To Heart 2 Another Days: Kousaka Tamaki Panic!

Ok, so coming out in June in Japan comes this shy and reserved figure of Kousaka Tamaki from To Heart 2. Of course by shy and reserved I mean...well...I think you know what the main appeal of this figure is. Lets just say it's not aimed at the militant feminists out there and leave it at that.

Expensive but I'm sure there are lots of people out there that will find many many reasons (or at least two) to place that preorder.

Conventions and Bootlegs

So bootlegs, they're a bit crap then don't you think?  If you answered no to that question, then I'm afraid come the end times you will NOT be allowed to pass go and collect two hundred assorted PVC figures.

Photo comes courtesy of ebay which as most people know is the centre of the universe when it comes to appallingly bad yet readily available bootleg figures.

Now at most Cons you really do not often see bootleg dvds anymore - far less than you used to that's for sure.  That's a good thing.  Yet, you nearly always see endless amounts of fake pvc figures, plushies and charms, keychains etc.

Now I'm sorry but why is one not ok and the other seems to be acceptable?  They're both harmful to the industry.  Many conventions state that they simply do not know what's fake and what's real.  That may be so but you know something lets take plushies as an example - Japanese official plush ALWAYS have the copyright label somewhere, they ALWAYS come with a tag, they ALWAYS state the manufacturer.  So when you see a guy selling a 3ft tall Death Note plush that looks like crap you may just may want to check into that.  For a number of reasons, it hurts legitimate sellers, it hurts the customers who think they're spending good money on a decent item and maybe because that item was not put through any quality control system in any way shape or form.  I cringe every time I see a young kid with a fake plush, who can say what that thing is actually stuffed with..

There is no easy answer but a line should be drawn in the sand.  Bootlegs are not ok.  People who sell them are not ok.  They should not be allowed to profit from conventions.  I'd like to see the Japanese manufacturers take a much stronger stance on this.  It hurts them and it hurts the industry.

Bleh this is a topic that I could write about all night.  Suffice to say, bootlegs and bootleggers are one of the things I despise most in the world.

PVC Pricing

Ok, so pretty much anyone who follows the whole PVC figure market from Japan will have noticed and felt the pain of ever increasing prices.  My question though, if given a chance to pose it to the manufacturers, would be what exactly is the reasoning behind it? 

Collectors and their money is a relatively finite resource.  It CAN run out.  Surely a lower price point is healthy for sales and for the market as a whole?  It seems that if sales are down across the industry then that should indicate that perhaps the pricing is no longer acceptable to the market in general?  

It just seems that we are squeezed more and more when it comes to SRP on PVC figures.  This is a niche market - higher prices just push these items further and further away from the reaches of new fans.  I don't feel all that optimistic about this industry right now.

The photo below says it all..

Familiar of Zero: Nendoroid Louise

The Nendoroid series of excessively adorable PVC figurines are released by Good Smile Company. The latest announcement to the line comes from Familiar of Zero a series of light novels and the accompanying anime adaptations. For more details on the anime take a look at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_no_Tsukaima

Louise is a prime example of why I love this figure line. She is adorable. It's an undeniable fact. The usual series of facial expression changes are great and cover a wide range of emotions. The production values will no doubt be up to the usual Good Smile standards. The only issue I have with Nendoroids is that they do tend to be a little on the small side, 14cm is not tiny but sometimes I do yearn for just one extra inch. I was still talking about Nendoroids there, get your mind out of the gutter. ;)

Image comes courtesy of the official Good Smile website:

http://www.goodsmile.info

an excellent source of information on some of the very best figure releases.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Haruhi Suzumiya Live Version

This is probably one of the most impressive figures I've seen in quite a while. Although I must admit to suffering a little from Haruhi figure fatigue this one did still stand out as something just a little bit special. The detailing on the outfit and the guitar just look great, really impressed with the recent figure work from Max Factory. I do believe the other Haruhi girls are getting similar releases, assemble the band for an admittedly expensive yet awesome jam session. :)

The closing song that's now permanently established in anime fandom courtesy of Youtube:

1/12 Cobra & Airbike

This is a pretty cool release from MegaHouse. Cobra is a manga classic which was turned into a successful anime move and tv series in the early 80s. In 2008 there was also a new 4 episode OVA series. It is a little pricey at 15,000Y but for fans of the original series this may prove very very tempting. :) Set for release in Japan in mid March.

UFO Catcher prizes and why you should care

UFO Catcher prize goods are one of my favorite ways of getting cool anime and video game related items without going bankrupt. ;)  In my opinion the best ones are generally made by either Banpresto, Sega or Taito.  Relatively inexpensive and usually of a surprisingly high quality  they are always worth a look.

Many of the initial product announcements are sometimes just shown as concept art.  Like the Vocaloid figurines by Sega shown below:

Figures like this will normally retail for approximately $20.00 which considering the size is a great deal.  Most online retailers will carry figures like this so if you ever feel like purchasing something new try a prize good - they might just surprise you. :)