Hi and welcome to my review of Sayaka Miki from Good Smile Company
Haha after all the the ecchi figure reviews recently it’s kind of a combo breaker.
This figure of Sayaka is scaled 1/8 and has a height of 20 cm, her release date was in July 11th.
Her origin is the very popular anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica which is considered to be a revolutunary anime inside the magical girl genre. I was happy with the magical animes before, but oh well who asks me anyway. Sayaka Miki is the best friend of Madoka, the main heroine of the show. Sayaka is a very kind and cheerful person, she has a tomboyish personality and likes fooling around. In dangerous situations she protects her small fragile looking friend Madoka.
After the anime ended people wished for cool and dynamic figures of the characters in their fancy costumes, there didn’t pass much time until GSC presented their figure lineup of this anime.
Well, how should I say it all of them appeared rather underwhelming in terms of posing, they could have been adapted from a more interesting illustration than the one which was used.
Nevertheless these figures still had their lovely outfits and a very good quality. Additional to that the Puella Magi Madoka Magica girls also resembled the look of the anime very close.
From the figure line up Sayaka caught my interest the most, I really liked the design and colors. She wasn’t my favorite character, in case you’ve watched the anime you might know why. Her naive thinking of being a magical girl was a bit odd, lets say she wasn’t suited for that job.
I found a nice part of an Staff discussion where the persons in charge of crucial elements of the anime were talking about the character of Sayaka.
[spoiler] SHINBO: When the filming was done, I started to feel “she is such a poor girl,” and moreover when I listened to the performance during the after-recording session my heart gradually started to ache more and more, and I started to think “couldn’t there be a little bit salvation for her?”. At first I took a rational point of view, thinking so she is (written as) such a character, but gradually my emotion gushed out and took over.UROBUCHI: And then I answered, “That would be impossible now.” (LOL)
UROBUCHI: Guess I bullied Sayaka a bit too much (LOL). But then the reason why I do not feel that sorry for Sayaka is this thing, that I just do not feel that even if she hooked up with Kyosuke that girl would really be happy ever after. Most likely Kyosuke is a guy who will stand her up in dates and go to practice the violin, I think.
[/spoiler]
Hair & Face
Ok, sorry for the slightly off topic talk now I’ll start with review part of this Sayaka Miki figure.
The first thing that meets the eye is her hair, look there is no seamline to be found. Her hair is nice and smoothly sculpted with the strands in the right position the hair resembles the look from the anime very well. Nevertheless there was a shirtstorm about the changes which were made to the final figure in terms of haircolor. People were cursing “seagrass“, “too dark“, “GSC betrayed“.
I rewatched some episodes of this show and now I would say that this figure has the right haircolor, a mixture of blue and grey, if at all the prototype had the wrong too bright hair color.
Im really satisfied with the way the face turned the eyes with the partially dotted iris and pupil. The unique 2D character designs of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica appear to be a bit more difficult to put into 3D shape, but it wturned out very nice in this case, there is not really an odd angle were Sayaka looks disappointing. Furthermore this figure features all the facial details from the anime character design, like the blush marks and the dark lined mouth.
Well it might be a bit odd, that the face still looks kind and happy, even when she is wielding the two optional cutlass swords. An optional head would have been a great feature to match the look of a girl in a fancy suit with sharp weapons weapons in her hands.
Outfit & Body
From the girls in Puella Magi Madoka Magica I liked the outfit of Sayaka the most I guess it was also the main reason I ordered this figure. The design is a little on the tomboyish side but also has a prominent female appearance. Her outfit looks more suited for close combat than the one of Mami or Madoka for example. Her top is a shoulder free corsage resembling dress, the quillings above and below are kind of cute, the top exposes her belly with the blue C symbol.
The white cape gives Sayaka the extra chivalrous touch, I like the flow of it a lot. At her nice skirt there are these impressively detailed creases. Im a big fan of her stockings with the blue belts around her thighs. I really like the color combination of navy blue, white and golden details.
The colors and the golden lines and buckles are applied in a quite accurate way.
Quality wise there is not much to complain about in terms of outfit and painting.
Her weapon looks like a combination of a cutlass, a weapon often used by Naval forces, and a katana. The long straight blade indeed resembles a katana. On the hilt has the typical cutlass look, in case you are wondering about the look of the hilt, no there is no trigger function it’s just a design element. The base is a small transparent diesk with a blue radial gradient effect.
Sayaka is actually captured in a happy situation with her arms and hands stretched out it looks like she imitates a plane, while having a kind smile on her face. GSC decided to give this figure a second hand option, where Sayaka can hold her two cutlass weapons. In this stage the face expression is a bit too friendly I would say but overall she looks nice in both display options.
Typically for the Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime Sayaka has a big wide head, she is 13-14 years old so her body is young and petite. She was crafted with care, there are nice armpits, also the transition from arms to body looks quite nice, her shoulder free outfit slightly reveals one of her collarbones and her budding chest. Sayaka also has nice legs, they are accentuated by her stockings and the crossed pose. In my opinion she has the best pose of the bunch.
Final Words
I’m glad about this purchase and that I didn’t cancel her order, like I intended close before the release. I like her overall design a lot, a pretty head, a nice body and very nice colors. Even though I’m still not a big fan of her character, she is a beautiful figure and that is what counts. She has very nice details and the quality of sculpting and paintjob are very well done.
I purchased this Sayaka Miki figure for 5,750 Yen at AmiAmi, now she is sold out unfortunately.
Reviews of Madoka Kanami can be found at Figyura and Nopy’s blog who also reviewed Homura Akemi
Adam
Nice review and photos. I really like what you did with the red string. It adds a nice splash of color and the underlying cultural reference seems appropriate for the source material.
I finally got around to completing the Madoka anime last week and I can see now what the fuss was about. The show has the fundamental set of tropes that make it identifiable as a member of the magical girl genre, yet manages to twist enough of them to create something wildly different from the norm. I liked it a lot.
Of the five girls in the first round of GSC figures, I agree that Miki’s pose is the most interesting, so I can see why you went with her. It looks like she turned out pretty well. I probably wouldn’t have noticed the hair color discrepancy versus the prototype shots if you hadn’t pointed it out.
I still feel a little underwhelmed with my Madoka. The quality is excellent, no doubt, but she’s kind of boring. I had hoped watching the events of the anime unfold would inspire some new appreciation for her character, but Homura pretty much stole the show for me instead.
PS: Thanks for the link!
wieselhead
thx a lot, it was fun to write about and shooting Sayaka.
The red polymer clay is a neat accessory for such things, I actually thought about a more gore setting.
Ah good that you liked it, it was quite dark, huh?
Good that it wasn’t just my impression, I like the post and quality a lot.
Well, I didn’t really care for the different color of her hair, what convinced me was the figure as a whole. I didn’t bought her out of affection for the character.
Too bad, she’s cute nevertheless, even though she’s not that interesting in this happy pose. Yup Homura was cool.
you’re welcome
hoshiko
Compared to the 2D picture you have there, the figure’s color is a bit too dark. But then again, I haven’t watch Madoka…what can I say >.<
Among the three Madoka GSC figures, I'd say this is the best. There's movement and her cheerful personality, as you've mentioned, is oozing out even though I don't know the character.
wieselhead
The first one was a fan based illustration I think ^^ From my point it’s more or less accurate.
I already know that fantasy is not your genre, how could I convince you to watch that anime 😀
I like my Sayaka a lot
Miette-chan
Man, poor Miki I felt so bad for her in the end. Just a little bit she was a huge idiot, at least she admitted as much at the end.
I too like her outfit quite a bit, must be the belly button piercing and the short skirt offering a peek I suppose. My only complaint would the lack of more swords like the figma.
Now I wonder though, Gift is releasing a Homura I wonder if there will a version for each girl.
wieselhead
Indeed, it was hard to accept that she chose that path, Sayaka was too kind and naive for this cruel world.
I love the navy blue colors and her style. Maybe more swords would have looked silly on this simple base, overall GSCcoud have created something more dynamic with theses figures. Anyway this Sayaka is very pretty and Im glad to have her in my collection now.
Gift makes a Homura figure? I haven’t seen or heard anything about that.
Aya
she looks gorgeous not fan of her outfit but her pose is great
wieselhead
Oh you don’t like her dress, now Sayaka is sad 😀 I think its a nice combination of cuteness,pose and ooutfit.
Jenn
Oh, she’s lovely! Personality-wise, she was my least favourite of the main 5, but GSC did a great job on her figure, especially when it comes to details like her bellybutton ring and her lack of hair seam.
You’re right about her pose being somewhat underwhelming though, but at least she doesn’t look like she’s going to topple over like Mami. Good symmetry can do wonders. I feel like all the Madoka girls could be more dynamic, which is the main reason I held off collecting them (except Godoka, of course, gotta have Godoka). Maybe some other company will pick them up…
Great pictures, as usual. I wish I had your skill with props. =<
wieselhead
The figure is indeed lovely, also in terms of her personality I agree with you, I didn’t like her very much.
But my figure purchases rarely depend on my liking for the character, the design is most important for me ^^
It’s a simple but still appealing pose matching the pretty and detailed sculpting.
Im less convinced by the poses of the other girls, even though I would like to have Homura 😉
Godoka is quite impressive but not really my thing, Im curious if other manufacturers will make figures from this lineup, its been some time already.
thx its jst a matter of try and error and creativity of course.
Tier
She’s a pretty cute character; I’m not a big fan of cloaks or capes (I always turned them off when I played World of Warcraft, and I have the feeling one of the reasons I like Marvel Comics’s characters more than DC’s is that so many of the DC characters have capes) but I like her (mostly) bare shoulders and the way her skirt is angled. I also like the contrast of her happy smile and casual strolling pose and her swords. I guess that’s what magical girls are all about; looking cute while laying the smack down. Except hentai magical girls, I mean; yeah, I guess they’re cute but they tend to have different sorts of expressions while doing work.
Speaking of which, I don’t know much about the Madoka series but it’s pretty hard to avoid coming across Madoka fan art, and curiously, I can hardly remember seeing any pictures of Sayaka. Nor doujinshi; it seems like Madoka, Homura, and especially Mami get a ton of books, and Kyoko shows up reasonably often, but Sayaka seems to be shunned for some reason.
wieselhead
Ah I see, I think the cape should accentuate the very strong sense of justice Sayaka shows in the anime. I guess it’s the same with Superman or other superheroes who are wearing a cape. Like I mentioned in my text, the face expression feels a bit unfitting when wielding swords. Atm I have her on display with one “flying” hand and a sword in her hand, I like this look the most I guess.
Hentai magical girls always get the short stick(or the too big one XD) Are there any hentai figures of magical girls? A not too bold Erena would be nice.
Sayaka has no big fan base, I bought her figure, but I had a few problems with her character. There 2-3 good llustrations with her, but the other girls are far more popular. The majorty likes Homura. Poor Sayaka.
Tier
I know Volks did at least one figure of Escalayer wrapped up with tentacles, and they did another of her in her presumably bad-end dominatrix mode. There are several figures each of Ai Kagano and Rin from Mahou Shoujo Ai, though I’m not sure if they qualify as “hentai” or not.
More hentai magical girls should get figures, I agree. Erena would be good, and so would Brain Jacker; she’s sort of like a magical girl.
wieselhead
Ah Escalayer looks good, even though I didn’t know about her origin before now 😀 Quite tame.
Ai is definitely a more hentai like figure, actually very appealing.
I’d really like to have a nice figure of Erena =)
feal87
Awesome figure and is a a must-buy for the fan of the character or the anime series.
It isn’t my case though, I hated her personality in the anime…:D
wieselhead
Are there fans of Sayaka? I don’t hate her, but she was my least favorite from these girls.
But I liked the figure very much, so I placed my order nevertheless
I understand that very well, as she turned into a magical girl her personality started to get twisted.
Fabrice
She’s a wonderful figure, quite a favorite from all of them compared to the rest, Thought Im not a fan of her. In any case I like her elegant pose especially with the swords which im a big fan of.
The quality is there theres not doubt about it, GSC has yet again showed why they are probably the best company out there.
the colors set in well and really wont bother trying to critisize her. the only thing thought is that the skirt is a tad too short mind you its a common thing ^^
wieselhead
Yes I thought she was the most appealing to me, but I also liked Homura with her lovely pantyhose
Ahaha Im not sure about the best company thing,, I don’t like everything from them and they delayed my Cheerful Miku order ;D
Well, the skirt has to be short so that Sayaka can move freely while slaying the witches with her swords.
Kai
Highly detailed figure and that blush tint on her face looks good. I’m the type to look BOTH at the figure design, and whether or not I like that character. Luckily or unluckily, I guess that kinda help me control my figure purchases D:
wieselhead
Yup, she is. Ah I see, that is a way to save money. I rather see these figures as a piece of art instead of anime merchandise.
So, I can’t withstand nice figures that easily, since I really don’t care about the origin, at least in most cases ^^
G.K. Sil Kamina
Ah, poor Sayaka. She definitely seems to be the least popular girl. As someone who’s put others’ needs before my own in the NAAAAAAME OF LOOOOOVE I was able to sympathize with her, though I won’t deny that she was a big idiot for how she handled things.
Just makes me sad she has such a small fanbase. She’s not my favorite, though. I’m a Homerun fan all the way.
This figure’s nice but suffers from being horribly bland. I was let down by GSC’s take on Madoka figures. They can do so much better!
wieselhead
Yes, why did she have to end like this, she was a good girl, maybe an idiot, but she wasn’t completely wrong. Her biggest fault was that she was too idealistic about her task.
It can’t be helped, the anime kind of failed in making Sayaka a likeable character. Homura is the most popular one, too bad there was no really convincing figure of her, maybe Gift can do it.
Well, they might be not the most dynamic ever seen, but the lineup could have been more interesting. Anyway I liked how Sayaka looked and I got what I expected 😉
Luth
Sayaka looks really nice, I got a chance to see her, Madoka, and Homura in their box last weekend while trying to sell them. I like Mami’s character the best but I have to agree, Sayaka’s pose is probably the best and I was really impressed by how well all of the GSC figures were made.
Saying all that though, I wish they had more dynamic poses and I hope that after Gift make Homura, they go onto Mami next (http://myfigurecollection.net/item/99169) because those poses are definitely what I’m looking for.
I like your sets with the blue velvet and the tree with the red string. Is that chocolate biscuits or rocks in pic 27?
wieselhead
Ah I see. I agree and I really like my Sayaka. The figures were quite popular even though the poses couldn’t be the main selling points ;p
I also liked Mami, but GSC could have done a better Mami figure with ease, the pose is seriously boring unfortunately.
The adaption from Gift looks quite interesting maybe they intend to make more of the girls next to Homura
Thank you very much, oh these are just trap rock from a volcano magma, a nice prop, I should buy more of them ^^