Figure Unboxing and Review: Nendoroid #600: Saber/Altria Pendragon (Good Smile Company)
As promised in an earlier post, I'll be unboxing and reviewing all ten full-sized Saber Nendoroids from the Fate/Stay Night franchise. If you're wondering why I'd pour in all that time, money and effort, it's partially due to a little jab at my Saber-obsessed friend. Coincidentally, Saber also happens to have the most Nendoroids modelled after her, bar Hatsune Miku of course.
On a more serious note, it's also due to the inevitable resurgence of Fate/Stay Night in the coming year. The Fate/Extella game for PS4 and PSVita is set to be released in November plus a double whammy of the Heaven's Feel trilogy of movies and Fate Extra: Last Encore anime series will continue to keep Fate/Stay Night fans glued to their screens.
To please Fate/Stay Night fans even more, Good Smile Company celebrated a series of milestones, such as their 15th anniversary and the Nendoroid line's 10th anniversary by producing yet another Saber Nendoroid. This, by far has the most regal design yet, featuring her outfit from the Fate/Grand Order mobile game and one that fans have seen many times over.
The exclusivity of the milestone Nendoroid is apparent from the packaging itself, being clad in Saber's iconic gold, blue and white. Even the simple act of revealing the blister pack via the fabric pullout tab shows that Good Smile Company has pulled out all the stops with this figure.
Once you've taken out the blister pack, you can clearly see the magic circle that was used to summon Saber on the base of the box. It's nice shoutout to fans from Good Smile Company and one that shows the attention to detail the designers and sculptors have, even if it's something that most people might not even notice.
Saber's default pose features her second Ascension form from Fate/Grand Order. As expected, the quality of the figure is exceptional, considering that a cape and crown is added to Saber's already intricate armour. Not only are her armour and weapons painstakingly recreated, her hairstyle is too and who can forget her iconic ahoge?
However, the cape requires you to affix her arms at the attached ball joints inside it, preventing you from using the usual holes at the shoulders. Wearing the cape also creates a little space between the head and neck. It's an unavoidable problem and but one that most collectors will notice.
The different faceplates are a godsend, letting you create different poses, as you can see from the photos. My personal favourite is the one showcasing a goofy and blissful expression. I appreciate that almost half of the Saber Nendoroids have a cartoony faceplate included, expressing various emotions such as anger, bliss, shock and even sadness. Good Smile Company has continued this streak and I eventually decided to stick with that cute faceplate as well.
I did away with the cape, crown and stern expression, being satisfied with this funny pose that breaks character instead. However, I'll probably add the former two accessories back as they differentiate this particular Nendoroid from the Super Movable edition and 10th Anniversary one that I'll review later on. And hey, what's the King of Knights without her crown and cape. If you're wondering, her armour is that shiny, right down to the gold accents and shoes.
Although this Saber Nendoroid has a minor problem with its cape accessory, it's not one that I focused on. Instead, I was constantly amazed by the attention to detail, especially regarding her intricate armour and weapon design. The different parts and accessories helped make my money's worth too.
This is a big step up from the Nozomi Nendoroids I've reviewed previously and naturally so, given the importance of this particular one. It's also one that I'm glad I seized the opportunity to purchase, being able to own it much earlier than the folks who pre-ordered it online.
Written by ET
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