Figure Unboxing and Review: Nendoroid #50: Saber Lion (Good Smile Company)
After waxing lyrical about the regal and imperious Nero Claudius in my previous Saber Bride unboxing post, perhaps it's a good opportunity to turn back time and visit Saber Lion; the first full-sized Saber Nendoroid (not counting the hetare ones of course) released over 8 years ago. This adorable version of Saber made her first appearance in the 2007 Fate/tiger colosseum fighting game, brandishing a chunk of meat (affectionately named Meatcalibur) to fight instead of her favoured sword, Excalibur. To the delight of Fate/Stay Night fans everywhere, she re-appears in the Carnival Phantasm anime as part of the King of the Wild segment.
This whimsical Nendoroid made a great impression when I embarked on my collection, largely due to how cute it is and partially because of the attractive price point. Of the ten Saber Nendoroids, this is easily in my top three. The lion costume she wears even includes space for her ahoge to stick out and the recognisable blue ribbon that her normal outfit features. Did I mention that you can adjust her tail too?
The packaging features the standard design on all Nendoroid boxes before number 300 was released. Although the design is somewhat dated, it's still attractive and definitely eye-catching if I were to see it being displayed in stores. As usual, there are the various sample poses shown along with the normal warnings and links to the Good Smile Company website.
The pose that caught my eye and the one that I eventually stuck with would be Saber tearing up as she holds an empty bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other. It's easily the funniest pose a Nendoroid has in my collection.
Attention to detail is one of Good Smile Company's strong suits and it's shown yet again. The bowl that Saber is holding up has a design that features...you guessed it, a lion in a jungle. Good Smile Company could've easily settled for a plain, unpainted bowl but I appreciate the extra effort and I'm sure that anyone who bought the Nendoroid does too. Not to mention that it adds to how hilarious she looks as she begs for food.
The only downside for this Nendoroid would be how heavy its headpiece is. You're essentially forced to use the base given but I've seen her without it in Nendoroid photoshoots so it's only a minor inconvenience if you're dead set on posing her without it.
An example I faced would be attempting to recreate the pose you see here. After stubbornly trying for a good 30-40 minutes, I gave up due to the heavy headpiece and lack of balance from her chunk of meat. Kudos to those who've managed to accomplish it and I take back what I said about being able to do anything if I could assemble and pose Yamato.
Although Saber Bride features perhaps the cutest faceplate among all the Saber Nendoroids, Saber Lion is by far the cutest Nendoroid among the whole lot. Jokes detailing how gluttonous Saber is never get old, be it in the anime or visual novel. She is even motivated solely by food in one episode of Carnival Phantasm. The lion costume she puts on here only serves to double the comedic value.
Written by ET
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