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 pre-orders, turning a loving or scathing eye over what’s been put out for you to spend your hard earned cash on. This week CATCH YOU CATCH YOU CATCH ME CATCH ME

Nendoroid Sakura Kinomoto (Cardcaptor Sakura)
Good Smile Company, September, ¥3,890

Zigg: 

Timmy: I haven’t even watched the show and I want this. GSC has done a wonderful job on their chibi Sakura here and its great to see them doing something that isn’t Miku to celebrate their 400th Nendoroid.

Lifesong: So cute I could hurl. I jest, but this figure could be more sugary if it were topped with icing. Actually… that would be an awful idea. Not a fan of the series, but if you are count yourselves lucky. Older characters don’t get this kind of attention often.

Aqua: About bloody time! Sakura looks cute as a button in Nendoroid version, even though Kero keeps freaking me the hell out. Iconic character, nice accessories, adorable expressions and great poseablilty, this is everything you want from a Nendoroid. A worthy owner of the honorary title of 400th of its kind. And hey, at least it’s not Miku.

Mikasa Ackerman (Attack On Titan)
Good Smile Company, October, ¥11,260 (DX Ver. ¥14,800)

Zigg: I’m really beginning to feel the Attack on Titan fatigue at this point, but that’s counteracted by the fact this is a really impressive figure. My major criticisms are with the pose (which is a bit too comic-book pinup spinebreaking for me) and the use of gloss paint on the jacket, which is a decision which can only really be judged when the final product comes in. Still, detail is excellent, it looks incredibly dynamic and that base is killer if you want to fork out for the DX version. Now, a break please.

Timmy: Definitely among the best figures of Mikasa we have seen thus far. Everything from the face, hair, outfit and especially the Maneuver Gear looks great, as expected of GSC. That DX base is pretty neat as well, though that price is pretty killer. At least the shipping won’t be steep.

Lifesong: Should her body really be coiled like that? Her spine is going to snap if she actually hits something with those blades. The physics of Attack on Titan make me nauseous in way I’m not sure how to explain. Who cares about physics in anime? Anime breaks the laws of physics all the time! It must be the way this almost makes sense. Or maybe it’s the fact that I want to believe it would really work even though I know it wouldn’t. Analasis of posture aside I think GSC did good work here. I am not a big far of the outfits in general, but I do like the details on the weapon and steampunk gear thing. Those shiny boots are sexy. How does Mikase keep them in such pristine condition while routinely flying around hacking at titans?

Aqua: Remember that Eren we posted a few weeks ago? This is the same figure, only with a scarf and breasts. Attack on Titan has been showered in nods from pretty much every major figure company ever, and obviously, this is a wonderful statue. I’m just really tired of talking about Attack on Titan figures, and you don’t need my word for it to see that this thing is pretty great. If you were smart enough to wait out on buying a Mikasa, I don’t think she’ll ever get better than this.

Gray Fullbuster (Fairy Tail)
Good Smile Company, September, ¥7,980

Zigg: Another fine, excellently crafted entry into GSC’s Fairy Tail range, Though it’s quite a static pose, that suits the more meticulous character of Gray, and the facial expression is excellent. Great detailing too, from the flapping shirt to the admirable abs. Not going to set the world on fire, but exactly what I’d want as a fan of the character.

Timmy: While Gray is pretty much as well crafted and detailed his pose just feels a little underwhelming to me. Perhaps some ice effects would have helped. Still a nice figure though and I’ll probably grab him in the aftermarket to fill out the set.

Lifesong: Not enough cast off. Seriously Gray’s whole shtick is that his clothes fall off whenever he starts to do well… anything. At least the shirt comes off, but where are the boxers? I guess they are showing at least. The pose is kind of boring, but it fits Gray to a T so I can be forgiving of that. The attention to details here are nice. His mouth looks usually wide, but it’s a minor distraction from an otherwise accurate to the character figure.

Aqua: Grey’s original design is still his best, from the chiseled abs to that extremely cheesy pocket chain. Unlike GSC’s earlier Natsu, Grey doesn’t have the same manga-inspired shading on his skin, as a result looking rather flat, especially in his face. The removable shirt is pretty much mandatory, yet it’s a bit of a pity he doesn’t come with any ice magic to display him next to Natsu. Nevertheless, Gray is a wonderful addition to Good Smile’s fantastic Fairy Tail lineup, with a badass pose and high attention to detail. Ice, ice, baby.

Aoba & Ren (DRAMAtical Murder)
Good Smile Company, September, ¥3,440

Zigg: Aoba’s great character design helps this Nendoroid stand out nicely from the crowd, and it’s cool that GSC backs that up with a solid range of accessories. The cast off top is the big headliner here of course but the inclusion of Ren and a myriad of other touches designed to appeal to fans of the game show a lot of thought has gone into this one. Not my thing but no doubt someone’s dream figure.

Timmy: Good Smile and co earned themselves a fair number of fan girls with their amazing scale of this pair so it doesn’t surprise me they are trying to milk a bit more cash out of the franchise. Aoba is alright, though I think your mileage will vary on how much you appreciate that topless body. Ren is a cutie though so that’s a big plus and the price isn’t too bad either.

Lifesong: Don’t know who this is, but he sure is blue? The puppy is cute.

Aqua: Holy shit, it’s Missle’s black-furred cousin! Instabuy.

Akane Tsunemori (Psycho Pass)
Union Creative, July, ¥7,880

Zigg: I think the pose is really interesting and awesome and it’s super cool that we’ve got a lady figure that isn’t just focused around blatant sex appeal. But when I see that face I just see a Homestuck character so yeah, no.

Timmy: Pretty classy. I am digging the detail of her suit and her pose in general. Her face is really damn pale though to the point of it being pretty off putting, even if her face is actually suppose to be that way. I also wish the base was a bit more elegant as well. That stand running parallel to her leg seems to be focused more on function over form, though at least she will be nice and sturdy I guess.

Lifesong: Was Akane always this pasty? I know she was kind of pasty in the anime, but THIS pasty? This looks like a taxidermied corpse. She is desperately in need of better shading on her suit and wow those seam lines are awful. Also don’t those guns have neat scifi lights in the anime? I guess you can see some of that if you look closely at the gun, but overall I feel like they didn’t even try. This figure is barely above prize figure quality.

Aqua: I love Akane’s design. Spunky, yet formal — she dresses like an actual policewoman would dress, yet still looks ‘anime’ enough to stand out. Union Creative’s rendition brings it to live quite well in an action-packed pose, with iconic Dominator in tow, yet sadly enough, Akane’s face looks even paler than it does in the show, which makes her look rather creepy. The futuristic base is a nice plus though, so if you’re a big Psycho-Pass fan, this seems like a good buy.

Kuroneko ‘Next class pool’ ver. (OreImo)
Chara-Ani, August, ¥7,260

Zigg: Shit, I already used my GIF allocation this week didn’t I? Oh well, better actually say something I suppose. I actually don’t mind the swimsuit/shirt combo – it’s at least an interesting way to do a sexy figure and gives you more actual stuff to work with. But god, different subject matter please, preferably one that isn’t arrestable.

Timmy: Speaking of classy I have to give props to Chara-Ani for combining both the dress shirt and school swimsuit fetishes into one figure. I’ll admit the face is nicely executed, though there are already more then plenty of Kuroneko figures with pretty faces out in the wild already.

Lifesong: They got the embarrassed -I’m stripping off my creepy fetish-ware swimsuit for you look- right. The detailed shading on her legs stands out to me. If you find Kuroneko removing her swimsuit irresistibly hot then hey this is perfect for you! Not something I want anywhere near my collection.

Aqua: There are many nice Kuroneko figures out there. This is not one of them. Rest assured that I will be more than happy to judge the fuck out of you if you buy this.