Because Japan: The Damsel in Distress Arrives

Exactly eleven months ago, this fine young lady made her first appearance on Toylet.net. Today, the fine chocolate-clad craftsman from UPS dropped this box off at my door. Unboxing GO GO GO GO GO!

Aaaaaand it's a pretty big one...

Not only does Toylet offer Native's figures for the cheapest prices in the US, but they also pack their shipments with all the TLC one could possibly hope for.

Inside the large box, a smaller, denser, very well-sealed one, with Japanese printing. I wonder if other figures are shipped from the manufacturer in their own individual boxes? I've never ever had a problem with a Native figure's box sporting the slightest scratch.

Inside the smaller box...

A very satisfying matroyshka if I may say so myself. Native takes the time to make their packaging an event unto itself--from the wine bottle container that Nozomi Watase came in, to Chie's tissue box, to Trunk Girl's...um...trunk. True to form, Princess Mordina arrives in a very thick, sturdy, heavy-gauge cardboard hat box, suitably fit for a crown.

OMG TRINKETS! Mordina comes very securely sealed in her mold, and each of the optional accessories has its own compartment. Princess or bunny girl?

Native trains us in how to dissemble the figure by layering plastic sheeting between her separation points, and we have quite a few to contend with here. Fortunately, she also comes with a large instruction sheet for guidance.

Native figures always include a postcard featuring the original artwork on which the piece is based; especially handy for SEVERE EXAMINATION AND REVIEW.

After some jiggering and a little more force than I'm usually comfortable using on figures, I finally have the young damsel apart and ready to be composed. I usually stick with emulating the original artwork, so we'll be going princess-mode for display.

Crown, neck shackle, ankle shackles, and discarded glove can be swapped for bunny ears and a tail if so desired. I would have never guessed the figure's shoes come off without the included--credit to Native for an exceptionally tight seam.

I'm a cheater at jigsaw puzzles, too. Let's get building! Mordina comes back together with relative ease; I found getting her head back on her shoulders to be the most challenging but it didn't require any force or manipulation. I love love love the magnet embedded in her head to keep her crown in place, and there's another one in the small of her back to keep the bunny tail in place if desired. The shackles and ball weights will stick as well, which can be used for hilarity if so desired.