Diamond has announced another strong lineup of Japanese import resins and action figures for the summer of 2005. Thanks to agreements with some of Japan's leading toy companies, Diamond Comic Distributors has been able to import a number of anime-based action figures and resin sculptures and price them in a way that allows retailers to make a solid profit and still provide their customers with 'bargains' compared with what the figures would cost through normal import channels.
Leading off this summer's anime entries in July is the Fist of the North Star 200X Bat Deluxe Action Figure produced in Japan by Kaiyodo. Sculpted by Keu Matsuura, the 7.5' action figure has a stunning 29 points of articulation. The figure comes with a number of accessories including a bow, gun, cape and a changeable head.
Diamond's August anime release is also from Kaiyodo. Aya and Maya are the two sexy sisters from Tenjou Tenge, the controversial manga by Oh Great, published in the U.S. by CMX (Geneon is about to release the action-packed Tenjou Tenge anime). Sculpted by garage kit maestro Bome, the 8-inch figures of Aya and Maya should find an avid audience among American anime fans.
Also releasing in August is the 1/8th scale figure of Alissa Grennorth from the Stellvia sci-fi anime series, released in the U.S. by Geneon. The spunky Alissa figure stands some 7.5 inches high, managing to be both sexy and more (extremely cute).
The Alissa figure comes from Max Factory, the Japanese company that specializes in anime and manga-based figures. Max Factory is also responsible for Diamond's September release, an action figure based on the Mazinkaiser giant robot anime. The eight-inch figure comes with removable wings and scrander, six variant hands, five different swords, as well as shooting 'rocket punch' fists.
