Anya: We should start the campaign

I'm sorry if this makes too many polls right now in the board, but I wanted to do this so bad. Now that we have Giles coming, the next core character that might be released is Anya, isn't it? Which Anya would you like to become a beautiful 12 inch figure?

Bring on Anya!!

OMWF Anya maybe,Selfless anyanka.
Hells bells anya??
Bunny anya.

I love Anya we need an Anya figure....

buffy-collector said:

OMWF Anya maybe,Selfless anyanka.
Hells bells anya??
Bunny anya.

I love Anya we need an Anya figure....

Click to expand...

I definately want Anya. I think she should come in one of her regular outfits but should also have her bunny suit as an accessory.

I think Anyanka is more likely - let's start a campaign for her.

Dave; I agree with you that Anyanka is most likely the next logical choice to follow D'Hoffryn, but we will still, at some time, need Anya to be by Xander's side! This is sort of like "Which came first? The chicken or the egg?"

WE NEED THEM BOTH! As far as outfits, I really have no preference, except please..no bunny suit. Dst and Moore did that to death. OMWF maybe, and "The Wish".

And if the length of the wait for Giles is any gauge, we should expect [hope?] to see her around 2010. If we're lucky.

I really want Anya too, even more than Anyanka. In fact an Aud/Olaf 2-pack would be a dream. But I've heard that the Buffy females take forever to get the portraits approved, whereas Anyanka, being a monster, wouldn't have that problem.

Darklord Dave said:

I think Anyanka is more likely - let's start a campaign for her.

Click to expand...

OK I'm in. D'Hoffryn needs a playmate.

But so does vamp Willow so lets get crackin on Vamp Xander too.

I want Anya much more than Anyanka. Anyanka (or Demon Anya) only appeared in a handful of episodes, while the human only Anya was in most of the series from Season 4 on.

I will be highly irritated if Sideshow releases Anyanka before Anya.

Anya should definately come with her Bunny suit as her accessory, but should also have another signature Anya outfit from the show. I would really like to see her outfit in Chosen, as well as all the other characters from Buffy in their Chosen attire.

I really hope Sideshow sticks with episode specific releases rather than the more generic outfits they have done for some of the characters.

Are you sure Anyanka wouldn't require likeness approval? I've heard from various sources that unless the makeup is very prosthetic heavy, such as The Thing or the Elephant Man(ie where there's no real resemblance to the actor) that you still needed likeness approval from the actor. Like the vamped-out characters in Buffy, though a little more grey area. I think anyanka might qualify.

bluesparrow said:

Are you sure Anyanka wouldn't require likeness approval?

Click to expand...

I'm sure an Anyanka sculpt would be subjected to the same approval process as any other figure. I think what Dave is implying is that the exaggerated features of the less-than-human visages are are easier to capture and therefore less likely to get bogged down in the the approval process.

Actually no, I meant the monster versions don't require as stringent an approval process. Or at least are easier to get approved. I believe this was the case with vamp Willow, etc.

Yeah, I would like to see Anya before Anyanka.

Darth Kustomizer said:

Yeah, I would like to see Anya before Anyanka.

Click to expand...

Agreed. Anyanka isn't a core character; Anya is. I would buy an Anya on the first day of preorders. I wouldn't buy an Anyanka at all, unless they got cheap on eBay. Tara, Dawn, and Anya are the only Buffy figures not yet announced which are must-buys for me. Sideshow should finish doing the core Scoobies before doing more monster eBay fodder.

I may have put words in Dave's mouth but, we're basically on the same page. The Monster/Demon variants skate through the approval process with a lot less effort than do the human likenesses. Besides, the uglies are Sideshow's métier.

If the line continues, we'll see Anyanka before Anya and, justifiably so. Anyanka is the core character, the Anya persona, the pretender.

Just my opinion and, as always, time will tell.

FrankenFan said:

If the line continues, we'll see Anyanka before Anya and, justifiably so. Anyanka is the core character, the Anya persona, the pretender.

Click to expand...

We see demon-faced Anyanka in, what, 2 epsodes? Sorry, but she's in no way the core character--Anya is, and it's proven conclusively by her S7 arc. Anya will sell well to general Buffy collectors; Anyanka will sell well to general monster collectors. I think the whole reason the Buffy line has been winding down instead of going as strong as ever (or stronger) is Sideshow's failure to target and attract general Buffy collectors, who want a sense that they'll eventually have the full human ensemble cast over endless DerKinderHoffrynWeeklyMonsterStuff and rehashes.

We really have to ask ourselves, at a time when Buffy merchandising is as strong as ever, when DST is cranking out many more new 6" figures this year alone than were put out when Buffy was on the air, when the relatively expensive prop replicas are selling well and getting announced in droves, when plush products are selling out editions of 5,000 so quickly they lead to editions of 10,000--what is Sideshow doing wrong that their own Buffy edition sizes and releases are thinning out instead of going strong or even increasing as the line matures and becomes better known among Buffy collectors? The answer is simple--the line hasn't given general Buffy collectors the full core ensemble we want, so as other Buffy products' variations and sales are multiplying Sideshow's are stagnating.

That's just how I see it though; I'm sure others will disagree. But personally I've probably spent $2000 on Whedonverse items so far this year, yet bought only 1 figure from Sideshow (not counting uncharged preorders). I'm ready to spend money, and so are droves of other Buffy fans--but Sideshow has been giving us very little of what we're most willing to spend money on.

I would definately prefer Anya to Anyanka. (Or one figure with two heads but not if they fall off all the time like Anakins arm.)
Anyway, I typically prefer the human versions of figures. The only Vamp version of any that I have bought is Spike (gotta have all the versions of Spike.) NOt interested in Vamp Willow, Buffy, Xander etc. Didn't even buy Darla because she was in Vamp face. I'm thinking about picking up a Dru since I doubt we'll ever see her with human face and I love her so much but I really prefer the human faces.
Of course the Master does not count - he is all Vamp all the time and I love him for it (still think he is one of the coolest figures in the line.)

SergeiEsenin said:

We see demon-faced Anyanka in, what, 2 epsodes? Sorry, but she's in no way the core character--Anya is, and it's proven conclusively by her S7 arc. Anya will sell well to general Buffy collectors; Anyanka will sell well to general monster collectors. I think the whole reason the Buffy line has been winding down instead of going as strong as ever (or stronger) is Sideshow's failure to target and attract general Buffy collectors, who want a sense that they'll eventually have the full human ensemble cast over endless DerKinderHoffrynWeeklyMonsterStuff and rehashes.

We really have to ask ourselves, at a time when Buffy merchandising is as strong as ever, when DST is cranking out many more new 6" figures this year alone than were put out when Buffy was on the air, when the relatively expensive prop replicas are selling well and getting announced in droves, when plush products are selling out editions of 5,000 so quickly they lead to editions of 10,000--what is Sideshow doing wrong that their own Buffy edition sizes and releases are thinning out instead of going strong or even increasing as the line matures and becomes better known among Buffy collectors? The answer is simple--the line hasn't given general Buffy collectors the full core ensemble we want, so as other Buffy products' variations and sales are multiplying Sideshow's are stagnating.

That's just how I see it though; I'm sure others will disagree. But personally I've probably spent $2000 on Whedonverse items so far this year, yet bought only 1 figure from Sideshow (not counting uncharged preorders). I'm ready to spend money, and so are droves of other Buffy fans--but Sideshow has been giving us very little of what we're most willing to spend money on.

Click to expand...

Well, we will see. Sideshow most recent "wave" of figures are nothing but core characters from the Buffy/Angelverse. You can't get any more CORE than Giles. Let's see how these three new figures sell. Hopefully all of the general Buffy collectors will do their part in making these releases a smashing success so the line can continue for a long time to come.

The placement of these figures in the top selling chart back at the Sideshow website is encouraging. I just don't know what those placements translates in terms of number of pieces sold. I hope it's a lot. The edition sizes have yet to be determined.

Protozaius said:

Well, we will see. Sideshow most recent "wave" of figures are nothing but core characters from the Buffy/Angelverse. You can't get any more CORE than Giles. Let's see how these three new figures sell. Hopefully all of the general Buffy collectors will do their part in making these releases a smashing success so the line can continue for a long time to come.

Click to expand...

I was very glad they finally gave us a new core Buffy chararacter, and I was elated that it was Giles in all his watchery goodness. The only figure I'd been wanting as much is OMWF Tara in that gorgeous corset-dress. But I still worry that Giles might be a capstone for the Buffy line proper, such that we'll see no new core humans outside the Angel line. As I and others (even on other Buffy forums) have mentioned, an ideal way to gain new interest in Sideshow's Buffy line would be to do an OMWF Tara, with the announcement that other new and rehashed OMWF-themed figures were planned. Most fans would have renewed interest in the line, and the outfits all the characters wore in that episode are outstanding.

I'm also quite happy that Sideshow has started the Angel line out with a bang, giving us three huge core characters. I couldn't ask for more--it's an ideal launch line-up. I'm just hoping they don't take as long to give us Wes or Gunn, as we had to wait for Giles. Whedonverse fans don't need or want to be strung along with major releases undone, in order to make the line last longer. These are ensemble shows with lots of character development, and most of the same people who'd buy an early-season Wes today would also buy a late-season Wes a year or two from now (or vice versa). Not that 6" figures are a directly comparable product, but a third wave of Willow figures has been announced, even though a great many different Willow variations are already out there; and the same wave also gives us new characters Kennedy and Kendra. Whedonverse collectors will gladly buy core humans repeatedly, and still get excited by minor but interesting humans or monsters. The market is there; Sideshow just needs to learn to exploit it as well as others have been doing with 6" figures, plushes, and prop replicas.

As an aside, I don't even like 6" figures very much because to me they look too small and toyish; yet I have at least one of each 6" Buffy/Angel character released, because the lineup is so full and complete compared to the meager 12" offerings. With recent releases like Glory and announcements like Kendra and Kennedy, DST has made collectors ecstatic by dipping into secondary human-faced characters after having released every primary human (except Gunn from Angel), some repeatedly. Yet DST isn't worried about the line ending, because they know we'll keep buying new variations on major characters as well as new minor characters. Again, while 12" sales aren't directly comparable, I think Sideshow should take that successful attitude to heart--release core Whedonverse characters readily, because they aren't a finite resource; collectors will buy good variations of the same characters in future, and having the whole core will increase interest in minor characters to accompany them.