Howdy hoo, everybody! ChocolateSpider here with another spiderific figure review. Let’s take a look at this adorable Nendoroid of one of fighting game’s most iconic characters, Mai Shiranui from the King Of Fighters and Fatal Fury series!

Mai Shiranui has been frequently listed as one of gaming’s sexiest female characters since her debut in Fatal Fury 2 in 1992. After taking her out of the box, the first thing I notice is how nicely GoodSmile has translated this iconic kunoichi into Nendoroid form. Everything from her busty chest down to her revealing battle outfit is adorably accurate.

Mai Shiranui’s outfit is designed to accentuate her voluptuous body. It is a traditional kunoichi tactic to use their sensuality to lower their target’s guard before they strike. All of this has been faithfully been implemented into this Nendoroid’s design. I am close to owning 100 Nendoroids and this is easily the cutest butt I have ever seen on one.

As you can see, the two red flaps and her tassel are adjustable. This is useful if you want to make it look like it is all moving in a certain direction from wind or fighting movements.

Let’s take a quick look at all of her swappable parts. First up is the alternate faces. We have a standard expression, holding fan in her mouth and a happy winking face. The photobombing Honoka is sold separately. ˘ω˘

And here is her assortment of accessories and alternate body parts. There is quite an array of parts to choose from. We have two types of legs, seven hands, seven arm pieces, three fan forms with three different tassel parts, two alternate tassels for her kunoichi outfit, a normal and flame attack bead to put at the end of her costume tassels, and a miniature stand to hold her fan to stage it being thrown.

Unlike most Nendoroids, her legs are connected with ball joints instead of the usual Nendoroid joints. While I think this was a good choice because it works better for the accentuation of her butt, I have found the pair of bending legs to not fit on these ball joints as well as the standing legs. You may have to apply some force to get those legs on.

The flame effect for her tassel is well made. But with the weight of the whole structure combined with the fact that it is all connected to her back by a tiny ball joint, it often droops down under its own weight. The result being it is difficult to pose this piece any higher than what you see in this picture.

I am also a tad disappointed that this is the only flame effect this Nendoroid comes with. Mai has the ability to create and channel fire through her body, clothes and even her fan. It would have been awesome if this had some flame effects to attach to her fans at least. Only having this flame effect really limits what attacks you can recreate with this Nendoroid.

While there is a shortage of flame effects, there is a wide variety of combat poses you can pull off with this tiny fighter.

Mai: "Chou hissatsu shinobi bachi!!"



Saturn: “Help me, Spidey-kun! Shiranui-chan is bullying me! Whaaaa!” (´Д`)

One of my favorites is this one advertised in the promo pics depicting one her poses during her combos in King of Fighters XIV.

Because the front flap of her outfit isn’t adjustable, she can’t lean forward to the extent as this image from the game, but the ball joint for her legs do seem to be capable of reaching this range of motion. But giving the general anatomy of a Nendoroid, I'm not sure if this much leaning could have been achieved anyway.

And of course you can pose her in her idle stance, which is seen in every game.

A clash of ninja is about to begin.

Who will be victorious? ◕ヮ◕

It takes a lot of focus to play as this character because the second she goes into idle stance, you have to muster every ounce of mental discipline you possess just avoid going into a trance. It would seem that Tracer has already fallen victim to her charms.

Posing a fan throwing attack is fairly easy. You just slip the fan into the holder and adjust it as you see fit. Since the fan piece is light weight, there is not much worry of it tipping over. You should be able to pull off just about any fan-throwing pose you can think of.

We are fighting dreamers! Takami wo mezashite♬

Fighting dreamers! Narifuri kamawazu♬

Fighting dreamers! Shinjiru ga mama ni♬

Oli oli oli oh! Just go my way!♬

But my favorite pose for this Nendoroid is for her “Nippon Ichi” cheer. The winking face alone makes this one of the cutest Nendoroids I own. If you like to have characters cheering for you around your computer desk, this Nendoroid is a prime candidate to fill that position. Look at that little face. Let her cuteness and cheering motivate you!

As much as I love this Nendoroid, there is another flaw with it I have to point out. Getting her open fan to stay in her hand is a major pain in the butt. After reading some comments online, it seems that difficulty getting the open fan to stay in her hand is a common problem with this figure. On top of that, getting the fan tassels inserted is equally difficult. When putting her fan into place, I usually have to spend about 3 minutes sticking it in place, only to have them fall out and repeat the process over and over until it stays in. Long story short: the fan is going to give you some frustration. But once you get it in there, it sure is cute as heck.

So here is my final verdict. This Nendoroid is a must have for any King of Fighters fan. It is also one of the cutest Nendoroids I have among my vast army of chibis. While there are some disappointments and limitations with its design and accessories, it is still a most satisfying and photogenic addition to my collection.

Thank you for taking the time to read this review. I hope it has helped you in your decision on whether or not to buy this Nendoroid. If you do want it, I would suggest you act soon. It is still available at some stores, but it won’t be long before their remaining stock is gone.

I know I keep saying I'll get that loot post up, then it keeps getting delayed another month, but I will have all my acquisitions for the month waaaay sooner than I usually do. I have all my orders from AmiAmi shipping in one big box via SAL Parcel, so they should be delivered in about a week. That should help a ton with getting this loot post published on time.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone. This is ChocolateSpider signing out!