Astro Toy
gdgd Fairies Triple Pack
by David Cabrera,
gdgd Fairies Triple Pack
Series: gdgd Fairies
Maker: Phat! Company
Price: $50
Hi, guys. You know what's coming up? New York Comic Con! You know what my toy queue looks like right now? I don't want to set up any unreasonable expectations, but... big toys! Super deluxes! These things are boxed like they were in the Criterion Collection, and they're going to take probably more than a day of my time. I want to do these beautiful pieces right, and NYCC's going to have me rushing around all weekend.
So what I'm going to do here is pull something off a side shelf that I bought for myself and which I haven't yet taken out of the box (it'd been sitting next to poor Meteor). That's right, even though I get a new toy every two weeks on ANN's dime, I still buy things for myself every once in a while.
Behold the gdgd Fairies Triple Pack. I mean, we've been kind of low on moe lately, and I can tell you now that we're going to be low on moe for the coming month. So, you want moe? I got your moe right here. You and I are freebasing moe right now. The source material is a strange, obscure 3DCG gag anime that you should probably check out if you're a fan of offbeat comedies like Cromartie, Galaxy Angel or Aqua Teen Hunger Force. By the way, gdgd is pronounced “gudaguda” (tedious); it's 2ch shorthand.
Respectively, they are pkpk (“pikupiku”), krkr (“korokoro”) and shrshr (“shirushiru”). You can see that this isn't the kind of figure we normally cover here at Astro Toy. We deliberately avoid tiny stuff like this at the column (see gashapon, trading figures, UFO catcher stuff) because there's usually so little to say about it. The fairies stand a little under two and a half inches tall each. Due to tiny feet and huge heads, they will definitely not stand without the assistance of the included tiny little stands.
As far as the figures' accuracy to the characters... this is a unique case. The gdgd Fairies show is done in extremely low-end CG-- it looks like a low-budget videogame from around 2004-- and the figures have actually been molded after the 3D data from the show. They are literally the exact same models you see in the anime. In fact, with the edges rounded off, they look a little better in 3D than they did in the series.
Action features, you're asking me? Uh. Their arms kinda wobble around, huh? How about that. I mean, you can move their arms up and you can move 'em down. There's basically no limit to what you can do with these figures, provided you're into high fives, low fives, whatever. The fairies lack discernible fingers, so maybe they're not fives at all.
Action accessories, you're asking me? Dammit, kid, they're magic. They've got magic wands, and they've got spare arms to hold those with. You can take krkr's mushroom hat off, are you happy yet?!
Replacement faces are of course required with this kind of figure. For pkpk we get “troubled”, as she so frequently is by the antics of her pals. For the playful shrshr we get a mischeivous face, and for the mysterious krkr we have a bizarre “censored by mosaic” face.
I do believe that this is the first time I have ever seen an action figure offer me the “censored by mosaic” option in plastic. Brilliant. The main caveat I have is that due to the figures' very small size, it's rather difficult to replace the pieces. Be especially careful around the wings: they are fragile and pkpk's nearly broke on me.
There is no other plastic in the box, but in one sense this set is actually only getting started. Phat has made the genius move of offering backdrops, items, and other characters from the series as cardboard standees, making this something of a diorama set.
Of course you've got to set them up in the magical fairy forest backdrop where most of the show takes place. The “floor” is a nice heavy sheet of paper: you can also use a sheet depicting the lake where the fairies like to watch CG shorts more surreal than their own and ad-lib dialogue. The tree stump around which they usually sit and talk is a simple papercraft: you'll need some strong glue. Man, you guys remember the last time I did papercraft? I, uh, don't wanna talk about it.
On the other side of the same display is the “Mental and Time Room”, where the girls go to do magic stuff in a white void. The backdrop isn't quite as effective without a matching floor piece (which would have just been a white void... why didn't they do it?) Also pictured is an old guy, from the memorable “Old Man Olympics” episode. His function is to be thrown around for sport.
Fusako's a major supporting character in this show. She dances. What else she does with herself is a mystery.
A cat, and finally, a hippo. Why not a hippo, if there's going to be a cat?
So as you might have already gathered, this is a truly bizarre package. I personally would have called it the “gdgd Fairies Experience Diorama Playset.” Do I recommend this thing or not? Well, since there are no technical issues to discuss... I think you can tell by looking at this whether you want it or not.
The set came out back in September, and it cost me $50 shipped on Amiami, where it is since long gone. Looking today, I could only find it on Hobby Search.
When he isn't killing time on fighting games and mahjong, David Cabrera gets hype about anime, manga and gaming at Subatomic Brainfreeze. You can follow him on Twitter @sasuraiger.
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