Asuka Sugo PVC by Wave

Hey! I took a photo for this blog that wasn't blurry and dimly lit! I'm obviously moving up in the world; or, I just decided to go outside and use that infernal thing known as "natural light"--better known as the sun--to efficiently show the beauty of magnificent PVC in the form of anime hotties. Short blog, but a worthy one, I'd say.

The spotlight figure is Asuka Sugo from the Sunrise anime Futuer GPX Cyber Formula, which could be best described as a sort of Mach Go Go Go/Speed Racer meets the video game series F-Zero. I embarrassingly haven't seen the full duration of the original series, but that doesn't stop my bizarre infatuation of girls wearing visors--or, you know, anime babes from the golden years of anime. Plus, the character designer of the show also holds quite a bit of unexpected relevancy to this blog from some of my past posts about Windaria and Leda: Mutsumi Inomata. Kinda bizarre, yet it makes sense, for when Wave announced this figure earlier this year I immediately desired it, yet ultimately let it go under the radar due to funds and a short attention span, among other probable and culpable reasons. Alas, the first run of figures sold out quite quickly, resulting in a second run in April. Clearly a sign from Crom himself, I indulged and wouldn't be made a fool of again from the impudent realm of the internet and figure collecting.

There is probably a billion figure reviews for every release out there, so I'll kind of refrain from that and just focus on the goodies. If there isn't such a review, and one seeks more detailed information, I'd be glad to do a full review, so just let me know. I'm looking at you, internet lurker that found my blog looking for doujinshi hentai of Asuka on Google.

Anyhow, it's a 1/10 figure made of PVC by Wave, which stands at around six and a half inches. Not many accessories but the shown umbrella, but she also includes an exchangeable headband in replacement of the shown visor, much like in the show. Wave makes some pretty nice figures, and while they usually don't exceed the 1/10 size, they are usually quite affordable in this over-inflated market of figure collecting, usually within the range of 3,000-4,000 yen, depending on your method of purchasing.

In the middle of writing this I actually uncovered that Wave will be re-releasing the figure once again, this time in a "dengeki" version to commemorate the upcoming Blu-Ray collection of the series. Not much has been changed but for another exchangeable hair piece, this time giving the option of short hair, as well as the small inclusion of a wedding ring on her right hand. A worthy addition for those that missed the initial two runs, yet it seems the figure went up about 1,000 yen or more in price. Ah, and so goes the figure market.

There's about a thousand figures out there of Asuka Sugo from the various series and OVAs of Cyber Formula. Most had pretty limited runs and are now out of print, which is pretty usual for any company. There are a few other impressive figures of her that have been made, but most have a pretty mediocre design and stray from the original character depiction, while another handful are overtly sexual with misplaced proportions and the typical "fantasy" nudity and pronounced nipples and whatever else. Wave did a damn good job recreating the character in model form. Everything from Inomata's wonderful, large eyes to the lithe figure of the character has been faithfully transitioned from two-dimensional drawing to three-dimensional PVC. A must-have for a collector, really.

Fun With References: Windaria; The Downfall of Kunihiko Yuyama

Awhile back I mentioned a phenomenal film I'd recently seen, Leda: The Fantastic Adventures of Yohko, and how much I adored it; I also mentioned that I love references and that they make me all giddy inside and whatnot. I recently spotted another little reference that happened to make me smile, which happens to be another film directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, as well as character designs by the great Mutsumi Inomata. Inomata worked as both a character designer and an animation director, with work in such notable series as City Hunter, Urusei Yatsura and Magical Princess Minky Momo. I still can't believe that the original Minky Momo material remains un-translated, both in manga and anime form; but that's another story altogether, so I digress--and get back on topic. Anyhow, the film at hand here is Windaria, or, the butchered and edited localization title, Once Upon a Time. Actually, the original Japanese title isn't just Windaria, but Legend of Fabulous Battle Windaria, although that title is usually shortened. It's a beautiful, eerie, and stunningly animated film in the same vein of Leda. Oh, and speaking of Leda, that's where today's reference comes from!

See that dog with the red bandana riding on that hover bike with Leda? He talks. And floats. And doesn't know what a walkman player is. But that's okay, because he's Leda's sidekick, Lingum in that superb film. Go watch it--after you finish reading my rubbish blog, that is!

Lingum shows up in a few different frames throughout Windaria, most notably at the very beginning. He sadly isn't pseudo-anthropomorphic or has the ability to hover or talk, but instead acts as a normal, lethargic canine. I'm not quite sure if I ever caught Leda herself amongst the crowd in Windaria, but I wouldn't rule it out, especially since a certain Princess in the film shares a good deal of resemblances.

Windaria is an incredible piece of animation. I really can't express my infatuation for both of the aforementioned films, and especially couldn't provide eloquent prose at this damned hour to justify such a claim. I reckon such a thing may happen in the near future, but I certainly even doubt my own listless nature and procrastination. I blame the large list of things I need to watch. Clearly a good excuse. I did want to talk about something else, though: what the hell happened to Kunihiko Yuyama? I don't understand how you can make such fluid, beautifully crafted animation that stands out amongst most theatrical films of the time and just quit, only to make countless Pokemon specials, mediocre hentai and the completely superfluous Kimagure Orange Road: Summer's Beginning. I just hate seeing directors go into film purgatory, especially if it's self made. It's like John Carpenter or George Romero or Martin Scorsese or blah blah blah; you get the point. It's just sad, really. I guess this is the dilemma of the Anachronistic Otaku.