GOOD SMILE COMPANY

Summary

GOOD SMILE COMPANY, INC. (株式会社グッドスマイルカンパニー) (usually shortened to GSC and グッスマ, respectively), was founded in May 2001 as GSC, Ltd. (changed to its modern designation in May 2012). It is currently a factory that governs figurine and toy projects, design, production, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. The CEO is Aki Takanori (安藝貴範). It is a Japanese company that produces many hobby products and is well known for its Nendoroids and figures. GOOD SMILE COMPANY is a very popular store when the otaku population wants to purchase goods of their favorite characters.

Nendoroids

The name "Nendoroid" itself has historical roots. First off, "nendo" means "clay" in Japanese. Now, in GSC, they called the team that was making Yuru Sofubi "Nendoron: the monster who lays figurine eggs", because the first molds were made of clay first. The team was also the ones who created the first Nendoroid-style figurines, so they just dubbed those "Nendoroid" because the morphology tied the two together, without overthinking it. According to Takanori, they regretted that decision just a bit, since the naming sense felt off and wasn't super cool, but decided to go with it anyway.

The style of Nendoroids are very unique and quite different from the usual figurines that are sold. They are in a chibi style, “chibi” in Japanese is a word that means small or short. It is usually used when referring to a child. The Nendoroid figures are typically made with an unrealistic proportion where the head is much larger with a smaller body. This proportion allows the figures to appear cuter and more likable. It is very popular merchandise available in a wide variety making them popular for collectors as well.

The first Nendoroid ever made was Neco Arc from the visual novel Tsukihime: Blue Blue Glass Moon, Under The Crimson Air, Moon Princess (月姫) by Type-Moon.

These days, 90% of Nendoroids are made in China. The mold testing sculptures called "test shots" fly to Japan and get reviewed several times, which is time-consuming, so some of them are made right in Kurayoshi, also allowing for more experimentation. The first Nendoroid produced in Kurayoshi was Sakura Miku.

Nendoroids are made from ABS and PVC with various alternate body parts to allow for a range of possible poses. The Nendoroid figures usually include a stand for the Nendoroids to be displayed on for a wider variety of poses. Due to the popularity of Nendoroid figures, there has even been a new variety of Nendoroids, being Nendoroid Dolls which are fundamentally the same. Including the small size and large head, their bodies are more doll-like and highly articulated when compared to the standard Nendoroids.

Background

GSC did not always make figurines. It was founded in 2001 in Matsudo, Chiba by former Ban Presto employee Aki Takanori as an event organizing and talent agency, marketing voice actors and idols. (They had a fishing utensils store "Fishing Samurai" open, too; at the moment, that store's finances are separate.) One of the talents was a man called Max Watanabe, the founder of Max Factory, and after the flop of the talent agency in January 2002, GSC started helping his company out, thereby entering the hobby industry.

The story seems more personal than the factories one might be used to in the West, but that is how GSC is. There is a culture of giving nicknames to people and things, even (like the monster Nendoron).

Before Nendoroids, GSC was making a series called "Yuru Sofubi" (ゆるソフビ), and the monster figurines were redesigned in a cute way (example). That did not go well, however. But it laid a foundation for the next widely-successful product that Takanori assures is present on many creators' work desks all over the world.

In 2006, the Nendoroid #000 Neco Arc was made. Takanori recollects how GSC did not have professional sculptors at first, so they outsourced; so there were people who were just bringing up a trash can and carving away over it. That was how the Neco Arc appeared. With more Nendoroids soon to follow, the detailed designs and spare parts have gained public attention and created positive feedback that let the company grow. In 2020, there are over a thousand Nendoroids out and planned — and that is not counting the many Nendoroid Petites, Nendoroid Plus goods, and more.

On January 31, 2008, the figma series launched in further collaboration with Max Watanabe's Max Factory as its main developer. The first figurine was SP001 Haruhi Suzumiya that came bundled with the PS2 game, Suzumiya Haruhi no Tomadoi. Nendoroids and figmas both enjoy remarkable figurine articulation and swappable facial expressions and items.

Since around 2016, the company's factory in Kurayoshi, Tottori Prefecture, was made with the intent of having a research and development center, as well as to proudly be "made in Japan". The base factory is in China, and any arising issues could just be solved by sheer workforce numbers, but in order to future-proof, the dedicated R&D crew constantly looks into optimization and automatization of the process, trying out new technologies to subsequently upgrade the factories elsewhere.

Scale

GSC makes figurines from games, animation, movies, and books. The official site has figurines explained in Japanese, English, and Chinese. Many sculptors collaborate with GSC, and each figurine has their names attached.

Kurayoshi city itself has become much more on the pop culture side, attracting the youths. In a 2019 interview, the Mayor of Kurayoshi attributed the modernization and the change of the city's looks to GSC.

The mission vision in GSC is such that in the globalized world where figurines have been steadily gaining traction since the 2010s, the company helps different countries' cultures perform a kind of exchange. GSC keeps seeking to expand, to give jobs to the ever-improving sculptors, and the outlook is positive.

References

グッドスマイルカンパニー - Wiki
ねんどろいど - Wiki
How is a NENDOROID Made? Behind the Scenes (EN) - YouTube