Anime Figures Toys | PVC | Figma | Nendoroid | Manga

This Yoko Gift Version PVC figure (天元突破グレンラガン ヨーコ (1/5スケールPVC塗装済み完成品)) from the anime series Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is the latest likeness of the female lead character that any self respecting fan will get. The pose of Yoko in this Gift Version pvc figure is awesomely adorable, with that childlike face biting on her hair clip while she tries to bundle up her long red hair. She is 1/5 scale in case it is not clear. Looking at the preview photos provided by Mikatan of Goodsmile Company, the figure looks quite well made with clear details. I did spot a slight flaw in the finish along her spine just underneath her bikini top knot but otherwise the rest of the figure looks fantastic. It was an oversight on my part to have not noticed it earlier but I put in a preorder for it on Amazon Japan even though it has been released today. Hobby Search has it too at 8,360 yen but can’t beat the price offered by Amazon Japan of 7,605 yen with free shipping. Hobby Link Japan has it at the very challenging price of 8,800 yen.

Will post more pictures once I receive the figure and get some time to pose it.

Some of you might be wondering how to get hold of the Nendoroid Puchi Hatsune Miku figure (初音ミク -プロジェクト ディーヴァ- 特典 ねんどろいどぷち 初音ミク Project DIVA 特典 ver. & Amazon.co.jpオリジナル オープニングテーマ “The secret garden” クリア歌詞カード付き) – the good news is that yes you can get your hands on it. The bad news is that it will come only packaged with the Hatsune Miku Project DIVA PSP game. Similar to the Toradora PSP game which comes with the Aisaka Taiga Nendoroid Puchi, the Project DIVA psp game will be bundled with the Hatsune Miku nendoroid petit figure. The game itself will be released on 2 July, 2009 so there’s still a bit of time before fans will get to have a taste of both the game and the figure.

There might be fans who will be satisfied with the Hatsune Miku Nendoroid that was already released eons ago, as the two do look similar. However, for me, I cannot resist nendoroid PUCHIS! The smaller a figure is, the cuter I find it. So it was another case similar with the Taiga puchi – I decided to place my pre-order for the Project DIVA PSP game in order to get this Hatsune Miku Nendoroid Puchi. The game will come in Japanese as usual, and my Japanese is not up to scratch at the moment. Even though you won’t likely need to know it well to actually play the game, I can still use it as another form of learning or practice.

Since this is a pre-order Japanese psp game, I got my copy from Amazon Japan. They have it at 23% discount (a huge discount, in my opinion) off retail price, and with free shipping, it comes to 4,698 yen. Because of the free shipping PLUS the discount, even after you use Tenso.com (or your favorite international shipping forwarding service), you should probably still pay at retail price or lower. Furthermore, the PSP game and a nendoroid puchi combined are light so the handling charges from Tenso.com are low too. That’s why I get quite a lot of my pre-orders from Amazon Japan especially since they have substantial discounts for those products.

I also came across Play Asia that has the Hatsune Miku Project DIVA psp game bundled with the nendoroid puchi. They have a Japan version and an Asia version. The former is slightly more expensive at 5,881 yen and is the one I got from Amazon Japan. The Asia version is 4,896 yen which is still slightly more expensive than what I paid for.

Photos courtesy of Mikatan’s blog and Amazon Japan.

This Figma Signum Knight Version PVC figure (魔法少女リリカルなのはStrikerS シグナム 騎士服ver.) is certainly one of the most impressive figmas I have seen to date. It is probably the Figma that has the most number of accessories or extra parts, and mainly due to the number of weapons available for Signum. Fans of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS will enjoy this Figma Signum Knight Version PVC figure since it allows them to recreate some of their best loved scenes as well as having quite a complete set of extras.

First up is Signum in a graceful yet menacing pose made possible by the Figma innovative technology of poseable and movable body parts. Love her boots and the hair, not to mention the gloves.

To show off the incredible range of weapons and accessories available with this Figma Signum Knight PVC figure, you first have the sword Laevatein in its more common sword form, raised to decapitate any disbelievers.

Laevatein also comes in the form of “Schlangenform” which turns it into a whip, and in this case, it is a wire connected whip for Figma Signum Knight. According to the previews, the wire is poseable, so it should be moldable, twistable, whichever way you have it. Just make sure you don’t break it.

And then we have Laevatein turning into a long bow, or “Bogenform” as it is otherwise known. I love Signum’s pose in this one. Only made possible with a Figma.

Finally, the Figma Signum Knight Version PVC figure can call upon her great powers from the heavens and turn Laevatein into the “Schwertform”, a sword engulfed in flames and ready to slice and burn all enemies standing in her way. Believe it or not the sword also has a sheath included with it, as well as a supposed pack of arrows which weren’t shown in any of the preview photos unfortunately.

This Figma Signum Knight Ver. PVC figure is obviously popular judging by friends joining in to get a piece of it other than the Toradora Taiga Nendoroid Puchi that comes with the PSP game and the Hatsune Miku World Is Mine pvc figure that everyone is waiting for. I’ve scoured the various stores and the best price would be from Amazon Japan at a really low 2,596 yen, free shipping. For pre-order figures, Amazon Japan is the best option to get them cheap. You will need to use Tenso.com or some other third party forwarding service to ship the products to you, but they still come out cheaper than other stores. Hobby Search is the next cheapest option at 2,895 yen and they are very professional with their services. The other stores are quite pricey in terms of prices which you can compare below.

Prices by Comparison for Figma Signum Knight Ver. PVC Figure:
Amazon Japan – 2,596 yen
Hobby Search – 2,895 yen
Hobby Link Japan – 3,048 yen
CDJapan – 3,048 yen
Play-Asia – 3,742 yen