Shopping Guide
Since they first broke onto the scene in the ‘60s and ‘70s, action figures have become ubiquitous as both toys and collector’s items for their ability to let fans bring their favorite characters to life through sculpts that capture their personality and dynamic poses that bring their favorite scenes to their collection. With advances in technology and techniques, today’s action figures are a far cry from the classic figures of yesteryear with full articulation, faithful sculpting that captures each tiny detail, and an assortment of accessories included to create all kinds of scenes and situations, making them some of the most loved collectables around. Some of the most prominent Japanese action figure brands include Revoltech, Real Action Heroes, figma, S.H.Figuarts, Super Action Statue, and Play Arts Kai to name a few.
Revoltech is Kaiyodo’s take on the action figure that became popular for its wide mobility and posing ease. The name “Revoltech” is a portmanteau of “Revolver Technology” in reference to its proprietary Revolver Joints used in all its figures, giving them wide range of motion and stability and allowing for many dynamic and varied poses. Popular Revoltech lines include Revoltech Yamaguchi, a core brand of the company named after sculptor Katsuhisa Yamaguchi that features characters from Evangelion, Metal Gear Solid, Ghost in the Shell, Gurren Lagann, Trigun, Rurouni Kenshin, Fullmetal Alchemist, and more; the Takeya Takayuki Buddhist Statue Collection, which features highly detailed sculpts of the gods of the Buddhist pantheon; the Pixar Figure Collection featuring articulated figures of fan-favorite Pixar characters including Sully from Monster’s Inc., Nemo from Finding Nemo, Woody from Toy Story, and WALL-E from WALL-E; a line of mecha from the world of Muv-Luv Alternative; Revoltech Queen’s Blade featuring characters from the Queen’s Blade series; and Revoltech Fraulein, a line of slightly chibi versions of popular female characters including Asuka, Rei, and Mari from Evangelion, Yoko from Gurren Lagann, Mikuru and Yuki from the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise, characters from the Idolm@ster franchise, and more.
The Real Action Heroes line of action figures by Medicom Toy is among the most popular for its unsurpassed high sculpt quality and flawless painting that captures every minute detail. The figures feature full articulation, making pulling off just about any action pose as smooth as can be, and tailored costumes made of real fabric for a realistic look that can’t be beat. Each figure also comes with a number of accessory parts like weapons to bring it all together so you can recreate your favorite scenes right in your collection with ease. Some of the most notable releases from the brand to date have included Link from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, characters from Attack on Titan including Mikasa Ackerman, Jean Kirschtein, Hange Zoe, Eren Yeager, Armin Arlert, and Annie Leonhart, Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, Saber and Archer from the Fate series, Batman, and more.
Another figure brand on the cutting edge of the figure market and loved by fans the world over is Max Factory’s figma brand of fully articulated, non-scale figures that blends the aesthetics of PVC statues with the mobility and poseability of action figures. Each figure makes use of smooth yet posable joints for easy posing of all kinds and includes several facial expressions and a bevy of optional parts to recreate your favorite moments. There is also an offshoot of figma called figFIX that features figma-sized non-articulated statues of characters in well-known poses, allowing for a faithful representation at a reasonable price. A line of 1/12 scale vehicles called figma Vehicles is also available that features vehicles designed for figma figures to ride in.
Equally loved for its figures inspired by their own games and other popular franchises and characters is Square Enix’s Play Arts Kai brand. Play Arts Kai figures are well known for their high quality, naturalistic sculpts as well as for the vast range of equally well-crafted accessories that they come bundled with. In addition to figures based on Square Enix’s own games like the Final Fantasy series and Kingdom Hearts, figures related not only to the Batman games and wider comics universe but also other popular franchises including Metal Gear, Star Wars, Aliens, Star Trek, Watchmen, and even Vocaloid characters have appeared in the Play Arts Kai lineup as well.
Mecha is a hugely popular subset of action figures with a cornucopia of brands including
Metal Build, NXEdge Style, Super Robot Chogokin, Robotech Heavy Armor, Variable Action, and more. And one of the most prominent among them is Bandai’s The Robot Spirits (Robot Damashii). The brand, largely focused on Gundams from the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, features high-precision 12-centimeter-tall robot figures aimed at the adult collector that are created using the latest 3D CAD technology for unbeatable sculpts. A combination of solid, smooth, and soft materials is used to create figures with unprecedented detail and a realistic finish. The brand has become a standard in the robot action figure genre for precisely these reasons and continues to be on the cutting edge of the mecha action figure market.
