Can’t get your smile, Saten Ruiko figures
Although I haven’t purchased many anime figures lately, find it hard to resist figures of my favorite characters, like the lovely Saten Ruiko from “To Aru Kagaku No Railgun”.
Looking at Alter’s rendition of Saten and the more recent Kotobukiya version, can only lament neither really captures the lovely girl’s smile well enough.
Valiant attempts are made to accurately render her playful smile but nor Alter, nor Kotobukiya really achieve an outstanding result.
While Alter’s version looks alright overall, Saten does look a bit like she is clenching her teeth instead of smiling. At least her pose is lively and conveys a sense of playfulness, and showcasing her appealing bellybutton is a plus.
Kotobukiya’s version of Saten looks fine as a whole, but again her smile didn’t seem to transfer well from two dimensional art into three dimensional PVC form.
Reasons I’ve purchased less figures lately include an acute lack of space in my Detolf display cabinet, increased cost per figure due to the strong Yen and using hobby funds for Dollfie Dream and photography gear.
Did buy Alter’s excellent rendition of Kotobuki Tsumugi from “K-ON!” which arrived not too long agi, also have their upcoming Tainaka Ritsu figure reserved. Quite like Alter’s work on the けいおん girls in PVC form, so wanted to complete the series after previously acquiring Mio, Yui and Azusa.
Still might try and pick one of these Saten figures up if they’re ever available discounted, though it’s alright if I do not.
While reservation of Alter’s version of Saten is already closed at HobbyLink Japan and Hobby Search, you can still reserve Kotobukiya version at HobbyLink Japan and Hobby Search.
Blue Blue Wave 
I haven’t watched Index or Railgun yet, but I think I prefer Kotobukiya’s version of Saten more overall. What you said about increasing prices due to strong Yen (and higher production costs) is something that starts to keep collectors at bay from time to time, and oh man it appears that a lot of people I know are now moving on from models to figures, and then figures to dolls. Ah I guess times are changing nowadays ^^;
I am with Q here and overall prefer Kotos Saten over Alters rendition of her.Wouldnt buy either though because I was ,as you know, utterly disappointed by Railgun ^^;
I am actually really impressed by Alters Ritsu figure you mentioned. I dislike K-On with all my heart but when I see her Drums Id love to own her ( for her drums)
@Q
Really? Personally think Alter’s has my preference due to the playful pose.
Have been buying less figures also because DD have usurped that budget. Would actually love to see data on how much more such bjd are actually being sold or if they’re just getting more exposure lately.
@Blowfish
Oh, didn’t recall you had disliked “To aru Kagaku no Railgun” that much. It has cute girls and yuri undertones, what more could a man want? XD
In my opinion Koto’s Saten is more beautiful, especially her bright blue eyes, mesmerizing * . *
Anyway, i ordered both figurines because i love Saten-san so much^^
And Railgun is a great anime, i hope there’ll be a 2nd season soon, want to see more Saten.
Koto’s Saten seems to have the prettier face, but on the other hand Alter’s Saten has the more detailed outfit and more “swing” in her pose, I guess it will be a hard decision.
Im more the Kurko fan, unfortunately so far there was no good figure of her, but there is a promising 1/6 scaled Kuroko prototype which Koto has up in their sleeve ;D
Detail goes to Alter and the overall balance/atmosphere goes to Kotobukiya. Alter usually never fails to meet my expectation but they somehow got it wrong this time so I think I’ll pass^^;
The cheek could be carved down a bit so that she won’t look as chubby me thinks 😛
@A Certain Level Zero
True that Kotobukiya’s version has brighter blue eyes, but the smile with the plain pose just doesn’t convince me entirely. Adore Saten too but with limited budget I want to be the few figures I buy to really strike me.
@Fabienne
Yes, I really like the lively pose of Alter’s version. Could it be because Misaka and Kuroko also appear in Index? We’re seeing two figure makers create figures of the two supporting lead characters of Railgun but Misaka and Kuroko figures aren’t that aplenty.
@hakusora
The figure is pretty much great except for the mouth/facial expression. Makes one wonder what they thought before release. Well open mouth expressions are always trickier to sculpt accurately it seems.
@ Smithy
haha maybe, I always liked Kuroko
It is a bit strange, indeed 😀
I guess it is because their school uniforms aren’t appealing enough, Misaka and Kuroko have just white shirts with a brown slipover and a grey skirt, but Saten and Uihara have these pretty sailor like uniforms with flowing long skirts.
Well on the other hand there are some swimsuit and bikini figures of Misaka and Kuroko