Nendoroid: Cool Japanese Figures


The Japanese Good Smile Company is manufacturer of the Nendoroid series of little anime figures. The characters are found in anime and videogames which has made them very popular with collectors who love the big-eyed characters. The majority of the characters are Japanese game, manga, and anime stories. The Good Smile Company not only distributes the cute little products, but designs, manufactures, and markets them, too. They employ artists who know how to turn an anime characters into a figure with exaggerated features without losing the distinguishing features of that character. The Nendoroid figures are some of the highest quality in the industry, making them very desirable collectables all over the world.


Nendoroid is not a character, but a brand that the Good Smile Company makes in the chibi version of many licensed characters. When a characters is made into a chibi style, the characters are deformed to have large heads on small bodies. They are cute with extremely expressive manga/anime eyes. The clothes are fashionable and on some characters the clothes are sexy, but in a cute way. Nendoroid figures often have expressions that can be changed and the body parts can also be exchanged with other characters. The actual term, Nendo, means “clay” which is appropriate for these toys due to the fact that the characters can be changed. Nendoroid also makes petite versions of the characters as well as play sets, plush toys, and display pieces, too.


If you are familiar with manga and anime from Japan, the characters in the Nendoroid brand will be familiar names. Some of the popular creations include characters from Magical Girl Lyrical Nonoha, Haruhi Suzumiya, Vocaloid, and Fate/Stay Night. The majority of characters made into Nendoroids are Japanese fictional characters, but the company has made a few based on real people. The rare ones are designed to look like Kamui Kobayashi, from Formula One racing fame, Linkin Park, and some Japanese actors like Nana Mizuki.


When you begin collecting Nendoroids, you should know about a few different designs. The typical Nendoroid is about 10 centimeters tall and each one comes with a display stand. What makes them fun is that each piece comes with interchangeable expressions so you can make your Nendoroid look happy, sad, or angry. Not all of the 10 cm Nendoroids come with interchangeable facial expressions, but they might come with weapons, jewelry, or other accessories depending on the things the characters use in their original stories. Many of them also come with articulated joints for fun with posing them, too.


The Petite line has Nendoroid that measure in at 6.5 cm and they come with a display stand, too. These often come in a Nendoroid box that offers a surprise to the person who opens it - no one knows what the character will be on the inside of the box. These Nendoroid Petites also have interchangeable parts and facial expressions.


Lastly, Nendoroid More characters are the newest line that offers collectors a larger range of display options for the adorable characters. These characters can be displayed with clips and with suction cups.