Saturday, June 4, 2011

Figma Subaru Nakajima Barrier Jacket Ver Part 1

Final Fus... Oops~

Stepping away from Gunpla for a while after the work on MG Force Impulse Gundam shown in the previous posting. The next review series will be on a cheerful little cyborg girl from an anime I've not watched a single episode of: Figma Subaru Nakajima Barrier Jacket Ver. from "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS". ^^


Sounds just like Kamen Rider W there, that I would get a merchandise of something I never heard of or watched before. ^^; Then again, that's very common for the items in my collection actually. Apart from anime series, quite a few characters I like are from console games even though I never played them, including a certain Meganekko and a recently previewed tough girl in blue shirt. ^^

On the other hand, the preference and buying decision can work the other way round for me. Sometimes for an anime series I like very much, I've no interest in their corresponding merchandises. "Turn A Gundam" for example, I love the anime series and I really like the gimmicks and design feature incorporated into Master Grade 100 Turn A Gundam, but I don't really like the mustache design of that Gundam, so I didn't buy that model kit. That doesn't diminish my liking towards the anime or everything else about "Turn A Gundam" though. It's just a matter of personal preference. That's the best way I can put it I suppose.

For this Figma action figure, I saw it the first time when I was browsing through the product series on a local online hobby store. I was immediately attracted to the cool overall color scheme of blue and white of the figure. It's also interesting to see a girl with Gear Fighter Dendoh-like right arm riding on roller blades, with wings some more. XD I didn't get it right away at that moment. It was after quite a while when I returned to the store and saw that it was still available that I finally placed my order for it. ^^




Almost all of the accessories included for this figure can be seen through the front window of the packaging.



Design of all sides of the box.





Introduction of the figure on the back of the box.


Instruction on how to swap the option face part shown on one of the ears of the box.

The information about this character on Wikipedia mentioned that some of her characteristics are based on "GaoGaiGar". Being a big fan of that super hotblooded mecha anime series, I find that to be very fascinating. ^^ Of course I was skeptical of that statement at first, since the two are like worlds apart for any relationship to be established. ^^; The video clip I found on Youtube really supports the link between Subaru and GaoGaiGai, especially her transformation and attack move. ^^


Video clip is from Youtube. Follow this link to the website if you can't see anything.


Video clip is from Youtube. Follow this link to the website if you can't see anything.

It's certainly very interesting to see the references to "GaoGaiGar". ^^ Before reading on that, I always think that Subaru's gear forearm is somewhat based on "Gear Fighter Dendoh", especially when it's connected to the whirlwind effect parts included with the figure. ^^ Then again, it's not about all these links that makes me like the character actually. I still like her cool appearance and color scheme the most. ^^


Box open


The emblem of Subaru's shield pattern (?) can be seen reflected inside the box when the content is removed, pretty neat in my opinion. ^^







Package content.
Quite a lot of items included when compared to the last Figma reviewed on this blog: Meiya Mitsurugi. ^^


A blue backdrop with magic effect pattern suits the figure very well. ^^


A portion of the backdrop printed with Subaru's shield pattern can be cut out to become the cover on a di:stage.


Package content without the top cover.


Subaru's protected by a lot of physical "shields" XD



Straight out of box Subaru.
Very well balanced and stable standing on her roller blades ^^


The collars of her jacket are made of soft material, so they won't obstruct the articulation of the forearms when they are moved to the front.


A bit of movement for her "ponytails".
Unlike Meiya Mitsurugi, the two white stripes are non-removable.


Movement for the roller blades.


Each set of roller blades can be removed from the bottom of the shoes, and the connecting joint is really short. ^^;
Another very neat feature: all the wheels move. ^^

A very small action figure this is. I can somewhat tell that without lining her up with the other Figma figures I have for straight up comparison. Small as she is, just from a bit of quick play with the figure straight out of the box and I'm already very impressed with the overall look and details. That smile and the cool color scheme makes her a really cheerful figure. ^^ The fact that she can stand very firmly with the very unconventional roller blade design as her feet is awesome. ^^ But I'll save the rest of the good stuff till the next posting. ^^

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