ShadowKnight508 (Level 17)

Welcome, my fellow AnimeVice members, to this my fourth installment of the Weekly Figure Preview feature here on the Vice. Last week, we previewed three anime figures (Charlotte, Mio, Makise) along with one nendoroid (Kirino Kousaka), and this week will feature the same preview formula. All of the figures/nendoroids that will be featured in this preview can be found on Play-Asia's site. For any figures that are not on Play-Asia, I will provide a link for the product at the end of the figure's respective article. Due to my current enrollment at Butte College, all future previews might be shortened or even moved to another date (from each Thursday to each Friday) in case I need to better comply with my busy schedule of homework and studying. The line up for today, as follows:
 

1. Bakemonogatari 1/8th Scale PVC: Hitagi Senjougahara (Good Smile Version) (Good Smile Company)
2. Fate/Stay Night 1/7th Scale PVC: Saber Alter (Vortigern Version) (Good Smile Company)
3. Strike Witches 1/8th Scale PVC: Erica Hartmann (Re-run) (Kotobukiya Corporation)
   
4. Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Nendoroid PVC: Kuroneko (Good Smile Company) 

 
I will give the readers a preview of each figure, complete with two images, descriptions, price, and my overall thoughts on each figure. 

Bakemonogatari 1/8th Scale PVC: Hitagi Senjogahara (Good Smile Version)

Produced by the Good Smile Company and licensed by Shaft Studios as part of their official line of Bakemonogatari products, the 1/8th Scale Bakemonogatari PVC Hitagi Senjougahara figure is currently available on the global market since January 2011 in Japan and on Play-Asia's site for roughly 9,900 Yen (excluding taxes). It is sculpted by the talented figure sculptor Hironori Tokunaga with cooperation from Takayuki Kawahara for the Good Smile Company.
Being new to the Bakemonogatari anime as well as the Bakemonogatari franchise from Shaft Studios, I had to go and research more about the franchise and for Hitagi Senjogahara, the main female protagonist of the Bakemonogatari franchise. I came across this unique figure on the Good Smile Company site several weeks ago when looking up additional images for the Black Gold Saw preview I did two previews ago, so I decided that I would get around to featuring this figure, which caught my attention with all of the stationary falling out of her lifted skirt. She comes with a second swappable skirt as well as swappable hands that allows her to hold two staplers in her hands and the cascading stationary can be removed to how the collector wishes to display it in their collection. I really like the amount of effort and detail that both sculptors Hironori Tokunaga and Takayuki Kawahara along with Good Smile have put into this figure, from the flowing purple hair of Hitagi to her overall outfit and to the cascading stationary that rains down from beneath her lifted skirt. She would make a wonderful addition to anyone's figure collection who is looking for a high quality figure that is both eye-catching and unique to all who lay eyes upon it. Bakemonogatari was on my "To Watch" list in 2009, but sadly I never got around to it. Perhaps it is time I looked into it after all...
Height: 210 Mm (21 Cm)
Availability: Limited (Limited Edition: Currently available on Play-Asia since January 2011. Still in stock as of 8:00 PM on 2/2/2011)
Price: 9,900 Yen (roughly $119.90 USD)
Who It is Recommended For: Fans of the Bakemonogatari franchise, Hitagi Senjougahara, or the collector that is looking for a high quality addition to their expanding collection that will capture the attention of all who lay eyes upon her. 
 

Fate/Stay Night 1/7th Scale PVC: Saber Alter (Vortigern Version)

Produced by the Good Smile Company and licensed by TYPE-MOON as part of their official Fate/Stay Night line of products, the 1/7th Scale Fate/Stay Night PVC Saber Alter figure is expected to see global market release in April 2011 in Japan and on Play-Asia's site for roughly 9,490 Yen (excluding taxes). It is crafted by the talented figure sculptor Hiroshi (Sakurazensen) for the Good Smile Company.
For the first time since the 2nd preview, I am finally doing a preview on a figure that I am somewhat knowledgeable about, having read the Fate/Stay Night manga and watched some of the anime show last year. This figure's take on the lead female protagonist Saber is her Alter version, which is what Saber becomes when tainted by a evil shadow that corrupts her standard form. Filled with dark energy and poised to strike at her enemies with her powerful sword Excalibur, Saber's face is covered with a wicked mask that adds to the incredible job that both Hiroshi and Good Smile have put into this figure, from the details of her overall armor to her sword Excalibur down to the rugged terrain that makes up part of her base. She also comes with the Vortigern, the wicked blade that forms when Saber Alter summons up all of the dark energy in her system that can be swapped with her Excalibur and the mask on her face is removable to reveal the sinister glare in her now golden eyes. If you are a Fate/Stay Night fan or not, she would make a great addition to your growing figure collection due to the amazing job that Good Smile did in producing this incredible figure. This is the next figure that I will be investing in later this year, and hopefully you too will add her to your collection. I should get around to finishing the anime one of these days...
Height: 175 Mm [without the sword] (17.5 Cm)
Availability: Limited (Limited Edition: Currently for pre-order on Play-Asia and expected for global release in April 2011)
Price: 9,490 Yen (Roughly $114.90 USD) 
Who It is Recommended For: Fans of the Fate/Stay Night franchise, Saber, or anyone who is looking for an amazing figure that will become the new centerpiece of your expanding collection and does not mind the higher price that comes with the quality. 

Strike Witches 1/8th Scale PVC: Erica Hartmann (Re-Run of May 2010 Figure)

Produced by the Kotobukiya Corportaion and licensed by AIC Spirits Studios as part of the line up of official Strike Witches products, the 1/8th Scale Strike Witches PVC Erica Hartmann figure is currently available on the global market since January 2011 in Japan and on Play-Asia's site for roughly 7,010 Yen. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate the information regarding who crafted it on Play-Asia, Neko Magic, or on Kotobukiya's own site (it seems that they removed their Strike Witches section from their site), so sadly I do not know who exactly crafted her.
Now, I know that some of you that read last week's preview might be thinking "Hey, another Strike Witches figure? We saw the ALTER Corporation Charlotte Elwood Yeager one last week!", but one of the reasons that I choose to feature this Strike Witches figure is to compare it quality-wise to the incredible figure that the ALTER Corporation established in their Charlotte figure. I am not knocking on the quality of Kotobukiya Corporation's figures, but I am trying to compare their offering of a figure from a hit series to another figure of the same series from another company. Having roughly educated myself last week about the Strike Witches franchise and Strike Witches anime through research, I was aware of who Erica Hartmann was, but needed to look up more info regarding her character before previewing this figure. As stated in a prior preview, with me being a certified sucker for anime girls with guns, that was probably the main reason I first decided to feature Erica in this week's preview. She comes with swappable blades for her striker unit (one pair of stopped blades and a pair of spinning blades), the military hat on her head is removable to whatever the collector wishes to display her with, and her position can be altered slightly from the support that rises from her blue base. The detail that Kotobukiya has put into her is respectable, from her black military outfit to her machine gun that she wields into battle with the Neuroi forces. She would make a great addition to anyone who already owns Strike Witches figures or for anyone who is looking for a good quality figure that is not big of a hit to the wallet as some other figures can be.
Height: 220 Mm (22 Cm)
Availability: Limited (Limited Edition: Currently available for sale on Play-Asia since January 2011. Still in stock as of 8:00 PM on 2/2/2011)
Price: 7,010 Yen (roughly $84.90 USD)
Who It is Recommended For: Fans of the Strike Witches franchise, Erica Hartmann, or the collector looking to add a interesting figure that is of good quality that will catch the eyes of those who look upon it. 

Nendoroid Corner: Non-Scale Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii ga Nai! PVC: Kuroneko

For this week's installment of the Nendoroid Corner, we will be looking into the other nendoroid featured by the Good Smile Company from the hit anime/manga series Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii ga Nai. Today, we will be previewing Kuroneko, one of several female characters from Ore no Imouto and the otaku friend of Kirino Kosaka, who was featured in last week's preview. Produced by the Good Smile Company in cooperation with Nendoron and officially licensed by the joint association of Aniplex and ASCII Media Works, the Non-Scale Nendoroid PVC Kuroneko is expected to see global market release around April 2011 in Japan and on Play-Asia's site for roughly 3,460 Yen (excluding taxes). She is crafted by the talented figure sculptor Maruhige for the Good Smile Company.
Still being relatively new to the Ore no Imouto anime and the Ore no Imouto franchise, I had to look up more information regarding both the franchise and Kuroneko, one of the female characters of the popular anime franchise that Good Smile decided to make a nendoroid for in a collaboration with the Kirino Kosaka nendoroid that hits the market later this month.  She comes with several swappable facial expressions (Happy, Relieved, and Concern), a attachable set of kitty ears, as well as several swappable arms and legs to change up her pose to what the collector wants her displayed with along with a DVD case of her beloved "MASCHERA: Lament of a Fallen Beast" for her to hold in her hand. As I have stated before, I am not much of a fan of nendoroids in general, but Good Smile is slowly winning me over with all of these high quality nendoroids that I have been featuring lately. She would make a great addition to the nendoroid collector that is looking for a great quality figure that is both eye-catching and customizable to their needs. Still don't think that I will ever give the Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai anime a try, but at least you can own part of it...
Height: 100 Mm (10 Cm)
Availability: Limited (Limited Edition: Currently for pre-order on Play-Asia and expecting a global release in April 2011)
Price: 3,460 Yen (roughly $41.90 USD)
Who It is Recommended For: Fans of Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai franchise, Kuroneko, or the nendoroid collector that is looking for a great addition to their collection that is decently priced and will attract the eye of most who look in it's direction.
 
That wraps up Weekly Figure Preview: 2/3/2011. Next week's line-up is currently TBA (should announce final lineup by Sunday).
 
* William Anderson is currently attending classes at Butte College in the process of earning a Radio/TV/Film Bachelor's Degree by 2012. He writes short stories, regularly contributes to both AnimeVice and Giant Bomb's wiki databases, and is trying to catch up on the anime shows that he has fallen more than 3 months behind on. If you have any questions or figure requests, please PM me today!