Nendoroid Raiden (MGS2 Version)
Yes, okay, my dive into the Metal Gear Solid series
may have been because of Raiden. Not because he's a tragic dork
with a pretty face, but because I stumbled across someone's video
compilation of "the naked escape". Yeah. I laughed so hard
that I had to know more about the series... and here I am now. Here... I am. Now. ...Here.
Well anyway. As much as I absolutely
adore Raiden as an angst-powered cyborg, my favorite incarnation
clearly had no toy representation. Until I saw the alternate
body. The pre-order was immediate.
"Get me out of this damn box." There is no smiling face, because even though this Raiden is fully organic, he's still fueled by angst (and dork-ness). And weapons. And gorgeous, flowing hair.
Getting a picture of the back of the box was murder,
so have this mostly okay one. Like the box says, do not give this
toy to onions with faces.
He was a little pricier than several Nendoroids I'd
seen before, but I can kind of see why now: excellent accessories and
decent articulation! My jam. Well, my jam is boysenberry,
but no one actually seems to know what that is, so I digress.
Raiden comes with his gorgeous self in a sneaking suit, of course, peg stand with a swivel arm, a "Shinkawa face" (designed after the gorgeous Metal Gear Solid artwork by Yoji Shinkawa), five alternate hands, a little plastic "sneaking base" so he can be propped up on his elbows, an extra peg for the stand arm so he can wear his katana, the katana itself, two guns, katana sheath, a real cardboard box (that you have to tape/glue yourself), and... the naked body. So much more on that later.
Raiden comes with his gorgeous self in a sneaking suit, of course, peg stand with a swivel arm, a "Shinkawa face" (designed after the gorgeous Metal Gear Solid artwork by Yoji Shinkawa), five alternate hands, a little plastic "sneaking base" so he can be propped up on his elbows, an extra peg for the stand arm so he can wear his katana, the katana itself, two guns, katana sheath, a real cardboard box (that you have to tape/glue yourself), and... the naked body. So much more on that later.
I did not know about this. If at any time I'd
been on the fence about getting this figure, this would have sent me
over: the sword fits in the sheath. THE SWORD. FITS IN. THE SHEATH. It is beautiful.
Admittedly the Shinkawa face really adds to Raiden's
"I am so done with this" personality trait. But in a pose like
this, it also manages to look super intense. There's an
astonishing amount of detail in such a tiny body, and the articulation
was really surprising. Shoulders rotate and swivel along with
wrists, hips, knees, feet, head, and even the lower and upper abdomen
have movement. Very, very cool.
The only thing I feel like i may be missing? A
mouth open/shouting expression. That would make this pose a lot
more dramatic. He just looks irritated. As usual, but still.
"Ladies. And Snake."
Articulation strikes again. Or just gives me more opportunity for stupid poses, which I absolutely love.
Admittedly, I'm a little irritated by the giant head being so heavy as to not allow him to stand on his own. This is a minor personal complaint, because I'm just not crazy about always having to use a stand. But since that's my only real complaint, it's pretty much next to nothing.
Articulation strikes again. Or just gives me more opportunity for stupid poses, which I absolutely love.
Admittedly, I'm a little irritated by the giant head being so heavy as to not allow him to stand on his own. This is a minor personal complaint, because I'm just not crazy about always having to use a stand. But since that's my only real complaint, it's pretty much next to nothing.
Raiden considers his life choices. Perhaps a little
too late. Hiding under a cardboard box is a Metal Gear staple.
Somehow it always seems to work when it comes to enemies. I
guess I'll have to try it in real life and report back, but I'm
guessing the experience won't be game-accurate.
Well, ass
shot. Nowhere near the same quality it is in-game, but I suppose
that's fine. It would be kinda weird if this figure had a really
nice ass.
And the
moment we have all been waiting for. This is definitely the right
expression to go along with the body: so, so done.
...For
science, okay? This is a really weird experience, because...
that's a pretty nicely molded ass. I feel weird now.
Aw, c'mon, Raiden. Don't be like that.
Raiden.
Overall, yeah I'm really happy with him. I've seen complaints of loose joints, but I didn't experience any. The Shinkawa face is truthfully a little hard to slide into place at first, but all I needed to do was take a file to the side of one tab, so that's just... not a problem, as far as I'm concerned. The details are amazing, the paint is equally wonderful, and now I have a tiny angry Raiden. And box. It's a fun little reminder of how I accidentally got pulled into the riptide that is Metal Gear Solid. And while I'm annoyed that Konami got any of my money, Kojima's sure to get more at some point in the future.
Overall, yeah I'm really happy with him. I've seen complaints of loose joints, but I didn't experience any. The Shinkawa face is truthfully a little hard to slide into place at first, but all I needed to do was take a file to the side of one tab, so that's just... not a problem, as far as I'm concerned. The details are amazing, the paint is equally wonderful, and now I have a tiny angry Raiden. And box. It's a fun little reminder of how I accidentally got pulled into the riptide that is Metal Gear Solid. And while I'm annoyed that Konami got any of my money, Kojima's sure to get more at some point in the future.