Wedy Was Here: Unboxing and Review: Bandai Chogokin Fate/Zero Archer

Bandai Chogokin Archer is an articulated figure of Gilgamesh from Fate/Zero. It's the first ever articulated Gilgamesh figure, so I was so excited about it. He was released on July 27, 2013.

The front of the box

Details of the box
The box is not overwhelmingly big. The size is just right (as big as Chogokin Saber's box), and despite the figure's metal armor, the entire package is surprisingly light. The understated design and color scheme of the box enhances the figure's picture, grabbing your attention from afar and making you look at the King of Heroes. Here's how the box looks like on all sides:

The name of Gilgamesh's original master (Tokiomi Tohsaka) is on the top flap. A larger picture of the command seal is on the right side, while on the left, you can find a larger picture of the figure in his signature proud yet condescending pose. Samples of the figure's faceplate, parts, and details are on the back. Now this is what you'll see when you open the box for the first time:

I usually open figure boxes from the bottom, but just like Chogokin Saber, I opened Chogokin Gilgamesh's box from the top flap. These are the contents of the box:

A few layers of plastic blister packaging secure the figure and its parts

What's inside
Lifting the top blister packaging from the bottom reveals the part where the base, extra arms, and the pegs are secured:

Here, I've already removed the top blister packaging plastic to reveal the figure and its major parts:

There are three golden cups, one wine jug, seven extra hands, and the Noble Phantasm, Ea. Paper is covering the extra faceplates.

Close-up of the faceplates

Aside from the paper under the front armor and the easily removable plastic around his waist, there's plastic between his legs to prevent the red cloth (not really a cloth) from getting pressed down and deformed.

It's easy to remove though

Making the King of Heroes stand
The base consists of three major parts, including an acetate-like plastic where the summoning seal is printed.

It's up to you whether to use or not use the plastic summoning seal. It feels flimsy and the first time I made Gilgamesh stand on it, he kept slipping off and it cannot properly support his weight.

Here's Gilgamesh trying to keep still so he won't fall

Tip: When assembling the base, it pays to read or at least try to understand what the pictures are saying on the instructions. I mistakenly attached this peg on top of the summoning circle and it made Gilgamesh unable to stand properly because the red cloth on his back keeps getting in the way:

Apparently it must be at the bottom of the circle

In the end, I just removed it and decided not to use it anymore. Gilgamesh can stand properly now.

The King's Most Treasured Sword
The way Bandai made Ea is impressive because you can manually rotate the three parts of the sword. The parts are easy to move, yet they stay in place and won't move or change positions by themselves when you move the figure while he's holding Ea.

Ea is also intricately designed with exact markings and the writings:

Though the tip of the handle lacks the fins-like detail, which I've seen in my other Gilgamesh figures with an Ea

Making the King cross his arms
No Gilgamesh articulated figure would be complete without the ability to cross his arms. After all, it's one of his signature poses. Bandai Chogokin Gilgamesh comes with two extra arms (both left and right).

I'm still unsure whether you should replace both default arms with the two, or let one default arm remain, because when I replaced both arms, the pose looked really awkward since I couldn't bend the hands of the two extra arms. So I settled with using the default left arm and just replacing the right arm with the already bent extra arm.

But it still looks weird :-/

Changing his arms is difficult. I'm always afraid that I'd break a figure, so I was careful not to exert too much force when pulling from or attaching things on my figures. I did the same thing on Gilgamesh, but then I realized that you need a bit more force to pull (or twist while pulling) or attach parts on him. Luckily, Bandai's parts are surprisingly more resilient than Max Factory's figma parts, so snapping should be the least bit of your worries. However, I learned that the hard way, so after attempting to attach his extra hands, my fingers hurt and throbbed.

Tip: Check out the instructions that come with the figure. It's folded and packed in a small plastic bag. If you can't understand Japanese or read Nihongo, looking at the pictures should suffice.

More thoughts
When pre-orders for Bandai Chogokin Archer started this year, it was a drop-everything-and-get-him moment for me. And then I played the waiting game. He's the main reason why I decided to get Bandai Chogokin Saber earlier this year. Although Saber had a derpy face, I still bought her so he'd have a partner.

Kinda like Barbie and Ken

And because Chogokin Saber had derpy faceplates, I was worried about how Gilgamesh would look like, too. When pictures came out, I was disappointed to see that his body looked too thin, the faceplates made him look like he's a teenage boy, and overall, there was just something off about the figure. Nevertheless, I still got him because well, it's Gilgamesh and I want to have all his figures. :p

Fortunately, when the actual product was released, I think the figure didn't look anything like the prototypes shown on the pictures. It looked better. He did not have a derpy face, the body-to-head ratio was symmetrical. The shiny metal armor added a more commanding presence to the figure, so if I placed him in the middle of my entire collection of figures, he'd stand and instantly get the attention he deserves.

No Gilgamesh fangirl-slash-figure collector's shrine will ever be complete without this shining, shimmering, splendid action figure. Bandai Chogokin Archer is currently the most expensive Gilgamesh figure in my mini shrine for the character, but it was truly worth paying for. I love the articulation, making him my second most favorite male articulated figure in my collection, next to Max Factory figma Kiritsugu Emiya.