December Mami Haul

Hello everyone and welcome back to Tiro Finale for the much promised article, an entire haul post dedicated to Tomoe Mami! With the year coming to a close, I figured what better way to do so than to have a haul dedicated entirely to our goddess, Tomoe Mami, here at the official Church of Mami. Well without further ado, let us dig into the goodies that we go for this month coming straight from Mandarake's warehouse in Sawara!

The first and literally largest item in this month's haul is the much awaited Sega Mega Jumbo Nesoberi Tomoe Mami. It is not an exaggeration to say that this is the one Nesoberi that I have been looking forward to the most this entire year. Yes, this includes the much hyped about Snow-halation Nesoberi for Love Live that was announced earlier this year. 

From its inception in the form of concept art, I had been looking forward to the release of this Mami plush with real hopes that it would be able to live up to expectations. After all, Mami has very intricate character detail especially with her Magical Girl outfit and twin drills. Despite being a prize Nesoberi, Sega actually took some very novel steps in handling those earlier issues that I mentiond. More of that in the full review of Mami's Nesoberi coming soon but, early impressions are certainly very good. 

The next item in this haul are a set of Can Badges featuring Mami and Kyubey. As it turns out, this was actually my second set as I had purchased this very set in a previous haul but, had not realized it. While this does mean that I have double the number of Mami badges, it almost means that I have more Kyubey than I truly require.

Fortunately, the whole set of can badges did not cost too much at only 200 Yen. Now, I must truly make an effort to remove these set of can badges from my wishlist. Lest I end up purchasing it for a third time, in which case, Kyubey would well and truly be trying to haunt me. 

Item number 3 in the haul, is an adorable acrylic strap that I have had my eyes on for the last two years. Featuring Mami in her Bebe/Charlotte Magiccraft hoodie outfit, this acrylic strap had finally dropped in price to the point where purchasing it was a no-brainer. At just 200 Yen, this is a happy new addition to my Mami collection. 

The next item in the haul is a little more expensive but, also a more recent addition to the Madoka Magica merchandise universe. Also from the Magiccraft series but, the second part of the collection, it is a simple acrylic plate of Mami. This particular acrylic plate was not released as part of the Kuji rather, they were released in arcades as prizes together with a whole host of other characters from the Magica Quartet.

Now, would you believe that this acrylic strap costs two times more than the previous one? Even then, it only costs 400 Yen which is still incredibly affordable. Especially so when you consider that acrylic charms normally sell for 800 - 1,000 Yen in hobby stores. 

On the topic of charms, we have yet another charm but this time it is a rubber one. But not in the traditional sense of character rubber straps. Instead we have a semi-translucent rubber strap featuring Bebe and Mami's love gem and her signature quote. For 200 Yen, the strap is certainly a great addition to the collection especially since it includes a fairly sturdy box for storage too!

Moving away from straps and charms, we take a look at the obligatory clear files that are a must of any haul. This time, we have two new sets of Tomoe Mami clear files. One is relatively old release featuring Mami in her magical girl outfit posing alongside her trusty percussion locked muskets. I am certain somewhere in my collection, I already have a copy of this clear file. Knowing that, I still decided to get one anyway as I wanted to use this particular file and keep the other for collection purposes. 

The second piece is a new clear file release featuring Mami, Kyoko and Sayaka in their swimsuits. Mami, in particular, is wearing a white swimsuit that had been featured in previous illustrations and most notably Wave's first version of their Beach Queens figure of Mami.

The reverse-side of the file features Kyoko and Sayaka. On one hand, you could consider this a win for Mami as she has one side all to herself. On the other hand, Mami's forever alone status is reinforced as Kyoko and Sayaka retain their lovey-dovey relationship.

The final and most expensive item from this month's haul is a very special microfiber Mami towel. I have had my eye on this item for the better part of the year and throughout that time, the item has neither shifted in terms of ownership and price. At 1,500 Yen for a small sized microfiber towel, it is not hard to see why this item was not picked up despite sporting an illustration of Mami in her pajamas. In the end, I turned out to be that one dedicated fan who decided to spend more on a Mami towel than a Nesoberi. Seeing the towel in real life though, I cannot say that I am disappointed as the quality is indeed top notch and very much worthy of the 1,500 Yen asking price.

All in, it brings the grand total of this Mami haul to 4,150 Yen. Not bad for the assortment of good which can make up a mini-Mami shrine right? No new Mami figures in sight but, this is certainly one of my more fulfilling Mami hauls in recent memory. Not only did this usher in the uber adorable Nesoberi Mami but, also several unique pieces such as the towel and rubber strap. Rest assured, we will be taking a closer look at Nesoberi Mami together with my impressions of her soon. Until then, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!