Nendoroid #9: Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Haruhi Suzumiya

Product Information/Specifications

Introduction

When I saw this Nendroid version of Haruhi Suzumiya figurine, I was on fire!  I immediately pre-ordered this from YesAsia right away when it became available since Haruhi Suzumiya stuff was very hot at the time.  That SD version of Haruhi is great & I couldn't resist even though I made a commitment not to get anything smaller than 25cm unless I really like it.  Luckily, this was one that met my requirements.

Some of the pictures aren't clear & good.  If I have time, I'll redo the bad ones & repost them.

The Review

Nendoroid Haruhi Suzumiya in box

The packaging for the Nendoroid figurine comes in the same window format as other Nendoroid figures.  The design on the box though matches the Haruhi Suzumiya series theme very well.  Also, I didn't know that it was #9 in the series since the Hetare Saber I have got no number.  Haruhi comes with a nice amount of accessories.  She comes with a extra pair of arms, two extra right hands (one holding a paper mic & one closed hand), two armbands (one "supervisor" & one "chief" all in Japanese), two extra heads, & a clear base with stand.

Haruhi out of the box

Haruhi from different sides

Haruhi is poseable at the main joints: neck, arms, & legs.  The joints are loose to allow the movements & poses that you want with limitations.  The joints are pretty tight on this figurine, but not very as some parts can come off with ease.  The waist is one good example.  I had it come off about three times since I opened the box.  Luckily, all the parts are ok with the joints.  But the head & neck posses some problems. 

All the heads come with a ball neck.  However, when you change heads, the neck is stuck on the body.  Because it's round, it's very difficult to pull it out.  The best method was to leave the neck on the body & remove the neck from the other heads.  Although it's still tough to pull out to the point that it almost feels like it's gonna break, this was the easiest way to change heads on the body.  Although Haruhi's feet are a bit flat, you still need the base & stand to make her stand.  The stand requires some force to be put on the base & the body holder.  Plus, placing Haruhi's waist to it needs force as well.  Sometimes I was concern of scratching the paint off her body during this process.  Also, she doesn't seem to stand straight upright.  She leans back a bit.

As for the molding, it's pretty good.  No weird bumps or air bubbles on the figurine.  Very clean.

The armband rules!

The armbands that you put on Haruhi's left arm isn't easy.  It doesn't snap into it or have a peg system.  You basically just place it there.  It may sound easy, but when you actually do it, it's not.  The thing falls off easy if you touch it too much.  Because of this, it can be very easy to lose as it is very small.

The paint job is average.  There are some uneven lines & slight paint bleeds.  Not noticeable unless you look up close.  Nevertheless, it's pretty solid.  The hair toning on the back of Haruhi's hair is very nice.

The many faces of Haruhi

I really like all three of Haruhi's faces.  They match her character very well & are extremely cute.  The main reason why I brought this.  Although you are limited to that many faces, they are actually more than enough to pose Haruhi into any famous pose you like without ruining her character.

Overall Conclusion

Nendoroid Haruhi Suzumiya is not a bad figurine.  The figurine seems to be made solid with the exception on a few areas.  The figurine is fun to play with, but it's best not to change it a lot since it uses ball joints on the neck & can be possible to break easily.

On a scale of ten, Nendroid Haruhi Suzumiya receives an eight.  The figurine is quite solid & is able to hold a lot of Haruhi's famous signature positions & poses. However, it's best not to interchange the parts a lot since there are some small round parts you need to remove & they are very hard.  The cuteness factor is also a major reason on its high score & molding & paint job is very good.

If you are into the Nendoroid series or like Haruhi, this is a great item to get.  When it was first released, it was hard to get due to popularity.  However, it was still priced low when it was on online auctions.  However, Good Smile has increased the price a bit on the re-issue version due to popularity.  Although you may not find it easily in some places, you can still get it at a low price else where & don't need to get the re-issue version.

 
Bleh!  Haruhi GET!

Photos were taken using Sony DSC-F828 digital still camera.

Last updated on February 27, 2008