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 it’s samurai pants, sleek suits, swimsuits and spandex.

Sakura Saber (Koha-Ace)
Good Smile Company, May 2015, ¥10,000

Zigg: Leaving aside the fact that it’s yet ANOTHER Saber figure, I actually really like this. The design is different enough to stand out and I really love the gradual fade from pale pink to deep red. The very strong single shade colour palette gives it a refreshingly unique look and the pose shows it off to its full effect. The face is perhaps a little on the flat side but the GSC name is a sure-fire mark of quality.

Aqua: It’s nice to see a new Saber design for once, though this is not actually the King Arthur we know. Sakura Saber, who appears in one of the ten gazillion Type-Moon parody manga, is apparently the Nasuverse’s equivalent of Souji Okita, the captain of the Taisho-era special police unit, the Shisengumi. Anyway, Good Smile Company hardly ever disappoint, and a graceful pose makes this figure into a real stunner. I especially like the hefty leather boots and the armguards, still making her look like a legit warrior despite wearing a cute kimono. It’s a solid, yet simple and memorable design, though the sheer obscurity of the character makes this one for hardcore Saber fans only.

Euri: Loving this figure. I’m sure the lack of colours will put some people off, but personally I think that the blend from red to pink really makes this stand out. The boots look great, the creases look realistic and there’s small details like the hand guards that just keep adding to the complete piece. I’m not that familiar with the character so I can’t really talk about how crazy or not this figure is, or on the accuracy of the head sculpt, though the hair does seem to be the weakest link. Hopefully the base won’t let the figure down, given the asking price.

Shinya Kogami (Psycho-Pass)
MegaHouse, January 2015, ¥9,250

Zigg: As ever I’m a huge fan of any time we get great looking male figures in, and Shinya certainly counts here. Sharp looking suit with excellent cloth modelling, two badass poses and a nice bit of attention to detail, even if the smoke is cheating for your press shots. Megahouse’s G.E.M. line continues to go from strength to strength.

Aqua: Smoke not included, sadly, though MegaHouse bring their A-game to the fray for this version of Kogami. As with other figures of the characters, however, his hair fails to make the transition into three dimensions unscathed, and his hand seems far too big compared to the rest of his arm. Still, it’s a badass pose and the figure nicely replicates the angular, overly detailed art style Akira Amano is known for. It is nice to a male character get a quality figure for once, but I can’t say I wouldn’t love to see Megahouse produce an Akane as well.

Euri: Another character I’m not familiar with, but from the shoulders down, this looks like quite the badass guy. Not exactly the most striking figure given the black and white, but I suppose that’s also the point. The head looks all sorts of wrong to me, like the hair taking up basically half of his head. Maybe that’s what he looks like, but to me it’s not worth just short of 10,000 yen. I do like that really cheeky Photoshop smoke, though. 

Rinko Iori (Gundam Build Fighters)
Roin, February 2015, ¥5,800

Zigg: This is mostly here as a joke, but it’s a surprisingly solid figure, even if you’re not a fan of Rinko’s character design, to put it civilly. However, I’ll maintain my longstanding stance that 1/10 is simply too small for a PVC figure, especially at the prices such things have climbed to.

Aqua: Those are some gravity-defying breasts on a character from a kids’ show. I know this figure is not for kids, but for crying out loud, guys. Come on.

Euri: Them curves though. Given that I watched my first episode of Build Fighters yesterday, I can’t say I’m incredibly familiar with this character beyond her role as mother to the protag and general shop assistant, but she seemed pretty cool in the few scenes I’ve seen of her. Also she’s super supportive and enthusiastic about Sei’s hobby, which means top marks from me. It’s perhaps a bit of a let down that clothing under her breasts seems to defy physics, giving this weird boob-attachment look to the figure, especially as this was on track to be one of the nicest and least-sexualised figures I’ve seen on AYM in a long time. 

Fate Testarossa Swimsuit Parka style (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha)
Aquamarine, January 2015, ¥9,241

Zigg: As Nanoha figures go this certainly isn’t terrible. I’m always a fan whenever Fate gets to wear something other than black and the parka adds a bit of life to offset the essential blandness of swimsuit figures. Awesome hair too, and a cool, slightly offbeat pose. As ever though, the essential ickiness of bikini figures makes this difficult to recommend.

Aqua: There’s a billion swimsuit Fates already and this is certainly not the very best of them. Her hips are twice as wide as her torso and she looks like she’s about to fall over, though admittedly, the parka and the scythe make for a nice addition. Spending 9,000 yen on a swimsuit figure is frankly ridiculous, however, because a, Beach Queens are a thing that exists and b, you are paying actual money for a statuette of a preteen girl in a bikini. Do yourself a favour and keep the Nanoha collecting limited to figures that are actually dressed, please.

Euri: Have we not had five hundred of swimsuit Fates already? When will it end?

Complete Deformation Danboard (Yotsuba&!)
Kotobukiya, April 2015, ¥3,200

Zigg: Just look at that picture. Do you even need me to tell you how amazing this is? The only thing I’ll say is I’m not sure how well that joint system will work, Also consider the excellent and much-reissued Revoltech version, which has the essential light up eyes this sadly lacks.

Aqua: ‘What can we do to make Danbo even cooler’, someone must have thought. Well, giving him sweet guns, apparently. He even gained the ability to transform, so the Metal Gear franchise had better step up its game in terms of innovative cardboard box technology. It’s cheap, it has guns, and it’s Danbo, so what are you even waiting for?

Euri: Danbo is love. Danbo is life. Danbo with a minigun is basically the best thing. Those barrels at the front of the gun look worryingly like they’re prone to bending, but besides that, this looks pretty good. If I’m remember right, the deformation Danbos are quite small, so be sure to check that before you jump on board because the price is very reasonable. 

S.I.C. Kamen Rider OOO Super TaToBa Combo (Kamen Rider OOO)
Bandai, April 2015, ¥8,400 (Exclusive)

Zigg: I’m sorry, I can never not see this design as a giant traffic light. The ridiculously over the top enhancements of the S.I.C. version only add to the goofiness. I do like the expanded mask, but otherwise this is a pretty solid pass for me.

Aqua: OOO’s organic design and the S.I.C. line are a match made in heaven, and while the earlier TaJaDor version looked a bit too scaly to be taken seriously, this Super TaToBa combo looks absolutely stunning. From the detailed, mecha-esque helmet to the viscious-looking claws and the badass, two-toned legs, this is one Eiji you don’t want to mess with. As usual, Bandai do a great job at providing maximum flexibility and variety of great accessories, from crooked grasshopper legs to gorgeous multicoloured wings. It looks a bit cheesy, but hey, it’s Kamen Rider. What did you expect?

Euri: I really enjoyed OOOs and would quite like a TaToBa figure, but I think I’ll stick with the regular one. Perhaps it’s a personal preference, but ‘Super’ or not, this thing is way too shiny/glittery for my liking. Just give me the barebones and maybe a floating arm.