Nendoroid Akari Review

I could've sworn that I just got a Nendoroid that I wanted to review, but I can't remember which one it was...

I'm kidding, of course. After a long time waiting, the Nendoroid version of Yuru Yuri's main character Akari has finally arrived! Unlike her role in the anime, where she's constantly belittled for having no presence, she makes quite the cheerful and unique Nendoroid thanks to her optional parts and cheerful face.


Right out of the box, there aren't any glaring flaws with her. The school uniform design is fairy simple, and thankfully there's no excess paint bleeding on the few lines she does have. I was a little disappointed when I saw that the small bit of skin that shows above the collar of the uniform is not the same shade as her face, making it look a little strange, but it's mostly covered up by her big head, so it's not a huge deal. There are also some seam lines right above her buns, but they're only noticeable when you're looking at the Nendoroid close up, and aren't very visible from any distance.


The accessories she comes with are particularly focused at recreating scenes from the anime. With just her additional bent arms, spare hands, and default winking face, you can create two different poses. The first one I tried was the one with the bent leg, which is from the first episode when Akari wants to introduce herself "uniquely." This one was pretty easy to put together.


The second pose was harder, mostly because I wanted to get it just right because it's so important to her character and to the show. This pose fans will immediately recognize from the opening bit before the OP starts. The thing that gave me the most trouble here was her arm, since it wouldn't stay in the place where I wanted it to. Since Nendoroids don't typically have ball joints in their arms, the best you can do is twist the shoulder and forearm pieces, but once I got it at the right angle, her hair kept knocking it out of its socket. It's definitely worth the hassle once you pull it off, though.


One of her other expressions is a shouting face, which goes perfectly with one of her more unique accessories, the bun bazookas! ...I'm pretty sure that anyone reading this who hasn't seen the show is completely lost now. Anyway, this effect is pulled off with a couple of extra parts. The first are the smoke streams, which attach to her head where her buns normally go. They also have their own separate joint, so they can fire off in any direction that you want. Then you attach the flame effects to the ends, and finally the buns! The entire thing is surprisingly lightweight, so if you choose to display her this way, there seems to be little chance that they'll droop over time.


Her final faceplate, which some have dubbed the "yandere face" because of how it appears when she's standing up, is for recreating the scene where Akari forcefully lost her first kiss. She comes with a special hair bun for this that has an extra peg in it so that you can attach her to her stand instead of posing her right on the ground. This should ease the minds of those who don't like getting their figures dirty. I also find it pretty funny that my lights decided to dim at this exact moment, like they felt sorry for her.


Akari also came with two extra bonuses, one of which I wasn't expecting! The first one was a plastic cutout recreating the ongoing series joke about her "not having any presence" (pictured at the top). The second was a bonus stand! In December, after announcing the 300th Nendoroid (Miku, to the surprise of no one), GSC said that certain Nendoroids shipping in December would get a special stand in one of three patterns. Their official statement said that they would only be available through their online shop, but I ordered Akari from AmiAmi and got one anyway! The pattern I got was the classroom floor, perfect for Akari.


Overall, I'm really pleased with her. Whoever was responsible for coming up with her accessories did a great job, and they capture the cuteness and quirkiness of the series. Aside from just strictly recreating poses from the series, it's pretty easy to put her in more unique poses for people who like more playability with their figures. The range of expressions helps a lot with that too. Akari is a character that works great with the Nendoroid line. If you're a fan of her and of Yuru Yuri, I can't recommend her enough.

Images by me.