How this Company Broke the Figure Industry
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- čas přidán 7. 11. 2023
- Good Smile Company has changed everything in the figure industry. Before, figures were either cheap prize figures or expensive scales. But after the release of Pop Up Parade, GSC is benefiting from producing figures utilizing the best aspects of both cheap and pricey figures. Though Pop Up Parade is far from perfect, let's see how it has revolutionized the market.
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We're getting to the point where I can buy myself a good quality figure without going broke.
True but you gotta be careful making sure the sizes are worth the prize tag
At least if you're not picky about characters.
How it should be
You're*
Worst part is, i will keep buying even more and more figures and go broke because of it
I think what Pop Up Parade does so well is that they make figures of characters who wouldn’t otherwise get a figure!
Examples?
The hololive figurines for one example
Well, gsc is releasing nendoroid versions of them, do they count
But tbh, I still agree to your statement. Hololive figure are actually quite rare despite the popularity. So pop up parade is a good choice. In fact almost all of them.
true, I know demon slayer is a very popular series but I was shocked that they did a figure of my favourite character who is a very minor character. I doubt he'll ever get another figure.
I know several anime series I would love to see figures from but we all know that good smile even if they say the will make figures of less popular things it will still only be from mainstream anime but instead be a less popular charters so it´s kind how do we bullshit people to think we are doing something no one else does but still do what every one does do figure from SUPER popular shows.
But then again they would lose money if the made figures from less popular shows so it´s a safer bet doing popular shows less popular characters.
Popup Parade is hardly the first time mid-range figures have been created, where it really shines is the level of diversity and consistency that means you don't have to go far to find a figure you might want and you can be confident that what you're getting is high quality, even if unambitious. They're not likely to be the centerpieces of a collection, but they're a fantastic choice for adding some texture to your shelves thanks to making a wide range of properties so accessible.
Well said!
I really wouldn't say they're more diverse. The overwhelming majority of Pop Up Parade lineup is mainstay shonen series. In a sense they're figures that wouldn't get made because figure collectors on the higher end wouldn't buy 20,000 to 30,000 yen figures for those types of series, but they're still primarily from extremely popular franchises (past or present) that the prize market also covers. I guess a takeaway is series that got bad figurines from 20 years ago get decent ones now.
@@ryllharu FACTS OWN THAT FRAUD
you definitely can not be confident that it will be high quality, sometimes pup REALLY misses the mark, eg zero two
What I love about PUP is how they focus on creating figures based on iconic poses. One perfect example for me is the AOT line. I have only collected the Titan versions, but their poses are highly symbolic in the anime/manga. Having them in figure form makes it very original unlike other figure company’s out there who tend to focus on other action poses and totally forget the detail of the character.
Ah yes I remember the iconic pose of Titan Eren chugging down a cold one after completing his epic genocide plan, as shown in the Attack Titan (Worldwide After Party) figure
I miss when Goodsmile had more Figma announcements. But I can definitely see why Pop Up Parade has grown so much so quickly.
Yeah, it's unfortunate but I guess sales for Figma has been low due to their expensive price tag and not everyone wanting a posable action figure. Many just want to put in the shelf and fair game to them.
@@mayonotes9849
I agree with the pricing problem. 12k yen for an action figure just drives so many would-be buyers away. I still buy them but not without doing a double take.
Figma balls
the main issue i feel rn is just most figmas just get outshined by other companies releases. with anything new other than vtubers and gaming, all the popular new anime figmas (jjk, demon slayer, csm) were all outdone and outclassed by other brands (buzzmod or shf). most of the time figmas end up being more expensive, or release months later anyway so it just feels like a lose- lose situation for many
@@mercavo8959 I can agree with that. Snail Shell has been getting all of my attention.
They took the Funko approach; Cheap price, decent quality, and vast selection. Can't believe it took them so long to make a line like this
Except they're not ugly like funko
The sheer variety of characters in Popup Parade is what makes it a truly amazing line it can be frankly exhausting being a collector of a series that isn’t incredibly popular or older in nature. Popup not only takes out the aggressive scalpers for older anime merch but also gives so many characters who never even had a figure before a chance to shine. Definitely one of my favourite lines because of that.
Sure the bases aren't very creative, but some of the designs are so well done that I can't complain. I never thought I'd be into figure collecting, but Pop Up Parade was such a great entry level way for me to understand the market without feeling like I'm wasting money on something that I might not like
Pop Up Parade is everything. Affordable and characters you normally don't see figures of!
The only thing I don't like about Pop-Up Parade is that the prices are all over the place. Some are 30$ while some are 50$, 75$ or even 150$. And I mean in the same size class. All have similar details too. There's no rime or reason to this.
Appart that, they are not too big and are BEAUTIFUL. I'm looking forward the _Little Witch Academia_ ones.
Having bought a brand new and sealed Pop Up Parade Megumin Figure for only $21, I understand your frustration. The seller told me the figure I bought from him would've costed me over $30 if I bought it from a shop. I'm looking forward to complete the konosuba collection and im having a hard time with a shop selling a popup kazuma figure
I think the difference in price may have something to do with licensing issues.
@@JRPGLOVER that's absolutely what it is
@@bennyboukenI mean if it helps, I found some online sources of Kazuma's figure ranging from the $30 to $40 range online. Reason he's a bit more expensive is that really, there's not really much of an audience for his merchandise compared to the female characters of the show. This is a L for myself as well because finding a good deal for his figma Is stupidly expensive. (This also applies for Megumin's figma)
the problem with popup parade is that their bases are usually way too big for their size, so they end up spending a the same shelf space as a scale most of the time.
They’re also a hit or miss most of the time
I wish the pegs didn't protrude downward from the figure's feet but rather up from the base itself...Because most of the time, the figures look like they could easily stand up just fine without the base at all. That would also give people the option to make their own custom bases a lot more easily without worrying about the base's width/thickness they'd need, as PUP pegs (and subsequently the bases themselves) end up being too large, when other figures like prize-grade can get by with half the width.
I'm not in love with them but I don't hate them. They're ok and I'll only get characters I can't get elsewhere. The problem for me with Pop Up Parade is the cheap paint and lack of details you get with the more expensive figures. Even with them being cheaper, I feel like I'm overpaying for a figure that should be like $20 - $30 like the Sega figures.
pop up parade is the reason i was able to get good quality figures of my favorite characters without having to shell out $1-200 for a proper scale figure! by far my favorite figure brand
One thing no one seems to mention about Pop up Parade is the plastic box they use. It's clear plastic on all sides allowing buyers to see the figure in all its glory which can help to decide whether it's worth buying. The plastic box itself is reasonably durable meaning less chances of the figure (and the box itself) from being damaged during transportation.
Pop Up Parades are nice but the quality is always inconsistent as it's either a hit or miss, which means it really hasn't undergone a good QA.
i agree with u, for sure
Yep some of them look shit and somehow more expensive than the better looking ones
Great video. I know there are quite a few commentors that also bring up about the base but it is really about the affordable price of your favorite character that PopUp Parade is aiming for. With inflation, but more importantly the size, paints and sculptors of the scale figures, people will eschew those and go for quality quantity that they can fit on their shelves. Expensive figures won't go away, but it is great that GoodSmile PUP, FuRyu Tenitol and even Taito are giving the affordable option - especially to overseas fans that look for the cheap in not only figures, but apparel and video.
I just got into figure-collecting (literally less than a week ago), and out of the 20 figures I initially bought, 16 are various PUPs and I'm pretty pleased with them, especially considering the price.
My main gripe is probably the bases; they're random (some are hexagonal, some are round) and come in various colors and are pretty boring - I'm considering spraying them all black.
Other than PUP, I'm keeping my eye out for Taitos AMP+ series and FuRyus Tenitol series. Seeing as this "mid-tier" for anime figures seems rather new, I guess I chose the right time to get into this hobby. ^^
I got them for art reference myself. They're great since can get a bunch of them and the quality is just good enough, the price isnt too bad (it's around the price of a good book here) and the size is just right for what I want them for (ie. around hand size or origami paper size). The super simple ones are the perfect ones for me; while dynamic poses are not so good for my use I found. Lucky for me those are the cheaper ones since everyone wants the fancier ones. Not much in terms of good options for male figures, I think only saw some jujutsu kaisen ones that look good (or rather, look useful).
The really big ones look nice and all but would maybe only consider getting some really fancy one of a character I like ONCE to decorate my shelf with and nothing else. They're more expensive then literal furniture, washing machines (heck I think I've seen basic kitchen cost less then some I saw), it's hard for me to fathom thinking of them as anything more then as some really expensive painting I stick someplace. Previously I only ever got a nendroid of a favorite series (some years ago), for same reasonning, just decoration. I don't know how the collector people deal with it, but at the price of the expensive ones I cant imagine the regret if it's somehow not-what-you-thought. With this mid tier their just cheap enough if you get 3 and 1 is great, 1 is good and 1 is so-so, it's whatever, wouldnt even think much of it.
I recommend the Tenitols for sure, they feel and look alot more solid imo then the pop ups
@@felix_xb its a hobby, an expensive hobby but no different then others who enjoy spending money on it. I do agree with the bigger figures having to be subjected to space to make it worth it and ofc the sculpting like the Resins that are larger and pricier.
Still though some of this things could become rare that down the line can increase in price. Think of Funko Pops in the West. People collect like crazy especially if its one that later become Grails that can worth a ton of money. Its still a figure albeit a different shape of a figure yet I feel the same and dont understand why people collect multiple versions of the same characters. I think its ok for decoration purposes for like a charcter of that series with manga dvds blue rays novels and books to have, its just excessive at times.
As someone who doesn't want to spend way to much in figures nor has the space to display them, Pop Up Parade is really awesome, I got their Dark Magician Girl, and TBH it looks great I don't mind the little details since from afar looks really nice, it indeed looks better than any prize figure but also Furyu is making really great inexpensive figures as well, I got a Hatsune Miku from BiCute Bunnies and it looks really good from something under $30, I am glad that despite prices going up as crazy these companies are making figures that are both inexpensive, and also making legacy characters because tbh I know nothing of the contemporany anime.
I like that they make figures outside of anime. I found out about them from their Isacc Clark figure from Dead Space. There aren't many DS figures. I'm now collecting more from them
happy 5th anniversary pop up parade!!! :3
love these figurines especially the survey's to potentially choose which series to include.
Interesting information, I am a relatively new collector and while I started with expensive scale figures (because I love them), I am starting to get lured to these "mid tier" figures.
I started with expensive scale figures and will stick to them because for me the issue isnt the cost, its the space. So since I can only buy sparingly, I might as well just get the pricier ones.
Whatever gets more people off garbage like Funko Pops, the better I say
really like that pop up parade gives the option of seeing those characters potentially get figurines.(would've actually cared for funko if they looked like pup instead of those ugly abominations trash with the amount of series in it.:3)
Funny because I've seen some true sweats say that Pop Up Parades are basically Japanese Funko Pop
I think this new “tier” is a good thing, ofc!! But I’ve heard the quality may depend if the figure you’re buying, maybe a nekopara Chocola figure hace generally a great quality in relation to the price, but a premio Kuroneko no sm (only a example) :o but that is just what I’ve heard in the community so
They’ve managed to create an affordable Shalltear figure, that makes them the goats imo
Good Smile is doing something pretty similar for the mecha market right now with Moderoid and I very much appreciate it. Really obscure characters complete with gimmicks for less than a hundred is awesome and I hope they make Bandai sweat just a little.
I would say that the first real 'mid range" figure range i knew of was Wave's beach queens. Although it was as wide spread as Pop up Parade, the quality and price was right smack in between prize figures and more expensive scale figures.
They even made figures for Rurouni Kenshin which i never thought would happen since its so old of an Anime. Thank god for Pop Up Parade
A remake is literally being made
A veteran collector complaining about popup parade is like a grown up man complaining about baby food. It's literally not made dor them
Or a grown man complaining about the 2DS... A system designed for kids 8 and under, boy was that embarrassing.
Listen! I'm a grown ass man, I bought the latest Barbie Jeep, uh... Couldn't even fit inside of it!
Hello, Fisher Price! What the Fuck?!
@@julianx2rlhahaha these comments. I dislike Pop up Parade a lot myself but it's amazing that more collectors can enjoy the hobby because of them
I got the little blood platlet or what her name was from Cells at Work and I'm very happy with her. The quality is excellent and yet the price reasonable. I live in Switzerland where collecting is stupidly expensive but seeing these gives me some hope of buying a figure in the shop instead of ordering online without going broke. I like to look at the figure in person before I buy them and pop up parade also has that. Nice window boxes to see almost all angles of the fig. The size is also good, not too big but not too small. I think they are doing well atm and it's a nice alternative to the real cheap prize figures where I had some quality nicks sometimes.
I love the Pop up parade line because while yes they say they're meant for people just getting into collecting or dont want to have a big collection. I think its actually the opposite. What better way to grow your collection than witb high quailty affordable figures of characters you enjoy?
I own at least 4 Pop up parades and they all look amazing even next to my more expensive ones.
If you are a person whos getting into anime figures i cant think of a better line to start out
Good video. Absolutely zero wasted time.
LET'S GO SOLARIS, THE GOAT
Thanks to Pop Up Parade I was able to get a nice Berserk Guts L statue and Faye Valentine.
They're QC is mixed, but if it gets more people into figure collection, then more power to PUP.
the nice part about mid range figures is I am also not as nervous when displaying them a figure over 100$ is something I will sweat over being out and about but something under that I feel safe having on public display and it looks good
I never got a pop up parade but those new prize figures from Taito AMP are insane
my first ever figurine was from pop up parade. they were one of the first that releases cheap figurines with good quality
great video man reminds me of great big story :)
You know you're old when you remember how people initially hated GSC's Nendoroids with a passion for being too Moe-Pandering and a cheap cash-grab, but then the Funko Pops happened to see how low the bar actually can be
I once bought the same PUP figure 3 times...1st time, the outer plastic box was very crushed...2nd time, the head was snapped off in the box (no damage to box itself) showing the figure material was brittle. 3rd time, the paint job had a part on the front visibly missing, that I eventually just painted in myself, because it was already the 3rd freaking time. So much for more "quality control".
I personally like Furyu's Tenitol line better, as they also have better bases, better poses...although their boxes kinda suck with very small window cut-outs, at least it's a little more durable than the all-plastic boxes of PUP figures...that will eventualy turn yellow over the years, mark my words.
damm i like this channel. i just started figure collecting lastyear when i got to my first convention and since then ive been kinda studying a lot abotu figures
Have you considered Resin figures?
I own a huge amount of figures and have been collecting since 1992. And i love this brand.
I wasn't buying figures for a while, like 10 years. After coming back POP is a favorite line of mine. I've bought a couple anime ones but I love that there are now good, affordable video game figures. The only thing I don't love is that it's size based instead of scale, meaning Guilty Gear Bridget or Fire Emblem Edlegard look huge next to the Street Fight characters.
I'm so glad pop up parade released a Mugen figurine from Samurai Champloo, he is my prized possession!
The thing I love most about "popup parade" is that their boxes are dull and I can throw them in the trash without regrets.
The base...
Yup thats me, they are bulky too. Sometimes the face sculpture dont like the characters as well. And Yes! Tenitol are actually alot better then pop up imo, they look less plasticky and more solid, also their bases can be a little different too.❤
Yo looooove Pop Up Parade! I got myself a Cammy and Chun-Li, and I just pre-ordered SF6 Cammy and Juri!
I like that the base is basic, anyone can do their own touch with it
This is purely from the eyes of someone who looks at the market through the sales pages but it looks like Artfx is really killing it with super ambitious designs you'd usually only see in scales $500+
So glad Pop-Up exists because we got a Riza figure
I got a Zagreus figure from them and I really like it! I'm so glad they do the less popular characters/franchises.
My friend saw a pop up parade figure and thought it was a $100+ scale lol. I collect scales so I'm like.. How do i explain. This video did a great job!
oh hey i pre ordered that bocchi. i like her face lol. can’t wait to get her i’ve been hoping to get a pop up parade fig for a while, they just look so good and i really hope i can get some of their love live or pmmm ones someday
I own a couple of the Pop Up Parade figures, specifically Lucifer from Helltaker, Ryuko from Kill La Kill and Albedo from Overlord, with plans to get a couple more later in the year. Once I get an appropriate display case. Though I might check out that other brand mentioned at the end of the video.
Ive been collecting since 2008 I have over 200 figures in my collection currently and sold a bunch over the years. I've either had some insane luck with prize figures or the hit or miss quality problem isnt as bad as people make out. I've always heard the horror stories about prize figures with bad quality control and being inconsistent but out of about 40 prize figures I've only had 4 that were bad with quality control 3 Banpresto ones and 1 Furyu.
I havent brought any popup parades as of yet due to not having much display space so im at a point of being very picky with figures and characters, the line hasnt hit any series for things where I would want them. GSC is so good with QC so I trust the line is good and its nice for people to have another budget friendly option compared to scales
Thanks to PoP figure series, I've got an amazing Zagreus figure from HADES.
I've pre-ordered Demon's Souls fluted armor character and Guts as well, both L size models.
Honestly, my Pop Up Parade figures are better quality than some of my $200+ ones.
I have a couple. The most expensive one I have is guts berserker armor which was a little over 100 bucks. And all of them are quality figures.
Hell yeah i love my Aigis and Reimu Hakurei Pop-up Parade figures
Good video 🎉
all I can hear id FigUUr..... figUUr... figUUr
POP-UP is genuinelly an amazing option to fill in the gaps btw long waiting periods for the premium stuff. :D
"Around 4 months after announcement" cries in Ninomae Ina'nis.
amazing
Went to Tokyo this past week, came back with around 12 figures I’d won from Gigo’s and it only ran me around 20,000 yen.
Title doesn't seem to apply to what Pop Up Parade is doing at all?
the only Pop Up parade figure i bought was Yor cause it's the only Figure where it captures Yor face sculpt perfectly in Prize figure line, and Black Rock Shooter
My first pop up parade was Makoto from Persona 5. Its such good quality for the price. Now i have Cammy and Chun-Li. Also great quality. I'll likely get more in the future
The good thing about PuP bases, is that they are very easy to clean, unlike diorama-like bases. They also take up much less space, and for the price they sell for, allows me to buy a lot more figures. Not perfect, but I do like them a lot.
I love pop up parade. Affordable, high quality. The thing that sucks is the vendors at conventions tend to super inflate prices on them. I saw the pop-up parade Sesshomaru I wanted at a convention and the vendor had it priced at $90 bucks. That’s close to the price of a scale. I looked at my friend who was debating on getting one and was like buy from good smile, that only costs like 30-40 online.
i love everything about pups besides the base 😭
They are really affordable, let's of variety, and the base shouldn't draw attention to itself anyway, in my opinion.
I fucking love this brand.
ive gotten 3 figures from them and the prices ranged from about $29-$60
They're good quality indeed, especially for the price. However they're smaller than the average figure, 1'6 vs 1'7-1'8. That's what's stopping me from getting them, because they'll look off compared to the higher tier figures.
I'll stick to more expensive figures, less is more ;) or just take it slow
Now I'm going into Pop Up Parade because they're within the price point that figma used to be back in 2015 and earlier.
if you trying to get into figure, pop up parade is kinda good
3:24 Got that right. I've passed on a number of figs because of facial or body proportion issues. Shinku from Rozen Maiden is particularly bad.
This is the context that Figma found itself under back when it released in 2008, it's funny to see history repeating itself.
All my homies hate on pop up parade bases
WAS that Trigun? Yeah id buy that.
Pop up might be the first but Furyu and the others are counter it masterfully ! Every month there's a new bunch of higher tier prize figures who rival Pop up Parade
Funnily enough before I found out about pop up parade I mistook them for EXQ figures, just good quatlity reference figures.
I'll mirror what a lot of people have stated regarding Pop Up Parade's immense variety of characters. This is the biggest draw for me. I mean you can get figures from anime and video games. Sometimes the quality can be a little hit or miss but for the most part they are stunning figures. I also appreciate the size of their standard line. They are much larger than you'd expect, not to mention their huge L and XL figures. I've come to forgive the bases especially when you consider companies like Megahouse would charge upwards to $300 for a figure and pack them with plain clear plastic bases.
Bruh i just want a base that won't break after 1 month, don't care about the design much, and the ones in the video are better than what i expected
still love my guilty crown inori figure by good smile.
I know Pop Up Parade is not that pricy or expensive but some of the figures such as Berserker Armor Guts, that one is pricy and limited.
But still, about the details, It's very amazing and neat details for figures with almost accurate scale as well
I own the Power figure from the intro, I got it because it looked affordable but high quality
I think the future of the figure industry is in consumer manufactured figures. Where you can 3d print the figure, 3d print the painting masks, and you do it all yourself; but where companies will also build them and sell them exclusively in the conventional way for a period of months/years. The benefit being that they can still make money off of a design after they stop production and the consumer can make the figure be whatever scale they want. Think of it like tapping into the garage kit market after you finish your production runs, except it requires zero additional overhead or inputs.
3D printing undercuts the garage kit market and maybe makes those sorts of builds more accessible. It doesn't really compare to the higher-end figure market which have finishing details that 3D printing can't match or requires substantial painting skill and shading sense to end up with a good result.
The biggest shift in the figure market is more Chinese manufacturers directly producing significant diversity in designs from Original Illustrations that the bigger name Japanese manufacturers just wouldn't produce otherwise.
They look fine, I like it simple. May the gods bless this idea.
I mean, without Pop-Up Parade, I would own 0 figures, and now I own 3, so they're on to something lol
collecting all the waifus has never been easier. ty good smile.
Didn’t mention that the scale is also different from prize figures/more expensive figures. I own 4 pop-up parade figures and they are tiny compared to anything else on the shelf. They have a very low shelf presence
I hope pop up parade makes tegami bachi figures!
Poppara being the same price OR cheaper than Nendoroids is unbelievable. The low price does reflect with the generic prizefig like poses but you can't really complain unless you have a whole shelf of them lol.
Im just here staring at the Calli figure going like sponge bob seeing water
Here's the thing:
Once this line becomes known for me being consistently good value, Go start cutting budgets and increase in prices until the competitors are often better.
This exact same thing happened with their figma line. It became known as the defacto best value poseable figure, so the price started going up and the accessories started going worse until SH figuarts are almost always better these days.
Got 2 of the figures in my house right now ngl
waiting for kekkai sensen to get pop up parade figures since pop up parade has been tackling series that usually dont get figures
3:45 What is it called again?
You don't have subtitles, and it's hard to make out when I don't even know if you're saying a Japanese word or an English one
I do like the pop up parade figures overall, but I will say, I was disappointed to see the the size of the figures don't always match up well, Just as an example. I got Aqua Lucy and Torrus lucy and they are out of scale with each other. for me it hurts the ascetic of the display. I'm hoping they do all her forms too to collect, but if they are all out of scale with each other.