The series is a Japanese

action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game, television program, or sport; fictional or historical. These figures are usually ...

line produced by Max Factory and distributed by

Good Smile Company is a Japanese manufacturer of hobby products such as the Nendoroid and Figma (toy), Figma product lines, as well as scale figures. In addition to production and manufacturing, its business includes design, marketing and distribution. Its product ...

. The product series was created by Max Factory CEO MAX Watanabe and Masaki Asai, as a "counter" to the Revoltech line, with a focus on articulation. Each figma comes with various accessories such as exchangeable faceplates and hands, and other optional parts. The line mainly features figures that are significant in pop culture in Japan, primarily characters from Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

, and

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s, with the occasional Western character or real person such as Billy Herrington, who had significance in Japanese pop culture due to internet memes in the country. The first Figma was a special edition

Haruhi Suzumiya is a Japanese light novel series written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito. It was first published in 2003 by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan with the novel ''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'', and has since been followed ...

with the product code SP001 included with the limited edition release of the PS2 game, ''Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi'', released on January 31, 2008. The first regular release figma,

Yuki Nagato This is a list of the characters featured in the '' Haruhi Suzumiya'' franchise, written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito, which contains a multitude of other secondary, and minor characters who are introduced throughout the cou ...

from the series ''

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a Japanese light novel series written by Nagaru Tanigawa and illustrated by Noizi Ito. It was first published in 2003 by Kadokawa Shoten in Japan with the novel ''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'', and has since been followe ...

'' was released in February 2008. The line is prolific in Japan, where it is frequently covered by reputable news media such as

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

and

Dengeki Hobby was a Japanese magazine under the Dengeki Hobby brand published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) centering on information relating to plastic models and toys. It first went on sale on 25 November 1998. There was a Chinese version pu ...

Specifications

The Figma series is an articulated series of figures made from ABS and

PVC Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons o ...

. Each figure includes an articulated stand. The height of the figures is around 13–16 cm, varying depending on the height of the character. Each figma usually comes with a number of different faceplates and hands. Some parts are compatible between different figma figures, making it possible to swap parts and create unique combinations. A flexible plastic is used in areas likely to hinder articulation, such as skirts or scarves.

Figma products

A number of figma-related products and product lines exist, as described below. figma Series The primary figma series is split into three different variants: * Normal edition figmas with three-digit product codes, such as 001. * Special edition figmas with three-digit product codes preceded by SP, such as SP001, which are primarily releases produced under license as tie-ins with other companies. Some are bonus items for limited edition release video games, DVDs, or other products. * Limited edition figmas with three-digit product codes preceded by EX, such as EX001, sold at events such as

Wonder Festival The , or , is a semiannual (February and August) event held in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is sponsored by the Kaiyodo manufacturing company. The main focus is to display and sell " garage kits", which are sculptures that usually rep ...

, a semi-annual event hosted by Good Smile Company, sometimes released via mail-order or through online orders. di:stage The di:stage series is a series of display units and expansions for figma figures. The base unit is a 10 cm x 10 cm stage with multiple joints to create different background landscapes. The line has been discontinued, having seen no new releases since 2009. ex:ride The ex:ride series is a series of small vehicles such as motorbikes, in scale with figma figures. figma vehicles The figma vehicles branding was used only for the tanks and accessories of the anime ''

Girls und Panzer , abbreviated as ''GuP'' or ''Garupan'' , is a Japanese franchise created by Actas. It depicts a competition between girls' high schools practicing tank warfare as a sport. The series was directed by Tsutomu Miz ...

'', such as the

Panzer IV The IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, is a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panzer IV was the most numer ...

Ausf. D (Type D). The tanks are not officially scaled, but are in scale to Figma figures, putting them at near to 1:12. The first vehicle, the Panzer IV Ausf. D "Finals" version, was released in October 2015. figFIX Lower-priced figures with no articulation in scale with and by the same sculptors as figma figures, to ensure consistency when displayed alongside the line. Some of their parts are compatible with figma. figma Styles A series of items for changing the fashion of figma figures, ranging from full figures where the intent is for the purchaser to swap the heads out (the figma Styles bodies come with generic heads), to figma-scaled fabric doll clothing. figma Plus Branding reserved for other products released with consistency with the figma line that do not fit into pre-existing lines, such as diorama-like sets or miniatures of game consoles.

References

{{Reflist Toy figurines Action figures Products introduced in 2008