I found myself pulled to the aesthetics and lore of Overwatch. I'm late to the bandwagon, but again, there are some pretty interesting things when it comes to this over popular franchise. So now I have a Nendroid of Genji. Part of that ever so growing interest I have for Overwatch are the characters and Genji is definitely right up my alley in some ways. Let's go check him out in his chibi plastic form.
Nothing new to the box. It's well done and it still feels very familiar to other imports that I collect/have collected.
As far as my knowledge goes, Genji is a ronin, a samurai that was somehow involved with a family feud and he ended up being cyborg-like ninja. His story is closely related to another Overwatch character: Hanzo. Simple enough to grasp, right? I think there's more to it but I've only seen what was given to me in the animated shorts. But regardless of that, his story seems adequate enough to fit his aesthetics and the world of Overwatch. I honestly really like it and being in a stylized version like a Nendroid actually works out pretty well. While some details are missing, Genji still retained MOST if not all of what makes him recognizable.
He's not as adorable as the Nendroid Mercy I own, but he still has some cute/adorable factor that makes him look less intimidating.
As far as accessories goes, Genji actually has quite a bit. Then again, from my experience, Nendroid provides and this cybernetic shinobi was not robbed of this trend! A few alternate hands, some weapons, some effects, and signature accessories that only Genji could have, I'd say this character was given plenty of love.
Genji has a lot of things going on his design but they are done quite well to not make him look too complex or out of the realm of what he is supposed to be. Putting that in a stylized and deformed action figure is by no means an easy feat, at least in my opinion. Genji has some subtle but pretty detailed look to him and molding it to fit a Nendroid scheme did not sound appealing at first. Luckily, I decided to try him out and when I opened him, I was actually pretty impressed. One of his more prominent character design is his helmet and it looks great in this chibi form. The sleek with ridges and armor platings that are throughout Genji's body are also done well giving this Nendroid a hint of intricacy and attention to detail while all at the same time, paying nod to the stylized and deformed theme. I couldn't be anymore impressed.
And of course Genji has a hard time standing on his own because of the small feet thus why he is still on his stand.
Genji's color scheme reminds me of an organic, earth-based palette that is juxtaposed by the machine and technology that surrounds him. It's not something I would think to be the first amalgamation of colors for a ninja, but hey, Genji is not your typical shinobi. Honestly, it translates well into Nendroid form with the choices of plastic and paint they chose to represent certain parts of Genji.
Now going over Genji's accessories, this guy comes packed with two blades. A long and a short. The long version has two forms: an all green and a partial green colored. Again, not familiar with the characters of Overwatch, but I do know that it has some kind of meaning. There are faux hilts that can be pegged on the scabbard and taken out when the 'real' blades are in his hands.
Then there's Genji's smaller blade. This doesn't have an alternate colored version but just like the long blade/s, it has a false hilt that can be pegged on to the sheathe.
As far as special effects go, Genji has this particular one that I believe represents an overhyped action scene. It can be pegged on his left arm and with someone who has knowledge of Overwatch can get some really cool action scenes with this one.
Then there's Genji's dragon effect that looks pretty good. I believe it's one of his specials that can be activated and I saw it in the animated short of him going against Hanzo. The dragon can be pegged on the extra piece for the figure stand and then there's an additional piece that can be attached to Genji's back.
The feather that comes with Genji is definitely important for the character. I found myself only using it for one shot, but the shot itself is pretty dramatic so it's definitely appreciated. For those into the lore and actually plays Overwatch, this accessory will probably hold more weight.
The last accessory to really talk about is that awesome figure stand. What can I say? If other 'regular' sized action figures/imports use this kind of stand, you know, the one with multiple holes for the stand itself to plug on, it would definitely garner for more pose-ability. Also, the smaller 'stem' is for the dragon which came in REALLY handy for other poses.
With all the accessories and all the alternate hands, posing this guy around was pretty fun. His articulation is also on par with some imports, albeit the stylized and deformed body definitely prevents a few joints here and there harder to get cooperation out of. But all in all, I was able to get some pretty good action scenes. Thanks to the options given with the accessories, the joints, and the figure stand, Genji did not shy away from being able to get some good pictures out.
Anyone familiar with Nendroids can pretty much surmise what they will get into when purchasing Genji: a super detailed stylized action figure, a handful of good and logical set of accessories that pays homage to the character's lore and/or personality, articulation that is definitely comparable to something like Figma and Figuarts, and lastly, an action figure that is a ton of fun. As I have stated before, I may not be a player of Overwatch nor am I too familiar with its lore, but I can say that action figures such as this makes me appreciate Blizzard's first person juggernaut. Perhaps I'll actually play that game one day.
Until Next Time!
Comentários