Nagisa Momoe Quick Figma Review

I received this in the mail today! Took long enough... So here's some photos and a quick review of the product. Check out my review of the other Madoka Magica figures here!

Is it Ever a GOOD Idea to Buy Bootleg Merchandise?

With the influx of Sailor Moon products hitting the shelves, copycat fakes were destined to make their way onto the market. You can finally find amazing prices for that figure you've been wanting, and it's completely affordable! Are you being fooled? The answer is yes, yes you are. I can say without a shadow of a doubt in my mind that if the price is less than half the regular price of the item, you're buying yourself a Saban Moon; when it arrives at your doorstep a wave of disappointment will quickly set in. I have an article all about how to spot a fake item versus legitimate merchandise, so check it out here if you haven't already. But today I'm asking, is it ever a GOOD idea to buy flea market figures? Keep reading to find out why it might be worth your while to check out some made in China goodies.

S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon Figure Review

My S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon Figure arrived today! I ordered it off of Amazon while it was on for a great deal and paid about $50 USD including tax! Needless to say, this figure is amazing for the price! But let’s get into the nitty gritty details about what makes this figure so awesome, and perhaps talk about the not so awesome things… Anyways, to the review!

So this is how the box shipped to my house, it appears that I got the limited first run bonus!! That made me super happy as I wasn’t sure if I’d be getting it or not. Secondly, it appears to be the Japanese release even though it was being brought over to America which means that there won’t be any truly localized product for North America, so don’t expect to see it in your local hobby store. If you want this item get ASAP and get it with the bonus faces that come with the first time limited run. It includes her winking face and crying face. Both are really nice to have as we all know Usagi is a bit of a cry baby.
One more comment is how stunning this box is. If you’re a collector this piece in the box is a really nice display just as is! It’s also very ecologically friendly as there’s barely any wasted space in there. The box is 7” tall, or 18 cm for all my Non-U.S. readers out there. The figure itself is just a few hairs shy of 6” or roughly 14 and a half cm. She’s pretty small, but that accommodates for her lower price tag. Still a nice centerpiece for sure despite its less than average height.

Collecting Sailor Moon Video Games for the Super Famicom

I’m a collector of many things, and among my collection is a few Super Famicom (SFC) Sailor Moon games. When I was younger I emulated the games and played them a lot (terrible I know! but they weren’t available in North America). So for nostalgic reasons I began purchasing the physical games, so today I’m posting about my experience buying these games as well as giving some advice on how to pick them up for yourself! I also have a trick involving the region lock on North American & European Super Nintendo games that can be undone so you don’t have to pick up a Japanese console to play these awesome games!

I’ve picked up 3 SFC games through Ebay, and they’re among some of my favourites from the roster of Sailor Moon games available. Above is Sailor Moon SuperS: Fuwa Fuwa Panic, a balloon popping puzzle game that feels like a cross between Bust a Move and Bejeweled. You pop balloons of similar colour and send over unpoppable gray balloons in a sort of backwards tetris. Intermixed with it is the Sailor Scouts who have different special attacks that can help your board or hinder your enemy’s board. The sprites are colourful and the game is a lot of fun to play through, whether solo or against friends. See gameplay of it here. There’s also Sailor Moon Sailor Stars: Fuwa Fuwa Panic 2 which is the same thing but much more difficult to play solo. It is also hard to find, and probably expensive to purchase if you do. Check out its gameplay here. Both games are fun so if you see either for a decent price then pick them up! Any puzzle game fan would have tons of fun playing these games.

S.H. Figuarts Sailor Moon Figures *News*

I have always been an avid Sailor Moon fan. Ever since the show began airing when I was younger I was hooked, and I’m still hooked, persistently buying the Kodansha re-release mangas (coverage here) as well as frequenting news for the upcoming anime revamp. So along with all this moonie madness comes beautiful figures from S.H. Figuarts. When I saw that they finally were making new Sailor Moon merchandise, and on top of that beautiful figures I made pre-orders immediately! This post is covering all the news thus far involving the figures, where to pre-order and when to expect new figure releases.

Unfortunately for those who missed out, the Sailor Moon has already released in Japan, but there’s already a bunch of articles circulating on the figure. I pre-ordered my own from Amazon, which will be released in October. Luckily I didn’t miss the Japan release for Sailor Mercury which is also releasing this October, so I’ll be getting the two scouts together! Both figures feature 3 changeable faces, multiple hands for different poses, as well as scout accessories pertaining to the first season of the show. Legend Studio however is doing figures based off Sailor Moon S, so those figures will feature different costumes as well as accessories.  They will be doing the whole cast of Sailor Moon, outer senshi included! Click for photos here. It’s unknown if S.H. Figuarts will also be releasing the outer senshi, but here’s hoping! They do have a statue of Sailor Moon from the Sailor Moon R season, as it features her moon scepter. Click here for a photo. So they could be releasing figures from other seasons in the future.

There aren’t any pre-orders available for Sailor Mars yet, but she will be available come December. So anticipate a pre-order date soon. The other two scouts do not have coloured versions out yet, but they look stellar. The likenesses of each shout are captured beautifully in these figures. Their facial expressions look very much like their anime counterparts. Also, if you notice in this photo Sailor Mars has joints in her hair for posing. Sailor Moon’s pig tails do have some flexibility but not nearly as much so as Mars. It seems like Sailor Venus will also have poseable hair like Mars, but not the entire piece of hair is flexible, only 2 strand chunks in each figure. It is also noticeable that Sailor Jupiter’s pony tail is moveable, so her hair can flow in the wind like the other scouts.

Something of note with these figures is also their stands. It’s nice that we don’t have to worry about sticking a peg into their back (which at times can be frustrating) but we get instead is these clamps that stand out and make for an eye sore. On another note of concern with this is that it will probably take patience to work it properly. I imagine it needs a sweet spot to hold the figure effectively. I could foresee it buckling under the weight if it doesn’t hit a spot that it nestles into comfortably. However, the design of the base of these figures is quite nice. I like the attention to detail. I’m bargaining that the other scouts feature similarly designed bases.

I’m heavily anticipating receiving my figures this October. As soon as I receive them I will be doing reviews so keep posted until then! You can still pre-order Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury on Amazon if you’re interested. Links here and here. Also anticipate pre-orders for Sailor Mars in the near future. I usually go to Hobby Search and frequent the homepage almost every day. I’ll attempt to give more news on the figures and their pre-order dates, release dates etc. as soon as they’re announced! Keep posted, and happy collecting!
Christina

How to Spot Fraudulent Merchandise Online

Ever missed your chance to pre-order that item so you’ve turned to sites like Ebay? You entered the search terms then found unbelievably low prices? You bought the item straight from China, it came 2 months later and looks like it rolled through hell and back? You just bought a fraudulent piece of merchandise, $20 down the toilet and you’re pretty mad because you still need that item. I’m here to give you my personal experiences with fraudulent merchandise as well as some pointers to prevent yourself from getting tricked!
Know the Item You Want to Purchase & Request Photos
It’s very easy to fake a product and make it almost impossible to tell from the product listing. There are however very small details that can reveal a fraud from the real thing.

This figure is a bit of an obvious copy of the original figure. Her corset piece is clearly sticking out when it’s supposed to in. The box also doesn’t contain any plastic sheets protecting the figure or accessories, which you can see in legitimate boxed figures.


 Also on the back of the box you can see tape holding the lid down, it’s cheap clear tape which gives away the low quality packaging that would not  happen if it were a legitimate product. Make sure before you buy anything that they show real photos of the product they’re selling, not stock photos that the company supplies of the legitimate figure. Pictures of the item in box are essential to verify whether it is a real product or fake. Always request it and contact the seller if they only display stock photos.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Max Factory Figmas Review

Among the figures that I own, this set of figures is one of my favourites. They’re vibrant, colourful and true to the show with lots of accessories and tons of fun to be had! Setting up scenes from the show/films along with creating ones of your own is always enjoyable. I’ll go into detail about each of the figures, as well as show off their accessories. Glamour shots of the figures is also ahead!
Feel free to use this as a guide when purchasing your own Madoka Magica figmas online. Be careful of fraudulent China made figures! If the price seems too good to be true it probably is! Go to websites like AmiAmi or Hobby Search and check out their boxes in detail so you know what to look for when buying off of non-hobby sites like Amazon or Ebay. I’ve purchased fraudulent and legitimate figures off of Ebay so you have to be careful when purchasing off those sites.

Kaname Madoka

Madoka’s figma is pinky pink making her one of the cutest figures of the set for sure. Her dress is very well detailed, with each bow and ribbon looking perfect and plush on her dress even though they’re plastic. She is very flexible despite that big skirt so you can put her into any action position. She comes with a sitting Kyubey, a closed and open bow as well as 4 arrows for it. She comes with 2 Grief Seeds and 2 other faces (scared and determined). She’s a smaller figure along with the others in the series, they all stand at about 11.5 cm (4.5 in).

One thing to be careful with are those small accessories! Kyubey’s ear rings are detachable, and those Grief Seeds are super tiny. Be careful when playing with these because losing an item is always heartbreaking and to get a replacement piece you’d have to replace the whole figure (they do not sell accessories separately). One gripe is that Kyubey is a little top heavy and never seems to sit without some struggle. Otherwise this is a fantastic figure.

Here are all accessories (not shown is the stand). Every figma figure comes with a ziplock bag for all the accessories, however if you’re collecting like I am then keeping the box is a must. The box however is nothing exciting to look at (sorry I did not take photos of the box). If you keep the box everything fits nicely inside; personally I suggest keeping the box.

This figure is an 8.0 out of 10 in my opinion. It loses points because of the lack of a Soul Gem (all these figmas don’t have one) as well as being a bit underwhelming in terms of accessories. Later in this post I review the Ultimate Madoka figure which also includes the same open bow with slightly different arrows. Why have the same accessories? Give us a second Charlotte form or other witches for our enjoyment. Just a personal disappointment but anywho, onto the next figure!