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Interview: Bluefin and the World of Anime Collectibles




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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 8:41 pm Reply with quote
A couple spelling corrections:
Quote:
Tomy Takura

Should be Tomy Takara, I believe.
Quote:
SH Figure Arts

Should be S.H.Figuarts.

Quote:
That's also part of the reason why Gundam seems to be doing extremely well for the US right now is because the Gundam model product… it's an oddity in that there's products that are best sellers in Gunpla that don't have an anime attached to it. One of these is the Gundam Astray Red Frame. For those who don't know, it's a red robot with a katana. It's attached to a manga that's actually out of print now.

Haha, I'm totally in that boat. My eyes went *____* when I saw the Perfect Grade promotions I had to get it when it was first released too in order to get the extra sword which came as a first release bonus.
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BodaciousSpacePirate
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Joined: 17 Apr 2015
Posts: 3017
PostPosted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 12:32 am Reply with quote
It's weird; I buy a lot of stuff with the name Bluefin on it, yet I hadn't really given that much thought up until now about who they are or how they became the official Gundam distributors in the US. Thanks for setting up the interview!
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invalidname
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Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 2444
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
PostPosted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 6:45 am Reply with quote
I had noticed some really high-end anime collectibles in my local Barnes & Noble about six months ago… kind of wondered who was going to spend $75 for a master-grade Gundam model kit or $100 for a really nice Sailor Mercury figure in my little town. I'm pleasantly surprised to know that this stuff is doing pretty well.

As for retail improving… I can totally see retailers wanting to sell stuff like this that hasn't been readily available before and isn't as well suited to online purchasing. That B&N I mentioned in the first paragraph? It's maybe half books now, probably because Amazon (and Kindle) is beating them up so bad (and they're really getting killed on movies and music), with lots of space instead set aside for board games, puzzles, Funko POPs, etc. So yeah, maybe them getting into the high-end anime merch game makes sense.
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zrnzle500



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 3767
PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 8:07 pm Reply with quote
Bluefin's definitely a company I've heard of from the couple Gunpla I've bought. I've also heard of S.H. Figuarts and Tamashi Nations, though I don't own any. I generally prefer scales over poseable figures as the former usually have better sculpt quality and don't have the joints which can be fairly noticeable, though the Figuarts Zero line is scale. I also prefer more recent titles so I don't buy the ones they focus on. From what I've heard they do a good job. It's nice to see the business doing well over here. I don't mind the price point considering the quality of the product, though not everyone has that luxury. As such it makes sense the lower priced products do best. I do all my buying online but it might be interesting to have some retail to look at the product, though I mostly preorder so most things I'd want I'd already have bought before it hits retailers.
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