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When choosing to purchase a figure, budget is a constant factor. Finding nice options with an adorable price tag often requires a bit of serendipity. Maybe until now!?!?

In comes Bear Panda, a relatively new Chinese anime figure manufacturer that has caught the attention of collectors. With exceptionally affordable prices and very attractive, high quality prototype images, Bear Panda should be grabbing your attention. They have been collaborating with various artists to bring some very nicely designed scale figures of original characters. The real question becomes: what's the catch? Prices are below industry standard and the sculpts are seemingly top tier contenders.

Well, since they are new, we only have prototypes to go by and can't be certain about the true quality of the finished products or if they degrade over time. Prototypes might not always reflect the final product and if you have been collecting for a while, you may not be so quick to remain cautiously optimistic.

Part of the reason these figures are so cheap is that they utilize some 3D printing technologies to reduce the cost. This, in general, is a much cheaper and faster process than making a mold to cast parts in. When collectors hear 3D printing, we may get a little nervous. B’full and Insight have a long history of absolutely atrocious 3D printed figures. From figures being broken on arrival from poor selection in materials, issues with stability and a drastic decrease in quality from promotional images, many have sworn to avoid those companies (we even have a disclaimer on their product pages).

Will Bear Panda face the same problems? Honestly, it is likely that they will have some problems at the start. However, so far they have shown effort to avoid a repeat of the B’full disaster. On their Weibo page they keep customers up to date on their situation. To make sturdier figures, they use a variety of materials. This will hopefully prevent breakage and leaning issues. They have also announced delays in figure releases due to quality issues. To accompany these delays, they explain what they are trying to fix. This is a great sign that they are actually trying to establish themselves as a market contender and not just focused on getting rich quick.

To give an example, they have recently shown some improvements in quality to one of their figures due to be released in the next few months. On the left is before optimization…

…and on the right, the finished product. While the changes are minor and might not even be noticed unless you are looking at the figure close up, the improved hair on the right makes for a much more attractive figure.

Price may be a double-edged sword. At such a low price point if they encounter a major issue, will it be financially feasible to fix? On the other hand, how upset can you be when only spending $65 on a figure. Unlike B’full and Insight who charged almost the same price as competitors for their figures, Bear Panda is significantly discounting theirs. If Bear Panda is saving money by using cheaper processes, charging less is much appreciated. Issues with the figures won't be good but it stings a bit less when you have more cash in your wallet.

Several other companies with a strategy similar to Bear Panda have popped up around the same time. Momoroser and KoiKoi both have some attractive offerings but questions surrounding quality won't be answered until figures start getting into the hands of collectors. In KoiKoi’s case, their prototype sample of Cinnamon that was on display in Akihabara had some of the most insane leaning I have ever seen. To make it worse, it was only on display for a few months before the issue became apparent. Yes, it is not the finished product. Yes, they have time to fix it. With the figure only costing around $50, it is justified to be highly skeptical that the issue will be fully fixed.

Bear Panda might have another reason to be motivated to put out a quality product. They are working with top tier, very popular illustrators. The artists and original characters they selected to recreate into figure form are among the best and most infamous in the industry. Having a well respected reputation they worked years to acquire, I am sure none of these artists want their name associated with a disappointing figure. So whose name is on the line?

If you are looking for girls showing their underwear and making disgusted faces, you go to 40hara. For finely crafted tights, look no further than Yom. For succubus's, few can compete with Tamano Kedama (NSFW). His poster girl, Succubus Rurumu, already has several figures but more choices is always good. Focusing on moe aesthetics, Tamano Kedama’s art is the perfect mix of ecchi and cute. Shying away from overly explicit visuals, you can appreciate the character that much more. Even for an adults only figure, Bear Panda’s recreation is relatively tame.

Another artist that has been growing in popularity is Biya. Having a knack for cosplay, she likes to bring her creations to life, literally. Back in 2022 she released a doujinshi featuring her original character Yuna titled Yuna's slightly naughty course collection (ユナちゃんのちょっとエッチなコース集). It may only be slightly naughty but when Biya herself decided to dress up as Yuna to sell her book, she turned heads.

An ingenious marketing idea also makes for a good bishoujo figure. Bear Panda decided to take the concept and immortalize it in figure form. They even recreated Biya’s doujinshi with nice detail.

Yuna looks super cute in this figure, standing with a shy and embarrassed expression whilst trying to cover up with her doujinshi. Her hair cascades down her back and gradients from purple to light pink adding depth and visual interest. If the released product is similar to what we see I'm the prototype, we are in for a treat!

Bear Panda is even willing to go head to head with well established manufacturers. Illustrator Tacco’s original character Bara currently has two options available for pre-order. You can get a solid figure from Union Creative…

…or spend about a third of the cost on Bear Panda's take.

Even at the lower price point, Bara has a nicely detailed bikini adorned with delicate floral accents. Her long, flowing hair and tail have sufficient texture and her overall sculpt makes for a great bishoujo figure. Her kemomimi and fox-like elements might actually be better on the Bear Panda version than Union Creative.

Again however, it is worth noting that there could be quality issues. Bara was displayed at an exhibition in Hong Kong and there were some issues present. From potential leaning to obvious seam lines, it was disappointing. Bear Panda blamed it on improper set up and the fact it is a prototype but also noted they are working on improving the final product.

Within the next few months, Bear Panda figures should be making their way onto shelves. It may take a bit longer to see if there are any long term durability issues but this is one manufacturer to keep on your radar.

Are the low prices worth taking a chance or should we wait and see what happens? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts!

Thank you for reading!