Mega Jumbo Nesoberi Nero Claudius (Saber EXTRA) Review

Hello everyone and welcome to another product review on Tiro Finale! Today, we are going to take a look at one of the very few Mega Jumbo Nesoberi released for the Fate Series, Nesoberi Nero Claudius, or Saber EXTRA as she is known prior. Over here at Tiro Finale, we are no stranger to the comically large Jumbo Nesoberi(s) are quite a fan of these peculiar yet adorable creatures as well. Most recently, I featured Nesoberi Tanya in a haul post, Takuya showcased Nesoberi Dia earlier last month and earlier in the year, we had a review of Nesoberi Nozomi (who quietly stalks behind Nero). 

For the uninitiated, Nesoberi (寝そべり) are plush toys of your favorite anime characters lying down and made to look like lazy human beings. On paper, it should not work but, surprisingly the end product is something dazzlingly adorable in spite of their size. Nesoberi plush toys come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and this particular one falls under one of the most sought after categories, the Mega Jumbo Nesoberi. Measuring 400 mm from end to end, you begin to get an idea of why they are given such a monicker.

Nero herself, a derivative of the original Saber, was released as an arcade prize earlier in March of this year (2017). Ever since then, she has been appearing periodically on re-sellers at a price upwards of 2,000 Yen. If you are familiar with Nero, one look at the Nesoberi and it is undeniably her. If you were not so familiar, you would most probably pass it off as Saber with a different colored set of eyes;

Which indeed are a very different color. Where Saber (Arthur) has blue-green eyes, Saber EXTRA (Nero) has lighter olive green eyes. Aside from her slightly disgruntled expression, Nero sports one of the largest eyes I have ever seen on a Nesoberi!

Fortunately, the quality control from Sega in regards to their Nesoberi series of plush toys are always top notch. Every stitch and pattern on Nero's eyes are very well done with not signs of misalignment or stitching errors. Mistakes such as these would have been made all the more apparent due to the large size of her eyes.

Despite being a plush toy, the amount of detail reproduced is rather impressive all things considered. For starters, Saber's often unnoticed ahoge/cowlick has been included albeit at a comically large size now. 

Towards the back, Saber's bun is present as well with the scrunchy looking bits emulating her hairstyle where the bun is secured by her own hair. As with most Nesoberi(s), buns and tails often look rather silly because they are in no way able to emulate hair.

Whilst on the topic of hairs, Nero has a soft velvety surface for her hair. It is really soft to the touch. Coupled with the large plush head and it is indeed quite a treat.

As with all Nesoberi(s), their outfits have also been reproduced in fabric. Nero's red dress receives particular attention to detail because of the additional layer of lace that it has.

A large red bow ties up the back of her dress, the most common aspect of Nero's outfit that you will be facing as she would be lying flat most of the times. 

Keen to emulate the original design, Nero has a layer of see-through lace beneath her dress which extends all the way up to her hips. Accompanying this lace are her signature golden boots which add a sense of Roman emperor flare to her entire outfit. 

A quick look at the tag for this Nesoberi denoting the Fate/Extella series where Nero is primarily featured in. This particular Nesoberi came from Mandarake's Sahra warehouse in perfect condition and no tag damage. 

Moving on, here is a look at the "underside" of Nero's dress. The original design saw a mixture of red and white fabric with gold accents.

For the most part, that has been well reproduced in the Nesoberi-form. Just do not expect the buttons and buckles to be reproduced too as those would cost far too much to warrant the price as an arcade prize. 

Nero's outstretched hands are stitched to her cheeks thus, allowing only a very limited range of motions. You may choose to undo this stitching but, it would not serve much purpose besides allowing Nero to be more emotive with her hands. 

Just like the lower half of her dress, Nero also has underlying lace details on her cuffs as well. These are present on both sides of Nero's arms and are a very nice touch to the entire doll. 

It took me a while to realize what these details on her arms were. After referring to the original art, did I realize it was actually her shoulder pads. A small but very nice detail included by Sega.

Looking as a while then, the Mega Jumbo Nesoberi Nero Claudius is one that ticks all the boxes and is no wonder that her resale price hovers at the 2,000 Yen mark. Having just been released early this year, Nero is still widely available in the re-seller's market. Although if you are planning on finding her in the arcade, that may prove to be a bit of a challenge. 

Nesoberi Attack!

Right now, another blonde takes that spot in the arcades. But as time passes, who knows what will be taking her place then?

The battle of the blondes!

As of writing this review, I am in the midst of packing Nero up nicely to be delivered to her rightful owner. What I failed to mention earlier is that this Nesoberi is actually not my own and I am merely holding on to it before being passed on to its eventual, final owner. A loaner then, if you will. 

Despite having little to no emotional attachment to Nero as a character, I am still very impressed with the work that Sega has put out with this Nesoberi Nero. Which begs the question, what is next? I vote, Nesoberi Gudako! Now, one can certainly dream for that.

With that, we come to the end of our lengthy Nesoberi review. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask them in the comments section below. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions and questions. Until the next time, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!