OUT OF THE BOX: Good Smile Company Nendoroid Mako Mankanshoku

OVERVIEW

Series: Kill la Kill

Character: Mako Mankanshoku

Copyright: ©TRIGGER, Kazuki Nakashima / Kill la Kill partnership

Manufacturer: Good Smile Company

Category: Nendoroid

Specifications: about 4" tall

Sculptor: JUN (E.V.)

Cooperation: Nendoron

Price:  ~$60

Release Date: August 2014

I mentioned in the video that I have another Nendoroid but that was actually an embarrassing mistake. The other chibi figure I own is from Chibi-Arts which I will be covering some other time.

So basically, this is my first Nendoroid figure.

I really like how they made the effort to put her name, in the iconic Kill la Kill typeface, on the window of the box. I can't really read Kanji but the last two characters say "ma" and "ko" in Katakana so I figured that the rest means "Mankanshoku".

Aside from the prominent "408" which means that Mako is the 408th Nendoroid, I've also noticed that my box says "Sales Outside Japan Only" instead of having the "Warner Bros. Pictures" reflective sticker that I saw in other unboxing videos and posts about this figure. I didn't take that very seriously though since I ordered this figure directly from the GSC's website. Besides, I think the actual figure will give it away if it was a bootleg.

This is the right side of the box. Notice that the windows on the sides say her name in Romaji with the same typeface (Some variation of the Arial Rounded MT Bold?) they used on the front of the box. Since both side windows have her name on it, it just strengthens my assumption that the characters on the front window says her name as well.

This side shows her with the Ryuuko Nendoroid, which is a good marketing strategy, in my opinion. It shows you how much more fun you can have with this figure if you have the other characters too!

The box finish is much more evident in the photo below. You can clearly see the matte and glossy contrast that they did to create a subtle texture in the background.

After opening the box on the top, I've learned that it's better to open it at the bottom. The box itself isn't made of heavy-duty cardboard so the flaps don't lock in tight without the tape. It's pretty evident with the photos above.

I like my figures in normal proportions but I think, the Nendoroid Mako did not stray away too much from her proportions in the show and that's why I didn't really need any convincing.

The figure comes with the Mankanshoku dog, Guts, and a plate of Mama Mankanshoku's croquettes. However, these two "accessories" don't attach onto the base.

As you can see, the base and the arms are very accommodating. The joints on the arm allows the figure to be displayed in so many ways. However, you have to make sure that it's inserted at an appropriate slot. The base doesn't have weight to it at all so it cannot support the weight of the figure.

Below, I had to put in the stand at the farthest corner . I tried to put it in the very middle and the whole thing just toppled over front first.

There's two available arms. One is shorter which seems to be appropriate for holding the figure in simple standing poses.

The longer one allows crazier poses.

I also found it interesting that the Nendoroid line seems to be really efficient when it comes to their parts. For example, instead of giving you another sleeved-arm piece, you can just replace the arms that are attached in the sleeve. The sleeve can be detached too to make interchanging pieces easier.

The joints can also be detached from the actual legs.  I believe that the last joint on the right is an extra piece. I guess you can use it as replacement if one of your joints break or something. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Also, notice that the joints have the GSC logo engraved on them.

You can also probably notice that there are some inconsistencies on the paint job on these smaller pieces. It bothered me at first but it's really not that noticeable.

I'm really amazed by how this toy was designed. There is another attachment that you can put on Mako's face and I went over this in-detail in my video. 

Looking at the photos above, that transparent piece looks really noticeable but it's actually a pretty effective way to attach other pieces that are floating like the sleep bubble shown below.

When there's floating attachments, the most obvious solution is to just include an entirely different head with that attachment on it but like I said, I really think that the ingenuity of that connector proves how well-thought these figures are. 

I'd also like to point out that the quality of the materials used on this figure are noticeably top-tier.

I didn't regret throwing $60 on this and I wouldn't mind spending another $60 on another GSC Nendoroid figure.

I shopped around for the best price and found out that GSC comes with a pre-order special. 

The GSC pre-orders cost a few bucks more but it came in with this "Beat-Up Expression" attachment. 

This expression is definitely something I haven't seen in other Nendoroids. In fact, there is probably no other character that can pull off such a face and manage to be comical. 

But to be honest, I'm not really a fan of this expression. I think they could have definitely done something else such as an expression of her imitation Ryuko on her Hallelujah moments. Don't want to be a party-pooper but this expression makes me feel uncomfortable. It looks really painful and it's awkward to display too. My boyfriend who I bought the figure for appreciates it and thinks it's funny but at the same time, he's conscious what having a figure of a beat-up girl on his desk might imply. 

But by the end of the day, it was still our decision to get it and it's definitely nice to get limited edition freebies with pre-orders. So thanks Good Smile Company! You give us more incentives to pre-order figures rather than waiting for the hype to die down!