This French Doll (Cerberus Project) Kanu figure has a long history, starting life as a resin kit before moving last year to mail order limited PVC release and finally to full distribution in this alternate black and white color scheme. Like the Pearl Black Ryomou before her this kit is a glimpse back in time at French Doll’s craft before he fully matured as a sculptor, but nonetheless has so many charm points that I couldn’t pass her up - not to mention being the only castoffable entry in the Cerberus Ikkitousen lineup thus far. Read on for a look at how UArt managed with their latest PVC conversion:

We conclude our coverage of last week’s World Hobby Festival Ariake 18 Final with an overall “meta” look at the event. If you’ve been wondering exactly what WHF is or why it was canceled after nearly a decade of successful operation, this is the post for you:

Wrapping up the meat of our pictorial coverage of WHF Ariake 18, we take a look at the coming PVC and resin releases of professional makers present at the event. Includes uncensored looks at Yamato’s Animal Girl Bonnie and Daiki Kougyou’s Sugimoto Anna, a gallery of Musashiya’s castoff Ikkitousen cold casts, and Kurushima’s “swimsuit” Kanu resin, among others:

We wrap up our coverage of the garage kit side of WHF Ariake 18 with a final sweep through the day’s photo shoot, catching dozens of great figures that didn’t quite fit in anywhere else. A lot of sculptors worked really hard to make this final event one to remember, and all their hard work paid off:

With the early ‘08 release of the To Heart 2: Another Days expansion new life was breathed into the venerable Leaf bishoujo game franchise, resulting in a significant garage kit presence at WHF Ariake 18 which we document here. Nanoha StrikerS continues into 2008 with the strong showing it had last year, and while reduced in number there were still a few Fate/stay night kits of note that were worth taking a look at:

The fervor surrounding Lucky Star, Gurren Lagann, and the Vocaloid virtual idol character Hatsune Miku (and now Kagamine Rin and Len) has continued strong since the summer of last year, and WHF Ariake 18 saw a fresh crop of kits emerge based on these popular franchises. We’ve got a round up of many of them below (and a few older ones as well), for your perusing pleasure:

Osiris of sculpting circle Heavy Gauge is one of the most skilled hands working in the PVC figure arena today (Holstein Hanako-san, Guernsey), and it’s unsurprising that his personal garage kit work is equally remarkable. Along with his Heavy Gauge colleague Kana he participated at WHF Ariake 18 yesterday under the circle name “3D Megane”, where the painted prototype of his Persona 3 Aegis (Aigis) kit was on display. The results of an ensuing photographic frenzy can be found below:

We continue our coverage of WHF Ariake 18 with a look at the [ERO] garage kits present at the event. If something you were expecting to see here is not, odds are we’ve covered it in past event coverage; I’ve tried to generally avoid redundancies, though they do creep in on occasion. I should note that this particular batch contains more extreme content than usual, so those of weak stomach and those not of legal age to view explicit content should look elsewhere. I repeat: those not legally able to view sexually explicit material should not browse past this point. If you’re an adult with an open mind, by all means proceed!

Sculptor Toushirou of circle Cobra-Kai is known for his epic large-scale works, usually featuring characters with voluptuous builds and his trademark heavy-lidded eyes. When I first saw the rough draft of his resin rendition of Fate/stay night’s Saber at last Wonder Festival I momentarily didn’t recognize it as his work; she seems so far afield from what he normally sculpts. But now that the kit is complete it’s apparent that it’s none other than his genius hand at operation, and this is a kit that made one of the biggest impressions at yesterday’s WHF Ariake 18. See below for a full castoff [ERO] gallery:

What happens when two of the bishoujo sculpting masters of Japan decide to tackle the same subject with their own unique interpretations? We found out yesterday at WHF Ariake 18, where I was treated to my first look at the completed renditions of two new Gurren Lagann Yoko “space look” resin kits by two veteran hands of the craft. See below for gallery reviews of both:

I just walked in the door from World Hobby Festival Ariake 18 Final and am now in the midst of processing images for our site coverage of the event. First up is a preliminary overview of some of the exceptional items on display at the Big Sight today, which will be followed shortly by a roundup of news from PVC makers who were there (lagging slightly behind the Tokyo-based blogs due to the four-hour trek home after the event ^^;;). Stay tuned!

I had never purchased a New Line figure before this one was announced (in the past they were primarily known for expensive cold casts whose looks never quite fit my budget), but when the fishnet version of their “private” Kousaka Tamaki was announced my willpower crumbled and I placed the preorder. Preview shots hinted at a figure that positively exuded erotic pheromones, and it was with high hopes that I embarked upon this review following the figure’s release last month. While ultimately the finished product isn’t quite as impressive as the prototype shots I’m still quite happy with the end result, explored in detail below:

When I first heard that this book was coming out I assumed it would be just another gimmick to bilk Yoko fans out of a bit more cash, consisting of little more than recycled Megami and Newtype posters padded with screenshots from the show. This is Gainax we’re talking about, after all - the company that never sells something once when they can sell it twice (or a dozen times). Imagine my surprise upon paging through it that the volume in fact contains an astonishing amount of new material created exclusively for this book - and much of it really nice work. After rubbing my eyes to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating the Gainax of two decades ago I immediately decided the volume had to be procured, so here, a mere three months late, is our look at Yoko’s portrait collection:

The June ‘08 edition of Megami Magazine was released today, and we’re here with the scoop of its contents! With poster entries from most of the bishoujo anime of the season along with several looks ahead at what we can expect in the summer it’s a pretty well-rounded issue, and though soft in a couple of parts (too much tiny Nanoha) there are a few standout offerings that make the purchase worth it in the end. Moon Phase scoops the news of a new Higurashi OVA and talks about yuri love in Koihime Musou revealed in this issue, but we’re here for the posters:

When we first saw her in prototype at Wonder Festival last summer and later learned of her castoff potential, a preorder was mandated by some sort of federal law. With two of the top figure makers in the business collaborating on the project and a price that shouts rude epithets at the rising cost of oil (not to mention her demonic good looks), who could possibly resist Shizuka’s allure? Not me, which is why I am making this post:

When we first reported on this item back in November I was a bit skeptical as to how it would turn out; it seemed like a bunch of expensive knick-knacks worth less than the sum of its parts, little more than an attempt to sucker Ikkitousen fans like myself into parting with our hard-earned cash without providing much in return. After having the chance to peruse my copy in person my opinion has not changed, but as both a sucker and an Ikkitousen fan I have to say I’m happy with the result, and would appreciate being pandered to in a similar fashion by other shows in the future (Sekirei, I’m looking at you). Read on for a textbook primer on how to be swindled in style:

Dengeki Moeoh. More than a magazine, Moeoh is a bimonthly artistic encyclopedia of moe that features original full color spreads from some of the highest profile artists in Japan’s 2D industry, coupled with articles, serial manga, and great extras that are themselves worth the price of admission. If it’s not perfectly clear from this introduction what follows is less of a review and more of a fanboyish evangelistic rant about what is truly one of the greatest products to originate from the modern Moe Industrial Complex - and the June 2008 issue (released yesterday, April 26th) is no exception. Spring is in the air, and that means short skirts and long stockings, and the perfect season for an exploration of that most ineffable of moetic qualities, the zettai ryouiki zone…

When Movic’s race queen Musubi was first announced at last summer’s Wonder Festival I was pretty excited, coming off the successful release of their first Musubi PVC a few months before. With a strong affection for her character and the obvious castoff potential exhibited by that unpainted prototype, expectations went a bit wild… The following eight months became an exercise in coming down to earth, but I wasn’t prepared for quite the extent of the inept production that awaited. Read on for a look at how a decent kit didn’t quite meet its potential:

PS. Thanks to SbebiWan for pointing out that there was nothing in this excerpt. ^^;;

Another volume of the Eromanga Toshokan is at hand, this time showcasing the superlative work of veteran doujin artist and eromangaka Youshuu Ohepe. I actually promised to review this the day before it came out, and while I may have forgotten about the promise in the interim the book is good enough that it came over and shook its sweaty shorts at me until I picked it up again for review. Note: this is a hardcore [ERO] book. If you’re under 18 or not interested in hardcore content this post is not for you. If you’re an adult with a taste for immaculately rendered thighs of thunder, by all means read on!

The Eromanga Toshokan returns after a long hiatus to bring a look at the most recent volume from veteran eromanga and doujin author Shijima Yukio. Long time fans of the very ge