Alter is going to release the Houmei ( ホウメイ ) 1/8 PVC figure form the “Shining” game series “Shining Wind” published by SEGA. Will be released in June 2011. Around 200mm tall (included the base and clothes), 11,800 yen.
You can order her here
Thank you Alter for setting her price so high. Now I don’t even need to think about getting her. I know that she is gonna be expensive when Alter showed the non-painted prototype in the event, but I didn’t expect that she is this expensive. I was hoping that she will be like 9,800 yen and I could still afford it. But with the 11,800 yen tag now, I have to give up.
Good-bye Houmei, I like you so much and I’ll nominate you in the Best Figure Award next year (if I get invited as a nominator again)! (@@.
|
——Description from Manufacturer—— Sculpted by Futatsu Shito From the “RPG that Touches Hearts”, Shining Wind, comes an amazing new figure of the Fairy of Ryuusenkyou, Houmei! This figure has been expertly crafted to allow Houmei to appear as though she is lightly floating on the air, supported only by her billowing clothes and the stream of water beneath her (which serves as her base). It is a dynamic but refined sculpt that is sure to bring out the best elements of Houmei! Houmei’s clothing has been perfectly colored, and her gently smiling expression perfectly balances her childlike appearance along with her air of dignity and nobility. |
PS2 Shining Wind OP
[youtube]yNQcvqVg_Rs[/youtube]
- Official Shining Wind homepage
http://shining-wind.jp - via Alter
Love the figure but I don’t think I can justify the price tag to myself.
She’s a beautiful figure, but I couldn’t afford her even if I tried xD
*COUGH*COUGH*COUGH*
What the hell Alter!
That price tag is 2000 yen more than my estimation!
Damn… time to check the budget and probably cut either some other wishlist or this Houmei from the wishlist. >.>”
Btw… GGT
“Alter is going to re-release the Houmei”
Re-release?
??? I thought I changed that “re-release”???? Oops, maybe I didn’t save it afterward. (><.
T-T this is sooooo sad….
Gorgeous.
But sometimes I get the feeling Alter figures’ eyes are all the same, just changing color and outline.
Well, maybe I am trying too hard to see distinctive styles in an art style that inside its own genre is not very distinctive (anime/manga style), but you DO see a lot of differences when comparing the works from some talented manga artists.
For example, you could never expect to see Mio Akiyama (K-ON) in the same production as Asuka Langley Sohryu (EVA). And I’m not talking about the ridicularity of this encounter in the same world and what insane plot brought them together. I’m talking about the art style. Faithfully drawn in their respective styles, but in the same production… It’s too different. It’s unconceivable. It’s not something the viewer can believe, and it looks BAD.
However, looking at the art style only, it means they are faithful to their origins. They are still the same characters, drawn as they should be, presented as they are known. They are still themselves. And this is GREAT.
A figure maker is not building characters in the same world though! There’s no world. They are not selling any world, they are just selling the characters. And because of this, they should be faithful to their origins, with their respective art styles.
When I look at Alter figures as of late (and some other companies too), I get the feeling their original art styles have all been scrapped and “translated” into a general art style, designed to fit all characters into the same world, and to make them believable. I’m not complaining about this Houmei specifically, because she looks 85% faithful to the game (the eyes being the problem for me).
But anyway, why is this happening? I know they only got a handful of sculptors, and these guys themselves have their own art style. A sculptor X for example has designed 20 or so figures the past year, so naturally they will carry his art style, and look very similar, even in color tones, as if they were from the same artist (when they are not).
I know there’s no way around this but… doesn’t this bother you guys sometimes?
Or….. is this a direct consequence of turning those 2D drawings into a 3D model that are all made from the same material through the same process, and is not related to the sculptor at all? Because YES, I do see some sculptors trying hard sometimes to mimic an artist’s style.
What do you guys think?
P.S.: damn what a huge wall of text.
I agree that some sculptors have very strong style of their own such as Miyagawa Takeshi from T’s system. and I-con from Griffon Enterprises. Sculptor is an artist, every artist has their own style. But what’s wrong with that?
About being faithful to the origin, but what is “origin”? Anime? Manga? Light Novel? Game? Let’s say K-ON, the origin is Manga. So if someone makes a figure based on the anime version of Mio, he is not “faithful to the origin”?
Maybe someone would think that anime should be coincided as origin. But what is the origin of anime? The character designer’s design? The art director’s style in episode 5? Or the art director of the ED?
If a sculptor is making a ED Mio based an illustration based on the ED Mio, and the ED art director drew Mio based on the character designer’s design, and the character designer drew her based on the original manga. So is the sculptor is still doing something “faithful to the origin”?
What about the illustration that the sculptor based on? 99.9999% of the time illustrator is not part of the animation crew, then is it still “faithful to the origin”?
There is no way someone can copy 100% of the others work. Let’s say the sculptor can only capture 90% of the illustration, the ilustration is only 90% to the ED, the ED is only 90% to the character design, and the character design is only 90% to the manga. Then we only have 65.61% to the manga at the end!!
Agreed. It’s really hard to replicate someone’s art. I guess it’s just my wishful thinking to see extremely perfect depictions lol.
BUT, it’s not like the final products are ugly. Not at all. I actually own many of them, and think they are beautiful. It’s just that sometimes I think “what if…” =p
Wow, that’s long passage… I did read it through, and I think at the end of the day, what convinces me to buy a figure is the sample mugshot. If a figure really catches my eye, I will get hold of it regardless of the price (sadly).
I am not specifically fond of Alter and GSC figures, but I purchase from them simply because I know what I am about to get wouldn’t be too far off from the sample I see.
There’s a load of figures like this one, which per se is an excellent figure, but it is one of those types which doesn’t have the vibe to influence me to disregard the price.
“I was hoping that she will be like 9,800 yen and I could still afford it”
why don’t you buy her at AmiAmi for 9,420 yen?
Because if she was 9,800 yen, then some stores will sell her for 7xxx yen.
… I couldn’t help but pre-order her at Big in Japan. OTL
Guess I will have to work extra hard in June in order to pay all the figures I want… OTL
Yea, Big in Japan is the cheapest so far (9,204 yen). But still I couldn’t afford her in June since April and May is so deadly. OTL
Yeah, and I think their price is more reasonable than Alter’s… :/ I mean, of course, she is amazing, but 11,800 yen is still a lot of money. D:
By chance for me, April and May aren’t that bad for me, I only have a figma and a Nendoroid pre-ordered for April~ Pretty much the same thing for May as well, except that I also have Racing Miku. I guess that’s why I can afford this Houmei… hopefully. XD;;
It may be off topic but why are water and fire so hard to re-create? Is it the medium being used? a “style” thing? or something else?
I ask because the water holding her up looks nice now but experience leads me to believe that it’s probably just the lighting. I’m fairly sure that, if I bought her, as soon as she got out of the box the “water” she’s resting on would look like nothing more than blue-ish plastic which is supposed to REPRESENT water.
Well… There is some style in it. Water in anime is very blueish, but thats because its hard to recreate water in art. Ever tried drawing water or fire? It’s hard. Its easier to become a Tony Taka before mastering water and fire.
I think all the problem in mastering water and fire is because they “play with light”. Fire emits light in a crazy way, water absorbs light in a crazy way. Comparing them with the common surfaces and textures of materials in everyday life that only need a minor shade to look good, and you can see how it becomes troublesome.
And thus, there is only so much they can do when they need to recreate that in 3D. I agree it doesn’t always look perfect, but I’d like to believe it’s the best they can do right now. I’ve seen fire that looks horrid in other figures, but oh well. With things like that, like you said, it depends on lightning, because light is the major reason why fire and water look so unique in real life. Again, fire emits light, water absorbs/refracts/reflects it.
Some people actually got lamps on their figure stands… I can’t afford that, but I’m sure that would give this figure a nice effect.
A bit pricey, but still excited! If that’s what Alter needs to charge in order to continue making the best figures available, then so be it!
Dont have anything besides Max Haruka so i can get this gal ^__^. Love it!
the overall is awesome but i dun think i like the expression of hers. getting advise from lots of people between saber motor and houmei and many suggested buying saber since she has a better craftwork and expression. so i guess i have to miss this unless i save up and buy both T^T