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, sweet rides! And also a car.

Belldandy and Holy Bell (Ah! My Goddess!)
Max Factory, August, 15200JPY

Zigg:  Before we begin, it’s probably worth clarifying a few things. This particular figure is only 1/10 scale, the same scale as a Beach Queen and generally far below the scale of what would be considered a ‘serious’ figure. It’s very, very expensive. And I have no experience with Ah! My Goddess and couldn’t tell you anything about it. What I can tell you though, is that, holy crap, this thing looks absolutely amazing. Look at the graceful sweep of that cloth, the beautiful hair and delicate colours.  The smaller scale is mostly offset by the sheer size of the thing – if it had been made in 1/8 or 1/6 it would have been too huge to be practical. This is one of a number of figures Max Factory are producing to celebrate their 25th anniversary, and it’s most definitely a piece worthy of celebration.

Jel: It’s really cool that Max Factory decided to visit a classic series for their anniversary and this thing is gorgeous. Even if if you didn’t know what anime was it could almost pass as a decorative art statue you would buy to accessorize your house. I understand why it exists but I do wonder who is going to buy it. Ah! My Goddess isn’t exactly the most popular series with the kids these days and it’s a bit expensive to buy just for the looks, no matter how pretty it is.

Timmy: Man, this is pretty. I am sadly not familiar with the origins but I must say Max Factory has done a wonderful job here. Certainly a very extravagant figure with a price to match. Keeping things in check by going 1/10th was a good call, as this would be massive otherwise. Sadly I can’t cough up that much dough on something I am so unfamiliar with but very nice otherwise.

Rin Kagamine/Len Kagamine (Vocaloid)
Good Smile Company, June, 4450JPY each

Zigg: These two have been rare and in high demand for a while now so it’s great they’re getting a re-release.  I’ve always liked Rin and Len’s character designs too, so I think they’re smart looking representations. Len is definitely the better of the two in my eyes – his pose is more dynamic and he has an awesome keytar, thus conforming to my hilariously dated concept of cool. Rin isn’t bad either but I desperately wish she was posed in a way that wasn’t a grossly obvious attempt to highlight her butt, something which also has the unfortunate side effect of giving her Rob Liefeld-esque broken spine syndrome.  Nevertheless, I still like them and they look great together. They’re also cheap individually, but are you really going to buy just one?

Jel: Rin and Len don’t get the same amount of figure love as Miku, so it’s cool these are getting re-released. For the longest time I thought these came as a set so be prepared to pay up for both if you’re interested. Still, these are probably the best figure depictions of Vocaloid 02 out there so grab them while you still can.

Timmy: Its nice that GSC remembers that there are other characters besides Miku, and even nicer that they are giving folks a second chance to get these two. They look great and they are priced low enough were it isn’t too much of a pain to get the pair.

Patchouli Knowledge (Touhou Project)
Ichijinsha, July, 13650JPY

Zigg: Big fan of a lot of things on this figure – the incredibly dramatic pose, the fluttering pages and the killer base really jump right out at you. The one thing holding me back from giving the two thumbs up is the character herself – she’s very bland, not helped by the somewhat generic face and plain dress. The price is also something of a joke. I definitely like it, but it’s somewhat qualified.

Jel:I’ve really been wanting to see a great Patchy figure as her character has tons of potential and Griffon’s offerings have been a bit underwhelming. This delivers in a lot of ways, incorporating more motion and magic that other Patchy figures have dared before. As Zigg pointed out though, where’s all the detail on her dress? It almost looks like they forgot to paint it. I might be able to look past that but then the price (I think it’s some kind of exclusive or something) totally locks me out. I guess I’ll just have to hope Griffon revisits her someday and does a better job.

Lifesong: I feel like Kotobukiya have really been on their game lately. While Good Smile have been plagued with quality control issues and Alter are plagued with delays Kotobukiya has been stepping up to fill in the gaps. The price for this figure is pretty high and perhaps higher than this level of detail warrants but this is by far the best Patchouli figure I’ve seen. I love her expression and pose. I am very tempted to pick with one up.

Timmy: Save for some figmas I have been avoiding Toohoos like the plague. This, however makes me quite tempted to indulge a bit, despite knowing nothing about the character. Great sculpt, great pose, the only real downside is how expensive she is. Very nice figure otherwise.

Misty (Shining Blade)
Kotobukiya, July, 7440JPY

Zigg: The first and most important disclaimer that must be placed in front of this figure is this: Alter have already made a figure of this character. Normally that’d be the signal for everyone else to give up and go home, but Kotobukiya have had a damn good go at it.  This is a very smart looking rendition of Misty, one that’s stuck with a rather generic looking pose but looks to be well up to fit and finish standards.  I’ll stand by what I said last time and say I still like her design, and it’s definitely something very different from Alter’s work. In other words, it looks like a quality piece, but be aware there’s better out there.

Jel: It’s rare that I would say this but I actually like this one better than the Alter version. Alter’s looks very… clinical? Lifeless? While Koto’s version doesn’t have as nice a sculpt, overall it just looks more fun. And isn’t that what buying expensive plastic girls is all about?

Timmy: I am already pretty committed to Alter’s version but man, Koto has done a wonderful job on their version of Misty. There is so much energy and life in her pose I can’t help but love this. I will be terribly tempted to double up on Misty, and if she drops in price I may just have to get her.

Katsuragi (Senran Kagura)
Phat Company, August, 6750JPY

Zigg: I have a horrible, filthy, dirty secret – I sort of like this. Yes, it’s utterly, completely gratuitous, but then so is Senran Kagura and if you’re interested in this figure, you’re presumably totally OK with that.  For what it’s worth I love the energy this pose conveys, as well as the bright and vivd blue and white colouring.  Those boots are over the top in just the right way too, and beautifully painted. I’d like it a lot more if she’d put a shirt on, but it’s a pretty nice figure. Please call me names now.

Jel: EMBRACE IT ZIGG, don’t be ashamed! From the one episode of Senran that I watched, this is probably the only girl I remember due to her magical ninja  “transformation” – essentially to the pose we see here. The detail and paint on her boots look a little choppy, but overall it’s a very fun, energetic figure. I have a feeling our resident Senran afficionado Timmy will be all over this.

Timmy: Want. What Amiami has in store price-wise for their Katsuragi will ultimately decide which one I get since they both look great. Love that pose though, so much energy.

Nendoroid Petite x Mini 4WD Mikoto Misaka drives Thunder Shot (A Certain Scientific Railgun S…?)
Good Smile Company, June, 1700JPY

Zigg:  I…er….I don’t have anything. Really, why does this even exist? I get putting cute girls in cars has been a ‘thing’ for a while, but this thing is hideous and looks roughly on a par with a Happy Meal toy, and it’s just so bafflingly out of touch with the show it’s supposedly promoting it just seems like one of those ‘only in japan’ things. Thunder Shot is a cool name for a car though.

Jel: Yeahhh I’m just gonna wait for the proper Mikoto nendoroid. With Season 2 of Railgun on the way I’m sure there will be plenty more Biribiri where this came from.

Timmy: You know, if these were actually mini RC cars that offered more control I might actually consider getting one. But really, these look stupid, the only thing worthwhile is the petit.