Building a collection of anime and video game figures is an expensive hobby. The small collection I have (some of which have been covered on The Otaku’s Study) has easily cost me a few thousand dollars to acquire over the last couple of years. Therefore if you are someone whose favourite characters shift with every season or prefer mainstream characters, and don’t have some form of disposable income, then it might not be the hobby for you. While the most popular figures will sell out during their pre-order period, in situations where you do have the luxury to do so, knowing a figure is tailored to your preferences is essential to ensure you get value for money.
As I have had to pull back from purchasing any new figures for the past couple of months, rather than write reviews of new releases, I would like to share a look at my current figure collection through this new photographic series. I hope my sharing these may help you in deciding whether purchasing a particular figure is a wise decision or note.
When looking to purchase a figure, there is no shortage of options based off characters from anime, manga and video game series. There is however, a seemingly growing interest in original characters from artists receiving their own figures – whether based on a V-Tuber, a piece of artwork or something exclusive to figure manufacturing.
Apologies for the lower-than normal picture quality. I am in the process of replacing my figure photography setup which will undoubtedly improve the quality of these photos going forward.
Manufactured by FOTS Japan, the character this figure is based on is named Ochi Lipka, an original creation from Japanese illustrator Capriccio (かぷりちお). This is one of several figures adapted from the artist’s works, based on the characters featured on their Pixiv profile. It depicts a girl wearing cat ears kneeling down, looking quite snug in an oversized hoodie with a tail poking out the back. This is a much simpler figure than most in my collection, even lacking a base, but still has some charm in just how normal it looks.
Something to keep in mind is that she is technically a NSFW figure, with no underwear underneath her jacket. That said, everything is “barbie doll” style, rather than many adult figures which tend to depict full genitalia.
At 17.1cm (171mm) in height, this figure of Ochi Lipka is at 1/5 scale and came in at a standard retail price of 14,300 yen when she launched in October 2018. It is hard to come across new nowadays, but you might have some luck keeping an eye on the pre-owned market. I would go into your hunt expecting to pay original market value if not more for a good quality pre-owned.
