Gemini Saga

Gemini Saga, the character whose Saint Cloth Myth incarnations have been considered to be the pinnacle of the line, returns to spearhead Bandai’s new sub-line of figures that are touted as superior to the old line in every way: looks, articulation, and extras.

With a new line, Bandai has decided to introduce new packaging. While I was a bit disappointed that they were not going to do the book-style box of the original line, I was not disappointed by the new EX boxes.  These boxes are huge and command a presence in your collection. The box comes with a glossy sleeve that not only looks cool, but also serves to display all of the info that would have been displayed on the actual box.

This leaves the box open for the new design which resembles  the Gemini Pandora box, where all the armor is stored in the TV show/manga.  It is a cool way of storing your figure that harkens back to the series.

Except for the helmet, abdomen armor, the plastic coverings for the hands and the lower part of the leg armor, all of the armor is glorious die-cast metal. This is a welcome change, since the trend for theSCM line had been moving towards more plastic and less die-cast.  The color on the EX Gemini is yellow with some orange accents; as opposed to the original which was mostly goldish/orange. The object mode of the EX Gemini looks pretty neat, representing the twins of the Gemini zodiac sign.

The EX Gemini is about half a head taller than the original Saint Cloth Myth Gemini. Without the armor on, the base figure looks ANOREXIC.

The figures in the old line often looked a little underweight without their armor, but for the EX line, it is obvious that Bandai subjected the figure to an intense diet.  While they look quite funny without armor, the tradeoff is that you get a figure that is much slimmer when all the armor is attached. Although the bodies are Calista Flockhart skinny (anybody even remember Ally McBeal anymore), they are incredibly sturdy.  I had feared that Bandai would make these figures more fragile than the second generation Myth Cloth bodies that were used for the version 3 bronze saints and some others.  The second generation bodies were known to have some problems with the joints , like the adomen connection cracking which left the figures with a wobbly upper body. Another feature that helps give the figures their slim “V” upper body shape is that the armor that goes around the waist is made of a thin plastic, with the top part of it actually tucking into the chest segment of the figure.

There have been other improvements made to the armor design. The shoulder armor has been upgraded substantially. It still sports separate pieces for the front, back and side pieces of the shoulder armor, but the connection to the chest armor is much more elaborate.This is similar to what was done for the Gemini Surplice.Also, the ball joint on the hands are more exposed with the EX line , which gives the hands  range of motion when posing the hands and arms.

The side skirts and rear skirt armor pieces are double-hinged for increased mobility. Again, this is a concept borrowed from the side skirts of the Surplice, executed with different components.  The front skirt armor is a ball joint attached to a hinge.

The figure comes with its fair share of goodies.  Included are five beautifully sculpted faces, including one for Evil Gemini Saga  with the grey hair and bloodshot eyes, and one to recreate when the Gemini armor is being controlled by Virgo who is trying to impede Saga’s advancement into Sanctuary during the Hades Sanctuary Chapter.

The original Saint Cloth Myth Gemini included an extra body that was all black to also recreate the armor being controlled, though that design seems to be inspired by the time that Gemini pulls the same trick on the Bronze saints in the original series.Also missing from this release that was included in the original Saint Cloth Myth release are the extra clothes so that you can dress the extra body up as the Pope Arles. Not a big deal thoughif you already own the original release.

The faces are even better sculpted than the other Gemini releases, which were amongst some of the best that Bandai had made. 

Another neat extra that was included in the first releases is the Galaxian Explosion effect part. It should be noted that this pose is actually this is meant for posing it as the Galaxian Explosion from Episode G manga, as it looks different in the original manga and TV series . I have two complaints about the effect part. One is that either the holes weren’t drilled correctly on mine or I just could not figure out how to properly attach the two energy blasts to the main body of the effect part. There seemed to be only one way that they would attach, but I still tried the other way because it did not look right  . I gave up after I cut myself with one of the energy blast parts, because those suckers are sharp! Another gripe I have with the effect part is that it requires the EX Stand so that you can pose the figure correctly. I tried to my best to recreate it by propping the effect part against the back of my light box, with okay results.

After cursing Bandai for releasing a new version of the Gold Saints, because I had just bought the whole set of reissues of the original release, the one thing that got me to consider purchasing the EX line was the new cape that was included. These three-part plastic capes are much more accurate to the show than the cheaply made cloth capes of the original line. 

Another improvement is the connector for the secondary, long hair piece has a circular whole through which the head connector goes through, which prevents the secondary hair piece from falling off. 
My other complaints about this figure are few, but still present. First, the pegs that the hands attached to are smaller and slimmer than the ones for the old line, which results in the hands popping off sometimes.However, this is a minor inconvenience since they pop back on just was easy as they come off.  Second, the pieces of the shoulder armor have a tendency to pop off, but again it is not a big deal.

All in all, this figure puts the old line to shame! This is the definitive Gemini Saint Cloth Myth figure, until Bandai releases another version ( the  Saint Cloth Myth EX 7th Sense Edition, or something like that. I keed Bandai , I keed). I would recommend this figure to just about anybody. It is great for those who are want to start collecting Saint Cloth Myth. It is also a must have for the diehard Saint Cloth Myth fans, granted you have any money left over from buying the other releases.