Quantcast
Best of 2012: Kristina's Top 5 Toyetic Anime - JAPANATOR
DestructoidJapanatorTomopopFlixist


REMOVE ALL ADS?
Guaranteed contest entry?
A new video show?
Something else?

Vote in our membership poll


Best of 2012: Kristina's Top 5 Toyetic Anime


8:00 AM on 12.27.2012
Best of 2012: Kristina's Top 5 Toyetic Anime photo



While all my fellow Japanator writers are busy picking and choosing the best anime, music, and games of the year, I'll be bringing in a look at which anime inspired the most merchandise based on what I've seen in the way of figures and more.

Needless to say, it was kind of a hard list to compile. There are some anime that simply didn't make the cut because they didn't air this year or have a movie premier in 2012 -- in the end, I had to make that a criteria or my list would have been a JapanaTen. In case anyone is wondering, I also excluded model kits and shonen from the list because those are consistent releases.

Check out my five big picks below the jump!

Fifth place: Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online is one of those anime that I didn't expect to get too popular, but it sort of did, and now figure companies are churning out merchandise like nobody's business. Asuna and Kirito are all the buzz recently, and Kirito especially is lucky to be one of the few, the proud male Nendoroids to stand alongside their leading female counterparts.

SAO barely made it into this list, but only because even while the show was airing, the merchandise made it all the way up to a scaled figure iteration of Asuna.

Fourth place: Dog Days

The basic way to gauge whether a show is popular in the world of figures is to see if the main female character has been iterated as a Nendoroid, figma, and a scaled figure. The way you know that a show transcends basic popularity is if more than one character from the same anime gets figure status, garage kits, and more.

Dog Days, though completely off my radar as an anime, has been getting some figure love this year in the way of some truly adorable Millhiores, Leonmitchellis, and more. Besides regular figures, the characters are even seeing official doll releases! And they're all absolutely adorable.

Third place: Evangelion 3.0

You know that saying, friends come and go, but Evangelion is forever? That's kind of the story of figure collecting, right up there with endless iterations of Hatsune Miku merchandise.

With the popularity of the most recent Evangelion animation we've seen all kinds of merchandise, ranging from old or alternate out-of-character designs to new characters, which obviously include Asuka and Rei, but now also Makinami Mari and Kaworu. There are even Evangelion-themed rocking horses for toddlers. The possibilities are endless.

Second place: Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai

Whether you're a fan of Haganai or not, it looks like enough people loved it enough to support several Nendoroid releases of the characters. Now most of the cast has made it to swimsuit figure status while Sena and Yozora enjoy figures by no less than seven different manufacturers.

As if that weren't enough, now you can get all kinds of merchandise: iPhone covers, key chains, file folders, albums, plushies, and much more. Yozora and Sena are a hit.

First place: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Do I really need to explain myself with this one? With the immense popularity of the anime, Madoka has inspired several different figures for all of the main girls, and even figure extension kits of the various little spirits, along with plenty of Kyubei plushies and more. The Nendoroid and figma iterations have all had multiple releases and the demand is still there for more.

And that isn't even the start of it.

This concludes my quick list! Do you agree with it, or think I left something out? Be sure to agree or disagree with me in the comments in the most articulate way possible!






Did you know? You can now get daily or weekly email notifications when humans reply to your comments.


9:40 PM on 05.20.2013

Rejoice! J-POP Summit to create a Japanese film festival

Aw snap, the J-Pop Summit Festival is launching the Japan Film Festival of San Francisco on July 27th through August 4th at the New People Cinema. The best part about this event is that a good chunk of the films are going to ...

Salvador G-Rodiles

6:30 PM on 05.20.2013

Upgrade Complete: Viz obtains the master license for K

Oh wow, I never expected for me and K would cross paths again. Back when K premiered last year, the series had to potential to become a show that felt like a Ryohgo Narita (Author of the original Baccano! and D...

Salvador G-Rodiles

4:30 PM on 05.20.2013

Licensing GET: Media Blasters grabs YamiBo

It looks like Media Blasters has gotten a hold of a new license, and there's a chance that it will make yuri fans rejoice. That said, Media Blaster's acquisition is going to be Yami to Boshi to Hon no Tabito (Often ...

Salvador G-Rodiles

7:00 PM on 05.19.2013

First-ish Impressions: My Teen RomCom Snafu

Jumping into this season a little late, I agreed to tackle My Teen Romantic Comedy Snafu, which Josh called "the highlight romantic comedy of the season," and "the show where all the main characters are assholes." He only sai...

Brad Rice

2:00 PM on 05.19.2013

Double rejoice! BlazBlue gets an anime adaptation

Well, right on the heels of Guilty Gear's glorious return, Arc System Works wants to let fans of its younger child, BlazBlue, aren't about to be left in the cold. But rather than a new BlazBlue game, Ranga-rockers and th...

Josh Tolentino

9:05 PM on 05.16.2013

Annotated Anime: Spring 2013 Week 6

Welcome to a *ahem* properly-scheduled week of Annotated Anime, the weekly Japanese cartoon roundup that's actually on time for once! After a cavalcade of tardiness-induced catch-up doses we bring you a more balanced off...

Josh Tolentino

2:00 PM on 05.16.2013

Oreimo web radio is now taking your fan mail

Oreimo season 2's web radio show, hosted by Kana Hanazawa and Ayana Taketatsu, is soliciting oversea fans to write to them. One of the corners on the radio program showcases foreign fan letters, and they're asking for mo...

Jeff Chuang

9:15 PM on 05.15.2013

Get Pumped: Daisuki.net goes live

[Update: It seems availability varies per-country. For example, viewers in the Philippines are currently only able to view Sunrise videos.] This week has been a great moment for anime. First we get Anime Sols, and now Daisuki...

Salvador G-Rodiles

4:00 PM on 05.15.2013

Behold, a figure that costs 60 million Yen

Yes, friends, you read that headline correctly. Sixty million Yen. As of this writing, that's a shade under $586,000. What a way to celebrate Saint Seiya, right? In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of Saint Seiya's Sain...

Josh Tolentino

10:00 AM on 05.15.2013

A Daily Dose of Final Blows: Girls und Panzer

It's all lead up to this. Our hero has been bruised and battered, and on the bring of defeat. What can saved the day? Is there any hope left for humanity? In anime, you can alway count on the final blow! This week your favor...

Hiroko Yamamura




Facebook Shares





From other sites around the web
















Back to Top



Advertising on Japanator is available: Please contact them to learn more