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Some Bandai Namco figures end up being budget ones. You expect it, given some started their lives as Japanese prize figures for arcades. That’s not a bad thing! In the case of the Frieren Maximatic figure, which often costs between $20-30 online, I found after picking one up on sale that its unusual pose made it feel like a higher quality item.
Okay, so first, there is some light assembly required with this Frieren Maximatic figure. When you first open the box, the Frieren is in one piece, her staff is in two parts, her twin tails are each separate, and the stand’s two pieces are unassembled. The staff and stand are both incredibly easy to put together. So much so that you can repeatedly assemble and dissemble the weapon in case you might want to rearrange the position or need to pack the item up.
The pigtails, on the other hand, are a bit of a pain. The translucent effect is very nice! I love it! They’re quite delicate too, which makes them look good once you get them shoved into the back of Frieren’s head. It’s the actual shoving part that is a bit of an issue. Neither one of the two hair parts is marked and my box didn’t include any instructions. So finding the proper positioning, then actually getting them placed, takes a few minutes. Once they are in there, however, I found they are in there for good.
Since the Frieren Maximatic is one of the budget figures, you can notice if you get really close up. Her eyes look good, but I’m not the biggest fan of the way her eyebrows are handled. I’d also have appreciated some extra paint on her hair and pigtails to add a little more definition. Once displayed, it’s sometimes a blob of white and difficult to notice the textures, bangs, and layering. On the plus side, the paint job on her outfit is generally pretty good and well-defined. Once she’s on a shelf, the gold accents and black stripes on her top come through.
But as I mentioned earlier, it’s the dynamic and active pose that makes this figure of the character stand out. The stand is quite strong and stable. If you positioning on a shelf in a way where you’re looking at her head-on, the position of her left leg does a good job of even obscuring it. There’s a definite sense of motion felt by the way she’s posed. The dress and cape ruffles and hair design choices both make it feel like she really is falling. I sort of wish there was an actual piece of ribbon used on her staff, instead of plastic. It might have been nice to try positioning the weapon so the top was toward the back, but you’re basically forced into one pose for for it instead.
The Banpresto Frieren Maximatic figure is the sort that looks a little more impressive because of the risks taken with the pose. You can see some compromises made in the paint for the face and lack of definition for the hair. But the design choices and active approach call more attention to the positioning and make a budget figure seem more striking as a result.
The Bandai Namco Banprestro FrierenMaximatic figure is available worldwide. Fern and The manga is handled by Viz Media, while the anime is streaming on Crunchyroll.
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