Nendoroids – A Guide on Buying Nendoroids
In this post, I’ll share a little on what exactly are Nendoroids and provide a mini-guide on buying nendoroids (tips!). There will be some fun facts thrown in as well.
Update August 2022: Smile Fest 2022 is upon us and there’s so many upcoming releases announcements that makes you squeal in delight and your wallets crying. ^ ^ And the 2000th nendoroid is revealed!
Hi all! Welcome to my spotlight post on *Good Smile Company (GSC) Nendoroids. ^ ^
Ever since I started sharing photos of some of my nendoroids on Instagram, I realized that there were actually quite a number of fans who are not familiar with nendoroids and/or where one can buy nendoroids.
As such, I decided it might be useful to do up a mini-guide on Good Smile Company (GSC) and its nendoroids. Hopefully, the information I’ve shared here would be useful to all the budding (and existing) nendoroid collectors out there! ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶ Thank you to all of you who has emailed and/or DM me on Instagram that you found the guide useful. It always makes my day to receive such positive feedback.
Important Note: If you found some of the information familiar in this post, that’s because some of it came from my previous post: Demon Slayer Nendoroids – Where to Preorder or Buy? This post will have a more updated content about GSC, tips on buying nendoroids and some fun facts about nendoroids in general.
Update 2021/2022: I’ve added a second Nendoroids guide where I’ll answer some of the questions that were sent to me from readers of this post. You can check it out here
I’ve also done up a comparison guide post between Nendoroids and Figuarts Mini that you might be interested to check it out to help guide your buying decisions: Figuarts Mini VS Nendoroid: A Comparison Guide
*This is the first post of a planned spotlight series on different anime goods makers such as Good Smile Company, Banpresto, Tohan, GIFT and more.
Page Contents
What are Nendoroids?
Simply put, Nendoroids (ねんどろいど or 粘土人) are chibi-fied figurines of anime/manga characters produced by Good Smile Company (GSC). They are about 10 mm in height and generally can fit in the palm of your hands. Each nendoroid comes with optional parts – such as interchangeable face parts (for different expressions), body parts (for different fixed poses) and/or weapons/effects. For more information on nendoroids, please visit Good Smile Company’s official website
Look at how cute these nendoroids are! The Jotaro & Kakyoin nendoroids (from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure) are one of my favourites in my entire collection. (◕‿◕)♡ Both of them are really well-made. The sculptors did a fantastic job in capturing the essence of their characters, paying attention to all the little details of their clothes, as well as their signature moves and hairstyles. By the way, many of the photos here have been shared on my Instagram so if you find them familiar, that’s the reason! ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶
As mentioned, one notable feature of nendoroids are the interchangeable face-plates. Each nendoroid generally comes with 3 face-plates (different expressions) that you can switch around. Here you see two out of the three face expressions of my Hoozuki nendoroid. ^ ^ GSC also sells several generic face-plates with a range of expressions that you can use with your nendoroids. If you are looking to buy figurines of your favourite anime/manga, nendoroids are a really good option.
And for those curious about how the face-plates are made? Well, here’s a photo of the face-plates pad printing machine used by GSC! How cool is this machine? (Very!) It seems that GSC is starting to display its printing machine at GSC events, so hopefully I get to see it in action one day!
Bonus: Here’s a video produced by the Crunchyroll Team on Youtube on HOW nendoroids are made! It’s a pretty fascinating 33 minutes watch. You’ll learn about the origins of Nendoroids and just how much effort and love goes into making them. And you will also understand why nendoroids are priced the way they are.
Nendoroid Dolls
In recent years, GSC has also been coming up with a pose-able nendoroid doll range, with flexible joints so you can do more poses! These dolls can also don on wearable outfits (which GSC also sells) so you can dress up your favourite anime characters! The nendoroid dolls tends to be slightly taller than the nendoroids too.
You can either buy the nendoroid dolls that comes with an outfit and swap out the head parts with your existing nendoroids OR just buy any one of the nendoroid doll archetype bodies (without the head) and dress it up with your own choice of clothes.
Find out more about the possibilities of dressing up your nendoroids and/or customizing them in the section “Dressing up your Nendoroids”.
1000 Nendoroids Exhibition
Back in 2019, Good Smile Company (GSC) reached a milestone by producing their 1000th nendoroid. To celebrate this milestone, they had a special exhibition, Nendoroid #1000 Celebration Project where they displayed their very 1st nendoroid (001) to their 1000th. Read more about the special global celebration project here. Some of the GSC contests and activities for the celebration project are still on-going till December 2020, so do check it out if you are a nendoroid fan!
I managed to visit one of the Nendoroids #1000 Celebration Project global exhibitions when I flew to Taipei in August 2019 to attend their annual anime/comics/manga exhibition [2019年第二十屆漫畫博覽會]. (I will be doing a post on my escapades at the Taipei Comic Exhibition and why EVERYONE, especially in Asia, should visit it at least once! I’ve been to it 3 times over the past few years and I’ve always had so much fun there. So check back for updates!) Sadly, the August 2020 edition of 漫畫博覽會 has been cancelled. Totally understandable though because the safety of everyone is of the utmost importance. Here’s hoping that the 2021 edition would return stronger, better and I’ll be able to attend it again. (Update 2022: 漫博 is back and I’m hoping I’ll get to visit the 2023 edition!)
Anyway, back to the nendoroid exhibition. Here’s some photos taken by me when I was there:
Not surprisingly, the GSC exhibition booth was extremely popular (re: crowded). It’s really quite a sight to see all 1000 of their nendoroids neatly lined up on display. With 1000 nendoroids on display, it’s easy to see the evolution of nendoroids and at exactly which point did the company finally nailed down the distinctive feature/look for all the subsequent figurines that came after.
Interestingly, if you take a look at the back-catalogue of GSC’s nendoroids, one will also realize that the early nendoroids were predominantly females. However, many of the nendoroids released in recent years (especially from number 800 onward) are actually males.
My own two cents on this is that GSC, along with many other anime goods makers, has finally realized and acknowledged the spending power of female fangirls fans. (≧◡≦) ♡After all, with male nendoroids, you are likely to have both men and female fans buying them whereas those who buy female nendoroids are mostly males.
I tried to take photos and even a video of all the nendoroids on display but unfortunately, there was simply too many people crowding the display cabinets to do so. I eventually gave up and only got a few snapshots. To see the full-line-up of Good Smile Company’s existing line of nendoroids and upcoming nendoroids, visit here.
As of August 2022, there are currently 1907 nendoroids in their line-up with more to come! (⊙_⊙)
Oh and I also managed to get my hands on one of the exclusive 1000 nendoroid circular base by buying a nendoroid (Gaara from Naruto) at the exhibition ^ ^ Nowadays, most of the nendoroids comes with just a generic square translucent base. (See my Hoozuki Nendoroid photo in the “What are Nendoroids” section) Circular bases, usually with some imprint of motif designs of the anime/manga series, tends to come as pre-order bonus items exclusive to Good Smile Company’s official web-stores.
Apart from the 1000 circular base, GSC was giving out a catalog of their nendoroids produced from 2006 to 2019 at the exhibition. Fortunately, I managed to grab one of the last few copies! In case you were wondering, yes GSC’s 1000th nendoroid is Hatsune Miku. Hatsune Miku has become the ‘face’ of the GSC’s nendoroid line, so it wasn’t much of a surprise finding out that she was chosen as the character to commemorate the company’s incredible milestone. Since her debut as an nendoroid in 2010, GSC has released several design variations of the character and there’s no signs of them stopping anytime soon.
2000th Nendoroid
So back when I first posted this guide in 2020, I had mentioned how in 2019, GSC had celebrated its 1000th nendoroid by having a global exhibition. Fast forward to 3 years later, GSC has announced its 2000th nendoroid will be released in April 2023! To mark the special occasion, GSC has released a fun fact webpage. (LOL I wonder if their staff came across my guide and saw my Fun Facts and decided to do the same…if so, how cool is that?)
Fun Facts on (Buying) Nendoroids
What’s a guide without some Fun Facts?
Fun Fact #1: As of August 2022, there are over 1900 nendoroids that have been produced and in production! That’s really quite mind-boggling, considering the fact that the company was started in 2006! To see the full-line-up of Good Smile Company’s existing line of nendoroids and upcoming nendoroids, click here.
Fun Fact #2: The 2000th nendoroid is none other than … Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan! This is scheduled for release in April 2023. (Seeing how the 1000th nendoroid was released in 2019, having the 2000th nendoroid in 2023 means that GSC has released 1000 different nendoroids in just 4 years! How mind-boggling is that?!)
Fun Fact #3: A lot of collectors actually still have their nendoroids unopened in boxes. Strange as it might sound, this is actually a very common phenomenon among nendoroids owners. I’m one of them. ┐(︶▽︶)┌ Although I’m making it a point to try to open up all my nendoroids, so do check out my Instagram if you are interested to see my collection as I share them.
Fun Fact #4: The boxes of the early nendoroids (e.g. Number 001 – 800) are actually bigger than the newer series. Not complaining though, since smaller boxes = easier storage of the (unopened) boxes as it now takes up less space.
Fun Fact #5: 90% of the nendoroids are made in China. About 10% are made in Japan. Some examples of nendorids made in GSC’s ‘Lucky Factory’ in Tottori, Japan are the Detective Conan nendoroids (Shūichi Akai, Kid the Phantom Thief & Conan) and Attack on Titans nendoroids (Levi & Erwin).
Fun Fact #6: In the past 2 years, GSC has managed to acquire licenses to produce nendoroids of quite a lot of classic anime/manga titles. Examples include JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure & Hunter x Hunter among others. (And yes, I’ve naturally pre-ordered all the JoJo & HXH nendoroids that I could). They have even gotten licenses for non anime/manga titles, with characters from notable titles such as Zootopia, Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Disney Princesses and Harry Potter among others transformed into super adorable nendoroids.
Fun Fact #7: If you have Instagram, there are tons of photos on nendoroids uploaded by fans all over the world. Popular hashtags are #nendoroids #nendoroidphotography #nendography There are some really amazing photos of nendoroids out there!
Fun Fact #8: Nendoroid Contests. Yes, you’ve read that right. There’s actually quite a few nendoroid contests on Instagram & Twitter that fans can enter to win some nendoroids. For example, GSC had ran a monthly #myfirstnendoroid contest on twitter & intragram where you’ll stand a chance to win some of their latest nendoroids! This contest has ended. However, you can still check out the many fun photographs submitted via the hashtags. Do check out their official social media channels to find out about their contests and campaigns!
Fun Fact #9: From time to time, GSC would re-release some of their more popular nendoroids so fans who had missed them out the first time might now have a chance to get their hands on it. For example, I had missed out on Nendoroid 390 Levi which was released in 2013. However, they decided to re-release Levi together with Erwin’s nendoroid in 2017, so I managed to buy both the nendoroids. ^ ^ They had another re-release in 2021 so never give in to scalpers! Popular characters will likely often have re-runs.
Fun Fact #10: With the growing popularity of nendoroids, there’s been an increasing trend where you have fans starting to customize and dressing up their nendoroids. GSC has started to tap into this market and have been releasing official wearable outfits and nendoroid dolls. I’ve also recently jumped on to the bandwagon and it’s really so much fun! For more information and photos, please refer to the “Dressing Up Nendoroids” section in this post.
Fun Fact #11: My very first nendoroids were Nendoroid 137 Masamune Date & Nendoroid 210: Yukimura Sanada from “Sengoku Basara”. OMG! That was like 8 years ago! I’m actually considered a late collector since I only really started buying nendoroids on a regular basis about 5 years ago. (GSC started in 2006 and I bought my first two nendoroids in 2012) And with GSC getting the license for MHA, JOJO, Ace Attorney, CLAMP and HXH…. My wallet is now at serious threat-levels LOL
Where to Buy Nendoroids?
Option 1: Good Smile Company Official Online Shop
Generally, it is always good to buy directly from the anime goods-maker’s official stores. Authenticity and Quality is almost always guaranteed. There’s also the added incentive of exclusive shop bonuses you might not be able to get elsewhere.
Good Smile Company (GSC) has their own online shop where you can directly pre-order their nendoroids from. Recently, GSC has also started selling some of their figurines with existing stock, which is a welcome move. (In the past, they only accepted pre-orders). GSC ships to most countries with a few exceptions. At the official GSC online global shop , the default language is in English and you can pay in Yen, USD or Euro. GSC has also set up an official online shop in the USA, China, Taiwan to better serve the needs of their customers in these areas.
You can also buy GSC nendoroids at the various exhibition fairs they hold or at their official booths in (international) anime/manga events. This usually are for the in-stock items in their existing catalog.
OFFICIAL GOOD SMILE COMPANY ONLINE SHOPS
- OUTSIDE OF JAPAN: The Official Global Shop: https://goodsmileshop.com/en/
- USA folks (North America & Canada), please check out the NEW USA store: https://www.goodsmileus.com
- China folks, I believe there are several partner online platforms for you. Check out: https://www.goodsmile-sh.info/ for more information
- Taiwan folks, please check out the official store in Taiwan: https://www.goodsmile.info/zh/
Benefits of buying nendoroids directly from GSC?
**Geeky Travels & Fandoms is NOT affiliated and NOT sponsored by Good Smile Company
In the last 7 years, I have been buying nendoroids directly from the GSC Online Global Shop. The packaging is generally good and stocks are almost always guaranteed once you placed a pre-order. You also pay only when the item is in stock, usually about 3 weeks in advance before it is shipped.
There’s the added benefit of exclusive pre-order bonuses. GSC also offers a flat rate international Express shipping (2000 yen, 16 usd, 18 euro) per order or even free shipping, depending on the geo-location of their online store. See TIP #2 and TIP #3 and TIP #5 in the Tips section for more details.
From time to time, GSC would also have sales on their in-stock items and/or have special campaigns that comes with buying nendoroids directly from their web-stores. For example, GSC had a Stay Home Campaign from 20 April 2020 to 6 May 2020 where each purchase of selected items will get a nendoroid mask. I got my nendoroid Masks from this campaign. Here’s Rohan Kishibe with his mask on! 🙂
Examples of past giveaways & past campaigns:
In May 2021, to celebrate its 20th Anniversary, GSC had a special giveaway campaign on its Global Online Shop and Taiwan Online Shop!
It was a very simple giveaway. All you had to do was sign up to be their member (if you are not one) and subscribe to their newsletter. Then you answer a short survey and enter your registered email address. The campaign closed on 6 June 2021 9PM Japan Time. The best thing about this giveaway was that it was open to existing members as well. Check out the details here:
- Global Shop: https://goodsmile20th.jp/online_campaign/en/
- Taiwan Shop: https://goodsmile20th.jp/online_campaign/zh/
Great News! For all those who wants to get their hands on the Nendoroid Masks, GSC is running another Mask Campaign from October 30, 2020 5pm (JST) until stocks last. For every purchase/pre-orders of selected Nendoroids, Nendoroid Dolls and GSC products, you will get a mask (while stock lasts)! So who’s getting their orders in? ^ ^
The campaign has ended.
Should I always buy directly from GSC?
The short answer is no. The longer answer is: It depends.
There are indeed times where NOT buying from the GSC online shops might be BETTER for YOU. Perhaps you missed the pre-order cut-off dates? Maybe budget is an issue? Or you don’t have a credit card and/or Paypal? See TIP #1 & TIP #4 & TIP #5 in the Tips section for more details.
Tips on buying Nendoroids from Good Smile Company Official Online Shops
TIP #1: Several GSC licensed partners (anime goods online shops) of Japan offers a much cheaper pre-order price than the GSC official online stores. Note that the discounted prices in these shops DO NOT include the pre-order GSC bonuses.
Important: Not all nendoroids by GSC has exclusive pre-order bonuses. If budget is your main consideration and you don’t care for the pre-order bonuses, this might be a better option for you.
TIP #2: GSC online shops often have exclusive pre-order bonuses for the nendoroids which are not available in their licensed partner shops. This generally justifies the higher cost of the recommended retail price.
TIP #3: For USA (North America & Canada) readers, you can consider pre-ordering and/or buying nendoroids from the GSC new official USA Online Store. You guys and gals get FREE SHIPPING direct from Japan!! (envious) Sorry folks, you have to pay for shipping now too! ><
TIP #4: GSC generally only accepts pre-orders. This means if you missed the pre-order cut-off dates, you can’t buy from their online stores anymore. Other anime goods shops and platforms tend to have a longer cut-off pre-order date than GSC online stores and may have extra stocks to sell upon product release. Update in 2020: GSC has recently started selling some already released items/nendoroids on their respective (countries) websites.
TIP #5: Shipping costs. For those on a budget, you might like to check if it is more economical to buy from GSC Online Shops or from an (online) anime goods shop. My personal rule of thumb for the GSC Global Shop (Not the USA store which I am not eligible for) is: A minimum of 3 nendoroids in one order makes the flat rate shipping cost worth it. More so if the nendoroids have the exclusive GSC pre-order bonuses.
TIP #6: Nothing really to do with buying nendoroids but do subscribe to my mailing list for more posts relating to anime/manga and buying merchandises.
Option 2: Buying Nendoroids from Other Anime Goods Shops and Platforms
I generally pre-order directly from GSC official online store if the nendoroids have a pre-order bonus that I want (e.g. special parts; special base; special effects stands etc). If it’s a rubber strap, I generally feel that the extra cost isn’t worth it. Caveat: I have too many rubber straps.
As such, many of my nendoroids with no pre-order bonus were all purchased from GSC licensed partner shops aka online anime goods & hobby shops from Japan or Amazon Japan. Buying nendoroids from these online anime goods and hobby shops from Japan are generally cheaper than the GSC official shop. Note that the cheaper price I’m referring to is often only for pre-orders and excludes any sales or promotions running on either platforms.
Here is a list of possible channels you can consider buying nedoroids from:
- AmiAmi
- Hobby Search
- Animate
- Amazon Japan/Amazon
- Your favorite local anime goods shop
** Note: This list is not-exhaustive. These are just my personal preferred shops that I buy my nendoroids from.
If you are interested in getting stuff from Japan that doesn’t ship internationally, you can consider using a forwarder or buying service too.
Check out my post: Geeky Goods Spotlight: Forwarders, Buying Service & Proxy Bidding for more information.
Why Buy from AmiAmi, Hobby Search & Animate?
I have recommended AmiAmi and Hobby Search (Japan online Anime Goods Shops) because I have personally bought many Japanese anime goods from the two shops over the years.
They are relatively easy to use, default language in the international store is in English and ships overseas to most countries. Many Japan online shops do not ship directly to non-Japan addresses and you will need a forwarder as a workaround. AmiAmi’s international site (aka the one in English) also allows domestic shipping to Japanese addresses!
Pre-order prices for nendoroids (NO PRE-ORDER GSC BONUS) are generally cheaper than the GSC official online shops. Please note the comparison is in Yen and before shipping cost is included.
However, as with most shops, there are also cons to ordering from AmiAmi and Hobby Search. I really dislike how inflexible both shops can be when it comes to combining orders for shipping. You cannot combine pre-order items releasing in different months to be shipped together.
Nevertheless, the pros generally outweigh the cons, so the recommendation stands. I am still buying from them so rest assured that I’m not just plucking random shops and putting them in this post.
Why Buy From Amazon Japan?
I have personally bought Anime Blu-Rays, Music CDs, Magazines, Anime Calendars, Anime Goods and Figurines from AMAZON JAPAN. I have also shipped them via international shipping to my country and domestic shipping to hotels in Japan. So far, the experience has been pretty good. Although as with any online marketplace, please evaluate the sellers before you buy.
Your local anime goods shop
In other words, support local! They have to be a GSC licensed partner though. GSC official Partner shops can be found here: https://partner.goodsmile.info/support/eng/partnershops/
Dressing Up Your Nendoroids
Have you ever wondered how some people on Instagram and Twitter were able to post photos of their nendoroids in really cute outfits? Well, if you have, then do continue to read on. ^ ^ In this section, I’ll share a little on how you can dress up your own nendoroids too!
Aren’t they just adorable?
As mentioned at the top of this long post, there has been an increasing trend of nendoroid owners dressing up and customizing their nendoroids in recent years. I’ve recently jumped on the bandwagon too and it has really upped the enjoyment of having nendoroids! It’s really so much fun. If you are the current owner of a nendoroid (or nendoroids) of your favourite anime/manga character, you will definitely understand the attraction of doing so. Seeing them in different outfits and with different accessories is just too adorable for words. ^ ^ I mean, just look at how cute my Jotaro and Kakyoin nendoroids are in their matching *Sailor Outfits! (For more adorable photos of my nendoroids in different outfits, check out my Instagram.)
*The Sailor Outfits are from the official Good Smile Company’s nendoroid dolls clothing line.
For simplicity, I’ll group the dressing up of nendoroids into two types with:
- Fixed outfits (the clothes can’t be removed)
- Removable outfits (the clothes can worn and removed)
Fixed Outfits (Non-removable Clothes)
In the earlier years of buying nendoroids, one of the most common ways to “dress up” your nendoroids is to buy fixed nendoroid bodies with different outfits from Good Smile Company (GSC).
GSC has a range called “nendoroid more” which includes play-sets, accessories, and nendoroid bodies in different outfits (without heads) that you can use with your existing nendoroids. Note that the “outfits” are non-removable and the bodies are usually non-movable too (with the exception of hands), so basically you are just attaching the head of your own nendoroids onto them.
Here’s a few examples:
The nendoroid more dress up range is a simple, fuss-free and fast way to change the look and feel of your nendoroids. GSC usually sells them in a box set, so you are guaranteed to get all the designs. Do note that they come without any nendoroid heads.
For more information on the Nendoroid More series:
A) Dress Up: Yukatas set, visit here.
B) Dress Up: Lolitas, visit here.
Bonus: If you are dressing up your nendoroids, why stop at just different outfits? ^ ^ GSC certainly felt so and has also released additional parts and accessories you can pair your own nendoroids with!
Face Parts
To allow for more fun possibilities with your nendoroids, GSC also sells “face parts” with different expressions that you can swap with the face plates of your nendoroids. The end result is almost always hilarious and really allows for many interesting Instagram/Photo moments. For more information on the Nendoroid More: Face Swap sets, visit here.
Accessory Parts
GSC also sells “accessory parts” that you can easily attached to your nendoroids to create different scenarios and activities. I’m excited to share that I’ve also recently ordered this set , so do keep a look out for them in my nendoroid photos on Instagram! ^ ^ For more information on the Nendoroids More: After Parts Summer Festival, visit here.
Backgrounds/Play-sets
Another popular trend in the nendoroid world is to display the nendoroids and/or have them interacting with different “environments” and “settings”. GSC has a Nendoroid more: CUBE range where fans can buy “play-sets” to display their nendoroids with.
Although GSC has released several play-sets, the selection is currently still limited. It is therefore not surprising that many fans have looked for alternative sources. One of the more popular options is to customize display boxes to match the theme of their nendoroids. Technically, you can pair nendoroids with anything such as LEGO, food, drinks and other toys and the end result will always be adorable. You can find out more information about the Nendoroid More: CUBE series Classroom set here.
Removable outfits (Nendoroid Dolls)
For your Good Smile Company (GSC) nendoroids to be able to wear removable outfits, it is advisable to have a nendoroid doll body. The two most common doll bodies used by fans are:
- GSC Nendoroid (Archetype) Dolls
- Obitsu Body 11 (OB 11) Dolls
Here’s an excellent comparison guide and review on the dolls by shinahdragon so I won’t go too much into this post. Do check out their guide if you are deciding which type of doll to buy.
GSC Nendoroid (Archetype) Dolls
There are generally two options available for you if choose to use the GSC Nendoroid Archetype Dolls: GSC Character Nendoroid Dolls & GSC generic Nendoroid Archetype Dolls.
Option 1: GSC Character Nendoroid Dolls
Buy any of the GSC Character Nendoroid Dolls which comes complete with a head, a name and a full outfit with shoes. You can choose to swap out the nendoroid doll head with any of your existing nendoroids’ heads whenever you feel like it.
Here’s an example of one of these character nendoroid dolls you can buy from GSC: The Mad Hatter!
This is the Mad Hatter Nendoroid Doll from the GSC “Alice” series and he comes complete with a wearable outfit, hat, monocle and shoes. As the Mad Hatter is an established character, the doll comes with a head of the character. (You can also just buy the clothes sets without the doll body figure and head too). I just bought him a few days ago from GSC’s global webstore so I will be replacing this picture with mine once he arrives. ^ ^ Other nendoroid dolls in the “Alice” series are the Queen of Hearts, White Rabbit and Alice.
Next,in what may be great news for fans of the nedoroid doll series, it appears that GSC is starting to produce more nendoroid dolls of anime/manga characters as an alternative choice for fans.
Take for example, Dazai Osamu from Bungou Stray Dogs. GSC has produced two versions which fans can choose to buy. One is the normal nendoroid version that most of us are familiar with (i.e. fixed body/outfit). The other is a nendoroid doll version (i.e. the clothes can be removed & body is more flexible).
Here’s a picture to help with the comparison:
As you can see from the pictures, the Dazai nendoroid doll version has a slightly longer body than the Dazai nendoroid version. Do note that for these character nendoroid dolls, the face is fixed (i.e. you can’t change the face) while the normal nendoroid version has the swappable face plates feature. A point to note too is that the nendoroid doll versions are ALWAYS more expensive than the normal nendoroids. More often than not, the wearable outfits can be bought separately too.
So, when buying nendoroids that has both a nendoroid doll and a nendoroid version, be sure to think about what you plan to do with it to aid your decision.
Option 2: GSC generic Nendoroid Archetype Dolls.
Buy a GSC nendoroid doll archetype body (without a head) and dress it up with your own choice of clothes.
For the GSC nendoroid archetype dolls, you can choose from a Boy and a Girl version. The dolls come with different skin colours: Standard (Peach) , Cinnamon, Cream and Almond Milk. I bought the standard colour ones. ^ ^ To be honest, there isn’t much difference between the boy and girl doll. You really won’t notice the difference once the bodies are dressed in clothes anyway.
These generic nendoroid archetype dolls are usually much cheaper than the character nendoroid dolls because you are just getting the body (the stand and magnetic base comes with it). The heads in the picture are just for reference. The actual dolls come with NO heads so you have to use one of your existing nendoroid heads to complete the figure. The feet of Nendoroid dolls have magnets and the base are magnetic as well. (Normal nendoroids do not have the magnetic feature.)
UPDATE MAY 2020: Good Smile Company has announced two new types of generic nendoroid archetype dolls in their line-up. Presenting the Man and the Woman version (LOL) with more defined body features. As such unlike the Boy and Girl versions, the new dolls would be more differentiated now.
Check out the full range of GSC nendoroid dolls and related items here.
Obitsu Body Dolls (OB 11)
Apart from the GSC nendoroid doll version, the most common doll body that fans used were the OB 11 dolls. (It’s still extremely popular today)
The OB 11 dolls have a magnet version and a non-magnet version. As with the GSC nendoroid dolls, the OB 11 dolls also have different skin tones as well. So, do take note that you are buying the one you wanted!
Bonus: You can actually do slight modifications to the Obitsu Body 11 dolls to fit the GSC nendoroid heads or even other figurines, such as the Cu-Pouche dolls.
As mentioned, there is an excellent guide and comparison post on the difference between the GSC nendoroid dolls body and that of the Obitsu Body 11 dolls by shinahdragon.
I’m still relatively new to the Obitsu Body 11 dolls (I just bought one!) and am more familiar with the nendoroid dolls by GSC. I will update my own review and evaluation after I played around with it longer.
FAQs on buying nendoroid doll clothes
Is it legal to sell or buy non-GSC produced clothes (i.e. fan-made) for GSC nendoroids?
Yes, it is absolutely legal. Here’s the official statement from GSC:
So, if you are one of those talented folks that can knit/crotchet, you can consider making some nendoroid doll clothes and sell them. ^ ^ There is a growing demand for them.
Where can I buy clothes/shoes/accessories for my nendoroid dolls?
I would say there are generally 3 sources you can get outfits for your nendoroids.
A) Official GSC produced clothes (GSC online stores & their licensed partner shops)
B) DIY
C) Fan-Made (Popular platforms: Etsy; Taobao; Ali Express; Amazon)
A) Official GSC produced clothes: GSC web-shops + Partner License Shops
Good Smile Company has been steadily releasing outfits and shoes for the nendoroid dolls but it is still currently quite a small collection. Below are some examples of the outfits produced. Note that the dress stand is sold separately (sadly it’s sold out) and doesn’t come with the outfits. Here’s hoping GSC will re-release them. I need at least two of the stands. ^ ^
Here are the links to the various GSC produced outfits seen in the pictures:
Harry Potter Gryffindor Uniform
Hakama: Boy
Bungo Stray Dogs: Osamu Dazai’s Outfit
Sailor Outfit: Boy
One benefit of buying GSC produced outfits is that it generally fits better for the nendoroid doll archetype bodies. A lot of the fan-made clothes are still predominantly made with the OB 11 dolls in mind, which tends to be slightly longer than the nendoroid archetype dolls. As such, while the OB 11 clothes can fit the nendoroid doll bodies, sometimes the outfits might not be as good a fit. (Although it’s usually still really cute)
Nevertheless, if you find a good fan seller, chances are the differences are minute and the outfits looks great regardless of the doll body types used.
B) DIY
If you are good with craft-work, the obvious choice would be to do-it-yourself. ^ ^ To help budding DIY fans, GSC has even published a clothing pattern book: My First Doll: Clothing Patterns ~Creating in Nendoroid Doll Size~ Do note that the book is in Japanese. Update: There’s now a mandarin version of the book sold in Taiwan. Perhaps an English version would be coming soon?
C) Fan-Made Clothes/Shoes
If you can’t DIY the clothes (like me lol), there are actually quite a number of sellers/fans that you can buy nendoroid doll outfits from. Here are some of the nendoroid clothes that I bought online. Cute, isn’t it?
Who are some of your favourite nendoroid doll clothes seller? Share with me in the comments!
Create Space!
As I was updating and refreshing this guide, I came across something “new”. Seems like GSC has started accepting merchandise ideas from fans and have created a platform to do so. This includes designs for T-shifts, enamel pins, plushies etc.
Check out the full FAQ here! Have you ever submitted your designs to Create Space? Let me know in the comments!
Some Final Words
If you made it this far down the guide, thank you for reading! ^ ^ I really hoped the information I shared in this article is helpful to you.
Nendoroids are really cute and they can really bring a cheer and a smile to your life. Whether you just plan to display it as it is or choose to dress them up or take lots and lots of photos or play with them or do all of the above, the possibilities are endless. I currently have about 32 nendoroids in my collection as of April 2020.
To be honest, nendoroids are not say the cheapest anime/manga goods around. I would say it falls in the middle range of anime/manga figurines, averaging around a retail price of 4000 yen to 6000 yen (excluding shipping) per nendoroid. So, it can get rather expensive after a while. (I have to pick and choose too for the sake of my wallet.) And it seems that prices are now poised to get even higher. I’ve noticed that from 2022 onwards, the average retail price for several nendoroids are 5000 yen to 7000 yen.
However, if you can afford one, I do highly recommend you to add nendoroids into your anime/manga collection. You definitely won’t regret it. ^ ^
Update 2021: I’ve added a second Nendoroid Guide where I try to answer some of the questions sent to me by those who had read this guide. Check out Nendoroid Guide: The Readers’ Questions Edition for more Q&A on nendoroids!
I’ve also done up a mini comparison guide between Nendoroids and Figuarts Mini that quite a few of you have emailed/DM me to let me know it was useful (thank you!). Do check it out if interested.
Last but not least, I just wanted to add that with the entire world turned upside down in 2020 and still recovering in 2022, here’s a very important Public Service Announcement from the JOJO guys!
Before you click that X button and leave, perhaps you could consider one of the following actions? ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶
If you find the information in this post useful, please share with your friends and/or let me know in the comments. This will let me know if I should continue posting such guides here.
Perhaps you could also consider buying me a coffee as well? ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶ Every little bit of support helps in the running and sustaining of this website. Thank you so much in advance.
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Check out my other Geeky posts!
Geeky Good Guides
I’ve also done up a few guides on purchasing anime goods/figurines and the list will continue to expand. Do check them out as they might be useful for your own fan- collection journeys!
- Geeky Goods Spotlight: Forwarder, Buying Service & Proxy Bidding (Anime Goods)
- Nendoroids – A Guide on Buying Nendoroids
- Figuarts Mini VS Nendoroid: A Comparison Guide
- A Kuji Guide: All You need to know and more!
- Demon Slayer Gift Guide: Best things to buy for a Kimetsu no Yaiba Fan!
Hello i want to ask about something. So i want to buy this nendoroid but i can’t ship it to my country from GSC, in this case should i buy it from another place or what can i do? By the way this is my first time buying a nendoroid so i’ve been researching about it.
Hi Rui,
If I may ask, what country will you be shipping the nendoroid to? There are plenty of alternative options you can look at. Before looking at these alternative options, do check if you are accessing the correct GSC online shop. GSC has now split their online shop into region-specific as well, so you need to make sure you are on the right GSC online shop corresponding to your country/region. If the nendoroid you want to buy doesn’t come with a GSC exclusive bonus, I will recommend you to just buy from their authorized resellers/partner retail shops which you can find here.
Other possible platforms you can buy are from online (Japanese) hobby shops that might ship to your country, or use a forwarder that ships to your country. I have a guide on forwarding and proxy buying services that you can look at here. Amazon also has some legit sellers that you can buy from but you do need to ensure that you are buying from an authorized reseller.
Hope this helps. Welcome to the world of nendoroids!