Hello, and welcome to All Your Monies, where The Glorio Blog’s resident toy and figure collecting crew (and Iro) 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 time we’re aiming for the top.

Lal’C Mellk Mal (Diebuster)
Max Factory, November, ¥12,778

Zigg: Even leaving aside the fact that this is from my much beloved Diebuster this jsut an incredible figure. Cute, distinctive design? Check. Interesting colour palette? Check. Awesome base and fitting pose? Check. It’s hard to imagine a better rendition of the character than this and Max Factory are bound to deliver a quality product. Very tempting indeed, although that price is a little rough.

Jel: I’m more of a Nono guy but there are SO many good things going on here. Bringing back an old character? Check. Unique design and color scheme? Check. Cool pose and base? Check. Add on the perfect sculpt and the paper crane as a nice final touch and I am totally on board here.

Iro: I’m always up for Diebuster being acknowledged in any way, shape, or form, so this is pretty cool. The base is great, and the paper crane is a great detail for those who watched the show.

Hatsune Miku: Orange Blossom Ver. (VOCALOID)
Max Factory, October, ¥16,000

Zigg: It’s flashy. Very flashy. Probably too flashy if I’m being honest. I like the blue, orange and white colur scheme in principle but the decision to make everything pearlescent means that Miku ends up looking more cheap candy wrapper than expensive premium figure. On top of that the pose is the kind of unnatural Escher Girls-esque twist I’m not a big fan of, and we’re all surely just so exhausted of Miku at this point? Swing and a miss.

Jel: This is certainly an interesting spectacle to look at, but is it a good figure? Probably not. The use of blue and orange contrast is physically hurting my eyes, not to mention half her outfit is inexplicably shiny. It is a great pose and a great sculpt though, so if you’re sick of regular Miku as 99.9% of the figure collecting world must be, then maybe this is worth it?

Iro: I guess the ribbons look nice, but this entire figure looks like it was sculpted out of sugar candy. Also, the colors just remind me of orange juice and toothpaste, which is definitely not in Miku’s favor.

Hanayo Koizumi (Love Live!)
FREEing, September, ¥9,074

Zigg: I kind of like this, as low-key and basic as it is. In a sense, I think that might be the appeal – this is the very definition of unspectacular, but it’s cute (the glasses go a long way to defeat Love Live‘s trademark sameface), well painted, and charming in its own way. Plus FREEing have smartly priced this relatively low as far as the current market goes. I think I actually prefer this to some of the more fantastical concert outfits.

Jel: Zigg, are you just trolling us with all these plain school girls at this point? I have been very vocal about how much I hate the same face character designs of Love Live and this is no exception. The sculpt is solid and I like the glasses, but this is just milking the fanbase.

Iro: It is well-noted that I’m the glasses man here and I still think this is the most boring thing in the universe.

ARTFX J Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell ARISE)
Kotobukiya, August, ¥10,800

Zigg: Nice try I guess? I’ve never been overly comfortable with the excessive fanservice elements of GiTS and this certainly doesn’t do anything to stop those qualms. I kind of like the severe face but it’s very much out of place on a figure like this. Awesome base though.

Jel: I think everyone universally hates The Major’s character design from Arise and this figure is not helping. Her face always looked kind of weird with the chopped bangs, but it just looks straight up crooked here. Maybe it’s the angle? The base screams CYBERPUNK and is the coolest part of the figure, other than that I’m not feeling it.

Iro: I shouldn’t be surprised by bizarrely sexual figures at this point, but here we are. Granted, I haven’t seen any GiTS, but The Major seems like someone who should be shooting guys in combat gear rather than jacking into the Matrix in her undies.

Ririka (Original)
Flare, October, ¥14,500

Zigg: This is here because I really really like the costume design, and especially those lovely patchwork style stockings. The pose is cute too, if perhaps a little too provocative in those shorts. Biggest issue with this one is the enormous eyes, which make her look like a deformed child. Still nice to see some original stuff hit the high end market though.

Jel: Between the base and her pale skin, I immediately thought she looks like an ice cream sundae. It’s certainly a unique design and I love the touch of cool blue, not so hot on the face though. Those giant bug eyes seem to go well beyond even normal anime standards. So not only am I not going to buy this, I now want ice cream.

Iro: I like the patchwork-quilt pattern stockings, but that’s about the only thing I like about this. She looks like a character from an indie bullet hell game from 2004 or something.

Kamen Rider Necrom (Kamen Rider Ghost)
Bandai, November, ¥7,000 (Exclusive)

Zigg: Stop making core Riders pricey exclusives dammit Bandai. This isn’t even a super mode or a movie-exclusive, it’s just some Necrom-ass-Necrom. Why can I not just buy this from a store?

Jel: Wait, he doesn’t have a bug face! Are you guys sure this is a Kamen Rider? He does have a cool jacket though.

Iro: STANDBY, YES SIR. I still hate that dumbass diver helmet, though.

Saber DX (Fate/Grand Order)
Aniplex, January 2017, ¥20,000 (Exclusive)

Zigg: It’s certainly got big visual impact, and I will say it’s cool to see Saber actually rocking the giant cape. That LED light-up base seems like an expensive gimmick though, I’d much rather have seen something better sculpted and static. The biggest problem is that we’ve seen so many Saber figures by now, especially of this look, and you can get some great ones for way, way less money than this. Impressive then but not especially compelling.

Jel: There was a time in my life that I might have been into this gaudy monstrosity, but years of Saber fatigue have taken their toll. Also if you really think about it, there’s a lot of extra layers and accessories here, but it’s somehow still kind of boring. Maybe it’s the pose, the expression on her face, or the aforementioned fatigue, but I feel like you’d be better off trying to grab the recently re-released Saber Lily.

Iro: It’s a rare pleasure to see Saber in full kingly garb (that is, the flashy cape) but otherwise this is just another Saber. Though, I suppose we should cherish it before the Shaft Fate/Extra anime begins the storm of Red Saber figures…