To say that anime and game characters dominate the PVC figure industry is an understatement. When you consider the amount of time and effort it goes into making figures, it’s usually best to stick with characters that you know are popular. This means that very few original characters ever appear as figures before being tested in other popular media, but Hobby Japan seems set on changing that.

Hobby Japan is a publishing company that produces magazines with illustrations in the anime/manga style. They have been the source of a few successful titles that eventually got their own anime adaptations, including: Queen’s Blade, Hyakka-Ryoran Samurai Girls, and Demon King Daimao. Now, Hobby Japan is working on a new project called “The Seven Deadly Sins”, and like its previous projects, will feature mainly female characters.

Unlike the Queen’s Blade series which gained a number of figure versions of its characters, Hobby Japan will be going ahead with figure production in collaboration with Orchid Seed before testing the popularity of its new series. Naturally, there will be seven figures based on the seven characters which are meant to represent the deadly sins. The characters in this new series are shown below.

Lucifer (Pride)

Leviathan (Envy)

Satan (Wrath)

Belphegor (Sloth)

Mammon (Greed)

Beelzebub (Gluttony)

Asmodeus (Lust)

The character designs for The Seven Deadly Sins were done by illustrator Niθ, who also designed the characters for Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls. There is currently no release dates set for any of the figures, but those interested should keep an eye on the project website. Considering the success of Hobby Japan’s previous projects, we may also expect an anime adaptation of The Seven Deadly Sins sometime in the future.

Earlier today, George R.R. Martin published a note on Facebook, leaking images of the newest batch of miniatures from the series. I think it’s perfect timing, with a lot of people getting excited about the HBO series. Here’s a sneak peek.

This is King Robert, way back when he was young and fit. We aren’t going to see him in the same light in the HBO series.

Maester Luwin, who is one of the cornerstones of Winterfell. Martin gives this design a thumbs up and tells us to take a close look at the maester’s chain that he is wearing: “Purists should take special note of the maester’s chain about Luwin’s neck. Tom’s is the most accurate visualization of the chain-of-many-metals I have seen to date. This is how I have always pictured these chains, and how I described them in my books. (though I should mention that Pycelle’s chain is much grander, larger, and more ostentatious, him being the GRAND Maester and all).”

Benjen Stark, the First Ranger of the Night’s Watch and younger brother of Lord Eddard Stark. He is one of the lesser known characters in the series, but his role is significant nonetheless.

Here’s a closer look at the details.

This is Lady Lysa Arryn , the younger sister of Lady Catelyn Stark. She isn’t one of my favorite characters, but the figure is worth including in this post, I think.

Bronn is the sellsword that hooks up with Tyrion Lannister’s band. I think it’s pretty much how I envisioned this cocky mercenary.

Obviously, the figures are not completed yet, but if these images are anything to go by, they should be as awesome as the older figures I wrote about last year: Song of Ice and Fire Miniatures by Dark Sword.

If you really want a Miku nendoroid and don’t want to pay an exorbitant amount for her, you might be in luck. Good Smile Company is releasing a 12^th version of the Miku nendoroid , this time in support of relief efforts in Japan due to the recent earthquake and tsunami (creatively called Miku Hatsune Support ver). The new nendoroid will be exactly the same as the original Miku nendoroid with a few extras included.

Miku already comes with interchangeable faces, different arms and leg parts, and a leek accessory. The support version will come with an extra smiling face, a support flag that looks like a musical note (since Miku is a virtual idol/singer), and a pair of pompoms.

The best part about this nendoroid is that it will only cost 3000 yen, cheaper than a regular nendoroid, and 1000 yen from every nendoroid sold will go towards the Japanese Red Cross. So if you have wanted one of these for a while and are maybe feeling a little guilty about not donating to a relief organization yet, this is the perfect chance to take care of both.

The nendoroid will be available to Japanese customers up until the end of April 7, 2011 (Japan time), after which orders will be open to international customers on Good Smile Company’s Online Shop. Details about the nendoroid can be found here, and a review has been put up by Good Smile’s very own Mika-tan.

In the past several years, collecting anime figures has grown from a relatively obscure hobby (at least outside Japan) to one that is so popular that it’s hard to imagine that any anime fan doesn’t know about it. I myself started collecting anime figures a few years ago, before the appearance of sites like figure.fm and Tsuki Board (now MyFigureCollection), and I have seen how many people have gone from making a single purchase to owning a collection rivaling that of some stores.

So what is it that drives people to collect little pieces of plastic that cost way more than they’re worth? Everyone has their own reasons, but there are some common ones that many collectors can relate to. High quality figures were almost non-existent over a decade ago, with most anime figures being of the same quality as action figures you would find in the toy aisle of a department store. Now many of the anime figures are sculpted with incredible detail; where there was once a big glob of plastic is now a delicate ribbon or a keyboard with actual keys sculpted in. The impressive amount of detail that goes into anime figures these days has impressed a lot of fans and started them on the path to figure collecting.

Another reason I’ve come across is that there was one anime character that they liked so much, that they thought it would be cool to own a representation of said character. In the past, it wasn’t likely for anyone to find a figure of their favourite characters unless it was from a very popular series. This all changed in the last 10 years with a huge influx of new figure manufacturers. All of these new manufacturers mean that you can find figures for just about any anime character you can think of, making available merchandise that fans would not have been able to obtain.

In my eyes, the biggest contributor to the prominence of anime figure collecting outside of Japan is good advertising and marketing. Some of you may have heard of Danny Choo, the man that built a small empire around advertising anime merchandise online. Without him, anime figures may not have gained the exposure they did online and collecting them might not have become such a popular hobby.

Whatever the reason for getting into anime figures in the first place, the people who collect them treat their hobby very seriously. Some collectors will keep their figures in fancy display cases to stop the dust from gathering; others will never open the box in order to keep its value; and still others will have entire rooms filled with figures. Check out the gallery to see some impressive collections. If you collect anime figures, what got you started with your hobby, and how much time and money have you spent on it?

All images copyright of their respective owners, found on MFC.

Available for pre-order for resp. $65 and $55 and expected to land at your door in February 2010. Don’t bother giving the money to me, I am sure you’ll lov’em.

Little Big Planet fans can now bring their own little Sackboy or Sackgirl home.

At the recently concluded Toy Fair in New York, Sony Computer Entertainment and Mezco Toyz the production of four inch action figures based on the iconic character/mascot of Little Big Planet will be made available in many selected store in North America. The Little Big Planet toys will be available this spring. Collectors will also have to prepare as Mezco said that that it will have retailer exclusive and limited edition versions of the LBP figures. These special versions will range in size from between two to eighteen inches and will be available throughout 2009.

For those who want actual Sackboys or Sackgirls to cuddle with, plush toys of the LBP characters will be made available in the latter part of 2009.