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What happens when you save humanity, disappear for a decade, and finally return home only to find the entire planet frozen? For Tetsuo Yabusame, apparently the answer is… try to make some friends.

Snowball Earth is a sci-fi manga by Yuhiro Tsujitsugu that began serialization in Monthly! Spirits in 2021. The anime adaptation started airing in April 2026, introducing a much wider audience to its unusual mix of giant robots, kaiju battles, post-apocalyptic survival and one extremely shy protagonist. The series has now passed 800,000 manga copies in circulation, with a second anime season already announced.

Before the world froze, humanity was fighting an invasion of enormous monsters from space. Tetsuo was one of its saviors, piloting the giant robot Yukio against the creatures as part of Earth’s defense force. There is just one problem, despite being brave enough to fight giant monsters, Tetsuo is absolutely terrible at talking to people. Before their final battle, Tetsuo promises Yukio that he will make a human friend if they succeed.

After the final battle, Tetsuo eventually returns to Earth ten years later and discovers that everything has changed. The planet is now covered in snow and ice, civilization has collapsed and the Earth he remembers has become the frozen wasteland known as Snowball Earth. With Yukio’s promise still in his mind, Tetsuo sets out into a world filled with survivors, monsters and a whole lot of social interaction he is wildly unprepared for.

On the surface, Snowball Earth is a very traditional sci-fi adventure with giant robots fighting monsters. Underneath all of that, it is about a lonely kid trying to connect with people. Tetsuo can stand against something big enough to threaten humanity but struggles to have a normal conversation. The contrast gives the series plenty of comedy, but his desire to make friends is also surprisingly earnest. He is not trying to become the strongest person in the world or rule what remains of humanity. His big personal goal is painfully normal.

And one of the first people helping him adjust to this strange new Earth is Ao Nogi. Ao lives in the survivor settlement of Mishima Mall and is a cheerful, curious monster tamer. She controls a fire type kaiju used to help protect the settlement, making her considerably more capable than her laid-back personality might initially suggest.

Compared with the socially awkward Tetsuo, Ao has a much easier time interacting with the people around her. That makes her a natural bridge between him and the strange society that developed while he was gone. Their personalities work well together. The legendary hero who has no idea how to talk to anyone and the energetic monster girl who seems determined to drag him into the new world anyway.

Kotobukiya is now giving both characters figures through its relatively new OSHI WORKS line.

OSHI WORKS is designed as a more affordable alternative to traditional scale figures. The idea is simple: decent size, recognizable character designs and matching square bases that make collecting several characters from the same series easier. The figures also connect to their iron bases using magnets, so you can adjust their positioning rather than being stuck with one fixed peg location.

Tetsuo Yabusame’s winter outfit is nicely represented, with enough folds and layered clothing to give the sculpt some depth. Ao Nogi stands slightly taller with a more relaxed pose, but the confident stance and expression fit her much better than an over-the-top action pose would. The colors are clean and bright, helping her stand out nicely beside Tetsuo’s heavier winter design.

These are definitely not premium Kotobukiya scales. The paintwork is fairly simple, the sculpting is not especially intricate and the bases are designed more around easy collecting than visual impact. But that is also the point of OSHI WORKS. I would rather see a lesser-known series like Snowball Earth receive affordable figures of multiple characters than one expensive centerpiece and nothing else.

Tetsuo and Ao are currently available for pre-order!
Thank you for reading!