Exclusive to Dengekiya’s online shop, The Ascii Media Works 20th Anniversary Dengeki Heroines Figure Collection is a set of 20 miniature figurines, manufactured by Toy’s Works to celebrate 20 years of Ascii Media Works with 20 of anime’s most beloved heroines.
Promotional Image of all 20 Heroines!
The set’s contents are an impressive line-up of chibi beauties who have spawned massive fan followings over the past two decades. Holo, Osaka, Hoi-Hoi, Taiga and Kirino were enough to convince me I just couldn’t live without it!
Box in a box…
The set arrived very well packaged… this was what was inside of the initial shipping box.
…in a box…
Inside of the heavy cardboard box was a thin white and red cardboard box.
…in a box!
…and inside of that box was the final box, which houses the figures.
AmiBlog Preview
This is another promotional image that was posted to AmiBlog. See the orange and gold Chiyochichi on top of the box? Both were event exclusives, so if you ordered from Dengekiya’s online shop like I did, you didn’t receive them with your set.
Heroines #1-5 & #11-15
Heroines #6-10 & #16-20
The box really does “house” the figures! It opens up like a book, with a window-view of all of the characters. This way you can display them all very easily without even opening it. I’ve chosen to leave mine in the box for the time being. If you really want to see some detailed close-ups of each figure, you can find many user-submitted photographs of them over at My Figure Collection. :)
The full character line-up:
- Chocolat Misu (Bakuretsu Hunters)
- Inoue Ritsuko (Those Who Hunt Elves)
- Pirotess (Record of Lodoss War)
- Pastel (Fortune Quest L)
- Boogiepop (Boogiepop Phantom)
- Sakuya (Sister Princess)
- Kasuga Ayumu / Osaka (Azumanga Daioh!)
- Misha (Pita Ten)
- Kino (Kino no Tabi -the Beautiful World-)
- Henrietta (GUNSLINGER GIRL)
- HoiHoi-san (Ichigeki Sacchu Hoihoi-san)
- Matsuoka Miu (Ichigo Mashimaro)
- Shana (Shakugan no Shana)
- Holo (Spice and Wolf)
- Kemeko / Emu Emu (Kemeko Deluxe!)
- Index (To Aru Majutsu no Index)
- Aisaka Taiga (Toradora!)
- Misaka Mikoto (To Aru Kagaku no Railgun)
- Kousaka Kirino (Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii wake ga nai!)
- Amatsuka Hikaru (Baby Princess)
Hardcover Companion Book
This impressive visual companion came nestled into a cardboard tray on top of the figure box. I didn’t even realize this set would come with a book until I received it, so it was a very pleasant surprise! I found it the perfect excuse to review this figure set on my otherwise artbook-centric blog. (Not that I need an excuse. I hope to review more figures in the future when I can take better photographs of them.)
Heroine #14 – Holo from “Spice and Wolf”
Each of the 20 heroines are featured inside of the book, in chronological order of the airing of their respective anime series. The first 2 pages give a character overview. I have shamelessly chosen to showcase my absolute favorite anime heroine’s page for your viewing pleasure. Holo!
Additional Characters & Figure Design for Holo
The following page gives you some more details about supporting characters, as well as some information about the animation and light novels that Holo appears in. Opposite that page is photographs of the figure itself, along with the illustration of the figure’s design. To the right of that is an interview with the artist who designed the figure.
Heroine #19 – Kousaka Kirino from Oreimo
Additional Characters & Figure Design for Kirino
Here’s another of my favorite heroines: Kousaka Kirino from Ore no Imouto.
Heroine #17 – Aisaka Taiga from “Toradora!”
Additional Characters & Figure Design for Taiga
The adorable Taiga from Toradora! is another of my favorite gals. I must have a thing for tsunderes. Moe bonus point: All 3 of these gals have a snaggletooth!
The book is a really nice way to round out this commemorative set. In addition to pages about each of the heroines, there’s also a little glossary of Toy’s Works’ other figures in the back of the book. If you’ve ever purchased any figures made by Toy’s Works, you’ll know they’re pretty well painted and put together. They are nearly identical in size and quality to Nendoroid petits, except that the petits usually fall apart fairly easily and sometimes come with extra parts (in typical Nendoroid fashion).
If you’re hoping to purchase the Dengeki Heroines set, it might be difficult to find through simple means. Since it was an item exclusive to Dengekiya, I had to pre-order it using a proxy service. On the other hand, if you’ve only got eyes for one girl, you may be able to find the individual heroines for sale or trade on My Figure Collection or eBay. (Just be aware that you’re probably going to be paying an exorbitant amount to get a single figure. I already saw Holo go for over $60 USD!)
Relevant Links & Articles:
Official Website
My Figure Collection
Neko Magic
Tomopop
4/21/2013 – Edited to clarify the source of gold and orange Chiyochichi figures.
