Summer Wonder Festival returns with a new batch of upcoming figures aimed at otaku hearts.
Two times a year, the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba Prefecture, about 30 minutes east of downtown Tokyo, hosts Wonder Festival. As Japan’s biggest figure and garage kit expo, Wonder Festival shows off not only the newest anime and video game character figures to hit the market, but is also often the first public showing of figures that are still in the prototype stage (which is why a number of them are exhibited unpainted). As such, it’s a snapshot of not only who the currently most popular characters are among Japan’s otaku community, but also a glimpse at who’s projected to still have a hold on fans’ hearts in the near future once the pre-production figures are ready to reach the shelves of stores and fans.
With this year’s summer Wonder Festival taking place last Sunday, we headed out to Makuhari and turned our camera towards the characters on display, and we’ve got a massive batch of photos to share with you, so let’s make the rounds of the exhibitors’ booths.
● Amiami
Amiami, who just opened a gigantic eight-floor figure specialty shop in Tokyo’s Akihabara neighborhood, was displaying figures from a number of different brands.
▼ Goddess of Victory: Nikke’s Isabelle (produced by Otaku Toys)
▼ Touhou Project’s Reimu Hakurei and Koishi Komeiji (Magi Arts)
▼ Taimanin’s Yukikaze (Pure)
▼ Azur Lane’s San Jacinto (Anigame)
▼ Goddess of Victory: Nikke’s Sakura and Rupee (HSK)
▼ Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear’s Yuna (Prisma Wing)
▼ Dead or Alive’s Marie Rose, Azue Lane crossover version (KT Model)
▼ Atelier Sophie’s Sophie Neuenmuller (Amakuni)
▼ Goddess of Victory: Nikke’s Alice (Amakuni)
● Kadokawa
In addition to publishing anime, manga, and light novels, Kodansha also has its own figure line, called KDcolle.
▼ KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World’s Yunyun, Iris, and Megumin
▼ Rascal Does Not Dream’s Mai Sakurajima
▼ Spice and Wolf’s Holo
▼ KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World’s Megumin and Yunyun
▼ Mushoku Tensei’s Roxy Migurdia
▼ Overlord’s Lupusregina Beta and CZ2128 Delta
● Union Creative
The Union Creative Booth also has a selection of figures from manufacturer Freeing.
▼ Azur Lane’s Giulio Cesare, Reno, and Yumi (Freeing)
▼ To Love-Ru’s Haruna Sairenji
▼ Overlord’s Shalltear Bloodfallen
▼ Gridman Universe’s Akane Shinjo
▼ Oshi no Ko’s Kana Arima
● Wonderful Works
The Wonderful Works booth had some jumbo-sized artwork representing the characters and poses of their new figures.
▼ Blue Archive’s Saori
▼ Dolls’ Frontline’s DP-12
▼ The Apothecary Diaries’ Maomao
● Aniplex/Claynel
▼ Hololive virtual YouTuber Hakui Koyori
▼ Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’s Obanai Iguro, Giyu Tomioka, and Sanemi Shinazugawa
▼ Too Many Losing Heroines’ Anna Yanami
● DMM Factory
▼ Overlord’s Albedo
▼ Spice and Wolf’s Holo
▼ Oshi no Ko’s Ruby, Kana, and Mem-cho
▼ Nijisanji virtual YouTuber Sukoya Kana
● Milestone
▼ My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, as I Expected’s Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama (AF)
▼ Vocaloid Hatsune Miku (Hobby Stock)
▼ Attack on Titan’s Levi and Beast Titan (Proof)
● Apex Toys
▼ Genshin Impact’s Hu Tao
▼ Zenless Zone Zero’s Anby and Nicole Demara, Billy Kid, and Nekomiya Nana
▼ Honkai: Star Rail’s Dan Heng
▼ Azur Lane’s Owari, Formidable, and Bremerton
▼ Arknights’ Ch’en the Holungday
▼ Gridman Universe’s Yume Minami and Rikka Takarada
▼ Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina’s Elaina
▼ Azur Lane’s Cheshire, Washington, New Jersey, and Laffey
▼ Azur Lane’s Charybdis, Anchorage, Noshiro, and Amagi
● Spiritale
▼ Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina’s Elaina
▼ Oshi no Ko’s Kana Arima
▼ My Hero Academia’s Himiko Toga
▼ Guilty Gear’s Bridget
▼ My Dress-Up Darling’s Marin Kitagawa
● Wave
And last, let’s swing by the Wave Corporation both, to see…
▼ Guilty Gear’s Bridget
▼ The Idolmaster’s Kaede Takagaki and Kanade Hayami
Figure collecting is an otaku hobby with two limiting factors: spending budget and shelf space, so it’s probably a good thing that a lot of these models won’t be in stores for a while, since fans are probably going to need that time to decide on which ones to add to their home décor.
Photos © SoraNews24
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