Platinum Games comes up with some great software filled with memorable character designs. While I await a better Bayonetta than that Play Arts many years back, I'm enjoying the fact that another character that was held with an iron grip by Square Enix has escape Bring Arts and Play Arts hell - 2B ver. 1.1.b from Neir Automata. In the world of 1/12 ish scale releases, there were two contenders - this S.H. Figuarts, and a release from BUZZmod. This version was by far the easier to get one.
If you're not familiar with the game and its cast, you've probably seen pictures of this maid looking character with the stark white hair and is armed with a sword. This is 2B. The other main characters are 9S (the guy) and A2 (the long haired one). Hopefully they'll get releases as well in these non Square Enix figures.
I'm also hoping that one day, someone puts all the Nier chronology together so I can play them on one single platform, though I suspect that it would be PC.
Retailing for about 8,000 Yen, I'd say the pack ins are decent, but it's not like this is fantastic value or anything:
1 x Main Figure
5 x Faceplates (Neutral, Shouting, Neutral (No Mask), Shouting (No Mask(, Eyes Closed)
7 x Posing/Gripping Hands
1 x Katana
1 x Droid w/Stand
1 x Base/Stand
As the Droid is floating, you will need to use the included parts to display it along side 2B.
Here she is out of the box. I will admit to not being an expert in the subject matter, but I've read that there's sort of a love/hate relationship with this figure from those in the know. While this is a 2B figure, one that doesn't fall apart at first touch, people aren't thrilled that it takes after the anime version more than the game version. I personally feel that game version, anime version, this figure has other areas we should be focusing on rather than the general aesthetic.
Having said all that, I feel from an overall perspective things came out nicely, though I do wish that the bulkier parts of the outfit were soft goods. Good all around detailing on the outfit, including some nice etching on the skirt itself. What kind of strikes me as weird is how drastically the curves changed, and I don't know if this is a Bandai things or an anime design thing, as her hips and thighs are slimmer than anticipated. 2B has never been a very busty character, so that part is fine.
Some nicely implemented detailing can be observed on the skirt and on the petals of pieces around the elbows.
Here are the five faceplates. I definitely don't mind them but I imagine this is probably where most people are taking issues with the anime versus game aesthetic. I mean mind you, the art in the game is pretty much anime anyways, as with most Japanese games these days, but I guess it's the colours and textures, as there is a noticeable lack of detailing in the hair, even by Figuarts standards.
The Droid is pretty nice, looking significantly nicer than the beat up machines you get in the game Silver paint on the main body with a nice textured pattern on the side. Jumping a bit ahead, Articulation is present on the piece, with both sets of arms moveable, but the arms can only swivel, with no ball joints for 3D motion.
Articulation wise, it's generally not bad, though as always it's the bulk that kills you. . This figure DOES have those coveted pulldown hips, the the twerking community thanks Bandai for that. But, it does expose what is probably the greatest weakness of the figure - the ass. For whatever reason, the design went with an ass cap rather than two thighs with built in cheeks. This is why you get that unfortunate looking gap.
The shoulders and elbows suffer slightly due to the bulk of the shoulder and elbow bulk respectively. Single jointed knees and elbows are present. Ab crunch is minimal while back arch seems to be maximized on this figure. Steps were taken to maximize what articulation you had, such as a soft plastic skirt, and how there's actually a separate ball joint where the bicep swivel is.
Other points of articulation operate as you would expect on a typical figure.
Paint Application wise, I think there's actually a bit more paint than usual. The hard plastic parts that are Black appear to feature some high gloss paint, which is also used on Black highlights such as at the top of her stockings. Flesh tones on her face, back and chest seem to match up nicely with her exposed hip and thighs. The colouring on the exposed stocking parts is a little simple, going straight for the solid colours rather than a gradient to achieve the illusion of being translucent, though to be fair this wouldn't be the first figure to do that. Overall, the figure and its accessories look crisp and clean, just like they should.
Build Quality wise, again pretty standard, which is a good thing. No obvious blemishes or bad QC. The figure legitimately looks quite nice. My beef is with the weapon hands - again, this is one of those that you need to pry the fingers open. I have no idea why this is happening so often now. I guess you can argue the hands look better, but I worry more about function in the long run.
A few unfortunate quirks aside, I feel Bandai executed this figure nicely in that a lot of subtle nuances that made this such a beloved design are present here. It's not perfect, nor are they ever truly, but this figure is a huge step up from the horror stories I've hear about the Square Enix releases. It would have also been nice to have more than one weapon for some variety. But at least the faceplates are nice.
If only there was another product that could alleviate some of these issues...
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