SPM Figure Gudako Review
- Manufacturer: Sega (SPM Figure)
- Series: Fate/Grand Order
- Price: Prize Figure (~700-1,500 Yen)
- Release Date: 07/27/2018
- Scale: Non-scale (~220 mm)
- Material: PVC
Standing 220mm tall, Sega's SPM Figure Gudako is one of the very few Gudako figures available in the market despite her immense popularity. In fact, barring the upcoming figma Gudako, the SPM Figure Gudako is the only scale figure of Gudako available in the market at the moment. The rest of her figures are either deformed-scale (Nendoroid) or mini-deformed scale (Nendoroid Petit) types but, the resale value of these particular Gudako figures more than speak for themselves.
Being part of Sega's SPM Figure series, Sega did not take any unnecessary risks with this particular Gudako prize figure. Sporting her basic character pose as seen in her character art, the SPM Figure is as basic as it gets without betraying the spirit of this Master. Yes, and that means none of the crazy Gudako goodness that we are used to. Maybe we will see that in later endeavors to bring more Gudako figures to the market. An EXQ one perhaps?
Despite its basic approach to the figure, Sega still manages to do a very good job at faithfully recreating Gudako in scale figure form. Taking into account everything from her signature hair style and outfit, everything is as faithful a recreation of the character illustration as possible. And at the asking price she is going for in the re-seller market, that really is not too bad of a deal honestly.
The best part of the entire Gudako figure certainly has to be her facial details and hair style. With her sharp jawline and bright orange eyes, there is no mistaking whom we are dealing with here. It certainly exudes a certain vanilla Type Moon style character design and is something fans of the series will certainly appreciate.
Personally, I am a bigger fan of the slightly-crazy Gudako expressions as seen in the Learning With Manga! comics. For that reason, I was very glad to find out that Sega did a right proper job with Gudako's hair too. Not only is her signature pony tail on the left carefully detailed but, her ahoge up front also stands tall and proud.
The orange color of Gudako's hair sports a careful balance of not being too bright nor too dull. It certainly draws attention to the figure but, not to the point where it ruins the color balance of the entire package. Hair detailing is also very good with sharp tips and overlapping hair partings at the back. The only downside is the rather uneven surface which we would probably have come to expect with prize figures.
Gudako's basic Master outfit consists of a white long sleeved blouse, a short black skirts, black stockings and knee high white boots. This is the standard outfit worn by all the female Masters within the Chaldea Security Organization. In the game itself, players can unlock and switch outfits for their Masters and I foresee future figure releases featuring said alternative outfits too.
As far as detailing goes, Gudako's outfit is really rather simple which also means there is very little to mess up. A simple with long sleeved blouse with a black belt and several black straps is perhaps one of the easier outfit to reproduce from the Fate/Grand Order universe.
The bulk of the outfit's detailing is up front with the belt, straps and buckles. Each buckle is individually painted making for a very nice touch. Even the Grand Order charm that is worn at Gudako's collar is painted silver. Good color separation is even more evident when faced with a white background and, fortunately, Sega has passed on that end.
Besides her colored fingernails, Gudako also has her Command Seals which are printed on the dorsal aspect of her hand. My only grip about the Command Seal is that the red color looks rather dull and faded where a brighter red seal would have certainly stood out more.
The virtues of being a decal is that the edges of the Command Seal are nice and sharp. This gives it a very pleasant experience when viewed either from up close or afar. Combine it with Gudako's outstretched offhand and you have her basic character pose.
The lower half of Gudako's outfit is even simpler than the top half with just a pair of boots and stockings accompanying a short skirt. I was a little puzzled, and still am, over the reason Sega decided to make Gudako's stockings grey. Whereas the character art this is based of has her wearing a much darker pair of black stockings. Perhaps, black did not look as good?
Gudako has white boots and that is about it. Not much to say really about her white boots which are, as you might have guessed, entirely white. No highlights or different colors on the soles just as it was in the original character design.
All of this is coupled with a nice clear stand with the Fate Grand/Order logo printed on it. And am I glad that Sega did not decide to go down the FuRyu route by providing a blank white base. But in FuRyu's defense, they do notably put all their funds into detailing and skimp out on things like the base and box which is also one of the reasons why I love their prize figures.
From top to bottom, the SPM Figure Gudako is as faithful a 3D recreation of Gudako's character illustration as it gets. For better or worse, Sega has remained entirely faithful to the illustration. And depending on your personal preference, this may or may not be a good thing. That is for you to decide.
Objectively speaking though, Gudako certainly feels like a step up over Sega's part attempts with their SPM Figure series. Historically, the SPM Figure series have always been heavily based upon the original character illustrations. This played a big role in cost saving as this meant that Sega did not have to rely on drawing up new designs for each character and worrying about staying true to their design.
Moreover, the SPM Figure series is also known for their slightly larger scaled prize figures. Gudako is no exception standing at 220mm tall, this is a good 50mm taller than most prize figures. Because of the larger scale, SPM Figures tend to take a hit in production quality especially with their earlier releases.
But with Gudako, that does not appear to be the case and I believe this largely has to do with the simplicity of her design. With less details to emulate, there was much less to mess up on a whole. Which then comes back to the initial dilemma about Gudako's design. The original Gudako, more accurately, Fujimaru Ritsuka, the female protagonist of Fate/Grand Order was designed to be a simple fill-in character for players to fit into as such she was designed to look as neutral as possible. The same can be said about the male protagonist's design too.
Then over time, her personality developed in the Gudako we all have come to love, fear and revere today. It is not an exaggeration to say that she is still the personification of hardcore gacha game players but, with a unique twist of her own. And that will be the decisive point for this figure. On one hand, much of Gudako's fans love her for the misfit that she is portrayed as. Yet the SPM Figure with all of its accuracy and faithful reproduction, is not wrong either. The question ultimately comes down to you and if this version of Gudako is the one for you.
Of course at 700 Yen, that conversation becomes a lot easier to make. But where limited collection space is concerned, perhaps then one may strongly have to consider whether Gudako is worth getting. All in all, I still had a very fun time reviewing Sega's SPM Figure Gudako. It certainly is one of the better SPM Figures I have come across despite being very plain. Who knows? Maybe in the future, I will finally get a chance to review her Nendoroid too? Until then, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!
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