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, it’s the last roundup of 2012!

Insane Black Rock Shooter 
Good Smile Company, June 2013, 10580JPY

Dragonzigg:  This is a figure of incredible design damaged by a weird pose. The detail on this one looks amazing – sure the design is a little busy with all the spikes, chains, buckles etc but the paint finish looks to be absolutely outstanding and the care that’s been put into crafting the armour and weapons is obvious. I can see what they’ve tried to do with the pose, but to my mind it lacks the fluidity and motion that characterise the best sculpts. Awesome base though. She’s expensive but considering what’s on display I think that’s a fair price.

Aqua: Great craftsmanship comes at a price. A price of insanity. Insane Black Rock Shooter looks badass as always, but the enormous size of her wretched blade cannon force the figure into a rather awkward pose. The spikey design is certainly an acquired taste – but I love it. Her messy hair is whipped up by a violent wind and the galvanized finish on her armour and weaponry looks astonishing. The biggest problem here is that you could be getting so much better for that price. You’d go insane for less.

Jel: This is the first BRS figure I’ve seen in a good long while that made me stop and look. I’m not totally sure why as I don’t think her design is particularly more impressive than any other BRS design, maybe I’m just finally recovering from the BRS figure fatigue everyone seems to have. The part where Insane BRS shows up in the most recent anime was pretty cool so maybe it’s because we finally have something to connect the figures with? I’m still not impressed enough to shell out that kind of cash for her, but it’s a really cool figure nonetheless.

Lifesong: Honestly I’ve never been much of a fan of any of the BRS designs, but even I will admit that this sculpt is pretty impressive.

Timmy: Wow, GSC has been doing pretty well with the BRS static line but this one knocks things out of the park. There is so much detail here from the armor to the cannon, hair, and chain, it is quite impressive. I think that pose looks alright as well and I like the off balance of it. Price is pretty high but I say you are getting your monies worth on this one.

Misty (Shining Blade)

Alter, May 2013, 10380JPY

Dragonzigg: I’ll go against the grain here and say that I really like this. The figure is a lovely mix of some bright, attractive colours, the pose is really interesting and not something you see too often and Alter bring their trademark quality to the table. I’m no big Shining or Tony Taka fan but considering the number of boring, generic figures that have slipped out under his name, this one is welcomingly peppy.

Aqua: Oh, hello, Tony Taka. Nice seeing you. Again. Did you draw another vapid big-breasted girl that looks like all your other vapid big-breasted girls? Good for you. Did one of your vapid big-breasted girls get made into a figure again. Sure looks nice. I especially like the generic frilly dress, the obligatory translucent thigh-highs and the face you just traced from any of your other character designs. I’m certain people will love to spend ten thousand yen on a generic figure with horrible “magic effects” from a game they don’t even want to play. You know what, Tony? Why don’t you go back to drawing doujins? It’s obviously what you prefer and we’ll all be rid of you. So, see you in three weeks, then?

Jel: This figure looks like mess of unrelated ideas that just don’t mesh together. The magic effects on the umbrella don’t make sense, her dress or skirt or whatever that is just floats unnaturally and her general pose is just… awkward. With more Shining figures out there than most other series, there are plenty of better, less expensive options available.

Lifesong: I am not a big fan of this one. I love Tony Taka’s artwork in general, and I can’t really find anything faulty about this figure itself; however, I am not all that hot on the original design. This is impressive work by alter on a technical level, but I have no love for it personally.

Timmy: Man, so many haters. I think this Misty came out real nice. The water effect is cool, The pose is very dynamic with her appearing to be in a full sprint, the level of detail with the clothing is amazing, and her face looks great. She is a bit on the pricey side but I think with this much going on she worth it. Ordered.

Cryska Barchenowa (Muv Luv Alternative Total Eclipse)
Kotobukiya, May 2013, 7030JPY

Dragonzigg: It’s all about the colour on this one. I love the mix of soft blues, purples and black that really nicely complement her hair, and the relaxed lying pose seems to fit the character of those colours very well. Not a huge fan of the character design itself (Breasts!) but Kotobukiya have steeped up quality wise recently and this matches that level. Solid buy.

Aqua: “Yo, guys, we need another character for Muv-Luv!” “Eh, let’s just recolour Yui and slap Rei Amayami’s head on her. Every mecha show needs a Rei, right?” “Wait! Let’s give her a stupid-looking crotch guard! And boobs! BOOOOOOBS!” “But we already had a character with finormous monster boo-” “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBS! MONEY! MONEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!” *explosion*

Jel: I understand Cryska is meant to be displayed with Yui and eventually Inia, but by herself it looks like something is missing. I think if they had posed her standing up she could look good on her own and still be posed back to back with the others. Besides that though (and it is a pretty big besides) Cryska’s sculpt is dead on, and even if the color of her suit isn’t as visually striking as Yui’s it still looks pretty cool.

Lifesong: This is the best of the Total Eclipse figures in my opinion. Cryska is perhaps a bit less eye catching than Yui, but sometimes less is more. If I pick up any of the Total Eclipse girls this will be the one.

Timmy: Cryska looks pretty nice here. The colors complement each other well, the pose is nice and relaxed, her armor looks pretty cool, and her face is nicely done. My only complaint is her breasts look a little weird, but otherwise Kotobukiya did a pretty nice job.

Nyaruko (Haiyore! Nyaruko-san)
FREEing, May 2013, 6750JPY

Dragonzigg: I like the pose, which is just different and energetic enough to stand out, and Nyaruko herself is not an unattractive design, though the face is a little odd. But man, FREEing seem to have really gotten full of themselves price wise recently.  They aren’t Alter, and they shouldn’t be demanding this kind of money for a small scale average figure like this. 

Aqua: That face just asks to be punched. It’ll probably break the stupid ahoge right off too. And what’s that on her foot? The world’s biggest chewing gum? I’d rather have a figure of the actual Nyarlothep on my shelf. Who the hell even stands like that without falling over and twisting their spine? Were they even trying?

Jel: Ugh, that face. And those big thick sleeves. This looks like a mediocre garage kit sculpt with a nice paint job. Come on FREEing, I know you’re better than this.

Lifesong: I think this is the kind of thing where I would really need to like the anime to care at all. I have not and do not.

Timmy: Everything but that expression looks pretty good and it’t nice to be reminded that FREEing is capable of doing something other then bikini babes.

Real Action Heroes Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)
Medicom, August 2013, 16550JPY

Dragonzigg: The Madoka RAH line has constantly impressed, and Homura might be the best example yet. Her costume covers all the nasty joints, you get plenty of acessories, including the obligatory weapons, but also a full hair and face replacement for her more bumbling look. Detailing is great as ever, but the price remains a sticking point. These things are caught in an awkward halfway house – too big and expensive for most figure collectors, too small and not creepy enough for dolls.

Aqua: I’ve always found the Real Action Heroes line to be a bit silly, as they are essentially oversized Barbie dolls, but their silly “real” clothes do have one considerable plus: They allow for a figure to be posed and accessorized without being wrecked by the ever dreaded joints. Homura comes with a plethora of firearms and even an alternative face and hairstyle to turn her into fan favourite “Moemura”, though the insane price tag and rather unsettling size beg the question why the heck you wouldn’t just spend 1/8th of that price on the figma, which comes with all the same options. Suddenly those joints don’t seem all too bad.

Jel: Even by RAH standards (which are usually pretty good) I have to say Homura looks fantastic. All the weapons and what not you’d expect are there but I was particularly impressed by the level of detail on her shield, really digging down into the detailed inner workings of it. You’d still have to be nuts or totally loaded to pay for one of these, BUT if you are one of those two things it looks like you’ll be getting a great figure.

Lifesong: As far as the Real Action Heroes line goes this Homura looks to be a pretty solid release. All the joints are well hidden and the design is very true to the original. If I were more of a Homura fan I would be all about picking this one up.

Timmy: I thought Madoka looked great but Homura looks absolutely fantastic. The clothes look great and hide the joints well and she has tons of accessories to boot. So very tempting but I doubt I will be able to bring myself to spend 200 bucks on on this giant, poseable Homura, even though she appears to be worth that much.