Tag: good smile company

Rider – Fate/Stay Night – Blindfolded ver

After getting the incorrect version last time, I managed to order the right one this time!

image

Aha! The Rider trading figure I wanted! And this one is in better condition too – bonus. She’s in a very similar pose, only she has her blindfold on, which for me, makes Rider feel more complete. The sculptwork is good, and the paint is neatly done – not overly fancy, but it feels like the correct colours.

Left:

image

Standing with her back arched, she feels ready to pounce with her blade. I like this slightly unusual pose. 

Right:

image

The hair has been made to flow nicely around her arms, which I like. 

Back:

image

Her hair has some shading, which helps to give it depth. It’s sculpted well, and works for Rider. She can hold her blade either way up, but I felt this worked best. 

This trading figure is a nice one, and definitely a higher quality than a lot of small figures, though it’ll likely a bit pricier due to this fact. Does feel in keeping with GSC’s quality, and am glad to have finally found and got around to buying it. 

Hatsuse Izuna – No Game No Life

This figure was also waiting for me at home, from my holiday in Japan. Pre-ordered this one some time ago, as the chance of delay is very real with the companies that produce/distribute via GSC. However, amazingly, this one was released on time! And thus got to hang out in the parcel box until I returned home… This figure is of a younger character in a swimsuit, so flagged this as NSFW, though she’s not showing anything. 

So let’s first check out the epic base she comes with:

image

Yeah, uh, thanks Aquamarine. 

And here she is, freed from her plastic prison:

image

The first thing that stands out are the colours – they’re very vibrant, and do the anime justice. I’m very happy her hair came out vibrant, which is essential for a NGNL figure. The swimsuit is also slightly shiny, and that works really well too imo. 

Close-up of her face:

image

Her earls look really good, and her hairband has come out well. The hair paint blending stands up to close scrutiny too. Not a big fan of her expression, but it has been done well. I’d prefer it if she at least looked a little happy and not under duress. 

Swimsuit:

image

The details are really nice, as well as the contrasting finish, though the finish doesn’t show so much in this photo. The red details are painted as they’re moulded, but they do sort of suddenly end… which I find a little odd, but not a dealbreaker for me. Do think it would look better if they appeared to carry on underneath her arms. 

Left:

image

Here we can see her HUGE tail, which is very nicely painted, but does have a whacking great big seam mark down the middle of it. Would prefer it if that wasn’t there, but it doesn’t show from the front, thankfully. 

Leg close-up:

image

Her shoes are nicely done, as with the wrinkles in her socks. The base of her shoes is also done with a shiny finish, which gives them a look of quality. 

Robe pattern:

image

She has this detailed pattern on the top and the bottom of her robe. It looks really good, and helps this figure stand out from less expensive figures. The shading here is also lovely, and really helps to add depth. 

Close-up of the shiny swimsuit:

image

Here you can see where the light is being reflected off it, and the wrinkles that have been sculpted and shaded. I think the belly button is a bit overdone though, but this style seems pretty common on Japanese figures. 

Right:

image

Hair still looking vibrant :). And more of the robe pattern. The red detail on her sleeves looks better like this, as you can’t see the odd termination.

Back:

image

The shading from her hair and tail are both really visible here, and look great. You can also see shading on the base of her shoe and on the back of her ears. I love the way it’s all so smoothly blended. 

Close-up of the tail tip:

image

Yeah, this was the first seam mark I noticed. Really rather visible. Would’ve been nice if they could’ve done something about this to make it show up a bit less, but again, not visible from the front. 

Back of her head:

image

Just love the sunset colours.

Detail of the dress from underneath:

image

The edging is done really nicely in gold, plus this pattern printed throughout. Also the dress is shaded under here too, to emphasise the peaks and valleys in the fabric.

Seams in the robe:

image

These are very visible if viewing the figure from beneath, as they’re pretty gappy. Kinda almost wants some filler in there… Again, it is a hidden seam, so you only really see it when you’re looking for it, but you do really see it if you look from the bottom imo. 

Overall, this is a really nicely produced figure, with many things that point to it being a premium product. However, Aquamarine figures are pretty pricey. And it really depends if you want a loli in a swimsuit… I don’t really see her in a pose-y way, so I like this figure, but I know her pose, outfit and supposed age is a bone of contention between collectors. But from a pure-figure perspective, she’s a really nice figure, and I think Aquamarine did a really good job with her. 

Kuroyukihime – Accel World – Nendoroid

Normally I don’t buy Nendoroid, but this one is Kuroyukihime so I decided to make an exception based on the subject and the price:

I love this outfit of Kuroyukihime’s and she had her umbrella too, so I couldn’t say no. The figure is painted well, and the shiny butterflies stand out. I also really like the cute, smiling face.

Here she is with Arita in avatar form:

She also has an arm so she can hold Arita in her arms, but I didn’t take a picture of this. I likely won’t display her like that, as she can’t both hold him and her umbrella, and I like the umbrella too much. Arita looks cute and well-painted. I love the fact he is much smaller, as I can imagine him being so in Kuroyukihime’s presence.

Left:

Here we can see her hair, which is less detailed from the side, but this is standard for Nendoroids. It is shaded though, so it doesn’t look bad. I didn’t take a shot of the right, as it’s mostly umbrella, or similar to this if I took it out of her hands.

Back:

Love her wings. The moulding details help them stand out, and the colours chosen are good. Arita has his tail, which is about all you’d expect from this angle.

Umbrella:

The umbrella has some texture to it, which helps show those touches that go into official figures over bootlegs. It helps give it a fabric-y feel. The rim is also painted nicely, which frames it well. The handle for the umbrella is also painted neatly, especially given its small size.

Overall, I really like this Nendoroid and I don’t feel it overdoes the chibi. Some Nendoroids I’m put off by the proportions, but for this one I feel it works. Glad to have another Kuroyukihime in my collection.