I love Bayonetta. I mean, there's the obvious reasons why someone with my sensibilities would like the design. But also, it's who she's become, possibly the most provocative Nintendo mascot, even more so than the Fire Emblem ladies. It's not like Nintendo has been shy about showing her off, not since they purchased the IP and allowed Platinum Games to actually finish the sequel, and the soon to be released third game.
They must have figured out my Switch is the only active platform I play.
As far as I know, there have been very few licensed action figures of this ravishing beauty. One is the Play Arts from way back when, with the second one being this Nendoroid release, with the former released during the Sega days. I guess Nintendo is really being picky, but you figure there would be a Figma of her by now.
Contents of the box are pretty typical for a standard Nendoroid. What was surprising to me was the return of the static posed limbs. Or maybe the ones I've been buying recently have all been coincidentally using the action body.
- 1 x Main Figure
- 3 x Faceplates (Neutral, Wink, Shouting)
- 1 x Lollipop Hand
- 1 x Kick Energy Effect
- 1 x Scarborough Fair (set)
- 2 x Bent Arms with Gun Holding Hands
- 2 x Bent Legs
- 1 x Standing Pose Right Leg
- 1 x Butterfly Wings
- 1 x Nendoroid Stand
Since the articulation, even on an action body Nendoroid is kind of basic, the main focus of a Nendoroid is just how awesome it looks. I think they did a fantastic job from that perspective, staying within the general limitations of a Nendoroid. They've captured the general sleekness of her bodysuit while giving her the flare of those sleeves. General face shape is again limited by the standard Nendoroid template, but throw on the glasses and beehive hairdo and it's pretty obvious who she is.
Sculpting of the finer details is simplified in general, but by Nendoroid standards quite nicely done, especially the finer details like the folds of her sleeves and the detailing on the dangling gold bits. Paint work on the figure overall is also solid, with the gold and other colours applied sharply, with no visible overspray or other visual distractions.
From here it's really just applying the parts and using the shoulder, neck, and sleeve articulation to get a pose you like. Relatively limited, but again, not really the main selling point of these figures. Bayonetta does look quite striking in that colour scheme, and you can recreate some of her more memorable attack poses (though sadly, none of the ones where she's naked and summoning some giant spider demon made of hair) Actual posing is a bit clunky due to the weight and general physical presence of the sleeves, but at least the figure holds together well.
So overall, a very nice Nendoroid release of the ever stylish Bayonetta, pretty much what I expected. What's interesting, however, is the sheer number of quality related complaints on myfigurecollection about this release. Sloppy paint jobs being the largest percentagee, with a few other random things here and there. Now, as far as I'm aware, they only just released the figure so they should all be first batch. I'm also generally pretty bad at getting defect free items when there are defects that obvious. But I don't see it, and it should be pretty obvious if there are really bad paint applications. From the description and tone of the comments, you'd think the sky was falling. It's ALSO entirely possible that either people are venting due to lateness, or the Japanese release was messed up. I honestly have no idea. For Full Gallery, please visit:
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