Inside a High-Quality Japanese Figurine Factory

This is a rarity. These days, most anime figures are produced in China. Good Smile Company, however, has a factory in Tottori Prefecture, Japan, producing high-quality collectibles. Let’s take a look inside.

Recently, Japanese TV show Gacchiri Monday visited the factory, which opened in late 2014.

Besides shaping the figures, everything is done by hand at this factory.

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This Good Smile Company employee is explaining how until now, the vast majority of figures are entirely made in China.

This is the company’s first figure factory in Japan.

The goal is to make high-quality made-in-Japan collectibles.

The painting is, of course, also done by hand.

There are so many small details to discover in the painting.

Can you see the difference between before and after?

The top part was painted navy, which you might think is unnoticeable, but diehard fans appreciate these small touches.

So, for example, a hundred colors were used in painting this figure.

Impressive work.

Here, they are polishing each individual part to make them smooth and so that none of the plastic bits stick out.

Then, the parts are checked and separated in quality control.

Small imperfections are noticed.

This face didn’t pass the quality test.

That teeny black dot makes this face unacceptable for release.

Some much work, care and attention goes into these little cute figurines.

Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond.