Posted by Lupin IV | 19 June 2009

I’m the forgotten one. The one lost in the forest. The one who goes to what everyone else wants to do, but always winds up going alone to something that I care about. Maybe I don’t ask well enough, or what interests me nobody else cares about, or I just gave up asking. I’m insulating myself, I know, but at some point I know it will be no or that’s boring or something came up or, most often, they “forget” that there was something I wanted to do. My name is Nanjou Ran. Don’t ask what I want; you don’t mean anything by it.

Review of Nanjou Ran from Kotobukiya

Nanjou Ran comes from the game Sengoku Rance, beyond that I don’t really know. I picked her up on a whim at AnimeNEXT. The curves on her back, arms, and legs, are visually appealing, as is her costume in general. The ahoge make a pair of horns, which is interesting since she’s a caster making me think it’s some sort of pact based magic.

This is a decent figure made by Kotobukiya, not great, not bad. Some of the stuff on the back side is fairly sloppy, but otherwise the front view is good. Sculpt doesn’t feel as accomplished as it should to truly wow. While the curves of her body are appealing of themselves, not sure if it’s a solid description of the motion of flaring out her papers like that. It’s half pose, half motion.

Ran is mounted by screw to a clear purplish triangle, which is pretty weak and detracts from the overall look of the figure.

 

 

Other Stuff

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “set” for a figure shoot, which I’ve been getting away from more and more. It’s tough to do, so it’s a little because of the lazy. Plus, more often I find it a distraction, which it is here to some extent. I like the red on the white, it’s usually a striking combo, so I kept it in spite of how distracting, rather than complimentary, it can be.

[Source: Happy Soda]

 

Posted by Lupin IV | 30 May 2009

Shana-chan Cafe Mode

As I have for the past twenty-seven days, I took a seat today in Shana’s station and ordered a chocolate milk shake. Everyone else in the cafe glances over and gives me a look. Ice clinks in glasses. Flatware gently clangs. A dull thrum of people talking. The walls are reddish-brown. I pretend not to notice their looks, but it’s obvious, obviously, yet somehow Shana doesn’t seem to notice that there’s anything odd with this guy who sits in her station, orders the same thing every single day, twenty-seven days in a row. Come to think of it, it’s kind of odd that Shana’s been here every single one of those days. Doesn’t she ever get a day off? My milk shake comes. Shana sets the long spoon down next to it like nothing is going on. But there is something going on. Right? There has to be.

Cospa’s Shana Waitress

This figure was released a while ago, but I didn’t get it until some time in March. It’s cute and I totally dig the diner stool Cospa used as the base, which makes up for any of the short-comings the figure has in production value. There’s nothing but gravity holding her onto the base, so when I was turning her for pictures she slid off the diner stool more than a few times. She’s a bit more stable while fully dressed.

A lot of bad figures have been made of Shana. While this one doesn’t top the Max Factory version, it’s a worthy pick-up for a Shana fan.

Headset Service

The headset is pretty plain, but the headset fan service as well as the usual cast-off variety of fan service makes for a good package. There’s extra panchira to show off the headset. “Shana Panchira” is definitely my favorite image in the set.

 

[Source: Happy Soda]

 

 

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Posted by Lupin IV | 14 May 2009

Seena was too nervous to sit. She already had her sword drawn, feinting here and there at the dark. I told her to sheath it. It was likely that we’d be waiting long into the night and her arm was going to get tired. Any orcs that come wouldn’t be showing up for at least another hour, besides we were just a containment unit. If we were lucky, nothing would come by. I sat on the steps of an abandoned temple and kept watch of the road that was lit only by the light of the moon. We don’t talk much and mostly just wait. They usually stick rookies like Seena to me, because I don’t take it personally when those under my wing die. It’s a shitty thing to be known for.

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Posted by Denkeeper | 23 April 2009

Title: Little Busters!
Scale: 1/8
Character: Kamikita Komari
Model: PVC Prepainted
Sculptor:
Manufacturer: Kotobukiya

Review:
Kotobukiya has always produced a quality product and this figure is no exception. I love all of the "Little Busters!" statues produced by this company. Checkout the images and see for yourself.

Background Wiki:
Little Busters! is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key which was originally released rated for everyone as a limited edition version on July 27, 2007 playable on the PC as a DVD; a regular edition, also rated for everyone, followed on September 28, 2007. Little Busters! is Key's sixth game, along with other titles such as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. Despite the first two releases of Little Busters! having a rating for everyone, there were still some suggestive computer graphics that provided fan service shots. An adult version of the game entitled Little Busters! Ecstasy was released on July 25, 2008, unlike Kanon and Air, which were first released with adult content and then had later versions with such content removed. The title Little Busters! comes from a group of friends in the story named the Little Busters which the main protagonist, Riki Naoe, has been a member of since childhood.

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Posted by Denkeeper | 21 April 2009

Title: Queen's Blade
Scale: 1/8
Character: Shizuka
Model: PVC Prepainted
Sculptor:
Manufacturer:

When I first took the statue out of the box I did not really care for the paint job the flesh tones seem very flat to me especially around the torso. But after the photoshoot I changed my mind Shizuka turned out to be very photogenic and the pose is very interesting in almost every angle. One really nice feature is that the right arm is articulated at the elbow allowing you to pose the sword in different positions. Even though at first I did not care for this figure she grew on me especially after the shoot. I would recommend this to new and experienced photographers a like Shuzika was a fun statue to shoot.

Backround on Queen's Blade and Shizuka (from wikipedia)

Queen's Blade is a series of visual combat books published by Hobby Japan, based on the licensed works from Lost Worlds. First published in 2005, it features only female characters. Beginning with the 7th series, it uses all-new game rules compatible with the Lost Worlds books.

Shizuka - Is a kunoichi from the island of Hinomoto, a money grubbing assassin. She couldn't care less about the affairs of the battle as long she gets paid; she just hates working hard in general and instead have a personal group of ninjas to aid her. Shizuka does not have a game book of her own, yet has been featured in the anime, manga, collectible cards ver2.0, and even had a PVC figurine released. She was created by Eiwa

The Photos were taken with a Canon XSi using an EF-S 60mm Macro Lens
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