[Kamen Rider Die]

Wow, thank you all for your insights! I knew you'd help me figure this out.

I'm glad to hear that the Seihous from five or six years ago have held up. As someone who predominantly collects Transformers, and has for the last decade, talking about a figure from five or six years back is almost like talking about something from prehistory. In the sixteen years that the brand has been producing Masterpiece figures, they've done three different iterations of Optimus Prime, and the seven-year gaps between them are an almost unfathomable chasm. It is like comparing a SO-DO to a RAH. So, in my head, that's what I was expecting from Seihou engineering.

I'm maybe a little glad that's not the case? As cool as it would be to see constant improvements, I do appreciate that a $100+ investment won't be invalidated in the next calendar year by something better, more accurate, etc. It's nice to think what I'll own isn't a placeholder, you know?

As for budgeting and aftermarket prices... I looked around at a few different sites I've ordered from in the past, and Jungle seemed to have the best selection. Most of the figures I'm looking for are in the 12K-17K yen range, which doesn't seem too laughable to me. My list of figures to get is only seven or eight, and I'd do one every month or two, so it's not out of my budget. (That said, where are people finding decent deals on Seihous? eBay? I've checked Mandarake a few times and I've never seen anything priced at a lower-than-normal amount. Like, their Hibiki is 21K.) As a semi-finite list of desired toys, I'm okay with them being at that price.

Anyway, thanks for helping me understand these figures better. TokuNation has the best fans!