A Bevy of BiCute Bunnies (Overlord & Chainsaw Man)

 It's a great time to be a pre-painted figure collector when more affordable crane prize figures such as the FuRyu BiCute Bunnies series are offering the type of paintwork and sculpt quality that one usually sees only in more expensive upper-tier bishoujo figures. In the overall scheme of things, these BiCute Bunnies lie on the slightly more premium and expensive spectrum of the budget lower-tier category while just reaching the lower end of the upper-tier category. And depending on the individual figure, they sometimes can easily surpass the mid-tier figurines in terms of shelf presence.

 Most impressive of the trio of bunnies was that of Albedo (アルベド) from the Overlord (オーバーロード) series. Its paintwork and sculpt quality was the best I had ever seen on a budget crane prize figure. So much so that you could've easily mistaken it for an upper-tier figure, which would cost way more in price. For a more comprehensive look at the figurine, please check out my unboxing and review video of the FuRyu BiCute Bunnies pre-painted figure of Albedo (see below).

 Of course, this is not to say the other two bunny figures from Chainsaw Man (チェンソーマン) namely Makima (マキマ) and Power (パワ) weren't comparable in quality. It's just that the pair never quite reach the heights achieved by Bunny Albedo. However, they are still fine examples of the FuRyu BiCute Bunnies line, which easliy rank as one of FuRyu's best efforts, if not quite the best. As with Albedo, comprehensive video reviews and unboxings of Makima and Power can be viewed in my YouTube Channel FourEyedMonster Miniatures. I've included their links below for ease of viewing.

 For figure collectors on a budget, the FuRyu BiCute Bunnies series is a way to obtain extremely high quality bunny figures at a fraction of the cost of their premium counterparts, for example the Freeing bunny figures that in extreme cases can cost up to ¥55,000 or more - nearly 50x more expensive than your average BiCute Bunnies figure. Of course the pre-painted bunny figures from Freeing tend to be of much higher quality in comparison. Yet not so much that it costs almost 50x more.

 One thing's for sure: I'm a huge fan of the FuRyu BiCute Bunnies series, and I always eagerly await their new product releases in the hope that another gem like Albedo is unearthed in the future. Previously I had reviewed another trio from the Kaguya-sama: Love is War series, which you can check out in my previous blog post by clicking on the image below

 With that, we've come to the end of this BiCute Bunnies love fest. Do check out my YouTube Channel if you want to see pre-painted figures apart from the FuRyu bunny figure series. It's as easy as clicking on the banner below to get to my channel. I hope to see you there. Until we meet again, please stay safe, be well and be happy!

A trio of One Piece Grandista figures

   Like many of you out there with a penchant for all things anime, the One Piece series probably rank quite high up in your list of all time favourite shonen series. And if like me, you've watched it since its inception way back in 1999, you would've marveled at how the story telling has continued to captivate an adult version of yourself just like it wowed you when you were a kid. Being a fan myself, it was only the past year or so that I managed to find time to resume watching the One Piece series I had watch together with my son way back when it all began. And you know what? I still love the series nearly 20 years later. With that of course comes the inevitable move on my part to add some characters from the One Piece universe to my pre-painted figure collection.

 Below are the embedded YouTube videos of One Piece pre-painted figures from the Bandai Banpresto Grandista/Grandista Nero line. Specifically, Nami comes from the Grandista line while both Sanji and Zoro are from the Grandista Nero line.

 While there exists premium pre-painted figures of One Piece characters that far exceed the Bandai Banpresto Grandista line in terms of quality and design, I am beginning my collection with the latter due to budget considerations. Despite the Bandai figures being from the budget crane prize figure category, the product line has enough quality in both paintwork and sculpt design that make them worthwhile additions to your collection. That being said, in the future I hope to unbox and review One Piece pre-painted figures from more premium lines like the Megahouse Portrait of Pirates line. That's one for the future. For now, thanks so much for visiting my blog, and I hope to see you on my YouTube channel. Take care, be well and be happy.

Kaguya & Chika【Kaguya-sama: Love is War】PoP Up Parade Bishoujo Figure Unboxing & Review

 Kaguya-sama: Love is War does not enjoy mainstream popularity to the level as those from giants like One Piece and Naruto, so figures from the series aren't actually as easy to come by, either new in retail, or in the aftermarket. But both Shinomiya Kaguya and Fujiwara Chika have enough of  a cult-like following among fans that their figures that do become available have above average prices. The mid-tier pre-painted figures you see here are from Good Smile Company's Pop Up Parade lineup.

  Below are the 'Unboxing and Review' videos of the pair that I had uploaded to my YouTube Channel FourEyedMonster Miniatures. You can watch them here by clicking their respective play buttons located below. Alternatively, please visit my channel to watch the videos there as well as other similar content on pre-painted figures from other anime series.

 In essence, both figures are extremely simple in design and color scheme. Yet this creative choice by Good Smile Company for the Pop Up Parade figures suits the characters to a tee. Having both of them wear the Shuchi'in Academy uniform also, in a way, ensures anime accuracy. These Pop Up Parade figures look great and would be a welcome addition to any fan's collection. So that's it for another quick update on the latest videos on my YouTube Channel, which you can also visit by clicking on the banner below. Thanks for checking out the blog and videos. Be well. And be happy.

Priestess【Goblin Slayer】Good Smile Company Pop Up Parade (L) Pre-Painted Figures

 Suffice to say, the anime Goblin Slayer isn't for everyone. Now I watch a lot of anime, and as such I'm not easily shocked by the medium. But the opening scenes of Goblin Slayer was admittedly disturbing as it contained a rape scene by goblins on the female members of a captured human adventure group. Initially I was put off, and wondered if I was going to continue watching the anime. Well I did, and I'm glad I did. As disturbing as the scene was, it wasn't to glorify the act. The story showcases the horror inherent in rape, and the effects it had on even the strongest of heroines.

 But I digress. The purpose of this blog post was to direct you to my YouTube video on the unboxing and review of Good Smile Company's L-sized Pop Up Parade pre-painted scale figure of the heroine, namely Priestess. If you are wondering, that's her real name. The anime gives all the characters generic nouns for names such as Goblin Slayer, High Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, Lizard Priest, Cow Girl, etc. Weird but it kinda works. Please check out the embedded video below if you're interested.

 Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Please visit my YouTube Channel by clicking on the first banner below. If you like the content, please do subscribe. Until next time, be happy and be well!

Asuna & Kirito【Sword Art Online】Good Smile Company Pop Up Parade Pre-Painted Figures

 While having a story concept that's by no means unique in the anime scifi storytelling world, Sword Art Online (SAO) nonetheless is one of the few tells the tale well. And it's an intertwining tale of three core concepts of Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. All tough topics to deal with, yet to me SAO has managed to combine all three together extremely well. Kirito and Asuna, whose mid-tier Pop Up Parade figures are being unboxed and reviewed in the videos in this post, are the main characters of the light novel and anime series.

  Below are the two 'Unboxing and Review' videos of the SAO protagonists that I had uploaded to my YouTube Channel, FourEyedMonster Miniatures. You can watch them here by clicking their respective play buttons or visit my channel to see the videos there as well as other content.

 Both Asuna and Kirito are the very first Good Smile Company Pop Up Parade Standard-Sized figures in my collection. In terms of condition, the former was bought pre-owned from AmiAmi Japan while the latter was bought brand new from a local Good Smile Company Partner Shop. Going forward, I'll definitely add more PoP Up Parade figures into my collection. For now though, thanks for taking the time to read my blog post. Please do visit my YouTube Channel by clicking on the second banner below. If you like the content, please do subscribe. Take care for now, be happy and be well!

Elsa & Echidna【Re:Zero-Starting Life in Another World】Banpresto Relax Time Pre-Painted Figures

 Villainesses in the world of Re:Zero might not be as popular as the main trio of Emilia, Rem, and Ram, but both Elsa Granhiert and Echidna do have their own niche attraction when it comes to the pre-painted figure collection community. And between both villainesses, Elsa is a much rarer find than Echidna. The pre-painted figures shown below are from Banpresto's Relax Time series, which tends to portray anime characters in either casual or nighttime sleepwear. 

 Below are the two 'Unboxing and Review' videos of them that I had uploaded to my YouTube Channel FourEyedMonster Miniatures. You can watch them here by clicking their respective play buttons or visit my channel to see the videos there as well as other content.

 While the Relax Time color scheme for both Re:Zero villainesses are pretty dull with their almost all-back hues, the colors are nonetheless still true to the anime characters' onscreen colors. What I would've have preferred was more neutral colored trimmings such as gray to add details to an almost all-black ensemble. More details of the review can be gained from the videos above. Next up will be a pre-painted figure with much more cheerful colors. Stay tuned to find out who she is. Until then, as always my dear readers and viewers ... please be well and be happy.

Emilia & Beatrice【Re:Zero - Story To Be Continued | Ichiban Kuji】Bishoujo Prize Figures

 Beatrice finally joins my Re:Zero-Starting Life From Another World figure collection. More importantly she is clad in her iconic pink Lolita outfit. Prize figures of Beatrice in her Lolita outfit are rare to almost non-existent. Emilia is the other pre-painted prize figure, and she is similarly clad in her own iconic outfit of purple and white from the anime series. While not as rare, figures of Emilia in her purple and white outfit are still fairly hard to find, especially in the budget prize figure category.    

 Below are three Unboxing & Review videos of the Re:Zero pair of Emilia and Beatrice. 

 All the pre-painted figures above are from the Banpresto Re:Zero-Story To Be Continued Ichiban Kuji. For ratings of the figures, please do have a look at the videos above. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog update. Please do visit my YouTube Channel by clicking on the second banner below. If you like the content, please do subscribe. Take care for now, be happy and be well!

A trio of Taito Artist Masterpiece Pre-Painted Prize Figures | Albedo, Kitigawa Marin, and Rem

 For collectors who want to display figures with high quality paint jobs, there were usually two main routes to achieving this goal. One was to purchase expensive scale painted figures while the other was to paint the miniature figurines themselves. Up to now, I had either taken the latter route or made do with prize figures with lower quality paint jobs. But in the past few years, anime figure manufacturers have started to up their game, and produce prize figures with premium-like quality designs and paint jobs. One of those companies is Taito with their Artist Masterpiece figure lineup.

 Way back in 2021, Taito kick-started their Artist Masterpiece line with a popular anime figure in Rem from the Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World light novel/anime/manga series. Called the Winter Maid image version, this figure is huge for a prize figure with an approximate height of 27 cm from the bottom of the base to the top of he head (see video below).  

 An example of complexity in design for a prize figure done well is the Albedo from Overlord IV in the Taito Artist Masterpiece Plus (AMP+) line of figures. There is so much going on for a figure that is classified as belonging to the prize figure category. Taito more than makes up for the lack of paint shading on Albedo with both complexity in design as well as varied yet accurately textured parts.

 Another way Taito has made their prize figures more aesthetically pleasing is by adding a unique base as well as character-specific accessories. Similar to Albedo, this prize figure of Kitigawa Marin (in cosplay as Kuroe Shizuku) lacks paint shading but makes up for it via multi-textured and multi-layered parts that have excellent sculpted details. A key example of this can be seen on the cosplay dress that Marin is wearing. That dress she's wearing looks incredible despite a lack of paint shading.  

 Going forward I might plump for the more expensive upper-tier scale painted figures to add to my collection. But this I'll do sparingly because of my limited hobby budget. That means I'll still continue to paint miniature figures as well as opt to buy pre-painted prize figures as well as mid-tier painted figures. Slowly but surely, I hope to grow my figure collection despite budget constraints. Well that's it for this post. I hope to see you soon in my next hobby update. And until then, be well and be happy.

Kaguya, Chika, and Ai【Kaguya-sama: Love is War】Furyu BiCute Bunnies Figures

 As someone who, at this age still watches romantic comedy animes and lots of them, Kaguya-sama: Love is War stands out as my favourite one so far. It's has a unique take on the genre in which the main protagonists are in love with each other but are hell bent to get the other to confess their love first. It results in hilarious over-the-top situations that had even the missus laughing out loud.

 Below are three Unboxing & Review videos of the main female protagonist and the two main supporting female characters namely Shinomiya Kaguya, Fujiwara Chika, and Hayasaka Ai.

 All the pre-painted figures above are from the Furyu BiCute Bunnies Figures line. It's a product line based on the concept of putting popular anime characters into bunny costumes. While it falls under the budget-friendly prize figure category, I have so far found the bunny figures to be of high quality, far exceeding expectations of figures sold at its price point. I hope you'll enjoy the videos I have done for the trio. Until my next post next year - 2024 is days away - I wish you love and happiness.

Psychic Sisters Tatsumaki & Fubuki | One Punch Man

 After putting together my first scale model kit in a long while, I'm now back to blogging about unboxing and review videos of my pre-painted figure collection. What we have today are the Psychic Sisters from the One Punch Man anime/manga series i.e. Fubuki (aka Blizzard of Hell) and Tatsumaki (aka Tornado of Terror) in their Banpresto Espresto Shapely pre-painted figure form.

 Below are the unboxing and review videos of Tatsumaki and Fubuki, both of which can also be accessed via my YouTube channel FourEyedMonster Miniatures.

 Pre-painted figures from the One Punch Man series are pretty rare, so it was a relief to get two budget-friendly prize figures from Banpresto that was pretty good. One sister was better than the other (to see which please check out the videos above), but overall both were fairly decent. While there are much better figures of the duo, they are the more expensive scale painted figures, which would be out of reach of most beginner figure collectors.

All in all, if you are a fan of the series, then by all means go ahead and add the Psychic Sisters to your figure collection. Anyway, that's it for this short write-up as most of the content are covered in the videos embedded above. Until next time, be well and be happy!

Pre-Painted Figurines Begin Invasion Into My Collection

 There was a time when I would never have considered putting a pre-painted figurine up for display in my personal hobby collection. Misplaced pride and egotism meant I only displayed figurines I had painted myself. But with age comes the humility to accept that this self-imposed criteria is just that ... misplaced pride and egotism. With this in mind, I finally allowed myself the luxury of collecting pre-painted figurines. And in the interest of time, all unboxing and reviews of pre-painted figurines will be done via videos, which I'll upload to my YouTube Channel. Coincidentally Nami is my first ever pre-painted figurine review (see below) although she isn't the first one in my collcetion.

  Technically, Rem from the Re:Zero-Starting Life In Another Word anime is actually the first ever pre-painted figurine in my collection (discounting gasahpon figurines). Incidentally, Rem's own unboxing and review video was the second one I uploaded to my channel, and I've embedded it below for your ease of viewing. For more related content or other videos on either scale model kit or miniature painted builds, please visit FourEyedMonster Miniatures, my YouTube channel.

  However the miniature painter in me means it's inevitable that I'll be reviewing these pre-painted figurines with more of a critical eye e.g. pointing out what is lacking in a particular figurine's paint job. A pre-painted figurine's quality will vary from the budget-friendly prize figures to the larger and more expensive scale figures. Despite having these pre-painted figurines invade my collection, I'll definitely still be working on custom painted builds of my scale model kits and miniatures. After all I still love the hobby, and still have my health, which means I can still create.

  In fact, I've actually finished at least five scale model kit/figurine projects that I have yet to blog or vlog about. Somehow it seems harder to find the time to photograph/video and edit the resulting content. Hopefully I can figure thigns out eventually as I love this hobby, and love sharing the fun/happiness to be gained from it. And on that note dear reader ... stay happy and be well.