As much as I love Saber from Fate series, I usually prefer her in casual clothes rather than battle clothes. Back a few months ago however, I saw this Saber Lily prototype.  My jaws immediately dropped admiring the beauty of the figure and I instantly became interested to pre-order her.  The price tag however held me up as it was very high. I was torn apart whether should or should I not buy this Saber. So, I sat down a few hours trying to rationalize with my mind and my heart. In the end my love for Saber was so strong that I ignored everything and went proceed to pre-order her. Sometimes however I do regret the decision of buying her because I kept thinking of the high price tag and how much I will be losing.

She was supposed to be released last June, but somehow she was delayed till September. The wait was quite long that it was frustrating and relieving at the same time. Frustrating that I have to wait longer but relieving that I get to keep my money. Yesterday ( 26 September 2009 ) however I got a surprise call from my dealer, telling me that it has already arrived !  This was indeed shocking as I know she hasn’t even been release in Japan yet, but I didn’t really care much how did my dealer got her before the release date. This was suppose to be a good news for me, but the feeling of losing my money kept coming back to me.

When I went to collect the figure, I was stunned and mesmerized, even just looking at it from outside of the box. When I unpacked her from the box, all those thoughts of regret vanish to thin air. I was convinced that I made the right choice by pre-ordering her.

Anyway, enough of mindless chatter.

One of the best looking Saber Lily figures to date, Ocha  sits down and reviews Good Smile Company Fate / Unlimited Codes – Saber Lily ~Distant Avalon~ !

Yes, some of you are probably shocked as I am, how come I’m able to get a hold of her whereas she hasn’t even been released yet in Japan ? It’s all thanks to my dealer really. I’m not really sure how he manage to get it but apparently I heard that some dealers actually release her earlier before the dateline. Don’t worry folks, I took a good look and inspected her, and she’s definitely the real deal. Yes, even before the figure was release, a bootleg version was already available. So Good Smile Company has a page on their website that explains how you can differentiate the original and bootleg version. It’s in Japanese though, but there’s a translated version here by wcloudxkumo.

For those who are a bit clueless of seeing Saber form, this is a special costume / skin that was included in the PS2 fighting game Fate / Unlimited Codes. I’m not really sure if her abilities is any different from normal Saber, but when I used her in the game, she’s pretty much the same as her default costume. Guess its another alternate costume for Saber, or the developers wanted to give a fan service treat for the fans. Hey, I’m sure ain’t complaining !

A real cool and awesome pose, no question about that. The figure will definitely attract your attention from any angle you look at it. It’s quite refreshing to see Saber in a battle armor that reveals more flesh than her previous one. It does take a lot of space from your table since she needs to swing her sword, so better make some space people !

FINALLY a nice and not plain looking base. Notice the little details like the cracks on the floor are not left out and given attention too. Notice the details of the nice looking “FATE/UNLIMITED CODES” logo. I guess my cries for better looking base has finally paid off.

By the way, the base also does take some space too, so be prepared for that.

From the top to the bottom,  the paint job is absolutely stunning and flawless. Actually I’m lost of words  on how to describe the paint job. The paint job is so good that its able to make me snap photo with minimal lighting control. I normally have trouble with other figures, but this one gave me minimal problems. I think its because the great and excellent paint job.

Unlike Saber in her default armor, this Saber wears a lovely white pantsu, and you can actually peek up to see it !

She comes with 2 swords, Excalibur and Caliburn. Excalibur is the default sword that she always use. The handle of the Excalibur is a bit big, so it’s quite tough if you want to force it in her hand. For this case you can actually remove the bottom part.

Front and back view of Saber with Excalibur.

So comes with 2 hands. Both of them look the same, but the other actually allows her to hold her scabbard, Avalon.

This is her with Caliburn and Avalon. While getting her to hold Avalon looks cooler, I would avoid this setup since the Avalon will take up space.

Some shots of her with Caliburn and Avalon, from back and front.

You can actually put the Excalibur inside the Avalon, but only Excalibur. It won’t fit in if you try to put in Caliburn so don’t force it.

This is how the hand holding Avalon looks like in action.

Extra shots for your eyes.

Any faults that I can point out about this figure ? Absolutely nothing. It’s nothing but a fine piece of work and Good Smile Company has really set the standard high. After getting my hand on the figure, I definitely do not regret buying this Saber Lily. Not only I do not regret it but I’m convinced that she is worth every ounce of money that I paid her for. There’s another version of Saber Lily that will be released by ALTER, but this one caught my eye more. I’m pretty sure ALTER’s version will still be good, but not as awesome as this one. Go get one if you are a fan of Saber or you like awesomely detailed figurines.

…of course depending if you can get her now, since I believe she will be selling like hot cakes.

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