So here’s a question to the folks in the USA that actively collect RxH these days: besides this one event happening in California, how the hell do you actually get new releases? I see Mori churning out toys constantly on Ig, but next to nothing is offered to overseas collectors. Is it simply that you have to be in Japan or have deep, deep pockets to pay on the secondary? I’d love to add one of the alienman and predator fighters to my collection, or a Chaosman 6, but I feel like we just get the cold shoulder.
Compounding the issue is that the serious Asian RxH crowd has a lot of purists, and the RxH toys that go international tend to be collabs, often rare and special ones. So trade options are mostly out, and the ones that remain open are things I treasure.
When I first started collecting RxH, I realise now, it was kind of a golden age for foreign collectors. At least in terms of availability and price. I'd just go to Rotofugi or Lulubell and grab my Nekos or my Darumas . . . Then, if I may simplify what happened next, he started doing the adult figures and it all got fucked up really fast. It just seemed to blow up, the usual sources dried up. Instagram. Twitter. Prices started to inflate and I was getting outbid on every piece I wanted, constantly. So, i don't really collect RxH nowadays, I don't need the strain on my nerves! I will say though, there's still plenty of the fight size at relatively reasonable prices out there, but those are also creeping up in price. The new stuff for years has been out of my price range, realistically.
Oh, it is the same for me these days. I could never get into the vast majority of the original mutant figures, (it was the cutoff Jean shorts mainly) but the adult stuff was cool, and for a while it wasn’t hard to get or expensive. I had a few pieces 5-8 years ago or so, but like a lot of my old collection, tough decisions had to be made. These days though, it’s ridiculous especially if you factor in the output Mori has. Week after week there are dozens of new releases, and yet it’s never any easier to get. I have exactly one RxH adult figure, and it’s a collab like @zindabad said. I’m glad to have it, it would just be nice to snag one or two more to give it company. But I feel like Mori, much like hirota has moved beyond needing or wanting western collectors. Which is weird, considering so much of his work draws from western pop culture, and his connections with western companies like Onell/Glyos and properties like TMNT. Oh well. He’ll keep doing what he does, and I’ll keep looking half heartedly.
I get nostalgic for RxH because I have so many good memories going to Super7 but am now very frustrated at the pace and accessibility. I'm a fair weather fan who gets frustrated easily. I'm happy for Mori but at the same token, the new sales have completely shunned American collectors. The releases benefit people in Japan, flippers etc but that's about it.
Heh, I remember a lot of people who were put off by those! This kind of conversation really makes me feel nostalgic for when I first started collecting sofubi (RxH were my way in). I still enjoy seeing what Mori is up to, but its kind of like looking through a shop window with your nose pressed to the glass, but the shop only opens when you can't be there.
Hard to blame Mori for keeping sales via his own channel these days. Looking back, ready availability of RxH from 2008-10 did nothing except nearly killing it completely. There are simply more cheerleaders than collectors in this niche hobby. Once the exclusivity and trophy hunting wears off, there are hardly any interest left. Anraku is the same when he braved the MEDICOM open orders route. I would bet the mighty HxS to be the same if he is brave enough to do so. RxH made a remarkable come back and gathered new fan base again. Mori found his formula to stay desirable. Great for him. Anyway, accessibility at retail does not become easier even if u are Tokyo, if this makes collectors outside Japan feels better
I wish he would make more mini figures like the Tanuki which I think is my favorite. But there are more Japanese folk lore monsters he could make in mini size as well.
As a current RealxHead collector, I'm flooded with DMs from all over the world (mainly China) asking if pieces are for sale. Instagram has made contact super easy, and I've met a bunch of international collectors, even some based in Japan who have the luxury of visiting Mori's shop weekly. Some have been nice enough to trade, and that's always been my main way to get newer RxH, to trade, or the lotteries (I never win). I really try not to pay resell, as tempting as Mandarake is. Agreed! I know he's focused on making new adults, but I love those minis. I want to see more Japanese iconography like the Daruma and Money Cat. Maybe more Yokai.
Im glad that the trade Avenue works for you. Basically though, there is still no real way to purchase new releases. As I said previously, I have exactly one RxH figure, so trading is not much of an option. I understand that for lots of makers, the only way to purchase may be through events in person, but for a maker like Mori who once upon a time was much more accessible to close ranks is disappointing to me. But hey, life is full of disappointment; I’m sure I’ll manage without many RxH toys in my life
While I trade RxH for RxH, a few friends of mine have made some amazing trades with other collection pieces. HxS, MVH and a few convention exclusives. Who knows what this LA show will bring. I know that Mori wants to do more for the US customers, because I know he feels like he owes a lot of his success to the US market. DCON once a year, you could say was barely anything, so maybe there will be additional shows depending how this new one goes. For the RxH USA store or more Onell imports to happen again, I think he would need to 1, double his output and 2, need someone in the US who speaks fluent Japanese and someone he trusts to be a point of contact in the toy scene. But that's wishful thinking.
'See' being the operative word . . . Stumping up the $300+ it would take to add one to the collection would be another matter!
