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Erza Pop Up Parade XL Review:

(Note for anyone who is totally unaware of prices in the current figure market: prize figures go for around $30, pop up parades for around $40, 1/6th scale figures, the normal size, for $150-200, and 1/4th scale figures for $300-400)

Like most figure collectors I was pretty disappointed by the pop up parade figure line. The initial premise was that they would be scale figure quality at close to prize figure prices, and this miracle would be achieved by simply making the figures smaller than normal prizes and scales. The problem was that the quality turned out to be wildly inconsistent. Some of them look pretty good, but some of them look worse than Chinese knockoffs. Still, when pop up parade XLs were announced, functionally a discount alternative to normal 1/4th scales, I was curious enough to pick one of them up to judge it’s quality, and of the initial offerings (Lucy and Erza from Fairy Tail, and Attack Titan Erin) I went with Erza.

First, the positives: the price is nice. Almost $200 even, after shipping, makes it 50% cheaper than most 1/4ths I’ve bought. And the size is impressive, as it always is at 1/4th scale. I’ve photographed her next to a normal pop up parade Lucy, and next to a 1/6th scale Erza, for comparison. Furthermore, it doesn’t have the same cheapo feeling of normal pop up parades, the materials aren’t unusually light and flimsy feeling, the paint work is precise, the face looks great. Her hair could have a little bit more volume and detail (it also doesn’t feel like the right color, too bright) but that’s about the only finer detail that seems worse than the other figures of this size that I own.

The downsides, and conclusion: $200 may be a nice discount relative to other figures of this size, but it’s not exactly cheap. Comparing it to the other erza figure I’ve pictured here, which is only slightly more expensive, the pose is dramatically less interesting, the weapons and armor aren’t as cool or sexy, and there’s no cool base. If I wanted one nice erza figure I’d get the 1/6th scale, if I wanted a big erza I’d spring for the 1/4th bunny from freeing. And while big figures are very cool, their size is inherently limiting, unless you have a massive home you’re going to quickly run out of space for them if you get too many. So I’m asking myself “who is this for?” And it seems to me like it would mainly be for a shonen head who is the kind of person who only buys Nendoroid, prize, pop up parades, plushies, and other sub $50 merchandise but might want one, and only one, big figure to be a centerpiece for their collection. It would work pretty well for that purpose. Maybe good smile is thinking the same thing, since as far as I can tell the only XLs that have been announced since the initial three are Natsu and Gurren Lagann.

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