I only just received the latest in my collection of Puella Magi Madoka Magica scale figures due to one of the European stores shutting down over Christmas and New Year. She was released early November 2014, and perfectly captures the juxtaposition of violence, determination and elegance that is key to the show’s tone and aesthetic. This is Akemi Homura, mistress of time travel, and she’s produced by Aniplex. Initially an Aniplex+ exclusive, she made her way to other outlets and I’m thoroughly delighted to have this stone cold bad-ass of a villain hero demon magical girl watching over the rest of my figures. Her steely gaze and confident strut scream “I am Homura, and I’ve seen some shit“.

This figure is labelled the “Timeshift version”, and we can see her using her time travel powers as she carries the limp body of Kyubey in her left hand and a handgun in her right hand. The gun has to be inserted between her fingers, and she comes with two interchangeable left hands; one holding Kyubey, and the other loose. Homura is actually a 1/7 scale figure, unlike the rest of the Good Smile Company, Stronger, and FREEing lines, which are all 1/8 scale. This makes her slightly taller than the others, but her colours and sculpt fit in well with the rest that are currently available, and should you wish to display her by herself, she’s striking enough on her own.

As I’m sure you’re all dying to know, Homura is made of ABS, ATBC-PVC and PVC. The sculpt is a combined effort from Ozawa Shingo and T-Rex. She stands 220mm tall and initially cost ¥9,258. Her paint job isn’t quite on par with other figures from more noteworthy manufacturers, but the story told by the pose alone makes it a stand-out. It has so much energy. Click on the images to see up close. Note the slight smudging of lines and the paint seems to be more of a dust magnet than usual.

Regardless of her shortcomings, she draws attention like few of the other Magical Girls could. We’ve discussed Puella Magi Madoka Magica‘s dark interpretation of the Magical Girl genre on the podcast and in various articles, and its messianic symbolism has always been a draw for me. I’ve found this figure actually pairs well with the Ultimate Madoka 1/8 scale figure by Good Smile Company due to her size (see below).

Whether you love her, hate her or feel desperately sad for her, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is more often Homura’s story than Madoka’s. I’d even dare to say that no other figure has more accurately expressed Homura’s attitude and personality than Aniplex’s Timeshift version. For the price point, she is decidedly more dynamic and interesting than most other scale figures from the series.