NAME: Nia Teppelin
SERIES: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
SCALE/CREATOR: 1/3, by Volks
RELEASE DATE: September 2009

Another day, another Nia to review.

Gurren Lagann’s moe blob…now in doll form!

Behold! My first (and probably last) doll! As you may know, have known, or not really know but suspect anyway, I’m fixated with Gurren Lagann’s Nia. Not so much for her personality but rather for her striking character design.

A proper princess should be decked out in gold.

My quest to get Nia was full of fun and adventure. And errors. Lots of errors. I found a Nia doll on Yahoo Auction Japan “for cheap” and bought her…only to learn later the doll actually didn’t come with a head. So I had to buy a head seperately. (Always Babelfish YAJ pages before buying!)

The fun continued with shipping. I got the doll via a proxy service called Celga. When I sent my request to ship the order they only sent the head. It took another week (and another ship request) to finally get the doll. Despite this mishap I still recommend Celga. Not only are they super fast to bid, they’re also polite and speedy when it comes to customer service.

That golden belt can’t be very comfortable.

As Nia is my very first Dollfie, getting her dressed was quite a learning experience. Don’t be fooled! Though Nia’s costume looks simple, it takes some time and effort to get all of her stuff on. She’s got two bangles, two bracelets, a collar, a necktie, a headband, a shirt, two skirts, shoes and panties.

The necktie and upper skirt require little stickers to actually get on her costume. The necktie needs to be stickied to the gold collar. The upper skirt needs to be stickied to the belt. Unfortunately these stickers aren’t as sticky as they could be. The skirt in particular frequently comes loose.

Nia wears heels almost non-stop. I wonder if she gets foot pain because of it?

The shoes are definitely the best part of the costume. Not to mention the easiest things to get on. I like that the shoes actually have clear gems on them. The “gems” on the rest of Nia’s costume are just painted plastic. (Lame!) Because these are high heels it takes a little effort to get Nia to stand on her own.

A headband should be easy to put on, right?!

Now this sucker is probably the most annoying part of Nia’s costume. This headband just does not want to stay on! It takes a bit of effort to get it on in the first place (thanks to Nia’s crazy hair), so it’s irritating when a nudge knocks it off. Another issue comes with the bangles. They’re stretchy so it’s easy to get them on. However the paint can chip off and stain the skin. My Nia’s already got a stain on her left arm because of it.

Which do you want Nia to wear? The swimsuit or the skimpy panties?

If you pre-ordered the doll you ended up with the swimsuit Nia wears in the anime. It’s a nice bonus, I suppose. Also pictured here is one of the two panties Nia comes with. She comes with one normal panty and this…skimpier version.

Giant Nia vs Table Lamp. Heaven or Hell, let’s rock!

Nia is about two feet tall, being around 1/3 scale. I was pretty surprised by how big and heavy she is. She can make any PVC in my collection look like a trading figure! (Even my 1/6 Saber figure, the tallest in my collection, looks puny compared to Nia) Unlike regular dolls of this size, Nia is made of a very soft vinyl. So she’s…a bit squishy. This makes me wonder just how many owners of the bustier Yoko doll squeezed her breasts.

Can’t sleep. Doll’ll eat me.

Nia uses a normal Dollfie Dream body, but her face sculpt and eyes are unique to her. I remember a LOT of people being creeped out by Nia’s eyes when she was first revealed. Most people in general seem to be terrified by dolls, so I imagine Nia’s crazy eyes won’t make them feel any better. The eyes almost seem to have a metallic sheen to them so her red irises almost seem to glow under certain lighting…

No string required.

Dollfie Dreams differ from traditional ball-jointed dolls by having an internal “skeleton”. I don’t know a lot about dolls, so I’m not sure how regular ball-jointed dolls are put together. I’ve heard it has something to do with string. To me the Dollfie Dreams seem more like gigantic Figmas than normal dolls. We all like Figma, right?

Hey, that’s not cloud hair! That’s just curly hair.

The thing most people were interested in was how Nia’s hair would be done in 3D. Instead of giving us a mass of blue and yellow cotton candy-like hair, Volks opted to give Nia insanely curly hair instead. Nia’s hair…is messy. It looks next to impossible to maintain, too. I do like how it came out, though. If Nia was real this is probably what her hair would look like. One thing of note is that the Nia Dollfie prototype had baby blue strands of hair. The final version of the doll has a much more vibrant blue. It almost looks turquoise.

1/3, 1/6, 1/7, 1/8, 1/10. Sorry I didn’t include a 1/5 and 1/4 in this size comparison shot.

Just for fun here’s a comparison shot. The 1/6 Saber is very large by 1/6 standards. It’s amazing how tiny she looks compared to Nia. And if you’d like more comparisons: when standing next to me Nia reaches my mid-calf. She’s TALL.

OVERALL: 8/10

+ Tall, heavy and squishy
+ Makes you appreciate just how spiffy Nia’s design really is
+ Clothes and shoes are nicely made

? Eyes may be nightmare inducing

- Made of vinyl, so skin stains easily
- Stickers that come with doll need to be stickier
- Headband is annoying to deal with

Unfortunately Dollfie Dreams are only made to order, and the ordering period is loooong gone. eBay, Yahoo Auctions Japan or the Den of Angels marketplace are the only places you’ll be able to get this doll. Be warned, though. Like all Dollfie Dreams, Nia is beyond expensive.

Well, it’s official. I’ve bought my first Dollfie. Unsurprisingly I’ve picked Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann’s Nia. My quest for her has been interesting so far…

But before I start let me recommend these guys: CELGA. They’re the proxy service I decided to go with for my Yahoo Japan Auctions misadventure and I’m greatly pleased with their service so far. These guys are FAST. (Guess you have to be when dealing with auctions)

Anyway, to make a long story short. Found a Nia doll for $450, bought her, later Babel Fish’d the page to learn she had no head, found a Nia head for $300 *sob*, bought that, now I’m broke, the end.

To make up for the crazy price of the doll I’ve cancelled my remaining figure pre-orders and won’t buy any new ones until I’ve fully paid for Nia. *used a credit card* Luckily I still got plenty of figures to review, so the show isn’t over yet.

NAME: Nia Teppelin
SERIES: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
SCALE/CREATOR: Non-Scale, by SEGA
RELEASE DATE: August 2009

If there’s one character I love it’s Gurren Lagann’s Nia. Not so much for her personality (she has some quirks, but is a Mary Sue) but for her spiffy character design. I wanted to start up an army of Nia figures but she doesn’t seem to be anywhere near as popular as GL’s other leading lady, Yoko. There’s not even a Revoltech or Nendoroid of Nia! How lame.

Gurren Lagann’s moe blob.

I was so desperate for a new Nia figure that I went ahead and got a SEGA Prize Figure of her. Do you know those “claw machines” you can find at arcades and other random locations? Pop in a coin, move a claw around and try to grab a generic plush doll. Japan goes the extra mile by having machines with cheaply made PVC figures in them. Instead of going through the trouble of going to Japan, finding a machine and trying to capture an elusive Nia, I instead bought the figure for fifteen bucks off Hobbylink Japan.

She strikes a flirty pose to get your flames of passion blazing. Do you feel the passion?

Unsurprisingly, the quality of these prize figures are pretty low compared to the average PVC. I will admit that this Nia came out a lot better than I expected. That’s not to say she’s good…but for 15 bucks, I’m pleased. Let’s start off with what’s good about the figure. She’s around 1/8 scale and is in a very cute pose. There’s not too much sloppy painting. I’m not a big fan of the airbrushed shading in her hair, but it doesn’t look half-bad.

Still not really sure how that hair works. It must also be impossible to maintain…

Now the bad. Aside from the blue in her hair, there is zero shading on her. None. Luckily the colors are vibrant enough to make up for it. There are, however, small paint scuffs all over her. (Red on her pink dress, blue on her leg) Low quality plastic was used to make her so her skin is really shiny. Unlike some other ‘low quality’ figures in my collection, she doesn’t give off a strong plastic smell. The last, and most severe problem…

A figure collector’s nightmare!

SEAMLINES. And horrible ones, too. These are the worst seams I’ve seen on a figure in a long time. They’re everwhere! Arms, legs, clothes, hair…Did SEGA even try to sand them away? Oh well. I guess you can’t expect too much of a prize figure.

This base makes me think of candy for some reason.

Nia comes screwed into a red base so there’s no worry of leaning. Kudos to SEGA for that.

OVERALL: 4/10

+ Cute face and pose
+ Screws in base prevent leaning
+ Vibrant colors

- No shading
- Low grade plastic
- Horrible seamlines

If you’re looking for a cheap alternative to Wave or upLark’s pricey Nia’s, this would be a good choice. You get what you pay for, though…

- G.K. Sil Kamina

I’m still waiting on my new figure to arrive so I can review it. In the meantime, have a couple of fanarts.

WARNING: BIG IMAGES AHEAD. BRACE FOR IMPACT

Nia from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. To be honest it’s a show I like less and less each time I view it. It’s not that it’s bad. (In fact, it’s pretty damn good). I guess after the awe from HOT BLOODED ACTION!!! and over the top animation wears off, it’s a lot easier to see the show’s flaws. I’ll always love Nia to death, though.

Hatsune Miku of Vocaloid fame. I’m not sure what the big deal about Vocaloid is…but Miku sure does have a nice design. Gotta love those absurdly long twin-tails.

Momohime from Vanillaware’s shiny new Wii game – Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Oh how I wish more 2D games like it were made.

You can always check out more of my stuff at my DeviantART page: CLICK HERE

NAME: Arin
SERIES: Pangya (Albatross 18/Super Swing Golf)
SCALE/CREATOR: 1/8, by GoodSmile Company
RELEASE DATE: January 2007

You can make a video game franchise out of almost anything. Pangya is a shining example. It started off as a Massively Multiplayer Online Fantasy Golf (?) game but later spawned a Wii series (Super Swing Golf) and a PSP game (Pangya: Fantasy Golf). While I own the PSP title I haven’t played it. So as far as I can tell, this series’ major selling point is its cast of moe anime girls.

She must be a fantasy. Everyone knows golfers are old and overweight.

This is one of three nearly identical figures that were announced at the same time. If memory serves me right, GoodSmile, Aoshima(?) and Yujin all decided to make a figure off the same piece of promotional artwork. Not too sure if it was Aoshima or Aizu, but they never released theirs as far as I can tell. Yujin’s Arin was, unsurprisingly, a piece of crap.

Player beware. Gators lurk in the waters of Floridian golf courses.

There’s not really much I can say about this figure that I haven’t said about other GoodSmile figures. GoodSmile figures are…well…good. Arin’s got a great sculpt, though her pose may be a little boring to some. Her paintjob is almost flawless. The shading in her hair is a little too subtle so it almost looks like there’s none at all. Arin’s also got a lot of tiny details on her clothes that are probably damn near impossible to paint by hand. (So I’m guessing they used decals for those) Overall, she’s pretty impressive.

Oh drat, where did that ball go?

If I had one major complaint, it’s her face. Her cheeks seem a bit too poofy so she’s kinda got a “chipmunk face” thing going. I remember having this same issue with the first Xenosaga. Now those were some chipmunk cheeks.

Where can I get those boots?!

Arin comes with a mysterious cat-faced bag and a grassy base. I like that the base actually has shading. This is much more exciting than Archer’s sparkly silver slab of boredom.

OVERALL: 8/10

+ Beautiful paint job from GoodSmile
+ Polka dot panties
+ Interesting base

- She’s got a chipmunk face

There’s not really that much to say about Arin. She’s another quality GoodSmile release with all the bells and whistles we’ve come to expect from the company. I wish her pose was a little more exciting, and that her face didn’t remind me of Chip n’ Dale, but otherwise she’s a lovely addition to your collection.

- G.K. Sil Kamina

NAME: Archer
SERIES: Fate Stay/Night
SCALE/CREATOR: 1/7, by Enter Brain
RELEASE DATE: September 2006

Boy, oh boy! Nothing like finding a much sought-after item. After months of looking I randomly came across this Archer PVC at an anime shop in Hawaii. (Toys N Joys, near the Uptown/Downtown Mall) Unfortunately he cost $150…I had to resort to asking my dad to pay for him. Needless to say, pops wasn’t a happy camper (and probably thinks I’m insane).

Now that’s what I call a manly back!

Was Archer really worth all that money? In some ways, yes. In some ways, no. As far as PVC quality goes, he’s pretty standard. He looks cool, though. Sometimes coolness is all that matters…right? Anyway, Archer is my first Enter Brain/ebCraft figure and I’m pretty pleased with how he turned out. I was interested in their recently released Rider PVC but the quality looked like crap. I mean, there’s one part of her hair that’s a different shade of purple from the rest! What the hell?

Daddy gonna cut ya up good, boy.

There’s a lot of detail put into the folds of Archer’s clothing. There are even little folds around each button on his weird leather leg strap things. For the ladies out there, Archer’s got a delightful set of abs of steel for you to oggle. Or love tenderly. Your choice. My only real complaint regarding the sculpt is the size of his hands. Those things are freaking HUGE. Are they supposed to be so big? Or is Archer’s head just too small in proportion to the rest of his body?

The world may never know.

Look closely and you might see a bulge. But why would you want to see that?

Aside from a few small seams in his hair, Archer’s relatively seam-free. The painting is pretty good as well. His costume isn’t elaborate but there are some small details that were painted neatly. There are several metal parts on his outfit which were done with metallic paints. They even went so far as to make those parts look rusted! There’s no shading on his pants (except for the leather straps) and on his skin-tight shirt.

The shading on his red…top and skirt (?) do have shading, but it’s so heavy it almost looks unnatural. Also, for some reason they gave his two blades purple shading. I’m not sure if they did this to make it seem like his reddish clothes are reflecting on the blades, or if they just really dig purple.

That’s it? That’s your base? You guys didn’t even try, did you?

Archer comes with one of the most boring bases in history. Back in 2006 plastic slabs like this were standard. Today figure companies have gotten a bit more creative with their bases. When I look at that silver monstrosity of a base I almost feel like I’m back in 2006.

I will admit the base has this cool glittery effect. It’s like the sparkly paint you see on cars nowadays.

OVERALL: 8/10

+ Awesome sculpt and pose
+ Metal parts on clothes have a rusty look

- Either his head’s too small or his hands are freaking HUGE
- Purple shading on blades doesn’t look quite right

Too bad for you Archer lovers out there: this figure has been out of production for a LONG time and has become extremely difficult to find. Even if you do manage to find him odds are you’ll have to pay a small fortune to get him. ($150 in my case) eBay may be your best bet if you want to get him, but beware of bootlegs!

- G.K. Sil Kamina

Alright, kiddies, time for part 2!

Fun Fact: My default facial expression is identical to the one seen on the statue at the left. I’m not the happiest of people.

Another thing I did was visit the Polynesian Cultural Center. It’s as the name describes: a place where you can learn about the various cultures in Polynesia. I know that doesn’t sound exciting, but this is a great place to visit for people of all ages.

Samoans are the happiest people on Earth. Why? Go to the Polynesian Cultural Center to find out!

There are games for the kids, luaus for the tourists, and smoking hot Samoan men for the ladies. You can play traditional instruments, learn how to make coconut bread, ride in canoes…there’s a little something for everyone.

Authentic Tahitian male…from Tahiti!

The nice thing about this place is that the employees are actually from the lands represented here. Most of them are college students on scholarships funded by the PCC and a nearby university. Though I can’t help but wonder how they really feel about the place. While they get to educate the masses on their unique cultures, it must be a little annoying having to entertain a bunch of tourists who may not even give two craps about what you’re saying…

Are you man enough to take the Tonga drum challenge? If not, the drummer will gladly take photos with your parents instead.

Tonga features one of the center’s musical minigames (minigame? Is this a video game now?). Several men are picked out from the audience and basically play Simon Says…with drums and loooots of screams. Fiji features another minigame where you and a whole crowd of people use sticks to play music. You learn three different beats. After practicing the beats a bit, you’ll then have to play along with some music while listening for the command to change beats.

Even if you kick ass at this game, there’s a 99% chance that the rest of the audience won’t. Our Fijian hosts were repeatedly amused by the crowd’s inability to stop on the STOP! command.

Irashaimase!

The center also features full scale replicas of buildings…and entire villages in some cases. But beware of how you enter the buildings! I heartily recommend you not enter anything until your tour guide says it’s okay. Trust me.

Show some respect! When the Royal Court of Hawaii enters the luau, put your poi down and stand up.

There are several “packages” offered by the center. The cheaper ones just let you wander around for the day, I believe. Then there’s the package that includes a luau full of all sorts of delicacies. You also get to witness lots of traditional Hawaiian dances and listen to some nice tunes.

Most of the Hawaiian dancers actually wore cloth dresses!

Unlike the Hula Girl stereotype, most of the Hawaiian dancers wore cloth dresses and gently swayed their hips. GENTLY. When watching a hula dance you’re supposed to focus on the dancer’s hands, as the hands “tell the story” of the song. If you want lots of grass skirts and FURIOUS hip shaking, make your way to the Tahitian dancers instead.

Trust me, this is the most delicious thing you’ll ever eat at a luau.

Back to the packages. The most expensive package sticks you with a friendly tour guide who will take you to all of the different villages and shows. You also get the luau. In addition to that, you ALSO get front row seats to the center’s main show “Ha: The Breath of Life”. Ha is the story of a man named Mana. You see his birth, his growth into a man, his discovery of love, and the birth of his own child. Throughout his life he travels to all the different islands of Polynesia.

The last segment of the show features everyone’s favorite: Fire dancers! Unfortunately the show I went to had a little accident. One of the flaming knives used by the dancers flew right under the seat of an audience member. The guy wasn’t hurt, but it sure did give him…a good laugh. (He thought it was pretty funny.)

Isn’t this where Bulma found Goku at the start of Dragonball?

Another place of interest is Pali Lookout. It doesn’t have all the wacky activities of PCC, but it does have an amazing breeze.

Why can’t stuff like this exist in Florida?

…and some lovely mountains.

The other side of the island is brown.

…and a pretty amazing view.

See what I mean?

Want more amazing views? Then head on over to Diamond Head Crater. You can get one of the best views of the island…the only downside is you have to literally climb a fucking mountain to get it.

I was half-dead when I reached this area.

My father pisses and moans about walking all the time. When it came to Diamond Head, though, he zoomed up the damned thing like it was nothing. I, on the other hand, was struggling to breathe after five minutes. This hike is entirely uphill. (It is a mountain, after all) But the biggest kick to the nuts is having to walk up 100 steep steps. That nearly killed me.

I will never climb a mountain while on my period EVER AGAIN.

I HATE YOU DIAMOND HEAD. Both times I’ve climbed the damn thing, I’ve gotten extremely sick. The view at the top is splendid, though.

Where have all the pineapples gone?

See this field o’ weeds? In my youth this, and all the areas around it, were endless pineapple fields. Seriously. Pineapples AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD SEE. Dole decided it was too expensive and moved their farms to South America, leaving O’ahu with a bunch of barren, pineapple-less fields. It really breaks my heart to see it like this.

Care for a swim?

Here’s another place of interest. Hanauma Bay and the Halona Blowhole. The signs humbly suggest you not go past the fence and down the rocks, but most of the people ignored them. Don’t blame the signs when you’re smashed against the rocks by a wave.

On my next trip to Hawaii, however, I will go past the fence and enter the water. I mean, just look at that water!

This womanizing bird almost assaulted a woman for a piece of burger meat.

The last place of interest in this blog post is Waimea Valley, a beautiful botanical garden located…well…in a valley. It’s my favorite place on the island. I’m a big fan of gardens, especially big ones with lots of tropical plants from various lands.

Sweet, I love RPG forest dungeons.

IT’S SO GREEN HERE. PLANTS. PLANTS EVERYWHERE. WEEEEEEEE!

This is what everyone comes to see.

Of course, most people don’t give two shits about plants and only come here to see the waterfall. There used to be professional cliff divers giving shows here, but they seem to have vanished. (On weekdays, at least) This part also used to be closed off to visitors, but now visitors are allowed to frolic around the water here. Please don’t ruin these waters with your pee.

And that’s all, folks! Hope you enjoyed it.

- G.K. Sil Kamina

Hey all! Before you hurl your flaming pitchforks at me for lack of updates let me explain what the deal is. I went on vacation!

Hooray!

And boy did I need it. Working in customer service kills my soul. Kills it dead. Repeatedly. Anyway, I went to island of O’ahu. It’s the most popular (and populated) of the world famous Hawaiian islands. Let’s look at pictures.

Welcome to Waikiki, famous for its beaches and ridiculous amount of tourist-catering hotels!

Let me start off by saying that I love being in a plane at dawn and night. Flying above a sea of clouds at dawn is an out of this world experience. The clouds and sky are all sorts of amazing colors. It almost looked like an alien landscape out there! *sadly I couldn’t take a picture* Nighttime flying is just as awesome because it really feels like you’re flying amongst the stars. When my plane took off and all these stars appeared, I felt like a giddy little kid again.

Now let me say that aside from those two things, I hate planes in general. Flying coach is shit. It feels like you’re crammed in a tin can with wings. The food is questionable. And it is IMPOSSIBLE to get comfortable in those seats. IMPOSSIBLE. My back isn’t the best so there were a few cases where I was on the verge of going insane. Luckily I had Stephen Colbert’s I Am America (And So Can You!) and Andy Raskin’s The Ramen King and I to keep me calm.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY tune in for the most epic battle of the century! Two states! More palm trees than they know what to do with! It’s Florida vs Hawaii: Palm Tree Smackdown! Only on Pay-Per-View.

I lived in Hawaii about a decade ago, and I remember it being a very green place. For the most part the island is still pretty green…but nasty drought conditions have wreaked havoc in some parts of the island. Head out past Ko Olina and almost everything is brown. I hope that Tropical Storm Felicia eases some of the island’s misery.

I’m glad to see this hospital is still an obnoxious pink color ten years later.

As expected, the tourist heavy parts of the island are very pretty and well maintained. Waikiki, the hottest of tourist hot spots, is loaded with high end luxury stores (Chanel, Gucci, etc) for Japanese tourists to blow their yen on. (There are Japanese EVERYWHERE) Head out to less touristy parts of the island and you’ll see that…the place is pretty run down. Streets, buildings…lots of things. I hope you like graffiti as there’s lots for you to see.

Oh man, is that a tunnel? I fucking LOVE tunnels!

I did many things while in O’ahu. Going through tunnels is one of them.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-

-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!!!!!!11!

A lone white structure stands silently in the waters of Pearl Harbor honoring the USS Arizona and those that perished with her.

Another thing I did was visit one of several “historical sites” about World War II. As many of you may know, Pearl Harbor is an extremely important location in American history. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to prevent the US Pacific Fleet from interfering with their shenanigans in Asia. This event is what finally made the United States join in World War II.

Of the battleships stationed in the harbor at the time, the USS Arizona suffered the worst fate. Not only was the ship sunk, but 1,177 of her 1400-man crew were killed in the attack. The remains of Arizona rest in Pearl Harbor to this day. As a chilling bonus, the bodies of the crew trapped within her walls are also still in the water with her. The Arizona Memorial was erected to honor the fallen. It includes a museum, an educational movie, and a boat ride out to the ship’s ruins. (And it’s free to visit!) There’s also a memorial for the fallen USS Utah and her crew nearby.

The USS Missouri (fondly known as “The Mighty Mo”) is another WWII era battleship, but unlike Utah and Arizona, she’s still floating. For about 15 bucks you can take a blast to the past and wander on (and below) the decks of this massive battleship. Sadly we didn’t have the time to go, but if you’re in the area, be sure to visit!

Home to the most ill-behaved 6th grade class in Schofield’s history!

Speaking of military stuff, welcome to Schofield Barracks!

Ah, my old stomping grounds. This is Solomon Elementary, where I attended 6th grade. My 6th grade class was…well…hated by all the other classes. We were rude, we were terrible, and we made all of our substitute teachers cry. (Only one ever came back to teach again, and she didn’t return after the second visit) When I went to Solomon, it was brown…like all Army buildings. The Army LOVES brown. But it seems that in the last ten years someone decided it was a good idea to paint the school an obnoxious purple color. RAGE.

Well, this is getting pretty long so I’ll stop here. Tune in for Part 2, coming shortly!

- G.K. Sil Kamina

NAME: Figma #007 Itsuki Koizumi
SERIES: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
SCALE/CREATOR: Non-scale, by Max Factory
RELEASE DATE: July 2008

At some random point in history figure developer Max Factory decided they’d jump into the action figure market with an affordable new line called Figma. The line ended up being incredibly popular and Max Factory has since focused their efforts on pumping them out. This is a bit of a shame as their PVC figures were some of the best on the market…but looking at the prices for their latest PVC’s ($100 for a 1/7), perhaps this is for the best.

The almighty Esper.

I’ve officially jumped on the Figma bandwagon after finding a random Itsuki Figma at a local anime shop. He isn’t my first anime-themed action figure (that honor goes to Dragon Quest’s Yangus), but he has shown me why Figmas and Revoltechs are so darn popular. Any pose you can imagine, he can do. Well, almost any.

Running into the arms of his beloved Kyon…

I can’t really compare him to a regular PVC figure, as a cheap action figure obviously won’t have as much effort put into it as a fixed-pose plastic statue. For the price he doesn’t look too shabby. The sculpt isn’t very detailed but it does look like Itsuki. The paint job is also unimpressive thanks to a complete lack of shading, but all of the details were neatly handled. My Itsuki did come with some black paint scuffs on his hands.

(But compared to some action figures I owned when I was but a wee lass, he looks exceptional.)

Go, Itsuki! I choose you! Use Psychic!

Itsuki is TINY. If I had to guess I’d say he was around 1/12 scale, if even that. He also feels pretty delicate. This isn’t the kind of toy you can pit against your Power Ranger action figures. Itsuki’s interchangeable hands have really tiny pegs that look like they can’t take too much force.

More props would’ve been nice.

Ituski comes with four extra sets of hands in various poses, a happy face, and stylish white shoes. His default parts are brown loafers, a smug looking face and…plain ol’ hands. He also comes with a clear base and weird connector stick diddly that allows him to execute gravity defying poses. It’s not necessary to use it if he’s just going to stand. He can be a little wobbly but does manage to stand on his own.

And now, some random Itsuki and Yangus shenanigans.

It’s time to take down that boss! The wand is from Kotobukiya’s 1/8 Flonne.

This looks like a pretty good club. A little large, though. Club’s from GoodSmile’s 1/8 Arin.

You know you want to, tubby.

OVERALL: 7/10

+ Can do almost any pose you want him to
+ Blazer is made out of soft, super-bendable plastic and boosts Itsuki’s posing abilities
+ Comes with some interesting bonus parts, including a big cardboard classroom wall

? Unimpressive paint job, though it’s neat and gets the job done

- Paint defects
- Delicate joints

I’m sold. Figmas are pretty darn entertaining and well worth the $20 – $30 price tag. Figmas tend to sell out pretty fast, but Itsuki is still available at Hobbylink Japan. Be warned that their stock is low so he may sell out soon.

- G.K. Sil Kamina

NAME: Nefeltari Vivi
SERIES: One Piece
SCALE/CREATOR: 1/8, by MegaHouse
RELEASE DATE: November 2007

Let’s pay another visit to the wild and wacky pirate-ridden world of One Piece! Up for review today is a woman with quite a career: secret agent of a sinister underground organization, beloved princess to a kingdom on the brink of civil war, skilled duck rider and part-time Mugiwara pirate. She’s the lovely Princess Nefeltari (or Nefertari, your choice) Vivi of Arabasta.

The obligatory princess character.

Vivi’s the closest thing to a normal person the Straw Hat Pirates ever had. She doesn’t have a wacky appearance (like Usopp), an amazing talent (like Nami), or inhuman battle abilities (the three battle gods). She’s literally a normal person on a ship full of freaks…but at least they’re fun, lovable freaks.

The semi-transparent cloak adds a level of class to Vivi’s revealing dancer gown.

The most disappointing aspect of my other PoP figures was the lack of shading on parts of their clothes, but poor Vivi comes with a whole list of problems. I know she isn’t the most popular character in One Piece but that’s no reason to slack off on her figure! The original prototype looked nice enough. What went wrong in production?

Eiichiro Oda’s women have very strange proportions: MASSIVE foreheads, large busts, thin ribless torsos, wide hips, loooooong legs and big feet.

I mean, just LOOK at that! The front piece of her dress wasn’t correctly fitted so it’s sticking out in a weird way. It bugged me so much I eventually tore off the piece (and got a nice view of Vivi’s hidden shorts) and re-fitted it. It’s not perfect but it looks less out of place now.

That’s not the end of Vivi’s woes. Much like the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni figures, she’s got seamlines and a few spots of sloppy painting. Her hair is the biggest offender when it comes to the seams. There are some obvious ones on her head with a few more in the ponytail. There are also seams on her arm, bracelet and blue skirt.

On the positive side, the figure makes heavy use of semi-transparent plastic. Both her skirt and cloak are somewhat see-through. The skirt reveals that under that flowing blue dress Vivi’s wearing…spandex shorts? The cloak and skirt also have pearlescent finishes.

Is that you, Peggy Hill?

Vivi has one thing in common with the PoP Luffy figure: both of them have poorly sculpted feet. Those aren’t so much feet as they are plastic slabs with nubs at the end. Luckily the rest of Vivi looks much better. The sculptor successfully reproduced the odd proportions of Oda’s girls, and the folds on her cloak and skirt are very well done.

The golden sands of Arabasta…or is it Alabasta? Alabaster?

I can’t say I’m a fan of the base’s color. In fact, the ugly piss yellow base is the main reason I held off on buying Vivi for so long. Perhaps a tan or even gold color would’ve better represented the Arabastan desert.

Surprisingly, Vivi’s base doesn’t feature the Mugiwara’s Jolly Roger. Instead it gives the title “Arabasta Princess” and what I assume is the emblem of Arabasta (a sun and two gusts of wind). Another thing of interest is how her name is romanized: Nefeltari Vivi instead of Nefertari Vivi. I always thought “Nefeltari” was a screw-up from 4Kids and Viz, but apparently it’s the proper spelling.

Then again, MegaHouse has spelled other character names oddly. For example, Ace’s name is listed as “Portgas. D. Ace”…still not too sure what that period after Portgas is for.

OVERALL: 6/10

+ Excellent folds in the cloak and skirt
+ Soothing blue color scheme with pearlescent finish

? – Skirt defect is an eyesore, though I’m not sure if this plagued all Vivi figures or just mine

- Surprising amount of seams for a MegaHouse figure
- What’s up with her feet?!
- Bad color choice for base

Vivi was on sale for a long, long time. Her figure was probably one of the slower PoP sellers, though she has finally managed to sell out. I can only really recommend her to One Piece fans, especially those looking to get all of the Straw Hats. Poor Vivi just doesn’t get the love and attention Luffy and the others do.

- G.K. Sil Kamina