Action figure collection is becoming a lifestyle trend

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01:39

Collecting action figures is now a trend among young people, especially in Japan. An action figure company said collecting these items is not only for fun, but it is also recording history.

Kaiyodo is an old brand company designing action figures named as a pronoun of “high quality” in Japan's market. It produces hundreds of new action figures from the small frog to the giant doll every year, and they are absolutely true to life. The company's CEO, Shuichi Miyawaki, said they aimed at high-end action figures since the domestic market is saturated.

Kaiyodo has designed over 8,000 action figures, including old-fashioned joss to favorite cartoon characters. The company said it is trying to "produce" the Japanese social life and also the beautiful sceneries in all the stories.

“Each age has its own style. We are trying to record history with the art models. I think our action figures could be collections in the museum's hundreds of years later,” said Miyawaki.

The 50-year-old company has an annual turnover of 2 billion yen (about 18.8 million U.S. dollars) with only 40 employees. The old brand company is now seeking new business opportunities by cooperating with young enterprises.

The company's CEO said the combination of popular elements and old handicraft helped making action figures popular in Japan, as a growing number of overseas tourists made special trips to the country to purchase their own piece of history.