Glossary

🦄 A little bit of positivity for everyone :D

General

1/* - The scale size ratio, 1/1 meaning the model’s size is the same as the original object’s size. For things like huge mecha a 1/144 scale is commonplace.

Anime Island - Preorders come 2-3 months after the original Japanese release date. Recommended to use primarily for Bluefin’s localized Bandai items such as figuarts if sold out in Japan, as their preorders are cheaper than BigBadToyStore’s.

Big 3 - Not Shounen Jump’s big 3. It’s the nickname AmiAmi, Hobbysearch (HS) and HobbyLink Japan (HLJ) have due to them being the most popular sites for buyfagging.

Bin/Binned - A figure is said to have binned when the demand is way lower than the supply, forcing retailers to discount the figure to get rid of the unsold stock.

Bootleg - A false, fake, or pseudo figure that illegitimate sellers try to pass off as real/authentic.

Busou Shinki - Poseable mecha musume. It’s getting an anime. Manufactured by Konami. Wikipedia

BQ - Beach Queen. A series by Wave which are usually 1/10 scale with the character in a swimsuit on a yellow stand. They have a tendency to be pretty mediocre but there are occasionally some which are pretty good. While rather rare, there are a few which are made of polystone.

Cast Off - Also Known as Castoffable, a feature of a figure whose clothes/outfit can be removed.

Dakimakura - Dakimakura are a type of pillow from Japan, usually 150cm x 50cm. Dakimakura are also known as “hugging pillows”. They usually have anime or video game characters printed on the them. Both front and back sides of the cover feature the respective character. ($35 USD (bootleg) - 11,580 JPY)

Detolf - Popular glass display cabinet from Ikea. Frequently on sale. It’s advised to never have them delivered, because it’s expensive as fuck and there’s a good chance the

Dolls - Jointed model, usually larger scale than statues with customizable and interchangeable parts, clothes are made of actual fabric. Can be bought in parts or pre-assembled as a specific character. (>$200 USD)

Doujin - Self published works, they can be derivative works or completely original. Does not mean porn (E.G. Doujin Music, doujin games).

Dragon Dildo - A dildo shaped like a dragon’s imaginary phallus, used as a meme in unboxing threads. It’s never dragon dildos. (Unless it’s an unboxing thread on /v/, in which case it is).

Exclusive - Figures meant to be sold at one specific store, including but not limited to the manufacturer’s site. It’s not rare for a figure to be both exclusive and limited.

Figma - Jointed figures usually 5-6 in/12-14 cm tall (Around 1/12 scale), manufactured by Max Factory. Figma are sculpted to resemble characters in an accurate fashion to their respective anime. The word is also often wrongly used to call any pose-able figurine. 2000 - 4000 Yen range.

Forwarder - Use when you can pay for your items but you need a Japanese address. You pay for the item and have it sent to the domestic address of the service. The forwarder then sends the item to you, for a fee.

Garage kit (GK) - Models that are privately made (Read: Not official products). They are usually sold unpainted and not assembled. They vary greatly in molding detail, assembly difficulty, and pricing. See http://codyscoop.com/howto.shtml to use as a general guide with step-by-step assistance. Local hobby shop for paint?

Gashapon (Bandai) / Gachapon (Tomy) (Capsule Toys) - Super cheap statues. Most stand no more than 4 inches. Almost always have multiples figures in a series (100-500 Yen each).

Gunpla - Short for “Gundam plastic model”. Plastic model kits of machines manufactured by Bandai of the robots featured in their Gundam franchise. These come unassembled, but usually colored and with instructions. Gunpla are poseable after assembly.

Holy grail - The ultimate unobtained prize of your buyfagging. i.e. that one thing you don’t currently own that you do want to own above all else.

Hotglue - To blast your seed with the force of a thousand suns onto a figure. Only attention whores do it and those who only do it because they see others doing it have immediate regret.

Joint - A point of articulation on a figure in which the limb bends.

Kuji - Lottery games, like Banpresto Ichiban Kuji, Taito Honpo Kuji, SEGA Kuji, etc. where players draw raffle tickets for prize items. Every draw is guaranteed a win, but chances of getting a big item like a figure is usually very low. You’re far more likely to get a pen or folder. Kuji games are only available at Japanese convenience locations, so overseas collectors must obtain the prizes secondhand through Mandarake, Yahoo! Auction Japan, Terraformer or other collectors.

Limited - Companies will sometimes produce only a preset amount of figures to be produced and distributed. Once they are all bought and sold, those are the only figures in that run that will ever be in circulation. Such figures are priced very highly, and ascend in value very quickly. Sometimes bundled with games or DVDs.

Lewd - Not decent; obscene, lustful, vile, slutty. Stirs the loins of men.

MFC - MyFigureCollection, huge database of figures and merchandise, it also has a trade/sale section for its users. As usual, avoid the community like the plague. Do enjoy its collection managing features.

Nendoroid (“Nendo”) - A small 4 inch/10cm tall figure manufactured by Good Smile Company (GSC). Figures have small bodies with large heads to accentuate facial expression. Have limited pose-ability (super movable Nendoroids offer a bit more).They come with an assortment of accessories depending on the character. Kawaii as fuck. 2300 - 3800 Yen range.

Nendoroid Petit - An even smaller incarnation of a Nendoroid (usually 2 in/5cm) manufactured by Good Smile Company (GSC). These have less articulation than regular Nendoroids but often come in bundles or blind boxes.

Plamo - Short for “plastic model”. A plastic model kit of giant robots, Mech, and military based figures. Many/Most are kits which must be assembled by the consumer. Details are added through paint or stickers.

Prize figure - Figures, usually statues, that are prizes for UFO catchers in Japan. Manufacturers sell these for people who can’t win or play them. They vary in quality, but are usually considered cheap, usually less than 1500 Yen.

Proxy - Some sites will offer to find rare or out of print figures/doujin for a fee. Using this for rare items can get very expensive. This service will deal with items that aren’t sold and shipped outside of Japan.

PVC - Polyvinyl chloride is a soft plastic material that most figures are made out of. It has a delicious aroma, especially freshly opened figures. Avoid exposition to heat and UV radiation.

Revoltech - Jointed figures like Figma, but manufactured by Kaiyodo. Slightly stylized and usually featuring robots, dudes with guns, and other /m/ related stuff. Also has a Queen’s Blade line. Competes with the Robot Damashii brand. Similarly priced to figmas.

Robot Damashii - A line of pre-assembled poseable robots manufactured by Bandai.

Statue - Non-poseable figure. One of the most accurate figure portrayals of the characters they are based on. Usually not wallet-friendly, with prices from 5000 Yen and more.

Sader - An infamous Chinese bootleg of Clayz’ 1/6 Saber figure. Highly sought after.

Swivel - A point of articulation on a figure in which the limb rotates.

Wonder Festival (Wonfes) - An event which happens twice a year and shows a large amount of figures.

Y!AJ - Yahoo! Auctions Japan, an auction site in Japan.

Delivery

EMS - Express mail service, fast but expensive, also handled by your federal post system in most cases. Can be subject to customs taxes in most countries. Trackable and Insured up to 20,000 Yen (base, you can pay to raise the insurance limit). Only takes 2-3 days overseas at the fastest, though it may stall for longer in customs.

FedEx/DHL Expedited - Wizardry. A delivery service that is quick as fuck but rapes your wallet. Their tracking system is lousy due to their “destination area” system that bases its tracking location on a very broad area that may or may not even say your city/town’s name but rather a city/town that is within close proximity. Delivery confirmation is standard.

SAL/USAL/Unregistered SAL - The cheapest way to ship. Does NOT have delivery confirmation, tracking, or insurance. Also, slow as fuck. Can be delivered in 10 days or 3 months. Highly risky shipping method. Only use this if you are confident that it will get to you safely (Read, your federal postal service is not shit).

RSAL/Registered SAL - For a fee of 410 yen, you get tracking and insurance up to 6,000 yen. You must sign for the package upon reception. Still slow as fuck delivery since it’s literally SAL with tracking. You can track it on Japan Post until it leaves Japan and on your country’s mail service once it lands there. Tracking doesn’t always update correctly or quickly either, since uploading the scan info has the lowest priority in a mailman’s day.

IMS (International Mail Service) - Multi-carrier low cost option offered at Anime Island for international customers. The IMS service is available to over 100+ countries, is for items weighing under 10 lbs, at it's base level contains no tracking outside the USA and can take 14-45 business days to be delivered. Select countries have premium and enhanced versions of IMS available which arrive faster and/or have tracking all the way thru to the final destination (see dealer/s for more details on which countries these options are available for).