Last night we showed you Good Smile Company’s scaled Madoka Kaname figure that went up for order, but that’s not all that exists in the world of Puella Magi: Madoka Magica merchandise! For those who are bigger fans of dolls with their tiny fabric clothing and poseability over static figures, you’re in luck! Groove has announced 2 Pullips and 1 Dal from the Madoka Magica series! The main character herself, Madoka Kaname, will be made in the slightly smaller Dal form, whereas Homura Akemi and Mami Tomoe will be made using the Pullip body. I’m not really sure why Madoka is a Dal when she’s supposed to be the same height as Homura and Mami for the most part, but I guess we’ll just take what we’re given.
The outfits and wigs on these dolls are all phenomenal; the attention to detail is incredible and each girl comes with both their magical girl outfits as well as their schoolgirl outfits. The one area that seems to be an issue for some though are the faces, which are much rounder and expressive than the characters are prone to showing and outside of their very angular and stylistic art design, but I must say, their faces have really been growing on me and I feel like they’re a very good interpretation of these characters. Each of these girls will be out in November of this year and each retails for ¥13,000, which is a great price for an approximately 9″ tall doll. Are any of you readers thinking of picking any of these up or are you holding out for alternatives such as Azone’s line or for Volks to get the license for Dollfies?
[Pre-order Madoka, Homura, and Mami at AmiAmi]
If I ever did invest in another doll, I think I’d just wait for Azone’s line. I do not deny the appeal of Groove’s work, but it’s just not in my taste. On the other hand, I haven’t even caught word of Azone including the girls’ Puella Magi outfits yet, so who knows.
I own five Pullips and adore Grooves work. I know they’re not everyone’s taste but the cartoony deformed style of them appeal to me so much.
While they’re not really consistent with their quality, I gotta say I think they’re an incredibly underrated company. The Pullip community as a whole likes to bitch about the constant collabs, but I actually admire Groove a bit for it. They’re one of the few companies I know like this that take risks. I mean, some are confusing and odd (like the Gloomy Dal) but I can’t help but love that in a sea of generic school girls they tend to go for the more out there licenses.
That being said, I’m gonna wait on user pictures before I decide on these, but the face ups are amazing. They managed to capture Mami’s sleepy eye look so incredibly well with the eye paint. I was a little confused by Dal Madoka as well, but I’m assuming they just didn’t want three Pullips. Also, to anyone reading who really wants these? Wait for Pullip Style, $5 shipping within the US and the discounts cannot be beat, especially with the conversion rate what it is
(…I didn’t mean for this post to be this long 8|)