@hellointerloper Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous toy! Just love all of those happy faces on the broccoli head (oh the cuteness!). If Buta ever made standard sizes, I could see twin toys. And if SWDL ever collaborated with Buta, now that would be something to see!
What happened in 2023? My perspective, based on what I have seen and heard: As more foreign collectors returned to Japan, folks commented that Mandarake shelves seemed more sparse than they were before the pandemic. Beginning and ending auction prices started to rise noticeably, as well as Mandarake prices. Established shows like Five Points Fest and Creature Bazaar continued, and the last DesignerCon in LA was held. New shows such as TAGFest and Kaiju Brooklyn had their debuts. Many new toy makers entered the scene. Sadly, we lost people this year: Connell Little aka Phuntsy Amy Osowski of Lulubell Frank Kozik Shigeru Arai aka NagNagNag Newsworthy stuff: As AI image generation tools such as Midjourney gained widespread adoption, the notion of computer-generated toys started to be discussed again. See: This toy does not exist. AI-designed sofvi Kaiju kontinued on the big and small screens: Monarch Legacy of Monsters: New Apple TV Show starring GODZILLA! Godzilla Minus One Along with this, Japanese media companies continued pushing their merchandise into the US market: Tsuburaya Welcomes Bandai As Ultraman Master Toy Licensee For North America New US official Godzilla webstore is now LIVE Plus folks continued to experiment with new ways of manufacturing sofubi: Home slush casting with 3D printed molds. Notable Skullbrain threads: First Toy Sales ART or TOY? Can we have a talk about racist iconography? Unpopular opinions about toys Proof that necroposting is a positive thing for humankind and that Skullbrain is a force for good in the world: A Paul Kaiju classic: Zinclon Garamon. And the eternal flame still flickers: looking to sell (most of) my collection
2024-2025 is gonna have a lot of bootleg/ mashups of big brand Kaiju characters. There is a lot of homage movement in the overall art market. I’m guilty of it… and thus maybe am more aware? Excited to see what’s poppin
