Review: Figma Sayaka Miki

For three days now, this poor figma has been waiting to be reviewed. Even with the review already written, it seems the world has been against her getting a proper review. Well she’s been patient and her wait is finally over. It’s time for figma Sayaka Miki by Max Factory!

Sayaka is the best friend of Madoka Kaname in the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Sayaka is a friendly girl who always wants to do what’s right–even when it’s not best for her.
Sayaka is the fourth Puella Magi to be figmatized(behind Madoka, Homura, and Mami) in her magical girl costume. So far this is her only figma, but since Madoka and Homura have already gotten school uniorm versions, we just might see another.
With the basic information out of the way, we can take a look at Sayaka!

Here’s her box:

The box has the same design as the other Puella Magi’s boxes except it is blue to match Sayaka.

And here is our lovely Sayaka!

Looking good! Each shade of blue has been gorgeously reproduced on the figure.

You can see her joints better from this angle.

A heroic cape.

Her back with the cape lifted up.

Unfortunately there is some gold overpaint, but that is to be expected with mass producing and the price and size of the figure. I love that the gold is sparkly though.

Great work on the soul gem. The painting is perect! The frills on her corset also look nice.

Again, I love that gold! And those are some funky shoes you have there, Sayaka.

Hmmm gloppy skirt paint.

Even with the occassional overpainting, I’m very happy with how she looks. The sculpting is clean and the figure looks just like Sayaka does in the anime.
Asthetically Sayaka is everything I hoped for, but I cannot say the same about her articulation.
After opening and playing around with this figma, I got the impression that she was very stiff. Usually this stiffness is only because the figma is new and goes away with time. Unfortunately for Sayaka, her problems are the result of design. The problems are with her skirt and waist joint.
First,the skirt:

The majority of skirt wearing female figmas have a split in the side of their skirt so that the skirt does not restrict leg movement. The problem with Sayaka is that her skirt does not have this split. Look at the picture below to see what I’m talking about.

Above you see Kirino Kousaka(a school girl) who has the split and Sayaka(a fighting magical girl) who does not have it.
This may seem like nitpicking until you see the movement allowed by the skirt split.
Here is what the split lets Kirino do:

Mighty Kirino Kick! Look at how high up that leg goes!

Ok Sayaka, now it’s your turn!

Um, Sayaka?

Do you see why the split is important now? She also cannot sit. Considering Sayaka is a fighting character, the only reason I can think of to emit the split(Hey! That rhymes) would be design. Perhaps it was not possible with an assymetrical skirt? Who knows…

Now for my problem with the waist joint:
The problem with Sayaka’s waist joint is that she does not have one. Instead she has a chest joint. Since there is no waist joint, her lower body movement is hindered severely and this combines with her skirt to make her very stiff from the chest down.

Aside from these issues, Sayaka has the standard figma joints and they move beautifully.

The base is standard,and normally I would not mention it, but I cannot help but notice that my Sayaka’s base is a little too tall for her.

Ok, ok I’m done complaining. Let’s move on to the accessories now!

She has three interchangeable faces:

Happy, Yelling, and Slightly Embarassed.

The faces are good quality. They are printed cleanly and none are too loose or tight, but I do have to question whether they were the right choice for Sayaka. Fans of Madoka Magica will know that Sayaka’s experience as a magical girl is not exactly pleasant and a lack of faces to express that is dissapointing. Perhaps we will see more fitting faces on the school uniform version I’m hoping for.

Next is her menagerie of hands!

They are: open, pointing, fists, open to hold accessories, and special hands for holding swords(which I’ll get to later).

The hands are all white and fit snugly. But do be cautious when removing them because the cuffs of her gloves are separate from the arm and can be easily lost.

Sayaka’s character specific accessories are lacking in variety. But what they lack in variety is made up for by sheer number. I present to you: Unlimited Blade Works–Sayaka style!

Yep, Sayaka comes with a lot of swords.

Eight to be exact.

Each sword is nicely detailed with bold gold on the hilt

and a serene streak of blue on the blade.

To help you emulate the unique atmosphere of Madoka Magica, Max Factory has provided a circular base to display the swords on.

The base is cardboard, but is of high quality and should stay in tact if you are careful with it.

One thing distinguishing Sayaka from the other magical girls(and other figmas for that matter) is her cloth cape.

Yep, that’s real cloth!

Although fairly new to figmas, I think cloth is an awesome idea since it allows for better poseability in places which would be otherwise restricted by hard PVC.

I’m quite impressed by the quality of Sayaka’s cape.

The sides are fitted with wires which enable some fun poses.

It’s also pleasantly soft.

Mugi knows softness when she sees it.

But for the times when a cloth cape is not what you need, an optional PVC cape is included.

Simply pop off her head to remove the first cape and slip on the new one!

The PVC cape creates a winblown appearance


It’s also heavier than the other cape.

Of course if you absolutely hate both capes, you can opt to display her without it–

…or not.

Well now that we’re acquainted with Sayaka, let’s see what she can do. It’s time for some fun shots!

Sayaka’s embarrassed face on her school uniform figma.
Faces are swappable among different versions of the same character, so owning several versions means more possibilities!

Her yelling face also on the uniform figma.

Blue power!

Alongside Kyoko

Final Words
I did alot more complaining in this review than I intended, but despite that complaining I still love my Sayaka. She’s a must get to complete the Puella Magi set and is a cool looking figma in general. The shortcomings in poseability are minor if you really love her.