Name of Series:

Megami Tensei ~Akuma Shoukan Roku~ Vol. 3 (女神転生　～悪魔召喚録～　第三集)

 Manufacturer:

Date of release (estimated):

December 2005

Price (singly in ¥ ):

500¥

Sculptor:

No. of Pieces in the series:

Secret (SP)/Chase:

Variants:

Size:

Around 10 – 12 cm

Other Remarks:

The 3rd volume of the Kotobukiya One Coin series was previewed in the summer edition of Wonder Festival in 2005 and future previews of this set revealed that this might be the best looking set thus far. I had a lot of difficulties getting this volume as my usual supplier got their supply cut from some dubious local supplier who got their supply from Hong Kong instead of Japan which is usually unreliable. Anxious to complete my series, I resorted to other avenues but this set was hardly available in Singapore and I reached dire status to get this and put it high on my wishlist when my supplier went for their winter WonderFes in February. I even resorted to get my buddy's help from his "lobang (aide)" in Osaka.They eventually managed to bring a few cartons in via the reliable Japanese source months after this was released.

Metatron is commonly regarded as the voice of god and the name of an angel in Judaism; however he remains mysterious with no consensus of his actual presence. It is perhaps such mysterious notion that Metatron have became quite a popular character in the Mega-ten series and headlines this 3rd volume of this One Coin Figure series. This is a really nice figurine with a silver coated angel with feathers of his wings resembling sharp blades. Suitably anchored on a base constitute of clear cloud or mist, Metatron has his arms wide open perhaps to prepare for a vicious attack. The paintjob is impeccable and the facial sculpt is splendidly conjured. The body is filled with mouth-like grooves which supposed to help him speak million of languages.

One of the seven archangels of the angelology of post-Exilic Judaism and the last being named to represent the 4 cardinal points. Uriel is understandably to compliment Michael from Volume 2 with relatively same scale though Michael still looks smaller. Like his commanding angel, Uriel in the Mega-ten series has a distinct skin tone which is sky blue in this case. Shade of blue also leaked onto the wings as of previously. However Uriel is not donned in Hebrew armor and more like a cardinal gown here which I really like and it was fixed at the hip area wit a golden belt which sway against the wind here. The broad sword he is armed with is an elegant weapon to bear.

Raja belongs to a highly venomous King Cobra family in India and here Naga Raja is the ultimate leader of the Naga race. A half man-half serpent creature looks really intimidating but not in an evil aspect to me. I really like the way his body is sculpted with the various muscles of his well-scarred body prominently shown. The lower serpent region is so real it should drive my mom to the walls since she has a strict phobia of our slithery friends. The tail is split at the end to heighten that majestic aura he carries. Raja comes with a full series of accessories like a ruby pendant around is neck, bangles around his wrists and biceps, an ornamental belt around his waist and a helmet which slightly resembles the side flaps of a King Cobra. If you look closer you will notice his cool pupil-less eyes and his head is tied in a bun, in a very Asian fashion.

I could not draw any information about this specific character but I truly think that she is a representation of Alice from "Alice in Wonderland" since the classic children's tale has a strong preference in the Gothic-Lolita community and a natural candidate in the game. Without the usual rabbit with the watch or Cashmere cat, Alice here looks really scary, much like the possessed girl in "The Exorcist". The eyes is so blood-shot, she reads malevolent all over. She is hugging a couple of dolls which I believe would be for voodoo curse purpose, perhaps of people she loathed. Nonetheless Alice is seen in a nice blue dress for a young lady as herself complete with matching black shoes, a huge ribbon on the back and a smaller one for her long blond hair. Much like in "The Exorcist", Alice has some eerie aura engulfing her with phantom streaks ascending from the base and her hair elevated in the same eerie fashion.

You are witnessing the most disturbing piece of the entire series I supposed. We see Gaki derived from Japanese Buddhism as "hungry ghosts" who are greedy spirits typically seen with hideous appearance of inhumanly small mouths and huge tummy. There are around 3-4 Gakis here but they found an immortal enemy in the Arabian demonic incarnations of a Ghoul which savor a taste for those purplish Gakis. The Ghoul looks very much like the creepy mummy from the feature film "The Mummy" with a skeletal frame with decomposed flesh or basically just muscles without the skin. You know the sculptor did it's job when the creature scares me stiff. The Gakis look really creepy as well especially the dismembered ones with intestines flowing out of the impish bodies.

I have very minimal information about the French mythological creature Vouivre which is almost the same wavelength as the wing reptilian creature from medieval heraldry known as "wyvern". In this piece we have a Vouire with an interesting design. Half of it is a very stunning blonde chick as humanly as one could be; and on the other half the reptilian representation with scaly wing, claws and the tail which wrapped around her. This piece surely will not steal much limelight in this set but it is nonetheless done splendidly with the two halves of the creature distinctly represented. The base holds her in place perfectly despite the wing would pull its weight naturally. There are certain blemishes of course but not too serious on the cosmetic aspect.

The secret piece of this set is a skeletal Spanish bullfighter known simply as Matador. Donned in a an authentic sky blue matador attire completes with the traditional headdress, white tights with golden side seams and matching boots. On his right hand is the usual red capote which is used to provoke the bull while on his left hand is the sword to tame the creature. The skull is nicely sculpted and the details on the attire is truly detailed. The stance is ostentatious and didn't look too rigid. The sword here is a bit bent due to packaging problem. The base is made to look like sand cloud created from his agile movement in the bullfighting. Overall I think this is a nice piece but not of "chase" pedigree.