Tag: sword art online

Silica – Sword Art Online – Noodle Stopper

Pre-ordered this as it was a noodle stopper and SAO. She isn’t one of my favourite characters, but I thought this was cute and cheap enough to go for it.

So here she is, being cute:

And herein demos my main issue with this figure – she’s pretty hard to display, and get the most out of her. 

Closer look:

I love the cute, playful expression, and the hair is nicely done. There are little clumpy bits, if you look close, but these are sort of to be expected with a prize figure. The front of her swimsuit has been done nicely, and the red parts are enough within the lines to not be distracting. The posing of her upper half is really well done imo, and feels expressive. 

Left:

And here’s the everything we can’t see, if we use an opaque item to rest her upon. Her outfit is cute and neatly painted – I like the fact they’ve given her a collar, though it isn’t really visible from the front. Her tail curls playfully upwards, and the shading on it is nice. Love the detail they’ve put into her hair.

Unfortunately with this pose she’s a tad back-heavy – she will sit fine like this, but if she’s not fully resting on an object or you nudge her, she’ll fall off fairly easily. Out of the “noodle stopper” figures I have, this one wouldn’t function too well as one, even if you decided to use it for that imo. 

Right:

Paint is a tad more uneven on this side, but still looks decent enough. Love all the bits they’ve sculpted in the hair, and her tail shading fits the curve of her tail. 

Back:

The tail ends somewhere out of sight, which works for me. The frills in her skirt have been sculpted nicely, along with her butt. There’s a bit of an annoying paint flaw on mine – a little excess paint on her panties. Her legs and feet are sculpted nicely, and her toes look good. 

Close-up of the back of her hair:

I like the shading on her hair, and as mentioned previously, the amount of detail they’ve put into it. Seems a fair bit more than your average prize figure. Her top also has a fabric bit painted under her frills, which is a nice attention-to-detail.

Overall, the figure looks very nice, and has been executed nicely for the most part. The major issue that prevents me from recommending it is the display potential – I think it would’ve been better to have her head turned to the side, so she could be displayed side-on. Currently I have her sat on a clear U-shaped riser, so you can see more of her, otherwise it’s a toss-up if you display her face or her body. I suspect the pose was chosen to accommodate the tail, and it works on that front, but I think she would’ve been better coming with a small clear claw stand, so you can display her unobstructed…. as let’s face it, nobody’s going to use this as noodle stoppers. 

Asuna – Aincrad ver – Sword Art Online

As I don’t have many figures of Asuna, I decided I wanted a scale of her, and this one cropped up on MFC for a decent price. 

Front:

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I was attracted to this figure by the pose and the golden rings. For this one, I think the promo version looks a fair bit more attractive than the final product, but it’s still a decent figure. I like her outfit and the rings, but they’re not as shiny as the promo version would suggest. The base is also a flatter colour – would’ve been nice to have more shading on this. 

For me, the weakest part of the figure is the hair:

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It has been nicely sculpted, but the paint makes it feel a bit plasticky. I feel it could’ve done with some darker shades. The rest of the details on this figure though, have been painted decently well, and the lines are nice and clean.

Left:

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Here we can see her launching herself from the pillar – I do like this pose. They’ve included the braiding in here hair, so that’s nice. The clothes are sculpted well, and include creases.

Right:

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Here is her sword – this detaches at the hilt. She holds it well, and looks good. Her hilt is also a part that has to be attached. I think this picture also partly captures the plastic finish to her hair. The shading looks nice, and I love the way it’s flowing out in different directions… but that finish… 

Back:

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Her cloak looks good from the back, and the pillar has paint details from the back. The texture on the broken part of pillar looks good too. 

Overall, I think this figure is decent, and worth what I paid for it. I think the RRP is a bit much for it, what with the hair and the other smaller downgrades from the promo version. She seems fairly available in the aftermarket, and you can probably get her for a decent price.

Leafa – Sword Art Online – Noodle Stopper figure

Pre-ordered this one on AmiAmi, and finally got it just after I got back from holiday:

And yep, she came out cute :). I’m really happy with the way this one came out. The swimsuit is sculpted well – happy they’ve sculpted the top strap separately, and the hair is nicely shaded.The small green details have been painted nicely too. 

Close-up:

Looking close, one of the green lines on her bikini is actually way off… oops. Her hair decoration has a bit of stray green paint, but nothing too bad. She ha a goodly amount of detail in her body, which gives her a good look. Her eyes are pretty detailed, and the small details on her face are painted well.

Left:

The detail lines in her hair work well, with the shading that’s also present. I like the posing of her legs – it works well and she sits well, keeping my Mug Shot nicely stoppered. She also has some small details in her ear, which is a nice inclusion for a prize figure. My only minor complaint on this side is the strings on her bikini look a bit too wide. 

Right:

I like the way her hair tumbles down behind her, and the plaits look good. Her foot is well-sculpted and posed. The bow looks less “noodly” on this side. 

Back:

Her back has a nice realistic shape, and she has a bit of butt cleavage showing. The bow looks really good on the back. I like the way they’ve included some folds near the knot. 

Overall, I really like this figure and would recommend her. She should be fairly cheap as she’s a prize figure, but that all depends on what her aftermarket does. Would still recommend her at more than I paid, as she’s possibly a bit nicer than other figures I have of this size (and paid more for!). 

Yuuki – Code Register – Banpresto EXQ

This figure I had a couple of goes at trying to win at a claw machine, and realised it probably wasn’t gonna happen, so ended up looking for it throughout my holiday. Ended up finding her cheapish without box:

Aww, cute figure. These Banpresto figures are certainly a good thing in the prize figure world. I love Yuuki’s hair colour. The sculpting is good. but similar to the other EXQ ones I have, the skin lacks shading. The dress has an embossed pattern on, which I’m on the fence about. It does add detail, but does look a bit like she’s bandaged. Paint on the hair band looks like it goes a bit far on mine. 

Face:

Here we can see where the hairband is either ridged or the paint goes too far. Decision up to he reader. She does have some blush on her face, which is a nice touch. I love her cute expression. On mine, if you look closely, the chest doesn’t quite marry up with the dress, but it doesn’t really show when on a shelf.

Left:

Her hair curls around her nicely, and we can see where she sits on the stand. Her stand holds her well. The sculpt of her ears is clean, and looks good.

Right:

Here we can see there is shading in the hair, and a couple of seams. The seams are pretty decently hidden. 

Back:

Here we can see where the hair goes from light to dark, to light again. The backs of her legs are sculpted nicely too. 

Overall, I’m glad I got this figure, but don’t think it’s worth more than I paid. Some of these new EXQ figures are really worth their aftermarket price, but this one I’m on the fence about. I’m glad to have her, but with the outfit and the hairband, I’m more on the fence about her than the other EXQ figures. 

Asuna – Noodle Stopper – Sword Art Online

Upon arriving home from my travels, I had this figure to unbox:

Asuna, from Sword Art Online, in noodle-stopping form. Or more like a shelf-edge figure… not sure how many people are actually going to use these figures to keep the steam in their Cup-o-Noodles. Initially I wasn’t going to get either of the SAO noodle stoppers, but upon seeing this one, I decided to order her, and I’m glad I did. FuRyu have done a really good job with her!

Front:

Her feet seem really detailed, with her toes. She also has a good amount of shading in her hair, which not all of these figures do. Most of the red lines are pretty neat, a bit wobbly on her left hand boob, but nowhere as bad as the initial pics implied it could be. She has a good amount of definition around her stomach and neck/collar area. 

I love the expression on her face, and her face has been well-painted. No complaints here from me. 

Left:

Here we can see the cross detail on her swimsuit top, which has been crisply done. Her hairstyle has been well-recreated, with her plaits and mini-ponytail. Love the way they have her ear sticking out, and the towel over her lap looks good. 

Right:

The large bow looks really good, along with the one on the back of her swimsuit top. She also has well-defined shoulderblades. The cuff around her wrist has been painted well. 

Back:

Here’s the back of her, which does a look a bit prize-figure-y in sculpt, but the shading is really nice. She rests well on a flat surface, with her backside, hair and hand. Left arm looks a little funny on the join,but tbh, it’s a minor complaint. 

Overall, I really like this figure, especially for the price I paid. I’d recommend this figure to anyone who’d like a figure of Asuna to perch on the edge of a shelf or similar location. Mine currently sits on the edge of the vivarium :). 

Sinon – SAO: Code Register – Ocean Cat

And the third of these figures I purchased, Sinon:

This one doesn’t have any additional accessories, but does have a “full” stand. I love her cute pose, and well, she’s a cat. The shading on her face is a very nice touch. 

Left:

Here you can see the cat-paw detail on her swimsuit top – a nice continuation of the theme. She holds the ball well, and the motion in her top is nice. She also has her signature plaits, which is a necessary feature of Sinon.

Right:

Here’s her tail. This comes as a separate part, and plugs into a hole in her back. He has a hood on her top, but doesn’t look big enough for her head, lol. The colours of this figure work well imo.

Back:

Don’t think there’s much new to talk about from this angle. Her hair has been sculpted with a good amount of detail. Her foot pegs are a bit visible, which can make her foot look a little odd if you’re looking at her close-up. 

Overall, I’m very pleased with these figures. They’re nice and big, plus they’re painted well, with interesting sculpts. If you’re into these figure designs, I would happily recommend them. 

Leafa – SAO: Code Register – Aqua Sylphide

Time for our second of three Sword Art Online: Code Register prize figures.

This one is Leafa:

And man, she’s a pig to assemble. Body-to-legs is fine, but the ball is attached to her head. This made it a fun game of getting the hair slotted around her arms, then fighting with her bows & arms until each goes in the right places relative to each other. For anyone assembling it, I’d recommend threading her hair through her arms to get it in the vicinity, then heat up the bows so you can freely bend them around her arms, until everything’s in the right place, and hopefully you can jam her head down on her neck. 

She comes with some waves, identical to Asuna’s. She also has a stand base, but she doesn’t really need hers, unlike Asuna, who won’t sit right without hers. I’m going to use the stand anyway, as it’s not intrusive, and it’ll ensure she doesn’t bend over time. 

Elevated shot:

Here you can see how I’ve chosen to pose the waves, plus well, her assets that are seemingly competing with the beach-ball. 

From the front:

She has a very nice, smiling expression, and her hair has some lovely shades to it. All her bows flow nicely, and I find her skin less shiny and plain than Asuna’s. 

Left side:

Bit of a paint slop in evidence on her straps. The ball fits well in her hands, once assembled. The bottoms of her feet are sculpted nicely. 

Right:

Her wonderful hair sweeping around her. I love that they chose to do this, and the daintiness of her hand holding the ball. She also has a bow around her wrist, which is a nice attention to detail. 

Back:

A decent enough backside, plus some sculpting detail on her back. Most of the painting is within the lines, but a tiny bit lacking on the lower strap on mine. This is where she joins though. 

Closeup of the top of her hair:

Here you can see the ball is most definitely affixed to her hair. It looks a little odd if you look at it closely like this, but it looks fine from the front. 

Close-up of her back:

Hm, maybe her head needed one more shove :P. The back sculpt comes out nicely, and the ball appears to rest well in her hands, which I was worried about given the arrangement.

This was the first of the three figures I saw, and I really wanted to get this one. Certainly glad I did. 

Asuna – SAO: Code Register – Blue Marine ver.

I saw these prize figures for sale some time ago, but only recently decided to fit them into my budget. This is a set of four, but I only bought three of them, as the fourth was pricier than the other three, and I didn’t like it as much, as well as being a character I wasn’t attached to. 

So first up, Asuna:

She wasn’t too bad to assemble – head joint was a bit tight, but some heat and force sorted that out. However, she has a small stand underneath her backside (not visible here), which can be a bit of a pain to position correctly, but once in place, it stays fine. 

Elevated view:

The mould and details in the pose are all very nice. Main thing she lacks is shading on her skin, which leaves her looking prize-figure-y. When the light catches her right, she’s very nice looking though. 

From the top:

The seam hiding is better than some scales from the top! That was a bit of a surprise. The hair is really nice on this figure. Here you can see the two parts that make up the waves. These are a nice addition.

Asuna from the front, without the waves:

Just goin’ for her ice-cream. The flower in her hair is a very nice detail, and the curling of her feet give her more emotion in her pose. 

Left side:

Darn, didn’t get her ring in this shot, but it’s there and nicely painted… behind her hair. Which is very nice and blue indeed! Some decently sculpted side-boob, plus the plait in her hair, which is true to her design. The one major flaw with this figure is also visible here – the dent where her left knee is supposed to be sat in/covering up. It doesn’t seem quite the right shape, so I’m not sure bending her leg would be worth it, but it isn’t visible from a display angle. Kind of a shame, given the rest of this figure. 

Right side:

Here we get a better look at the flower, and her expression as she goes to eat her lolly. Here you can see the stand that I mentioned – the transparent blue nub underneath her backside. I like the way her ankles have the bones moulded in them. 

Back:

Some very blue hair, and the plastic stand. I really love the shades they’ve put in her hair – it really makes this figure eye-catching. The stand does its job, once you find the right place for it to sit. 

Overall, I’m really please with this figure. She’s a good size, and very nice for a prize figure. I’d say she looks a bit more plastic-y irl with her skin, but with the right lighting, she’s definitely good for the price.