrade series) took the brunt of 22 questions from a crowd nearly 100 strong. As is customary of official Japanese Q&A sessions, a smiling face and a furtive recognition that mum's the word overtakes any valuable revelations. Nonetheless, I've ~~poorly~~ translated 2 of the questions and answers most relevant to Gonzo's future in anime production.

Q:今年に入っての制作状況が聞こえてこないが、原点回帰をするにしては
制作基盤が揺らいでいないか
As I've not heard anything about the status of Gonzo's animation production coming into this year, is production restarting from the ground up or has the foundation not been shaken at all?

A:これまで新作品が無いのは事実だが、大型オリジナル中国向け劇場版を
制作している。パートナーの上海メディアグループは東映アニメーション
が発表した中国向け「一休さん」と同じメディアグループだ。もうひとつ
は国内向けテレビシリーズ1本を制作スタートした。発表時期は先だが、GON
ZOファンに喜んでもらえると内容だと思うので期待して欲しい。
Up until this point, its true that there have been no new productions. However, a substantial original movie is being created with and for China. Our partner is Shanghai Media Group (SMG), the same party that will be assisting Toei in the production of their newly announced Ikkyuu-san movie. Another announcement is that we've begun work on a domestic television series. Though it was previously announced, I think any additional information will please Gonzo fans very much, so I'd like for everyone to anticipate it.

Q:村田蓮爾デザインの新作の噂、ラストエグザイル2の噂は真実か
Range Murata is rumored to be working on designs for a new Gonzo production. Are the rumors of a Last Exile 2 true?

A: ご想像にお任せするしかない。
I have no option but to leave that up to your imagination

While there was certainly nothing close to a breach of decorum, we did learn that Gonzo plans on investing work towards international releases and that their domestic TV series has been consummated.

What all this spells for the future of Gonzo is still largely uncertain. It's quite obvious the studio plans to buckle down and keep to the background while it tries to regain some level of profitability. Although the many fans who love to hate are quick to provide that Gonzo's infamous production quality, coupled with an experimental tinge, made its fall from grace less of a surprise and more of a comeuppance. Whatever your stance, it has been proven time and time again that restructuring in the anime industry is a good thing. In fact, Murahama, the founder of Gonzo, left Gainax in 1992 to strike gold with a new studio. Most modern studios in prevalence today are the result of lay-offs, disagreements, and other uncertain movements in the industry. With that fact, it's hard to say where Gonzo will go from here. In the end, perhaps the only intelligent guess would be to say its already moving there.

2009-12-16T22:18:00.007-05:00

Wondering about the story behind that month long gap between my last two posts? No? Well, maybe you are now...

This is essay is but a glimpse into my mirthless preoccupancy over finals week. It covers the relationship between otaku and the infamous "Otaku Murderer", Tsutomu Miyazaki. To those who are already crying "tl;dr" and "no pics": this is a big boy website, do try to understand.

An Unrequited Engagement

With every modern street, occupied and colorful with the daily routine, there is an underground quietly hustling in its shadows. So too does every culture contain this dualistic identity. On its face, the mainstream sparingly looks at its underground as anything more than a novelty, focused on schedules and deadlines too numerous to allow any diversion. The underground quickly returns the glance with an equal nonchalance tinged with a mild dose of quiet indignation. And so, in this perpetual cycle of balanced irreverence, life continues. However, every so often, the mainstream is made painfully aware of its counterpart’s pervasive existence through events tailored for no other purpose. This is the case of Tsutomu Miyazaki. In the 1980’s, the island nation of Japan became confronted with a powerful subcultural movement referring to itself peculiarly as “otaku”. These otaku blatantly protruded their interests in Japanese animation, comics, video games, sci-fi novels, and any other target worthy of their attention throughout the Japanese mainstream. Causing little more than a handful of curious news stories in contingency with intermittent scorn from the Japanese working class (their parents), otaku continued the practice of their hobbies with little detraction. That is, until the name 'Tsutomu Miyazaki' became a national and household effigy. A serial murderer whose egregious crimes rocked both the Japanese mainstream and the subculture he purportedly found solace in, Miyazaki’s actions singularly attracted Japan’s attention toward this band of science-fiction laden misfits. And, like a gang of moths to the flame, worried parents and a frenzied media launched a judicious assault against anything and everything associated with the word “otaku”, working to enact cumbersome levels of censorship and portraying the movement as a group of mentally disturbed and potentially dangerous youths. Though such vehement attitudes have recently settled down, how is it, twenty years later, a negative image of otaku still persists? Is it valid to crucify the present body because of the past actions of a single hand? The answers to these and related questions are of no simple constitution. Regardless, what is apparent is how Tsutomu Miyazaki, in his heinous pursuits and own accord, instilled an unjustified and divisive national attitude towards both the image and core of the otaku subculture.

In effort to understand how this negative sentiment was first wrongfully enacted, it is important to reveal the general identity and etymology of the word “otaku”, as well as its primary subcultural connotations. While the essential media components of the otaku subculture, arguably Japanese comics (hereinafter manga) and Japanese animation (hereinafter anime) respectively, predate its conception, they nonetheless play a large role in its rise to prevalence. In the 1960’s, Japan saw the artistic medium of manga become increasingly popular as rebellious college students injected new meaning into its amalgamation of picture and word. They did so largely in effort to make known shared feelings of discomfort with the status quo, especially the rigors of university life and pressure from superior society (Kinsella 290). In indirect cooperation with more mainstream manga artists the likes of Osamu Tezuka (Galbraith ##), these first few opened the door for the beginning of widespread anime and manga fandom but, at the same time, elicited critical discourse on the status and future of Japanese youth culture, an element which would be again exploited after the murders of Tsutomu Miyazaki. The following decade saw further development of otaku media, as manga flourished under personal pursuits by means of Comic Market in 1975 , a venue described as “a new institution to encourage the development of unpublished amateur manga” (Kinsella 295), and the critical success of Yoshiyuki Tomino’s robot anime Kidou Senshi Gundamu in 1979 (Galbraith 120). It is from within these two decades that singular pools of fans coalesced to form a substantiated body of anime and manga enthusiasts, continuing their hobbies directly into the 1980’s.

And it is exactly from this decade where the term “otaku” was first launched into the Japanese consciousness. The word itself originates from an archaic yet extremely courteous means of referring to another person’s home or, altogether, “someone you are not overly familiar with and wish to be very polite [towards]” (Schodt 43). It was adopted by anime, manga, and sci-fi fans in the early 1980’s who, when visiting conventions or other social events, would use it to refer to like-minded individuals from different clubs or groups. Contrary to its rather ubiquitous usage, and as a simple matter of fact, no one individual or body can officially source where exactly the term “otaku” derives from, why it came into use, or any other major factors in regards to its etymology. A multitude of histories accompanied by rushed explanations exist to fill the gap. Sources topping the list include Shoji Kawamori’s 1982 sci-fi anime Super Dimension Fortress Macross, wherein the word “otaku” was used frequently by various characters and later adopted by fans, and the local Tottori dialect of the founders of the popular animation studio Gainax (Galbraith 172). Aside from these rather opaque beginnings, a few noteworthy aspects become clear. The word “otaku” came into being largely through communal affairs, manga and sci-fi conventions or even daily meetings with other aficionados of similar media. By its original meaning of essentially a formal “you”, the emphasis on communication and reliance on interaction between early otaku is quite evident, atleast through its primary usage. In total, this is the behavior which readily accommodated the origin and eventual propagation of otaku. As author and PhD candidate at Tokyo University Patrick Galbraith discusses in his summarization of former “Ota-King” (otaku king) Okada Toshio’s stance on current trends of otaku subculture: “…Individuals [otaku] chose to… isolate themselves from society; and they sought to better understand the world through the communal pursuit of hobbies” (Galbraith 179). Though effectively abandoning more conservative structures of society, it is important to note otaku did not jump ship and isolate themselves from human contact. Taking note of this group of deviants causing ruckus over anime and manga, essayist and writer Akio Nakamori is often cited as the first individual to sound the alarm on the revamped usage of the word “otaku” in 1983 with a column titled “Otaku Studies”, first published in the erotic manga magazine Manga Burikko (Schodt 44). The critical importance of Nakamori’s column in affecting the public image of otaku subculture cannot be underscored with greater effort, for it is the first published account that describes otaku in a pejorative tone (“Otaku“). As an excerpt from the article reads:

‘[The fans] all seemed so odd… the sort in every school class: the ones hopeless at sports, who hole up in the classroom during break…either so scrawny they look like they’re malnourished or like giggling fat white pigs with silver framed glasses with the sides jammed into their heads… the friendless type….since there doesn’t seem to be a proper term to address this phenomenon, we’ve decided to christen them otaku, and henceforth refer to them as such.’ (Schodt 44).

Nakamori also used his expectable short-term presence in Manga Burriko to deem the groups he saw active in Comic Market or other conventions as “otaku zoku”, literally “the otaku tribe” (“Otaku”). In describing otaku in such a way as to present them as unkempt, socially illiterate miscreants, Nakamori was at the forefront of otaku bashing, before his time; or more accurately, before the backdraft created by Tsutomu Miyazaki.

While individuals in concordance with Nakamori’s extreme view of otaku were creating juicy fodder for media personnel looking to exploit the incessant and abstract problems with the contemporary generation of Japanese youth, Tsutomu Miyazaki was beginning to prepare for his grotesque entrance onto the national stage. Born on August 21st 1962, as a child, Miyazaki was characteristic of Nakamori’s perceptual definition of otaku: shy, inclusive, aberrant, and without major social interaction, due largely to a birth defect (“Tsutomu Miyazaki“). It was suspected much of his early isolationist behavior was resultant of the improper and careless parenting supposedly symptomatic of the 1960’s (Kinsella 309), yet Miyazaki continued through the Japanese educational system with little impediment. After barely passing high school, Miyazaki attended community college where he studied to become a photo technician, eventually earning employment as a printer in his local Saitama prefecture during the 1980’s (Treat 354).

Being as removed and quiet as he was, Miyazaki’s licentious escapades during this time went largely under the radar until he was arrested for attempting to sexual assault a grade-school girl with the zoom lens of a camera on July 23rd, 1989 (“Tsutomu Miyazaki”). A month after his arrest for this relatively innocuous assault when compared to the catalogue of his past atrocities, police pinned Miyazaki as a prime suspect for the recent abduction, murder, and mutilation of four young Saitama girls. Soon thereafter, police received a confession from Miyazaki himself revealing “he had committed these crimes over a period of several years…and perpetrated them out of ‘necrophilic desires’ ” (Treat 354). At this point, it is interesting to categorize how, when confronted with news of a series of perverted and pedophilic murders from the mouth of the perpetrator himself, the police and media did not immediately associate Miyazaki with the preexistent otaku movement, for there was simply no antecedent reason for doing so. Though a simple conception, such only strengthens how further investigation gave birth to a powerful nexus unaffectionately linking the precedence of Miyazaki’s murders to a separate and autonomous subculture without any substantive logic. This unfounded connection was primarily established through the police’s search of Miyazaki’s apartment where they, along with reporters and cameramen, discovered “a massive collection of videocassette tapes…videos taken of his victims…anime…porn and extremely disturbing slasher films” (Galbraith 153). In conjunction with subsequent revelations uncovering “he [Miyazaki] had written animation reviews in some doujinshi [self-published fanzines] and had been to Comic Market” (Kinsella 309), this stockpile of around 6,000 anime tapes, porn flicks, and snuff films was blasted throughout Japan by media closely following the case and touted as the justification par excellence for the forthcoming “moral panic” (Kinsella 308) that would taint the otaku subculture for decades to come.

After Miyazaki’s apprehension and trial, news of his horrible deeds spread throughout the country. It was revealed how he sexually mutilated, dismembered, and even cannibalized his victims, at the same time stalking their families with silent telephone calls and enigmatic letters revealing how he had tortured their children to death (“Tsutomu Miyazaki”). In the very midst of these unspeakable crimes and the resultant pain experienced by the victims’ families, the Japanese media seemed focused on exploiting Miyazaki’s ascribed identity not as a deranged serial murder, but as nothing more than an otaku; deeming him “The Otaku Murderer” in the process. Drawing from the literal font of negative otaku perceptions from areas such as Nakamori’s “Otaku Studies” column, the media enlisted a full blown assault against what was presented as Miyazaki’s “otaku tribe”. Almost ignoring the singularity of his obvious mental instability, reporters and news teams found roundabout ways to define and redefine what they perceived to be an otaku; what they perceived to be Miyazaki. As Hiroki Azuma, a well-known Japanese critic and essayist, mentions in his expose of otaku culture, Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals: “Right after Miyazaki’s arrest, one weekly magazine described otaku as those ‘without basic communication skills who often withdraw into their own world‘ ” (Azuma 4). Another abhorrent headline read “ ‘the little girls he killed were no more than characters from his comic book life’ ” (Kinsella 309). In a Japan preoccupied with its youth, these papier-mâché headlines and others like them lead to the connotation of otaku as anti-social escapists. However, this idea is in direct contrast to the aforementioned communal nature of otaku, attending Comic Market and socializing with their colleagues. It was only Miyazaki who kept to himself, only Miyazaki who experienced his unfortunate childhood, only Miyazaki who murdered four little girls; and yet, because of the media, the subculture unfairly received the brunt of his identity. In reference to this, Azuma offers a supplementary explanation for the behavior of otaku which the media perceived as that of Miyazaki: “Otaku shut themselves into the hobby community not because they deny sociality but rather because, as social values and standards are already dysfunctional, they feel a pressing need to construct alternative values and standards” (Azuma 27). This works with Okada Toshio’s previously established definition of otaku not as social antagonists, but rather social engineers looking to function outside of the constructs of society’s superstructure of predetermined operation.

Regardless of the early and utter failure to enact critical discourse over the justification for using the word “otaku” in such an irresponsible light, a Japan only cutaneously aware of this anomalistic tribe of sci-fi nerds was force-fed the media’s definition of otaku as solemn sociopathic murderers obsessed with pornography and manga. For throngs of otaku throughout Japan, those who maintained a homeostatic regularity, the ability to speak out against this unfair label slowly faded during the early 1990’s and against the apparent consequence of social stigmatization. Makoto Fukuda, staff writer for the newspaper The Daily Yomiuri and self-proclaimed otaku, was a high school student during the period of Miyazaki’s arrest. He recounts “I well remember being annoyed by widespread and sensationalistic headlines that looked as if they were trying to identify the abnormality of his crimes [Miyazaki’s] and the causes of his acts only with the fact that he was an otaku.” So powerful was the media’s stereotyping of otaku subculture, that the word “otaku” itself was even banned from a terrestrial television station (Galbraith 172). Because of this perpetual association between Miyazaki and otaku subculture omnipresent within the media coverage surrounding the murders, the word “otaku” still retains a negative connotation to this very day, despite the overblown and disillusioned sensationalism it derives from.

During the course of the mid-to-late 1990’s, and at the behest of his defense team, Miyazaki underwent a series of rigorous psychiatric examinations to determine culpability in regards to the planning and execution of his murders (Galbraith 153). The results were released in 1997 and showed Miyazaki as having schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder (“Tsutomu Miyazaki”). However, in that same year, it was decided by the Japanese court system Miyazaki was still fully aware of the consequences of his actions, thereby disregarding his defense team’s plea of insanity and sentencing Miyazaki to death by hanging (Galbraith 153). He was finally executed on June 17th, 2008. In an unrelated and ironic series of events, nine days prior an otaku man claiming to be “The New Miyazaki” crashed a pick-up truck into the otaku-centric Akihabara shopping district of Tokyo, subsequently killing three men. He then exited the vehicle, stabbing and killing four others with a combat knife in what has come to be known as the “Akihabara Incident“ (Fukuda). While media coverage of the event was still critical of otaku, news was more focused on a street-side memorial paying tribute to those murdered. The reason for the media’s increased sensitivity for otaku is explained by some, including Yomiuri Shinbun’s Makoto Fukuda, as resulting from a paradigm shift currently operating in the Japanese mainstream. A 2004 novel, and subsequent television and movie adaptations, titled Densha Otoko pervaded into the realm of negativity surrounding otaku by offering the purportedly true story of a chivalrous otaku finding true love through the internet bulletin board system 2channel. The final episode of the Densha Otoko television series was viewed by around 25.5% of television network Fuji TV’s total national viewing audience (Galbraith 61). Current events such as these are working to patch the tattered reputation of otaku instilled by a single man and carried throughout an entire decade.

So how is it, exactly, a negative connotation of “otaku” has survived? To an extent, the inaccuracy and ignorance of spouting such blanket statements is more understood now than the few years following Miyazaki’s arrest. And still, the unfounded notion has carried through critical thought, as some still harbor an aversion towards the word, in any of its connotations. Perhaps the atrocities of Miyazaki were so blunt, discourse over any of their components was considered too taboo to interact with until the appropriate passage of time. Though this explanation eschews the passionate yet muffled reaction of otaku to differentiate themselves from media bias. It may suffice to say there is no attainable explanation; only the need for the mainstream to recognize its underground, for a parent to know and love its child, and for communication to never dissipate or cease. For if the Japanese media, the mainstream, was able to understand and coexist with the emerging otaku subculture, its mirrored underground, there would have been a unspoken yet profound understanding that the monstrosities of Tsutomu Miyazaki were nothing more than just that.

Works Cited

"Otaku." Contemporary Youth Culture: An International Encyclopedia. Westport: Greenwood, 2005. Credo Reference. Web. 04 December 2009.

Azuma, Hiroki. Otaku: Japan's Database Animals. Trans. Jonathon E. Abel and Shion
Kono. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2009. Print.

Galbraith, Patrick W. The Otaku Encyclopedia: An Insider's Guide to the Subculture of
Cool Japan. English ed. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2009. Print.

Schodt, Frederik L. Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga. Berkeley: Stone
Bridge, 1996. Google Books. Web. Nov. 2009.

Sangani, Kris. "Otaku World." Engineering & Technology. 3.19 (2008): 94-95. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Oct. 2009

Treat, John Whittier. "Yoshimoto Banana Writes Home: Shojo Culture and the Nostalgic
Subject." Journal of Japanese Studies 19.2 (1993): 353-55. Humanities International Index. EBSCO. Web. 27 Nov. 2009.

Kinsella, Sharon. “Japanese Subculture in the 1990s: Otaku and the Amateur Manga
Movement.” Journal of Japanese Studies 24.2 (1998): 289-316. JSTOR. Web. Nov. 2009

Fukuda, Makoto. “Through Otaku Eyes; Otaku No Longer Equated With Criminals.” The Daily Yomiuri [Tokyo] 18 July 2008: 13. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 4 Oct. 2009.

"Tsutomu Miyazaki." WorldLingo.com. World Lingo. Web. Nov. 2009.

2009-12-16T00:40:00.006-05:00

It's more likely than you think. In what amounts to an all-out assault against PVC, there has been a recent slew of announcements regarding figure releases of a quality usually reserved for small-scale con production...

Apparently, word of the current global recession has yet to reach certain inconspicuous figure manufacturers, despite other more conservative-minded companies making fiscal decisions considerate of their overhead. In the past few weeks, the figure community has been bombarded with declarations of completed polystone and cold cast bishoujo figure releases from domestic vendors the likes of AlphaMax and Amie Grand, who usually deal in the mass-market production of resin kits. The spending habits of otaku have often been known to be operate separately from and in opposition to the economic climate, yet with price tags upwards of $160 USD,one wonders whether both they and the figure companies bearing that weight will be able to brave this recessionary winter. Nevertheless, for those with supple pockets (or enough credit cards) this trend promises high quality figures attainable without that troublesome garage-kit know-how.

For those wondering what exactly makes polystone and cold cast figures a step above standard PVC releases, the answer centers around the materials used in the production process:

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is as cheap as it is abundant and, for that reason, is the go-to material in casting figures intended for large quantity production (thousands of units). The characteristics of PVC make it rather light and malleable, or bendable, which is both a blessing and a curse for bishoujo figures as it allows them to adjust to temperature settings but at the same time endorses the potential to warp them (as in leaning). The quality of PVC figures is highly reliant on manufacturing conditions and quality checks.

On the other hand, Cold Cast and Polystone figures utilize a Polyurethane (PU) resin base which, by simple economics, can be 3 or 4 times more expensive than PVC, depending on market conditions. The term "cold cast" derives from the decreased temperature of the materials elicited from the curing process and rolls off the tongue easier than 'polyurethane. "Polystone" figures are actually 'reinforced' cold casts in that before the mold has cured, stone powder is added to the resin base for aesthetic purposes. Besides being more expensive, the properties of polyurethane-based figures are almost the exact opposite of PVC: they're rather heavy, strong but potentially brittle, and don't adapt to temperature fluctuations as easily.

So with that out of the way, here's a preview of what's being offered:

Amie-Grand:

Amanda Werner, 1/6 scale Polystone, 15,540 円, Feb. 2010
Coinciding with Yamato's release of another Amanda PVC, Amie-Grand's polystone figure depicts Amanda as fans of Gonzo's Blassreiter remember her: incredibly sexy.

Chouhi Ekitoku, 1/6 scale Polystone, 15,540 円, Feb. 2010
Yet another Ikki Tousen figure depicting the series' less touted Chouhi paying tribute to the long heralded Japanese custom of dipping bananas in chocolate, only to have their deliciousness misconstrued by suggestive (but equally delicious) anime cliches.

AlphaMax:

Spica, 1/6 scale Cold Cast, 16,800 円, March 2010
A diorama piece featuring Spica, the tsundere heroine of Nitro+'s mahou shoujo eroge Sumaga, which received an update earlier this year with "Sumaga Special", opening the door for more figure adaptations.

Birdy, 1/6 scale Cold Cast, 15,800円, March 2010
If you're looking to define 'dynamic' in reference to figures, this would be a good example. An EXTREMELY detailed base compliments an energetic sculpt of Yuuki Masami's classic intergalactic policewoman.

Guin (of Guin Saga), Non-Scale Cold Cast, 34,800円, Jan. 2010
AlphaMax's Guin is a departure from a lot of things: the ordinary, standard retail price, and my comfort zone. From Guin Saga, the longest running novel series and its recent anime adaptation, Tiger Mask-I mean- King, er, Guin, undoubtedly appeals to those who like their figures with testosterone.

Kaitendoh

Joe, 1/6 scale Polystone, 14,700 円, Late Dec. 2009
In celebration of Ashita no Joe's 40th anniversary, Kaitendoh is releasing this completed Joe polystone diorama first exhibited at the last Wonder Festival. One of the most beloved series in manga history, Ashita no Joe set the precedent for anime and manga like Hajime no Ippo, in addition to introducing classic anime elements such as the "cross-counter" and tragic death scene.

Seras Victoria, 1/7 scale Polystone, 17,640 円, Feb 2010
From Kouta Hirano's manga, this sculpt of Seras is a little rough around the edges, but that's exactly its appeal. Seras will be available in two color variants, her standard yellow police suit and the red seen here. Definitely a bold release and a must buy for Hellsing fans.

M.M and Kemeko, 1/6 scale Polystone, No Price, No Release
Apparently, Kaitendoh has been trying to release this polystone of Kemeko DX's M.M. for quite some time now (at least a few months). She's still listed on their homepage, but pricing and release date info have yet to be established.

Daiki Kougyo:

Mizuho Kazami, 1/4 scale Polystone, 18,000 円, April 2010
The heroine of the Onegai Teacher! series, Mizuho has an energy that cannot be stopped. This seductive polystone figure will be her 5th, yes, 5th figure released in 2009, almost 8 years since the anime first aired. Another swimsuit edition is mixed with a more licentious Mizuho than fans might be accustomed to, resembling Mizuho's deviant mother, Hatsuho.

Tomoe (Re-paint Ver.), 1/15 scale Polystone, 3500 円, Mar. 2010
An original figure created exclusively for Hobby Search in celebration of their 10th anniversary, Tomoe is large in just about every department but scale: coming in at only 1/15 makes her the most affordable polystone release within... well, the foreseeable future. As an original limited edition figure sculpted by veteran Hiroshi Sato, she's sure to move.

2009-11-15T15:28:00.024-05:00

Upon the commencement of my most recent dakimakura purchase, Cospa's Nodoka Haramura from Gonzo's bishoujo-mahjong anime Saki, I decided to try and shed some light on the history of this otaku staple. Please, be gentle...

Among the many forms of anime merchandise, dakimakura reserve a unique reputation, both illustrious and notorious. Coming from the combination of the words "抱く" (daku) meaning "to embrace" and "枕" (makura) meaning "pillow", dakimakura is often literally translated as "hug pillow" in English. While orthopedic hug pillows designed to correct injuries and alleviate back pain in pregnant women have existed for years, dakimakura as we know them today began to appear in the mid-90's along with the bishoujo boom supported by the genesis of genre-defining galge and related media. Popular first among the doujinshi or fanzine movement, according to Kunio Muto, a technology reporter for the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper⁰, bishoujo dakimakura soon moved into general otaku territory when Cospa opened its doors in 1995¹. The prime mover in the chara-goods game, Cospa is responsible for the vast majority of both anime and game based dakimakura on the market today, finding modest competition in rivals such as Chara-High. In addition to being a relative monopoly since their inception, Cospa also popularized many dakimakura features taken for considered standard among current releases, including the presence of metallic zippers, original artwork, and a "naughty and nice" dual image. As they now stand, dakimakura are more prevalent than ever before. They're growing in tandem with the chara and moe goods industry, a market refusing to loosen its stranglehold over the Japanese economy, riding a wave that shows no sign of flat-lining.

Like many things in contemporary Japanese culture, dakimakura have their roots in the passage of history, however convoluted and (at times) inaccurate its records may be. The origins of modern dakimakura lie in "chikufujin" or literally "bamboo wives²", oblong tubes of interwoven bamboo cane used by many cultures throughout East and South East Asia, especially Korea. Applications for bamboo wives were said to range from masturbatory to orthopedic, the strange funnel seeming more utilitarian than a modern Swiss Army knife. Practical among a bamboo wife's use was its nature as a rudimentary air conditioner. A user would would fall asleep on one of his sides while embracing the stack of bamboo, thereby exposing a larger surface area of his body to the cool night air. Leaving practicality for a dip in the mythological, bamboo wives were said to be made exclusively by a man's wife to keep him "company" during his travels³. In reference to their nature as a substitute companion, modern dakimakura are often paralleled with the chikifujin of antiquity. Whether or not this comparison is warranted, or even accurate, can be debated. Regardless, at some point, Bamboo Wives were exported to Japan where their usage remained largely the same.

During the 250 year timespan known as the Edo Period, the Japanese experienced a cultural explosion, as many were no longer preoccupied with the civil war plaguing the island nation years earlier. One product of this new-found leisure time was ukiyo-e woodblock printing. Separate from the widely endorsed prints depicting Japan's natural splendor and cultural narratives was a more deviant style of art known as "makura-e" (pillow art), or "shunga" as it is more commonly referred to in modernity. Depicting levels of debauchery on par with even the most explicit modern ero-doujinshi, shunga was available in both ukiyo-e and scroll form. These pieces of art were thought to retain many different uses, such as good luck charms, in addition to providing ancient Japanese males an onanistic outlet. Popular artists of the Edo period, including Katsushika Hokusai (creator of the term "manga"), periodically dabbled in shunga, much like the mangaka of today starting their career in ero-doujinshi. According to the popular dakimakura blog "Everyday Is Dakimakura" (毎日が抱き枕), body pillows featuring erotic shunga had a noticeable presence in Edo period Japan and were used in much the same way their modern counterparts are today. The above picture taken from a Edo period collection of shunga depicts one such coital engagement. Everyday Is Dakimakura mentions Edo dakimakura, though extremely rare and expensive, were roughly 4 feet in length and handmade from silk. Though I could find no supplementary resources to confirm the presence of 18th century body pillows in Japan, the idea that the average pervasive Edo male humped piles of silk in order to reach orgasm isn't so far-fetched considering the lengths at which ancient Japan expressed its sexuality.

It may be difficult to imagine how exactly giant Chinese finger traps and 18th century pornography led to the creation of dakimakura but these obfuscated roots, more novelty than direct ancestor, only serve as tiny, singular pieces to a large puzzle depicting the history and identity of modern otaku culture.

2009-11-13T17:41:00.018-05:00

After an indefinite wait, figure manufacturer Yamato has finally green-lit a PVC release of the Amanda Werner Niθ Illustration garage kit they announced back in August of this year...

It was uncertain whether Yamato would step up to the plate and give fans the home-run they were craving by releasing Toi Fuijiura's sculpt of Amanda Werner, the main heroine of Gonzo's Blassreiter anime, as a PVC; up until today, that is. Yamato revealed plans for an Amanda resin kit a few months ago but little else of concern for those low in tactile dexterity. With this PVC announcement, however, Fujiura's erogenous piece can now find its way into the digits (however unskilled) of fans the world over. Amanda will be added to Yamato's Creator's Labo series, a figure line celebrating famous illustrators the likes of Jun Tsukasa, Shunya Yamashita, and Mine Yoshizaki. Based on an original illustration by famed artist and Nitro+ eroge character designer, Niθ (pronounced Nishii), Amanda is the second Blassreiter PVC to be released since the series aired in the Spring 2008 season. The first being Megahouse's 1/8 scale Elea PVC which is also worth a look, especially if you prefer less "corpulent" figures.

Amanda lies at the center of a strange series of connections conglomerating to form powerful earning potential for Yamato: Nitro+ ( co-producer of Blassreiter) is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, Niθ (Amanda's character designer) is taking part in the festivities, and Funimation recently licensed the Blassreiter anime with an expected release date for Volume 1 on the 20th. If Amanda was being released at the end of this month with other November figures, there would certainly be an influx of cash flowing through the collective veins of Nitro+, Gonzo, and Yamato. But, unfortunately, she has a pending public unveiling during April of 2010. Another potential deal breaker: her price point of 12,390円 (around $140). Now before your jaw crushes your keyboard, Amanda ranks in at 280mm in height (around the price and size of most 1/5 scale figures) and is listed as non-scale. Her assets aren't the only things of consideration given those numbers.

There's been a palpable concern over this figure's design, and a resurgence of those feelings now that the PVC is becoming conspicuous. The root of the matter is a distinct difference between Niθ's original illustration and the Amanda present in Blassreiter's narrative. While both are actually designed by Niθ, certain... liberties were taken with Amanda's XAT uniform in the original illustration, and figure translation, we see here. In reality, Niθ has been portraying such an expository Amanda since the series' airdate, from centerfolds in Newtype, to an Amanda dakimakura cover and telephone card released almost a year ago. She may not be quite the same dutiful character fans have become accustomed to, but Niθ's seductive spin on Amanda allows her to let her hair down, literally and otherwise.

2009-10-31T22:31:00.003-04:00

2009-10-29T14:48:00.032-04:00

Just in time for Halloween, Orchid Seed's 1/6 scale Succubus Silvia PVC found her way to my door, bearing more treats than tricks...
(Adult Content, 18+ Only)

Figure Title: Orchid Seed's 1/6 scale Comic Unreal Vol.2 Succubus Silvia
Character Name: Succubus Silvia (サキュバス・シルヴィア)
Original Character Designer: Nakayohi Mogudan
Sculptor:Yamachichi
Source Material: Comic Unreal Vol.2 (2006)
Scale: 1/6
Height: ≈22cm
Series: Comic Unreal CoverGAL
Base:
-Color:Clear
-Shape:Circular
-Features:Golden "Succubus Silvia" Text
Other: Tentacle Stool Attachment
Necessary Removable Parts n/a
Removable Parts/Accessories: n/a
Castoffability: n/a
Materials: PVC
Packaging: Windowed Box (Illustrated), 2 Plastic Interlocking Molds
Extras/Pack-ins: Backdrop Insert
Release Date: Early October, 2009
Manufacturing/Production: Orchid Seed
Distribution: Orchid Seed
Approximate Retail Price:≈87,00円
Current Availability: Relatively Available
Related PVCs:Orchid Seed's 1/6 scale Feane PVC

Foreword:

Formerly the subject of a figure preview, Silvia has graduated from potential to purchase and I'm quite happy with the transition. Some background on the who's and what's can be seen in the preview but I'll quickly reiterate for anyone who has their hands (or hand) occupied. Succubus Silvia derives from the cover of Comic Unreal, a monthly ero-manga anthology released by publisher Kill Time Communications. Since the anthology's maiden-issue in 2006, famous character designer and intermittent doujinshi author Nakayohi Mogudan has been gracing its facade with originally illustrated bakunyuu females of his trademark voluptuous variety. Actually from the second volume of Comic Unreal (seen above), Silvia's image has been rather well accepted in the past three years: gracing the cover of Unreal a second time (a rarity in the business), being portrayed in original illustrations, and giving way to other diabolical cover-girls under Mogudan's pen. While she hasn't gained the notoriety of some other succubi, Silvia has crossed the dimensional divide with help from sculptor Yamachichi (formerly of circle Heavy Gauge) and the king of mass market ero-figures Orchid Seed.

As mentioned in the preview, Succubus Silvia is the figure successor of Orchid Seed's 1/6 scale Female Swords-Woman Feane PVC released in March of 2008. Interestingly enough, Silvia conceptually predates Feane, who didn't achieve Unreal cover-girl status until April of 2007. But that didn't stop the sword-wielder from becoming the first Comic Unreal and Mogudan-designed PVC release in history. All differences aside, Feane and Silvia have more in common than you'd expect. Well, an original character designer and manufacturer are really the main items that top the list. Orchid Seed has decided to shift gears by recruiting a new, and venerable, sculptor for the second-coming of their Comic Unreal series. And with that, we transition into the review:

Sculpt:

When you ask yourself "Who would be the best sculptor to translate Mogudan's unique and recognizable designs into a figure?", there are only a handful of choices. Top on the list: Yamachichi (translating appropriately as "Mountain Breast"). One of the best craftsman of healthy bishoujo figures, Yamachichi has handled figures from Megahouse's Excellent Model Core Queen's Blade series to Orchid Seed's sultry Chichinoe with unparalleled skill. So when one of the best sculptors of buxom bishoujo figures takes to task molding a character from one of the best designers of bakunyuu, the result is a most profound and godly cohesion of expertise.

Needless to say at this point, Yamachichi did an excellent job preserving and realizing the intricacies of Silvia's design. Mogudan's females aren't exactly "physics friendly" but Silvia displays the believable anatomical balance and complete fidelity to the source material that Feane was missing. Inch for inch, this is what a Mogudan figure is supposed to look like. From the effective weight redistribution through the adjustment of posture that keeps Silvia fairly level (especially with those thunder-thighs) to the proportions of the head to breasts, breasts to hips, hips to thighs: it's all there.

Regarding the breasts (arguably the crux of Mogudan's design), they differ considerably from those featured in the original illustration. Or at least they appear to at face value. Two-dimensional Silvia's breasts appear more conservatively rounded whereas Yamachichi's approximation, from certain perspectives, depicts them as more angular. I'm resisting the inclination to call this a complete inaccuracy based on further analysis of the illustration.

The foundation for Yamachichi's portrayal of Silvia's breasts in such a way can be seen in the Unreal cover. Her left breast (most immediately, her left nipple) extends past her clothing in a fashion suggesting an overall shape closer to that of Yamachichi's sculpt, moving away from a perfect sphere to a more natural mammary shape. This is heightened by the obvious constriction of the breasts caused by Silvia's form-fitting one-piece, present in the figure and alluded to in the illustration. While Silvia's breasts may not be exactly as portrayed on Unreal's cover, they nonetheless capture Mogudan's general style and affinity for bakunyuu.

While Yamachichi's sculpt is fairly air-tight, there are a few inconsistencies (Silvia's right lock of hair falling on her lap instead of behind her thigh, the positioning of her tail etc.). But none that would do to negatively effect the sculpt's overall status as a masterful presentation of Mogudan design flair. It would be unyielding and borderline delusion to assert a sculptor must maintain complete adherence to an original illustration. A responsible translation across the dimensional gap is always the best foot forward and Silvia's sculpt achieves this through and through.

While Yamachichi may have overlooked or outright altered some details (most notably the two that were already mentioned), he does better to capture the little tidbits that went unchanged, highlighting them in a subtle but appreciable way. For instance, Silvia's bat brooch, the creases in her thigh-highs, the skeletal structure of her bat wings, the small runes on the belt-like article around her hips and rib cage, the buckles of her garter belt found under her thighs, the detailed notches on the bottoms of her shoes, and many more. Silvia is definitely a figure to be explored.

Production:

Orchid Seed's production is fairly hit or miss, or in some cases a luke-warm homogeny of the two. Thankfully, things went well with Silvia. There are no overbearing or conspicuous errors of any fashion. For the life of me, I couldn't find any bleeding or inadequacies of paint. Closer inspection revealed a couple splotches of dried adhesive and at least one or two anomalies that occurred during either casting or painting (probably the latter). Aside from the minor causalities, there's a single mold line running the length of Silvia's left buttocks, though its presence becomes null when she's properly displayed on her tentacle base. Though there are minuscule deficiencies (if they can really be called that) most are probably on a figure-to-figure basis and the result of painful scrutiny; none of which should detract your eye or wallet away from Silvia.

In the painting and coloration department, everyone graduates with honors. A rather drawn-out color-palette marked by warm reds and dark purples was decided for final production, designating Silvia with a uniform coloration containing minor variation in shadow and hue. Some other color-palettes were explored in e2046's Silvia recast but I much prefer Orchid Seed's take on the succubus queen: its very reminiscent of a subdued autumn (again tying into her release date's proximity to Halloween). There is some wonderful color gradation seen on the slopes and valleys of Silvia's hair as well as her stockings or thigh-highs. I would have liked to see more facial detail though, perhaps some blush (as seen in the original illustration) or unobtrusive line work to really draw out some features and make her face a tad more lively (Yes, I understand she's a demon and not "alive" blah blah blah, get over it).

Some of the same shading and gradation visible on Silvia's sculpt can also be seen on her tentacle base attachment. Really belonging more under the Sculpt category, the base attachment serves its purpose and not much else. It's imaginative (not to mention suggestive) and lets Silvia rest on a demonic stool instead of trying to defy gravity and sit on her hair as she appears to on the cover of Comic Unreal. There's a groove on the bottom of Silvia's left foot which is fitted to a prong protruding out of the tentacle base. This mechanism serves as the primary means of attaching her to the tentacle stool but has the tendency of failing, making Silvia a bit wobbly if she's not firmly connected.

At A Glance:

☺Faithful Mogudan sculpt, Yamachichi HEALTHY, highly erotic,

☹ Minor production anamolies, base attachment problems, not much else

Final Score:

5/5

2009-10-17T10:18:00.012-04:00

Tsundere Taiga Aisaka of Fall 2008's Toradora has crushed dojikko Yui Hirasawa in the finals of Saimoe 2009. Congratulations to Taiga and condolences to all those who didn't make it as far...

The news made its rounds early this morning as the final thread of Saimoe 2009 came to a deafening close. When all was said and done, Taiga rose from the ashes to become victress, topping Yui by a meager 54 votes and cementing her title as Saimoe championess for ages to come.

Lest we forget, it took much effort to arrive at this zenith. In the beginning, Mio Akiyama's premature and wholly unexpected defeat left K-ON! fans griping. No sooner had they comforted their loss than were they met with another scar when Tsumugi, Ui, and Ritsu were also stricken from the boards. Yui's almost messianic ascendancy lead her to the finals despite the state of her fallen tea-time comrades. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough to secure a win against Taiga, who had been silently pillaging her opponents until the finals when her true strength was made known.

Interestingly enough, every-single-Saki-character-lost. I had been rooting for Nodoka in the finals but the penultimate match between Taiga and her left me numb and bereft of where or if I should redirect my votes. I decided Taiga was the fitting vehicle in which to place my trust, having already defeated mai waifu. I hold no grudge though. Both Yui and Taiga's moe is palpable and either would have made a fitting championess. I'd like to thanks pKJD and moetron.com for the always excellent Saimoe coverage. Looking forward to 2010!

2009-10-16T12:40:00.018-04:00

Inspired by the actions of some other bloggers, I recently decided to purchase a tool kit for the purpose of organizing all those loose bits that just seem to pile up after a while...

Personally, I'm not a heavy-user of alternate parts. I appreciate both their inclusion in PVC releases and the incentive to customize a figure they foster but aside from those rather general endorsements, they just tend to take up space. Take, for example, my recent acquisition of Wave's 1/8 scale Nia Swimwear PVC. After deciding on a display plan suiting my taste (Alternate Long Hair with Gurren-Dan Beach Ball), I was left with multiple parts that simply couldn't be used to complement the figure (the very purpose of accessories). For anyone who purchases Figmas or other customization-intensive figures, this conundrum is a familiar one. Just what do you do with all those extra parts?

I suppose the simplest answer would be to just horde them. There might be a time when you decide to rearrange your set-up or experiment with swapping parts between figures. Thinking back, the latter of the two has helped me out on more than one occasion. I remember having difficulty applying the included glasses on Megahouse's 1/8 scale Cattleya PVC. For whatever reason, be it my unsteady hands or complete lack of grace, I couldn't get them to stay in place. It then dawned on me that I had an alternate pair of glasses from Kotobukiya's 2006 re-release of their 1/8 scale Yomiko Readman PVC. Yomiko's glasses were thicker (librarian etc.) but they fit Cattleya's head and didn't look out-of-place in doing it. Just a utilitarian example of what accessories can accomplish.

Until recent, though, I had been keeping extra parts in a Keroro Gunsou gashapon capsule about the size of a clenched fist. I knew it wasn't the best arrangement, making them prone to paint transfer and breakage, but I had little else to contain them. After seeing some fine examples of accessory organization from fellow Dannychoo.com members, a tool kit seemed so deceivingly logical that I jumped on the idea. After perusing through the various options at my local Target, I found a case for manageable $8. You can see how I compartmentalized various types of parts in the first picture of this post. For now, I'm quite happy with the set-up and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to de-clutter their collection. Keeping parts organized and separated has also lead me use them more often; both on their respective figure and otherwise.

2009-10-15T08:36:00.009-04:00

Making news this morning was the rather unexpected announcement of Azumanga Daioh's Sakaki and Osaka being granted a PVC combo release from industry fixture Kotobukiya...

The endowed kuudere Sakaki and simple kansai-tongued Osaka are being released under Kotobukiya's severely underdeveloped 4-Leaves LG series of "eternal heroines", or, as the "LG" denotes, "Legendary Girls". Most of the 12 bishoujo occupying the 4-Leaves series have come from well-received eroge (To Heart 2 and Shuffle! reserving the top spots) but with this Azumanga announcement the line has been opened up to the increasingly popular realm of 4koma. Sakaki and Osaka dawn their memorable swimsuits from the anime and manga's trips to Chiyo-chan's beach house, comprising a service-laden release...for Sakaki anyway. There's no definite reason as to why the figure community is being graced with these PVCs but I assume it has something to do with Azumanga Daioh's 10th anniversary. In celebration, Shogakukan and mangaka Kiyohiko Azuma re-released the first few tankoban of the series earlier this year; with over 60% of Azuma's original illustrations being touched up in his contemporary style. Though there was some commotion over that decision, I feel fans will definitely support Kotobukiya in this endeavor.

Azumanga Daioh has never received much love from figure manufacturers, Bandai releasing a series of trading figures in the early 2000's and Toy's Works following suit with a few (but highly prized) completed polystones. Besides those finite iterations, resin kits have been Azumanga's primary means of penetrating the figure scene since 1999. It comes as no surprise then that Kotobukiya's 1/7 scale Sakaki and Osaka are based on limited edition event-only resin kits first released around 2002. It's difficult to say whether sculptors Gen Ishiduka (Sakaki) and Tsukuru Shirahige (Osaka) were responsible for the creation of those 2002 kits but both are being respectively listed by most vendors as such. There's no doubt more will surface about these PVCs as their February 2010 release dates draw closer. For the time being though: internet high-five to Kotobukiya for making this happen.

2009-10-09T12:01:00.014-04:00

Gainax's neoclassical fan-favorite Gurren Lagann is fast approaching its 3 year air date anniversary but its figure releases aren't showing any sign of stagnation...

Figure Title: Wave's 1/8 scale Nia Swimwear DX Version PVC
Character Name: Nia Teppelin (ニア・テッペリン)
Original Character Designer: Atsushi Nishigori
Sculptor:YOSHI (Torepangu)
Source Material: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Scale: 1/8
Height: ≈ 170mm
Series: Wave Dream Tech Series
Base:
-Color: Light Sandy Brown
-Shape: Square
-Features: Artificial Sand Presentation
Necessary Removable Parts: n/a
Removable Parts/Accessories:
-Alternate Hair [short] (1),
-Alternate Hair [long](1),
-Dai-Gurren Dan Beach-ball(1)
-Flower Print Inner Tube(1)
Castoffability: n/a
Materials: PVC, ABS
Packaging: Windowed Box, 2 Plastic Interlocking Molds
Extras/Pack-ins: Illustrated Backdrop Insert
Release Date: Mid September, 2009
Manufacturing/Production: Wave Corporation
Distribution: Wave Corporation
Approximate Retail Price:≈6,000円
Current Availability: Largely Available
Related PVCs:Various Nia PVCs
Other: Normal Version equipped only with beach-ball

Foreword:

It suffices to say that if you haven't seen Gurren Lagann yet, even with all the available modern avenues making such a task evermore possible, you've been living underground (God willing, that will be the last pun). The most warmly received original series from Gainax since the earth shattering Evangelion some 10 years earlier, Gurren Lagann is a special mix of self-homage, super robot flair, and an involving narrative that only Hiroyuki Imaishi and the Gainax staff could achieve.

But, of course, no Gainax work of any stature would be complete without the female presence. All but nearly dissolving Rei and Asuka's firm grounding in the otaku mind, Yoko and Nia managed to cut a deep niche into the world of Gainax bishoujo by means of Gurren Lagann's perpetual popularity and their own unique charm. Some, including myself, have even postulated that Yoko might be transitioning into the figure world's "new Rei Ayanami". Ms. Ayanami was almost singlehandedly responsible for the figure boom following Eva's wake, an explosion that made mass-market PVCs feasible going into the late 90's and early 00's. Conjecture aside, Gurren Lagann has certainly taken over both the garage kit and PVC markets since 2007. But most of that love has been reserved for the buxom Yoko, despite Nia's stronger placement in the series' narrative and her own, albeit small, cult following. There have been a few Nia PVCs, notably Konami's (the first to be released) but certainly not to the extent or exposure we've seen from Yoko. Nia's been working to close that gap with a few EX prize figures from Sega and recently (drum roll) Wave's 1/8 scale Nia Swimsuit Version PVC, the tender subject of this review. So how does it stack up?

Sculpt:

Swimwear Nia is sculpted by YOSHI, a very talented individual responsible for many a strong figure, including Good Smile's 1/8 scale Miku Hatsune PVC previously reviewed. It's difficult to pin down how exactly YOSHI has improved his craft since then but its quite obvious that he has. First and foremost, in terms of sculpt, Nia is a very faithful translation from the original illustration (seen above) on which she's based. Details such as creases in her top and similar features on her buttocks are successfully communicated. While her posture was slightly inclined (reasonably to prevent leaning), her coquettishly-cocked hip and modestly contorted anatomy is fully fleshed out in YOSHI's sculpt. Especially strong are YOSHI's interpretation of her abdominals and pelvic girdle. For these reasons and more, the pose, though it seems demure or even unoriginal at face value, is rather nice. However, removing the beach-ball accessory makes Nia look slightly awkward, holding an invisible dumbbell or flexing her (lack of) biceps for a non-existent audience (Simon wouldn't even be interested). As a whole, the sculpt manages to embolden Nia's carefree and passionate demeanor, taking a snapshot of her youth before any Anti-Spiral developments and delivering some fan service at the same time.

Another lovely feature is Nia's hair. Since Gurren Lagann aired, I've always had a subtle attraction to Nia's glob of a mane. That attraction being my prime reason for purchasing the Deluxe version, which included both short and long hair pieces. Though during the story arc where the Dai-Gurren Dan actually visits the beach, Nia canonically has short hair, I couldn't resist. There's just something about it. Now that I'm done gushing, the removal and application of accessories (of which the DX version has supple amounts) is a fairly straight forward and streamlined process. Some may have a difficult time finding a place for the inner tube (seen here) but I've found that Nia's left hand can be removed from its glued position to her hip without compromising the sculpt. This is achieved because of a peg attached to Nia's thumb that actually fits inside of a groove found on her hip, making reattachment achievable with supple amounts of pressure. So its possible to have Nia holding the beach-ball in one hand with the inner tube tucked snugly under the other; though she looks a tad over-equipped.

It might be a point of surprise for some that this beach-ready iteration of Nia is actually the second of a series. The first figure featured being Wave's 1/8 Yoko Swimwear Version PVC, released almost 10 months ago. She was Wave's second shot at a Yoko figure and an object of contention for me. Mainly because she had been altered from YOSHI's original sculpt not once but twice, each revamp reducing the final product to less than satisfactory. The devolution of Wave's Yoko sculpt can be seen in steps (1), (2) and (3). It joys me to no end, then, that the second release of the Swimwear series is without any major deviation from the decoration master. I say "major" because the Dai-Gurren Dan Beach-ball accessory was made transparent for the PVC release, achieving a greater level of fidelity to the original illustration and a positive note in my book. I can't be certain of what went on behind the scenes regarding Swimwear Yoko, but I'm certain YOSHI was not brimming with enthusiasm about the alterations made to his sculpt. Possible reason as to why Nia turned out as well as she did in that department.

Production:

Not much to elaborate on for manufacturing and production quality. Painting is well kempt, borders respected, and errors kept to a finite minimum. There are about 2 or 3 visible mold lines, the most prominent of which runs the length of Nia's left thigh. It isn't so noticeable as to redirect attention from other more worthy aspects but it is present and, with the right (or more accurately: wrong) light, its existence is evident. Despite this, there are no prominent defects in production that will take away from your enjoyment of YOSHI's sculpt and Nia's lovable character.

If anything can be said in a negative direction, it would likely be the rather dull coloration of some of Nia's features, especially her hair. While it isn't exactly pitch-black, compared to the original illustration, a darker blue and heavier creme is used for her luscious locks. Calling this minor deviation anything more than just that, a minor deviation, isn't recommended. I'm just trying desperately to find something overtly "wrong" with Wave's production. Going on a limb, I'd would have liked to see more artificial shading or variation in coloring from one part of the sculpt to the next, something to add a little more depth. Shading can be seen in the decoration master but its understandable that such fine details were left out of the final release; otherwise Nia may have been $20 more. There's really no point in addressing aspects of paint that are more wish than reality so I'll forgo any critique on the "would-be's". Overall, a respectable job but nothing so distinct as to cause thousands of light users to drop $60 for the DX version; unless they have a thing for Nia's hair...

At a Glance:

☺Limited number of Nia PVCs, faithful YOSHI sculpt, plenty of accessories

☹ Mold lines, rather lackluster color, you're probably in the Yoko camp

Final Score:

4.5/5

Alternate hair pieces and beach accessories

Nia, post mortem

Nia in Follicular Unit Transplantation

Canonically accurate Nia

2009-10-08T21:09:00.005-04:00

I've never been a big fan of Google's Chrome web browser but some recent aesthetic developments have begun to mitigate my browser apathy...

Now, there are individuals far more active and knowledgeable in the browser game than myself, most of which can undoubtedly argue in either favor or disdain of Google's fairly recent attempt to relinquish Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer's unyielding grip on the world's browsing habits. When Chrome was first released some years ago, I had little reason to convert from Firefox and, because of that, didn't contribute to the discourse. And with the new and improved Firefox 3 finding its way onto my hard drive relatively soon thereafter, a double take wasn't even in question.

Until yesterday. Google, in their infernal goal to create the most powerful beast on the internet, released some themes (yes, THEMES) for their browser brainchild. Back in the day, I remember AOL's similar haphazard attempt to foster a sense of individuality in their users by providing the ability to have a friendly little sunset greet you with every launch of the program. So I wasn't exactly looking forward to Chrome's 50 Cent and Puppy Dog facades to plaster on my only window of escape from society's proliferation of...50 cent and puppies. But apparently, Google knows their stuff (being the largest public search engine, they tend to do that).

They've included a collection of Chrome themes from enigmatically labeled "artists", some of whom centered their contributions on otaku pursuits. A K-ON! theme, Miku Hatsune theme, Bayonetta theme, and Good Smile Company Nendoroid theme were all made available for the most recent version of the Chrome Browser and can be seen here. All of these series are expectedly mainstream but their inclusion opens the door to more otaku approved themes in the future, a prospect we can all warm-up to. So, for the time being, I've learned to embrace my tool status as a Chrome user. Maybe you can find it in your heart to do the same.

Update (October 9th, 2009):Danny Choo, through his innumerable industry connections, has posted an article detailing what exactly went on behind the scenes of these new Google Chrome themes. His post can be found here

2009-10-08T18:00:00.006-04:00

Gentlemen, I present to you the bishoujo of 2009. May your index finger be steady and resolve hardened as we enter these most brutal of days...

The votes have been tallied, brackets adjusted and winners selected for the Saimoe 2009 Quarter Finals. One of these 8 characters will move on to be crowned Saimoe 2009 Champion and enter the eternal halls of internet glory.

　　 ┏━ <<　Taiga Aisaka @ Toradora!　>>
　 ┏┫
　 ┃┗━ <<>>
┏┫┏━ <<　Nodoka Haramura @ Saki　>>
┃┗┫
┫　 ┗━ <<　Louise @ Zero no Tsukaima　>>
┃　 ┏━ <<　Yuuki Kataoka (Tacos)　@ Saki　>>
┃┏┫
┗┫┗━ <<　Mihoko Fukuji (Captain) @ Saki >>
　 ┃┏━ <<>>
　 ┗┫
　　 ┗━ <<>>

Disregarding the fact that advancement in Saimoe is entirely dependent on voting totals and general popularity, the odds of victory are heavily weighed in favor of the mahjong anime Saki. While it is certainly true Yuuki, Koromo, Nodoka, and Mihoko each have the possibility of falling through the cracks, its simply unlikely they all will. A 50% chance of a Saki character becoming Saimoe Champion is one that even Akagi wouldn't bet against.

That being said, it's still very much in the air. No one really expected Louise to make it as far as this, so who's to say that she shouldn't be capable of another surprise? All the Saki characters are fairly even, Mihoko and Nodoka probably being the two strongest contenders among their peers. Yui and Taiga's appeal is certainly well-known but will they really be able to stand up to the Saki Vote Machine? And amongst all this mayhem, Isumi has been slowly edging up on the competition. Everyone may have their pick, but the game is still far, far from over.

2009-10-03T22:58:00.011-04:00

Early on in Saki's run, I would often find myself craving the heavily touted Mexican food tube ubiquitous among the series' energetic Rie Kugimiya-voiced Yuuki Kataoka. And then I thought of the above equation and asked myself: why didn't it happen?

The lengths of anime advertising are notoriously well-known. From the early positioning of Tezuka character's imposed onto snack goods to the most recent examples of moe marketing, character goods have always moved stock in Japan. Fast food anime marketing, however, is more recent in the land of the rising sun. Younger generations of Japanese are less hesitant to pony up and order a #4 at their local McDonald's than their soba-noodle slurping forefathers. Resultantly, Japanese fast food has been growing larger and larger in recent years. The biggest presence is split among McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Interestingly, the latter two franchises are owned by the same parent company, Yum! Brands, so its fairly safe to say that Yum! is milking the Japanese with batter-fried chicken and pseudo-Italian pies.

Beginning around 2006, the Pizza Hut chain dove head first into the TV anime market with their sponsorship of Sunrise's Code Geass. So successful was this campaign featuring in-animation product placement and Code Geass-themed pizza boxes that it left Pizza Hut hungry for more. In September 2007, Pizza Hut changed its focus to another mecha-giant when it launched an Evangelion 1.0 promotional campaign. In years following, the fast food giant also touched the Kannagi and Maria-sama ga Miteru series to comprise an opus of pizza-centric anime. With all this money changing hands, you'd think McDonald's or one of Yum!'s other arms would be trying to get in on the action. But besides McDonald's offering of anime-based trinkets in their Happy Meals and Colonel Sanders cameos in Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, there has been little fast food presence in otaku subculture besides Pizza Hut. Maybe these giants are just showing their gentle sides, not purposely shortening the already limited life expectancy of otaku, the majority of whom don't exactly hit the gym every day.

All joking aside, why not? Otaku have been known to endorse even the most far flung and subliminal tie-ins (think Washinomiya Shrine and Lucky Star) with beautifully infinite passion. While I'm sure there are some very solid reasons, probably based in numbers and theorems that simply can't be elucidated to in this post, the complete absence of a number of fast food companies in Japan left me wondering why some don't even choose to enter the Japanese market. Taco Bell for example. The Bell is also owned by Yum! Brands so a foot in the (sliding) door isn't completely far-fetched. After some research, I've found the Taco Bell did, at one time, have a presence in Japan... but then fell off the face of the earth, except for a location that may or may not still exist in an American army base. It turns out most Japanese would be more likely to associate a taco with seafood than any notion of Mexican cuisine. Maybe then Yum! was right in not actively seeking out Gonzo for endorsement of the Saki anime and the Taco-centric Yuuki therein whose outright love for Mexican cuisine goes beyond all rational conceptions of neurotic attraction. Though the customer base for Saki-inspired tacos was well established about half way through the series when a mysterious van peddling the greasy cylinders pulled up in Akihabara and took a page out of antiquity with a sermon on the mount, feeding the innumerable faithful.

That's not to say we won't see any more fast food inspired meddling in anime but, at this point, it seems that Pizza Hut has a relative monopoly. That or Japanese have pretty poor taste in pizza.

2009-10-03T09:56:00.009-04:00

Hobby Search recently introduced a fun little addition to its already well established sale-based ranking system ...

Direct and visible customer feedback is often a double-edged blade for online retailers. On one hand, you'll learn which products attract customer's wallets, direct other customers to those products, and be able log data for future pre-orders and sales promotions accordingly. On the other, sales have the potential to drop even farther on items that don't find favor with the majority. For instance, a figure that is consistently rated poorly by customers can directly influence those would-be fence sitters into staking their territory, when, in lue of a rating system, they may have been more likely to take the plunge.

Apparently though, Hobby Search has weighed the possible outcomes and implemented a Customer Satisfaction Rating system to tally the collective opinions of its users, whether or not they decide to level up and evolve into customers. The system bases its numerical ranking on a 5 point scale (like sigfigs) and reflects those points into the pentagonal radar seen above. There are 5 dimensions of evaluation on which to base a rating. Unfortunately, none are clearly defined. After some thought I came up with a few basic definitions I believe to accurately reflect Hobby Search's intentions in establishing those 5 dimensions and their implied meaning:

Well-Proportioned:
1. Referring to the anatomical balance, presentation, and accuracy of a figure
2. Anatomy is consistent with that of the character from which it is derived

Coloration:
1. Appearance in regard to the color arrangement or use of colors
2. How that arrangement maintains fidelity to the original character
3. Quality of painting or color choice; as decided and applied in production

Faithful to the Original
1. Accurately or responsibly transitioned from an original illustration
2. Including no major deviations from the decoration master
3. Identical to past editions or iterations; as in recasts or color variants

Character's Charm:
1. Efficiency in capturing all aspects of a character or illustration
2. Established appeal of the character; regardless of figure's portrayal

Facial Expression:
1. The anatomical accuracy of facial features
2. The accuracy of facial features as they pertain to the original character

Though I think there are far more than 5 dimensions that should be considered when weighing the quality of a figure, Hobby Search does an applaudable job in managing to hit the basics by resourcing attention to both sculptural and character aspects. So with that, evaluate responsibly and buy often.

2009-10-02T10:08:00.011-04:00

The historical Hattori Hanzo is either turning in his grave or masturbating furiously. Maybe even both...

Alter announced the release of the third Hyakka Ryouran figure early yesterday to comprise the continuance of their multimedia love affair with Hobby Japan. "Hyakka Ryouran" literally means "a gathering of many beautiful women" or a "simultaneous emergence of many talents and achievements". Commemorating their 40th anniversary, Hobby Japan, in conjunction with character designer Niθ and figure manufacturer Alter, decided to combine these two definitions in a clever and unique franchise centered on bishoujo-revivals of historically significant Japanese men.

Occupying a strange niche between Hobby Japan's already famous gamebook based Queen's Blade series and Good Smile's multimedia figure franchise Shuraki, Hyakka Ryouran is truly a multifaceted project. Hobby Japan created a fairly involved story for the Hyakka Ryouran light novels, which act as the primary vehicle for the series by encapsulating the series' plot and characters. Regarding the meat of the series, the premise flows similar to an alternate history where the Tokugawa shogunate was never dissolved and schools for samurai progeny were instituted to continue Japan's safety. For more on the story and character's, Synergetic Beans has a fairly comprehensive summary of the basics taken and translated from the Hobby Japan website.

Hobby Japan's partnership with Alter to produce original sculpts for as many of the Hyakka Ryouran femme fatales as they see advantageous might be slightly illogical provided their already established relationship with figure giant Megahouse but still promises high quality PVC releases. Case in point, Hattori Hanzo. The only word to describe Hanzo's sculpt would be dynamic. Based on a legendary man, the real Hanzo gained the popular image of being one of Japan's most skilled ninja, though the facts compiled to construct this perception aren't based entirely in historical accuracy. In any case, Hyakka Ryouran's Hanzo acts as an iinchou character type, which is pretty hard to gather from her PVC. A maid uniform ornamented with a plethora of blades gives Hanzo not only an edgy image but a beautifully detailed figure. At a standard 1/8 scale, Hanzo is set to be released January 2010 for a rather hefty but well worth it 9000 yen.

2009-09-23T22:21:00.013-04:00

And you thought yuri couplings were all you had to worry about...

Most viewers participating in the powerful bishoujo majhong anime, Saki, would conceive the ecstatic visual representations and peculiar abilities of some of the series' characters to be deeply rooted in fiction. That is, they’re completely unrealistic. Admittedly, it appears as much at face value. Being able to effect an opponents hand by manipulating "flow" or reading all the information on the mahjong table with a hetero-chromatic eye aren't exactly traits that like to hold hands with "realism".

However, after observing the overall structure of the series, a few interesting theories presented themselves. I would like to take the time to explore these ideas and assert them as one possible interpretation of the events taking place in the grand network of Saki’s narrative.

I first assert that there exist two dimensions to Saki. The first is as elucidated to in the opening paragraph: the viewer's perspective is thought to be objective. That is, the presence of supernatural story elements such as "flow" and certain characters' unique powers (such as Momo's Stealth) are qualitatively real. Each character exists in a narrative that openly embraces the existence of magic or supernatural occurrences as fact, as taking place inside of their reality. The viewer maintains an objective stance that allows for this to happen as he or she observes it.

If one is to extrapolate this idea of the viewer seeing what appears to be the casts’ reality of supernatural experience in an objective light, a certain dilemma arises. I refer to this anomaly as the "Nodoka Dilemma". To elaborate, just as character-specific supernatural phenomena occurs throughout Saki's narrative, so too does the opposite in the form of Nodoka. Being acclimated to impersonal online play, she shuns the supernatural "feel for the tiles" that the majority of the cast embraces. This is in direct contrast to the aforementioned fictional quality of Saki's first dimension. It could be asserted that because of Nodoka's play style, her willingness to accept such unusual abilities is stunted. However, if this were the case, she would still be able to experience them as others do. Curiously, this is not so. In her matches, Nodoka excels using her rigorous mathematical play style which has consistently proven itself as the antithesis to "flow" or "presence". This utter lack of any experience, comprehension of, or participation in supernatural elements present in what was previously established as an "unrealistic" narrative comprises the Nodoka Dilemma and leads to the second dimension of Saki.

That being, the viewer's perspective is presented in the narrative to be subjective. Instead of maintaining distance from each character, the viewer experiences the inner most operations of single or multiple characters at the same time without the explicit knowledge that this is taking place. Such a dimension is the only way to resolve the Nodoka Dilemma in that those apparently fictional supernatural elements constitute some level of the characters’ embellished perceptions. Perceptions which may or may not "actually" be taking place as the viewer objectively sees or understands them. This can be seen when, in Nodoka's matches, things become calculated and clear cut; as she imagines them, as she perceives them, as the viewer experiences them. For the final match of the regional team qualifiers, the fear of Koromo's "presence" left each player, including Saki, dumbfounded because of their willingness or, perhaps more accurately, fear to accept the existence of such ability as possible. These examples of what seem to be supernatural powers may actually be a snapshot of a character’s mental perception of their opponents or the interpreted progress of the game.

Though its incredibly difficult to move these ideas past conjecture, they nonetheless provide an interesting understanding of one of the best anime of 2009.

2009-09-23T20:05:00.019-04:00

It's been quite some time since Komugi-chan last made her presence known in the figure world. This throwback brings some heavy doses of nostalgia that only a magical nurse of Mugi's caliber could provide...

Figure Title: Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magicarte PVC
Character Name: Nakahara Komugi (Komugi-chan)
Original Character Designer: Akio Watanabe
Sculptor:Miki Ousaka (of Cherry Blossom)
Source Material: Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magicarte OVA
Scale: 1/10
Series: Wave Treasure Figure Collection
Base:
-Color: Pearl White
-Shape: Circular
-Features: Slightly raised platform
Necessary Removable Parts: n/a
Removable Parts/Accessories:
-Ankle Wings (2),
-Scapula Wings (2),
-Magical Syringe Staff (1)
-Mugimaru(1)
Castoffability: n/a
Materials: PVC, ABS
Packaging: Windowed Box, 2 Plastic Interlocking Molds
Extras/Pack-ins: Illustrated Backdrop Insert
Release Date: Late July, 2009
Manufacturing/Production: Wave Corporation
Distribution: Wave Corporation
Approximate Retail Price:≈4,800円
Current Availability: Relatively Available
Related PVCs:Various GKs,CCs, PVCs
Other: Her measurements are B70, W58, H75... fyi

Foreword:

The energetic Komugi-chan hails from Tatsunoko Production's Nurse Witch Komugi (2002), a derivative work that took her out of Tatsunoko's The Soul Taker (2001) and rewarded her with her own series of magical girl parody OVAs. Besides a handful of characters and a nurse motif, Nurse Witch Komugi retains little of The Soul Taker's emotional horror-based action, instead trading a fevered pitch for a basket of otaku Easter eggs. Komugi and crew managed to take magical girl parody to a new height of self reference by staging battles in Akiharaba against a wave of 2channel Giko cats, piloting the Tokyo Big Sight convention center as a giant robot, and posing coquettishly for sweating mass of camera-kozo; all within the first 2 episodes.

With just that, it's no surprise that Nurse Witch Komugi was fairly popular during its run of a few months. Some might even say that it outshined The Soul Taker, a kind of 'student defeating master' premise that warmed many hearts. Regardless, Komugi's favor with the otaku-elite positioned her for prime territory in the garage kit scene which housed most of her official figure incarnations. Clayz and Griffon Enterprises delivered the majority of her mass market resin kits while Yujin supplied a few mid-grade PVCs from their SRDX line in juxtaposition. At the beginning of 2005, Komugi's market saturation slowly dissolved as the final OVA of the series, Magicarte Z, faded into history, taking with it the prospect of any new figure releases besides the Komugi and Koyori recasts that popped up in 2007.

Left devoid of Komugi for so long, its a thing of beauty that Wave Corporation decided to resurrect the magical medic as part of their Treasure Figure Collection (TFC) series of 1/10 scale PVCs. Ideally created to highlight classic or favorite characters through PVC-ification, the TFC line has recently undergone some alterations to its production status quo. Besides more and more new characters being cast (Mari from Evangelion 2.0 being the most recent), the major change is the inclusion of a neck-joint for all PVCs. Reserving the disposition to label this new neck-joint as a blatant gimmick (something that will be detailed further on), it offers the sculpt more photogenic potential and increased display value despite the limited axis by which it functions. And with that heavy foreshadowing, so begins the review:

Sculpt:

Credit for Komugi's sculpt goes to Miki Ohsaka from the circle Cherry Blossom. Claiming a portfolio that goes as far back as 2003, Ohsaka has been delivering detailed, if not safe, sculpts for a plethora of characters since then. And Komugi-chan can be described in much the same way: safe. Not to much is embellished, improved upon, or risked in her sculpt. Anatomically and proportionally, she's on cue; there's not much to say in that department.

Playing it safe isn't to say there's a lack of attention to detail. For a 1/10 scale figure, there's a reasonable amount of idiosyncratic elements to be had. From the wrinkles on her blouse and floppy ears to the spectacular icosahedral like construction of her bunny tail and flowing nature of the ribbon attached thereto, the sculpt maintains a few strengths, even if there's not much else going on in the bigger picture (besides the excellent portrayal of her shimapan [left]; a nice touch). While her pose isn't as dynamic as other Komugi figures, it still presents her saccharine energy fairly well, though in a rather reserved fashion.

As previously mentioned in reference to the new neck-joint, there seems to be an emphasis on customization points, of which Komugi has a few. Four wing snap into holes fitted on both of her ankles and shoulders. They can be tweaked and rotated to provide a slim but nonetheless present route of customization. In addition to the wings, Komugi comes included with her magic syringe staff that's used to cure disease (i.e. eliminate adversaries) in the OVA. Also standard is a small figure of Mugimaru, another link in the long chain of animal familiars present in the mahou shoujo genre, that can be set on or off Komugi's base.

And now to the crux of things: the neck joint. Firstly, why? My guess is Wave might be feeling some heat from Good Smile and Max Factory's Nendoroid and Figma lines, both of which rely almost exclusively on customization. The presence of a single joint is conspicuous to say the least, especially in a series of figures that was up until now completely static. It wouldn't be a bad thing, and I would have been willingly to overlook it, if it weren't for how it compromises the sculpt from certain angles. Viewing Komugi from her left, the back of her jaw just collapses inward, leaving anatomical inaccuracy that just can't be disregarded (seen to left). This is heightened by how, because of the joint, her neck is positioned irregularly and simply juts out of her shoulders. I can see how the neck-joint can add to the figure, but I'd only wish it could do it from all angles. Put in plain terms: its not pretty.

Production:
Like other figures from Wave, production is fairly tight. No noticeable errors or inefficiencies at large. In terms of paint, her ribbon and tail include nice subtle shading techniques that create some depth. Coloration is consistent and concordant with her basic character design though it could have been much more fleshed out. Compared to original illustrations, Wave's paint job comes out a little dull, especially the darker tint of Komugi's hair and blouse. Elements that aren't inaccurate, only those that I think could have been better equipped provided the already colorful nature of Komugi's character.

On a slightly negative note, Komugi's eye's have some very strong albedo (a term which I equip to mean the reflective properties of a figure). A strong light source will create some heavy glare on her eyes, eliciting the image of tears. Something that's a tad annoying but avoidable with the right angles.

At a Glance:

☺Komugi-chan revival, fair sculpt, customization

☹ Neck joint blues, dull coloration,fans need only apply

Final Score:

3.5/5

2009-09-20T13:04:00.008-04:00

Hobby Link Japan, a popular and ever growing purveyor of all things hobby and scale, has partnered with payment proxy giant Pay Pal to bring customers an increased level of security...and free shipping for a week...

Any orders placed and filled between now and September 28 with the Pay Pal option will be upgraded to free express shipping. For those aware of how international shipping from Japan equates to a kind of metaphysical bloodletting ceremony, the news falls on grateful ears. This promotional gesture may be kind but HLJ isn't stupid. Some conditions on the offer are as follows:

* Campaign is valid only for orders placed and paid for between now and 11:59:59pm (JST; GMT+9) on September 28, 2009

* Only items shippable during the campaign period will be eligible for free shipping. Orders placed for backordered or future release items will be shipped (without free shipping) when they become available, as normal.

* All in-stock and shippable items from your order(s) will be automatically shipped immediately after the campaign ends on September 28 in order to insure that you get free shipping.

* Important: Your PayPal billing agreement will initially be charged for the cost of the merchandise AND shipping. The cost of shipping will then be refunded to your account in one or two business days.

* Orders shipped for free under this campaign will be shipped via Federal Express or postal service EMS, at HLJ's sole discretion.

A quick glaze of these stipulations reveals that the designated week for free shipping is a pretty small window, especially considering how hot of a commodity hobby goods (especially figures) can be. If you're looking to ease the yoke of shipping charges, you'll have to find something either currently in stock with HLJ or a pre-order that will come into stock during the predesignated week for free shipping. What amounts to a problematic dichotomy because HLJ doesn't often over-extend their allocations from suppliers, leaving all the popular releases left with that very familiar "out-of-stock" skull and cross bones. Even if a popular figure is sold out, pre-orders may not be a better avenue. Everyone is familiar with how easily figure release dates can be manhandled, delayed, altered or even scrapped. Deciding on pre-ordering a figure for the free shipping promotion to later find out that its release date has been delayed a month and, forgoing a cancellation, shipping costs will be accrued regardless isn't my idea of a good time. All that being said, HLJ still has many great bishoujo figures that are still in stock, one of which being Mushihime-sama's Reco pictured above. So if you'd like to take a gamble, pre-order a September release. Otherwise comb through HLJ's list of new figures available here and hope you don't get bumped off the reservation list.

2009-09-10T14:58:00.011-04:00

Part one of Good Smile Company's White Album PVC revival has been unleashed and Morikawa Yuki once again takes center stage...

Decoration masters for Yuki and her rival Onee-sama, Ogata Rin, were first revealed a few weeks ago during Wonder Festival 2009 Summer (pictured at left). The inclusion of which was rather unexpected. White Album occupies a very distinct niche separate from the usual suspects of Good Smile's nendoroid line, territory that gave these PVC's a conspicuous presence amongst a super deformed line-up of figures from the latest and greatest anime to hit the otakusphere. Further development of that idea leads to a strange conundrum. One of the biggest movers in the market mass producing a set of figures from a 10 year old Leaf visual novel seems pretty absurd. Or it would if it weren't for the phoenix down Seven Arcs threw White Album last winter with a TV anime adaptation. Though the White Album anime didn't quite constitute a landslide, it was successful enough to spawn a second season slated to air this October 2nd.

All marketing tactics aside, Rin and Yuki comprise a pleasantly neoclassical nod to the mass market garage kit fever of the mid-to-late 90's; incidentally the last time White Album figures were given official release from Kotobukiya and Chibiiz. With all this resurrection going on, its ironic then that Ken Yokota, a relative newcomer under Good Smile, provides the energetic 1/8 scale sculpts for both. Yokota's designs are based off an original illustration(the zettai ryouiki of which is also visible above) utilizing Kou Yoshinari's designs from the anime.

For whatever reason, Good Smile has disregarded Rin and allotted Yuki a pending release this December (quite some time after the second season is scheduled to air). A decision that creates enough space to hamper the otonagai that would usually take place with dual figure releases. I can't condone such a blatant shortcoming but it's understandable; especially if Rin's sculpt is undergoing needed changes or experiencing production setbacks. All things considered, it's commendable that White Album PVC's are even being released; and from Good Smile of all companies. It's good to see venerable series staking claim on the cutting-edge.

2009-09-06T00:28:00.003-04:00

I purchased Hiroki Azuma's Otaku: Japan's Database Animals today at my local Barnes and Noble. While I'm only about 40 pages in, what I'm finding is significantly revelatory, despite past familiarization with Azuma's post-modernistic theories and criticisms of otaku subculture...

...and, being only 40 pages in, I'll discuss my ideas and responses to Azuma's innumerous claims when I complete it's roughly 200 pages. Expect an update with the next week or so, maybe longer if I decided to fully digest my response. Until then, if you have not already read the book, I'll provide a shallow, if not slightly misleading synopsis:

Hiroki Azuma’s Otaku offers a critical, philosophical, and historical inquiry into the characteristics and consequences of this consumer subculture. For Azuma, one of Japan’s leading public intellectuals, otaku culture mirrors the transformations of postwar Japanese society and the nature of human behavior in the postmodern era. He traces otaku’s ascendancy to the distorted conditions created in Japan by the country’s phenomenal postwar modernization, its inability to come to terms with its defeat in the Second World War, and America’s subsequent cultural invasion. More broadly, Azuma argues that the consumption behavior of otaku is representative of the postmodern consumption of culture in general, which sacrifices the search for greater significance to almost animalistic instant gratification. In this context, culture becomes simply a database of plots and characters and its consumers mere “database animals.”

2009-09-04T19:51:00.008-04:00

You know a movie has been delayed too long when its tie-in figures are announced 6 months in advance...

Regardless of how long fans have been waiting for the aptly titled Nanoha The Movie 1st feature film, Alter evidently couldn't wait to spring this release on the public; reminding everyone that there's still proverbial light at the end of what has been an almost limitless tunnel. A kind but double-edged gesture granted the time frame for when we can expect to get our hands on Alter's mahou shoujo catalyst. The 1/7 scale Nanoha -Stand By Ready- PVC (hereon -SBR-) is set to be released in tandem with the theatrical debut of the movie, which has claimed January 23rd 2010 as it's D-day. A six month stint for a figure based on a movie Nanoha fans have been patiently anticipating for almost 2 years. Thanks for the tease. Forgoing any delays (the figure, not the movie [people would be dying in the streets if they push the movie back again), we can expect -SBR- at the end of the month, very soon after, if not slightly before, the silver screen redux.

First exhibited a few months ago at Wonder Festival Summer, the decoration master of -SBR- is painfully impressive if not only for the dynamic sculpt by Hiroyuki Tsumeduka, a veteran sculptor whose work dips as deep as Kotobukiya-released garage kits in the late nineties. Working during the 20th century GK boom, Hiroyuki brings a mix of flavors to -SBR-. The overall design of the figure captures the creativity of GKs by having Nanoha mounted on two metal pylons. An element giving her that distinctive airborne battle pose as a result. At the same time, -SBR- provides a route for the heavy customization that is ever so popular among today's light users (I'm looking at you figma). Well, heavy customization might not be the most accurate description of -SBR-'s 2 different poses and Raising Heart iterations (seen above) but there are still more options than a standard PVC release. All these features don't come cheap however. -SBR- retails for a lofty but manageable 9,800 yen (around $105 USD, given the current [shitty] exchange rates). Nanoha is quickly making her way around international online retailers so preorder fast and often if you want to reserve a piece. You'll thank yourself because at that point it just becomes another waiting game; albeit a 6 month one.

2009-09-03T17:15:00.012-04:00

In a fair portion of Saimoe matches, most entrants race hip to hip until a brutal finish. And in others, well, the weak are trimmed and weeded until it becomes evident that they never had a fleeting chance to begin with...

This lesson in Painful Truth 101 has become demonstrable over the course of the past few matches. Saki characters are still bruising the competition with a series of utterly crushing victories from Saki, Nodoka and Mihoko (whose progress and resultant victory is charted above). Exhibiting such an unyielding position since the first round, fans and voters alike are now facing the realization that the final battles may turn inwardly cannibalistic; fate pitting the mahjong elite in a duel against each other. A definite possibility, yes, but more so a thought better saved until the semi-finals, when its dangers become less unavoidable.

Declaring total victory for any Saki character at this point, however, might be premature. K-ON! has somewhat resurrected over the past few matches, Nodoka and Azusa even winning in the same bracket. Eccentrically moe drummer for Afternoon Tea Time, Ritsu Tainaka, also took down the opposition, though by a tight margin. These wins show that while K-ON! might be down after the Mio Incident of 2009, it is far from out and certainly nowhere near a TKO.

Despite the potent popularity of Saki and K-ON!, both hailing from the Spring 2009 season of television anime, a few more inveterate contestants have made severe headway; headway enough for their potential to be forcibly acknowledged.

Yoshika Miyafuji, the beloved heroine of Gonzo and Shimada Fumikane's Strike Witches series, is one such character whose aptitude has been made well-known. An absolutely stunning 659 to 172 victory and a graphical incline to match.

Displaying a similar level of competency, Nagi from Hayate no Gotoku took down her competitors, which including Sheryl of Macross Frontier, with relative ease. Nagi may not be a sleeper cell but, along with Yoshika and other bracket winners, is looking to be formidable.

2009-08-26T11:25:00.013-04:00

Lucky Star has plugged just about every miniature mode of terrestrial transportation since it aired in 2007. And now it shifts its campaign to the skies...

Taken from hobby magazine scans posted on Chinese futaba-clone's Figure/GK board, these ita-jets comprise the latest in a long line of "painfully" scaled Lucky Star decal work. Itasha have a large following in Electric Town but other ita-creations are less common, at least in full scale. The demographic for an aerial release such as this is in all likelihood gunji otaku who have a soft side for Lucky Star or extreme Lucky Star fans in general. No release date or pricing information is available at this time.

"Ita-" as a prefix commonly denotes "itasha", literally meaning "painful cars"; cars frenzied with anime/manga/game decals. Itasha itself is also a pun on the Japanese slang for Italian cars (the likes of Lamborghini), so otaku use it to turn the common conception of classy cool into geeky cool. In recent years, the word "itasha" has been felt to be too negative by the newest generation of otaku (calling themselves wotaku [still pronounced "otaku"]) who have relabeled these autos "moesha". The prefix "ita" is still thrown on anything that is otakufied, whether it be cars, trucks, motorcycles, or even planes. And miniature models of these real-life monstrosities are also increasingly popular, Lucky Star being among the top.

And yes, real life ita-jets do exist...

2009-08-25T12:31:00.006-04:00

Shugo Chara! is quickly constructing a powerful mahou shoujo dynasty on par with the most renowned titles in this unique and inveterate genre...

It would be safe to say that Shugo Chara! has already proven itself as deserving of such a rank by its sheer quality and reliant mass popularity. Hinamori Amu in all her cool and spiceyness has become enthroned with Sakura, Usagi, Nanoha, Minky and all the other magical girl heroines that have been extant in Japanese animation as far back as the formative years of Osamu Tezuka's Princess Knight and Mitsuteru Yokoyama's Mahoutsukai Sally. From this point, all that can be done is to bask in its presence. And Satelight would evidently like for that to continue for a long while to come with the announcement of a third season of Shugo Chara! entitled "Shugo Chara Party!".

A free news pamphlet from the Toranoana otaku mega-chain entitled "Tora Dayo" released a picture of the upcoming cover of the yet-to-be-released October issue of Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine (in which Peach-Pit's Shugo Chara! manga is serialized). The cover preview promises the beginning of Shugo Chara! Party on Saturday October 3rd. More details will probably be announced once the October issues is actually released on September 3rd. Until then, we've been promised with additional content and from Shugo Chara!, that can't be bad thing.

2009-08-25T01:09:00.009-04:00

The Dreamcast is often held as the perfect example for the cliche of somehow being before your time. In my opinion, Sega offered something intangibly timeless in the Dreamcast, forever suspending its image in the minds of the game-conscious as a much beloved footnote, an enduring memory that can always be relived.

September 9th, 1999 seems like such a remote time. A time before Mountain Dew had more legroom in the market than 3rd party publishers, a time before Halo converted throngs of Monday night football and adrenaline junkies into "hardcore gamers", and a time before the modern console era of the big three. Truth be told, it was an entire decade ago. Those more antiquated than myself might consider such a passing of sand through glass as familiar. For me at the age of 19 however, it serves as a severe bookmark for a phase when I had just begun to understand the international console market.

I remember going with my father to the local electronic entertainment purveyor, known at the time as Funcoland, to pick up my Dreamcast and the launch titles of Sonic Adventure and House of the Dead 2. Being raised on Nintendo for the entirety of my life up until that point, a Genesis or Saturn controller only reaching my grasp intermittently and with healthy doses of chagrin at each meeting, the notion of the Dreamcast felt new and refreshing. If I were to verbalize the feeling, it was as if I was on the precipice of gaming in its entirety; time would be dictated as before the Dreamcast and after the Dreamcast. After all, this was the launch of the first 128-bit system. In fact, the Dreamcast was an omnibus of "firsts". An upgradable 56k modem, inception of the GD-ROM, inclusion of online play and web browsing, and the creation of the controller-snuggling VMU unit put Sega's brainchild worlds above anything else thus far. Of course, at my age, I had no concept of what a 56k modem would or even could do. I knew that the graphics were amazing and anything else was frill (I laugh when I hear "gamers" assert the same of today's consoles, doing it well into their 20's). Looking back, I realize that yes, the Dreamcast's graphics were cutting edge but that wasn't an end all musing when I was running at formerly unimaginable processing speeds from a giant killer whale looking to drown my fuzzy blue ass. First and foremost, the Dreamcast's amazing line-up of titles set it apart from Nintendo's immobile house of character cards and Sony's laisserfaire attitude towards everything they did in general.

Sonic Adventure, Jet Grind Radio, Shenmue, Dead or Alive 2, Resident Evil Code Veronica, Seaman, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Soul Calibur, Power Stone, and so many more. These titles defined the Dreamcast. And quite honestly, they only constituted a meager portion of what America saw from the land of the rising sun. The Dreamcast was a literal treasure trove of anime-based tie-ins, galge ports, and a wealth of titles simply not suited for the American palate (it's a sheer wonder of localization that Seaman made it as far as it did). Even though the Dreamcast's initial Japanese sales paled in comparison to their overseas counterparts, the games were strong. Titles like Key's Air and Age's Kimi ga Nozomu Eien saw their first console ports on the humble Dreamcast. From emotional visual novels to frantic bullet-hell shooters the likes of Gunbird 2 and Ikaruga, the Japanese Dreamcast market was an almost unstoppable beast. An idea reinforced by its powerful performance therein, where Dreamcast units remained in production until 2006 with game releases into 2007 and 2008. The Dreamcast may have died elsewhere around the globe but in Japan it's still very much on life support, refusing to succumb and sustained by passionate homebrew titles to this very day.

Despite everything that made the Dreamcast, it was destined to be set at naught. Even before the "Dreamcast Killers" came onto the scene, there was unrest at Sega. Foreign sales, though strong, were growing less and less as people decided to wait for what was unfairly described as the "next" generation of home consoles. Sega's president at the time, Shoichiro Irimajiri, resigned only 2 years after launch and transferred his title to Isao Okawa who tragically died soon after the Dreamcast was discontinued in America. It was this series of internal fractures combined with the entrance of the Playstation 2 and Gamecube that ultimately buried Sega's last system. It was decided around the early 2000's that Sega would reenter the software market as a third party publisher, creating games for the big three's consoles and cutting ties with their hardware centric past. And they remain in this position today.

I look at the Dreamcast as something timeless partly because of the smokescreen commonly referred to as opinion and partly because, well, it really is timeless. It exists in this great in-between, kind of like a being a perpetual teenager in high school. It refuses to leave the niche it bore into the gaming world; from both its and everyone else's perspective. But it does this in a subtly gentle and unobtrusive way: through the nostalgia of its own name.

2009-08-23T21:53:00.012-04:00

In effort to extricate publicity over the now available Saki DVD Volume 2 and Saki OP CD single, cosplay izakaya Little BSD became the site of a 4-day Saki marathon...

The event began on the 19th, coinciding with the release of the second DVD volume of the spring anime 咲-Saki, and ran through yesterday, the 22nd. More than a simple sign-kai, Little BSD (which is composed of 6 small izakaya throughout Akihabara) revamped their interior and even menu in support of the Saki spirit (which was no doubt funded by Gonzo or Square Enix). The cuisine featured exclusive themed dishes such as "Taco Style Rice" and "Moe Moe Omelet". Typical of a cosplay izakaya, waitresses were garnished with Kiyosumi High School uniforms featured in and popularized by the series. Two locations even had fully functional mahjong tables where customers were encouraged to test their skills against both each other and the staff.

Little BSD locations are typically open from 6pm-8pm on weekdays; hours tailored to moonlighters looking to soak their palate after work. Because of this, Little BSD has become very popular among businessmen and otaku alike. Though it looks as though they may have extended operating hours to accommodate the event. By nature of being izakaya (small pub like venues focusing on atmosphere and inexpensive snack food dishes), seating was no doubt in short supply during Saki Cafe; each restaurant has table seating for only about 40 customers. It's suspected that such a minor detail left patrons clamoring to get a plate of taco-loli inspired cuisine wholly unfazed.

Yuuki's Taco Inspired Dish

The "Moe Moe Omelet"

One of the mahjong tables set up for customers

Source:[1]

2009-08-22T16:10:00.009-04:00

Making waves today was news of a September-release Black Rock Shooter OVA and affiliated spring anime project currently under production...

For those not in the know, Black Rock Shooter (BRS) is one of many citizens in the Vocaloid realm of creative fandom turned marketing machine. Both the name of a music video(seen below) and the character featured therein, BRS is one of the most popular Vocaloid tracks to hit the net. It is important to note (and will no doubt become the mantra of indignant Vocaloid fans in coming months) that the gothic twin-tails character visually present in the original BRS video is not Miku Hatsune, the original Vocaloid 2 synthetic idol and actual lyricist in the BRS music video. The character BRS is one of many Vocaloid "incarnations", most of which are identified and explained here. In some instances, Vocaloid characters are born out of 2ch or Futaba but BRS was a collaborative effort between famous Vocaloid user RYO and artist HUKE, the former creating the actual song and the latter providing video and source illustrations.

In recent months, the popularity of the BRS music video reached levels critical enough for merchandising treatment. Besides the usual flood of mugs, notebooks, and t-shirts, a 1/8 scale PVC is to be released by Good Smile in late October. That aside, the most pressing release is news of BRS anime projects. A BRS anime DVD will be released on September 30th in conjunction with a CD single of the original BRS song. The DVD will feature an originally animated BRS music video which will act as a precursor or (as its being touted) a "Pilot Edition" to a larger, more in-depth anime project currently in production and slated for a Spring 2010 debut. Both the OVA and future anime project are being animated by Ordet, the studio founded by now legendary director Yutaka Yamamoto who will also be supervising the BRS project. Other staff include Yoshioka Shinobu (as director/Episode director of Haruhi/LS), Matsuo Daisuke (as character designer/Kannagi), and original creator RYO (expectedly handling music).

A small tidbit for those database animals out there: Yamamoto hinted at this project in Patrick W. Galbraith's The Otaku Encyclopedia. When asked about his view on moe, Yamamoto mentioned that his next project will not feature the same "dancing" OPs that have become synonymous with his name (Haruhi, LS, Kannagi) and will contain less stereotypical denpa-kei moe points. Though I'm sure Vocaloid fans would love to assert the contrary as they are no doubt bursting with moe right now.

Source:[ANN],[Moetron]

2009-08-21T11:32:00.009-04:00

Just when the K-ON loyal believed they had reached the depths of despair, the illuminate dojikko goddess of Yui Hirasawa plucked their seeded emotion and delivered the promise of a tomorrow...

The results from the second day of voting for Group E showed an overwhelmingly steep victory for K-ON!'s main character, Yui Hirasawa. Towering over her competitors with 708 votes, compared to runner-up Yaya from Shugo Chara with only 258, her victory marks the first advancement of any K-ON! character thus far. The indirect success of Mio, Tsumugi, and Ui as a group is now riding on Yui, who quite ironically will represent the K-ON! fallen in future confrontations. Granted Yui's strong presence in her first match, can we really expect similar displays from the laissez-faire queen of pastries and tea? Or will her peculiar hidden potential once exhibited by guitar again manifest itself in the form of votes? The only real answer may be: ¯\(°_o)/¯

2009-08-19T23:51:00.010-04:00

Well, what can be said at this point? Yet another K-ON! character has met Saimoe defeat, something not entirely unexpected granted the status quo. In honor of the definition of bittersweet, my #1 pick has prevailed so the mourning will be shortlived.

Hinamori Amu of Shugo Chara Doki!!, the second series anime adaptation of Peach-Pit's famous mahou shoujo manga, has triumphed over Hirasawa Ui of KyoAni's K-ON! powerhouse 588 to 491. I feel Amu is most deserving of the title Saime 2009 champion but quite honestly, I felt Ui had a newcomer advantage, considering Amu didn't have prominent footing in last years tournament. Without a doubt, however, this was not the case.

Graphically, there was no contest. Ui trailed Amu throughout the voting period, with absolutely no crossover in sight. This constitutes the 3rd loss for the K-ON! series as Ui joins Mio and Mugi in the dugout. Ui's moe cannot be denounced, but congrats Amu!

2009-08-18T17:00:00.019-04:00

The figure world is not without its fair share of less than quality gimmicks (Metamo, anyone?) looking to sneak into naive wallets. Kaiyodo's 1/7 scale Win-chan, however, isn't one of them.

There are a few ways to look at this iteration of Win-chan. Is she a figure that's a magnet or a magnet that's a figure? Which is the dominant characteristic at play here? Considering I didn't actually know she was a magnet when I purchased her, I'd have to irreverently vouch for the former of the two. While her magnetized posterior might reserve some gimmick qualities, the overall quality of the sculpt and therein figure as a whole approaches to dismount Win-chan from the often overblown negatives of such marketing ingenuity. Just don't think putting her on your tower is a good idea. And with that, so begins the review:

Figure Title: Kaiyodo 1/7 scale OS-idol Win-chan PVC
Character Name: Win-chan (Windows-chan)
Original Character Designer: Mine Yoshizaki
Sculptor:E noki Tomohide
Source Material: Series of Original Illustrations
Scale: 1/7
Base: None included
Necessary Removable Parts: n/a
Removable Parts/Accessories: n/a
Castoffability: n/a
Materials: PVC
Packaging: Windowed Box, 2 Plastic Interlocking Molds
Extras/Pack-ins: Illustrated backdrop/Original Illustration
Release Date: Mid April, 2006
Manufacturing/Production: Kaiyodo
Distribution: Xebec Toys
Approximate Retail Price:≈3,800円
Current Availability: Limited but accesible
Related PVCs:Numerous Win-chan PVCs

Foreword:

One of the earliest examples of the now incessant need for the moe anthropomorphization of operating systems, Win-chan was and is a cut above the proliferation of 2ch OS-tans to follow in her wake. Hailing from the mind of famous mangaka and illustrator Mine Yoshizaki, she acts as his somatic idealization of Microsoft's Windows operating system throughout the course of its many updates. Win-chan's first appearances include being featured as a covergirl for Comic Himekuri magazine and the mascot character for Enterbrain's Techwin Magazine. Her real break came with the arrival of her very own artbook Sky Blue in 2003. Since then, Win-chan has dominated the mass produced figure market beginning with the topic of this review and most recently Solid Theatre's sultry 2008 release. The reason for her success over other OS-tans might be attributed to the fact she can be intellectually sourced. That is, she is solely the property of Mine Yoshizaki, where as each OS-tan (such as ME-tan or 2k-tan) can't be as easily claimed in the 'anything goes' world of oekaki art. But this is conjecture at best.

My reason for the acquisition of the earliest known PVC incarnation (to my limited knowledge) of the OS-idol Win-chan was mainly twofold. Primarily, I am a large Mine Yoshizaki fan (prepare for heavy bias). Secondarily, she is currently on sale for only $12 USD, around 70% off her retail price, via Hobby Link Japan. If that isn't incentive, what is?

Sculpt:

Since Win-chan began her PVC run, Enoki Tomohide has been there to ferry her through what is often a perilous transition into the third dimension. Tomohide is a seasoned sculptor, known for both his impressive repertoire of articulated figures (including much of Kaiyodo's Fraulein Revoltech series) and his solid work on original resin kits, so its comes as no surprise that Win-chan has an amiable sculpt. Using Mine's original illustration as a reference point (at left), Win-chan's characteristics are rather faithfully communicated, though 1/7 scale she is not (try 1/8). Some features, such as the wrinkles of her blouse (and yes, nipples) are embellished; but not in an offensive or inaccurate manner. Even the turbid mess of her hair is captured to the last strand. All this praise is not to say that there aren't negative qualities. Tomohide's conception looks a little, how should I say, plump in the face, when compared to her 2-D rendering. This illusory rotundness is elicited by the lack of distinction between where her neck meets her collar bone and the overall width of her face when viewed anteriorly. Also, her hands have a more noticeable girth or roughness to them compared to her rather ladylike digits seen above. These points shouldn't be taken in any sort of negative light as shortcomings but simply evident differences from Mine's original illustration. Overall, Tomohide's sculpt is considerably strong and certainly worth its weight.

Production:

Kaiyodo is one of the oldest figure companies out there today. Nurturing the garage kit boom in the 80's and readily accommodating the Evangelion-assisted PVC explosion of the nineties, Kaiyodo certainly has a perspective (and level of prestige) that newcomers to the industry likely envy. And Tomohide's 1/7 scale Win-chan exhibits this to a point. Colors are accurate, vibrant, and consistent. There is absolutely no bleeding across boundaries, no anomalies such as ugly mold lines. A strong presentation across the board...except... the same problem seen in Kaiyodo's second Win-chan incarnation seen here. Apparently, for the personification of an operating system endorsed by basement dwellers the world over, Win-chan gets plenty of sun; she has a horrific orange glow on the back of her thighs. What looks like an attempt at creating a level of gradual synthetic shading resulted in something much less docile. Orange. Very orange. So long as you don't turn her over (which is assisted by the placement of her magnets), it shouldn't prove to be too much of a distraction.

At a Glance:

☺Mine/Win-chan fans rejoice, know of any other bishoujo figure magnets?

☹ Orange, orange, orange, orange, orange, orange, orange, orange, orange

Final Score:

4/5

That shocked expression, she can't believe you just put her on the fridge.

I keep her next to (not on) my external hard drives.

Her shock makes more sense when she's arbitrarily attached to furniture

Anterior full-body shot, overall a nice addition to any collection.

2009-08-17T23:31:00.008-04:00

Before modern computers were even a passing thought, for centuries an ancient super highway known as the Silk Road had been carrying treasures from the Orient on the backs of camels and men alike to their final destination in the hands of awestruck foreigners. Today, we have the internet and a lot less camels (incidentally, a lot more camel porn but that's a topic for another post).

Comic Market 76 has officially ended and so begins the slew of pirated media finding it's way onto the far reaches of the internet. Media on a fateful journey across today's information super highway to your computer and finally: brain. Because of the overwhelmingly grotesque mass of doujinshi and other media present at Comiket, consuming everything that is converted into digital format would be a truly daunting if not enviable task. To make it easier, Fakku.com has once again set up a Comiket thread for the purpose of amassing the latest and greatest in otaku fanmade property. The thread can be found here.

If you prefer a more wild experience, as opposed to having your sustenance put on a silver platter for you, searching TokyoToshokan for individual doujin titles might be preferential. As the third day off Comiket is usually reserved for much of the doujnshi, TT and most other resources are less padded in that area. If you're up for otakucore electronica a la DJ Sharpnel, RedAlice and more (which I'll be talking about in a later post), TT should suffice at least for now. At this point, we're waiting for everyone to get off their asses and start uploading. Once they do, remember to take everything in due time; semen deficiency is a serious medical problem.

2009-08-16T13:05:00.006-04:00

See this PV? Yeah, now max out the volume on your computer, press play, and tell me this doesn't look amazing.

I might be a sucker for medieval fantasy-based anime (Berserk, The Tales series, Record of Lodoss War, Scrapped Princess, Queen's Blade, among countless others) but The Sacred Blacksmith looks extraordinarily promising.

Synopsis provided by ANN:

The story takes place after an abominable war that foisted a "devil's contract" upon a land. Cecily Campbell, a former noble's daughter who joined a knighthood, encounters a man who dispatches some hoodlums with one sweep of a mysterious sword. The man possesses the power of the same "devil's contract" that has become taboo, now that peace has been restored. Cecily has been searching for a blacksmith who can repair an old sword she inherited from her father, and that mysterious young man happens to be blacksmith named Luke Ainsworth. This encounter launches their adventures together.

The tale is based on a 2007 light novel series of the same name written by Isao Miura. With 5 volumes in completion, the orginal story is still ongoing. In March of this year, a manga adaptation began serialization in the seinen publication Monthly Comic Alive, the same magazine where the anime was first announced. At this point, it isn't clear which medium the adaptation will claim as its source material.

Scheduled to air in November as part of the Fall 2009 season on UHF stations and AT-X, The Sacred Blacksmith is principally animated by Manglobe Inc., directed by Masamitsu Hidaka (Kurogane Linebarrels, Pokemon, Juu Senshi Garukiba) and written by Masashi Suzuki (Kanokon, Minami-ke: Okawari, Jigoku Shoujo). November isn't coming fast enough.

2009-08-15T20:29:00.007-04:00

A slice of life 4koma adaptation not from Kyoto Animation? What unholy occurrence is this?! Indeed, it is possible. And Kanamemo seems to be doing it well enough...

When I was met with the precipice of a 2-sentence synopsis and a low-res picture when deciding what to watch for this season, Kanamemo somehow jumped out at me as worth further investigation. Besides those two elements, I was logistically naked for episode one. I've come to learn that Kanamemo is based on a preexisting slice of life 4koma and is directed by Shigehito Takayanagi, probably best known for Galaxy Angel A,S, and X.

What propelled me to watch, and keeps me doing so, is the utterly tragic circumstances of Kana's life previous to when we the audience are given permission to partake in it. Having lost her parents and, at the very beginning of episode one, the only remaining relative of her grandmother, Kana is in a dire position. With nowhere left to go, she eventually takes refuge at Funshin Shinbun, a local newspaper distributor, as a delivery girl. Featuring a decidedly otome-kei focus, all the members of Funshin are college girls with strong personalities (except for their manager, Saki, who is actually in grade school). From here, the incredibly dramatic aspect of Kanamemo is mixed intermittently with slapstick comedy often provided by the Funshin Shinbun's resident fujoshi, Haruka; such may be the result of Takayanagi's creative input. This dualistic nature may perplex, if not aggravate some but I feel the comedy/drama spice is handled responsibly. Just before the audience is completely soaked into the absurd displays of Haruka's perversion, they're flung back into the radiance of Kana's narrative if only for a brief moment. Most of the series' weight is devoted to comedy but the glimpses of something more profound are where Kanamemo excels.

Despite being a slice of life-comedy series, Kanamemo isn't totally without direction. Kana's dojikko status causes constant support to be milked out of the audience, as you cheer for her to do her best despite all the hardship she's been faced with. In this, her growth translates into the story's progression as she moves into the unadulterated world of the Japanese workforce. Such can be seen in the episode titles' structure of "My First ___". This formula also provides a vehicle for the episode's direction, whether it be the classic hot spring ( in Kana's case, public bath), or the less traditional endurance of a typhoon. Aside from that, Kanamemo's direction (or lack thereof) is typical of an episodic slice of life series.

Other interesting points include the presence of the famous Rie Kugimiya voicing, you guessed it, a tsundere named Mika Kujiin. A rather mysterious character (at least for now anyway), I don't feel Mika is being developed to her full potential. An oujo-sama type who transfers to Kana's school, Mika often appears on cue with little rhyme or reason. She works for a rival newspaper and because of this, has begun to develop a friendship with Kana (though being a oujo-sama tsundere she feels reluctant to do so). Their frienship adds another, if thin, layer to the series as a whole.

While Kanamemo is certainly not for everyone, we've only met the series' halfway point. There is still much to be had in the next 7 episodes. Surely, much of it will continue to be the outrageous and sometimes flat comedy we've seen so far. But I have hope that Kanamemo will remain faithful to the titular "Kana" by continuing to deliver on its main heroine's heartfelt growth and the friendships she garners throughout.

2009-08-15T12:37:00.007-04:00

Recently revealed and currently available for allocation at AmiAmi and Hobby Search is an original Nodoka Haramura dakimakura from the popular spring anime, 咲 Saki...

The 'A' side will feature school uniform Nodoka in a slightly compromising position with the beloved Etopen in close embrace. A good choice for the 'B' side, Nodoka will don her online personality of Mahjong Angel "Nodocchi" when the action gets serious.

As is the current trend in the chara goods industry, Nodoka's dakimakura debut will be available in 2 different qualities (with 2 different prices tags to match). The first option is a mid-quality twill weave using polyester fabric, commonly used in bed sheets and curtains. The twill weave is a weave usually reserved for durable upholstery and is known for decreasing the likelihood of wrinkles (I swear to God dakimakura are turning me into a tailor). 8,400円 SRP is what you'll expect to pay for the mid-grade, which is a step below Cospa's normal price off around $100 USD.

If fine dining and caviar is your thing, the high-grade smooth knit dakimakura will be a must. A fabric is not listed on Amiami and as a result I can't resolve the reason for its superiority. However, smooth knit is typically seen in t-shirts and gives the cover that residual stretchiness. Depending on the fabric intertwined, you may get a more velvety (and chafe free) experience during those lonely, lonely nights. Albeit for a higher price: around 9,450円 SRP.

Those of you at or going to C76 this weekend will be able to purchase your very own Nodoka dakimakura in advance. The rest of us will have to wait until it's released early October of this year.

2009-08-13T01:07:00.008-04:00

With such an expansive lexicon, correct usage of otaku terminology is paramount to understanding and being understood in this subculture. But in camps such as our own where there is no major governing body to detail what exactly is correct, talking with a fellow otaku often feels like a game of semantics. And with this post, I'll attempt to alleviate that... keyword being "attempt".

Before I launch too far, to those of you who clicked on this post looking for pictures, they're not happening. I try to deliver a visual through text but if that isn't your thing, well you're not alone; my blog isn't that popular to begin with. Sorry. But to the point:

Ever since I delved into the bishoujo figure hobby, semantics (also known as significs) has reared its ugly head on more than once occasion. To clarify for those not familiar with the purpose of such a study, semantics simply looks at the meaning of words; why do some people call dogs "pets" instead of "animals" etc. And those occasions often centered on the "figure vs figurine" dilemma. Some people refer to bishoujo figures collectively as figurines, some don't. My position is that this is a rare occasion where the Japanese know how to use our words better than we do. No matter where you look, whether it be at Gamers Main Branch or the depths of 2channel, the katakana "フィギュア" is bound to pop up in reference to bishoujo figures. Literally translated as the closest semantic and phonetic match to the English word "figure", フィギュア has come to describe the Japanese bishoujo figure scene, and rightly so.

So where does "figurine" come into play? How do you tell a "figure" from a "figurine"? Is it based on scale? The type of figure? What qualifies the use of the diminutive if the entire art is based on down scaling?

To begin to answer these questions and others, I'm going to weed out some of the common figure misnomers usually trespassed on by individuals or opponents new to the hobby:

Figure vs Statue

In my opinion, scale bishoujo PVC figures are often inaccurately labeled as "statues". The definition of "statue" is as follows: a three-dimensional work of art, as a representational or abstract form, carved in stone or wood, molded in a plastic material, cast in bronze, or the like. At face value, convincingly accurate enough. Bishoujo figures do indeed fit into each section of the definition of "statue". However, accuracy isn't only gauged on what is visibly similar but more often what is dissimilar. The word "statue" does little to highlight the fact that bishoujo figures are scale in nature and highlight human anatomy in addition to other key traits. The connotation of statues helps to further understand my point: that is, a statue is generally ANY piece of three dimensional art. Whether it be the Lincoln Memorial or the play dough masterpiece your niece just flung out of her nose. The application of "statue"'s connotation is simply too large to do any good.

Figure vs Toy

This mix-up simply requires an understanding of the basic definition of "toy" to avoid altogether. Quite simply, a "toy" is a plaything, something utilized for trifling play. Enjoying a more versatile definition that "statue", "toy" relies more so on the subject of the sentence than it's own intrinsic nature. For example, if you were to "play" with something, whether or not you consider it a "toy", for the fleeting moment it fulfills the definition. Of course, there's a whole conundrum over the many connotations of "toy" but we won't get into that now. All in all, I don't know of anyone who "plays" with scale bishoujo figures or garage kits and can compose a grammatically correct sentence in their native language without the aid of emoticons. 'Nuff said.

Figure vs Figurine

So now we come to the pièce de résistance. If you've come this far, congratulations, you're open minded and can read. My understanding of and justification in using "figure" to describe well... figures, as with previous pieces of vocab, hinges on its defintion. As it relates to modeling, the definition of figure is understood as "a representation, pictorial or sculptured, especially of the human form". The key distinction here is that the word "figure" emphasizes the display of the human element, the role of anatomy and capturing of the human form; but a few aspects inseparable to bishoujo figures. As long as the subject is anthropomorphically endowed, "figure" is by far the best descriptor. Of course, all of this is just conjecture. "フィギュア" is by far the purest descriptor, despite the fact of its complicated loan word status.

So how should "figurine" be used? Note that "figurine" is only "figure" in the English diminutive form. In fact, many people cite this as reason for using figurine over figure. By their logic, as bishoujo figures are themselves small scale, the diminutive is rightly reserved. My counterpoint again lies in the definition of "figure" and therein "figurine". That being: "figure" is already representative of an established object, meaning it is not required to be of ANY scale, as it acts as a representational proxy, not an exact carbon copy. Branching off this idea, my understanding of "figurine" lies in the comparison of the wide assortment of bishoujo figure sizes. Though 1/1 scale bishoujo figures DO exist, the wide assortment of them do not extend past 1/4 scale. Conversely, gashapon of only an inch or two take up the opposite end of the spectrum. The precise application of the word "figure" lies in a happy medium.

All this being said, the deciding factor lies with the user and their ever changing perspective. I started off mentioning that there is no body in the otaku world that regulates these kinds of things and that holds true. I only hope to further attention towards what we are really saying when we say it. I guess all that can truthfully be asserted is one man's "figure" is another's "figurine".

2009-08-12T16:38:00.010-04:00

It seems as though all hope may be lost for K-ON! fans in this year's Saimoe tournament...

Truthfully, no one expected Mio Akiyama's Saimoe upset four days ago. The event itself puts the future success of all the K-ON! females on thin ice as we look forward to upcoming matches featuring anime's ladies of light music. And today bears no better news as Tsumugi Kotobuki plunged into the icy depths of Saimoe history with a staggering loss.

Many have noticed that K-ON!'s shortcomings have less to do with the alignment of the stars and more to do with the formidable competition posed by the Saki cast. Today's results corroborate this with Touyoko Momoko's exertion of a strong lead over Tsumugi, something not seen in Mio's loss by only a handful of votes. Could this signal the end for the K-ON! faithful? Azusa "Azunyan" Nakano looks to be the only strong competitor left along with dojikko favorite Yui Hirasawa. Answers won't come until Saimoe resumes from a 4 day break. Until then, repent and pray your waifus will be saved.

2009-08-12T05:01:00.009-04:00

The brutal combination of sweltering heat and a post-Wonfes figure glut only signals one thing: Summer Comiket is fast approaching; the only event guaranteed to raise the dead. Case in point: Mogudan's new doujinshi.

Prominent doujin circles are starting to climb up from the depths of the void thanks to the biannual summit on erotic fan crafted artistry, known more accurately as Comic Market. One such artist (a top favorite of mine) is Nakayohi Mogudan also known as Yukinobu Azumi, Mogudan, or just Mogu.

The last we saw of Mogudan in the doujinshi scene was the acclaimed Under Ground, his first title under a new circle "Neko Panchi Bashi Bashi". Formerly working under circle Nakayohi with fellow artist Izurumi (known for playing Asuka to Mogu's Rei), Mogudan now collaborates with Nyangorou of Bashi Bashi in a structure suited to both of their respective talents. Nyangorou crafts the narrative aspects of Bashi Bashi doujinshi, managing scenario and dialogue, while Mogudan supplies his artistic expertise with character designs and illustrations. This masterful division of labor has found favor with many as a translation to noticeable spikes in quality. Where in the past much of Mogudan's work utilized heavy in medias res composition, doujinshi from the partnership with Nyangorou delivers character development and background not usually seen from Mogudan's pen.

This new pasture is further explored in Bashi Bashi's newest opus (seen above) "Maid-san no Hon - Boku no Imouto Hen", roughly translated as "Ms. Maid's Book - My Little Sister Chapter". A preview is available here via the Bashi Bashi website (NSFW). Maid-san no Hon is being released at Summer Comiket 76 held this weekend, August 14th to the 16th. Stats list the release as B5 size, with a full color cover, and 32 pages in length.

Here's to a new age of Mogudan doujinshi!

2009-08-08T22:58:00.008-04:00

It's more likely than you think. That is, all signs are pointing to "yes" but then again... where is it?

Fiction inside of fiction taking the extraordinary leap passed its perpetual state of indebted bondage under metafiction into a higher dimension is not unheard of. Past examples include Kujibiki Unbalance from Genshiken and more recently Getsumento Heiki Mina from the romantic Densha Otoko series. These being more prominent examples of bridging such an intellectual gap, what are the chances of an anime within a sleeper-hit game like Suda 51's neo-noir No More Heroes receiving a life and blood anime adaptation?

From what's already been said, pretty damn good. On March 15 2008, Goichi Suda himself said the following:

"...We were actually in discussions to do something with the Bizarre Jelly characters as seen on Travis' shirt, but I have no idea how serious they were. Hey, tell your readers if they want to see it, write in and give them the feedback. There's every chance it could get made."

Well, here we are more than a year later and nothing earth shattering has been announced. Albeit aside from arguably something more important: No More Heroes 2, which isn't scheduled to be released until Q1 next year. Will NMH2 relaunch the effort to get this eclectic mix of mahou shoujo and super robot the likes of which not seen since its closest modern thematic relative animated? No one really knows, but there are a few more subcutaneous coincidences that might aid in this dream becoming a reality:

- Yuusuke Kozaki supplied character designs for No More Heroes as well as G0nzo's original series Speed Grapher

- Okama was the character designer behind the Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly threesome. Okama also did character designs for Getsumento Heiki Mina which was also a derivative work and also animated by Gonzo

-There are probably more connections that I'm unaware of but the fact remains:

Someone needs to make this happen already.

2009-08-08T16:03:00.016-04:00

Apparently being the most popular female from the most popular anime of your season (and the foreseeable year) doesn't reserve you a free ride in the rigors of Saimoe. Who knew?

The aftermath of today's Saimoe results for the second grouping of section B2 presented something most unsettling for fans of Mio Akiyama from Kyoto Animation's K-ON!. The four contestant group had Mio combating Kana (Minami-ke Okaeri), Hiro (Hidamari Sketchx365), and Tarou (Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei). Quite needless to say at this point, and against all premonition, Mio lost against Kana 526 to 563.

This immediate loss has left many bereft of comfort. Though to accommodate some notion of logical thought, it was indeed a close match as graphically illustrated below:

Kana, represented in red, and Mio, represented in blue, were tangled numerous times all throughout the voting period; their lines bisecting on more than one occasion (unlike Tarou...who never left the ground). Though this chromosomal movement isn't rare in matches featuring two favored bishoujo, an impetuous finale, the likes of today's, is.

My consolation to all the Mio fans.

2009-08-07T04:17:00.007-04:00

Though I don't often cover otaku terminology, this gem is just too precious to pass up...

Ever since otaku have congealed into a self-aware subculture during the mid 20th century, they've taken more than their fair share of shit. Whether by their own unjustified inferiority complex or the slings of the mass media, the life of an otaku just trying to get by is never an easy one. As the cliche goes, there's at least one person who ruins things for everyone. And many will agree who that person is: Tsutomu Miyazaki.

Those unfamiliar with Miyazaki and his crimes would do well to read the provided Wikipedia article. To summarize, his grotesque and inhuman series of murders was latched onto the otaku subculture by the Japanese mass media after anime tapes (among live-action slasher films) were found in his apartment. For the first time in history, the everyday Japanese person thought they knew what an otaku was: a nutcase ready to snap. This was the picture painted by news surrounding Miyazaki's murders. Unfortunately, the image is still implanted in some individuals' minds today.

Since Miyazaki, there have been a small handful of similar blows to the otaku image. Each being painstakingly embellished by reporters in the media; blanket statement after blanket statement. Of course, many people know that they have nothing to fear from Akihabara congregations but others still carry a chip on their shoulder.

Japanese journalist Akihiro Otani is just one such person. Coining the term "Figure Moe Zoku", translated loosely as "Figure Lover Gang", Otani attempted to legitimize the theory that figure otaku were likely to commit serious crimes not falling short of murder. In a Hail Mary attempt to connect otaku with the 2004 murder of a 7 year old girl by Kaoru Kobayashi, Otani was quoted with saying that Kobayashi killed the young girl after kidnapping her in order to make her into a vessel similar to a PVC figure. The morning Kobayashi was arrested, Otani was again quoted with calling him a "figure otaku", mistaking the term to mean a lolicon. In reality, Kobayashi never owned a single bishoujo figure and was far from an otaku of any sorts; epitomizing the heavy bias present among the media.

The term Figure Moe Zoku has become so popular with actual otaku, that it won the Okada Toshio award at the Japanese Otaku Awards of 2004. Today, it is used as a inside joke among bishoujo figure enthusiasts to poke fun at Japanese media and otakuphobes in general. Where one would say "Wow, you own a lot of bishoujo figures!", the reply would be along the lines of "Yeah, I'm part of the Figure Moe Zoku" and so on.

On a side note, those wondering what "otamastics" might mean: Ota (prefix signifying "otaku") + onomastics = (study of the origins of terms used in specialized fields) = otamastics. Tell your friends.

2009-08-06T11:12:00.011-04:00

Evangelion merchandise no longer! Well, at least for now anway...

Figure manufacturer Wave Corp. has introduced 9 new super deformed members of their preexisting "nano!" series of non-scale PVC figurines. Starting off as a mere suffix, the "nano!" series began around 2007 with figures based on original anthropomorphized illustrations (by Mine Yoshizaki) of the Angels from Neon Genesis Evangelion, such as Sachiel seen above. Sculpted by zenko and Rin Hiroshi (林浩己), these highly stylized pieces were a fresh of breath air from the proliferation of painfully generic Evangelion figure smog (Sega is still making tandem Rei and Asuka PVCs).

Even though Evangelion has found its way back into everyday otaku conversation via the Rebuild movies, Wave has taken a step back from Gainax's magnus opus in support of more niche series among the Akihabara elite. Those include: Magical Princess Minky Momo (a dated Mahou Shoujo anime series with a cult following), Etrian Odyssey I and II (An Atlus dungeon crawler RPG with SD character designs), and Creamy Mami (a Studio Pierrot anime classic and step above Minky Momo in popularity).

For the classic Mahou Shoujo duo of Momo and Mami, Wave will release 2 separate figures of each magical girl. Of Momo's PVCs, one will feature her original 1982 designs (left) and the other her 1991 redux. For Mami, a PVC will capture her character before transformation and the other will detail her after.

Characters featured in the Etrian Odyssey nano! series will include the major RPG archetypes: Paladin Girl, Bushido Girl (left), Medic Girl, Gunner Girl, and Doctor Magnus Girl.

The first Momo and Mami PVCs are due out in the last third of November while the second of each is due out in December. Etrian Odyssey I PVCs (Paladin, Medic, and Bushido) are due out in December while Etrian Odyssey 2 characters (Doctor Magnus, Gunner) are scheduled for release in January of 2010. All nano! figures retail for a fair 2600 yen.

2009-08-05T17:27:00.021-04:00

Somehow, in the cut throat avenues of recession-time otakudom, imitation looses its flattery...

21st century figure giants Good Smile Company (GSC) and their autonomous but often tangential partner Max Factory (MF) are known powerhouses in today's market. The former handling all aspects of the PVC world with a firm grasp; from distribution to marketing to manufacturing. While the later is more creatively focused on pioneering unique sculpts and concepts. In recent years, both GSC and MF have collectively taken over several niches pioneered by competitors; those being super deformed (SD) and posable action figures respectively.

Either company's intellectual territoriality has become so strong, the brand names Figma and Nendoroid are thought to be actual classifications of figures, rather than subsets of a higher scale. Neither Max Factory nor Good Smile invented points of articulation or SD figures (their roots being too archaic and dubious to do any justice here) but both were preceded by other competitors who first cut into this untapped market. Back in the mid-to-late 90's, Xebec Toys and Kaiyodo had the articulated figure market in a strangle hold with Eva and Hokuto no Ken releases. While posable bishoujo figures were available from Xebec Toys (who has of recent, sizzled down), they had yet to achieve the affluence we see today. For the modern posable figure scene, Konami's online tie-in Busou Shinki series began in the fall of 2006 and Kaiyodo's mecha heavy Revoltech series began a few months earlier in the spring. Max Factory didn't bring their Figma series to the table until almost 2 years later with the release of Yuki Nagato in February of 2008.

However, it is interesting to note the critical effect Figma had on the posable status quo. Launching out of the gate with bishoujo characters steeped in moe, Figma quickly prodded both Kaiyodo and Konami to up their game. Busou Shinki had until then been producing action figures of original anthropomorphic bishoujo animal characters. Soon after the push from Max Factory, they began licensing characters from their existing anime properties such as Sky Girls and Gurren Lagann for Busou Shinki updates. The same holds true for Kaiyodo, who had been enjoying large success with mecha figures from such revered properties as Getter Robo and Mazinger Z. The mecha figure giant boosted their Fraulein Revoltech series of popular anime and game heroines to no doubt compensate for market loss. In both cases, the power of established bishoujo characters had been largely underestimated.

Soon after Figma settled into its comfortable status as the go-to-figure for posable play, numerous copycats with unsettling similarities entered the scene. Here's a couple to give you an idea:

Yujin's Q-Joy series. Featured characters from Nanatsuiro Drops, Shakugan no Shana, Lucky Star and Haruhi. For the most part, a giant flop. While the licensed characters were top notch, Yujin (as they often do) fell apart in production quality with their unattractively massive joints.

Yamato's severely limited run Variable Motion Figure series. Featured only 3 characters: Major Kusanagi (left), Lena (Queen's Blade) and Ryoumou (Ikki Tousen). Fairly quality but Yamato's undoing was the price tag: around $70 to $80 for 1/7 scale posables. Needles to say, they probably didn't sell as many as hoped for.

As business goes, there is no shortage of rivals currently looking to push the king from his metaphorical hill. This year's Wonder Festival has proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Take a look at these attempts at usurpation :

As seen above, Griffon Enterprise's Figyutto series. Much to the same effect as Figma, with a decidedly female focus. Tamaki from ToHeart 2 looks to be the first character up being produced under Figyutto. Nothing further but we'll see where it goes.

Yamato seems to be getting back into it with this re imaging of Cerberus Project's previously released Ignis PVC, completely redone using "Creative Evolution Action Joint technology". Had this not been at the Yamato booth I suspect people would think Max Factory was responsible.

Kaiyodo has opened a new line in its Revoltech series featuring Queen's Blade characters, appropriately titled "Revoltech Queen's Blade". Characters so far include Menace (left), Echidna, Airi, Nanael, Lena, and Melona.

Figma's major success has been the based on their vast selection of popular characters, padded production quality, and a relatively small price tag. We'll see if the competition can keep up.

2009-08-03T21:51:00.008-04:00

Saimoe 2009 is now upon us. And so begins the devastating bloodshed...

HEAVEN OR HELL

The preliminary rounds of the most famous bishoujo popularity poll in history have ended and tomorrow, August 4th, the hellfire is unleashed with the first round of groups A1 and A2.

This year's participants derive from TV series, OVAs, and movie releases falling between July 1st 2008 and June 30th of 2009 (the brackets can be found here). As such, this eliminates the presence of characters appearing in anime airing during the current Summer season. Interestingly enough, however, there has been a strong resurgence of more antiquated titles this past year and the roster clearly elucidates this. The cast of Lucky Star (via the LS OVA), Holo (via the Spice and Wolf OVA), Haruhi and others (via Haruhi-chan), Winry (via FMA), and a multiplicity of others join up in what is sure to be a Saimoe to remember.

Of course, all eyes are firmly resolved on the newcoming cast of Kyo-Ani's slice of life adaptation of kakifly's 4koma, K-ON!; in particular, the maiden-esque Mio Akiyama and dojikko Yui Hirasawa. But it's still anyone's guess who will take the prize of most popular moekko of 2009. Tsundere Kagami Hiiragi of Lucky Star took that title last year, preceded by loli Rika Furude of Higurashi in 2007.

My personal picks include: Hinamori Amu (Shugo Chara), Haramura Nodoka (Saki), Nodoka Manabe (K-ON!), Tsugumi Aoba (Kannagi), Minori Kushieda (Toradora!), and Yoko (Gurren Lagann). Though I know Amu might not make it passed round 1 (up against Ui from K-ON!), I have hope.

As always, pkjd and Moetron will be providing timely coverage of significant rounds and bracket winners. Best luck to all.

LET'S ROCK

2009-08-02T11:49:00.006-04:00

Never underestimate the availability of domain names...

It looks as though my reservation of the domain name "sigfigs.net" has expired. The instant that occurred, a bot swallowed it up and converted it to a one stop shop for game hunting and college girls. Thus cockblocking my ability to reclaim sigfigs.net. So, Sigfigs is now officially at sigfigs.org for the time being. Minorin says it best above.

Sorry for any inconvenience this might cause. I'm having enough trouble keeping up.

2009-07-31T22:37:00.012-04:00

Wonder Festival 2009 Summer has come and gone. But all is not lost for those of us left behind...

Harvesting the photographic fruits gathered by those fortunate enough to partake in the annual orgy of resin sex is usually a non-attendee's only consolation. All ankle biting aside, coverage is everywhere and the sheer volume of work on display assures that site loyalty will only prove to give you a meager piece of the pie.

And that's exactly what I'd like to attempt to do with this post.

I've amassed and compiled some 1000 pictures from this year's WonFes. My intermittent carpel tunnel is your perpetual eye candy. They can be found here via Rapidshare. I'm sorry if that isn't your favorite host; it's not mine either. I'm having some internet problems and Rapidshit is the only viable alternative to Mediafire and Megaupload I can speak for.

http://rapidshare.com/files/262640716/Wonfes_2009_Roundup.rar

As to their content, the vast majority focus on bishoujo GKs and PVCs (if that isn't your thing, ~~what the fuck are you doing here?~~ its just the nature of the beast). Also featured in smaller quantity: Otoko, Kaiju, Mecha, overview shots, cosplay, booth babes, industry displays, and whatever else I happened to click on.

By no means is this intended to be an airtight compendium of all the kits on display, just a cross section. There will be a few duplicates in the batch (of the same figure, not the same photo) and the whole folder is largely unorganized. Notes on figure title, release date, retail price, scale, sculptor, circle, and vendor are absent except in those photos where the placard generally containing this information is found. These drawbacks will just have to be tolerated. Again, this is only a overview.

With that, I did not take and am not claiming ownership to any of these photos. They belong to their respective owners as indicated by watermarks. Sites include: Akibablog, Moeyo, Dannychoo, HLJ. Do these guys a favor for their camera work with a hit or two.

2009-07-17T15:48:00.007-04:00

Duly laminated. Thank you very much Bandai. Props to Office Max; you always do me good.

2009-07-12T03:53:00.010-04:00

After about 4 years of the bishoujo figure hobby, I'm allowed to make a mistake or two aren't I?

Yes, my first bootleg. At the very least least, the first so blatantly obvious I'm aware of it. Some back story would be appropriate. Living in Indiana, the largest and most readily available anime convention in an approachable circumfrence is Anime Central in Chicago, the premier (and only, as far as I'm concerned) Midwest anime convention. My main objective in going each year is to unload my savings on figures and doujinshi in one massive annual haul. The selection is varied but quite good. Hard-to-find figures with production runs over 5 years old are readily available if your willing to look (and unlike eBay, you know what you'll be getting is genuine...almost). New releases are even harder to find, so my mission is going for dated but rare quality figures (the doujinshi selection is up-to-date however. K-ON! doujinshi was in no short supply at ACen '09 back in May when KyoAni's next hit was still in its infancy). In fact, ACen was the dawn of my figure infatuation. Back in 2006, MegaHouse's 1/8 scale Aki Hinata PVC stole my heart and was my first scale PVC purchase. Up until then, my collection was comprised of whatever random trading figures the local Sam Goody decided to stock. But enough reminiscing.

This past ACen '09, still in a blur from having over a grand to spend, I stumbled upon a small vendor on the sales floor. Max Factory's Mizuho Kazami PVC sculpted by Chieri and released back in 2003 seemed like a good find, especially for a discounted $40. The sculpt was strong but I noticed her shirt had a green tint, strange compared to the white pictured on the box. I thought "Ah! This must be a limited edition color variant!", increasing my reasoning for purchasing her. I mulled over it, reminded that I still had a few more booths to go before I had seen all of this year's selection. After digesting the idea for a while, it was decided that Mizuho was a definite get. Long story short, after I returned home I discovered her bootleg status.

My first tip off, she weighs a ton. The wooden base she's glued to by whatever means doesn't account for 1/3 of her weight. Second, her glasses snapped off her face as soon as I removed her plastic molds. In fact, they were actually glued to a rudimentary cut notch above her nose. The third was how pale and transient her skin was (in the main picture of this post you can see what I mean by looking at her right hand). And the final nail in the coffin was an actual lock of her hair snapping off like a brittle twig. This was all confirmed by some research. Apparently, there were only 500 made (quite unbelievably) and are well-known enough to be listed separately on Tsuki-Board. (Oh the irony of that 'Made in China' disclaimer).

It's not that I completely regret my first bootleg purchase. Quite the contrary. Onegai Teacher is easily in my top 20 series and Mizuho is the quintessential example of junai moe. I also believe the Chieri's sculpt, however much of it was preserved, communicates her character well. Of course, if I could purchase the real deal, I'd jump on it. I think I've power leveled my critical eye to at least lvl 80 after this purchase though.

2009-07-10T00:43:00.004-04:00

So I spend $700 for a new laptop only to be set back an additional $40 to make it aesthetically tolerable...

And I think I succeeded. I've had my Dell Studio for a few months now but it was definitely missing something. Dell helped mediate that, albeit at a fairly steep price. Their skins are high quality, reusable, and durable but, for being a giant sticker, they're extremely expensive. Though if you can find an image you'll never want to part with, the price is well worth it. Ita + pasocon = Itacon?

2009-07-09T19:32:00.004-04:00

It's Thursday and the Nagi-sama Fanclub Homepage has again been routinely updated but this time with something very enigmatic...

Every Thursday since the site's launch at the end of May, regular updates have been featured on this off-shoot of the official English version Kannagi website. The site is based off of the Nagi-sama Fanclub's Homepage featured in Eri Takenashi's manga and A-1 pictures anime adaptation. Previous updates have been usually fanfare: wallpaper, character bios, TV spots, and promotional videos.

But today, the site updated with a mysterious mosaic and the promise that next week a special message from a special someone will be delivered. A mosaic is featured of what appears to be the always stylish Kannagi director Yutaka Yamamoto or Yamakan as he's known by his fans (seen below).

Though we'll have to wait until next Thursday for any further revelations, speculation is already abounding. Could Kannagi be getting another season? OVA? The US license treatment? Or is Yamakan just going to wish everyone a happy summer?

2009-07-08T19:15:00.009-04:00

The second showing from Orchid Seed's newly established Comic Unreal series looks even more promising then last year's Onna Kenshi Feane PVC...

Announced a few months back and with a scheduled release this September, Succubus Sylvia kicked off what appears to be a new series for Orchid Seed. Their first foray into Mogudan's Comic Unreal characters came with the 1/6 scale Onna Kenshi Feane PVC in March of last year with rather mixed reviews. Sculpted by Ishiyama Satoshi, Feane had top-notch physique; faithfully capturing the eccentricities of Mogudan's "healthy" design but lacked accuracy in her facial features. Though still a strong presentation from a veteran artist, Feane might come to be outshined.

This time around, well-known sculptor Yamachichi of Heavy Gauge is stepping up to the Mogudan challenge. Yamachichi is revered for his work on buxom bishoujo figures including Megahouse's Cattleya, Tomoe, and Melona PVCs. If three figures from arguably the most bounce-centric series of the new millennium doesn't win you over, his Sylvia is sure to impress. Besides the obvious demonic fantasy elements (complete with creative tentacle base), Sylvia's breast will be on display from the get go, leading me to wonder how censored her packaging will be. Feane had a swappable breast plate accessory that aided the imagination but featured no bare breasts to the extent Sylvia does. September will surely be an interesting month for Mogudan fans and hobbyists alike.

Sylvia is open for pre-orders from all major retailers for a recession-friendly retail price of 8,700円.

2009-07-07T15:49:00.009-04:00

Though it's been almost a full year since my last post here on Sigfigs..., I do not have any intention of letting this blog go the way of the colloquial dodo or, to state it in a more familiar manner, the way of HD (on a side note, I still haven't lost all hope of Shingo's resurrection), but back the point.

Sigfigs was really born out of my cherished free time and once that environment is lost or diminished, managing it becomes more of a hassle. Now that I've successfully freed my schedule from the bindings of monotonous high school life, you (that is, the 2 or 3 people a week who happen to stumble on Sigfigs for whatever reason) can expect a resurgence of activity, however finite it may be. I'll be cleaning up posts, organizing the site, and finishing reviews in the coming weeks, so new posts may not be simple clockwork as they use to. But who knows.

Believe in your force and head for the Garden of Madness.

2008-11-29T16:08:00.018-05:00

Figure Title: Urushihara Satoshi Comike no Onna no Ko
Character Name: Comiket Girl (Comike no Onna no Ko)
Original Character Designer: Satoshi Urushihara
Sculptor:Tsuchida Kouzen
Source Material:Original Illustration
Scale: Non-Scale
Base:
Color: Candy Red
Shape: Circular
Features: None
Necessary Removable Parts: None
Removable Parts/Accessories: Red Hat (molded fit)
Castoffability: White Portion of Blouse
Materials: PVC, ABS
Packaging: Windowed Box, 4 Plastic Interlocking Molds
Extras/Pack-ins: Illustrated backdrop
Release Date: Early November, 2008
Manufacturing/Production: Movic
Distribution/Vendor:Exhaust
Suggested Retail Price: 6090円
Related PVCs:1/7 scale Unchou (Garage Kit)

2008-11-27T21:58:00.006-05:00

No, America's infamous biker gang hasn't found its way into Madhouse anime. Yes, Hell's Angels is looking to be a must-see title for 2009...

The anime adaptation of Shinichi Hiromoto's gothic manga of the same name premiered last month at the Tokyo International Film Festival following much anticipation. Animation production is handled by renowned and edgy studio Madhouse with the directorial role being filled by Yoshiki Yamakawa. The feature film's official site recently uploaded a streaming promotional video featuring actual animation, music, and seiyuu. Oh, and Luciferian Elvis impersonators. It can be found here.

Source: [ANN]

2008-11-22T14:51:00.038-05:00

Figure Title: Solid Theater Girl Series: Comic Papipo String Swimsuit Girl
Character Name: Himomizugi Onna no Ko (String Swimsuit Girl)
Original Character Designer: Miwa Miwa
Sculptor: Shinano
Source Material: Comic Papipo Monthly (September 2006)
Scale: 1/7
Base:
Color: Tan/Sandy White
Shape: Circular
Features: Ocean floor design
Necessary Removable Parts: Base attachment
Removable Parts/Accessories: None
Castoffability: White Sundress, Nipple Covers, String Bikini [Compromise]
Materials: PVC, ABS
Packaging: Windowed Box, 2 Plastic Interlocking Molds
Extras/Pack-ins: Bubble Illustrated backdrop
Release Date: Early October, 2008
Manufacturing/Production: Solid Theater
Distribution: Movic
Approximate Retail Price:≈7,410円
Related PVCs: Meido Onna no Ko

Foreword:

Ero manga anthologies are nothing new. The self-health care industry in Japan might even be saturated with them. From Comic Aun and Comic Unreal to Comic Penguin Club and the loli publication known as Comic LO, otaku should have no trouble meeting their monthly (read: daily) allowance of the 'one arm clean and jerk' with so many choices. Perhaps the best feature of ero manga anthologies is the fact that they're a collaborative effort of not only the compiling staff and publisher but of each individual mangaka contributing his own spice to the mix. You'll get a hodgepodge of style, design, fetishes and artistic execution in a punctual compendium of ero. And sometimes, bishoujo figures might even be cast in a cover girl's likeness. Orchid Seed has been no stranger to the popularity of anthologies and their impressive repertoire of ero manga cover girl PVCs isn't afraid to show it. More and more companies have begun both creating in-house figures and recruiting the PVC-ification of extant garage kits based on ero manga girls, maybe in effort to explore an untapped market. Whatever the reason, we all profit from what are often mid to high quality, castoffable figures of very shapely and seductive characters. Ofcourse, not barring the recently released String Bikini Girl of Comic Papipo. Part of Solid Theaters's "Onna no Ko" series, many have waited to get their hands on this erotic and beautiful figure since it was announced many moons ago. So, was it worth the wait?

Sculpt:

And the sculpt answers with a resounding "yes". Head to toe, String Swimsuit Girl (or SSG) does not disappoint. Two critical features of any figure, in my opinion, are the face (including all of its features) and hair. The main reason being, scoping a figure, they're usually seen first and are a major selling point. A figure can have an excellently sculpted body with an interesting, dynamic pose and masterful proportions but if the face falls flat, a major portion of what the figure could have been is lost. Luckily, SSG surpassed expectations in both of these categories as well. Her eyes are bold and very defined, and the total of her heart shaped face fits any angle of view. The thematic elements in her hair help score some major points in my book. The sea lilies adorning her head are a granted, as they're featured in Miwa Miwa's original illustration, but the way Shinano handled her ribbons (almost like seaweed) and hair is a sight to behold. The latter of which is spread out in such a way that it immediately conjures the thought of water, especially the slow and free-paced flow of hair while in it.

• The string bikini itself was a definite selling point for this figure. On the ball, its closer to shibari than swim wear but contrasts well with SSG's otherwise demure look about her. Masterfully intricate and very erotic. While the opaque pearl nipple covers are entirely welcomed, the very bright pink nipples are not. It looks more like SGG has a pair of high intensity LEDs strapped to her tits than a translucent bikini. They aren't all bad but I would have liked to see something much more subdued. Taking a cue from clothing discussion, we arrive at SGG's cast-off features. Her white sundress is easily removable; the strap she holds in her right hand breaks into two, allowing the dress to be peeled away from around her back. The only real problem with this being the obstacle her hair poses in the process. My first time removing the sundress, there was some unsatisfactory paint transfer from it to her buttocks due to her hair limiting maneuverability of actually castoffing the dress. It's rather rigid, possibly constructed of ABS, making it difficult to bend around and very easy to transfer paint. If cast-off is a must, patience with SGG will be necessary.

Production:

As far as production quality is concerned, I have no major qualms. No blatant color bleeding, no unsightly mold lines, no casting errors, not much to worry about really. There are a few inconsistencies with paint on her small accessories as well as the area where her swimsuit meets her left armpit but unless you focus SSG under immense scrutiny, they don't take away from the overall quality.

One notable problem I did find, however, was one concerning the base. As seen in the above pictures, SSG is actually connected to a small platform, angled to accommodate the different position of her feet. Really, a base on a base. The main problem with this being the platform does not connect firmly with the base, enabling SSG to rotate slightly and, in extreme case of movement, actually dislodge. This could have been easily remedied had the platform been more tightly fitted to the prongs found on the base, which are realistically tiny. Of course, toppling SSG is no major concern (unless you live in an earthquake prone area) and for the most part she remains relatively static.

At a Glance

☺ Erotic, eromanga based character, beautiful anatomy and features

☹ Difficulty/Paint transfer in cast-off, base production problems

Score:

Final = 4/5