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Figure Unboxing and Review: Sengoku Nadeko Medusa Version 1/8 Scale (Good Smile Company)

Sengoku Nadeko, Medusa version has been one of my grails since she was announced and I'm very glad that I managed to pre-order her. She comes with a lot on the base component, and likely to be a little too much for my liking. For now, let's start with the packaging before anything else!

Packaging
Red and purple really suits Medusa Nadeko well and Good Smile Company is well aware of it. The front of the box is rather normal for a scale figure, though I must say that the sides and back does the figure more justice than the front.
I love this illustration of Nadeko a lot and being able to see it on the box itself helps me to compare better between the illustration and the figure itself. Moreover, putting the illustration on the same box shows that Good Smile Company is pretty confident of their translation of this illustration into a figure!
The collage of images help to better focus in on all the good points of this Nadeko figure. There are some similar points which I like and I'll mention these later in the post as well!

Next, we'll look at the blister itself!
Nadeko comes with a lot of parts and I'll like to zoom in to the sake bottles and her weapon as well.

I'll be sure to mention them later in the section of sculpting and painting.

Base
Nadeko's figure has 2 bases and we'll start with the lower one first. This is a circular white base with tiles. However, I don't think that it matches well with the shrine theme which this figure is going for.

The second base is something which we're all familiar with!
The gradient on the saisen-bako (offering box) is beautiful and by doing it like this, it blends in better with the white tile base. The ouroboros ring is important to the story and looks pretty here, adding on to the traditional and rustic feel.

Now let's look at the saisen-bako base from different angles!





I'm amazed at the quality of the saisen-bako, especially with the wooden texture! However, if there is something which I could possibly be displeased with, it would be that the cash notes in the figure do not look all that realistic and are quite a far cry from how they looked in the illustration.

Posing and Assembly
While I would give Good Smile Company and Nadeko a 8/10 for posing (I like how it makes use of the whole Saisen-bako top and even down onto the white base), assembly is an issue.
First, Nadeko is connected to the saisen-bako via a thin peg which is inserted into the back of her right foot. That is the only connection point to the saisen-bako, and like I mentioned before, the thin peg makes it difficult to trust that it'll work well. While Nadeko's whole weight is on the saisen-bako itself, which would not break the peg, if Nadeko were to fall, the impact might very well just break off the peg.

The image above illustrates how the peg is inserted, and note that the peg is not inserted fully in yet.
Next, the sake bottles. I would be using the same image later when talking about the sculpting of these bottles but for now I'll like to use this to illustrate that there are no pegs or any point of connection for these bottles to either base. While this increases the possibility of arrangement, it's definitely a major concern for losing these bottles.

The saisen-bako has no point of connection to the white base either. The only peg in this entire figure would be between Nadeko and the saisen-bako, making this figure very versatile for arrangements, but incredibly tough to keep everything in place. To counter this, I used blue tack to hold the saisen-bako in place and sake bottles in place on the white base.

Sculpting and Painting




A quick 360 of the figure shows us how detailed the sculpt for her hair and dress is. You can even visualize the wind blowing through her hair and fanning her one piece dress out!

But of course, nothing can beat taking note of certain points which I find well-done, so now I'd like to zoom in and focus on those parts individually!
First of all, let's look at her hair. Her hair has a pearly white finish which adds to the supernatural feel Medusa has with her. The ends of her hair are rounded as well for imitating the snake ends of Medusa's hair.

In fact, some strands of her hair are clearly snakes. You can see some "split ends" on some strands in the image below and those are the open jaws of said snakes.
Nadeko's dres has quite nice details. The use of shapes and colors -- pink flower patterns at her neckline and hemline, pink ribbon on her waist, and purple underside of her dress -- helps to add dimension and cuteness to her otherwise plain one-piece dress.

The strap slipping down her shoulder is somewhat realistic and adds a touch of seductiveness while still helping Nadeko remain with her image of innocence. Ah, looking at different areas on this figure just serves to give me insight into different parts of Nadeko's personality!
Well painted fingernails and toenails aside, I'll like to illustrate how the dress is fanning out nicely through this picture. Each crease looks like it belongs there and helps bring the figure to a brand new level of detail.

The shape of Nadeko's thighs as well as the shade from the lighting which her ankle leaves are realistic and actually look soft to the touch. Such a masterpiece!
Nadeko's weapon is as deadly as her personality. It looks harmless and hidden, but is in reality quite sharp and threatening. The weapon is also smooth and straight, as expected as a excellent sculptor's work.

From this angle, you are able to see Nadeko's scrunchie as well! It plays a crucial role in her arc but more importantly than explaining the plot around it, let's look at the sculpt. It's tight around her wrist but loose, which is really a remarkable transition to 3D. It showcases how scrunchies are supposed to look and work.
And now we're back to this image of the 6 sake bottles which Nadeko comes with. They come in several colors -- three brown, one green and two blue. There's not a big difference in shades in real life as compared to that on photographs.

There's good variation for these bottles. Not only do they come in ranges of different colors, they also have different labels and some come with caps and some not. There is a brown bottle with a detailed seal too. Even if you do not use it with Nadeko's figure, these bottles could probably come in useful when with other figures as well.

Enjoyment

This figure is more than what I have expected. It's my first Nadeko figure and I have definitely not regretted it at all. If you are a Nadeko fan and are thinking of adding her to your collection, I'll recommend her! If you're not exactly a Nadeko fan like myself, I'll also recommend adding her to your collection for the main reason that she is a very detailed figure that's pleasing visually!


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