Preview: Rita Mordia 1/8 PVC Figure

Disclaimer: Photos of the figure are taken from HobbyStock (http://blog.hobbystock.jp/report/2012/01/tp0837.html).

It's been too long since I last updated this blog... apologies for those who came in to check on my blog from time to time, I was wrapping up my experiment, writing my thesis and preparing for the defense in the past two months, so things got a little hectic for me. Anyway, I got all of that out of the way now, so I can start getting back to my weekly routine. I also bought a crappy little Sony HDR-XR160 camcorder for myself, and I think it's about time that I start doing some video/photo reviews of my figure collection, please look forward to those =)

Anyway, for the first post of 2012, I'll start off with a video game tsundere, Rita Mordio, from Tales of Vesperia (ToV). Heh, another Tales character, you ask? Yup, it's my favorite series, and the figure is made by Alter, so I'd gladly hand over my money just for these two reasons alone.

Rita is a 14-year-old genius mage who's absolutely obsessed with research. She doesn't have any friend until she met Yuri's party. As she travels around the world with them, she becomes more caring (that doesn't mean she doesn't give a damn about anything around her, but her tsun nature is kind of in the way) and dependent, especially towards Estelle, the female lead. Rita carries a large scroll/whip with her all the time; when she casts spells, she rolls it out and whirl/spin it into some complicated pattern, which looks quite unique. Oh, did I mention she can cast Indignation, THE most badass magic in Tales history? Check it out here:

Now that's epic. I literally shit my pants when I first saw it in the trailer for the PS3 version. But enough background education, let's get started with the preview.

Like Yuri and Flynn, the current 1/8 Rita comes with a main figure and a miniature figure (originally an in-game accessory for Repede).

The overall detailing of the figure looks pretty solid. Her pose isn't exactly exciting, but it's in a similar form as when she's casting spells, so there's not much to complain, really. It's definitely a lot more dynamic than Flynn, who's just standing there with his sword.

Rita has quite a few decorations/accessories on her, although it's currently unclear whether or not they can be detached. I believe the notebook "pendant" on her neck should be removable. The book on her waist, however, looks like it has been fixed in place permanently.

Well, that's enough guessing on her accessories, time to move on and examine her face more closely. I believe the expression on her face was based on the opening anime of ToV. It gives off a confident, somewhat haughty vibe. Personally, I prefer a more tsun-type expression, but that probably won't look good with her current pose...

It might've just been my imagination, but I think I saw protrusions near the chest region! *GASP* I thought Rita's flat like a washing board... otherwise, Raven wouldn't have rated her a 2 out of 2 billion points. XD

Moving down to her slim legs... the detailing on her left long-socks is impressive. Aside from the meticulously colored stripe patterns, the folds and crevices appear natural and realistic. The sculptor is definitely putting efforts into this figure.

Like Flynn, Yuri, and the upcoming Luke... Rita also comes with a unique base, which I believe is a reproduction of the grounds from Shaikos Ruins.

Last but not least, there's the chibi-Rita... or bousou kenkyuuin (Overdrive Researcher), an in-game attachment accessory for Repede. It's damn cute, and some of the bits and pieces on her clothes are retained in this miniature version.

So for about $100, thanks to the crappy exchange rates these days, you're getting a figure and something close to a Nendoroid Petite... a decent deal. As a Tales fan, I can't recommend this figure enough. I own both Yuri and Flynn, and the quality is simply superb; hence, I don't expect anything less from this one. Back then, both Yuri and Flynn sold out in less than a month, and their prices skyrocketed everywhere thereafter. Thankfully, Alter announced a re-release of Yuri, so if you're a Tales fan and still haven't grabbed him, here's your chance.

Preview: Luke fon Fabre 1/8 PVC Figure

Disclaimer: Photos of the figure are taken from HobbyStock (http://blog.hobbystock.jp/report/2011/11/tp0792.html).

Bandai Namco Games' (BNG) Tales series has gained immense popularity in the past decade in Japan. Unfortunately, only a handful of them made it to North America thanks to the poor marketing strategy employed BNG, which resulted in crappy sales record and the eventual reluctance of BNG to localize any more Tales titles oversea. Having said that, Tales of Graces f for the PS3 is being localized, if you're a Tales fan and would like to play more titles in English, show your support and pre-order a copy of Tales of Graces f. This will make BNG realize just how big a fanbase from North America they're missing out on. This will also provide them the necessary driving force and motivation for future localization plans.

Anyway, in 2006, BNG localized Tales of the Abyss for the PS2, which received quite the praise from the RPG community. The story follows a spoiled royalty brat named Luke fon Fabre, who initially acted like a selfish jackass, but later underwent dramatic personality shifts that "transformed" him into a responsible and caring individual. The "transformation" is symbolized via a change in Luke's hairs: he deliberately cut off his long hairs to show his resolution and determination (a farewell to his past).

As one of the top five characters during the fifth official Tales character popularity contest , it's not hard to see why Alter decided to add Luke to their Altair line of bishounen figures. I was very impressed with Alter's Yuri and Flynn, the two male characters from Tales of Vesperia, so naturally, I have high expectation for Luke as well.

Based on the promo shots so far, the figure looks fantastic. 

While I won't praise the pose as unique and interesting, it is different enough to distinguish him from a majority of the male figures nowadays that feature guys standing like they're ready for photos to be taken for their elementary class year books. The unique base seems like a tradition for the Alter line of Tales characters as Yuri and Flynn both came with tiled city street bases.

The coloring on Luke's hairs is simply superb. The transition from red to orange looks exactly like the official artworks by Fujishima. His snobby, arrogant expression is also faithfully recapitulated.

The blade Luke wields may not look as cool as the katana Yuri holds, its size makes up for the lack of details. The shirt he wears is pretty bland, although the way it "floats" makes the whole figure looks that much more badass. There seems to be some coloring issue below his middle finger, hopefully this problem can be fixed before mass production. Oh yeah, might as well mention that Luke's abs might make some fan girls scream (They're nothing compare to those from One Piece character figures, no, I'm serious. You wanna look at six packs? Check out Smoker or even Luffy, they may not be bishounens, but they have abs of steel).

Alter is kind enough to include an alternate head, featuring Luke in short hairs with a more calm and modest expression. Definitely not as impressive and dynamic as his flamey long hair and jackass face, but it's a nice addition for fans.

To conclude, this is a nice addition to Alter's Tales line of figures. If you've played or watched Tales of the Abyss (game/anime), and enjoyed the casts (Jade FTW) and story, do not hesitate to preorder. Alter rarely plague their final products with glaring problems, so I'm sure colors beneath the middle finger will be properly adjusted.

Preview: Charlotte Dunois 1/8 PVC Figure

Disclaimer: Photos of the figure are taken from HobbyStock (http://blog.hobbystock.jp/report/2011/11/tp0785.html). 

Infinite Stratos (IS) was probably one of the most popular series aired at the beginning of 2011. Hot girls, nudity (limited to blu-ray release) and mecha. Other than the anti-climatic ending which left tons more to be desired, it's a show that I didn't mind wasting 20 minutes of my life every week watching.

For those who have seen the series, you'd probably agree that the most popular girl of IS isn't the female lead, Shinonono Houki, but rather, the fourth female protagonist (by their order of entry), Charlotte Dunois. Why? Well... she cross-dresses as a boy and lives together with the male protagonist (Orimura Ichika) as his roommate, and CONTINUES to do so even after her true gender was revealed when Ichika accidentally stepped into the bathroom, witnessing her gorgeous body; she is the least annoying female character in the show; and she's voiced by Hanazawa Kana, whose moe but "dere" voice is enough to murder a man.

So I definitely appreciate Alter's effort in creating a figure based off Charlotte, as opposed to Houki, even though the later clearly has better curves and bust size. In a figurine market where the only Charlotte figures available were the not-so-impressive Media Factory 1/10 scaled sculpture and the cheap prize figure by SEGA, having Alter in the competition is like putting steaks on a table with two plates of vegetable salads in front of a bunch of hungry, meat lovers.

Rather than putting Charlotte in her school uniform, Alter dressed her in a tracksuit sitting/kneeling on a cushion. While I personally prefer her in a bloomer outfit with half of her body exposed, the tracksuit is strangely attractive.

She comes with two exchangeable heads, one with a ponytail and a cheerful expression, and another with her hairs untied accompanied by the "tsun" expression when she teasingly says "Ichika, ecchi" during the anime. Both faces are faithfully reproduced, although there aren't too many details in her hairs.

The way she crosses her hands is very cute, it matches perfectly with both of her expressions. Her bare feet are nice treats for foot fetish folks. Her tracksuit is kind of blend in color, but the amount of details are reasonable.

For $60 (if you buy it off AmiAmi, might be higher if you order from other online retailers), it's a decent figure. Alter provided a quality alternative to the cheaper smaller versions of Charlotte. The overall design is an interesting one, and dressing her in a tracksuit is quite unique, albeit the blend colors used on the tracksuit itself (thanks to the anime). You can probably place her together with other female figurines like Max Factory's Nakano Azusa, and Good Smile Company's Oshino Shinobu.

Unless GSC or Max Factory plan on releasing IS figures themselves, Alter will likely hold the crown of the best IS figurine for a long time. Of course, things might change if Alphamax or Orchid Seed make "cast-off-able" versions of Charlotte, but I've yet to hear anything from them, guess we'll have to pray and wait patiently. For now, this is definitely a worthy purchase for IS fans.