Madoka Magica ~Magiccraft~ Ichiban Kuji

What's Tiro Finale without the occasional Madoka Magica and Mami content? Clearly not Tiro Finale. So, in the tradition of covering all that centers around Mami, here's a quick look at the new Magiccraft Madoka Magica Ichiban Kuji that's starting this month. While, it has been revealed some time back, it's nice to finally go through the official prize roster and see what's worth and what's not. I'm very much looking forward to this Kuji as it is the second part to the "Magiccraft" Madoka Kuji that featured last year with figures based off the art posters from the first part.

For those who don't know what Ichiban Kuji is, it is basically Banpresto's version of a raffle/lottery with the prizes centering around the particular series. For example, a Madoka Magica Kuji would feature prizes featuring characters from the series. Of course being a lottery, everything comes down to luck. You pay a fixed amount (in this case, 900 Yen before tax) for a lottery ticket, open the lottery ticket and you'll see an alphabet that goes anywhere from A all the way to I. The earlier your alphabet, the better your prize. As such, the A to C Prizes are often the most sought after but, as expected, also the hardest to get.

So, everyone's a winner, some are just bigger winners that's all. Final note, in order to entice people to continue playing the Kuji, there's a special Last Prize which is often a sought after prize too. Without further ado, let's take a look at all the prizes offered in this coming Kuji!

Starting with A Prize, we have a figure of Madoka herself dressed in a Kyubey inspired outfit. The lovely polka dot patter, pink sneakers with high socks and eared cap match her very well. Definitely worth getting despite the rather simple pose.

Next up for B Prize is none other than Homura dressed in a fancy black dress and her hair tied up neatly now. Her black dress looks akin to the one she wears as she approaches her "witch" form. While I'm not usually a big fan of Homura, the pose plus wavy hair makes this figure of her look very good indeed.

Thirdly for the C Prize, is Mami! It should come as no surprise to find that this is my personal favorite. Dressed in a Bebe inspired short skirt and hoodie combo, Mami foregoes her usual twin drills hairstyle for a more laid back free flowing hairstyle. Couple that with thigh high stock and knee high boots and you have, perhaps, the cutest Mami figure ever! 

It's a slight deviation from the typical Mami figures which portray her as being classy and well-manered but, definitely a welcome change.

Not forgetting the other members, D Prize is Sayaka dressed up in a sailor outfit with motif inspired from her witch's design. Notice how her left arm is raised up?

That's because it is meant to be paired with the E Prize which is Kyoko! After all, those two are inseparable now. Her outfit looks akin to a school uniform with motifs clearly inspired by her Magical Girl form. I have to say, Kyoko's hair looks great in this figure. 

I was stoked to find that Banpresto would be making the initial Magiccraft art into figures and I'm really glad it turned out as good as I had hoped.I have a feeling all the figures from A to E prize would be highly sought after.

For F Prize, there's an original poster with all the 6 girls together. Such a lovely view! It's such a pity that Nagisa isn't included as one of the prize figures. Oh, well....

G Prize are a set of 5 different types of cushions. They're pretty large, each one measuring 30 cm in length.

H Prize is what is described as an Art Place. Just simple white plates with Madoka Magica styled art across the rim. Nice and simple.

For I Prize, Clear Files are what you'll be getting. A staple of every Ichiban Kuji, they act as the fillers without being such a bad prize at the same time. Why? Because the files are generally well made with very high quality art. Not to mention, clear files are always extremely useful for organizing paperwork.

All the way down to J prize are Kyun Chara straps which are extremely adorable! They're mini figures on their own right and come with a shield shaped plaque which corresponds to the art used on the cushion.

Last but not least, the Last Prize is Mami! The only difference between this and C Prize Mami is the addition of Bebe on top of her hoodie but, that little addition alone makes the figure even more adorable! I've always had a soft spot for a Bebe and Mami combo and I can't wait to get my hands on this figure.

Many years down the road, the Madoka Magica hype has certainly died down. Nevertheless, it is great to see that merchandise is still being made for it especially one's that feature original content like this Kuji. In fact, this upcoming Magiccraft Kuji despite costing more at 900 Yen/ticket is still extremely worth it with attractive prizes all the way from A to J. Perhaps many would consider H and I to be lesser prizes but, the other prizes more than make up for that.

Before wrapping up the article, here is a link to the Official Kuji page for your reference. Keep in mind it is all in Japanese though. With that, that's a wrap for today. Thanks so much for reading and until the next time, have a fantastic day ahead!