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This previously unexpected addition to the collection may be blamed squarely on Danny Choo. Before his article on Nida
(which has superior pictures), I had never heard of her, nor Shuraki,
before. I'm not sure what constellation of soft spots Nida struck, but
she hit them quick and before I knew it I had murdered the piggy bank
and headed to Ximending to check the figure shop... And there she was.
NT $2000 later (ouch, but not as ouch as Metallo-Sazabi), the second member of my figure collection joins the party.  Nice package. Erm, that is, packaging.  As Danny reported some time ago, Nida is cast-off capable. Her normal uniform can be replaced with the tastefully shredded battle-damage version. A set of bare arms may be swapped in as needed. Her little hat sits nicely on her head without any pegs to secure it, the downside of which being it can slide off fairly easily. The upside, however, is that her gorgeous hair is completely preserved. A full bayonet may be held in her right hand, while a bayonet hilt is included to fit into the sheath at her hip (which looks much better than having the hilt molded into the sheath, and allows the bayonet to appear drawn). Nida's tremendous rifle (more of a cannon, really) can be configured with longer or shorter barrel and butt, and also sports a vicious bayonet blade to be affixed under either barrel. In addition to the figure and her accessories, Nida comes with a "Drama CD" and small artbook, both of which seem to convey Nida's part in the Shuraki story. (Which I'm afraid I don't know thing one about.) The CD is mostly dialogue tracks, with a character song at the end. See below for some of the artbook contents.  I only noticed after putting them next to each other that Nida and the Major have nearly the same pose. Curious.  What a face. Shading on the hair is also outstanding.  Quite a view of her... rifle. Nida stands to give Yoko a run for her money in the ballistics department.  Some of the artbook's contents.  More artbook.  Yet more artbook. I've been unable to find any information about the story behind these Shuraki figures, but I'd like to know more. Anybody in the know should fill me in.  I'm sure after whatever fight Nida just finished, the other guy didn't come out looking so good.  Nida's torso and arms are rather slight, but she's got quite the set of hips. The detachable arms' seams line up with the bra straps, so the joint is invisible. Similarly, the upper torso separates from the bottom of the figure under the bust, so that seam is entirely hidden as well.  Nice tummy. Both skirts (damaged and intact) are single pieces which slide in place over the waist when the top part of the figure is taken off. The uniform tops require poor Nida's head to pop off, and slip over the neck, then button up along the side seams, or, in the damaged version's case, along the front and under the right arm.  Now that's a knife.  This picture needs some smoldering wreckage in the background, and behind that, a blazing sunset.  Nida the leggy conqueror.  The rifle's main body comes apart into upper and lower halves, so you can put the grip into Nida's right hand, then put the rifle together around it. I wish I had figured this out before the first time I posed the figure, when I forced the hand open and stuck it onto the gun's grip. Fortunately Nida's made of tough stuff, and the hand readily returned to its original shape without any damage.  Nida tries the smaller rifle configuration on for size. The small caliber of the shorter barrel looks a little funny compared to the bulky rifle body and considerable magazine size. A more substantial barrel might've been better for this mode, but I guess that's what the long barrel is for.  Nida's sent her hat to the cleaners, but hasn't made arrangements to get her uniform repaired yet.  Nida goes medieval.  Look at her funny and she'll teach you what "low-cut" really means.  Wouldn't it be something if Good Smile made yoroi outfits for the Shuraki girls? In any case, one can tell by the twinkle in her eye that Nida's taken a liking to this borrowed piece of classical weaponry. No doubt she's considering expanding her own arsenal... Back |