NIJISANJI is probably a name you already know, even if you haven’t watched any of their content. Their popularity and controversies… have thrust them into the spotlight numerous times. NIJISANJI is an agency of primarily 2D VTubers who have some of the best character designs around.
Starting in February 2018 as one of the first major VTuber agencies, their focus on livestreams set its members apart from other early VTubers, like Kizuna Ai, who primarily made pre-recorded videos. The agency has grown and now manages 177 active Livers across two branches: 146 members of NIJISANJI's main branch (Japan, Indonesia and Korea), and 31 NIJISANJI EN members (focused on English speaking countries). Their YouTube channels have grown to over 60 million subscribers, the second-largest next to hololive production. In fact, one of the NIJISANJI members, Hyakumantenbara Salome is the current world record-holder for being the fastest VTuber to reach 1 million subscribers in just under 14 days.
Bushiroad: King of Cards
Bushiroad is another name that most will be fairly familiar with. As one of the largest Japanese entertainment companies, they are a producer of some of the biggest collectible trading card games (Weiss Schwarz) and publisher of mobile apps/games. While not generally thought of as a figure manufacturer, Bushiroad actually has made a fair number of anime figures, mostly for gachapon. These are cheap, chibi figures that tend to be highly collectible.
Bushiroad has recently decided to step things up by creating some higher quality figures. Sticking to what they know best, they kept the chibi idea and came up with the concept of PalVerse, a new world in your palm. Featuring characters from anime and games, they began creating their own line of stylized chibi figures.
A big step up from gachapon figures, but Bushiroad thought they could do more!
A sub-brand of PalVerse, PalVerse Palé features the same chibi style, but with a more colorful, moe and anime-esq aesthetic. The “Palé” is a reference to palette and the signature for these figs are the colorful acrylic paint tubes bringing the character to life.
When compared to other stylized chibi figures like Good Smile’s Hello! Good Smile line, they are an attractive buy. Filling the same niche at a similar price point, collectors have more options to display what they think looks best.
What does Bushiroad and NIJISANJI have in common? Not much, other than being large superstars in their respective industries. With NIJISANJIs popularity, they are a great fit for the growing PalVerse Palé figure line. Let’s take a look at the upcoming NIJISANJI EN PalVerse Palés available for pre-order!
Enna Alouette: A Blue Bird Fluttering in the Heavens
Enna Alouette was part of NIJISANJI EN's third wave called Ethyria. She is a fun personality who is full of mischievous and enjoys intentionally annoying people with pranks, teasing, and incessant insults. This has earned her the reputation as the resident gremlin of the Ethyria group. As a bird angel from heaven, her appearance greatly contrasts from her personality. Bushiroads take on Ennas PalVerse version is a fun and relaxed visual. Holding a demonicly angelic bird that is an ode to the character, Enna is well represented in her chibified version. The color palette works nicely as she springs to life from the canvas.
Millie Parfait: A Monster Cat Creeping Through Hell
Debuting with Enna, Millie Parfait is also a part of the Ethyria group and shares the position of gremlin. Millie is usually sweet and endearing to her fanbase but can be very aggressive when egged on. She has a reputation for putting on a very risqué front but is quick to get embarrassed. Having a strong relationship with Enna, it only makes sense to pair these two together in figure form.Bushiroad also does a nice job transforming Millie into a chibi figure. Her iconic short blonde hair with hair pins resembling whiskers and Lucie, the orange eyed black cat atop her witch hat is essential for the witch of calamity. Despite the small size, her outfit is recreated surprisingly well with a decent amount of detail. It is clear that Bushiroad wanted to keep the character's original visual as much as possible.
Reimu Endou: A Ghost Wandering in Hell
Bushiroad keeps the Ethyria group together with a figure of Reimu Endou. Like the other two, her appearance is in stark contrast to her personality. Despite her being a wandering ghost in hell, Reimu is fairly upbeat and positive. That doesn't stop her from letting out some sass and she can hold her own with great banter. This trio is always fun to watch so if you haven't fallen into the NIJISANJI rabbit hole, now's a great time to start. Following suit with the other two, her PalVerse figure is great. Bushiroad did a very nice job preserving her ghostly aesthetic and the oversized sleeves. Her monster cap even has the little eyes poking out. Her coloring is nicely done and works well with the others. There are loads of stylized chibi figures from a variety of manufacturers. We have done some content in the past, like our video showcasing Prime1’s cutie1 line.
What's your opinion of the PalVerse Palé figure line? Have a favorite chibi style of figure? Leave a comment and let us know!
Thank you for reading!
by Timothy
Addicted to Kancolle Arcade. If I'm not raging with my fellow teitoku, you can find me hiking, playing the drums or taking pictures of random park benches to satisfy my love of anime pilgrimage!
Bushiroad also does a nice job transforming Millie into a chibi figure. Her iconic short blonde hair with hair pins resembling whiskers and Lucie, the orange eyed black cat atop her witch hat is essential for the witch of calamity. Despite the small size, her outfit is recreated surprisingly well with a decent amount of detail. It is clear that Bushiroad wanted to keep the character's original visual as much as possible.
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