Figures and Merch

As a given franchise begins to become popular, the company that owns the rights to it will often decide to create a variety of goods based on the series in an attempt to generate even more profit. Although these goods can be manufactured by the company that owns the rights to a series, merchandising rights can also be sold to other manufacturers, creating even more products for fans to choose from. These items are often referred to as merchandise and can take a wide range of different forms to help appeal to a bigger audience. Oftentimes, merchandise is based on specific characters or other unique aspects of a series. While there is nearly a limitless variety of merchandise available for fans to choose from, some types of merchandise are easier to find than others. A few of the most common types of merchandise include apparel, plushies, keychains, and plastic models.

Apparel

Although the term “apparel” can simply refer to clothing, in the world of merchandise, it is often used to describe wearable items with designs based on a given series. These accessories and articles of clothing can range wildly in design and style. T-shirts are one of the most popular and widely available kinds of apparel, likely due to how easily they can be manufactured. Some manufacturers will opt to make a printed graphic tee while others have the design for a shirt woven into the fabric itself. Their lighter fabric and lower production cost also often make prices lower on the customer’s end as well, making them great for fans on a budget.

Hoodies are another common form of apparel, but are often more expensive, as they require much more material to produce. While hoodies with graphic designs like t-shirts can still be found, hoodies inspired by the outfits of popular characters from a given series are also quite popular. These types of hoodies are enjoyed by cosplayers, as they can be used in cosplays of that specific character. That said, some apparel is also made specifically for cosplay and includes items like completely pre-made costumes and unique accessories that would be difficult to make by hand. No matter what a fan looks for, they can rest assured that they can find a stylish piece of apparel that fits their personal tastes and budget.


“Attack on Titan Season 2 Titans Adult T-Shirt” by Ripple Junction

Plushies

Plushies are an incredibly popular form of merchandise that often recreates popular characters as cute, huggable dolls, pillows, or charms. Depending on the manufacturer, plushies can have a variety of different uses as well. Like apparel, plushies come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging from those small enough to fit onto a keychain to those well over a foot tall. Smaller plushies can act as charms that can be attached to one’s phone or bag, while larger plushies are better used as pillows or cuddle toys. Plushies that are medium-sized could be used decorations as well, but make for wonderful dolls as well. Either way, the main characteristic that all plushies share is that they are filled with soft materials (often polyester) that give them a soft, squishy feel. Some manufacturers also make groups of plushies based on characters from the same series and release them as collections. This allows fans to pick individual plushies of their favorite characters while true collectors can simply purchase the whole set at once.


“Mega Jumbo Lying Down Plush Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Inosuke Hashibira” by Sega

Keychains

Keychains are an incredibly common form of merchandise that are perfect for fans on a budget, as they are often small, affordable, and come in an incredible variety to choose from. Most keychain merchandise is made with either clear acrylic or rubber, though some metal keychains are produced as well. When keychains are made, they often portray characters of a series in a variety of different styles, outfits, and themes. Like some plushies, keychains are also produced in collections (and sometimes box sets) that allow fans to collect a variety of keychains of a group of popular characters from a series. Some keychain collections simply use official designs straight from the series they are based on, though some collections use themes that show unique artwork, like the example shown above. Seasonal themes are used quite often, as they show characters in new, previously unseen outfits that can also match the current season.


“My Hero Academia Curry Acrylic Keychain Collection” by Movic

Plastic Models

Plastic Models are incredibly popular items among the more devoid fans of mecha series. These kits usually come completely unassembled, requiring the customer to build their favorite mechs piece by piece. Although some may find plastic models to be a bit too difficult to deal with, those that collect these models thoroughly enjoy the sense of accomplishment they feel once it is finished. Once completed, these models can act like fully articulated figures, allowing its owner to pose them however they see fit. These kits also often include a variety of accessories based on whatever mech is included in the kit, which also may require assembly of their own.

Gunpla (Gundam plastic models) are a popular brand of plastic models that are almost entirely exclusive to the Gundam series. These kits make up a significant portion of the plastic models available for fans to choose from and even have their own ranking system. Today, Gunpla are usually offered as either High Grade, High Grade Universal Century, Real Grade, Master Grade, Perfect Grade. High Grade models are generally easier to build and cheaper to buy, though as a model gets closer to Perfect Grade, the more difficult and expensive they are.


“Moderoid Hades Project Zeorymer Great Zeorymer” by Good Smile Company

Table of Contents

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

The hit manga and anime series My Hero Academia began as a humble manga written by Kohei Horikoshi that was published in Weekly Shonen Jump, but has exploded in popularity in recent years. Many of its lovable characters and emotional moments have touched the hearts of many fans a...

Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

My Hero Academia is an ongoing manga series that is written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi and published in Weekly Shonen Jump. Since its debut in 2014, it has skyrocketed in popularity all over the globe with its appealing characters and its interesting story. After the succ...

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The popular manga series My Hero Academia has swept the anime and manga community around the world due to its diverse and lovable cast of characters, interesting take on a superhero society, and engaging action scenes. Many fans today continue to enjoy the ongoing series to this ...

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The popular manga and anime series My Hero Academia began as a manga series written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi and published in Weekly Shonen Jump. In the spring of 2016, the first season of the anime adaptation of the series was aired to incredible reception, causing the...

Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

My Hero Academia is an incredibly popular manga and anime series that was originally written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi. After the manga had found a great amount of success amongst its readers, an anime adaptation produced by studio Bones was announced and began airing in...

Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

The incredibly popular manga and anime series My Hero Academia began as a manga series that was originally written and illustrated by Kohei Horikoshi and published in Weekly Shonen Jump. After the manga gained a significant amount of popularity, an anime adaptation led by studio ...

Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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One Punch Man is a highly successful webcomic turned manga phenomenon that was started by an artist only known by their pen name, ‘One’, in 2009. By 2012, the viral webcomic had seen up to 8 million views and was remade into a digital manga for Shueisha’s Tonari no Young Jump web...

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Pokemon, a worldwide phenomenon, was founded in 1995 by Satoshi Tajiri and has had a lot of different merchandise released ever since the television series first aired in 1997. Most of the merchandise features the Pokémon and characters in plushies, Amiibo toys, illustrations on ...

Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

The Pokemon franchise has one of the most expansive and successful lines of merchandise in all of anime, manga, and video games. The hundreds of different Pokémon from the video games have led to fans scrambling for all kinds of t-shirts, figures, amiibo, and, of course, plushies...

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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The Super Mario franchise is one of the most popular and widespread video game franchises in the world, as such, there are a countless number of fans of the games and its characters, as well as a tremendous amount of merchandise based on the series. There are hundreds of differen...

Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

The success of the manga series Tokyo Ghoul was nearly instantaneous ever since its release in 2011. Later in 2014, the anime adaptation only highlighted the popularity of the series around the world. As the number of Tokyo Ghoul fans grew, a sequel manga series by the original a...

Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

Collectible figure manufacturer Funko Pop has a long history of transforming iconic characters from film, TV, books, games, and anime into their classic chibi, black button-eyed figures. Funko Pops are so popular because they offer fans the chance to decorate their spaces with an...

Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

Yuri!!! on Ice instantly conquered the hearts of thousands of fans since its first release in 2016. Its elaborate and smooth choreographies and its beautiful music made a huge impact and received many positive comments. Having these choreographies being coordinated by a professio...

Last updated at, 12 Jan 2021

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