Let’s be friends!!!

I have to admit, I was pretty late jumping on to the Nanoha bandwagon. Considering our master friend maker first appeared in 2004 and her latest stint finished in 2008, marathoning her entire escapades of moe-riffic violence just this year meant I had lots of catching up to when it came to figures (by now, watch anime = buy figures). Yeah, yeah, Fate’s probably more popular than Nanoha-chan, but I liked Nanoha more so whatever. Being the crazy shit (please do check this out… yup, that’s Yours Truly) that I am, I decided to take the journey of Nanoha shrine-dom, knowing that I’ll eventually kill myself in financial poorness.

Errr… Sbarro anyone?

If there’s anything I’m obsessed with, it’s hunting down rare figures and finding out their history (probably why I should’ve taken History instead…), but with this knowledge, I also try to find out their resale values just for the heck of it, and boy, had I been smart enough before, I would’ve placed this Nanoha on the top of the list. Why? Because its fucking crazy how this 5800 yen figure could cost as much as this or this. It’s simply insane and you can’t even find it on good ol’ eBay anymore, which makes it all the more curious as to why this Nanoha is even more sought after than any other Fate figure out there. Thankfully, I didn’t have to look hard or chop off some body parts just to snag one of these, since L.C (btw, do check out his awesome collection), a sempai from our local figure collecting community, OtaKai, decided to let go of this cutie and at a very good price. Knowing the great rich history behind this figure (will get to that later) and the fact that it’s one of my favorite Nanoha sculpts pre-Alter’s new 1/7 line, it was a no brainer to immediately get her as the start to my madness…

Standard GSC box: Flashy, colorful, big

Sculpted by Kazushi Kawasaki and released in December 2006, GSC’s rendition of Nanoha in her A’s image was meant to be a partner to the earlier released Fate Testarossa with Bardiche in Zanber Form. The amusing thing about 2006 however was that in that year, 4 companies actually released their own versions of Nanoha-chan, namely, Movic, Kotobukiya (fail), Alter and GSC. Surprisingly, all 4 of the Nanohas released had their values exponentially increase though at different levels so really, even though they are all gold mines now, sculpt and the end product did play a role in determining their present market values and rarity, with GSC’s topping them all. As for the box, nothing special here, with GSC’s imprint clearly intact through its bright and colorful design and penchant for huge boxes, though the figure itself is a pretty wide one so that’s ok.

Excellion Buster – ACS!!!

First look at the figure and it’s clear why GSC’s Nanoha eventually topped the competition, with a dynamic pose and awesome detailing of the axel fins and the feathery protrusions from Raising Heart Excellion. The pose itself is taken from the particular episode in A’s where Nanoha goes mano-e-mano with The Tome of The Night Sky as she gets ready to break into the opponent’s barrier using Raising Heart as a battering ram. The familiarity and epicness of the pose is also probably one of the factors which contributes to the magnificence of the figure. Gorgeous.

I am a loli, hear me ROAR!!!

In terms of the head sculpt, it’s not the best Nanoha face out of the 4 companies in my opinion (Movic’s would probably get my vote), but its darn close enough (probably on par with the less dynamic 1/8 Alter face, but for different reasons, with that being more moe’ in nature). Out of the current Nanohas on the market, this one has probably the most “Rambo war-face” among them all, which serves its purpose well since the sculpt is of a combat pose. Again, paint job is top notch with very defined edges and the eye decals are very well placed and printed (none of those poor Taki prints here… but then again, we won’t be seeing Taki cast-off Nanohas anytime soon anyway). My biggest complaint about the figure however would probably be the hair sculpt. It’s not bad by all means, but it just seems like GSC decided to take the lazy route and chisel away at a block of orange PVC, instead of using a plasma cutter to create detailed, distinct strands of hair. Paint job on the hair, on the other hand, is very good and orange-y just to my liking as the other Nanohas usually had a darker shade of brown-orange than I would’ve liked.

If devils were this cute, I’d rather go to hell…

The best aspect of the figure, aside from the aesthetics on her feet and weapon, would be her Barrier Jacket. Sculpt-wise, the jacket is full of movement and flow, really highlighting the powerful force emanating from Raising Heart in Excellion Mode. It’s as if Nanoha’s skirt is fluttering in an atmospheric battle which really gives a nice touch to the overall look. And its not as if details were sacrificed for the sake of the dynamism. Every little nook, cranny and lace on the Barrier Jacket is well done and given a sharp, precise paint job with little to no bleeding. If there was any small complaint with the paint, it would be a lack of post shading on the whites. While its not a necessity by all means and historically, I find GSC’s shading to be comparatively less than Alter’s, it would’ve been nice to create some shading there to accentuate the dark atmosphere of battle.

Oh, how pink they are…

The pantsu… errr… image above further stresses my point of how well sculpted the Barrier Jacket is. Without the dynamic floatiness present, Nanoha’s “armor” would not be as light in the eyes of a normal person. And we all know that light clothing rewards us with glorious pantsu shots… On another point, I’m glad GSC sculpted her legs pretty darn well too, given that most of her legs wouldn’t be seen when displayed anyway. Skin tone is consistent with the overall figure, which is to say, very well done.

Ready to beat the crap out of Wolkenritter ass…

As for Raising Heart itself, it’s solidly constructed; not spectacular (if the main body is concerned), but very good in itself. Remember, this is 2006 standards we’re talking here and we can’t expect extreme gloss-gasm for the metallic parts on Raising Heart as the new figures would have. Inserting Nanoha’s trusty staff in her hands is very easy, with one having to just pull out the pink nub on the bottom of Raising Heart and inserting the staff between her hands. Overall, it feels very sturdy, with no signs of flimsy construction. A job well done by GSC.

Loli can fly, yo!

The main attraction of course, aside from Nanoha herself, is the superior sculpting of the flier fins and the feathery wings on Raising Heart. It’s not only because of how big they are that lends to the overall visual impact of the figure, but the paint job done on them is nothing like any of the other Nanoha figures out there. It’s a hell of a lot more pink than others, but its not an overwhelming pink that screams ridiculousness. I’ve seen the prototype shots of this Nanoha over at GSC’s site, and there’s no doubt in my mind that given the proper equipment and lighting, the vibrancy of the pinkish protrusions can be recreated to that of anime standards. Hell, even at normal conditions, the fins themselves are already gorgeous to look at and they slide in very solidly to the sides of Nanoha’s feet too, so they’re not just for show.

Looks ready to make more friends…

Another impressive aspect of the package is the base. It looks nothing spectacular, but look closer and see that the Mid-Childa circle is engraved onto the base itself, which while functionally useless, looks freakin’ great. GSC didn’t really need to add that to an already ass-kicking figure, but they did and for that I am…

GLAD!!!

Surrender or be shot? I’d rather be smart and go surrender…

So in the end, is this Nanoha worth the current price it commands? You’d have to ask your level of fandom for that if you’re a Nanoha fan, but given that you’d be able to acquire one at closer to SRP prices, you’d have to be dumb not to get her. This is simply, by far, the best pre-StrikerS Nanoha figure to date (within our historical timeline, not based on the Nanoha universe, since there’s still that looming loli from Alter coming up…). As for how to acquire her, I only know of Amazon.jp and Yahoo Auctions Japan as the only places online left that still has her (Mandarake World had her once, but the price was less than desirable as well…) and both those places also have her screaming wallet pain, not to mention the hassle of going through proxies and middlemen. Overall, I’m very satisfied with this Nanoha save for a few complaints above, but considering the status it has right now and the top-notch work done by GSC, she’s a definite keeper.

The Grade…

4.5 Billy Ayanamis

Related posts:

1. 1/8 Good Smile Company Akashiya Moka
2. Good Smile Company English Website Launch
3. Good Smile Owns June… Seriously
4. Back From the Grave…
5. Boring July, Hiatus and Ryomou…