What is Wonder Festival (WonFes)? A showcase for the major figure manufacturers, a marketplace, a meeting spot for nerds and crafters and cosplayers? A north star within the world of garage kits? Held twice a year, it’s grown from humble origins over decades to become one of Japan’s biggest events in the otaku calendar, whether that be for fans of anime or military battleships or kigurumi or any niche you can imagine. For toy and figure collectors, there’s no event quite like it.

The most recent rendition of the event, held at the towering Makuhari Messe on a Sunday in early February, served as the 40th-anniversary celebration of the twice-yearly convention, with such an auspicious rendition of the event attracting even newcomers to become one of the bigger events in the show’s history. Major manufacturers from across the industry such as Good Smile Company, DMM Factory, alongside retailers like AmiAmi, attended to showcase the latest major scale, deformed and prize figures for the coming months in one hall.

This is where the media circus is often most focused, and it’s hard to blame them. While it’s not exclusively anime figures on display, many of the figures you see will come from the latest and most popular series broadcasting in Japan. As anime continues to grow globally merchandising alone is 669 billion yen industry, a not-insignificant portion of which comes from figures. When coupled with figures based on VTubers and popular games - there were plenty of Genshin Impact figures on display while Good Smile Company showed off new figures from Final Fantasy XIII, Needy Girl Overdose, and more - there’s a lot of money that comes from showcasing this craftsmanship in the best light.

The result is an extravagant show that lines up these figures in the most flattering light to be seen and photographed by attendees. Many will also sell exclusive figures and model kits at the show, too. Other sponsors have differing specialties, such as ones who cater to model painters with metal spray paint machines for ensuring an even coat of paint.

From an outside perspective, the purpose of WonFes is marketing, and it certainly serves that for the major companies who attend it. But that wasn’t what brought this event into existence, nor is it the most exciting or appealing aspect of the event for many attendees. That would be the sprawling market for garage kits and pre-painted figures by amateurs and designers across the floor.

It’s become the major event for manufacturers to show early production on new figures, announce new lineups, and showcase their upcoming releases. Good Smile regularly use the Winter event to show off the latest car in their ongoing Racing Miku campaign sponsoring a Super GT team with their own Hatsune Miku-branded car, and once again did so at this year’s event.

General Products was an oddity when it opened on the streets of Osaka in 1982. There were otaku stores catering to the growing older generation of fans interested in anime, but this was one of Japan’s first sci-fi centric stores. It was founded by Toshio Okada in response to the success the GAINAX team had found in helping DAICON III recoup its investment in the early-days convention from selling 8mm films of the opening animation for the event created by Hideaki Anno and the rest of the team that would go on to found the iconic anime studio. The aim of the store was to sell dedicated garage kits and merchandise by partnering with artists and studios like Toho, proving a big hit with fans craving this king of merchandise as a way to support their favorites.

One of the unique aspects of the store was that it would create and curate garage kits and secure official licenses from production studios, taking these kits out of their entirely-not-legal underground existence into more legitimate markets that brought mainstream appreciation to the craft. Rather than being passed around through hushed conversations between fans in the know, it was now possible for those with the talent to make real money with the approval of the original producers. Coupled with the interest in Gunpla, it was an exciting era for producers, albeit one that made it difficult for non-established builders to stand out and make themselves known.

Wonder Festival was founded by General Products as a market geared more heavily towards small-time garage kit makers who didn’t have the resources to license and officially sell their kits in the same way. Unlike doujinshi sold at Comiket or Comitia, which while technically unauthorized are considered legal unless prosecuted by copyright owners who generally don’t enforce such complaints due to not competing directly with their original work, garage kits and figures exist in direct competition and aren’t afforded the same legal protections. As such, WonFes exists with a ‘one-day license’ arrangement with manufacturers that gives makers at the event legal status to distribute their work for just that day and exclusively on the show floor.

The event has changed significantly in the years which followed. General Products no longer exists, with the event now run by Kaiyodo. As it grew some manufacturers began to crack down, particularly Bandai seeing the direct competition with their own Gundam kits. As the turn of the century came about more people sought pre-painted complete figures over DIY garage kits, which grew the official corporate sponsored section from manufacturers while shifting the market of the event to encourage more of these independent creators to sell original or pre-built figures and kaiju.

That’s not to say this side of the event has disappeared. In this 40th-anniversary Winter iteration of WonFes the sponsor and corporate booths took up two hall, but the market sprawled its way across six additional halls with over 1500 dealers selling their work. Some traveled from abroad, choosing to sell at the Tokyo edition rather than the existing international events in Shinghai and Bangkok. The range of figures available is also massive, from military kits to original figures to popular characters, kaiju and more. Many still sell under the one-day licenses the event was founded upon, and many manufacturers were able to boast impressive lives of eager fans from the moment the doors opened.

Indeed, while original figures have staked their claim at the event since its initial inception, it was the breadth and range of such crafts in the large hall that was most testament to the growth of the event over the years. Karageumi specialized in miniature anthropomorphized animal dolls with custom outfits, selling many of their varied designs and outfits with as much care on the miniature dioramas they were displayed within as the delicately-crafted figures themselves.

Another, Nyachidaya, was inspired by the history of China and East Asia, created their own line of figurines for sale. And these could all be found amidst rows of everything from scale replicars of warships to Idolm@ster figurines, catering to every niche.

Then you have cosplay. It should be no surprise that as with similar events like Comiket there is sizable space dedicated to cosplayers at the event, with a sizable skew towards classic and so-called ‘hardcore’ properties such as Mobile Suit Gundam and the mobile-games-of-the-moment Blue Archive and NIKKE. While the corporate figure booths and market are the main draw, it’s certainly a large appeal for many, and impressive to witness.

While rules can vary per event, the nature of events like Comiket can prohibit larger weapons that are allowed for cosplayers to use as part of their costumes at the show, another appeal for cosplayers and photographers alike.

From the otaku-driven and male-dominated market of its early days, the event has established itself within the calendar as the premium event for everyone from major companies to tiny creators to unveil and showcase their work on a large stage. Provided you have an interest in figures, anyhow. Unless you have the money to burn within the sprawling market (this stuff doesn’t come cheap, and these artists deserve to be fairly compensated for their work) or enjoy seeing the figures set to come in the coming months with a camera you can use to take some tantalizing snaps of the displays, it’s unlikely there’s much at the event to hold your attention.

It’s certainly changed from the early days, but it’s far more than a seemingly-neverending stream of twice-yearly social media posts from corporations advertising new items. It’s a place where you could see figures made by hobbyists you can only buy there, made possible by the unique legal framework surrounding the event that makes its unusual market possible. It’s not for everyone, but if you fall into that niche category of fan, however, there’s no event like WonFes.