For some time now, Arleigh has been trying to get me to write up a post about figures.  We both enjoy collecting them, and my collection of them is rather extensive so there’s certainly no lack of material.  Again, it all came down to motivation to just get started, and what motivated me the most was my most recent acquisition, the Good Smile Company version of Ultimate Madoka, or as she’s better known, Godoka.

Yes indeed, the contents are fragile, and very valuable.  Many Bothans died bringing this….ahem, wrong story.  Anyways, this is one thing I really appreciate about the Japanese.  That’s no cheaply made, reused, been sitting in the back with people taking naps on it kind of cardboard box.  That’s a sturdy, never before used, highly protective one.  Plus they put just the right amount of packing material inside to keep the figure from shifting, but not so much that it crushes it.

And that effort paid off.  Here she is, safe and sound in the comfort of my own home, without nary a dent in the box.  The boxes themselves are often times practically works of art.  On them they usually show the various angles and options one can do with each figure.  I know Godoka is yearning to be free from her plastic and cardboard prison, but first I think one needs to appreciate just how big this box is.  This picture doesn’t really do it justice, since there’s no basis for comparison.

Now this one gives you an idea.  That’s about 14.5″ wide, and the box is pretty much square, so that should show that they didn’t mess around with this figure.  The boxes for the other figures in this series were only half this size.  But now that we’ve had our fill of boxes, let’s get her out of there and take a better look.

Here we have a look at all the various pieces that comprise her.  While this may not be a lot by some figures standards, by a scaled, static figure this is a lot.  In case it’s not easily seen, in addition to the main figure, she had two different bows, two sets of wings, an arrow and of course her base.  What also probably isn’t easily seen is the fact that the plastic tomb is not only held together by the snaps and tape, but also with twisted wire.  This last part is always a pain in the rear, so be sure to keep a pair of wire cutters handy.  Trying to untwist those wires by hand is not a fun task, and I do not recommend those without much patience to attempt it.

Now we finally get to see Godoka free from her constraints.  And let me tell you, she’s no lightweight figure.  A good amount of weight is in the dress of hers, which is good since that’s where she’s going to attach to her base.  The pattern of stars on the black interior of the dress is a very nice touch, and GSC did not skimp on the details.  One thing to be wary of is her hair.  It feels pretty fragile, and the ends are very pointy so if you’re not careful, she could very easily snag a piece of clothing and possibly snap a strand of hair off.  I thought it was going to happen to me a couple times as I was getting later parts put on her, but thankfully I managed to avoid any catastrophes.  Ah, I can hear you now.  “But pantsukudasai, when you say she’s detailed, just HOW detailed, if you know what I mean?”  Oh, I do know what you mean, yes indeed.

Homu Homu would be drooling in envy.  Yes, in keeping with a fine tradition in figures, they made sure to sculpt a pair of panties on her.  Sadly, it’s just a very standard pair.  Some figures get very fancy underwear indeed.  Still, it’s this attention to detail that makes collecting so worth while.  And when you think about it, it certainly makes sense.  I mean, if you’re going to have a figure in a dress, it stands to reason that she’s going to be wearing something underneath it, doesn’t it?  And since one must appreciate all aspects of their figure, it’s only natural that I’d flip each figure over and check out their pantsu.  Nothing perverted about that in the least!

Now here she is with her bow and arrow.  As I mentioned earlier, she comes with two different bows.  The other bow does not have the pink energy charge around it and it just her regular sprout bow.  I assume that’s if you want to display her as if she’s already fired the arrow.  I think it looks much better with the arrow and the charged bow.  The only downside to this is that the bow doesn’t feel particularly sturdy, and as you move the figure the top wobbles in a way that doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in me.  Still, for the most part the figure is going to be safely behind glass, and other than the vibrations from me walking past, it should be kept stable.  It’s not like I live in an earthquake zone.  A great deal of care must be taken when getting the arrow into her hand.  Her hand is removable, so I’d recommend taking it off and then attaching the arrow.  It can only go in one way, so don’t try forcing it!  Also, there are many little barbs on the bow and the arrow that could easily snap off if improperly handled.  They didn’t do us any favors by wrapping some plastic around the bow either.  I had to carefully cut the plastic wrap off, because those barbs I mentioned earlier made it difficult to slide off otherwise.

The next troublesome point were the wings on her feet, but this was more a troublesome aspect simply because it’s not very clear which wing goes on which foot.  When you try putting the correct wing on the correct foot, it slides on snugly and securely.  While this might seem like the obvious thing, in some cases they don’t get all the slag out of the slots for the holes, so things like this don’t always fit right.  Luckily for me, when I tried them the other way, it worked just fine.  You can kind of see in the bottom corner of the picture, but it does come with instructions.  The reason why they’re sitting there, unused is two reasons.  First off, I’m a guy.  We don’t need no stinkin’ instructions.  Secondly, they’re in Japanese, which I cannot read a single word of.  The pictures they show aren’t terribly helpful in deciphering what one is to do.  At any rate, you can probably guess, but those wing tips are very fragile too.  Take your time, and you should be fine.

The last detail to add to her are the wings on her back.  These thankfully were very obvious how they needed to go, and other than having to weave the right wing in between a couple strands of hair, it went on quite painlessly.  Again, the details they made with the sculpt of the figure are indeed stunning.  The way the dress flows, the ruffles in it, all her accessories, it made the wait for this figure from when I originally ordered it back in June all worthwhile.

This group shows her from various angles.  It’s truly a satisfying feeling when you finally get your figure all assembled and ready to properly be displayed.  Certainly another run to Ikea is in my future so that I may properly save her from the evils of dust.

Lastly, I felt it fitting to have her shown with the other figures in her line.  On the right we have the pairing of Kyoko and Sayaka, and on the left we have the pairing of regular Madoka and Homura.  In the middle, with Godoka taking careful aim, we have the hated Mami.  No one is romantically interested in Mami.

I’ll end this with saying that while she might be a bit spendy for some people, I feel that Godoka was worth every penny I spent on her.  If figure collecting is your thing, don’t delay on grabbing her as fast as you can.  She’s still available now, but when a figure looks this good, it’s tough to say how long she’ll be around for.  If you wait too long, the only way you’ll get her is by forming a contract with a certain someone….