I’m in the midst of a love-hate relationship with the Calliope Mori Nendoroid, as I love how the Hololive Vtuber figure looks and the level of detail! However, posing her can be quite annoying due to the nature of the build and things like her long hair, cape, and limbs.
Let me tell you, this Nendoroid is a frustrating Vtuber figure to pose and arrange. The issues started for me once during the unpacking process. Plastic sheets are around the face and between various parts as a form of protection. Upon separating her torso from her lower body at the waist, the figure simply… refused to stick together. Getting the stand affixed in the back (also a challenging feet due to needing to remove her head because of the long hair and her cape) and keeping her constantly posed on her stand helps. But any time I’d take her off of the lower part of the stand to prepare another pose, sure enough the lower half of her body fell apart again.
The other part of its fiddly nature is due to the accessories accompanying it. The Calliope Mori Hololive Nendoroid comes with a glass of wine that fits in only one hand part, which thankfully holds it securely. It’s easy enough to arrange that. The glasses are slightly trickier, as they clip on after the front hair part is affixed and don’t involve layering that goes under the bangs. Though in general, I opted to leave them off due to the fact that they are completely made of solid black plastic and don’t have any transparent elements. It sort of cheapens the look of things, especially since I have older Nendoroids that do have transparent glasses parts or visors that look much better.
But really, it’s getting the scythe into a position you might like that could be a trial. One of the Good Smile Company promotional images shows this Hololive figure with it behind her back, but the nature of her hair, stand, cape, and top-heavy nature of the weapon the Vtuber uses make that a bit of a challenge! I tended to pose her with the blade on the ground or propped up in a such a way where even though the blade is upright, the stand and positioning means it is balanced in a way that works well.
I know this has seemed really critical so far, but I’m genuinely a fan of how the Calliope Mori Hololive Nendoroid turned out, as the degree of detail really captures the Vtuber well. The translucent veil looks great, and I really approve of the decision to make the tiara a part of the hair rather than a separate piece. (I’ve had terrible luck with crowns and ears that rely in a slim slip of plastic wedged between the front and back hair parts.) The outfit has tons of embellishments that make it stand out. Her expressions are very fun too, with the disgusted and sly ones being especially charming.
I also honestly wish I’d picked up a Megurine Luka figure over the years, because I think it’d have resulted in some great mix-and-matching opportunities with this Hololive Nendoroid. Both are musicians, so the accessories would have paired well. I honestly could have swapped in the hair parts too, since they both have pink locks. There’s a lot of crossover potential with it.
This Calliope Mori Nendoroid figure has a ton of personality, and I do feel like it really accurately represents the Vtuber. The work on her dress, hair, accessories, and face plate are fantastic. However, there are some design elements — both intentional and unintentional — that might make actually posing and displaying her a little frustrating. It’s very possible I just got one with a bit of a “dud” part that kept the two halves of her body connected! But know going in that if you want certain poses, you might need to fiddle with parts and do some balancing to make it work.
The Calliope Mori Nendoroid is one of two Hololive EN Vtuber figures out now, as Amelia Watson and Gawr Gura are also available. Ninomae Ina’nis is also on the way.
