Figma News Fridays: Special Summer Wonderfestival 2015 Edition

*Out of breath after reading title*

It’s that time of the year again: Wonderfestival! Where paychecks are spent before we even have them!

Wonderfestival unites the figure industry for the sole purpose of trapping us in this hobby for at least another six months. Figures of all kinds are shown, but what is important to us today is figmas. And with companies like FREEING, Phat, and now Orange Rouge branching out to make figmas along with Max Factory, we have a lot to look at.

As is the usual routine with Figma News Fridays during Wonderfestvial, we will cover everything at the event beginning with announcements, then unpainted prototypes, and finally painted prototypes. I will include whatever opinion I have along with series information, what I know about release dates and pricing, and whatever other helpful information I can find. There’s a lot to look at, so let’s get started!

Announcements

Miyo Asato: Tactical System Uniform Girl Announced

Manufacturer: Tomytec
Origin: Little Armory

Google searches of Miyo Asato returned the entry on MFC and tombstones, so I don’t think there is much about her. Little Armory is what the Tomytec 1/12 weapons were released under, so I can only assume that Miyo is a character created for their line. She may also be Yuki Nagato’s sister.

Celty Sturlson Announced

Manufacturer: FREEing
Origin: DurararaX2

What a tiny image. I did my best.
That we’re getting a Celty figma only now is actually surprising! I have no doubt that Celty will make a fine figma, but what does worry me is that she is bring produced by FREEing and not Max Factory. I’ve never owned a FREEing figma, so I can’t say they’re bad, but quality appears lower in preview images, and I wonder why a well known character would not be produced by the main figma branch. Hopefully she gets her bike!

Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima Announced


Manufacturer: Orange Rouge
Origin: DurararaX2

These two are not being released as a pair, but I save time by covering them together.
I have actually not begun Durarara X2, but I did like Izaya enough to consider picking him up. I know that these two have a lot of fangirls, so surely this is good news!

Erica Hartmann Announced

Manufacturer: Max Factory
Origin: Strike Witches Movie

The Strike Witches figma line is still trucking along. There’s not much more for me to say without a sculpt or Strike Witches knowledge.

FigFIX Mikazuki Munechika Uchiban version Announced

Manufacturer: Orange Rouge
Origin: Touken Ranbu

And my first “Need it” item of the night. *ahem* GRAAAANDPAAA GRAANDPAAAA GRANDPA GRANDPA GRANDPA.
Although a Touken Ranbu figma line has surprisingly eluded us, Orange Rouge(AKA my new master) has bsetowed upon us Mikazuki Munechika(AKA my husbando/grandpa) in his kawaii sunggly wuggly home outfit. For those unfamiliar with the game, the swords wear these casual outfits when you force assign them housework like farm and horse duty. Most of the swords wear tracksuits for some reason, but the older swords have these neat Japanese outfits. I prefer these over damaged versions! Hopefully this is a sign of a figma line in the future.

Goro Majima Announced

Manufacturer: Max Factory
Origin: Ryuu ga Gotoku

Ryuu ga Gotoku is a game also known as Yakuza, and Kazuma Kiryuu from the same game was announced as a figma last Wonderfestival. No progress on Kazuma, but at least we know he won’t be alone now!

Kaito Kuroba Announced

Manufacturer: FREEing
Origin: Meitantei Conan

After FREEing gave us a SATISFYING FigFIX/figma combo pack where Conan was not the figma, we have a real Detective Conan figma! Kaito looks swag as heck(please don’t throw rocks at me), so here’s to his not being a FigFIX.

Saitama Announced

Manufacturer: Max Factory
Origin: One Punch Man

One Punch Man is a manga and soon to be anime about a hero who is too powerful and defeats all of his enemies with just one punch. I had not heard of it until today(please don’t throw rocks at me), but it sounds really awesome, and if One Punch Man is such an average character, I bet his figma will be hilarious. There’s also a nendoroid already painted!

Falconet’s Cupid Announced
Manufacturer: FREEing Origin: A statue by Étienne Maurice Falconet Tabletop Museum continues! We had Venus de Milo and The Thinker in poseable form, but surely what we’ve all been waiting for is a naked winged baby…which is what we’re getting. Oh but it doesn’t stop there.

Vitruvian Man Announced

Manufacturer: FREEing
Origin: A drawing by Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci

FREEing proves that they are not restricted by dimensions as they catapult from the 3D realm of statues into drawings! If you’ve ever seen that man with all of the limbs and said, “I wish I could pose every one of those”, then you were born in a glorious time.
Whether the figma will really include all of those limbs is unknown at the moment. Actually the reason for this line’s existence is unknown at the moment.

Yuki Makoto Announced

Manufacturer: Max Factory
Origin: Persona 3 the Movie

Another Persona figure that isn’t a girl! Rejoice!

Unpainted Prototypes

Archetype Next: He and She Flesh color ver. Announced

Female is actually painted, but I save time by covering them together.
Clear versions of these two were announced two years ago(eh has it been that long since the 2.0 implementation?!) followed by two years of silence. Now we see them again in the flesh! If Max Factory only releases them in flesh tone rather than flesh and clear, I wouldn’t be surprised since the first clear figma Archetypes are considerable less valuable than the flesh tones.
Other than annoying ball joint hands *grumble grumble*, the most noticeable change this time is that the male’s body type is super buff rather than bishounen. I prefer bishies to be honest, but the sculpt is impressive, and it’s not like I buy Archetype figmas anyway. The female also looks more detailed!

Benisuzume Sculpted


Origin: Shidonia no Kishi

Another line that is trucking along slowly…and unfortunately expensively.
Benisuzume is quite rugged.

Michelangelo’s David Announced

Origin: A statue by Michelangelo

Did you think we were done with poseable statues?! Never!
Next up is Michelangelo’s famous David. He’s not as recognizable without his signature pose, but that’s him…in all of his naked glory.
Please let the sling shot be an accessory.

The godhand Sculpted and Femto Painted





Origin: Berserk

They’ve all been sculpted for a while now, but this is our first chance to see everyone up close, and of course Femto’s paint is new. Void is especially cool, but I wonder hoe Conrad and Ubik are even considered figmas.

Fubuki Anime ver. Announced


Origin: Kantai Collection

I believe this is the first Kan Colle figma based on the anime rather than game. A bit of a shame since styles obviously vary. Hopefully she fits in with the others. Fubuki is currently slated fo 2016.

Gurlukovich Army Soldier Sculpted

Origin:Metal Gear Solid 2

We saw him sculpted last FNF, but this is a better shot!

Iron Man Mark XLIII Announced

Origin: Avengers: Age of Ultron

That’s his head in the lower left corner. He’s the fourth Iron Man figma!

Kirishima Announced



Coming for your money.

Origin: Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova

S-so is the figma really the bear? Cool.

Koki Yamato Sculpted


(Koki is at the lower right)

Origin: Ninja Slayer Anime

Remember how I said that the chunkiness of Figuarts Bruce Lee worked in his advantage? That is not the case with Koki. Her sculpt isn’t terrible, but it looks dated for a figma, and the joint integration does not look very smooth. I’m not a fan of her redesign in general though. Maybe some paint will liven her up.

Rika and Mika Jougasaki Anime versions Announced

Rika

Mika

Origin: Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Anime

These two were Wonderfestival exclusives back before the Cinderella Girls figma line became standard. Rin Shibuya, who was also an exclusive, has since received a standard anime version release, and it looks like the sisters are following in her footsteps. This is good news since Mika especially sells for a lot secondhand. However, I think that the original Rin looked better, and there’s something about Mika’s face that I just don’t like. Mika is the sister I’m more interested in, so we’ll see hoe these two compare to the awesome originals.

Ninja Slayer Anime ver. Sculpted


Origin: Ninja Slayer

I still don’t love this design, but the figure doesn’t look bad!

Prinz Eugen Announced

Origin: Kantai Collection

Another ship girl, and one of the most interesting designs in a while in my opinion! Prinz is a German ship, so she has a cute military design! There are two variations of her outfit, and I have yet to find confirmation on which one the figma will be. Chances are it will be the first picture, but you never know!

Mio Sakamoto Sculpted


Origin: Strike Witches Movie

Ah Strike Witches, there are always Strike Witches figmas, but there are never Strike Witches figmas. Does anyone remember when Mobip was trying to compete with figma? Good times.

Sarah Bryant Announced

Origin: Virtua Fighter

Google sensei tells me that Virtua Fighter “…is widely recognized as the first 3D fighting game ever released.” And that “In 1998, the series was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution for contributions in the field of Art and Entertainment, and became a part of the Smithsonian Institution’s Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology Innovation. The arcade cabinets are currently kept at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.” If that’s the case, then this game definitely deserves a figma!

Yuuki Akira Announced

Or two!
The polygonal shapes are quite unique on an action figure, so I look forward to seeing these two painted.

Shirou Emiya 2.0


Origin: Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works

Already looking better than the original! I don’t particularly like Shirou, but he was one of my first figmas, so I am looking forward to the 2.0 version–especially after how big the improvement was with Saber 2.0.
Hopefully he gets better faces this time though. Angry and angrier gets old.

Yami Yuugi Still Exists

Origin: Yu-gi-oh

The King of Card Games was already shown with a rough 3D printed sculpt, and unfortunately another Wonderfestival has come and gone without a drop of paint on his leather clad body, or progress on Dark Magician Girl for that matter.
But the sculpt is more refined this time! There are concerns about the size of his hair and his eyes looking a little creepy, but only time will tell.

Painted

Home stretch! Home stretch!
*Has been working on this post for two days*

Holmes Painted

Origin: Meitantei Holmes

Holmes finally painted! And for being the first animal faced figma, he looks darn good as does his carriage. Release is scheduled for 2016.

The Hulk Painted

Origin: The Avengers

Finally! Hulk was announced and sculpted ages ago, and is only being shown painted now. His face and body look great, and check out how huge his joints are! Maybe his hands will be easier to change…

Miho Nishizumi Uniform version Painted

Origin: Girls und Panzer

D-did they finish the cast? I guess this is cool anyway…
Miho is very cute with her head popping out of that tank though!

Yoshika Miyafuji Painted

Origin: Strike Witches Movie

I almost typed “Miyafuji Munechika”
The Strike Witches figma line is kind of like the Spider Man movies. They keep rebooting, but never get anywhere.
Regardless, Yoshika looks good! Nice to see an improvement since her other figma is a few years old.

Motoko Kusanagi Painted

Origin: Koukaku Kidotai ARISE

We got a preview of Motoko before the event, and now we’re seeing her complete. I like this version better than the last one, and she looks amazing!

Rin Hoshizora School Uniform version Painted

Origin: Love Live! School Idol Project

So cute! Oh my gosh!
Her hair is like a creamsicle and her eyes are so cute and round! And to ruin the mood, she kind of reminds me of Gaius from Fire Emblem Awakening. BUT ANYWAY I love when a simple figma can be so cute!

Umi Sonoda Painted

Origin: Love Live! School Idol Project

Also cute! I love her eyes!

And that wraps up the event!
In total, we had news on 42 figmas! I plan to definitely get FigFIX Mikazuki Munechika and Shirou Emiya 2.0, and am keeping an eye on: Celty, Izaya, Shizuo, Mika, Rika, and Yami. That might not seem like much, but there were many other things at the event which destroyed my wallet. To make up for this post being later than I intended, I’ll get started on a followup post of personal Wonderfestival highlights right away!

So what excited you this time around?