Menma

“AnoHana’s” girl come back from the grave to get her wish fulfilled is one of the most adorable things that happened to anime last year. Menma may be a ghost, but she’s a happy, excitable and sweet one. She only cries for others, and deeply cares about the well-being of those she left behind. 

She’s a perfect candidate for a Nendo; moe, sweet, and very little girl-ish. Let’s have a look!

Here she is in the box. She’s pretty standard; everything looks as it should. 

And here she is in the plastic shell! She has a lot of arms. A lot. Twelve, to be exact. She also comes with four legs, three faces and a handful of accessories. 

And here she is out of the case! Menma is adorable, don’t you think? 

Let’s get a look at that dress:

The details are right, from the ruffles to the bow. 

And from the back:

And now from the side, to show how it flares up. 

Let’s check out Menma from the side, so we can talk about her base.

See that plug at the back of her head? That’s not a plug; it’s a magnet. There’s no hole to port into, leaving her hair smooth and perfect. The magnet is powerful enough to hold onto her through quite a bit of tweaking; you can even make her hover. It’s an excellent stand, and I hope they make more like it. 

Now let’s check out some body parts and accessories!

First up is Menma’s serene face. I’ve added her flower stands to her. The flowers have their own half-moon shaped bases that line up next to Menma’s base. They don’t snap into place, but they do fit quite snugly. 

And now for her arms behind her back:

How about a new face?

Yup, that’s determined face with her journal in hand. 

Wanna see the back of that journal?

And, of course, Menma has muffins! She’s pretty excited about that. 

Let’s change out her arms and legs this time! She looks like she’s running at you, ready to tackle with a hug. Or she’s going to play hopscotch. 

You can see in that picture that she’s hovering just slightly; again, that’s the magnet at work. It really is awesome. 

Now for the last pose, and my favorite! Menma comes with her flower in hand. I put her back in serene face for this, because it just seemed appropriate. 

I really have absolutely no complaints about this figure. She’s easy to handle, easy to switch parts out, she looks lovely, there are no paint irregularities or sculpt flaws that I can find. The magnet base makes her so, so easy to use and adjust; she’s just fantastic. 

I love “AnoHana;” it’s a sweet story, and though there are many sad moments it doesn’t feel like a sad anime. Menma is a large part of that; if she weren’t so perpetually happy it would be a whole different genre of anime. They really knocked it out of the park when they created her, and my affection for her probably colors my affection for this Nendoroid. But isn’t that how it should be? 

Photographs by Heather Amaral