Company: Good Smile Company
Release: 2015+
Size: +/- 5cm
Main distribution: Japan / USA / Europe
The Nendoroid (ねんどろいど, Nendoroido) series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company since 2006. They typically depict characters from anime, manga or video games and are designed with a large head and smaller body to give them a cute appearance. This is the Nendoroid of Kirby’s Dream Land.
Cute to look at, fun to play with and great to collect; Nendoroids. There are thousands of Nendoroids out now. I’ll only list the Kirby ones here.
Several Nendoroids have been released for the Kirby franchise;
544 Kirby
669 Meta Knight
786 Ice Kirby
1055 Beam Kirby
1281 Waddle Dee
1883 Kirby 30th anniversary edition
1950 King Dedede
Planet Robobot Armor (with and without Kirby)
I got 1/8.
544 Kirby
Release: August 2015
Re-Release: September 2021
Barcode: 4580416903820
Kirby comes in a thick box to accommodate for all his pieces. The box is a nice pink and it’s Nendoroid 544. The backdrop is blue, with stars and Kirby background graphics. In the bottom right corner is a nice shot of the figure, as well as on the sides of the box. An open window on the front shows the figure and most of his parts / accessories well.
This is the re-release version.
The tray is double layered and holds all pieces nicely. Kirby comes with 4 faces, an extra hand that’s able to hold accessories, and parts to use the Copy Ability Star Rod, Sword and Fire. There’s also a stand included. Inside you’ll also find a little instruction leaflet with images in how to change parts.
The figure is incredibly nice looking. His face isn’t just decals but actually carved, so his mouth is indented and his cheeks are puffy etc. He is his trademark soft pink with red boots, and has his modern blue eyes and darker pink cheeks.
His round body exists out of 2 halves, which can be twisted to take apart. The front half can be swapped out for different faces. Inside Kirby is filled with metal, which gives him a nice weight. But more importantly, his arms and shoes are magnetic, allowing his body parts to be placed anywhere on his body (apart from the hole in the back and his mouth). He also feels soft. This makes him extremely pleasant to handle with no worry of ball joints etc. snapping.
This makes Kirby extremely poseable and animateable.
The accessories included are a nice bonus.
Kirby’s moves from the games can easily be replicated. But using the parts creatively can also create funny poses and scenes.
Sword’s hat can easily be his sleepy cap. And covering the angry eyebrows creates a little surprised o face.
Due to the magnets hands can be placed easily in slightly “illegal” ways, like covering his sucking mouth to create a stunned shocked look.
This can make Kirby even more expressive than he already is despite the limited faces. He is a great little figure to have and play around with.
I’ve always liked the Nendoroids in a way. I love their expressiveness and the posing you’re able to do. But I’m not a huge fan of their chibi look. Some characters it suits though, like The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker Link, or Animal Crossing’s Isabelle, as they are mostly chibi to begin with. Others look comical, like the Metal Gear series. I considered getting a plain Nendoroid doll, but that was a rabbit hole I didn’t felt like diving into (yet).
The Kirby Nendoroid though, felt perfect. Kirby is just a ball, and therefor doesn’t require to be chibi-fied. He looks exactly as he should. And he has magnets, like my giant Kirby, but all over his body instead of a few points. So I fell in love with this Nendoroid. I had however missed his initial release as I didn’t have the money for it at the time. I was also scared of buying a fake second-hand.
So I was extremely happy to find he gotten a re-release. And this time I ordered him.
Not soon after, they released 1883 Kirby 30th anniversary edition, which made me a bit peeved as I would have ordered that one instead had I known. I love his classic face, and the shocked and dizzy faces too. But I don’t feel like paying that much for 3 additional faces. I’m not fussed about the sparkly eyes, or the star base plate, or the golden rod (I prefer my yellow one), or the other bits. But I might eventually get it for the faces.
I felt the same about 786 Ice Kirby and 1055 Beam Kirby. I don’t like simple re-colours of figures. And I wouldn’t get them as a one-off. But as additions to my Kirby they can be actually quite nice. They would make for funny multiplayer scenes. And their powers are cool adds. So I might get them eventually too.
I’m not fussed about the Planet Robobot Armor or 669 Meta Knight. 1950 King Dedede neither as he looks too chibi for my taste.
1281 Waddle Dee looks adorable and would go great with my Kirby, and now that I’ve had a chance to experience a Nendoroid and its quality, I’ll be keeping an eye out for this one.
For now I’m content with my little Kirby, and he’ll make friends with the Corocoroid Kirby‘s for now.
If you like Nendoroid, Kirby or poseable figures, this one is amazing. In my opinion the best Kirby figure out there.
If you prefer statues, bigger figures or dislike Kirby, you’ll give this one a miss.
Got any more details / information you think I should add? Or did I get something wrong? Do you own these figures? Do you agree or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments below!