Nendoroid Aqua Review

The re-review for Nendo Aqua!

For the uninitiated, I reviewed this figurine a while ago but during that time, I provided very bad photography which in turn resulted in a lazy review. I mean, one can only be so motivated with the 3-5 shots I took. This time, much like the Sega Shinobu, Snwlprd has once again helped me out with the photography but with a few shots of my own. He intends for this to be my entryway into figurine shooting and I'll try my best to learn the art of miniature photography for other future reviews and potential re-reviews. Let's hope for the best but for now, on with the re-review!

Manufacturer: Good Smile Company
Series: Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!

Height: ~100mm

Release Date: 11/2016, Re-release Date: 10/2017

Sculptor: Taketomo
Materials: ABS/PVC

Front view

Aqua's default look when you take her out of the box is as above. The positioning may be a little askew as I've had her for a good few months but I tried my best to keep everything vanilla for the photoshoot. You can't really tell from the picture, but she does have a nose. The lighting is just giving her that pseudo-Voldemort look.

Back view

Most of Aqua's back is covered by her hair which is, if I may say, shaded very well. The different tones of blue with the simply but important hair textures, it really bring her diving crown to life. You can also see that the brace for the nendo attaches to her back rather than her hair. Most people wouldn't agree to the needless complication but I support it. It hides the hole and it really isn't difficult to attach it at all.

Left view

Right view

From the sides, Aqua still looks good. It really is all quite well made. In case you didn't know or forgot, this IS my first nendoroid so I can't really know the standard of quality out there. The only thing that really sticks out here is the joint of her hair which is admittedly slightly more obvious because it's a detachable part for the changing of her face plates.

A close-up of her default face plate expression. This is as vanilla as it gets and really, most other nendos have this expression. While Aqua doesn't wear the smile as often in the anime, the expression paints her aloofness and lacking sense of tact quite well.

This is her second face plate expression, the ever infamous gloating expression. It's the expression worthy of a self-indulgent Goddess who looks down on everyone else. Not in a yandere or tsundere kind of way. In the tactless sort of way (refer above). I like this expression quite a bit. The slight smirk of the mouth, the blush, the tears and the curve of the eyebrows, they all add into selling the expression.

Finally, the crying Aqua. Yes, the most famous of all her expressions. This is her final face plate. Her tears streaming down her face with the blank, one-thought emotion her eyes give out, this is the face plate worthy of a speech bubble saying "KAZUMA!". I'm not sure whether it's due to the face that I know Aqua, but this expression is more adorable than unfortunate. Then again, her misfortune IS pretty adorable.

At different angles for her hair, you can see what I meant when I mentioned hair textures. The hair definitely looks more like a block than strands but there is enough details and shading to add volume to it. The simplicity of the outline also doesn't stand out from her body, like how the hair just fits neatly around her ears rather than 'realistically' around. A nendo is a simple but effective figurine and I can see what they mean.

Aqua's trademark...hair style? I have no idea what to call that little hair knot thing. It's not a bun, I know that much. It looks cool and yes, I can confirm that unfortunately, you cannot press down on it. The hair accessory here is also quite well finished with a nice glossy look.

Ah, the body of our Goddess. Actually, Aqua's body is the least detailed part of her entire build. I'm attributing this to being a nendoroid characteristic. After all, why make a head that huge if your focus was the body? The paint job here is decent enough with nice touches to stuff like the ribbon, where the centrepiece is glossy while everything else is matte. While some may cringe at the lack of symmetry where her blouse is concerned, you can't really see it at all from a distance.

Her skirt and sleeve paint job is about the same as the blouse but I like the translucent material used for the frills of the skirt. If the paint job can't get through, that would surely help a little.

Her boots reflect the nendo charm of being oddly sized compared to the rest of her body. Aside from that, I like that they actually added the indentations at the bottom as opposed to it just being a flat finish. It's a small detail but good enough in effectiveness.

Now we'll be taking a look at some of Aqua's poses with the assortment of accessories and extra body parts provided to us in the box. The above is her signature magic trick pose, minus the water. Her leg cannot be bent, that bend comes as an extra part to be attached. Do not try to bend her leg please!

Now, with the water attachments, you can see her magic trick up close and personal whenever you want! It really is quite simple to attach as you just have to slot the water piece to the fan (which comes already attached to individual hand pieces). Put it in whatever position you desire but I like the typical "Here's a magic show for you all!" pose.

In close-up, you can see that the fan isn't just a single piece of pie. There is depth to the piece, designed to make it look like individual pieces of wood attached onto one another (exactly as a fan should look like). The water piece are quite solid themselves despite their appearance but I've heard someone mention that the slotting and re-slotting of the water piece with the fan can cause the paint to wear out. You might want to be wary of that.

As you can see, the crying expression works very well with flaunting arms reaching out for help. No, you shouldn't help her. Just admire her, safely, from a distance. You can also place it next to you during dinner and she can watch as you finish your final glass of wine. Or sake in this case.

Notice how this expression fits any pose! I'm keeping the widespread arms but now she looks like she's inviting you in for something seriously dangerous! Damn it Aqua, back to her usual shenanigans.

Join the Axis Cult!

Change the face plate again, adjust the lighting and bam! You find a Goddess right in front of you.

This expression is filled with adorableness and puts the other major accessory to use: her staff! Yes, you get Aqua's floral-themed staff. I understand that while the expression above is almost the opposite of her personality, you can't forget that Aqua still begs Kazuma for stuff from time to time. It's also the pose I'm currently displaying her in.

The staff is well painted and thanks to the bud being segmented from the petals, doesn't suffer from paint spillage, where things gets painted slightly over to the wrong section. The staff doesn't feel flimsy either and fits neatly within her 'grasping hand' attachment.

Overall, I'm very happy to have gotten this! As a fan of KonoSuba, it's certainly worth the money. Looking forward to more nendos in the future! Unfortunately, Megumin and Darkness won't be out anytime soon. Till then, let's see what else I can acquire.