Nendoroid No. 183 Tomoe Mami, the first ever figure in my collection. It was this birthday gift that was the impetus to pushed me down the slippery slope of figure collection. Here I am three years later with several dozen figures in my collection all largely in part due to this very Nendoroid. In light of the recent Nendoroid reviews on Tiro Finale and Good Smile Company's official announcement of a new Nendoroid Mami , I decided this was the ideal time to review this landmark figure of mine.





Full Disclosure: Mami's surface has started to become a little sticky from all the years of ownership hence, the odd bit of dust sticking every now and then. I am planning on cleaning the entire figure with Goo Gone of which I would document as I go. With that cleared up, let us head right into the review!

Manufacturer: Good Smile Company

Series: Nendoroid, Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Price: 3,619 Yen (before tax)

Release Date: 12/2011

Scale: Non-scale

Material: PVC

Front View

Starting with the front, we have Mami in her Puella Magi (Magical Girl) outfit which has been lovingly replicated and detailed by Good Smile Company. All of her trademark features of her outfit are present from her leather bustier, fluffy skirt and thigh high skirts to her yellow ribbons and cute hat. We will taking a more detailed look at each part of Mami's outfit further down the review but, initial impressions are certainly very good.





Rear View

Shifting towards her back, we can observe the large Nendoroid stand which keeps her firmly secured to the square base. To be fair, I use the term "firmly" rather loosely as the stand does a competent job of keeping Mami upright when not moved. But like every other early Nendoroid (~first 250), the connection between the figure and the stand is not as strong as we would like. As such, most pose changes involving the limbs often require the stand to be mounted once more. A little nuisance but, nothing deal breaking I would say.





Right View

The scale and proportions of Nendoroid figures have not changed much and we can see that very much reflected in Mami's proportions. While the first 50 Nendoroid(s) produced by Good Smile Company had rather quirky proportions, they quickly settled upon the cute and lovable proportions that we have all come to identify with the series.





Left View

The large head seam present in the front-third of Mami's head is to allow for switching expressions. As this is one of the "earlier" Nendoroid - as of writing, GSC has produced over 700 different Nendoroid (!!!) - the head seams are still a little more notable. Fortunately, the entire head does not have to be removed to change the face plates unlike Nendoroid Kyoko . \





Speaking of facial expressions, Mami comes with three different face plates to choose from. All of which are accurately replicated utilizing Ume Aoki's signature pencil sketch styled eyes. The pencil sketch theme is retained even for Mami's slight blush, smile and eyebrows which all look really good even under closer scrutiny. Not forgetting, the three facial expressions that you can choose from by switching out the face plates as mentioned earlier.





The default, smiling expression.





A more serious, concentrating expression.





And a shocked expression. This one is rather unique and we will see how it is utilized in just a bit.





Accessory detailing are not far behind either with both of Mami's hairpieces present even in Nendoroid form. The right hairpiece sports a larger flower which is actually Mami's Soul Gem. Note the metallic finish and clear plastic used to really help highlight the importance of this component!





On the left side, Mami sports another floral themed hairpiece and this one is notably simpler and smaller. It is finished in the same metallic yellow finish as her Soul Gem.





Then, there is Mami's purple cap with the cute white tuft behind it. Very cleverly, GSC has employed the use of magnets to secure Mami's cap in place. Just place it on top and it sticks right in place without the need for any pegs or clips. Genius!





Gently lift the cap up and you will be able to remove it with no signs of any unsightly mounting points. I am also happy to report that the magnet is sufficiently strong to keep the cap secured in place and has not lost much of its strength in my many years of ownership.





A closer look at Mami's Soul Gem and cap.





Mami's signature twin drills are most certainly present, even in Nendoroid form.





On both the left and right hand side, the twin drills have two and a half loops with the upper loops having a thicker finish. This sculpt emphasizes the drill-like shape of Mami's hair which works perfectly with the deformed-scale Nendoroid.





Like most Nendoroid hair pieces, Mami's twin drills have a pivoting and rotating joint allowing for a limited degree of articulation in place. You can either keep it neatly tucked in as seen above.





Or spread it outwards to suit the pose that you are going for. I would wary about moving Mami's hairpiece too much though as it can dislodge rather easily.





Mami seems shocked, is it because we are going to inspect her outfit next?





Taking a closer look at Mami's outfit, GSC certainly does not disappoint by emulating as much detail as they could from the source material. The yellow ribbon and fluffy skirt are particular highlights of the entire outfit. Of course, one has to be reasonable in expectation for a figure of this scale too. Under higher magnification, it becomes obvious that some of the finer lines are not evenly painted.





Fortunately, the consistency of the paint is very good with a smooth finish throughout her entire outfit. Even towards the back, everything is nicely detailed. My favorite aspect from the back is her large white ribbon which often looses emphasis as a larger scale figure.





Then, there are the accessories. Believe it or not, Mami actually comes included with Charlotte!





That is right, even Mami is in shock!





Moreover, Charlotte was not added as some form of after thought as the Candy Witch actually comes rather impressively detailed and sized.





Charlotte's multi-colored facial details are all carefully reproduced with the ears even being removable. This allows you to rotate is 360 degrees in place.





Charlotte is also rather large too. Notice the seam towards the back?





It allows you to remove the tail entirely. Otherwise, you may use it as a rotation point to give Charlotte various rudimentary poses.





Fortunately, Mami comes very well equipped for the situation with her giant percussion lock musket.





This giant musket in conjunction with Mami's serious expression works very well.





The musket is so large, it even needs a stand of its own.





Details on the giant musket itself is fairly sparse. Nothing much to see here.





Tiro Finale!





That settled, it is time for a cup of tea.





Additional hand parts are included to help Mami pose with her tea cup and saucer.





The tea cup is not empty either as there is actually clear dark red plastic in the place of tea.





Perhaps Charlotte too would like to join in on the tea party? Where is the cheese?





Hmm... Mami looks less than pleases about this.





Together with her tea set and Tiro Finale musket, Mami also comes with her ordinary signature percussion lock muskets.





There are four included which each one having their own clear stand. The muskets themselves are not very detailed but, it is nice to see that GSC did not leave the barrel blank and attempted to add in some form of detailing.





Thou shalt not disturb Mami during tea time.





Just like the tea set, special hand parts are provided to allow Mami to hold onto her muskets.





Unfortunately, this only applies to her right hand meaning she is unable to dual wield them like in the anime.





But, by all means, that is probably the only downside I can clearly point out for the entire figure. The other would probably be that Nendoroid Mami does not do action poses as well as her fellow Puella Magi but, I would argue that this fits her reserved character a little better. Often fighting as a powerful turret rather than a mobile striker. Although, we are well of her abilities to shine as the latter too.





When all is said and done, I do realize that it is extremely difficult for me to be free of bias and maintain my objectivity throughout the entirety of the review. Nevertheless, what I can offer is my opinion and thoughts as a Mami fan of which I can claim to be a Mami expert of sorts too. To which I say, get it! If this is the only Mami figure you ever collect, get this one. I know she may not have been mentioned in my Top 5 Mami Figure list but, it would be a crying shame not to give her an honorable mention and also, what I believe to be, the ultimate Mami figure for a non-Mami fan.



