Title : - SDCC 2026 : Good Smile Company’s Collector Showcase

Good Smile Company returned to San Diego Comic-Con with a display that worked less like a single-franchise promotion than a compact tour of the contemporary figure market. At booth #4045, visitors encountered the company’s best-known formats — Nendoroid, figma and POP UP PARADE — alongside event-exclusive goods and merchandise connected to Good Smile Racing. The combination gave established collectors several reasons to stop while remaining immediately understandable to attendees meeting the Japanese manufacturer for the first time.

The setting amplified that strategy. Comic-Con 2026 ran from July 23 to 26 after Preview Night on July 22 at the San Diego Convention Center, where publishers, studios, artists and manufacturers competed for attention across the exhibition floor. Instead of relying on one oversized centerpiece, Good Smile Company emphasized variety. Compact stylized figures, articulated action figures and fixed-pose display pieces could be compared within the same booth, making the differences between the company’s principal lines visible at a glance.

Nendoroid, figma and POP UP PARADE offer three ways to collect

The Nendoroid selection supplied the booth’s most instantly recognizable silhouette. Officially described by Good Smile Company as palm-sized figures with chibi proportions and robust articulation, the line draws characters from anime, games, manga and films and occasionally translates real people into the same visual language. Interchangeable expressions and parts make each release more than a static miniature: owners can alter the mood, gesture and context of a display without needing the space required by a large-scale statue.

The figma range approached character collecting from another direction. Produced by Max Factory, the action-figure line prioritizes articulation and interchangeable components while preserving character-specific sculpting. Its appeal at a convention booth is unusually practical: a neutral cabinet pose can show the finish, but a bent knee, changed hand or repositioned accessory demonstrates the product’s purpose. These are figures designed for collectors who want to reconstruct a familiar scene or invent a new one rather than accept a single permanent composition.

POP UP PARADE completed the trio with fixed-pose figures designed as an accessible entry point. The manufacturer says standard releases are generally around 17 to 18 centimetres tall and built around a wide selection of characters from popular anime and games. Placed beside Nendoroid and figma, the line creates an informal progression: stylized and modular, articulated and poseable, or larger and display-ready. That is not an official hierarchy, but it explains why the three brands work so effectively together on a crowded convention floor.

Booth #4045 adds exclusives and Good Smile Racing merchandise

The retail side of the presentation mattered as much as the cabinets. Before the show, Good Smile Company USA directed attendees to booth #4045 for limited event-exclusive items, Good Smile Racing goods and figures. Convention exclusives convert a visit into an immediate purchase opportunity, while the broader display supports future preorders and wish lists. This dual purpose — discovery in the case, urgency at the counter — is a familiar convention formula, but the breadth of the catalogue made it particularly well suited to Good Smile Company.

The presence of Good Smile Racing also supplied an unexpected bridge between character merchandise and motorsport. The company operates the racing team in Japan’s SUPER GT series and is widely associated with character-themed liveries. Within the SDCC context, racing products expanded the booth beyond conventional figure collecting, showing how the company moves intellectual properties between display pieces, apparel, events and competition. It was a reminder that the Good Smile identity is not confined to PVC, even when figures remain its most visible international calling card.

A 25-year company built around Japanese pop culture

Founded in May 2001 by Takanori Aki, Good Smile Company began far from the manufacturing profile it has today. Its official corporate history identifies Takanori Aki as the founder, while the current corporate profile lists him as chairman and representative director and names Kantaro Iwasa as president and chief executive officer. The business now covers the planning, development, production and sale of toys, goods and figures as well as games, animation, video, music, retail support and motorsport operations.

That expansion helps explain the coherence of the SDCC display. Good Smile Company is not simply offering three figure sizes; it is presenting several relationships between a fan and a character. Nendoroid encourages customization, figma emphasizes movement, and POP UP PARADE offers an uncomplicated shelf presence. Event goods add scarcity, while Good Smile Racing connects fandom to a live sporting identity. Together, those layers make the booth a miniature version of the company’s wider business model: one character can travel through multiple formats without losing recognizability.

Why the SDCC 2026 showcase matters

The company’s return also underscored the importance of direct contact with North American collectors. A product page can list dimensions and accessories, but a convention cabinet reveals scale, paint finish and shelf presence immediately. Seeing several ranges together helps visitors understand what their budget and display space can accommodate, while the booth gives the manufacturer a rare chance to place anime, manga, video-game and wider pop-culture licences before the same audience.

For figure enthusiasts, Good Smile Company delivered one of the exhibition floor’s clearest snapshots of how character collecting has diversified. The appeal was not dependent on one reveal or licence. It came from the contrast between formats, the promise of limited merchandise and the craftsmanship shared across the display. At SDCC 2026, booth #4045 demonstrated that accessibility and specialization can coexist  and that a well-curated range can be as persuasive as a single headline-grabbing centerpiece.

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Photos and video 4K : Boris Colletier / Mulderville