Max Factory’s Takamachi Nanoha figma… Not bad, but not great either. I’m satisfied, but not really that impressed.

Shooting with a smile is Nanoha’s Raising Heart’s way.

From the start, I have been pretty hesitant about Max Factory’s figma line. They are really nothing but slightly better looking action figures, so I had little desire to own one until a couple StrikerS ones were announced. I own almost all the mass-produced MGLN figures (the 1/8’s at least) out there, so I decided to keep the streak going. Plus, the price was reasonable, considering that my total including EMS (from HLJ) was cheaper than the retail price for most fixed-pose figures.

Upon opening the box and taking Nanoha out of the plastic the first problem happened. Her hair and face fell off. There are a lot of removable part, so no biggie, right? It might just be my figma, but Nanoha’s face and hair (both pieces) are not very secure. They’ll hold most of the time, but when you start handling it, they fall off with ease. And because this is an action figure, you’ll be working with it a lot. Ironically, the other face that comes with it doesn’t fit because it’s too tight. Go fig. I had to use a small screwdriver to loosen things up. Her hands are also somehow difficult to remove. The wrists are a ball-and-socket, so pulling them out can be tricky because you can’t get a good grip on the hands. For some reason the holes on the hand “container” that is included are easier to work with.

Another problem I had was the hole in the back where you insert the stand that comes with the figma. It’s way too small. The fit should be snug, but I couldn’t even get it to go in partially. The peg is longer than the hole, but again I was forced to get a small screwdriver and widen the opening to get it in enough to be stable.

As for the joints, you get a decent range of movement. Practically every joint is movable from her wrists to ankles to waist to hips. Even her twintails can rotate 360 degrees. Her shoulder and hip joints are a bit limited because of the barrier jacket though. You can move her shoulder pads around to get more range, but it’s still a tad limited. The miniskirt on her barrier jacket is made of flexible material you can move her waist around, but you cannot put Nanoha in a sitting position. You can get the legs and torso to around 45 degrees, but that’s it. The larger skirt is also a nuisance (like it was on Movic’s StrikerS Subaru and Nanoha). It’s made of much sturdier PVC than the miniskirt, so it’s a clunker and gets in the way. It’s also not secure at all. It’s supposed to rest fit along her hips, but it wobbles all the time. And what’s worse is that the black paint rubs on the white part of the barrier jacket.

“Raising Heart, mode release.”

On the plus side I do give Max Factory credit for making a pretty detailed Nanoha figure. Everything that should be there is there. The joints are a lot less noticeable on Nanoha (especially her elbows) than on other figmas. The Haruhi figmas (and the new Konata figma) look awful with those knee and elbow joints. Personally, I think figmas should be limited to characters that lend themselves to be made into action figures (i.e., Saber, Nanoha, Fate). A Konata and Haruhi figma are great money-milking novel ideas, but those characters don’t need to be posed. Nanoha comes with 2 faces (smiling and fighting), 2 sets of bangs (to the left and to the right), 2 different heads for Raising Heart (Accel Mode and Buster Mode), and 5 pairs of hands. With all that, the configurations are limitless.

Also, Max Factory solved the 2 huge problem I have had with every single Nanoha figure I own–Flier Fins and Raising Heart. Nanoha’s Flier Fins are hard to put on, very delicate, and are obtrusive. On both of Movic’s Nanoha figures and Alter’s figure they feel like they’ll break off every time you insert them into her feet. And what’s worse is that they fall out a lot, meaning you have to work with them often. The figma solved the problem by having you insert the Flier Fins into the peg holes on the bottom of Nanoha’s feet. This could easily be done with regular figures and would made a lot of sense. They’re still on the delicate side, but because each foot gets 1 Flier Fin “package,” the likelihood of damaging them is greatly reduced. Not to mention, they’re incredibly secure.

Raising Heart can now be (almost) fully disassembled. On Good Smile Company’s Nanoha, you could remove the head portion of Raising Heart, but nothing else. Unfortunately, because her fingers were not loose (unlike Alter’s), you had to force the rear end of the device into the holes in her hands. It can be done, but I broke Raising Heart pretty quick. With the figma, bother ends are removable, meaning Raising Heart inserts into Nanoha’s hands easily.

I can see why a figma was done for Aggressor Mode instead of Exceed Mode. Exceed Mode looks a lot better, but Nanoha has the full skirt akin to her A’s barrier jacket, thus making the lower body more difficult to pose (not to mention you’d never see her legs). Overall, I am satisfied by my purchase, but it did not really improve my opinion of figmas in general, and in the end I only went through with the order because it’s a Nanoha figure (same with Fate in July). I played around with the figure for a good hour, but the novelty wore off fast. Maybe it’s because I don’t really dig action figures anymore, but I don’t understand what the big deal about figmas are. I’d rather have Max Factory focus more on regular figures again.