“Don’t stand behind him if you value your life.”
The famous tagline from the anime/manga Golgo 13. Golgo 13 is a manga /anime series written and illustrated by Takao Saito that began back in 1969. The manga is still ongoing until now, making it one of the longest running adult manga. I was first introduce to Golgo 13 by playing its arcade game, Golgo 13 ( Taito ). It was a fun yet challenging game that requires players to complete various task by executing ridiculous and seemed impossible shots. Of course, the game doesn’t really tell much about the character, so I wasn’t clearly sure what was Golgo 13 all about.
In April 2008 the anime came out, and I get to know more about Golgo 13. Like how I enjoyed the game, I became hooked to the anime. The things made me hooked to it is how badass he is, how he completes his task, how many lines he speaks throughout an episode, and the best part of all his face expression. However, the lack of subs for the anime made me lose interest. Then a few months back I saw the prototype for the figma Goglo 13. First impression ? Impressive, really looks like Golgo 13, especially the fact that di:stage is included. Not only that, a paper vignette in the image of a motel and speech bubbles are thrown in, allowing fans to recreate the world of Golgo 13. With all these stuffs thrown in, I knew that I had to get one.
So here it is, Ocha! takes a look and reviews Max Factory Figma Golgo 13 !
I’ll start of with a little introduction of the character for those who are not familiar. Golgo 13, also known by the pseudonym Duke Togo, is a professional hired assassin and the main character of the story. Although his profession is a hired assassin not all of his job involves assassination. Basically it depends on what kind of task his clients request him to do. For example in one episode his clients ask him to shoot a violin string while being played. Sounds impossible ? Yes, but that’s what Golgo 13 is, making things impossible possible.
His alignment is neither good or evil, however he does have some principles when doing his work. For example, he never takes a job through a voice, meaning the client must personally meet him in order to hire him, and he listens only to the request of the client, not on behalf. Even if the client is dead, he will carry out the last job that the client requested before the client died. He always has a cold gaze and rarely speaks unless he has too. His age and birthplace are unknown and no one knows who he really is. Most of his jobs, which involves assassination are completed through the use of a customized, scoped M16 rifle.
Figma is different from a figurine. It posses a high degree of articulation, which allows you to pose it in many ways you want it to be. However unlike the normal figmas, there is a joint at Golgo 13 neck. This feature is needed when you want to pose him taking aim with the M16. His suit is made out of a flexible plastic that doesn’t restrict his movement, so you still will be able to make him to do various poses. He also comes with various hands parts, including a hand that allows him to hold a cigar, as well hands that allow him to hold his weapons. In addition to the standard figma stand, it comes with a stand that allows you to hold the speech bubbles.
Figma Golgo 13 comes with 2 changeable face, a normal looking face and a grinning face with clenched teeth. Like in the anime / manga, these are the only 2 expression you’ll ever see coming from him. I assume the sculptor didn’t encounter much problem sculpting his face.
Other accessories included are his weapons, a detachable M16 which you can store inside a attache case and his 38-caliber revolver. The revolver sadly cannot be stored inside the case.
As mentioned earlier, Golgo 13 figma includes a paper vignette in an image of a motel. This paper vignette motel is not easy to assemble because you would need a strong glue to stick it. For my case I had to use Super Glue, which explains some of the white stains on some parts of the motel. Furthermore, the instructions was in Japanese and not being able to read Japanese made the process harder. It took me 2 days to complete assembling this.
Once you have completed the motel, you can relive various scenes from the manga / anime, with the help of other paper vignette and speech bubbles. For those who are creative, you can even make your own scenes with the help of other extra stuffs like sounds effects, which will make your photos more dynamic and interesting. With all these great features, Figma Golgo 13 seems like a flawless figma figure.
Sadly however this is not the case, as Figma Golgo 13 do have flaws. One of my complaints of the figure is the paint job. The final product paint job looks rougher compared to the prototype pictures. The gap between the shoulders is too big compared to the prototype screen shots, making it looking a bit deformed. The motel was troublesome and time consuming to assemble because the paper vignette couldn’t stick together without a strong glue. It could have been better if the motel was as a real accessory rather than in a from of paper. If it cost more, then maybe they can sell it separately rather than together.
Overall, Figma Golgo 13 is still a nice piece of work. With extra feature that are only available with Figma Golgo 13, it does set itself apart from other figmas. Those who are bored with the standard cute female figures and want some manly and badass figure in their collection, Figma Golgo 13 will be a fine addition.
Just be careful not to stand behind his back if you value your life.
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