Pre-Order Pop Up Parade Astolfo Now!
Welcome to the Solaris Blog! ヾ( ʚ̴̶̷ .̫ ʚ̴̶̷ )ﾉ”
Those who are near, behold and wonder! Make way for one of Chalemagne’s Twelve Heroes, the paladin Astolfo!
Also known as the Rider of Black.
Good Smile Company releases yet another solid figure from the Fate franchise! This time, it’s the bubbly rider summoned by the Yggdmillennia in the timeline of Fate/Apocrypha. (ᴖ◡ᴖ)♪
If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a quick intro.
In the world of Fate/Stay Night, mages battle for the right to make a wish to a holy artifact, the Holy Grail.
Very holy. (￣︶￣ ;)
While they can throw some mad punches themselves, they often don’t. Instead, they summon heroic spirits from the past to do their bidding as their magical proxies. ⛧ (/¯⌣̀_⌣́)/¯ ⛧
Those heroic spirits can be any sort of hero: a real person, a saint, an ancient god, and even a fictional character. For the purposes of this war, even faceless legends (such as Jack the Ripper) are given a body and abilities according to their mythos. Because the legends of their doings were epic, the battles that ensue are equally great: from the hands of the skilled folks from ufotable studio, anime fans have been given plenty of stunning, action-packed scenes! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و
The most famous servant and the face of the Fate/Stay Night franchise is Saber, the blonde knight of the Round Table. We have an entire post just about her, including on what anime to watch first, so make sure to give it a read! (｡•̀ᴗ -)☆
In Fate/Apocrypha, the Yggdmillennia — a mage family — goes rogue and steals the Holy Grail for themselves. With such power in their hands, they declare war on the Mage’s Association. Two factions are thus formed, with the Yggdmillennia behind the Black banner and the Mage’s Association behind the Red banner. The anime opening provides such a cool visual, you should definitely check it out! ＼＿ﾍ(ω｀*)
The cruel Yggdmillennia mage Celenike summons the paladin Astolfo to be her servant in this war, and the two couldn’t be a more mismatched pairing. While the master is a sadistic freak, (ᇴ‿ฺᇴ) Astolfo is bursting with so much sunshine you’d think she summoned Apollo himself. With his bright and larger-than-life personality, he eases tension on the battlefield and brings heart and warmth to an otherwise cold conflict.
And no, Astolfo is not genderbent, unlike a lot of the Fate cast. Feminine as he may look, he’s still male, much to the surprise of his bestie, Jeanne d’Arc. Though you can’t really blame her; Astolfo rocks that kawaii aesthetic better than many a fair maid in this universe. (´♡ᴗ♡`) Complete with pink hair and yaeba!
All of which are perfectly captured in Good Smile Company’s Pop Up Parade. Standing at approximately 17 cm in height, Astolfo skips merrily as he makes his way through the town. His armor, as flamboyant as his personality, glints in the sun. His intricate character design loses no detail when transferred into the 3D world: all the silver and gold accents are there, down to the gold buckles and the embroidery on his gauntlets.
His pink braid whips about as he moves, dangling a cute black ribbon at the end.（＾3＾♪ That hairstyle is also worn by Jeanne d’Arc, as you can see in this 1/7 scale by Kotobukiya.
In the series, Astolfo and Jeanne bond over their duty to protect Sieg, a reckless homunculus who wants to take part in the battle and “joins” in as part of the Black faction.
You can even get these two as race royalty in this cool 1/7 scale by Plusone and Stronger! Currently in stock, so order today!
Giggling all the way to the battlefield, Astolfo is sometimes underestimated for being in the Rider class. His real-world legend doesn’t paint him in a great light either, with his first appearance being after he had been transformed into a myrtle tree by a witch. Both in the Fate universe and in legend, Astolfo’s main ability is not so much his swordsmanship, but his charisma. (´∀｀；)
Being a good talker isn’t without its merits though, and in the anime series he gets to show off all the cool things he acquired in his travels: a hippogryph as a mount, a book with barrier-breaking spells, a horn that inflicts fear in the hearts of his enemies, and a lance that can send his opponents to Jesus (...by rendering flesh into spiritual energy, just to clarify). He even got a little gift from a fellow heroic spirit afterwards. His strength truly is the friends he makes along the way! (≧ω≦)人(≧ω≦)
Few figures have shown Astolfo with a sword in hand, one of them being a prize figure and the posable Nendoroid and figma (available now). Though the weapons have a cool design, that yaeba smile is really all we need to love this character! (๑′ᴗ‵๑)
This cheerful Pop Up Parade of Astolfo by Good Smile Company is scheduled to release at the end of February 2023, so pre-order today! With the yen relatively weak, there is no better time than now to grow your collection. ( ⌐▨_▨)
Not very long ago, he was actually on an Early Bird promotion. If you don’t want to miss out on more awesome deals, Shop Exclusives and point campaigns, you should definitely subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram!
(●⌒ᴗ⌒)ﾉ
Also, did you know we have a YouTube channel? We post unboxings, reviews, and figure tier comparisons, as well as other anime-related content. We recently went to Tokyo Game Show, so go check it out!
And if kawaii magical servants are not exactly your first choice in the war for the Holy Grail, worry not; Good Smile Company has released other heroic spirits in Pop Up Parade form, so you don't have to rely on catalysts and timing to secure a Saber-class servant.
We have Sabers in the following flavors: pure-hearted Saber Lily; downright OP Saber of Red, aka Mordred releasing in February 2023 with pre-orders open now; corrupted Saber Alter; and grandiose Red Saber, aka Nero Claudius.
We have Lancers as well since someone's gotta stand up to these Saber jocks. So Irish legends Cú Chulainn (available brand new and pre-owned) and Scáthach (available brand new) are here to steal the show!
And Gudako and Mash are here to…give moral support, I guess? These cheeky Pop Up Parades may be their Fate/Grand Carnival editions, but don't let their cheerfulness deceive you. Both are available brand new.
We hope you enjoyed this one!
Until next time! ヾ(＾∇＾)
Leave a comment