Caster

Name: Caster
Series: Fate/EXTRA (Fate Series)
Scale/Manufacture: 1/8 scale, by Phat! Company
Release Date: January 2012, September 2012 re-release

I need to get two things out there before we get this review started.

1) I love pink-haired anime girls.
2) Spiritual/mythological foxes (kitsune, gumiho, huli jing, the Teumessian Fox) are some of my favorite creatures of legends. SO I LOVE FOX GIRLS.

So here we have a certain Heroic Spirit from a certain PSP game spin-off of a certain Type Moon mega-franchise. Golly gee, I wonder what it is about her that makes her so appealing to me?

Caster came out months before I picked up Fate/EXTRA. Initially I liked her for her design and wanted to get her when she first came out, but finances became tight and Caster got culled from my pre-order list. She never left my mind so I was pleased when a re-release was announced. It was around this time I finally picked up the game. Now, not sure if you have played it, but in Fate/EXTRA it’s strongly recommended NOT to choose Caster for your first playthrough as she’s horribly weak for a good chunk of the game. She’s also by far the frailest of the three Servants (think of them as familiars) you can choose.

Obviously I ignored that and summoned my future vulpine waifu. It was indeed difficult with her, as she required constant healing and did little physical damage. But once she started getting her spells, her potential shone through. Early Game Caster is weak, but Late Game Caster is practically broken. It’s beautiful.

Weakness or not, for me it was love at first sight. Not only is she a pink-haired fox girl, she’s also a horrible pervert (though she poorly hides that fact behind a “Yamato Nadeshiko” image) and relentlessly optimistic. Her bright and (mostly) honest personality added a lighter air to what is a relatively dark story. Easily my favorite character in the entire Fate franchise. Easily! So of course I had to get her figure!

Phat! Company is one of several figure manufactures under the protective umbrella of Uber Figure Empire Good Smile Company (aka “GSC”). They’ve released a handful of PVCs and Nendoroids in the past, usually to a somewhat positive reception. I remember one of their early releases, Lily, received lukewarm reviews despite having a strong prototype. Their Totori also seems to be hit and miss with some people. This made me worried regarding Caster’s quality, but those fears were put to rest when I actually got her.

Sure, she isn’t the best figure I own, but she has a lot going for her. Her character and costume design make her stand out, as does the “dark blue clothes with vibrant pink hair” color scheme. She has a very playful pose true to her character. There also aren’t any major flaws that stand out from a distance.

Painting is mostly neat, with most of the problems being with the golden trim on her clothes. There are also a few small spots on the top of her leggings where the painting on the skin is bleeding over. The golden trim has a metallic sheen to it. The white parts of her outfit, surprisingly, feature a pearly finish. The pearl paint is even used on the white tuft of fur on her tail. Her lower hair ribbons are cast in clear PVC, and her shoes are given a glossy finish.

The…uh…whatever these are are very well done. Instead of being flat black they’re highlighted with dark brown to add an illusion of fullness. There are small wrinkles where the…uh…ribbons (?) bend, as well as smaller wrinkles along the ribbons seams.

There is a small error on one of the flame patterns. Looks like someone touched it while it was still wet.

Caster is very nicely shaded. Some of her skin shading seems heavy (particularly around the chest). The shading on her tail and ears are great. Speaking of those, I really love the vibrant amber they chose for her fur. They also used a bright pink for her hair, as opposed to the more washed out pink used in Caster’s official artwork.

Caster’s shoes. She runs around in these without any trouble. I’d probably kill myself wearing such tall, heavy wooden shoes. I guess since her clogs are so lacking in detail the sculptor decided to sculpt her individual toes. Those must be really tight stockings! Speaking of stockings, did they have purple thigh highs in ancient Japan…?

I guess if I had one complaint it’s that her legs seem overly thin and long. But her artwork was this way as well, so it’s just the style.

Despite being open and loose, the lower part of her kimono still manages to look tight when viewed from certain angles. Sure does look good from this shot, huh?

KON! Spirit foxes represent.

Caster’s offense primarily comes from her magic, but she doesn’t have the ability to use her spells at the start of Fate/EXTRA. She has to rely on her sacred mirror to attack enemies. She literally clobbers things with it. She also uses it as a shield. What a powerful mirror. Too bad the toy version isn’t as strong. The surface of the mirror scratches easily, so take care when handling it.

What a cute face. Just look at that huge smile (with cute little fang). Caster is usually a bundle of energy, so this perky expression is just right for her. Since we’re up here, take a look at her ears. The sculptor went through the trouble of adding a lot of details to her ear tufts. Too bad figures can’t move. In game, Caster’s ears are constantly twitching. Really makes you want to reach out and rub them.

Here’s the one problem a LOT of people have with this figure. Not so much with how the base looks (it’s plain, but okay) but with how Caster connects to it. Despite my best efforts I can’t get her pegs to go all the way into her foot so she’s rather unstable. The slightest gust makes her wobble. Now that I think about it, it’s very similar to the issue I had with Max Factory’s amazing 1/6 Asuka. Great figure! CRAP base!

OVERALL SCORE: 8.5/10

+ Lively pose true to the character
+ Appealing character design
+ Solid paint and sculpt work

- BASE IS SHIT
- Mirror scratches or smudges if you so much as breathe on it

Caster’s a popular girl. She sold out pretty quick during her first release and went for $200 – $300 afterwards. Her latest release didn’t happen to long ago, so she shouldn’t be too hard to find as of November 2012. She’s a must for fans of Fate or fox girls.

- G.K. Sil Kamina

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