“The One-Eyed Dragon is not just for show, you see?”

For you who are familiar with anime/game series Sengoku BASARA, you should recognize this quote from the legendary samurai from the Clan of Date. Well, before we get into our review of Nendoroid Date Masamune, we will dig a little into his profile first. Note that Nendoroid Date Masamune is based of the design from Capcom’s Sengoku BASARA, so it might not reflect the actual facts of the real person. ^^

Date Masamune is portrayed as the energetic and fearless young ruler of the Date Clan. He is known by the nickname Dokuganryū (One-Eyed Dragon). Middle-long brown hair, a black eye-patch, an uncommon and original blue suit and a classical helmet with a golden crescent moon at top of it is how Masamune has been drawn in Sengoku BASARA.

He is presented as a cocky and ambitious warlord, usually wielding a single Katana, though when fighting seriously he can use up to six swords at once (three in each hand, held between the fingers). His six swords gain the nickname “Dragon’s claws”. His arch-rival is the young Sanada Yukimura from the army of Takeda. (taken from Sengoku BASARA wiki)

Well then, now that we know about Date Masamune’s background, let’s get into the review, shall we? ^^

OK, for starter, let’s see how Masamune’s box looks like:

As I removed the container off the box, it feels slightly heavier compared to the other Nendoroid in general. It turned out that the one responsible for the added weight is …. Masamune’s head and not his helmet – quite unusual indeed. ^^

Anyway, here are the listing of the optional body parts and accessories:

• 3 face plates
• 2 right arms
• 2 left arms
• 3 right palms
• 2 left palms
• 2 right sword sheaths
• 3 left sword sheaths
• 1 removable golden crescent helmet
• 1 stand base

Anyway, while we are on it, let’s go through some unique features on this cute samurai. ^^

First up is the most noticable feature: his golden crescent helmet. Yes, as you noticed, the helmet looks detailed enough, especially if you compare it to the anime/game. The helmet size is also large enough to be fit onto most Nendoroid’s heads (without ahoge, obviously ^^).

The next feature is the stand base, which has a picture of Date Clan’s crest on its surface – pretty much like the one used by Nendoroid from Touhou Project series. ^^

This one might not be significant, but in my opinion it is quite interesting that Masamune’s arms can be detached into 3 parts. Each of them has its own joints as well, although they are not comparable to super-movable/full-action joints. No, you cannot remove the swords from Masamune’s hands. ^^

On the other hand, IMHO Nendoroid Date Masamune has a little quirk on the stand connector – the component that connect our Nendoroid to the stand.

Actually, I was having a hard time posing Masamune using his stand. IMHO the design of the provided stand connector is somehow awkward and quirky – I mean, in order to pose him standing properly, you have to adjust the stand connector with more precision.

Phat! Company as the manufacturer of this Nendoroid has noticed this issue and posted a quick guide to setup the stand. If you encounters this problem, try to visit that page to resolve it. ^^

OK, now let’s see some pose of Nendoroid Date Masamune. ^^

As usual, after a Nendoroid went through the solo photo session, he/she would be introduced to his/her Nendoroid senpai there. However, it seems that a certain Nendoroid has already taken an initiative … wow, I did not know that Masamune is so popular. ^^

Whoa … Nendoroid Dead Master introduced herself by swinging her scythe to Date Masamune! What a dangerous introduction it was! ^^;

A fierce battle was unavoidable – thanks to Dead Master’s provocative introduction and Date Masamune’s arrogancy. Uh-oh! It looks like Masamune was getting cornered there – even his golden crescent helmet fell off!

W-w-what!? Date Masamune won the battle! But how did he do it!?

Date Masamune: “The One-Eyed Dragon is not just for show, you see?”

Ah … there he goes again with his famous quote.

BRS/Kuroi Mato: “K-k-kakkoii …”

What are you doing there, Mato-chan? Hello!? Umm … I guess she could not take her eyes off Masamune. ^^;

Anyway, did you notice that both Dead Master and Date Masamune have the same acronym (DM)? Well, I got inspired by that, and this is the resulting pic:

Wow! Doesn’t Dead Master look cute wearing Date Masamune’s outfit? Well, BRS was speechless when she saw Dead Master wearing that costume. ^^;

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So … is Nendoroid Date Masamune worth a purchase? Because of its quirky stand connector, I certainly would not recommend it to newbie Nendoroid collectors. However, Masamune has the removable golden crescent samurai helmet and an awesome outfit, plus the rarity of male Nendoroid in the line, which make this Nendoroid a good purchase – if you get it at reasonable price, obviously. ^^

Well then, my purchase recommendation above concludes my review of Nendoroid Date Masamune. As usual, critics, suggestions, questions, and comments are welcome. ^^

Thanks for reading and see you on my next review, Nendonesian! ^^