The Nendoroid (ねんどろいど nendoroido) series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company in 2006. They typically depict characters from anime, manga or video games and are designed with a large head and smaller body to give them a cuteappearance. Their faces and other body parts are exchangeable, giving them a range of different expressions and poses. The Nendoroid brand spans a variety of different products: the original 10 cm figures, smaller Nendoroid Petite figures, additional display tools known as the Nendoroid More series as well as plushies and play sets.Just as you have read Nendoroids are figure with big heads and small bodies. Their appearance is rather cute. There each Anime, Manga or Game character can be featured as a Nendoroid but not just once. There can exist several variation of the same character with different clothes, expressions, objects, etc. Collectors enjoy getting each variation and storing them in a showcase. Now that you have a better understanding let starts.
What you have to know before Buying
- How much money do I want to spend ?
- What type of Nendoroid I want ?
- Is original Important for me ?
- How do I know that my Nendoroid is Original or Fake?
- How do I know that I'm not spending too much ?
What type of Nendoroid do I want ?
Now that you know about how much money you want to spend, we talk about the different types of Nendoroids. I just told you that there are three price classes but there is a little more to it. Nendoroids come in different sizes too. You can between three different types:
Nendoroid Petite, as the name suggests, are smaller versions of the normal Nendoroid. They measure about 6 cm each and a little rare because they are not sold in stores. Your only chance is to get them either in a set (several bundled together) or individually as a bonus for purchasing other merchandise such as an Anime, Manga, Game, etc. Other than that, they share the same qualities that normal Nendoroids have. People who get a hold of one resell them sometimes and that would be your chance to get one beside buying an Anime, Manga or Game.
Nendoroid Petite Plus are yet even smaller measure only 3cm. Beside their size, they are super detailed and have no interchangeable parts or joints that allow you to move it. Your only chance get one is during special events held in Japan or by getting one from someone who is willing to sell his.
Now that you know about how much money you want to spend, we talk about the different types of Nendoroids. I just told you that there are three price classes but there is a little more to it. Nendoroids come in different sizes too. You can between three different types:
- Nendoroid
- Nendoroid Petite (Nendoroid Puchi)
- Nendoroid Petite Plus (Nendoroid Puchi Plus)
Nendoroid
These are your typical Nendoroid. They are the biggest of the three measuring about 10cm. All original Nendoroid come with a stand, accessories (different faceplates, legs, arms, eyes, hat, swords, etc.) Nendoroids have joints and can change position but only limited. Almost all their parts are interchangeable.
Nendoroid Petite (Nendoroid Puchi)
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※ Rin Nendoroid Petite (left), Hatsune Miku Nendoroid Petite (middle), Len Nendoroid Petite (right)
Nendoroid Petite, as the name suggests, are smaller versions of the normal Nendoroid. They measure about 6 cm each and a little rare because they are not sold in stores. Your only chance is to get them either in a set (several bundled together) or individually as a bonus for purchasing other merchandise such as an Anime, Manga, Game, etc. Other than that, they share the same qualities that normal Nendoroids have. People who get a hold of one resell them sometimes and that would be your chance to get one beside buying an Anime, Manga or Game.
Nendoroid Petite Plus (Nendoroid Puchi Plus)
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I couldn't find a set of Nendoroid Petite Plus - this show another set of Nendoroid Petite
Nendoroid Petite Plus are yet even smaller measure only 3cm. Beside their size, they are super detailed and have no interchangeable parts or joints that allow you to move it. Your only chance get one is during special events held in Japan or by getting one from someone who is willing to sell his.
How much money do I want to spend for my Nendoroid?
At this moment, you probably don't know how much Nendoroids costs and that is perfect. There is no point in spending more money if you don't think that the product is not worth it. Based on the amount of money you have (or are willing to save) your options will vary greatly. So let's dive in.
Generally speaking, there are four price classes for Nendoroid (it may seem overly simple but read on):
- Made in China/Fake ($5 - $35)
- Original ($40 - $80)
- Original and Rare ($90 - $250+)
- Petite and Petite Plus ($20 - ???)
Korisato Nendoroid (Photo Kano)
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As a collector, these are the ones you want. Even if you just want to own just one, this option will offer you a much better quality as well as more parts (more on this latter). (Click on the Image for more information)
Hestia Nendoroid (DanMachi)
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These are the ones that become your little treasure. Obviously, they are original and come also with more parts to customize your Nendoroid.
Umaru Nendoroid (Himouto Umaru-chan)
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Petite and Petite Plus => As discussed earlier, Petite and Petite Plus can be very rare. That is why it is hard to set a fixed price range for them. It will depend a lot on the uniqueness and rarity of the Nendoroid. If you want one of these I recommend going to the Good Smile Company website. They have their own online shop where you can buy them if they have it.
Is an Original Nendoroid Important for me?
Now we arrived to another deciding factor. Original vs. Fake. Basically based on what you read until now you probably can make your decision BUT WAIT.
Every Original Nendoroid is made by the Good Smile Company and comes with extra parts to customize it. These include different legs, arms, eyes, hair, stands, objects (ex. Cup of tea, soccer ball, mask, etc.) as I mentioned earlier. This gives you the ability to change and customize your Nendoroid a lot.
Fakes, usually do not offer you this convenience and have a far inferior quality and color. Furthermore, Fakes have also another downside. Their parts are very loose and fall off quite often which makes losing parts unavoidable.
My Tip: Avoid Ebay and Unknown Pages
Here are the Manufacturers that are acknowledged by the Original Company - Good Smile:
How do I know that my Nendoroid is Original or Fake?
Now that you have learned a lot about Nendoroid itself, it is time to keep the Fake ones from the Originals. A lot of times, you will find websites that sell you apparently original Nendoroid for $15 which screams for fake but it is possible. You can lower your risk by buying from a trusted place with a lot of reviews and a well established paying system.
Amazon once again is king here. The original Company - Good Smile Company have their own brand store on Amazon. You can also visit the Good Smile Company website. They have an online store but sometimes their products are more expensive there (due to constant Amazon offers)
But... These are 10 things Fake Nendoroid have in common:
- It is cheap; fake ones cost $5-$30
- Check the box and look if it has a round sticker (original) or scotch tape (fake).
- Bad coloring, poor build, few details, blurry details.
- Colors are off and the face is distorted. (Look for Original reference photos)
- The colors of the Box are pale and less glossy.
- Very loose parts
- Needs holes for fixing it on its stand (which should come with the Nendoroid)
- The joints seem unnatural both color and form.
- The stand is poor quality (Originals have "Good Smile Company" written on it usually)
- Any other sign of bad quality (Originals cost more for a reason)
The left one is an Original and the right one is probably a fake one. If you click on the link, you will see that the left ones price matches that of the Good Smile Company website and that it has reviews certifying its quality. The right one on the other hand, has a price that is very suspicious and it has no comment whatsoever. The images are the same but these details help you spot the difference.
How do I know that I'm not spending too much ?
Now that you made it this far, you are close to being an Expert. But how do you know that you are not spending too much ? Your best ally is the Good Smile Company's Website. They list all their products and their price in Yen (convert it to dollars) and that gives you a good idea about the price. Always round up a little due to export, handling and shipping but a lot more and you know it is too expensive. My recommendation is to go the Amazon Store of the Good Smile Company and they will give you the accurate prices most of the time.