Despite my previous revelation about this being a big post, I decided to compress it into just 2 manufacturers, Volks and Orchid Seed, leaving the best manufacturer, Alter, for yet another post, despite it being the first booth to be photographed at the event. Here are the figures that had me interested from both the former manufacturers.

The pictures and information in this post come from the coverage provided by both Moeyo (Orchid Seed, Volks) and AkibaHobby (Orchid Seed), as well as Wcloudxkumo’s blog (Part 2, Part 3). Please peruse their blogs for more pictures if you so wish.
 

Orchid Seed

I must admit that despite being a fan of Shining Wind’s character designs, I already said in my last post that I was not interested in any of the other girls not mentioned in there. And though long hair of course makes a girl more attractive for me, that still is not the case with Seena here. This long-haired version of her is the first full-color sample out on display I imagine, and despite my misgivings about Orchid Seed’s ability to pull it through, this still is an impressive sample. I am still, however, not bothered with this figure at all.

This version comes from Another Link, which I believe to be part of the artbook for the game. At the very least, I already saw the artwork this was based on, and am pretty sure it came from the artbook.
 

Well this was a surprise when I first saw the photograph on the day of the event – Seira from the successful visual novel (but failed anime adaptation) Chaos;Head is now coming out in real figure form aside from her figure form in the game/anime. I am not interested in this figure, but felt it was worthy of note since Seira is the character that should be made into a figure and already has “figures” of a digital form, which makes it quite likely that she will be made into real figure form.

Why did it take them this long though? No news yet on release date or price.
 

Well now, look who else is being overdone. Ignis, the elf protagonist from the eroge Jingai Makyo, is truly the white heroine of Orchid Seed’s short period of pride, since they are the only manufacturer to have gone into her final version (that I know of). This Endless Winter version (I never played the game so I have no idea why this version is out) has only just been announced. Unfortunately, since I already have a very cumblesome White Ignis (also from the same maker), I am skipping this one, since a trade-in would be impossible. :\
 

A relative newcomer to Orchid Seed’s line, Soniko is the mainstay and mascot of Nitro+ (sort of), and despite its previous Super Valentine version, Orchid Seed must have felt that Soniko could be taken further as a figure, and they would be right. Announced at Wonfes was this -The Wave- Soniko, Bondage version (yes you read that right). I already have the Valentine version and this one looks like it could be easily skipped anyway. I wonder how many are interested in this though.
 

So it looks like Orchid Seed is also going into the Happoubijin series full-time, with this announcement of the Rider from that series. The previous one was the Hustler (released in May; limited version at the event directly below). I tried to cancel Hustler in the end due to a lack of funds, and that I had no real idea of the Happoubijin series (I still do not). They look nice, but they are on the list of figures that I can get whenever I feel like I am financially secure…ok, that has yet to happen, seriously. So yeah. Not many seemed interested in Hustler anyway, and I am wondering how many would like this one too.
 

The Wonfes limited version of the Happoubijin Sweet Body Hustler sports a slightly different color scheme, which contributes to her charm but otherwise does nothing else to make her of further worth to a collector, other than its limited availability maybe. A nice figure overall from the reviews I saw. The color scheme really does look slightly better on this one, but otherwise, meh. Gave the normal version up as well.
 

First thing you will notice about this image is the drastic Engrish. I am sorry, but I just had to point that massacre out. Anyway this dwarf archer comes from…duh, Lineage II, obviously. Orchid Seed’s other Lineage II release was already in prototype form (directly below), so it looks like they are picking up a few series as their trademarks. Despite their improvements of late in figure manufacturing (making them a better contender in the market, IMHO), they still have a few flaws to fix, so I hope they get those fleshed out before the release of either L2 figure.

By the way WTF, dwarfs wielding a bow and arrow? And in an almost loli form? what is this i don’t even
 

Japanese drawn, or rather, anime-based elves have this peculiar cute quality about them. But the true elves are drawn up largely by the west. This stunning Female Elf from L2 is shown as a prototype at Wonfes, and is one of the very few figures to have me actually hooked and intent on finding out more when the sample comes out.

I am however still very likely to give her a miss, considering that my expenses would be better spent elsewhere on other, more important (yo Alter I looks at j00) figures. But I must say, this looks to be quite the work of art and so I hope Orchid Seed can carry it through to the end. From hard experience, the original sample and the final product can still be worlds apart, especially if the change is something as small as a slight shift in facial expression that may be as big as the ocean in effect upon buyers who preordered the figure based on the original sample.
 

Volks

This is Remedia Kalar from Tousin Toshi III. WTF is that, you ask. Well, I have no idea either. Then why bring it up? Honestly, I saw a full-color sample of this somewhere, I forgot where exactly, but it was recent (before Wonfes). The whole figure was in blue, and it might very well have been a resin kit that was painstakingly finished by someone. Obviously, I have to mention a character that is almost fully clad in blue. The final, if the picture I saw was any indication, will turn out to be pretty fantastic for a series largely unknown to many…wait. So what is Tousin Toshi anyway?

Remedia will be on sale for 7,350 Yen and set for a winter 2010 release.
 

This resin kit of Ritona Yoko from the anime Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann had many Yoko fans crying in their socks. I believe it is a 1/4 scale unfinished kit, so this was merely for display as a final completed version. I find her pose unlike her though.
 

Finally, I would like to seriously maul Volks’ main company in Japan or do something drastic to them. Volks now has the most expensive things on my wishlist and for quite a while too, such as dollfies. And added to this list now is this wonderful dashing 1 of fugging 4 scale KOS-MOS Ver. 4 from the game Xenosaga III. I have no idea if this is a PVC or a resin, but the cost is seriously staggering at 50,400 Yen (I got the number of zeros right). No date is out yet, but allow me to say ************************you Volks. Considering KOS-MOS is my waifu and a high-ranking one at that, you seriously got the gall to release a figure of her like this. I wi-HHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH
 

And that is it for the coverage of Volks and Orchid Seed. Next up, I will focus on the remaining manufacturer, currently the best figure maker out there IMHO, Alter, and their releases, of which two in particular caught my attention right at the start. And now I-HHHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH

Related posts:

1. Wonder Festival 2010 Winter – Kotobukiya & Orchid Seed
2. Wonder Festival Summer 2010
3. Wonder Festival 2008 Summer Part 4 – Griffon and Orchid Seed
4. Wonder Festival 09 Summer – Native no Koto
5. Wonder Festival 2008 Summer – Alter, Orchid Seed, Resin