Gundam Unicorn is a throwback series in every sense. Going back to the Universal Century of franchise lore and more important for me, a traditional style of character design. The designs are much more muted than most current anime and that's something that's drawn me more into the series.
Looking at the character of Marida Cruz, one of the 30 Puru clones cast off from war and into a life seemingly detailed by Frank Miller, it would seem as if she's just a throw away put in to just make connections to the UC. However, in her design and building of character, she's one of the most intriguing characters of the series. Thankfully, Megahouse has done a wonderful job of crafting her in their latest PVC entry in the RAH DX line. Hit the jump for the review of Megahouse's Marida Cruz!
Figure name: 1/8 RAHDXG.A.NEO Marida Cruz
Figure maker: Megahouse
Retail price: ¥6,800
Available at: HobbyLink Japan
I'll just cut to the chase here. This is easily my favorite figure from Megahouse. It's not just because it's from Gundam, but it's just done so perfectly reflecting the character. The craftsmanship is also there, while with a few minor flaws, it's otherwise perfect. Just know that going into this review.
We'll start off with the box. It's your standard window design, you see everything, etc. However, what I do love is the interior detail in the box. The Neo Zeon Sleeves' design is all over the box and it actually works for a box. Normally, I just cast boxes aside, but this is one of the few that manages to draw my attention to it.
Looking at the figure itself, the face and hair are what catch your attention first. Marida's face is utterly perfect. Not a blemish is found on her skin, her nose just juts out a bit, the lips are natural. Her face is clean and her eyes only serve to draw you in. Her eyes are simply the best part of this figure, and as always, Megahouse does an amazing job with them.
As I mentioned, her hair is an attention grabber as well. The main reason for this is due to the distinctively '80s hair style, but that goes with this being a Universal Century based series. Conveniently, the mullet-topped hybrid of hair allows for seams to be perfectly hidden away. I love how the pony tail is perfectly flowing through the air. It's little touches like this that make me love this figure even more.
Marida herself sits atop an emblem of the Neo Zeon Sleeves, which itself is a further embelished version of Char Aznable's Neo Zeon emblem. The stand pegs into the base and has a peg for Marida's foot to be placed on. There's no fear of imbalance or the figure slipping out, it's secure and won't be an issue for breakage. The blue is not exactly the same tone as the blue in her pilot suit, but it doesn't detract from where the attention should be. It also features an embossed show logo, but again, it's there more for the sake of it being there than to attract attention to it.
Would you look at that backside?! I mean, just look at the detail in her backpack. Never mind the hourglass figure she has, but damn, those color tones. All jokes aside, you can see that they did a great job of sculpting, not to mention the shading in what can very easily be just a glossy pilot suit.
The pilot suit that they gave Marida hugs just about everything. Yes, it does fit those parts rather snugly, but it's not the focus of the figure at all. They're placed there because it's actually on the suit, not because they're trying to sell her like figures of another red-haired heroine of another mecha series. Yes, the points are there, but they're subtle and only found if you're looking for them.
One last detail I'll chime in on is the helmet. It's not molded into her hand but fits in between the curved left hand and her leg. The seamline is rather obvious for it, but they try to make it look like it's supposed to be there with how they did the interior lining. You're still not going to pay attention to it, so we'll just call it a seamline. Also in this shot is the other flaw that I found. There is some splotchy paint on her right hand, but nothing too egregious, especially considering the rest of the figure.
It's only fitting that this review ends with some mobile suit action. As this is Marida, it has to be her personal mobile suit, the NZ-666 Kshatriya. Overall, I loved this figure. The tones in her hair are very well done, her pilot suit is just about perfect, and her face is among the best I've come across. While her design may not be appealing to everyone, I'm more than pleased with this rendition by Megahouse.
[A special thank you to HobbyLink Japan for providing this sample for review!]
