Figures

Japan is home to a 15-meter tall statue of RX-78-2 Gundam, endless walls of gacha (vending machines for small trading figures), and of course, Akihabara - heaven on earth for figure (or figurine) collectors. Japan loves its figures and it shows. Every day, collectors peer through the glass cases in shop after shop of Nakano Broadway, a four-story shopping center loved by figure fans, in hopes they’ll find another beautiful figure to add to their collection. Even if they leave empty handed, there are still many long-standing figure stores to visit - some with barely enough room to walk around! Some collectors even rent glass space in stores to sell figures from their own collection to fellow fans. Japan’s figure industry has grown by popular demand to the tune of 30 billion yen since figures were first included in sweet snacks as a special surprise (2013).

Japan’s figures have evolved a great deal over the years as well, having first started as personal creations in the form of garage kits (a type of figure that requires assembly and painting) of anime and manga characters, especially bishoujo garage kits that accentuate the beauty and personality of female characters. Hobbyists sometimes make a distinction between garage kits and resin kits, the former being made solely by one artist and the second being produced by a company and then assembled. As you might expect, the word “garage” of garage kits came from the fact fans first assembled them in make-shift workshops in their own garages.

Manufactured plastic models kits of robots and kaiju, such as Godzilla, first started as toys for kids, but then began being made for commercial audiences to promote the rise of robot anime. Plastic models have never been limited to just robots and kaiju though, there are plenty of advanced plastic model kits of trains, automobiles, warships, mecha, aircrafts, and more. From the beginning, parts were glued together, but in recent years, parts that snap together have been made and sold with decals so paint isn’t required and an even larger audience can take part in building them. Since the 1970s, Japanese firms such as Hasegawa and Tamiya have dominated the market with their superior plastic model kit manufacturing technology.

With the first character model Gigantor (Tetsujin 28-go) being released in the 1960s, Japan’s figure market has become so varied because companies work extremely hard to create higher quality figures with more aesthetic appeal in order to keep fans happy and satisfied. Their ambition has given rise to the characteristic of Japanese figures being spot-on recreations of characters and true works of art. Improvements in sculpting techniques have advanced the quality of mass produced figures even further in recent years, giving rise to such well-loved, articulated series like figma and Nendoroid by Good Smile Company.

Now there is an entire community built around figures who attend figure conventions, such as Wonder Festival held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The main focus of the event is garage kits. They can be extremely detailed and unique depending on the difficulty as well as the artist’s creativity and skill. Unusually talented artists are featured during the Wonder Showcase (WSC) and are sold at exceptionally high prices. Famous garage kit lines include CharaGumin by Volks and RyunRyunTei. For those who’d rather purchase a pre-painted, pre-assembled figure, there are still plenty of options including bishoujo, chibi, trading, scale, action, and mecha figures.

Good Smile Company (GSC), Max Factory, Bandai, Kotobukiya, Megahouse, Wave, Orchid Seed, Banpresto, SEGA, and Taito are just a handful of popular Japanese figure makers. GSC might be the best known maker overseas especially due to its figma and Nendoroid figures lines. figma are loved for their detail and highly articulated joints. The adorable chibi style of Nendoroids are irresistible to anime and manga fans. Figures of both lines often come with accessories relevant to the character or series. All these pre-assembled, pre-painted figures of anime, manga, and video game characters are often produced to a certain scale such as 1/5, 1/7, and 1/8 scale unless they are non-scale mascot figures or chibi depictions.

One of the most popular types of figures is bishoujo figures. Hundreds of bishoujo figures have been made in honor of popular female characters like Hatsune Miku, Super Sonico, Saber, and the Love Live! idols. Occasionally, bishoujo figures are made as a female depiction of a male character such as those made of Jason Voorhees ( Freddy vs. Jason, Friday the 13th) and Edward Scissorhands. Adult fans can also choose to purchase “cast-off” figures that include removable clothing pieces, but there are still plenty of bishoujo figures that are appropriate for all ages.

Fans overseas can have difficulty obtaining high-quality figures without running the risk of receiving fake or damaged figures. We, at the TOM Premium Shop, work directly with figure makers to make sure all our figures are authentic, and we ship them directly from our own warehouse after carefully packaging them so that they have the best odds of withstanding their journey. Of course, our customer service team is always happy and quick to help when the unfortunate does happen and a figure arrives damaged.

So what makes figures so sought after? What compels artists to meticulously sculpt our favorite characters and carefully paint their familiar expressions? As I write to you about figures right now, there is a mini Pikachu figure sitting on my desk and it reminds me of the endless carefree hours I have spent in the world of Pokémon earning badges and filling up my Pokédex. If I had to take a guess, I think figures enable us to bring a bit of what we love from the 2D world into the 3D world - whether that is the positivity of Hatsune Miku, strength of Garo, adventure of Link from The Legend of Zelda, or sweetness of Menma from Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day. Figures are more than just a hobby or a collectible - they are a reflection of our dreams, an expression of ourselves, an avenue for our creativity, a reminder of happy memories, and a magnet that draws together people from around the world into a single community. Thank you for figures, Japan!