Anyway, let’s check out Queen’s Blade Allean ! As per title says, she’s NSFW viewing, so be warned.

Alleyne/Allean, ( I’m not really sure which is the correct spelling ) is a character from Queen’s Blade, a series of visual combat books published by Hobby Japan. The series has become popular now that it has spawned through many forms of merchandise, like anime, manga and figurines. This character Allean is a combat instructor who happens to be an elf. Lived for more than 1000 of years, she’s one of the most seasoned veteran warriors of a tribe of forest elves.

I never watched Queen’s Blade before, only seen screenshots of it. I don’t think I will be watching this series due to the ridiculous amount of unrealistic ecchi and fanservice shots. I did try to watch Ikkitousen before, but I couldn’t stand the fact every 10 seconds there’s a panty / boobs shot, so I don’t think I’ll watch Queen’s Blade anytime soon. Screenshots would be fine for me at the moment. However, I like Allean character design. She’s looks proud and prideful warrior, but damn she sure has a find body and pretty face. That’s the reason why I buy her although I never really watched Queen’s Blade before.

This is my first Megahouse figure, and I must I’m very statisfied. I’m actually glad that I choose this over Griffon’s version. I choose mainly because of the pose and the quality paint. Even from the prototype photos, Megahouse version looks as the obvious winner. Every part of her is very detailed, top to bottom ( even her leaf panties, which you’ll see in the castoff pictures later ). Her hair on the left side looks a bit rough, but nothing major. Oh, her skirts seems VERY EASY to remove. A simple pull could already pull it off.

My only gripe with this figure is the damn base. Dammit, she’s a pretty figure, but totally ruined with the ugly base. No, I don’t care even if you put the Queen’s Blade logo on it, its transparent and I can hardly see it. You could have given us a base with land and trees surrounding it, but no, a transparent plastic base. Sigh, I wonder if my cry for awesome base will ever reach the companies ?

You can remove almost…every of her clothing, except for her stockings and her sleeves. So yeah, her she is without the hat and then mantel. I must say she’s looks more…seductive, for a combat instructor.

Now here she is…with full ‘castoff’ mode. For a combat instructor, she surely have a body of a goddess.

Just look at how detailed her body parts are, from her leaf panties ( FTW ! Environment friendly ! ), her butt, to her boobs. Extremely detailed and sculpted beautifully.

Aside from the base, this figure is pretty much an excellent work from Megahouse. The pose, paint job, sculpting all is prefect. Oh, forgot to mention, her head is a bit hard to pull out, so you might gonna have to use some extra force when pulling it, so be careful. Another than that, if you like elf’s, SEXY ones, then go ahead and grab Megahouse’s version for superior sculpting and detail.

Trivia :

A little bit of info of the location of the photo shot.

Quote from Virtual Malaysia :

One of the most spectacular waterfalls in Selangor, Sungai Gabai Waterfalls consist several falls cascading from an impressive height of 100 meters to a series of pool at the foot of the falls.

Actually there are few other local forest in Malaysia, but this was the nearest to Malacca. It’s a beautiful and peaceful place, and simple suitable for the phototshot. I wished I could have snap more nicer photos, if it weren’t for the local people who decided to have a picnic there…Perhaps next time.

“Don’t stand behind him if you value your life.”

The famous tagline from the anime/manga Golgo 13. Golgo 13 is a manga /anime series written and illustrated by Takao Saito that began back in 1969. The manga is still ongoing until now, making it one of the longest running adult manga. I was first introduce to Golgo 13 by playing its arcade game, Golgo 13 ( Taito ). It was a fun yet challenging game that requires players to complete various task by executing ridiculous and seemed impossible shots. Of course, the game doesn’t really tell much about the character, so I wasn’t clearly sure what was Golgo 13 all about.

In April 2008 the anime came out, and I get to know more about Golgo 13. Like how I enjoyed the game, I became hooked to the anime. The things made me hooked to it is how badass he is, how he completes his task, how many lines he speaks throughout an episode, and the best part of all his face expression. However, the lack of subs for the anime made me lose interest. Then a few months back I saw the prototype for the figma Goglo 13. First impression ? Impressive, really looks like Golgo 13, especially the fact that di:stage is included. Not only that, a paper vignette in the image of a motel and speech bubbles are thrown in, allowing fans to recreate the world of Golgo 13. With all these stuffs thrown in, I knew that I had to get one.

So here it is, Ocha! takes a look and reviews Max Factory Figma Golgo 13 !

...

I’ll start of with a little introduction of the character for those who are not familiar. Golgo 13, also known by the pseudonym Duke Togo, is a professional hired assassin and the main character of the story. Although his profession is a hired assassin not all of his job involves assassination. Basically it depends on what kind of task his clients request him to do. For example in one episode his clients ask him to shoot a violin string while being played. Sounds impossible ? Yes, but that’s what Golgo 13 is, making things impossible possible.

Front side view

Back side view. Don't worry, we've gotten Golgo 13 permission before taking this shot.

His alignment is neither good or evil, however he does have some principles when doing his work. For example, he never takes a job through a voice, meaning the client must personally meet him in order to hire him, and he listens only to the request of the client, not on behalf. Even if the client is dead, he will carry out the last job that the client requested before the client died. He always has a cold gaze and rarely speaks unless he has too. His age and birthplace are unknown and no one knows who he really is. Most of his jobs, which involves assassination are completed through the use of a customized, scoped M16 rifle.

Bang!

!!

Just another day at work

It's not work without a quick puff of this cigar

Golgo 13 looking ready to kick some ass with his 38-caliber revolver

Figma is different from a figurine. It posses a high degree of articulation, which allows you to pose it in many ways you want it to be. However unlike the normal figmas, there is a joint at Golgo 13 neck. This feature is needed when you want to pose him taking aim with the M16. His suit is made out of a flexible plastic that doesn’t restrict his movement, so you still will be able to make him to do various poses. He also comes with various hands parts, including a hand that allows him to hold a cigar, as well hands that allow him to hold his weapons. In addition to the standard figma stand, it comes with a stand that allows you to hold the speech bubbles.

Stone / Normal Face

Grinning face with clenched teeth

Figma Golgo 13  comes with 2 changeable face, a normal looking face and a grinning face with clenched teeth. Like in the anime / manga, these are the only 2 expression you’ll ever see coming from him. I assume the sculptor didn’t encounter much problem sculpting his face.

HAX Customizable M16

Other accessories included are his weapons, a detachable M16 which you can store inside a attache case and his 38-caliber revolver. The revolver sadly cannot be stored inside the case.

Outside view of the paper vignette

Inside view of the paper vignette

As mentioned earlier, Golgo 13 figma includes a paper vignette in an image of a motel. This paper vignette motel is not easy to assemble because you would need a strong glue to stick it. For my case I had to use Super Glue, which explains some of the white stains on some parts of the motel.  Furthermore, the instructions was in Japanese and not being able to read Japanese made the process harder. It took me 2 days to complete assembling this.

Steady...aim...

I have no idea what the bubble is saying, I just put the bubble because its cool

Time to work

After bring the women to 'heaven, Golgo 13 decided to unwind with a cigar

Once you have completed the motel, you can relive various scenes from the manga / anime, with the help of other paper vignette and speech bubbles. For those who are creative, you can even make your own scenes with the help of other extra stuffs like sounds effects, which will make your photos more dynamic and interesting. With all these great features, Figma Golgo 13 seems like a flawless figma figure.

Sadly however this is not the case, as Figma Golgo 13 do have flaws. One of my complaints of the figure is the paint job. The final product paint job looks rougher compared to the prototype pictures. The gap between the shoulders is too big compared to the prototype screen shots, making it looking a bit deformed. The motel was troublesome and time consuming to assemble because the paper vignette couldn’t stick  together without a strong glue. It could have been better if the motel was as a real accessory rather than in a  from of paper. If it cost more, then maybe they can sell it separately rather than together.

Don't stand behind me if you value your life.

Overall, Figma Golgo 13 is still a nice piece of work. With extra feature that are only available with Figma Golgo 13, it does set itself apart from other figmas. Those who are bored with the standard cute female figures and want some manly and badass figure in their collection, Figma Golgo 13 will be a fine addition.

Just be careful not to stand behind his back if you value your life.

She was supposed to be released last June, but somehow she was delayed till September. The wait was quite long that it was frustrating and relieving at the same time. Frustrating that I have to wait longer but relieving that I get to keep my money. Yesterday ( 26 September 2009 ) however I got a surprise call from my dealer, telling me that it has already arrived !  This was indeed shocking as I know she hasn’t even been release in Japan yet, but I didn’t really care much how did my dealer got her before the release date. This was suppose to be a good news for me, but the feeling of losing my money kept coming back to me.

When I went to collect the figure, I was stunned and mesmerized, even just looking at it from outside of the box. When I unpacked her from the box, all those thoughts of regret vanish to thin air. I was convinced that I made the right choice by pre-ordering her.

Anyway, enough of mindless chatter.

One of the best looking Saber Lily figures to date, Ocha  sits down and reviews Good Smile Company Fate / Unlimited Codes – Saber Lily ~Distant Avalon~ !

Yes, some of you are probably shocked as I am, how come I’m able to get a hold of her whereas she hasn’t even been released yet in Japan ? It’s all thanks to my dealer really. I’m not really sure how he manage to get it but apparently I heard that some dealers actually release her earlier before the dateline. Don’t worry folks, I took a good look and inspected her, and she’s definitely the real deal. Yes, even before the figure was release, a bootleg version was already available. So Good Smile Company has a page on their website that explains how you can differentiate the original and bootleg version. It’s in Japanese though, but there’s a translated version here by wcloudxkumo.

For those who are a bit clueless of seeing Saber form, this is a special costume / skin that was included in the PS2 fighting game Fate / Unlimited Codes. I’m not really sure if her abilities is any different from normal Saber, but when I used her in the game, she’s pretty much the same as her default costume. Guess its another alternate costume for Saber, or the developers wanted to give a fan service treat for the fans. Hey, I’m sure ain’t complaining !

A real cool and awesome pose, no question about that. The figure will definitely attract your attention from any angle you look at it. It’s quite refreshing to see Saber in a battle armor that reveals more flesh than her previous one. It does take a lot of space from your table since she needs to swing her sword, so better make some space people !

FINALLY a nice and not plain looking base. Notice the little details like the cracks on the floor are not left out and given attention too. Notice the details of the nice looking “FATE/UNLIMITED CODES” logo. I guess my cries for better looking base has finally paid off.

By the way, the base also does take some space too, so be prepared for that.

From the top to the bottom,  the paint job is absolutely stunning and flawless. Actually I’m lost of words  on how to describe the paint job. The paint job is so good that its able to make me snap photo with minimal lighting control. I normally have trouble with other figures, but this one gave me minimal problems. I think its because the great and excellent paint job.

Unlike Saber in her default armor, this Saber wears a lovely white pantsu, and you can actually peek up to see it !

She comes with 2 swords, Excalibur and Caliburn. Excalibur is the default sword that she always use. The handle of the Excalibur is a bit big, so it’s quite tough if you want to force it in her hand. For this case you can actually remove the bottom part.

Front and back view of Saber with Excalibur.

So comes with 2 hands. Both of them look the same, but the other actually allows her to hold her scabbard, Avalon.

This is her with Caliburn and Avalon. While getting her to hold Avalon looks cooler, I would avoid this setup since the Avalon will take up space.

Some shots of her with Caliburn and Avalon, from back and front.

You can actually put the Excalibur inside the Avalon, but only Excalibur. It won’t fit in if you try to put in Caliburn so don’t force it.

This is how the hand holding Avalon looks like in action.

Extra shots for your eyes.

Any faults that I can point out about this figure ? Absolutely nothing. It’s nothing but a fine piece of work and Good Smile Company has really set the standard high. After getting my hand on the figure, I definitely do not regret buying this Saber Lily. Not only I do not regret it but I’m convinced that she is worth every ounce of money that I paid her for. There’s another version of Saber Lily that will be released by ALTER, but this one caught my eye more. I’m pretty sure ALTER’s version will still be good, but not as awesome as this one. Go get one if you are a fan of Saber or you like awesomely detailed figurines.

…of course depending if you can get her now, since I believe she will be selling like hot cakes.