Good Smile Company and MaxFactory have collectors creating wish-list bingo cards and managing budgets with the Wonderful Hobby Life For You 33 exhibition. The event is running from 29 May to 6 June, featuring companies such as Phat!, ANIPLEX, FREEing, and many more.
While February’s WonHobby 32 event was solely online, it has both an online gallery and physical exhibition you can visit in Tokyo. With so many exciting announcements, let’s check out which ones were our favorites!
Let’s start off with the biggest revelation of the day: the 1/7 Scale Figure Sakura Kinomoto: Always Together ~Pinky Promise~. This figure, and a Nendoroid, are part of a collaboration between CLAMP and GSC, celebrating their 30th and 20th anniversaries, respectively. GSC teased the reveal of this figure on social media during the lead up to the exhibition, and it’s even more beautiful than I imagined. Good Smile always knocks it out of the park with their Sakura figures, and this one truly lives up to celebrating such big anniversaries for both companies.
Other exciting scale reveals included the painted prototype of Fire Emblem’s Marth, joining the previous Ike and Lyn figures by INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS. Fire Emblem figures are few and far between (and don’t even get me started on the aftermarket prices) so I’m absolutely thrilled that they’re on the uptick.
But my favorite scale announcement of the day has to be The Ghost Bride, an 1/8 scale based on artwork by illustrator Fuzichoco in their artbook Saigenkyo. Good Smile Company has always made intricate figures, but recently they’ve been working to create just as gorgeous backgrounds and bases. I absolutely can’t wait to see this figure painted and up for pre-order!
After the barrage of POP UP PARADE announcements earlier this week, I certainly didn’t expect anymore. But GSC continues to surprise with painted and unpainted prototypes for characters from Jujutsu Kaisen, Captain Tsubasa, Nekopara, etc. But perhaps most intriguing is the PUP announcement for Zagreus from Supergiant Games’ Hades. I’ve previously felt a bit unsure about PUP’s rather static poses with their line, so I hope they pull out something really dynamic for Zagreus!
We're really looking forward to seeing Zagreus brought to life in figurine form, especially knowing he'll be in the capable hands of @GoodSmile_US, who've crafted so many of our favorite figures!! Stay tuned for more details on this project down the line. https://t.co/tnylbeY5th
— Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames) May 29, 2021
Of course, it wouldn’t be a GSC event without Nendoroids! Hololive seemed to dominate with so many adorable prototypes, but what grabbed my attention were the blasts from the past. Two Hikaru no Go Nendoroids were announced, along with Nendoroid Dolls for Ciel and Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji.
But the reveal that had my eyes sparkling was Ai Enma from Hell Girl. Seeing the gorgeous design made me want to watch Hell Girl all over again! I can’t wait to see what face plates and accessories she’ll come with; the straw doll is a necessity!
Once again, my wishlist has almost doubled after another exciting WonHobby event. I’ve only shared a small selection of my favorite announcements today. So, if you haven’t already, make sure to check out the full online gallery on the official WonHobby 33 website.