Gashapon MS Gundam Seed Destiny Heroines 3 Part 6 [Final]

Cagalli Yula Athha
Like the previous posting, this will be the conclusion of another review series, one that is somewhat long running - since late August to be exact. ^^ This is Cagalli from MS Gundam Seed Destiny Heroines 3 gashapon set.


Among the five, Cagalli is my pick as the best in this gashapon set, which is why I put her as the last one to be featured in this review series - saving the best for the last if you will. ^^ Apart from the series-consistent high level of sculpting and paint work quality, the figurine is a very special depiction of Cagalli, which is very unlike the character as shown in the anime, but a very nice image nonetheless. ^^

The unique lying position she shares with Lacus put the two of them on the box art of this gashapon set.


A little bit of assembly is required, as the figurine is been separated into a few parts.
More images of Cagalli: ^^







Closeups on the lovely details: ^^






















From the posting on Lacus, leaning the figurine against a flat slope gives Cagalli a different view: ^^






Rear view of the figurine.
My memory of "Gundam SEED" and "Gundam SEED Destiny" is a bit sketchy right now, but I'm fairly certain that Cagalli never appeared anywhere in the series in this costume. ^^ She appears to be rather sexy in her glossy black tube top and hot pants, and sexy appearance is almost entirely out of character for Cagalli. XD Among the descriptive words associated with her appearances in the two shows increase tough, angry, worried, combat-ready, sad, formal and cute (limited in "Gundam SEED" ^^). Sexy is not on the list. ^^;

Then again, I'm not complaining at all. As a matter of fact, I really like this "alternate" version of Cagalli. ^^ All the details are exceptionally well done, but something special added to Cagalli is two different types of paint application. Her black tube top is painted with a shade of glossiness, while her pants and stockings are in ordinary flat black. Even though later releases in the MS Gundam Seed Destiny Heroines gashapon series have more delicate paint work, having two different paint apps on one figurine is still pretty unique. That goes to show the emphasis placed on Cagalli. ^^ It almost seemed like Flay and Lunamaria were deliberately made to have no special feature to compromise for the extra goodies on this figurine. ^^; Of course that's just a mindless thought that came to my mind for one second, and even if it's true, it's not a big deal for me since I have the entire set anyway. ^^

Paired with Lacus, the other box art figurine: ^^












Putting them together makes it easy to notice how special they are as compared to other standard gashapon figurines. ^^ They are clearly the focuses of this particular set, especially with Cagalli. The lying posting is special enough, the aforementioned different paint treatment is outstanding, and she has an original costume design too. ^^ Lacus is just as great in the unique position and detailing sections, but the overall white color of her dress makes it hard for some of those amazing details to stand out. ^^;

A gathering of all Cagallis from my collection: ^^


With the dress version from MS Gundam Seed Destiny Heroines 7 and the pilot suit version from HGIF Gundam Character 3 Vol Gundam SEED Destiny.



And finally, a group shot of all five figurines from this gashapon set: ^^







While the sculpting and paint work for all five of them are equally well done, I think it's fair to say that there's some sort of imbalance in terms of special features or treatments between the figurines. As mentioned earlier on, Cagalli is exceptionally well done; Lacus would be the second best; Stella is the only one that came with an option part, while Flay and Lunamaria on the other hand are somewhat bland. ^^; Looking at individual figurines, it's actually not too bad, but looking at them as a whole, it's difficult trying to treat them equally, since there are one or two that are indeed better than the rest. ^^;

As the series progressed till its end, I believe Bandai was trying out different approaches to improve on each set's offerings. Eventually, in much later releases like MS Gundam Seed Destiny Heroines 7, there are six figurines instead of five, and almost everyone has one or two option parts included. With consistent paint work and detailing not withstanding, all the figurines are quite balanced in terms of their features. ^^

All reviews on MS Gundam Seed Destiny Heroines 3:
Part 1: Flay Allster
Part 2: Lunamaria Hawke
Part 3: Lacus Clyne
Part 4: Stella Loussier (Part 1)
Part 5: Stella Loussier (Part 2)
Part 6 [Final]: Cagalli Yula Athha

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MS Gundam Seed Destiny Heroines 3