Hello, and welcome to All Your Monies, where The Glorio Blog’s resident toy and figure collecting crew (and Aquagaze) will run down the last week’s new preorders, turning a loving or scathing eye over what’s been put out for you to spend your hard earned cash on. This week, Zigg returns to restore (relative) taste and decency to this feature.

Hacker (Chelsea) (7th Dragon)
Max Factory, April 2013, 7420JPY

Dragonzigg: An incredibly smart, stylish and impeccably designed figure that holds almost no appeal for me. I don’t exactly know what turns me off of it – possibly the fact I’ve never been a huge fan of the whole gothic lolita thing – but even though it isn’t my cup of tea, it’s hard to deny how striking this is, or the high quality the finished model exudes.

Aqua: She has arrived! My favourite figure from WonFes is now available for pre-order, so what are you still waiting fo-Oh, she’s 7000 yen. Well, anyways, just look at her! Without even having to give two craps about the game she’s from (don’t, it’s eye-meltingly appalling), hacker stands tremendously on her own. I love Shirow Miwa’s art style, and her design looks equally as stunning as it did months ago. Hacker’s design finds itself drop-dead in the center between Emily The Strange, Tim Burton and Hajime Ueda’s works for Bakemonogatari, and makes for an absolutely jaw-dropping design that doesn’t even yell “huge nerd” at first look. The details in the frills, the haughty pose, the matte finish, the terrific pigtails, the plateau shoes, the stuffed toy, the neatly detailed shiny crown… seriously, do I need to continue?

Lifesong: I liked the samurai from the same set better. This figure has an interesting look to her, but she is not really something I want to add to my collection.

Timmy: I must admit while I have little interest in this character her design looks fabulous. Max Factory has done a wonderful job here.

Jel: Personally I’d prefer Samurai but Hacker also looks fantastic. Aqua covered all the superlatives, I’ll just say I wish these designs weren’t wasted on a game that looks so boring.

Figma Black Gold Saw (Black Rock Shooter TV)
Max Factory, March 2013, 2880JPY

Dragonzigg: This is a fantastic reproduction of the design. I’m a big fan of the TV reimaginings of the characters, which might lose a little bit of Huke’s trademark style but make up for it with cleaner, simpler lines which preserve all the essentials of the original look. I’m not big on Black Gold Saw so I’ll pass (give me Chariot, or Strength) but you can’t deny the impact or cool look of this one.

Aqua: Wait, since when do the Black Rock Shooters (or whatever the heck you’re supposed to call them) have an actual skin colour? Max Factory’s new Black Gold Saw does an excellent job at hiding the much-maligned joints, and — though very fragile-looking — employs a rather simplistic design, based on Saw’s anime appearance as messed-up guidance counselor Saya Irino. As Irino was ten years older than the other girls, her alter ego received a substantial redesign in order to make her look more mature. Aside from the cup size being cranked up a notch, the new BGS is taller and more feminine-looking, which results in a figma looking more haughty than demonic and menacing. The maniacally grinning face she comes with does little to prevent this. Despite their quality, the TV-version figmas reduce Huke’s beloved designs to characters almost normal and human, rather than the hyper-stylized cyberpunk lolitas we know and love. And that’s a pity.

Lifesong: They are still making these? I feel like I am one of the only people who doesn’t like Huke’s designs. I don’t hate them, but I am very neutral about them. It’s odd as I usually love red and black. I do like this thing one more than the rest, but not by a large enough margin to buy her.

Timmy:  I have managed to avoid most of the BRS merc and my wallet thanks me oh so very much. Although Black Gold Saw is one of the better designs. Looks to be a pretty kickass figma but not enough to plunder my wallet.

Jel: Oh yeah remember when Black Rock Shooter was a thing? That’s sooo early 2012. I think we’ve had enough of a break from the flood of BRS related figures I can now start to appreciate how cool they really are. I think I still might prefer huke’s more stylized, less color coded versions of the characters on paper, but figure wise the TV versions just look more substantial. As far as BRS though, she’s probably the least interesting of the group, although that giant sword is still pretty cool. Pick her up if you gotta catch em’ all.

Nadia – Renewed ver. (Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water)
Wave, June 2013, 3580JPY (Re-issue)

Dragonzigg: I do wish Wave had pushed the boat out a bit on this and made something bigger than the tiddly 1/10 scale they deal with, but I’ve always loved Nadia’s design and to see a decent static of her reissued is reason enough to get a mention in here. Pose is perhaps a little risque, but not excessively so, and it’s a nice treatment on the colours, rendering a classic design easy on the modern eye.

Aqua: Ah, one from the good ol’ days when Hideaki Anno was still sane, and anime girls were still strong, independent heroines who dressed appropriatel- Oh. Nadia is still a loveable anime heroine, and while this figure might not be all that exciting, the bargain price certainly is. Indispensable in your Gainax collection.

Lifesong: Cute but also kind of boring.

Timmy: I can’t say I am familiar with this character but she is quite lovely and at a very nice price too. Makes me wish Wave would stop focusing so much on churning out mindless swimsuit figures all the time and focus on this sort of thing a little more.

Jel: Hooray older characters! I should probably watch Nadia at some point as it’s the only old Gainax thing I haven’t seen. Between that and the fact that this is a tiny 1/10th scale I will pass, but for fans it’s not like you’re going to see Nadia figures everyday. Go place your order.

Xiao Mei (Shining Hearts)
Kotobukiya, December, 6600JPY

Dragonzigg: Great great figure, beautifully designed and painted. Terrible, terrible pose, unless of course you’re into butts in a big way. Another fine example of immaculate figure craft being wasted on boring semi-ero stuff. And yes, I’ve never gotten the Tony Taka love.

Aqua: Yeah, yeah, nice flowing fabric and all, but for crying out loud, woman, put some pants on! Also, how the heck did you stick that taiyaki to your closed mouth? How does that even work? Damnit, Tony Taka, when will your character designs not all look the same?

Lifesong: I would love to add her to my collection if she hadn’t sold out before I noticed her. As one of the best characters from Shining Hearts I hope to nab one of her figures at some point, preferably this one.

Timmy: Mei is back to plunder your wallet a second time and still just as frisky as ever.

Jel: Guhhh Tony Taka or not I want nothing to do with a figure from that Bread series.

Altina Mel Sylphis (Shining Blade)
Kotobukiya, April 2013, 5420JPY

Dragonzigg: I really like the costume, the colour (more sky-blue figures please) and the bow, but  the lady herself is super bland and unmemorable. Boring pose, empty face, nothing more to look upon. A prime example of a lovely figuree made without any sort of soul.

Aqua: Woo, generic scantily-clad archer girl from generic RPG that will never be released in the West! Watch her fire arrows, cast nature-themed magica, fawn over the male lead, have no personality and throw money at Tony Taka! Next.

Lifesong: Another cute Tony Taka girl who sold out ASAP. I love this design quite a bit; this girl radiates a certain warmth despite her cold colors. If I knew the character I probably wouldn’t have any resistance to buying her, but as it stands she is already long sold out.

Timmy: Altina looks quite lovely and I could always use more Tony Taka figures. If I had the cash I would have pulled the trigger on this but sadly I don’t. 

Jel: Great outfit design but the pose seems kind of awkward for someone carrying a bow. I will give bonus points for the barely noticeable, nearly transparent thigh-high stockings though.

Beach Queens Rise Kujikawa (Persona 4)
Wave, November 2012, 3100JPY

Dragonzigg: EW. That face! That pose! That outfit! It’s all desperately, desperately off, and as a result Rise looks like some sort of stumbling drunk, and not in the amusing KING’S GAME way either. Hair is an amorphous blob,  pose is silly and looks like she’s about to fall over, that face is definitely off the mark. Pass.

Aqua: There’s really not much to say about Beach Queens. They are cheap, they ship quickly, they have excellent skin tone detailing, they always desperately try to make a statuette of a tiny anime girl in a bikini look interesting, and they are creepy as heck. Rise is no different, aside from her hair looking like the goober on the album cover of Battles’ Gloss Drop, so once, again, the choice is all yours. Don’t sprain your ankle, Risette!

Jel: Uh, who took a lighter to her hair? It looks like they tried to sculpt it but then it melted. I suppose we can only expect so much from the Beach Queens line, but even by their standards this looks pretty cheap.

 Timmy: Uh, Guys? Isn’t this a release this month and not a preorder? You must really like Rise Zigg. As far as this one goes the only points it has going for it are the fact that its Rise and that that pink swimsuit’s with the white lines is a nice change from the usual fare. Everything other then that is pretty meh though. I can see what they were trying with the pose but it just came out looking silly.

Real Action Heroes EVA-02 (Rebuild of Evangelion)
Medicon, May 2013, 17300JPY

Dragonzigg: Love this to bits. EVA-02 is a classic designs, and the scale of the RAH line means we can get tonnes of really nice detail into this one, along with some cool accessories. The normally obvious joints aren’t an issue on a robotic design like this. My issues with RAH remain though – you’d either expect something even bigger, or you’d expect a price far lower. As it is, the two are just too far apart.

Timmy: Really nice but really bloody expensive. Considering this is EVA there has to be something cheaper out there.

Aqua: Nice one, but coughing up the money for it will screw you over more than watching End of Evangelion all day long. (Zigg’s note – Not possible)

Jel: I don’t really have much to say about EVA figures at this point. There is always a better option available, so keep shopping. As with any RAH the poseability and accessories. but I’m sure you can find something comparable for a better price.