winter break start!

i've been feeling kind of dead lately, but i'm getting off my ass and posting about something!! (my definition of being productive…) i feel like talking about quite a few things today (tonight?) so keep reading to find out !!

source: kotobukiya blog

i am so so so SO excited. she's being released in less than a week!! and a few weeks after that she will be mine!! i think they did a great job with the box is it so adorable… it's just like EXTRA icing on the cake!! ^__^ i don't remember the pink of the base being that bright, but nevertheless i'm still happy about her, and in love with the figure!! ruri-chan is gonna be my first standing-upright scale figure (mayoi and nia are both like… lying around) and i'm actually so excited about it omfg you have no idea…!!

lately, kantai collection (kancolle) has perked my interest. all i know about it is that it's some sort of game where there are cute girls that are like the personifications of various warships or something… i guess i should look into trying to play it, but i bet there aren't any translations or english patches out wahhh!! i THINK i read somewhere that they're getting an anime adaptation soon, so i'm gonna be looking out for that too!! anyways, shimakaze (i'm pretty sure that's her name) has been getting a lot of exposure lately, and she's soooo adorable i'm pretty sure if i played the game i would love her!! she already has a nendo out for preorder (some places are even sold out of her wtf…) and a figma coming up and even a scale!!!

source: good smile company

source: max factory figma blog

shimakaze-chan is so adorable it's unfair!! the scale is being done by amakuni (i'm not familiar with the company at all) but i'll be looking forward to it! i'm still waiting on the nagisa momoe scale, and for alter to release their shinobu prototype… but who knows when that will happen…

i've been overdosing on anime a little bit the past two days. (excuse: "i'm recharging!!") i finished sword art online, and i'm almost done chihayafuru season 2 (gonna watch the last episode when i wake up tomorrow). chihayafuru is SUCH a gem!! from just the synopsis/description of the anime you might not be expecting much… honestly i don't remember why i picked it up, but i love it to pieces, and i think everyone should give it a try! it's such a heartwarming anime with some really great characters, and i wanna get more people to appreciate it. ^__^ anyways, sword art was pretty good… i didn't even think the second arc was that bad. i don't want to say anything because of spoilers but yeah… i think the whole show was worth the watch. but every time i watch a new anime, it gets me kind of attached to the characters, and then i start to look up merch/figures of them… you see why i'm hesitant to get into new series ugh…

!!! YUI IS MY DAUGHTER!!! i think she was my favorite character to be honest, just because of how fucking CUTE she was!! well, i guess i kind of want the kirito figma (maybe even the nendo…) and i want an asuna figure (even though none of them really speak out to me. asuna was gorgeous as titania and badass af in her blood knight uniform but i'm not 100% satisfied with any of her figures) but check out this piece of work by griffon:

source: griffon enterprises

i know right?!?! a 1/1 scale yui… she looks sooo precious and perfect here, but of course i feel a bit wary because i mean… griffon… i'm waiting for more people to post user photos, but there don't seem to be that many up at all on mfc. i guess i'll just put her on my (massive) wishlist and wait for a better time. she would look perfect with the rest of my display though…

lastly, i just wanna talk about something that's kind of exciting!!

i know!! i know right!! medicom (the company that makes the real action heroes series) is coming out with a 1/8th maka scale for their "perfect posing products" line!! wow, i don't think i've ever seen a high quality soul eater figure and this just makes me so happy since it was such a great serious. (not to mention that soul is included in this figure too, but i mean of course he would be!!)

source: all photos from digitamin blog

honestly, i don't think i'll be preordering her (i don't know if she'll fit in with the rest of my display…) but i'll definitely be admiring her from afar… maka looks so good here. her pose is excellent, and the detail in the way her clothes are fluttering around are just so perfect, and is just so reminiscent of her fights in the anime!! her eyes are different from how they were depicted in the anime, but i think it turned out pretty well, and her expression is really fitting. i think this figure could have turned out really boring color-scheme wise (i mean her outfit is mostly neutral colors) but something about the pops of red on her skirt, and on her scythe (soul) make the whole thing work. i'm looking forward to this one!! (preorders start on december 24th so keep your eyes peeled!!)

supposed to be studying

i'm at the library in kind of a bad location (if someone walks behind me they can totally see what i'm doing, not that that's ever stopped me before) and i have two tests on wednesday... my laptop's almost dead and i forgot to bring my charger, so i figured why not write a lil something before it dies!! (mia logic ^___^)

anyways, to my surprise, someone updated kuroneko's mfc entry with a release date!! apparently she's being released on the 18th (that's just a little over a week from today!!) which i'm so so happy about. i've been trying for the last couple of minutes while to figure out where her release date was posted (i've tried navigating koto's website but i'm so confused… i wish it was like gsc's main page wah) but i'm seriously so lost and i can't find a release calendar or anything… i guess i'll try again later when my brain isn't (completely) fried.

akibahobby did a review gallery with wave's new madoka beach queen figure, and now i feel kind of bad for saying she looked super derpy in a previous post. her face actually looks pretty decent! (it's definitely an improvement over the first madoka BQ figure…)

i guess this is just the prototype though, and i've always been a little wary of beach queens because the photos of the prototypes don't really match up to photos of the actual product taken by other collectors. i've always wanted to give them a try though because some of them are soooo frickin adorable, and their prices are pretty decent. (i suppose it's due to their 1/10th scale, but still.) i'll probably consider buying a cheaper used one in the future maybe, just to see what their faces are like in real life. (i actually had a lot of BQs on my wishlist, but after seeing user photos i made myself reconsider most of them...)

source: akibahobby

i guess it isn't really that special, but i mean i love love LOVE white, frilly bikinis…!! also not to mention it happens to be MADOKA sporting it... (please refer to the koto 4-leaves misaka mikoto figure!! that figure is actually kind of perfect, and i guess i shouldn't be comparing it to a beach queen.) i kind of wish she didn't have that flower thing stuck on her bikini strap (i don't know why, but it kind of throws things off for me) and i wish she had another hair piece where her hair was tied up in a ponytail…!! and like, i guess her face doesn't look super dumb but it definitely could have been a lot more expressive. hell, it's a BQ figure though so what can we expect?

more photos of bandai's figuarts zero sailor mercury figure were released, and i'm actually so excited for her!! i was considering preordering usagi, but i wasn't completely in love with her for some reason so i held off on that. (i prefer her s.h. figuarts a hundred times more honestly.) ami's figure looks SO gorgeous though! as a kid, she was my favorite sailor scout for various reasons (my favorite color was blue, i loved how she was the smartest of the inner senshi, water was my favorite element, etc.) and this figure just brings back so many nice feelings of nostalgia. not to mention that it gets me all riled up for whatever's going on with the sailor moon reboot next season!!

source: natalie.mu

i REALLY hope that her painted prototype turns out well, because i think this has a lot of potential!! i love how simple the figure actually is, but her pose and the use of water just bring everything together so perfectly.  it's elegant but playful, and i hope her expression ends up mirroring that. i'll be keeping an eye on this one for sure, and i really hope that bandai doesn't disappoint...

one of the biggest cuties in the UNIVERSE!! ^__^

lastly, racing miku 2013 will be up for preorder starting tomorrow! kahotan did a review on her blog today, and it looks like gsc did a good job with her (as always). i don't really know how i feel about all these versions of the same miku (i mean o.k. the illustrations are all different, but they're all the same miku... plus she is literally everywhere anyways!!) but nonetheless, they are all gorgeous and assured to be extremely popular. (i don't even see why i had to state that since it's pretty much a universal law by now.)

source: kahotan's blog

i mean i am a fan of miku (i'm actually pretty sad that i don't own any miku merch yet) but honestly i'd rather have max factory's luka!! pink hair (don't care), tony taka, and the fact that she has a cast-offable dress (!!! important !!!) just make her sooo perfect to me. i'm considering getting even more because the lady whose voice sample became luka is a guest at otafest this year, and i could get her to sign the base for me if i had it!!

there are a few miku figures that have caught my eye (especially the deep sea miku that's going to be released soon... she's too perfect and gorgeous) but i'll hold off on those until later i suppose. i'm done complaining for today!! ^___^

current preorders

i said i was gonna do a post about the current figure preorders i have, and since i'm procrastinating homework and studying i might as well just do it now!! man, preordering stuff is just so fun and exciting (like going on an adventure), and now i'm getting all nostalgic about my first one… it actually was just a couple months ago that i received magical nia by phat! company in the mail, and it was the best feeling ever. well i guess the few weeks before her actual release were kind of stressful (photos of terrible seamlines, messy hair paint, etc. got me all sad and freaked out) but when i got her, all my worries completely disappeared. be right back i need to go take a look at her right now for no reason. (she's pretty much perfect and i really highly recommend her!! her hair IS a bit messy, but overall, her pose, bubblegum colors, and just the dynamic of the entire figure together make her worth it. not to mention that lord genome staff… the only thing is that i wish her base was a bit more stable.)

o.k. i'm getting completely off track. so i guess the preorder that's chronologically closest to being released (please no delays please no delays please no delays) is kotobukiya's kuroneko -sweet lolita-!! her release date is set for late december, so hopefully that's going to be in a few weeks!

i'm soooo excited to get her..!! i still need to watch season two of oreimo, but kuroneko is by far my favorite character in the series. (not to mention that her seiyuu is my sweet baby hanazawa kana…) how i managed to preorder her is kind of a funny story. she was sold out on preorders this past summer (not anymore, i think i read somewhere that koto does preorders in batches, so she's up again at places like amiami in case anyone wanted to grab her too!) and i was really sad about it… but one night i randomly woke up at like 4:00 AM or something, and my friend had tweeted me that she was back up for order!! i pretty much ran to my computer to order her, then slept the rest of the night like a baby… i felt sooo great in the morning when i woke up and saw that she was sold out again!! but now she's been on sale again for ages so...

source: all photos from akibahobby

seriously though… kuroneko in pink lolita clothing just makes me so happy and excited… i don't think she ever wears this kind of outfit in the anime, so this is a huge treat. i love pink and i love lolita fashion  and ruri's even got her nekomimi going on so i don't see any downsides to this figure at all. what REALLY got me about this figure though, is her shoes. THEY'RE SO PERFECT AND ADORABLE LOOK AT THEM!! i love the slight sheen on them from the paint, and i really hope they don't fuck it up… other than that, i'm obsessed with the frill detailing, and the base design. i think her face could have been a bit more expressive (maybe it's just the photos?), but i'm digging the blush and just her pose in general. also, she's a 1/7 scale so she's going to be huge (almost nine inches tall!) so that's a big plus!!

another figure that should be coming in late december is the gsc tsukihi figure that i talked (a lot) about in my last post. i'm so excited i don't even know what to say… ok moving on...

next up is the month of january, which may or may not be killer. first up i guess i'll take a look at megahouse's kuroko tetsuya!! he's set to be released late january, and i really really hope he doesn't get delayed because c'mon, how wonderful would it be if i got him before (or on) his birthday. (january 31st!!)

i think most places are sold out of him now, or they're selling him at ridiculously high prices. he seemed to be highly sought out for, and i think i remember hearing that they were doing a limited production of him this time around… i got such a great deal on him from the grand line shop, and i'm so so so happy i had the chance to preorder him early at a really great price! i'm completely biased towards this figure because, well, kuroko is kind of my prince you know… i adore the series to pieces, and i'm so happy and proud that him and the kiseki are getting high quality scale figures. (kagami's prototype looks so good!! i can't wait to see everyone else!!)

source: mega_girlshobby twitter

this is a really great figure in my opinion. obviously there aren't nearly as many boy figures as there are girl figures, and this one is a real gem!! his pose is so dynamic and different (it looks like he's gonna make a pass to kagami or something!!) and i love the look of silent determination on his face, which just matches him so well. what really pops out at me is his coloring though!! the wrinkles in his jersey really make him come alive, and the shading on his muscles (look at his collarbones tho) and hair are just… wah… i'm about to pass out over here…!! i can't wait to see what his base will look like (i'm hoping for a simple, basketball court themed  one) and although i kind of worry about leaning i think everything should be fine.

my other january preorder is good smile company's new madoka scale! i actually can't believe that i managed to nab her so quickly (her january release sold out within an hour on amiami!) and even though that brings me to two figures next month, i think my wallet is gonna be ok… (i mean i guess i paid for half of kuroko already?)

source: HK-DMZ's flickr

i don't even know what to say about her. she's so perfect. i was kind of iffy about her back when the uncolored prototype was released, but now that she's painted, all i can say is that she is absolutely perfect. her shading, her goddamn BASE, her pose, even the doe-eyed look on her face just make this figure so beautiful and elegant!! i really really love it and i'm so happy that i'll finally have a scale figure of my one and only waifu!! i like this figure a lot more than gsc's first madoka scale, and soon… she will be mine…!! (that's all i have to say about madoka right now because these photos say too much about how perfect she is gonna be. jesus christ)

that's it for my figure preorders at the moment! i didn't really talk about tsukihi or sakura, because i mentioned them in previous posts, but with them, it brings me to a total of five figure preorders right now. i have a few merch things that i have preordered, and a few straps and such that i have confirmed in some group orders on mfc, but that's about it…

i think i mentioned this before, but there haven't been a whole lot of figures that have made me sweat lately. there've been a few here and there that i think about preordering a lot (such as orca's kuroneko, bikini ver.) but i feel like there's always something holding me back, and i never preorder anything unless i'm completely sure that i'll still love it to pieces in however many months it takes the company to release it. i'm glad that i'm still in love with all my current orders and i'm really satisfied!!

at the moment, there are really only two figures i'm DEAD set on ordering as soon as preorders start. i thought about koto's shinobu and senjougahara, but again, i'm not completely sure about them. (i don't know why i'm iffy about gahara-sama's figure, but for shinobu, i'm waiting for alter to release their prototype…) anyways, the two figures are alter's tachibana makoto (MY BOYFRIEND!!!) and megahouse's utena!! 

source: makotomatic's flickr

source: oyj12's flickr

i require makoto (for obvious reasons) and as SOON as he's announced, i will be hitting that preorder button, no questions asked. i think alter (as usual) did a really great sculpt job. even though he's in a static, standing pose, the slight movement of his jacket is nice, and makoto's personality shines through on his face!! as for utena (i'm planning on watching the series this break, so she's a tentative confirmation at the moment i suppose) i'm going to wait for her to be painted, so we'll see about that. (everyone knows i'm a huge sucker for pink hair.) writing this post made me really happy i'm such a fucking loser!! but at least i'm a happy loser!!! ^___^

happy birthday!

it's 3:30 AM, i got home from my birthday thing a while ago, but i'm not sleepy at all. i'm so excited and happy my friends are literally the best people in the world!! i'll keep this figure-related, but in short, guess what…

they preordered gsc tsukihi for me!! i'm still freaking out and i can't believe it!! she's sold out at a lot of places, so i wonder when they actually got around to pre-ordering her… she should be coming out later this month if gsc doesn't have any delays in releasing her (i really hope that they don't because i need her!!) and i'm just so excited and happy i actually am almost shaking wahhh i adore tsukihi so much and this figure… just look at it… it's so gorgeous… i'll actually have a decent monogatari display now with this, and once i get my hands on my holy grail araragi figure later on. (courtesy of my little sister, heh.)

anyways, this will be my first figure with this sort of excessive prop. and since it's so red, i wonder how it will complement my other figures… the red colour and the prop itself (what's it even called?) really remind me of the anime, with its colours and angularity. i love the masks, and i love the pinwheel, and also the lil string detailing that holds it to the bar. i love love LOVE tsukihi because she's cute af (honestly she's my favourite fire sister, even though karen is cute as hell too, jesus christ), and the fact that she's always in traditional japanese garb. her kimono is soooo fucking cute… (i'm not sure if i prefer her with this short hair, or her longer braided hair from season two though!!) honestly, the pink and red of her kimono (i'm not even sure if this short thing is called a kimono, i wonder what the actual name for it is?) seem kind of redundant with the red of the jungle gym thing, which is why i prefer this alternate coloured version of her, and also because it's her main outfit in nisemonogatari. but does it look like i care right now? honestly, i have the best friends ever, and i'm just going to be SO emotionally attached to her. whenever i look over at my detolf i'm seriously just gonna tear up and pass the hell out like… i still can't believe this like… holy shit i was sure this was gonna be one of those figures that just sat stagnant as hell on my wishlist for forever, but it's gonna be a reality and i'm gonna have her in my display soon! i can't wait to see what her base and her box look like ahhh… i really need to get started on planning out my display better, and also looking into purchasing some risers. my friend told me that i should make them by myself (using a heat gun?) but i'm not confident in any of the skills that i would need to make that a reality…

i kind of want to talk about nadeko (sengoku nadeko!) because i've literally just been obsessed with her lately. my favourite loli sweetie! i'm not really sure if she truly qualifies as a loli, but i guess she fits the criteria to a certain extent. ootorimonogatari was SO fucking great, and when break rolls around i really want to rewatch some of the episodes. since koto's shinobu seems to be doing well (i think? maybe? i just want alter to release their shinobu prototype?) i'm hoping for more monogatari figures!! i REALLY hope someone will release a figure of nadeko in her medusa form (maybe an alternative face/hair plate? hell yeah) because honestly, i would be on that so quick. i haven't really been "captivated" by many figures on pre-order lately (which i guess is a good thing for my wallet at least) but man, if they did a nadeko figure…!! i actually found a prize figure prototype of nadeko by taito, and i'm pretty sure it's based off second season because she had the scrunchie and all, but i don't know if it's gonna be with her white hair ahhh.

source: mikaeru on pixiv

maybe i'll get gsc's rendition of nadeko someday… but at the moment, i'd much rather cop banpresto's nadeko, where she's in the cute outfit for when araragi comes over to her house in bakemonogatari, heh. ("i'm fine with either role… giving the orders and taking them.") i think about this figure SO often that i consider it one of my holy grails. i was thinking about doing a small monogatari prize figure haul this month, but we'll see about that.

i think tomorrow i'm going to do a post where i cry about all the babies i have on pre-order right now, and the prototypes i'm really looking forward to!! good night!! ^___^

i fucked up

today i kind of gave in, and kind of preordered an outbreak company poster set from amiami. i honestly wouldn't have had a problem with this at all, except for the fact that it comes out in january… which is when madoka and kuroko are getting released y'know… (so much for my "one figure a month" plan… maybe they'll get delayed or something.) o.k. but seriously, the poster is pure perfection. like jesus christ how was i supposed to pass this up? i need it on my bedroom wall right now?

i'm soooo happy with this show i'm really sad that it's almost over… it's kind of like the new hataraku maou-sama!! for me in terms of comedy and stuff, but everyone in it is just so cute like i'm literally in love with miusel and petralka!

!!! THAT LAST ILLUSTRATION THOUGH !!! seriously if they released an outbreak company artbook i would on that shit solo quick like omg these drawings are so gorgeous i don't even know where they're from or who did them… it would be nice if someone did (scale) figures of them too (alter, please!) and i'm sure dali covers of them will be released in the future. i'm probably gonna have to cop a doujin dali though because like man i can't have that nsfw stuff on my bed but literally only because i really don't want to see my parents' reaction to that… i was gonna get the doujin kuroko daki from hobby-heart this month, but it turns out i can't because i have other things to spend my money on. (he he he)

furyu's sakura prize figure is pretty much sold out every where right now, to my knowledge. ok literally as i finished typing that sentence i checked amiami again, and she was back in stock!!! oh god, i just preordered her i'm gonna kill myself. but she's solo affordable and i'm pretty sure if i really needed to, i could give my preorder away when the time comes like in april… 

source: hobby-maniax

source: radiokaikan

honestly, i think the prototype looks amazing. i can't wait to see her all pink and painted, and i seriously hope they decided to keep the base like that because i love it… like goddamn this looks so great for a prize figure and i'm so excited!! all the nice card captors figures are garage kits and this is just so great like wow i am so happy i'm alive right now i can't believe this at all!!! (i'm just kidding i'm actually just so done with myself right now i can't believe i just did that hum…) i really hope that the painted prototype turns out well. fingers crossed!

anyways, wave has done another beach queen set for my babies, and i'm not sure how i feel about them… i mean i know they're BQs but i'm wondering if i out to give them a try? i really don't like the job they did with madoka's face (it looks so… vegetable wtf… reminiscent of the original madoka BQ i guess), but moemura love!! i love her pose and her bikini and of course her twin tails… except, again, her face just seems really strange and i'm not a fan of how thick they made her glasses. actually, mami's figure isn't all that bad (her face is ok!) and i love how she's wearing a charlotte palette bikini. kyouko looks really cute!! but why did they have to give sayaka a orange bikini?? was that really necessary?? this reminds me of how horrified i was at yuno's green bikini like are you fucking serious??

that's literally all that went through my head today. anyways i accidentally found these gorgeous madoka doujin artbooks and now i'm dead set on tracking them down and ordering them. later haters!