Chibi-Arts Sinbad (Bandai Exclusive) slightly NSFW

It took a while, but I'm glad a nice little Magi – The Labyrinth of Magic figure was released!  Sinbad, high king of the seven seas, is the first to get a Chibi-Arts figure from Bandai and I have to say “huzzah!” to that because he’s one of my favourite characters!

Despite him being an exclusive and costing me more than what I would normally pay for a small figure, I’m glad I managed to snag him during the early pre-order period at Big in Japan.  The price for Sin eventually shot up at several other stores near the release date.  Even now it’s incredibly hard to find him at a decent price.  Was he worth the 5890 yen I paid?  Well, let’s take a look, shall we?

I must confess I was a tad nervous about the quality of Sinbad because he was being produced by Bandai.  Judging by what I’ve read about previous Chibi-Arts figures, I was in one of those hit or miss situations where the figure could have been absolutely awesome or absolutely terrible.  But all worries washed away the second I pulled him out of three separate boxes and his plastic casing!  Seriously, Sinbad came in the shipping box, then the Bandai box, then the figure box, and then the plastic casing if you want to count that as a fourth layer.  The suspense while opening one box after the other…was killing me!  And if that didn’t hurt me somehow, I’m sure the fresh smell of figures obliterated some of my brain cells.  Remember folks, unbox your figures in a nice open room.  Outside is even better.

I was under the impression we were going to receive a box with a window showing us Sinbad, but this time we just have a closed box with images displayed on all sides.  Seeing the black and white Rukh fluttering around Sinbad immediately made me think “spoiler alert!”  but hey, for fans who haven’t watched the entire first season of Magi or haven’t caught up with the manga chapters, this is actually okay.  I imagine they wouldn’t understand the meaning behind the glowing Rukh on the box anyway.

There’s nothing particularly fancy about this box.  The sides show off king Sinbad and naked Sinbad while the back displays all that you’ll get in this box.  It’s very straightforward so let’s leave it at that.

Inside you'll find a manual, which I probably should have used when I was putting Sin's turban on, and all of the goodies that belong to Sinbad!

Sinbad's base is nice and simple, just the way I like it.  I'm grateful it isn't clunky like the ones used for Good Smile Company's Nendoroids.

Putting Sin together was surprisingly easy.  His pieces just fit together so smoothly, I was coloured impressed, especially since my past experiences with putting figs together were painful.  Kingdom Hearts Formation Arts figures demanded blood from my fingers while my Totori Nendoroid just insistently fell apart every time I touched her.  I’ll admit Sin's sword gave me a little trouble at first, but everything was perfectly fine after five or ten minutes of wiggling it into his hips.

There's something I also want to point out with regards to his crossed arms.  The pegs fit into their slots very well but it takes a bit of effort because of his wide torso.  I find that I'm constantly worried that the pegs will grind against his clothing and leave a mark, but so far so good!

Sinbad's turban can also give me a bit of trouble every now and then.  The decoration above his forehead likes to grind against his hair.  So far some scratch marks have been left behind but nothing too damaging. It's often covered up by the turban, but it's also still damaging to the product. I hope the rest of the Chibi-Arts Sinbad owners out there are careful.

On a more positive note, Sinbad managed to stay together after I put all his attachments on. I can pick him up by the head and nothing will fall off.  Shocking, right?  So Sin definitely earned my affection in the sculpting category.   Each piece, fortunately, isn't oozing disgustingly with paint.

Sinbad comes with two faces, two bodies (one normal and the other fabulously naked), three arms, a stand for him, and a stand for some quotes.  I’m thoroughly impressed by the fact that I can actually display two Sinbads at the same time!  It’s a two in one deal that I honestly was not expecting!  Sin’s ponytail (for naked Sin) actually keeps him properly balanced for the most part, so a stand isn’t even needed.

Displaying two Sinbads is far better than one, right?  Okay, admittedly in my case, I can’t display the naked Sinbad without getting questioned by my family members, but for other people it’s a joy to display two Sins!  I don't think any Chibi-Arts Sinbad owners really imagined they would have the opportunity to display the two figures at once, so this is really quite a treat.  Thank you, Bandai!

Now let's take a look at Sinbad in his almost-naked glory.  He holds the defining pose from when he was first introduced to the series.  It's fantastic, right?  Okay, maybe it's a little awkward at the same time, what with his naked man-body in a smaller form.  I'm sure some people are into that.

Naked Sin isn't as top heavy as King Sinbad.  The turban is overkill.  Sometimes King Sin likes to fall forward or backwards if I remove the base and try to balance him with just his hair.  Naked Sin happens to have the right amount of balance and is capable of standing on his own...in his naked glory.  It must be the ahoge attached to the top of his head!  It gives him true balance!

...Okay, I kid.  It's really the ponytail.

The Chibi-Arts Sinbad has a tiny leaf, which is inadequate when it is being compared to the anime/manga version. It certainly makes Sin “cuter” but he also shrunk…significantly. On that note, for those of you who are curious there’s actually nothing between his legs. The same applies to Sinbad with clothes. So for those of you who were expecting to find something beneath the robes, you’ll be disappointed to learn that Bandai did not include certain "features".   Let's face it, it's meant to keep the Chibi-Arts Sinbad figure from being completely NSFW.

You can, of course, let your imagination do the work.

For a Chibi, Sin’s body is well-toned in several areas. This little guy’s got smooth, muscular abs along with glorious, firm buttocks. I’ll admit I was somewhat weirded out by his finely toned torso since the majority of chibis I’ve seen don’t have definition along the torso.  Somehow I've come to accept it. It just suits him. Furthermore, I think we would all feel dirty if he was naked and there were no muscles...just saying.  Sin is the only naked Chibi I'll ever own.  I hope.

Additionally, he's got smooth little hands and feet.  While they are really cute, I can't help but think of a child when I look at them.  Then I find myself mildly disturbed when I remember he's a full grown man with abs and a toned behind.  Thank you, Bandai, for making everything about Sin smooth...

I have a nice handful of figures with mediocre paint jobs, and I was half-expecting Sinbad to be as bad as my Kyun Chara figures or Good Smile Company's Totori, but Bandai actually did a swell job.  Of course, that doesn't mean little Sin is flawless!

You can already see in the photo that white is spilling onto the purple sleeve of Sinbad's left arm.  The rest of him is all right, especially from a distance, which is how we usually look at our figures.  I would like to think that it's difficult to really mess up a paint job when you only have a few palettes to work with.

While there may be a few obvious paint spills of white or purple here and there, Bandai impressed me with the finer details on Sinbad.  When I look at Sinbad's jewellery I question how the painters even screwed up with the white and purples in the first place, because there are no silver or gold spills on his torso.  It's incredibly smooth overall.  Near or far, that paint job on Sinbad's bling is superb.  On a side note, I'm thankful Sinbad doesn't have any obvious gross paint blotches on him like my Milla maid's wrist.  I did expect it though.  Boy I'm glad I was wrong.

The details popped out in other areas as well, such as Baal (Sinbad's sword).  For something so incredibly thin and tiny, the paint job is impressive.  To give you an idea of how small it is, the sword is thinner than your standard HB pencil.  It's a wonder if people go cross eyed when they're painting hundreds of these swords.

Bandai even included the grip lines on the hilt of Sinbad's sword.

The ripples and wrinkles on the back of Sin's outfit look great even though I never see his back when I display him on my shelf.  Heck, I can't even really see them when I attach his ponytail because that sure as heck blocks off all the details. Regardless of all that, I'm still happy Bandai included this small detail.  It's the thought that counts!  Arabic garments tend to have a nice ripple or flow to them and here you can tell Sinbad's sporting some really comfortable clothing.  I'll admit they aren't the most beautiful ripples but I can only expect so much out of a Chibi figure.

You also probably noticed that one of his arms comes with a nice cup of alcohol!  The high king is always ready to party as long as he has some booze with him!

The paint job on the chalice isn't quite as smooth as everything else.  It looks like a tiny glob got pulled off last second and left a mark.  However, since the chalice is so tiny, it's hardly noticeable.  You really have to zoom in a bit before you can really notice anything odd about it.

The head decoration is painted quite nicely as well.  The strokes are very clean and thankfully there are no clumsy spills. Unlike Sora's Keyblades (from the Kingdom Hearts: Formation Arts Vol. 3 series), Sinbad's headpiece doesn't look like it was sloppily coloured in with a Sharpie.

I confess I thought the colours were going to be quite off from the prototype and original anime design, but I'm glad I was wrong.  The head decoration on the figure definitely lacks some shading but at least the colours are accurate for the most part.  I only wish it didn't scrape against Sinbad's bangs...

Sadly, there were some details missing from Sinbad which could have been included.  For example, Bandai could have left a hole in Chibi-Sin's earrings.

It's a shame because it's a very obvious flaw in my opinion.  It's a mystery as to why that gap is filled.  Maybe Bandai decided it would be a waste of time carving out small circles with every Chibi-Sinbad figure.  Or maybe the hole would making Sin's earring too fragile.  Either way, I was a bit disappointed when I saw Sin's earrings completely filled with gold.

Another small flaw (and I really mean small) can be found on Sinbad's left armlet. I know I'm nitpicking but it just seemed as though Bandai really could have coloured in the visible gem on Sin's gold armlet.  A dab of green and a touch of yellow would have completed it.

To be honest, it's such a small detail that it wouldn't surprise me if the people at Bandai actually forgot to paint it.  Maybe other Sinbads out there have green paint on their armlet. If there are, I'd really like to know!

Oh, Bandai…just minor details away from perfection.  But I suppose that can be considered a good thing, since it's a chibi figure!

Finally we have five little manga quotes, which come with a small stand so you can alternate between them. These are extras I don't use for a couple of reasons.  They're in Japanese and my family members wouldn't be able to understand what was being said just by looking at them.  Most of my friends wouldn't be able to understand either.  They also look out of place on my shelf because they're really just thin pieces of cardboard in between a set of chibi figures.  I haven't seen a lot of Chibi-Arts Sinbad owners display quotes either, but hey, they're there if we ever want to use them, right?

Purple quote:  Look!!!  I didn't do anything, right!!?
Blue quote: My name is Sinbad, of Sindria.
Green quote: Stop it, Ja'far
Baby Blue quote: Adventures...are a man's chance to grasp his dreams (roamce)!
Orange quote: You guys, believe in your king...

(Translations courtesy of my friend Yumee)

Was Sinbad worth 5890 yen?  Definitely!  While Sin may not be the most decorated little figure out there, he’s still incredibly adorable.  Bandai did a fantastic job overall, and I’m glad I didn’t miss out on him.  As I mentioned earlier, Sinbad doesn’t fall apart like Totori and he’s not oozing paint in several areas like Milla and Jude, which makes him a winner in my books.  Bandai’s Chibi-Arts Sinbad figure is fabulous and I highly recommend Magi fans pick him up if they ever get the chance.  He looks dashing on my shelf!  And remember, dear readers, you can display two Sinbads at the same time!

Summary:  

Base: 8.5/10 (Simple, clean, transparent, and not clunky!  What's not to like?)
Sculpt: 9/10 (Easy to put in and remove pieces.  Sin doesn't fall apart easily)
Poses: 8.5/10 (Sin can cross his arms or hold a cup of alcohol.  What's not to like?)
Paint: 8/10 (There are spills here and there, but the finer details are well taken care of)

Overall: 8.5/10 (A solid Chibi-Arts figure.  You can also display two Sinbads at the same time!)

Manufacturer: Bandai
Price: 5890 yen (4700 yen + 1190 yen shipping)
Purchased from: Big in Japan

Thanks for reading!
~Suich