Tokyo 2019 - Day 2, Summer Wonder Festival 2019

Hello everyone and welcome back to Tiro Finale for Day 3 of my 2019 Tokyo trip. With every trip that I make to Tokyo during summertime, Wonder Festival never fails to be the highlight of my entire trip. In fact, the very reason for me to head down to Tokyo in the first place is because of Wonder Festival. 2019's Wonder Festival would mark the third ever Wonder Festival that I would be attending yet, I was no less hyped about attending this year's festivities.

Having attended Wonder Festival twice over the past three years, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from the event especially concerning the all important prep and queue. Like every major hobby event in Japan, the queues are known for being notoriously long with early birds coming as early as the evening before the event. This is especially important if you wish to get your hands on some very limited event items which often sell out very quickly. Having done some scouting and research beforehand, it turned out that there were no event limited/exclusive figures that we would be particularly interested in. As such, we decided to arrive at Makuhari Messe (the event venue) at 7:30AM. 

Or so I thought, as the first major surprise for us, upon walking into the main hall, were the sheer number of event limited figures that were on sale. And I am not just referring to Good Smile Company or Aniplex, who usually sell the lion's share of event limited goods. But, almost every other figure manufacturer worth their salt had something special for the show this time. Now, the above shot is very important as Union Creative decided to deal a rather shocking blow (to me) by having a limited Black Cat edition of their recently released premium scale Super Sonico Cat Version figure. Both Union Creative and this particular Sonico figure were things that I have been keeping an eye out for quite a while now so, the sudden addition of a WonFes limited version certainly had me thinking long and hard about parting ways with 16,000 Yen. 

The other surprise of the event, were the sheer number of future releases announced or lack thereof to be specific. Good Smile Company who usually shows off a great number of their future release on a large board were notably having multiple empty spots on the wall. Where the list would once go from the very top end of the board till the ground, the list this time was markedly more conservative. And this was not just true for Good Smile Company but, a recurring factor among all the other manufacturers. Perhaps they were saving their announcements for the coming Winter Wonder Festival?

As always, Good Smile Company had a large selection of unreleased figures out on display including what is arguably their most popular series of figures, Nendoroids. Still, there was nothing too shocking nor anything which had not be seen in prior figure events.

One Nendoroid which did pique my interest was Hitsugaya's Nendoroid from the Bleach series. His Nendoroid prototype was first showcased in Wonder Festival Shanghai. Fortunately, the uncolored prototype looks very promising and is one that I am strongly considering adding into the collection. 

Of course, you cannot have Good Smile without Good Smile Racing. This time, featuring Nero, Saber Lily and Jean as the mascots. No Miku here nor were there too many cars on display either this time.

On another note, Love Live has new figures. No, I am not referring to Sunshine rather, the original Love Live series with Muse. Honoka, Umi and Kotori will be first batch to be released with new swimsuit prize figures. The other six members will soon follow and while the quality is not the greatest, I am just happy that we are actually getting new Love Live figures.

Another relatively old series which is still getting a steady stream of figure releases is Re:Zero with Rem in particular getting all of the spotlight. Fortunately, the release schedule has since slowed down with the new products having much better designs and overall better quality too. 

Another series which also seems to have a never ending release of figure is the Monogatari series. Manufacturers always seem to find new fresh takes on existing designs and concepts for the characters in the Monogatari series which does help to keep the products feeling fresh. This Shinobu in particular has a look that is very faithful to the Bakemonogatari anime which features a less-cutesy look for when we are first introduced to her.

Love Live Sunshine had a strong outing as usual with a whole host of figures and merchandise associated with the series. These particular set of Sega Prize SPM figures really impressed me, not just with their sculpt but, the overall quality. Being a prize figure, the SPM series had always made some lackluster figures. But if they are able to maintain the quality of their figures to the level as displayed here, I have no doubt that they have a real winner on their hands. 

MegaHouse is not a brand that commonly catches my eye namely because their figure release focus on series which are not my primary focus. Nevertheless, their take on Thanatos from Persona 3 was one that really impressed me. The only downside I had would be that the colors did appear to be too saturated but, I think that comes down to being a matter of preference. 

Out of everything though, my pick as the best in show for this event had to be Emontoy's Kusanagi Motoko, a figure that I had been waiting for a long time ever since Emontoy's revealed their concept of her. Using SAC's Major design, I was rather worried of the final outcome as Emontoy's is a fairly new and young figure company. Seeing the uncolored prototype though, I have no doubt they are certainly on the right track to making a fine figure. There will be more on this particular figure in a dedicated article so, stay tuned to Tiro Finale for that. 

And it was not just their Motoko figure which piqued my interest but, also this set of Dark Soul's miniature figures. They are so adorable yet, so highly detailed! There is no word on pricing or release but, I would certainly love to collect the entire set if price was not too much of a problem. 

Another figure that I have been keeping a close eye on that also happened to be coming from Emontoy's is their China Dress Sonico. I fell in love with the concept when I first saw Emontoy's concept illustration for her in Wonder Festival two years back. Fast forward and I am really glad the final product turned out the way it did. While the China Dress does look a little skimpier than the illustration, I am glad the final sculpt decided to add more weight to Sonico (especially around her thighs and abdomen) while, giving her a rounder, cuter face. Definitely one that I am strongly considering to get.

Another Sonico figure that I felt underwhelmed with from the beginning, Ques Q's Love Bomber Super Sonico, continues to feel that way. Even with the colored version out, this version of Sonico does not feel quite right to me. Perhaps it is the colors or the proportions but, something about it just does not sit right with me. It is a reproduction of a prior resin Sonico figure so, I am sure that it most certainly has its fair share of fans in order to warrant it being turned into a full on PVC scale figure.

Next up, we have another figure manufacturer who, in my opinion, really turned up for Wonder Festival this season. That company is non-other than Kotobukiya who has been on fire recently concerning their most recent releases and concepts. Even their My Little Pony series that I felt really lackluster about with their Twilight Sparkle and Pinky Pie figures, had made a strong comeback with the designs for both Fluttershy and;

Rarity. And I say this for both the bishoujo and ponies themselves. Rarity for me is a particular stand out. The concept illustration for Applejack and Rainbow Dash has already been revealed and I am hoping Kotobukiya can maintain the same approach that they have achieved here.

Aside from the bevy of event exclusive items and new releases, there were certainly many interesting points for me throughout the event too. Like this large scale Shinobu. Have you ever wanted a large 1/4 scale Shinobu figure? Well, now you can. 

Do you know Amico? One half of the mascot duo of AmiAmi. Well, she has her own little display segment in WonFes in AmiAmi's booth too! Make sure you follow her on Twitter. 

How about having every one of the major manufacturer's mascots line up? 

GodHand's Nipako is popular as always while Tomytec is using Girl's Frontline to promote their Little Armory series. 

My personal favorite mascot though has to be Bellfine's new mascot, she can be spotted on the far right of this shot. Where most manufacturers go with a young and cute look, Bellfine's more mature approach is really intriguing.

Equally important to all the mainstream figure release in Wonder Festival, are the garage kits which form the very origin and essence of Wonder Festival. Without them, Wonder Festival would not have even existed in the first place as Wonder Festival was to be one of the two days in a year where people were able to buy and sell garage kits of their favorite characters without having to worry about royalties or licenses. 

Of course, Wonder Festival has come a very long way since then. Yet, the garage kit segment remains strong as ever. In fact, a large number of attendees only ever come for the garage kits where their limited goods sell out even faster than the event exclusives one offered by mainstream manufacturers. 

While I will always remain a big fan of officially produced figures, my respect for garage kits only gets stronger and stronger with each visit to Wonder Festival. Who knows? One day, I might even make the garage kit hall my priority over the the mainstream manufacturers section.

But that day is not today because as it is, there are already too many figures that I want coming from mainstream manufacturers. Remember the Union Creative booth I mentioned earlier with their event limited Super Sonico Black Cat Version? While I was busy mulling over whether to spend a whopping 16,000 Yen on it, I had conveniently forgot to see that she was only limited to 100 units! Fortunately, on my second round there were still a handful of units available of which I managed to purchase. Shortly after, every single one of the 100 units were accounted for. Even the one that was on the cashier's counter!

As the clock drew closer to 5, it was time for the event to come to a close. Just 7 hours after it all started, it all came to a close again once more. For those who have never attended an event such as Wonder Festival, the whole concept really is one that is rather had to fathom. Such a great deal of preparation and setting up are put into the event with such high quality booths that could easily qualify as a week long exhibition. Yet, the whole thing lasts all of 7 hours and just like that, everything is taken down like nothing ever happened. 

Wonder Festival never ceases to amaze me and this year's shift in tone by focusing on event limited figures rather than new/upcoming releases was certainly a breath of fresh air for me as I managed to get my hands on what is indeed a very rare figure. Next year, with the Summer Olympics going to be held in Tokyo, it is very unlikely that I will be able to attend Wonder Festival. Fortunately, we are already concocting alternative plans be it Winter Wonder Festival or C3. Either way, you can be sure that I will be back in Japan real soon! Until then, that has been all from Day 3 of my 2019 Tokyo trip. Next time, we will be taking a look at Day 4 as I hit the streets of Akihabara for some post-Wonder Festival shopping. Until then, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!