For the second year in a row, GSC has offered a convention-exclusive figure outside of Japan! Coming up close behind the release of the standard Nendoroid, this month's review is Nendoroid Levi Cleaning Version from Attack on Titan!
This outfit is from episode 15 of the anime, recreating a fan-favorite scene and reflecting the clean-freak side of Levi's personality. I was very excited when it was announced that this figure would be available at Anime Expo, and I knew that I had to have him! And initially the figure itself doesn't disappoint--his expression is completely on point (something that a lot of figure companies have been struggling with) and there's just something about Levi in the Nendoroid design that makes him adorable to me.
This is the fifth figure that I've gotten from GSC's line of Attack on Titan Nendoroids and the basic pros and cons of the sculpt and paint job are starting to blend together, so I'll keep this part short. The usual paint bleeding on the straps is present, and the design on the back looks like colorful blobs up close but works fine from a short distance. Putting the paint job aside for a moment, I'm also not sure why GSC decided to color his eyes green instead of blue-gray, which is the official color.
I'm a bit more disappointed by the flecks of paint that got away from his bangs and are pretty obvious against the gray-white of the rest of his headpiece. There was also a blob of paint on the back near the neck joint that I had to scrape off. While none of these problems are deal breakers, it felt slightly more sloppy than the average Nendoroid release. On a positive note however, I love the sculpting for the cloth here.
The accessories the figure comes with are also cleaning oriented--no 3DMG here! The broom is meant to be held with a specific set of extra hands, but for some reason it wouldn't stay in place with the second one, so the picture above shows the only angle where I could get it to stay. Angry sweeping Levi was completely worth it though!
There are also two different pieces for his neck; a smaller one that fits over the cravat while held in place by the neck joint and a larger one that covers the bottom half of his face similar to the extra scarf piece the Mikasa Nendoroid came with. The larger piece has a very obvious seam line on the bottom and doesn't fit exactly right, putting pressure on that seam. For that reason, I didn't leave this piece on for very long since I was paranoid that it would snap. He also comes with a single pink duster for more cleaning poses. If you were hoping to have him dual-wield dusters, you'll have to get two (or wait for the Figma, exclusive to this month's Wonder Festival).
His only other accessories are a pair of folded arms and a yelling expression (pictured at the top of the review). If you got the standard Levi Nendoroid release as well, the additional faceplates also work with this version.
Finally, GSC figured out that the generic paper inserts that they were billing as "backgrounds" weren't interesting to anybody, so this time they included something that makes complete sense to package alongside this figure. The results were very amusing.
Overall, even with the paint flaws, I'm very happy with this Nendoroid! It has none of the problems that the standard Levi Nendoroid release suffered from (the comments page on MFC is full of complaints, if you want to take a look) and despite the random change in his eye color, I love the faceplates. I highly recommend him to any Levi fan or anyone thinking about repurposing his accessories for use with other Nendoroids.
The GSC online shop will start taking orders for this figure at the end of July through the first of September, so if you missed out on getting one at a convention, this will be your last chance!
Images by me.
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