I was not aware that there were Funko POPs dedicated to the Netflix Castlevania characters! Imagine my surprise when I found out there was! Finding that they exist, I had to fumble with the decision on WHO to get first or just getting them all.... but I had to be reasonable. With that said, I chose the Sassy Speaker herself, Sypha Benaldes. Let's check out this #POP action figure, shall we?
The Castlvania series needed some reinventing. I don't think the last two games resonated with people. The first one was good but I don't know if the second one had the pull that Konami wanted. I know for sure that I didn't gravitate towards it. With that said, the Netflix series capitalized on Castlevania III: Dracula's curse humble beginnings. A story line that branched out to arguably the best Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Of course, that game was mostly revolving around Alucard, but there are some other characters from Dracula's Curse that I wanted featured. Again, the Netflix animated series delivered (mostly. Where is Grant?!). Sypha Belnades may have been confusing in regards to her gender back in the NES days, but nowadays there is no doubt that she is a capable, powerful, and feisty female mage... or Speaker.
Again, I had a hard time choosing on who would be my first Castlevania POP. It should have been Alucard, right? No, a Belmont! Or Dracula! No. I chose Sypha. What can I say, I like female characters. I'll get all of them eventually, so yeah.
Sypha's character design isn't the norm I would go for when we are talking about female characters. Her outfit is, more or less, a robe and I believe she had a hood attached to it, which was a homage to her classic NES costume (I think she did, probably not, but I think I just want to think it does). She has a long skirt, sandals, and a sash to tie it all together. Her color scheme is blue, black, and white; a very light and/or baby blue. If anyone is familiar with my taste, I like red, black, and a lot of skin. So Sypha's costume taste is almost opposite but I'm not totally without reason and understanding the reason for her outfit. I personally like it. The short hair, the bright blue eyes, and the personality that is done quite well in the Netflix series. So how does this all come together in a stylized Funko Pop? Quite well, actually.
Again, something that Funko does with their POPs is going with a safe formula when it comes to the 'regular' releases. The sculpt definitely does a fine job making clothes look like clothes within the realm of #POP. As usual the hair lacks but I'm not too bothered by it because it does look like Sypha's hairstyle. The coloring is pretty accurate despite me wanting Sypha's hair to be a darker shade of that blonde(?). All in all, it looks good.
The pose picked for Sypha is definitely something she would do. Her hands are posed as if she's doing some kind of spell and her clothes dancing in the wind confirms the gravity of her spell even more. Though the one thing I wish they added a small effects on her fingers/hands; small complaint. Also, her pose is made so that her head should be tilted to the right, otherwise it won't look right.
This is what the pose is meant to be this way. Looks good, though this is the first time I feel a Funko POP has to have the head tilted to sell the pose.
All in all, I totally love Sypha! Most of the love is from nostalgia and her Netflix iteration. I plan on getting the rest of the others, that's for sure. Having her side by side with Trevor and Alucard while squaring off against Dracula is going to be an impressive picture. So with that said, I highly recommend her! Well, that's all I have to say about her!
Until Next Time!
