Welcome to the Solaris Blog! ヾ( ʚ̴̶̷ .̫ ʚ̴̶̷ )ﾉ”
NOTE: We took all photos shown here and made minimal edits to them. We slightly adjusted the color/lighting, dust was Photoshopped out, and we cropped each photo. However, we did not remove any blemishes or imperfections.
The Nendoroid lineup has really been hitting us in the feels with a heavy dose of the good ol’ days. We’ve got Crash Bandicoot, Inuyasha (which we reviewed btw d[>_･]), and Jack Skellington, to name just a few.
But when Ookami’s Amaterasu was announced as a new Nendoroid release, our hearts were aflutter. That pang of nostalgia hit harder than an ink-doused slap from the Celestial Brush.
Luckily, the wait is now over! Amateras’s Nendo is now here and finally brings us the answer to the age old question: who’s a good girl?
Answer? This girl 👇
Amaterasu’s usually sleek and ravening appearance is turned into a more cute look, fitting, of course, for the Nendoroid series’ Chibi approach. Her unique look leaves you both quaking and cooing.
She can even stand on her own, which is incredibly rare in the Nendoroid-sphere — some kind of special Celestial Brush technique?
Well, no. It turns out it’s thanks to the numerous leg parts that come included with Ammy. And boy, are there lots of included parts.
The DX version includes three sets of front legs (normal, slightly wider stance, and sitting) and two sets of back legs (normal and sitting). She only has two faceplates, but the source material doesn’t really provide much there anyway.
But let’s get to the best parts: her arsenal of weapons, traveling companion Issun, and the real crème de la crème, ”Oddly Shaped Turnip.” ( ˘ ³˘)♥
Who knew turnips could get so...shapely? For those who might have forgotten, this dashing daikon comes up after finishing a side mission for Mushi and Hayabusa, which consists of digging up holes in the garden to earn the moniker of “hole-digging king” (and a certain turnip, of course).
*Btw, for anyone asking, it is actually called a daikon in the Japanese game but was translated to turnip in the localized versions! ╮(╯_╰)╭
This little accessory fits snuggly in Ammy’s mouth, although we’re not absolutely sure if we got the placement just right.
The thing is, the turnip fits just fine without making any special adjustments. We noticed the back of the turnip has a peg, but the open mouth faceplate didn't have any visible spots that we could find right away.
But when we looked at the faceplate from the inside, we saw an inserted peg. Don’t take our word for it since we’re not 100, but we think maybe part of the mouth can be removed and swapped out for the turnip? But since the turnip fit in just fine by slotting it in, we left it alone.
Of course it’s not just turnt turnips, since itty-bitty Issun is tagging along for the ride. This Poncle’s encased in a plastic bead, used to mimic his glowing green light from the game.
Hindsight’s 20/20, though, since now I wonder if he could fit in Ammy’s mouth to recreate their first meeting… ( •́ ⍨ •̀)
But it’s not always fun and games — sometimes a wolf’s bug-esque buddy and secretly sexy veggie are just not enough to dissuade an enemy attack. Luckily, Amaterasu comes prepared with quite the arsenal at the ready!
A weapon from all three classes of Divine Instruments come included with the DX release. In addition to her Chibified Devout Beads Rosary and Divine Reflector, Ammy comes with the Tsumugari Glaive.
The sculpt and finish of the Tsumugari weapon doesn’t knock our socks off — if anything, it actually amps up the toy-ish look in an unflattering way. But recreating some badass weaponry is no easy feat, and, with the score at two to one, it’s not much to fret about.
Something worth a shoutout is that the weapons are mounted on Ammy’s back with a repurposed Nendoroid joint. On paper, it might not sound as awesome, but this basically means you can move the weapons around to recreate battle scenes from the game!
Not nearly as exciting as some mythical armaments but still breathtaking is Amaterasu’s design. Correct us if we’re wrong, but this is the first doggy Nendoroid, right? (No, we’re not looking at you Isabelle.)Because the shape of this Nendoroid is really not like any others we can think of, but it has been pulled off incredibly well. Maybe GSC got some inspiration from Chibiterasu, but they really nailed the recreation of Chibi Ammy.
The only gripe we could find was the fur collar, which is interestingly a separate piece. From the side, it really gave her this barrel-chested, bulky look which we were not fans of.
There might be some reasoning behind the separate collar piece, but our minutes-long debate about it didn’t really provide any leads. In the end, we think it adds a bit too much heaviness in her chest and is another part to pose, although the articulation at the neck is top notch. ┐(-。ー;)┌
The ink swirls on her coat are also removable pieces — maybe so GSC didn’t have to print them on every set of legs? Regardless, the delicate lines that decorate her coat really bring the sumi-e style artwork to life!
Looking as if it were hand-painted by the Celestial Brush itself, the paint job really does an incredible job — there’s a fine balance between both thick and thin lines, and even a watercolor gradient at her tail’s tip to really make it look like a brush just dipped in ink.
The absolute best thing (besides a tantalizing tuber, of course) are Amaterasu’s little toe beans. (º̩̩́⌣º̩̩̀ʃƪ)
There are just so many posing options — from the cute and silly to the strong and cool — and so much to appreciate with this surprising Nendoroid release. Okami merch is few and far between, so this throwback is especially sweet.
Man, move over cos it looks like dogs just might be Nendos’ new best friend.This good girl is ready for some nose boops, so make sure to add her to your collection!
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