Tokiha Mai - The dancing princess

Yes, that is indeed Mai Tokiha from Good Smile Company. ^^ She was the first figure that arrived here at home, so she has a special place in my collection. That’s way it’s maybe a good thing that I’m also doing my first post about her.

Tokiha Mai - Multiplied by seven

There are quite some completed models, as well as garage kits, of Mai. I just wanted one figure of her so I had to make a choice between all those figures. So why the one from GSC? Well, the garage kits weren’t an option for me in the first place, so that left only the completed models. I really wanted to see “Mai” back in the figure, since I like her personality and character. The first three figures fell of since she didn’t wear her school uniform. (There was another reason for the first Mai… I just don’t have the need to push in a figures breast and discover that it actually squeezes. -_-’) The fourth one wasn’t released back then, but I still wouldn’t have chosen her. It could be me, but her scarf doesn’t look like it’s blown up naturally by the wind. It looks just stif. Number five had brown hair, like in the manga, but I had only seen the anime so I preferred a Mai with orange hair. That left only the last two. Number 6 was a bit too energetic, I don’t remind her being like that. The last one showed a bit of her caring side. Her expression and the way she was standing gave her the right personality… Well, it’s all a matter of opinion of course. ^^

1/10 scale - 16 centimeters/6,3 inches

Tokiha Mai - Look closely; she's blushing ^^

When I just had her, I showed Mai to a friend of mine, who said: “She’s got big breasts.” I had to agree with her then, but when I look at Mai now, I think that they aren’t that big at all. Probably because I’ve seen so many different figures in my year of figure collecting, and some of them where… well… you know. Well, I wouldn’t want them smaller anyway, because Mai just has quite big breasts, so her figure should also have them.

Tokiha Mai - Looking innocent and caring

Her facial expressions seems to change a bit if you look at her from different angles. It’s fun to look for those different expressions while photographing.

Tokiha Mai - Passing by

GSC kept the base simple and gave it a light orange/yellow colour. It makes sure that your attention isn’t drawn away from Mai.

Hair colour - Which do you prefer; orange or brown?

I really like this figure but there is still one thing that annoys me; the colour of her lock of hair that is jumping out. The orange is very different from the hair on top of her head. It’s even darker then her hair ends.

Tokiha Mai - Showing a bit of her pantsu

A (really) little peek at her pantsu. It’s like the rest of Mai; quite simple. So they’re just white, without any ribbons or anything like that.

Tokiha Mai - Taking a stroll

Her hair ends are shaped like sharkteeth, probably because she is too small to give her more natural hair ends. It isn’t a very bad thing in my opinion, so it doesn’t bother me.

Mai & Kaitos - *sniff* *sniff*

She probably has a nice smell… ^^’

Tokiha Mai - Wearing the Fuka Academy schooluniform

On the bottom of her schooluniform, where the orange and white meet, is the orange painted a bit further then it should have. So there is a small orange line on the white part. That is the only thing I could discover on her, and it isn’t even something that would irritate . So you could conclude that they did a fine paintjob on her.

Tokiha Mai - A view from above

Her pose seems relaxing, partly because of the position of her arms, but I discovered by actually trying her pose, that it is rather tiring to stand that way. (Don’t ask me why I’m wondering about stuff like that.)

Tokiha Mai - Posing for the camara

This is my favorite photo of the bunch. I simply like the composition and the background. ^^

Tokiha Mai - The back side

Mai has been released in May 2006, so one would probably think that it’s rather difficult to find her, but she’s still available on Ebay. (And for less money then I’ve bought her ^^’)

Tokiha Mai - The front side

 Tokiha Mai

• From the anime/manga Mai HiME
• Manufactured by GoodSmileCompany
• Sculpted by Sakurasaka Mikoto
• A 1/10 scale; 16 cm high
• Made from PVC
Has a list price of 3800 円
Released in May 2006

Tokiha Mai - Reminder of how she looked in the anime

I actually didn’t plan to buy Nagisa this month, but I got an e-mail from Ebay that they would give people a 10 euro discount on their next purchase, (as long as the purchase was above the 25 euro). These discounts where limited so I acted fast and bought Nagisa the same day as I got my e-mail. I really like these sudden purchases. ^^

Nagisa Furukawa - Has a secret love for cat ears

I leave my figures in their boxes these days, but I couldn’t resist to take her out. So she’s now the only figure in my room, what looks kind of sad, but it’s better then having none standing there. And before I get any misunderstandings; I’m currently busy to give my room a total make-over, so I’ve packed all my figures back in their boxes, (and the two who didn’t have a box anymore, the ones from Bome, are currently staying with a friend), so I don’t really have a choice but to keep them in their boxes. (Can’t wait to take them out again, though.)

Nagisa comes with two cat ears and a cat tail, what’s a nice feature since they’re optional. There was also a magnet ribbon in the box, so now I’m hoping that the other figures have also one of those.

As it says on the box, this figure is a reproduction (October 2007) from the Nagisa from August 2005. It doesn’t seem that there has changed much, except from the box and the price, (from 3480 Yen to 4200 Yen).

Clannad - Tomoyo, Kotomi, Kyou, Fuko, Nagisa

Tomoyo and Kyou get a restock in December:

http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYPP-210                                                                http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYPP-209

So what is there for news? Well, last Saturday these two girls arrived:

Mao, Houmei, Saber mug - They're all coming from HobbyLink Japan

And with them came a Saber mug! =D

I’ve made six purchases this month: Akatsuki Mishiro, Nida Scheutlich, Tsuruya (Max Factory), Mao, Houmei and Nagisa Furukawa. The only one I’m still waiting for is Nagisa-chan. (I’m hoping that she’ll arrive tomorrow). ^^

I have six mugs in total since my new Saber has joined the group. That asks for a pyramid-shot. ^^

A pyramid of mugs - The front side

I love my mug collection and the Good Morning Saber mug is a worthy addition. She looks so cute in her pajama, while holding her toothbrush and a mug. A nice touch is that Saber has also a lion on her mug, although you can only see the top of its mane. Well, at least now I know which mug I’m going to use when I’m heaving breakfast. ^^ She also looks cute on the other mug I’ve got from here, but it’s only a bit strange to see here like this, since she is quite serious in the anime.

My favorite mug is still the Sign of Friend mug. The part in One Piece where they stick their arms up to show their crosses to Vivi, is still a very memorable moment. On top of that; Cospa has also made a nice detail by adding a cross inside the mug:

Cross inside the Sign of Friend mug - A nakama proof

The backside of the mugs is also worth seeing:

A pyramid of mugs - The back side

They’re all from Cospa, (what means that they have a very good quality), but that probably didn’t bring much surprise since Cospa makes quite a lot of mugs. I was searching for mugs two days ago on HobbyLink Japan and I noticed that there where only 22 mugs (out of 128) that where made by another company. Another good thing is that Cospa isn’t expensive; I’ve paid 800 Yen for each mug. ^^ For the people who are interested in one of these mugs: Rin Colosseum is still “In Stock” on HLJ and both the Good Morning Saber mug as the Sign of Friend mug have a restock in October. (23/09/08)

Well, let’s end this post with a picture of my cat Kaitos. ^^

Kaitos - Named after the Gamecube game "Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean"

No.

The idea just came to me. I had watched an anime. Sat in the dark. Ignored the fact that it was 2 a.m. And thought: “I want to share them.” And with that, I meant my figure collection. And what better way is there then to make a blog about them? A place to share photo’s of them, a place to discuss them, to review them… But especially; to look at them.

I know that there are already a lot of places on the web where people share there love for anime, manga, figures and games, but I thought that one more of such a place wouldn’t hurt anybody.

So, this is where at least my fun begins.

First of all, I have to warn you; this is the FIRST time I blog, so I have little to non experience with it. Still, I will try my hardest to find my way around as soon as possible. Second, English isn’t my native language, and I can guarantee you that you will notice that. (For the people who want to know; I’m actually Dutch.)

What you can expect from this blog: … *silence* … Just keep following it, then you’re sure to find out. ^_^

Your optimistic blog-writer:

Thérèse