MGW Favorites Selection – Most Outstanding – 2020

It’s finally here.

Tall girls, shy girls, aggressive ones too. There’s one for you, maybe more, but definitely not one for all. Whether you like them stacked like buildings or flat like plains, possessing murderous thighs or bearing juicy peaches. Those with sharp fangs to bite and others to leave you withered. Strong ones wielding decimating axes, virtuous swords, jabby lances, and pointy daggers. Girls that aim missile launchers that can blow you to bits and bodies that will too. Of course, you’ll let them. Their smiles, stares, and gazes of ecstasy, interest, disinterest are enough to take even Liam. Let Fuji’s thirty-six views not distract you from her plunging neckline. Dive into the chasm between. There’s no need for air, for this is life. And let them cause collisions on the race tracks with their outfits so tight, you can count their change. But never let them change and neither let yourself.

Welcome and join us as we take a retrospective look on the year that was and count down the most outstanding figures of 2020!


Before we begin, let’s be clear which figures are eligible for inclusion.

Eligibility

  • 1. Figures we covered from January 1st, 2020 to December 31st, 2020
  • 2. Future Grails only, figures in <em>Another Chance</em> (i.e. re-releases) are not eligible
  • 3. Variants of already released figures are OK
  • 4. Mature figures are OK
  • 5. Posable figures are OK

Honorable Mentions

This is the big one. We have four honorable mentions for spectacular figures that just came short of landing on our list.

They are, in no particular order: Feena by Myethos, Prince of Wales The Laureate’s Victory Lap by MIMEYOI, Misaka Mikoto by Emontoys, and Tsukioka Kogane Face of Treasure Ver. by Good Smile Company

As it always goes, it was tough not having enough spots. Feena is striking for her serene, closed-eyes expression and her enveloping wings. Prince of Wales has an calm face and attention to detail in every part of her sculpt. Misaka for her strong face and determined gaze in her active pose. Finally, Kogane would have been on the list for her earthy brown and green outfit, not to mention her beautiful finish.

These figures were again very good. However, without further delay, let us proceed to the 2020’s most outstanding figures.

  1. 10th

    Herrscher of the Void Kiana by ALTER

    Character
    Kiana Kaslana
    Series
    Houkai 3rd
    Maker
    ALTER
    Scale
    1/8 Scale

    Through God’s grace in allowing us to do so, we had much joy when we published our 1,000th post. It was of course, ALTER’s “Herrscher of the Void Kiana” who served as its subject. In matching her hair, the colors in Kiana’s outfit are sleek. They comprise of silver and dark brown with yellow accenting. She features an asymmetrical design as well. Her Subspace Lance is on her right-side and her wings are on her left. Both are flared. By the number of figures that fit the definition, “stately,” could be the theme of this list. None, however, have such an irreverent look in their face as Kiana does here.

  2. 9th

    Miyamoto Musashi Casual Ver.

    Taking a stroll on an Autumn day and finding herself on our list, we have Miyamoto Musashi Casual Ver. from Fate/Grand Order. Her red jersey and argyle leggings really do give you a sense of Autumn. You may elect to remove her jersey and throw away that Autumn vibe for one of a pretty girl lounging around in your room. Whatever she’s wearing or not wearing, Musashi’s evokes a soft feeling in both color and texture.

  3. 8th

    Alice Kouki no Tenshi Ver.

    Haling from the new SSFigure, Alice Zuberg from Sword Art Online arrives with an angelic appearance. She has easily some of the best wings we’ve seen in figure-form for a long time. Feathers begin protruding more and more, as the wings curve inward. They also have an ivory luster to them.

    Alice has a soft appearance herself. She features a milky complexion that draws out her deep blue eyes. Her fantasy-inspired outfit also ensures that she’s not devoid of fan-service. The gem-dotted and gold-trimmed top tastefully exposes the sides of her breasts, resulting in absolute cleavage and an absolutely beautiful view.

  4. 7th

    Duke of York Yoka Brands Jewel

    As mentioned on earlier, Duke of York is MIMEYOI’s fourth figure and their “take note” one too. We wrote about her in-depth a while back. It can’t be overstated that she has so many good design choices. Her pose where she’s putting her hand through her hair and looking at you with an ecstasy-laden smile is amazing. This ravenous style she exudes put a strangle-hold on us since April. For that reason, it makes her one of our absolute favorite figures of the year.

  5. 6th

    OTs-14 Crassula volkensii

    As with Duke of York before her, you may have seen OTs-14 on another list this year. As with other characters designed by ASK, she skews away from sexual fan-service and more towards feminine attractiveness. A small touch to that effect, is how she positions her wrist as she adjusts her shoe. OTs-14’s design also great for the way she interacts with the small scene built around her. Her leaning against her weapon chest as her hair and dress drape over it is an example. Overall, she’s special for comprising of so many little feminine touches.

  6. 5th

    Ruler/Jeanne d’Arc by FLARE

    Character
    Jeanne d’Arc
    Maker
    FLARE
    Scale
    Non-scale

    Reaching our mid-way point, we have Ruler/Jeanne d’Arc who was announced early last year. As such, she was also one of the early impressive figures. She is a figure with a grand scale as her flag billows behind her. Her armor, although stylized, isn’t fettered with excess. Speaking of Jeanne’s armor, the metallic color and texture is light enough for you to see its pattern. The color additionally, contrasts with the white in her outfit to give a pure impression.

  7. 4th

    Consort Yu Yun Ni Que Ling Ver.

    From the MOBA, Honor of Kings, we are honored to have Myethos’ Consort Yu grace our list. She measures over 300mm in height and has a pose that is dynamic in every sense of the word. The best part of her composition is that you can clearly see the important parts of her outfit, her face, and her body, even with everything going on around her. Consort Yu wears a subdued off-white outfit adorned with gold decorations. By staying out of the way, it facilitates a rich palette by elevating her blue peacock-inspired coloring.

  8. 3rd

    SQUARE-ENIX MASTERLINE YoRHa No.2 Type B (2B)

    Series
    NieR
    Scale
    1/4 Scale

    YoRHa No.2 Type B, no stranger to our Most Outstanding list, returns and joins at third place. As a 1/4th scale figure, she’s the result of a collaboration between SQUARE-ENIX and Prime1Studio. With being the case for all Prime1Studio figures, quality and realism are in full caps. And there is no bland or uninspiring texture to bee seen. She’s filled with many striking features. Her hands are an instance of one, specifically her right one as she grips her Virtuous Contract sword. 2B’s knuckled grip isn’t feminine, nor is it pretty. It is however, pretty impressive that you can feel her intensity just by looking at her hand.

  9. 2nd

    Foreigner/Katsushika Hokusai

    Placing second is Foreigner/Katsushika Hokusai, who is also the third and final entry to place on another list. As before, we have no desire to mention the vulgar little octopus but his beautiful daughter, Katsushika Oui. Without too much gloss, the design mainly features variations of matte textures. This allows her yellow obi and other areas of her outfit to stand out. It also gives her the exceptional ukiyo-e effect. Aside from the duo’s coloring and texture, Oui also stands out for her cute, yet expressionless face. The spiraling water behind her looks as if it was painted in mid-air and the detail is superb. It’s the case whether you’re looking at it from the front as a backdrop, or from behind as its own feature.

  10. 1st

    Crymaria Levin by Max Factory

    Crymaria Levin by Max Factory from Valkyria Chronicles 4 MyGrailWatch Header

    Grandiose in size, opulent in style, and unrivaled by all.

    Known mainly for their figma series, Max Factory never holds back with their scale figures. It takes but a look to see that her dress of purple and gold, and her coat of red and black clearly has inspiration of Eastern opulence. Ostentatious as the colors may be, they don’t clash with each other, for the pervasive gold decoration ties everything together.

    As complex as it is, Crymaria’s hair with multiple shades of lilac, and whose movement ranges from swaying to curling and rippling, can be described in one word: exceptional. Strong in every sense, the same same can be said for her icy base and similar stare. “Strength” is meant in both a literal and figurative sense here. It should also come as no surprise that she’s effortlessly holds that huge Valkyrian lance. Responsible for her design is the original character designer, RAITA. Even with her lack of obvious fan-service, Crymaria possesses all of his artistic traits, which results in a terrific blend between the game’s style and his own unrestrained one.

    This past year, the we issued nearly four hundred pre-order guides. Truly, none surpasses Max Factory’s centerpiece Crymaria Levin. And for that, we name her the most outstanding figure of 2020!

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