While many might say that I am childish or have yet to grow up, but I believe it is necessary for everyone to keep a part of their childhood passion or interests throughout life. Mine was the love for cartoons and toys, and despite getting on in age, I am still watching many of the new ones but especially those from Japan, or what they term as anime (short for animation, I believe). Since I used to collect Transformers and GI Joe toys and action figures, it was probably a logical progression for me to start picking up on the cuter anime figures. The only problem was that there are A LOT of anime series and thus characters, and trying to collect the whole lot of them might not be advisable for someone turning to his welfare check for sustenance!

That said, I have spent a considerable amount of money on this hobby of mine, which is to collect favorite anime pvc figures of series or characters that I have enjoyed tremendously. These include the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, Queen's Blade, Toradora! and many more, including from games like Fate/unlimited codes and Koihime Musou. There are some that I haven't actually watched, to be honest, but due to their immense popularity, it was hard to ignore them. I never made it past half the series of Haruhi, for example, despite it having a cult following, because the spontaneous nature of the series really threw me off my aging brain - hard to catch up. But you can never disagree that the figures are really cute - my little grand daughter loves them!

One of my favorite figures is not actually from an anime per se, but it is based on an illustration by a Japanese artist known as huke. Don't ask me what the name means, but look at this absolute beauty of a figure - the Black Rock Shooter. (sorry the pictures are below - not sure how to add them together here!) It has a post apocalyptic feel to the whole thing, but the dark colors do give it a mysterious glow, not to mention the gothic sensibilities of the whole thing. The figure base adds to the whole setting and love how they create an effect of impact with the weapon.

Another highly anticipated figure which is based on the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha anime series is that of Fate T Harlaown. This figure is the True Sonic Form version and is another work of art. I'm not exactly sure how those Japanese figure sculptors actually make these things, but it is incredible to recreate these poses, what with the air blown hair and intricate costumes. I'm definitely getting a piece of this Fate T figure - love the bright colors and how you can visualize her floating in the air with those weapons. This figure will be made by Alter - a reputed anime figure company that produces really high quality toys.

The Western world has action toys. Japan has their own version in the anime world now known as Figmas. The Figma Signum Knight Version (also based on the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS) is the latest from Max Factory that I found out about last week and can't wait to add to my collection. Figmas are comparatively cheaper than normal PVC figures, but they can provide a lot more fun. You can move their joints around and stick different parts together. They provide different sorts of facial expressions for example. They are just a lot of fun! This Signum Knight figma has taken things to a higher level, in my opinion. The details look to be much more studied, and apparently it has quite a number of accessories in the form of weapons. It also helps when everything is in pink!

I'll provide more figures to the list that I really like. The three above are upcoming ones that I'm willing to spend my money on. Perhaps those that are already taking up space proudly on my display shelves at home will need pictures of their own when I write more about them. Meantime, hope you enjoy the pictures and videos of these anime figures. Both fans and casual browsers will appreciate the art gone into creating them!