Back when Gift released their 1/4 scale figure of Nanoha Takamachi, it seemed inevitable that Fate Testarossa was destined to join her. And so she has; a little less than a year later, Gift’s Fate is here, and while a figure of Fate in a swimsuit is hardly novel, she does have the virtue of being relatively big – and as anyone who has visited this site knows, bigness is an exalted virtue here. Let’s take a look at the famous lightning mage, Nanoha’s best friend, and everyone’s favorite whipping girl.
As everyone knows, Fate has gotten a ton of figures, from the wildly complex and dynamic to the relatively mundane. This figure falls into the latter category, though that doesn’t mean that it’s not without its charms. Most obvious – at least in person – is that it’s a fairly substantial figure, marked as 1/4 scale and standing about 28.5 centimeters in height. The listed scale size is probably a bit optimistic but she’s still quite large compared to most figures.
It’s also obvious that she will appeal to fans of her character, and I suppose I’d call myself one, given how many figures and dakimakura covers I own featuring Fate. (Truth be told, I have only the most cursory familiarity with the Nanoha series. Much of my Fate fandom is spawned from doujinshi containing certain particular themes.) Gift’s figure is modeled after her appearance in the first movie, so she’s nine years old here, and her identifying traits are easily recognizable: the blonde twintails, the big red eyes, and perhaps most prominently, that unruly sprig of hair sprouting from the side of her head. (Curiously, as a teenager, that hair tuft seems to switch to her right side.)
While Nanoha is typically depicted as irrepressibly upbeat, Fate often seems contemplative and melancholy, particularly as a child. Thus it seems appropriate that, in stark contrast to Nanoha’s cheerful grin, Fate’s expression is inquisitive and searching. It’s hard to ascribe a specific mood to her, and that seems to be in accord with her enigmatic nature. The size of her eyes is also notable; her eyes are huge, as is usual the case with younger characters, giving her expression a sort of puppy-dog cuteness.
It’s also obvious which segment of the collecting base this particular body part will appeal to. It’s sort of funny because in the review of Gift’s Nanoha, I mentioned something about wanting to see some cameltoe, and then in the promo pictures for Fate, her cameltoe was almost embarrassingly conspicuous. In actuality, it’s not readily visible, which is a little disappointing; you have to look pretty carefully to notice it.
Fate is said to have a fine ass and every new Fate figure thus requires a careful evaluation of her backside. In truth, with respect to Gift’s figures, I think Nanoha has the better ass between the two. That’s is a little surprising since Nanoha’s sex appeal is almost always muted compared to Fate’s. That said, it’s not like Fate is dressed conservatively; on the contrary, her bikini is wholly inadequate to the task of covering up her rear.
Like Nanoha, Fate’s back is strongly arched, though it’s less noticeable here as Fate is facing directly forward. It does push her stomach out, emphasizing the subtle detailing there.
Fate comes with a couple of accessories: a patterned blue shawl and Bardiche, which she appears to be sucking on. Bardiche has a small tab that can be slotted into her mouth; however, I’m not sure how well it will stay in place so I don’t think I am going to display her with it.
The shawl is a bit annoying to get into her hands; I had to use quite a bit of force to push it into her grip. Fortunately, I didn’t cause any scratching or paint transfer. Nonetheless, I’m not going to display her with this wrap, either.
All in all, this is quite a nice figure of Fate. She’s not going to take anyone’s breath away – unless, I suppose, one were completely unfamiliar with anime and are thus appalled at the amount of exposed skin – but she has an enticing expression and the sort of sex appeal that, although it ought to be absolutely repugnant, is pretty much a normative feature of anime culture. Her sculpt is well-executed and the paintwork is very clean. And of course, she’s big – not super huge as she could be (and maybe ought to be, being 1/4 scale), but reasonably big enough. This isn’t the sort of figure that anyone is going to lust over, I think, but it’s a nice addition to any Fate Testarossa fan’s collection.
