Astro Toy

Nendoroid Colossal Titan And Attack Playset

Nendoroid Colossal Titan And Attack Playset
Series: Attack on Titan
Maker: Good Smile
Price: $63

Remember how I said it takes a year or so for anime series to start producing decent figures? Well, due to its massive popularity (and perhaps the fact that the manga had already been a major success for some time prior), Attack on Titan seems to be an extraordinary case. This time it took six months. Titan releases are going to be pouring out from here on in, especially from Good Smile. Just like when all those Miku figures came out, we've definitely bought quite a few of those releases, so keep an eye out.

That being said, I really think the coolest one came in first. Remember playsets? I'm old, I had a Technodrome when I was a kid, you probably really don't remember... but rather than just the character figure, their whole environment is packed in a box so you could stage their adventures. This isn't really done a lot in otaku toys, so it was a really pleasant surprise to see GSC take on the idea with a Nendoroid set containing an adorable, skinless, big-headed Colossal Titan and a tiny reproduction of the town in which it rampages.

The base figure is a nice one: turning the grotesque Titan SD-cute calls for a delicate hand, and I think they nailed it here. The sculpt is still gross in that flayed-man sense-- bare muscle, bones, all that-- but it's done with such bright colors and simple lines that you kind of forget the monstrosity that the thing's supposed to be representing and start to see it as some cute cartoon mascot character.

If you want it to look cuter, there's an alternate googly-eyed face. Swapping is a breeze: pull out the forehead, pull out the face, and replace. This is a different head assembly, though (did this start with Miku 2.0? I don't remember) so your dream of swapping the Titan's head onto other Nendoroids in your collection may not come true.

This face also features a slightly opening mouth, the better to devour helpless villagers with. Careful with the jaw, it doesn't go far. I like to think he handles villagers like cigars or perhaps carrots, talking about the weather while he munches nonchalantly.

This is one of the articulated Nendoroids: this whole playset thing wouldn't really work out any other way. Stubby arms and legs boast the most basic back-and-forth movement at the shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. Don't expect any kind of complex poses. Also, due to its particular shape, even among Nendoroids, the figure will absolutely not stay up without the help of a stand. Luckily the Nendoroid stand does its thing without any problems this time.

And that is really it for the figure itself; rather than traditional accessories, the prop is the town itself.

The actual “playset” pieces look a little cheap: the wall is of drab one-color plastic with a replacement “breached” piece for when the smaller Titans break in. The houses don't look very different from the hotel piece in a Monopoly set. The civilian victims and Survey Corps members are extremely tiny miniatures-- but way too big to be in scale-- with featureless faces not meant to represent anybody particular in the series.

The steam effect part here is held up by a stand behind the wall.

You also get three extra, smaller Titans to really torment this little town; two can even grab the humans and one's jaw slides open. Due to their size, none of these guys stand on their own and in fact require their own tiny stands to be set up properly. If you thought Nendoroid stands were ill-fitting... get ready.

One of the cooler pieces is the Survey Corps soldier flying towards a Titan with a plume of smoke billowing behind. This bit attaches to the houses to create the illusion, as you can see.

For the original price (about $40 before shipping) you get a lot with this set. That being said, you get so much for so little that something has to give somewhere... and here, the extra bits aren't nearly so impressive as the core figure. If you like this concept, then buy this set and go nuts with it. It's fun, just not exceptional.

Hey, if Titans' weak spot are on the back of their necks, and Nendoroid Titan doesn't have a neck... is Nendoroid Titan unkillable?

We got this set at Amiami for $63 shipped. The base cost of the figure is actually only a few bucks more than the average Nendoroid (hence the cheapo playset!); the real reason this was so much more expensive is a very large box that cost twice as much as usual to ship. As usual with GSC stuff, act before it's gone... but I get the feeling you'll have to worry about that more with Nendoroids of characters like Mikasa or Levi.

When he isn't killing time on fighting games and mahjong, David Cabrera gets hype about anime, manga and gaming at Subatomic Brainfreeze. You can follow him on Twitter @sasuraiger.