Interest
Madoka Magica Fans Wait 7 Hours for Café Exclusive
posted on by Xueying Yue
The official Twitter account of Good Smile Café, the restaurant run by the figure maker Good Smile Company east of Tokyo, announced on Sunday that some people had to wait at least seven hours for a seat, even though they lined up within a half hour of the café's opening.
Since its first day on May 3, the limited-time Madoka Magica Café revamp of Good Smile Café has attracted thousands of fans of the anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The event will last until July 18 in the city of Matsudo in Chiba Prefecture. The cafe has been hosting full houses for days; some days had a line of 150 to 180 fans waiting to get in.
On Sunday at 11:30 am — a half hour after the café opened, the place already had a full house with 180 more fans standing in line outside the café. To reduce the tension, the cafe started to pass out tickets, suggesting that the fans in line return at scheduled times later. Fans who got the tickets at 11:30 a.m. were asked to come back seven hours later at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday was the second day of a new campaign menu with an exclusive Nendoroid figure set, while supplies last. The 4,000-yen (about US$50) "Contract with Kyubey Set" features the Kyubey curry plate inspired by the polarizing creature in the anime, an exclusive metal badge, and a pre-order for a Nendoroid figure of the main magical girl character Madoka Kaname with a bonus Kyubey mascot. Good Smile Company will ship the pre-ordered Nendoroid figure for free, at least to Japanese postal addresses.
The café has also been serving a dessert in the shape of Charlotte the Dessert Witch. On Saturday, the first day of the new menu, the café reported that about 200 people were waiting in line at 11:50 a.m.
Madoka Magica is a 2011 hit anime series produced by Shaft. It is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo (Maria Holic, Bakemonogatari, Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei) and written by famous game scriptwriter Gen Urobuchi (Saya no Uta, Fate/zero) with original character designs by Ume Aoki.
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Images © Magica Quarter/Aniplex, Madoka Partners, MBS
Update: "Dessert" typo fixed and more description of Nendoroid figure added. Thanks, Mirri.
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