YMMV / Nendoroid

• Broken Base: For the western nendoroid circles, there's the subject of preorders, specifically the number of a nendoroid to get in a preorder. Some argued that ordering more than one (up to four for the Good Smile site and two for the Good Smile US site) increases the likelihood that GS will put out more of that nendoroid, while others say that it won't effect how many GS will put out, on top of screwing over others There's another debate of the subject of characters and how many accessories the nendoroids will get, which are a can of fire ants, to put it delicately.
• Fan Nickname: Fans call these "Nendos" for short. For nendoroid dolls, those get called "nendolls".
• Fandom Rivalry:
  • With Cu-Poches, a lesser known but similar line, in some circles. Much of the debate is tied to which one is thought of as better. Some will argue that Cu-Poche is better because of the line having more joints, which in turn makes them more poseable, while some will argue that nendoroids are better due to having more character variation, accessories, etc. This seems to be reignited more with Nendoroid Dolls.
  • Has an unhealthy one with the Funko Pop! fandom. Defenders of Funko denote Nendoroid for being too niche, a sharper price point, and not having as many appealing licenses for Western audiences. Nendoroid fans loathes Funko Pop for being creepy, unappealing, unposeable low hanging fruit that doesn't utilize their licenses well, ignoring the fact that they're completely different things altogether (Funko Pops are static vinyl figures while Nendoroids were super deformed PVC figurines with interchangeable parts and sometimes articulation).
• Friendly Fandoms:
  • With Sylvanian Families (Calico Critters in the US and Canada), Cu-Poche, and Figma, as in the former two, the furniture/accessories are compatible with the figures and, in the 3rd case, it's because they're made by the same company.
  • For similar reasons, those who love Nendoroid Dolls are also fond of Obitsu (specifically, Obitsu 11) because of the clothes having similar or close enough measurements.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: In Western countries, Nendoroid is this compared to their sister product Figma. Alongside the fact that Nendoroid has more Western licenses and more reasonable prices, the resurgence of super-deformed illustrations and figures in The New '10s and the minimal competition does help bolster their presence on the market. Certain Western-licensed releases does includes articulations, which makes them more than just interchangeable figures and greatly increase their value in the West.
• I Knew It!: What would seem like a pipe dream started slowly writing itself to reality when Team Salvato of Doki Doki Literature Club started having a partnership with Goodsmile, making people predict that they were considerably in the books for becoming Nendoroids and more. While Monika's was first announced in July 2021, the other three were released as pillows/pins, making fans question when the other characters would become Nendoroids, which happened to Natsuki in May 2022 and later Sayori and Yuri in February 2023.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Neo Zeong Nendoroid ^ExplanationThe SD Neo Zeong model kit's Hull Unit is surprisingly compatible with Nendoroid or any other small figure that fits into it. Cue people starting to put their Nendoroids into the Hull Unit like a Mini-Mecha and calling the said kit a Nendoroid accessory.
  • Madoka Titus ^ExplanationJust like her Figma counterpart, you can put Gundam Titus's mechanical arms and legs onto Madoka's magical girl torso. Only this time, you need to use the SD Gundam Titus in order to maintain her chibi scale.
• Moe: ALMOST everyone in the lineup is pretty much this, even the characters that weren't meant to be cute.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: There's been a few complaints that a lot of the newer released nendoroids don't have as many accessories in comparison to the older ones.
• Unintentional Uncanny Valley:
  • Jared Leto's Joker from Suicide Squad (2016) managed to look way creepier than he should, thanks to the more pronounced eyes and makeup.
  • While the normal◊ and classic◊ faceplates of the Barbie nendoroid look decent, the Smiling faceplate based on the current Millie Barbie sculpt◊ doesn't translate very well, as it is basically a realistic face plastered on a chibified body, which many find to be unsettling.
• Unexpected Character: Even with their broader range of IPs compared to Figma, some of the characters chosen for Nendoroid have caught many collectors off-guard.
  • Needless to say, nobody expected a nendoroid of Thomas the Tank Engine of all characters, given that he is a sentient steam engine and not the usual human/Funny Animal that Nendoroid primarily dabbles in, on top of Thomas and Friends and most merchandise based on the show being typically aimed at a much younger demographic than Nendoroid's target demographic.
  • Practically nobody in the entire world expected a nendoroid of Alex DeLarge of all characters and media.
  • Even taking Among Us' popularity into account, nobody expected a nendoroid of the crewmate from that game.
  • Even when taking Undertale's massive popularity (especially in Japan) into account, fans were still surprised when it was announced that Sans and Papyrus from the game were to be made into nendoroids. Adding onto it, the third character announced was Undyne, something that seemed surprising that she got announced before characters like Frisk and Mettaton.
  • Even accounting for the massive popularity of BTS, people (including fans) were still surprised when it was announced that the members would receive Nendoroids of themselves based on their appearance in Dynamite.
  • Absolutely nobody was expecting a nendoroid based on Barbie herself, let alone coming in full circle when it comes to making a nendoroid out of a preexisting toy. It was quite shocking, given that while the Toy Story nendoroids are at least based on the fictional toys from the franchise, Barbie's was based on the actual, real-life dolls. There's also the fact that unlike other examples of Western characters getting nendoroids, many of which usually have a following in Japan that justifies their inclusion, Barbie is generally unpopular in Japan^note this is primarily due to cultural differences, as Barbie's more mature image does not appeal much to Japanese audiences, who tend to lean more towards innocent and cute things instead (like the Licca-Chan dolls), which just makes her all the more unexpected.

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