Figure Review: Cu-Poche Dark Magician Girl

February 15, 2016 Anime Shutterbug 1 Comment

I have been eyeing up the Cu-Poche line of figures for some time now and finally decided to take the plunge. They are a relatively new line of figures made by Kotobukiya as a direct competitor to the ever popular Nendoroid brand. They are a chibi style figure with good poseability, cute accessories, and swappable face plates. One of their signature featues is the magnetic base, the figures have small but powerful magnets in their feet so you can pose them without needing the plastic stand stuck into their back.

Today I will be reviewing the Dark Magician Girl from Yu-Gi-Oh! a very popular character from the show and card game. I got this from Hobby Search, they are having a great sale and I picked up this figure and a bunch of other Cu-Poche stuff at a great price, lets take a look at the loot haul!

A bit of a teaser there as I did not break out that super cute looking cat hoodie outfit and the other figures yet but I will be showing them off this week. ^.^

The packaging is pretty much the same as Nendoroid, the see though panel on the front lets you see exactly what you’re getting. This figure comes with 3 faces, 6 hands, 2 “Magic Cylinders”, a wand, and a spellbook for accessories, as well as Nenroroid style plastic stands and a really cool claw stand that lets you get creative with holding up whatever else you would want. Also the book fully opens and closes and they give you a nice zip lock bag to put all your extra pieces in, nice touch!

So lets get to some high res photos! (Click the pics for gallery view)

As you can see she is very pose-able, the longer jointed legs allow for a bit more variation than Nendoroids while still keeping that super cute chibi feel. You can see at the end Yoshino decided to join us and though our Cu-Poche is larger she can still interact with Nendoroids and not feel out of scale.

So after the photoshoot we cleaned up for the day and our Dark Magician Girl left. But where did she go, should we follow her?

I see her now deep in the woods, wait what is she doing? She’s casting a spell!

She said something about a ‘Summoning Spell’ and was chanting… wait something is happening!

Sayaka Miki appeared! I dont think this was her intended result…

Sayaka: You have cast your last spell witch, ready your wand!

This is about to get R-rated we better get out of here!

Well I think the Cu-Poche line is looking pretty awesome! A lot of pose-ability, great details and paint, and cool characters and accessories. Kotobukiya is also releasing some cute accessory kits like clothing and mini display sets. The line is still pretty new but is growing fast with a lot of popular characters coming out soon. What do you think, do you prefer them over Nendoroids? This week I will be taking a look at the compatibility with Nendoroid heads, faceplates, and other parts, make sure you follow on social media so you don’t miss out!

Dolls, Mirai Suenaga

Smart Doll New XL Bust Arrives! (NSFW)

February 12, 2016 Anime Shutterbug 8 Comments

Danny Choo put out a new Painted XL Bust which retails for 9900 yen and mine just arrived, woo! It came in the usual Smart Doll box with the bust in a drawstring plastic bag and a couple of cool looking Culture Japan cards, love that Chitose one!

Here is a comparison of the bust sizes, pictured I have from left to right, the small default bust, large bust, and extra large (painted). Unfortunately I don’t have the painted versions of the other sizes but it is not an optical illusion, the nipples on the XL are very pronounced. The XL bust is not just a larger version of the ‘large’, it has a completely different shape and has a much more realistic look under the armpit and flowing out into the curves of the breast. They are more sloped downward but spread out wider than the large bust. Also a notable change is the top of the neck hole is completely circular and flat as opposed to the original busts that have a more elliptical shape and are indented in the middle.

Here are a few shots of the busts on Mirai, sorry the angles are not exactly the same but you get the picture. Notice how the XL bust seems to sit a little better on the body not showing the gaps between the torso as much.

A few more shots of the XL bust in her mint green lingerie set.

Mirai’s default shirt gets quite a bit stretched out with the new XL bust but still fits fine, those nipples could take an eye out! lol

Overall I really like this breast shape better, the XL bust is not truly much larger than the large bust but has a more pronounced outward shape and looks a bit more natural. The large bust probably has a better form for a cleavage look but the XL is good if you are a fan of braless under clothing. I will be trying the XL out in more outfits soon so keep an eye out for the next photoshoot!

Do you like the XL vs the large? Let me know in the comments & please sign up for my newsletter =)

Anime Figures

Hot New Figures From Winter Wonder Festival 2016!

February 11, 2016 Anime Shutterbug Leave a comment

The Winter Wonder Festival 2016 aka ‘Wonfes’ has just concluded in Japan and there were some suprising figure reveals! Some sculpts that were revealed earlier in 2015 were now shown with fully painted prototypes as well. I know my preorder list just got a bit bigger, lets take a look at some of the figures I am excited to see coming out this year. I hope your wallet is ready..

Edna from Tales of Zestiria – Alter

Edna has been revealed with a full paint job and wow did it turn out amazing! The colors are vibrant with some really nice pastel shades that gives the figure a bright and fun look. She is sitting on a rock formation which is fitting seeing as she is an Earth Seraph. I am always happy to see a base that isn’t just a plastic peg and as usual Alter goes the extra mile. I feel that the pose and the look of this figure really portray her character well. She is not yet available for pre-order but I will be keeping an eye on her.

Rise Kujikawa (Arabian Armor ver.) from Persona 4 Dancing All Night – Aquamarine

A new Persona 4 figure debuting in 2016, and it’s my best girl Rise!?? Wow, I am a huge Persona fan and as you can tell I am really excited about this figure! Persona 4 is really lacking in higher quality figures with a lot of them being prize figures, I would love a new P4 scale figure to my collection. Rise is wearing her unlockable Arabian Nights Armor from P4: Dancing All Night and she looks stunning. They did a great job of making the flowing fabric have that lightweight feel and really captured the look of the artwork. Plus have you seen that hip curvature?? Damnnn Rise-chan! This is a definite pre-order for me.

Purple Heart from Hyperdimension Neptunia – Alter

As you guys probably already know from seeing my Black Heart Figure Review I am a big Neptunia fan. This is another great series with a disturbing lack of figures but lately has been seeing some new releases. Can we hope to see all the CPUs in their transformed glory by Alter eventually? The dream is getting closer!

This figure looks to keep the high quality level present in the Black Heart figure and they should look great side by side. Her pose is really nice with an arched back and a sweet looking face. It is definitely more fitting for purple heart to be a little less serious looking than Black Heart. Her armor and hair look nicely detailed and her sword looks pretty badass. My wallet is feeling the burn at this point.

Silica & Pina from Sword Art Online – Broccoli

Silica is easily the cutest girl in SAO and here we get to see the fully painted version of her in her bikini along with Pina! Silica is in her in-game catgirl form which is just extra awesomeness, who doesn’t need more cat girls? I just love everything about the coloring here, her skin tones look awesome, her face is adorable, and Pina is just chillin up top making sure everything is cool. Take my money please.

These figures are really just a tip of the iceberg with 2016 looking like an amazing year for figure collecting. What figures are you guys most looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!

Dolls, Mirai Suenaga

Smart Doll Mirai: Mint Lingerie Photoshoot

February 6, 2016 Anime Shutterbug 2 Comments

It’s been a little while since Mirai had a full photoshoot and I think my photography skills have improved a little bit since the last one. Today Mirai is modeling a mint green lingerie set I got from Taobao seller M+V Studios. This outfit fits her a lot better than the snow bunny dress even though they were both designed for a Dollfie Dream because of the adjustable ties.

I shot this with only the natural light coming through the windows and I think it gave the photos a much more intimate feel.

What kind of outfits do you want to see Mirai in next? Let me know in the comments =)

Anime Figures

Anime Figure Review: Nendoroid #428 Tina

February 3, 2016 Anime Shutterbug Leave a comment

Today I am unboxing and playing around with my Tina Nendoroid #428 from Good Smile Company.

Tina is from the visual novel ‘Koi ga Saku Koro Sakura Doki’ , which was only released in Japan though there is a translation patch being worked on unofficially. When I purchased this figure I knew nothing about her other than I thought she looked adorable and I had to have her, lol. I find a lot of times when I am browsing figures I will end up learning about an anime or visual novel I would have never checked out otherwise and this VN does actually look pretty good so I am looking forward to that fan patch.

On to the unboxing, you can see she comes in a standard size Nendoroid box and has some really cool accessories that caught my eye. Her giant scythe being the obvious standout, it looks like it is made from a tree that is wrapping around this semi transparent blade with a ribbon tied around it. Very interesting weapon and looks really awesome. Also we have the standard 2 extra faces and multiple arm/hand variations and some wings!

By the way guys have you seen my cat?

Really I mean he was just here a minute ago….

He’s on my head isn’t he…

Also I appear to have just grown wings… what!?

Haha, Tina is a little bit ditsy…

As you can see the cat is perfectly shaped to sit easily on her head or stand on its own, really nice touch. You can never have enough cats on top of heads!

Overall I think Tina is a really fun figure and comes with some great accessories. Good Smile Co. really has come a long way since the early nendoroids and the quality improvements just keep coming. Do you guys end up buying figures just because they look awesome even if you don’t know the character? Let me know in the comments and be sure to follow on social media, thanks for reading! =)

Anime Reviews

Anime First Impressions: Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

January 31, 2016 Anime Shutterbug 2 Comments

This first season of 2016 anime really has some great looking shows and Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash is definitely my favorite. Right now we are 3 episodes into the 12 episode season so I think at this point I can do a review on where we’re at so far. This is a high fantasy setting with a very Dungeons & Dragons feel but also with a bit of a twist, the characters find themselves in this world that feels almost like a game and they have no idea how they got there. They kind of know that something weird happened and that they haven’t always lived here but either way this is their current reality and they quickly learn that living here is no picnic. Our group of heroes meet up early on and form an adventuring party that will take on tasks to earn money. They are given a small starting allowance to buy some equipment and they all go off to train for a week with their respective guilds, effectively giving them ‘classes’. Sound familiar? We have a basic opening to many JRPG style games and though there is nothing groundbreaking so far I’m really into it given that I am a big RPG fan.

One of the things that immediately struck me as a bit different than a lot of anime is that no one in the group is really overpowered. They are all starting out effectively “level 1” and are all learning the ropes of their classes and how they can help each other in battle. The opening episode shows our group of 6 heroes battling 2 goblins in a forest, now with any RPG knowledge you would know goblins are the cannon fodder of fantasy worlds and are easily dispatched by even low level adventurers. Well our group is basically getting wrecked by these 2 goblins and cant even land a solid blow, nearly hitting each other with some friendly fire in the process. They end up having to flee the fight and realize this isnt just like clicking the attack button in a game, this is real, and it is hard. The group is now running low on cash, their equipment is getting worn, and they are getting desperate.

Now as much as I love seeing some overpowered Kirito type just straight up wreck some giant boss monster there is a refreshing realism here. I think a lot of the fun in this anime is going to be watching the team grow together and seeing these early struggles will really make things more rewarding later on. There doesn’t always need to be a giant ‘save the world’ plot if the execution and character development is there to make it enjoyable. That said I feel there is a bit of a pacing issue but I am so interested in the show already through the fun character interactions and the art style that I am still having fun watching and that is all that really matters.

The art style in this show is a bit different than your usual anime and I think it is fantastic. The characters are crisply animated and the few fight scenes so far are really action packed and fast moving. Though the thing you will likely notice immediately is how beautiful the background art is. The backgrounds have this painted look to them with bright pastel colors that really enhance the feel of this being a distant fantasy world. The contrast of the sharp character art versus the static background really looks great. I am hoping to see some large beautifully drawn monsters in this art style as all we have seen so far are goblins.

Now I’m going to rant a little as we come to an issue plaguing a lot of modern anime, the fan service. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with fan service when it is worked into the show naturally, or if the show is just literally designed for it. But here you have a show trying to set a serious premise up and then they really shoehorn in some strange stuff out of nowhere. For example there is a scene where our classic hothead character Ranta is talking with the group and basically says something like “Well I’d forgive Shihoru cause she has huge boobs but tries to hide them, you’re just flat chested so I won’t forgive you” to our ranger Yume. This on it’s own is fine, ok classic anime tropes whatever, but then it launches into a 4 minute segment of everyone talking about boobs. I mean really there are shows that if this happened I wouldn’t blink an eye, but here they are after a serious battle 5 minutes earlier now ranting about boobs.

That said I still am loving the show and will continue watching every week. It’s fun, the artwork is beautiful, and I am intrigued by the setting. Will we learn more about why they were transported to this world? If you are an RPG fan or just into the high fantasy D&D style setting I think you will really enjoy this show.

Are you guys enjoying the show so far? Let me know in the comments and if you enjoy this blog please join my newsletter and follow on social media. =)

Grimgar of Fantasy & Ash can be streamed with subtitles on Funimation.com or Hulu.com.

Anime Figures

Figure Review: Black Heart 1/7 Scale by Alter

January 29, 2016 Anime Shutterbug 2 Comments

I was really happy when Alter announced this Hyperdimension Neptunia figure of Black Heart / Noire in CPU form. She is one of my favorite characters of the series, a super cute tsundere with attitude to spare and a giant sword. This was the first figure I ever pre-ordered and of course there was a delay of about a month from her announced release date, but it was worth the wait. I will show you why…

This Black Heart figure is beautifully sculpted by Aketagawa Noboru & the color design is from Watanabe Takamasa. Takamasa was really on point this year with another amazing release this past October the 1/8 Scale Kirisaki Chitoge from Nisekoi.

She is listed as a 1/7 scale though I feel she is a bit closer to 1/6 scale compared to other manufacturers. Make sure you have plenty of space to display her as her wings stick out pretty far in the back and her giant sword doubles the length she would take up on a shelf without it. See my Fate Testarossa Nendoroid hanging out with Black Heart for scale.

I thought it was a nice touch that Alter included an alternate hand you can swap out which has her right hand in a fist in case you don’t want to display her with the sword.Though the visual impact of the sword is definitely worth the extra space she takes up.

The attachment to the base feels very sturdy with thick pegs securing the foot to the base, I don’t think this figure will have any trouble with leaning over time. The jumping battle pose really brings the figure to life and makes her stand out.

The only downside to this figure is that putting it together was a pain! The 6 wings in particular were quite annoying to get into place properly. They all have small tabs that insert into slots that are hidden within Black Heart’s hair. The hair itself has some give to it so it makes it hard to get a good push on the tabs. Also one of my tabs was just too big and literally would not fit into the designated slot so I had to use a hobby knife to shave it down a little before it would fit in.

The detail work on this figure is really top notch, her floating power armor pieces blend perfectly into the figure. Not to mention she was really fun to photograph with all the depth of field opportunities! =)

This figure is easily one of the most visually striking among my collection, the attention to details & paint job are really impressive. As usual Alter lives up to their name of making god tier figures. I give this Black Heart figure a 10/10, if you are a fan of Hyperdimension Neptunia it is a must have!

I ordered this figure from www.amiami.com for 15,000 JPY and it looks like it is still available as of this post.

Dolls, Mirai Suenaga

Snow Bunny Mirai Wallpaper

January 25, 2016 Anime Shutterbug 1 Comment

Hey guys! I was messing around in Photoshop and made this wallpaper and thought I’d share =)

Dolls, Mirai Suenaga

Snow Bunny Mirai

January 23, 2016 Anime Shutterbug 7 Comments

Well I was planning on doing a shoot with the sailor outfit next but Mirai’s cute little bunny dress seemed fitting for all the snow we got up here. I got this outfit off M + V Studios along with a bunch of other stuff which I will be showing you soon. Finding Smart Doll clothes can be a pain since it’s a new doll and doesn’t have a huge following like Dollfie Dream. A lot of Dollfie clothes will fit Smart Doll but you have to be careful with tight fitting clothes. I am really happy with this outfit though,it is very well made. The interior is all white lined and the outside feels like a nice fluffy blanket. The back of the dress has a white zipper that seems pretty sturdy. The dress was a bit tight on Mirai, in fact I had to change her from her usual large bust to her small bust to get her to fit.

Enjoy!