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DC's Ame-Comi redux: Hobby Japan says....
Remember those godawful DC Ame-Comi figures announced back in February, that caused such a blogosphere hubub? Yeah, those figures, that were such a massive failure on every level - neither a successful imitation of "anime" style, an appealing collectible figure on any level, or even named with a sensible portmanteau? Granted, the Japanese are to blame for creating the word amecomi in the first place, but that doesn't excuse DC for opting to use that horrible Engrishy word in a lame attempt to be TOTALLY AUTHENTIC with their anime-inspired line of figures. Just like DC has no excuse for aping the worst elements of moe anime style in an attempt to be TOTALLY AUTHENTIC with their anime-inspired line of figures... But now I'm getting ahead of myself.
Anyway, said figures are now available for purchase, albeit ever so slightly redesigned.
So here's a bit of reaction from over here in magical Japanland.
See, there's this magazine called Hobby Japan. It's a monthly magazine, about 350 pages every issue, and it's also, I should mention, a venerable institution for anybody who's a fan of plastic things made in Japan. Anyway, the magazine has a strict organization that hasn't varied in many years. It starts off with about 150 pages of giant robot models and dioramas, then has a small section devoted to movie monsters, then about sixty pages of character figures/models, and then the rest of the magazine is devoted to model planes, boats, cars, and military dioramas. Anyway, the character section has its own internal organization, too: figures are grouped by series, maker, type, and original medium (anime, game, or comic). But as Hobby Japan is a magazine for adults, it's not shy about including adult content in its pages. Especially in the character section, erotic figures are usually mixed in with the mundane figures, albeit lightly censored by discreetly-placed black bars, so that Hobby Japan Lmt. (yes, that is the name of the parent company that owns Hobby Japan) can get away with sellings its magazines without shrinkwrap.
Anyway, the editors of the character section usually keep the erofigures on separate pages from the regular figures.
This month, Hobby Japan included a small article about DC's Ame-Comi figures, and some photographs, in the character section.
Guess where they stuck that article, though? That's right. In the porno figure section.
Here are the pages in question (NSFW!!!). For the uninitiated, let me explain the identities of the figures surrounding our familiar Powergirl and Supergirl. To their immediate left is a figure created by famous Japanese porno artist Mogudan (NSFW!!!). Further left, we have a pair of goth loli PVC models, which look tasteful enough, but promise to be anatomically detailed with removable clothes. Beneath this we have another tasteful-looking figure from the popular hentai game Edelweiss. Now, Edelweiss is a damn fun game, and that Fumie figure is a great-looking figure. But she also comes with a transparent skirt, not shown in the magazine scan. This IS an erotic figure from an erotic game, keep in mind. On the facing page we have a couple more erotic figures (with more removable clothing items), and finally, a pair of highly sexualized Kan'u Unchou figures from the unabashadly ecchi (but still hella fun because it's so shameless) manga series Ikki Tousen.
Say what you will about DC comics, but really, Supergirl and Powergirl shouldn't be classified on the same fanservice level as any of the girls in Ikki Tousen, much less Kanu. Much less, you know, characters from actual porno games.
But when Hobby Japan decided to include Ame-Comi Supergirl and Powergirl in its pages, where did they put the appropriate article? Did they put them on the pages filled with figures of action heroines from series like Claymore, Code Geass, El Cazador de la Bruja, or Evangelion? Nope. I guess the Ame-Comi Supergirl and Powergirl just aren't tasteful enough to be displayed alongside the likes of Clare from Claymore or Nadie from El Cazador de la Bruja. Nope, no way. Into the porno section they go.
Okay, so. When Hobby Japan says that your figures look like porn, that's REALLY saying something.
Anyway, said figures are now available for purchase, albeit ever so slightly redesigned.
So here's a bit of reaction from over here in magical Japanland.
See, there's this magazine called Hobby Japan. It's a monthly magazine, about 350 pages every issue, and it's also, I should mention, a venerable institution for anybody who's a fan of plastic things made in Japan. Anyway, the magazine has a strict organization that hasn't varied in many years. It starts off with about 150 pages of giant robot models and dioramas, then has a small section devoted to movie monsters, then about sixty pages of character figures/models, and then the rest of the magazine is devoted to model planes, boats, cars, and military dioramas. Anyway, the character section has its own internal organization, too: figures are grouped by series, maker, type, and original medium (anime, game, or comic). But as Hobby Japan is a magazine for adults, it's not shy about including adult content in its pages. Especially in the character section, erotic figures are usually mixed in with the mundane figures, albeit lightly censored by discreetly-placed black bars, so that Hobby Japan Lmt. (yes, that is the name of the parent company that owns Hobby Japan) can get away with sellings its magazines without shrinkwrap.
Anyway, the editors of the character section usually keep the erofigures on separate pages from the regular figures.
This month, Hobby Japan included a small article about DC's Ame-Comi figures, and some photographs, in the character section.
Guess where they stuck that article, though? That's right. In the porno figure section.
Here are the pages in question (NSFW!!!). For the uninitiated, let me explain the identities of the figures surrounding our familiar Powergirl and Supergirl. To their immediate left is a figure created by famous Japanese porno artist Mogudan (NSFW!!!). Further left, we have a pair of goth loli PVC models, which look tasteful enough, but promise to be anatomically detailed with removable clothes. Beneath this we have another tasteful-looking figure from the popular hentai game Edelweiss. Now, Edelweiss is a damn fun game, and that Fumie figure is a great-looking figure. But she also comes with a transparent skirt, not shown in the magazine scan. This IS an erotic figure from an erotic game, keep in mind. On the facing page we have a couple more erotic figures (with more removable clothing items), and finally, a pair of highly sexualized Kan'u Unchou figures from the unabashadly ecchi (but still hella fun because it's so shameless) manga series Ikki Tousen.
Say what you will about DC comics, but really, Supergirl and Powergirl shouldn't be classified on the same fanservice level as any of the girls in Ikki Tousen, much less Kanu. Much less, you know, characters from actual porno games.
But when Hobby Japan decided to include Ame-Comi Supergirl and Powergirl in its pages, where did they put the appropriate article? Did they put them on the pages filled with figures of action heroines from series like Claymore, Code Geass, El Cazador de la Bruja, or Evangelion? Nope. I guess the Ame-Comi Supergirl and Powergirl just aren't tasteful enough to be displayed alongside the likes of Clare from Claymore or Nadie from El Cazador de la Bruja. Nope, no way. Into the porno section they go.
Okay, so. When Hobby Japan says that your figures look like porn, that's REALLY saying something.