Japanimation Custom Contest

Japanimation - Custom Action Figure Contest!

Contest Winners:

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View Contest Entries

Giant robots with incredibly destructive firepower, superhuman masters of obscure and deadly schools of martial arts, adorable school girls with amazing magical powers---you'll find all of these things, and more, bursting off of the pages, or out of the television screen, of your favorite Japanese comics and cartoons. The object of this challenge is to make a customized anime/manga themed character of your choice (for the benefit of those that might be unfamiliar with the terms, "anime" is simply the Japanese phonetic interpretation of the English word "animation" and "manga" is the Japanese word for "comic/cartoon".)

You have two options for your entries for this challenge:

1) You can customize a toy of any character/thing from an existing Japanese anime/manga. There are thousands of titles to choose from, so, there should be something for almost any taste imaginable. Akira, Appleseed, Cowboy Bebop, Cutey Honey, Dragonball, Fist of The Northstar, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ghost in The Shell, Gundam, Inuyasha, Naruto, Ranma 1/2, Robotech, Sailor Moon, Vampire Hunter D, and Voltron are just a handful of the many franchises that you could potentially select as the subject matter for your entry.

2) You can give your favorite non-anime/manga character a Japanese cartoon/comic makeover so that they look the part. Both DC Direct's Ame-Comi and Kotobukiya's Bishoujo comic book character statues are excellent examples of that kind of reinterpretation that you could look to for inspiration.

There are no size/scale limitations and you may utilize whatever materials/parts/tools you like when crafting your entry. And please remember NOT to put any logos/names/watermarks on your entry photos that identify you as the customizer; each toy's creator is supposed to remain a secret until the conclusion of the contest's voting period!

What is the contest schedule?

Begins:	Contest Closed
Ends:	January 15th, 2012 - Last day for submissions. No exceptions! Cut off is at midnight Central Standard Time.
Voting:	January 16th - 22nd.

What are the rules of the contest?

Please use the form here to submit your custom figure.
At least a paragraph description is required with your entry. This paragraph, at a minimum, should answer the following questions:

How was this custom customized?
How does the custom fit into the contest theme?

You may submit up to three different entries for the contest.
Please only submit figures that were created for this contest. Do not submit old figures from the Showcase or previous contest entries.
Your entry should not be posted on this website, any other website, or anywhere on the internet until the contest is completely over.
The pictures for your entry will remain hidden until the contest ends and the voting begins.
Your identity will remain hidden until after the voting completes.
Do not include names, logos, signatures or anything on the pictures that will give you away as the creator of the custom. We want to keep the customizer's identity a secret until the contest is over.
The contest is purely for fun... well... and bragging rights!

How does the contest voting work?

Anyone can vote for their favorite customs in the contest, you don't even have to submit anything to the contest! You do have to be logged-in to your Figure Realm account though so we can keep track of the votes. Only appointed Figure Realm staff can see the votes, so anonymity is guaranteed. Voting begins once the entry deadline is met and lasts for a week.

It's hard to choose just one custom to vote on when there are tons of great entries, so Figure Realm has a unique voting system where you can vote on ALL the customs! When you click on an entry to view, there's a bar with buttons on it that lets you give the custom anywhere from 1 to 5 Stars. 1 Star means you think they could have done a better job on the custom while 5 Stars means you think they did a perfect job. The votes for each entry are added up when voting is closed and averaged-out to determine the winners. Also, don't abuse the system. Don't give your own custom 5 Stars and then give everyone else 1 Star to boost your rating. Remember, the votes are monitored.

Some points you might consider when casting your vote: Is the figure well-made? Is the paint smooth or crusty? Are there noticeable fingerprints on the sculpted parts? Is it an original custom? Is it accurate to the source-material (comics, photos, description in a book)? Are the pictures clear enough to see the details? Did the creator take the time to include a back-story or recipe? Is the custom so unbelievably awesome that you'd trade your girlfriend for it?

Craftsmanship and creativity are major factors to consider, but ultimately your vote should depend on how much you like the custom, and how well you feel it fits the contest theme.