Kotobukiya toys invade ToyCon 2017

Toy collecting is alive and well in the country, as evidenced by the huge crowds ToyCon Philippines attracted this year. But such events prove popular not only with hobbyists, but with toy companies as well, who use them as venues to exhibit their new and upcoming toylines.

One company that had a massive presence at ToyCon 2017 was Kotobukiya, a Japanese toy manufacturer whose many products are brought to the country courtesy of Philippine distributor of toys and collectibles, Arigatoys Collectibles. This year, Arigatoys’ Kotobukiya booth boasted two enormous LED screens showcasing scenes from the “Frame Arms Girl” anime, as well as numerous displays featuring many of Kotobukiya’s bestselling product lines.

Present at the booth were Kotobukiya’s international sales manager, Junji Shinoda, and Arigatoys product manager Harvey Yu, who were both happy to share their thoughts on the toy manufacturer’s latest figures with GMA News Online.

 

The rise of mecha cuties

Kotobukiya is a rarity among Japanese toy companies for developing products that cater to both Western and Asian tastes; for every figure inspired by a Japanese property, there’s one or two based on an American comic book hero or Hollywood movie. This is perhaps one of the keys to the company’s continued international success.

Recently, however, one toyline has been serving Kotobukiya particularly well: Frame Arms Girl.

Frame Arms Girl is Kotobukiya’s anthropomorphic take on its Frame Arms model kit line of mecha figures, turning each character into a hybrid of girl and machine. Quite an unusual combination, but one that has proven lucrative.

“At this time Frame Arms Girl is one of our fastest-growing lines in Asia, so we are very excited for it,” said Shinoda. “We at Kotobukiya want to enforce it as our number one category.”

As seen in the Kotobukiya booth, each character measures around 13.5 cm tall, features numerous points of articulation, and can be equipped with various weapons and armor pieces. The line is in scale with the original Frame Arms robots and Kotobukiya’s Modeling Support Goods (M.S.G.), which includes accessories such as weapons, armor, and hangar bases. There are even vehicles the characters can pilot.



The toys’ success can be partly attributed to the 12-episode “Frame Arms Girl” anime, whose development Kotobukiya spearheaded specifically to supplement the line. It began airing in April 2017, and can be viewed for free on Kotobukiya’s official Facebook page.

The anime helped boost the visibility of the line.

“The animation was broadcast in the U.S., E.U., Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and all Southeast Asia,” said Shinoda. “People can see the show anywhere, anytime, thanks to smartphones.”

“The anime seemed to have a very good run in the worldwide market, and in the Philippines, too,” said Yu. “We actually really felt the sales of the figures spike. Consumers really had a genuine interest in the product because of the show.”

The anime is similar to “Toy Story” in that the main characters are the toys themselves. Everything the line offers in the real world – from all the girls, to their accessories, to even the nipper – are reproduced in the show. Shinoda and Yu believe this has helped endear fans to the toys even further.

While Frame Arms Girl is now more popular than the model kit series it’s based on, Frame Arms, the former’s success has also improved the latter’s sales performance.

 

Beautiful plastic

Kotobukiya’s other extremely profitable line is Bishoujo. This consists of finely detailed statuettes based on renowned artist Shunya Yamashita’s beautiful illustrations of female characters from video games, comic books, and movies. These figures are often over 9 inches in height.

Bishoujo is where we start seeing Kotobukiya’s commitment to meeting the demands of both the Asian and Western markets. The line is home to figures of characters from Japanese games such as “Street Fighter” and “Tekken,” and also from Western games such as “Mass Effect,” and American comic book companies DC and Marvel.

Bishoujo’s collaboration with Western properties also produced truly bizarre horror figures, including attractive female versions of Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, Chucky, and Edward Scissorhands. Currently, Kotobukiya is in the process of giving “Hellraiser” the Bishoujo treatment, so it shouldn’t be too long before we see their rendition of a female Pinhead.

“The Bishoujo horror series is a merge between Japanese and American culture,” offered Yu. “As far as I know, it’s very popular in the U.S., where they have a strong horror community.”

In addition to Pinhead, Shinoda shared that Kotobukiya will soon release new Bishoujo versions of “Street Fighter V’s” Chun-Li and Cammy, as well as “Mass Effect” characters.

 

Going West

Dedicated solely to Western properties are Kotobukiya’s ArtFX and ArtFX+ series, which boast figures based on characters from the Marvel and DC comic and movie universes, and “Star Wars.” Because Filipinos love these Western properties, these lines are very strong in the Philippines.

ArtFX figures are larger at 1/6 scale. On display at the booth was a mostly unpainted “Guardians of the Galaxy” Star Lord/Peter Quill prototype statue. Magnetically attached to its shoulder was Baby Groot. Also showcased were accessories: a Walkman, headphones, and an extra masked head.

Currently in production is an ArtFX Wonder Woman, based on the hit movie starring Gal Gadot. Though Kotobukiya was unable to provide Arigatoys a prototype for presentation, a poster revealed the appearance of the upcoming item.

 

The release of the smaller, 1/10 scale ArtFX+ figures is divided into “seasons.” Each season launches four or five figures. At the booth, Marvel Legends and DC’s New 52 statuettes were on exhibit.

Kotobukiya is developing Grant Gustin Flash and Stephen Amell Green Arrow figures based on the TV show incarnations of the characters.

And of course, we can expect more “Star Wars” figures thanks to the popularity of the new movies.

 

A positive reception

Shinoda described Filipino Kotobukiya fans as “very positive.”

“In Japan and other Asian countries, fans are a little bit shy,” he explained. “But in the Philippines, they make many requests. They come to our booth and ask a lot of questions about our products. This is very helpful because we get to know their opinions, what they want; we get to know the market better.”

Shinoda also stated many Filipino fans visit Kotobukiya’s official site and various Facebook pages to make inquiries and leave comments.

Both Kotobukiya and Arigatoys hope to further develop the online communities of local Kotobukiya fans. Arigatoys has already created two Facebook pages – the Kotobukiya Philippines page where important announcements are made and fans can share stories or images; and Kotobukiya Trading Philippines, where collectors can trade items.

Shinoda admitted feeling happy about the warm reception Kotobukiya continues to receive in the Philippines. He was also impressed with Arigatoys’ booth, which he observed drew large numbers of people.

“I’m excited to see so many people coming to the booth,” he expressed. “It’s awesome.”

Arigatoys began distributing Kotobukiya’s products throughout the Philippines 5 years ago.

“We’ve been doing business with them for 5 years,” said Shinoda. “At first, growth was slow. But after 2 or 3 years, there was an increase in sales in the Philippines, maybe a 200% increase. So we are very satisfied.”

Arigatoys is happy to continue serving as Kotobukiya’s official Philippine distributor.

“Kotobukiya’s been releasing great products throughout the years and I guess that’s one of the reasons we’re so happy distributing for them,” said Yu.

For more information, visit the official Facebook pages of Kotobukiya and Arigatoys. — TJD, GMA News