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Wonderfest Tokyo
From Virtual Japan
The Wonderfest Tokyo Festival (ワンダーフェスティバル) is a Japan’s largest biannual model fair and garage kit event. Sometimes referred to as “WonFes” or “Wonder Festival,” Wonderfest Tokyo is an event to showcase small sculptures and models, usually of anime or manga characters.
Wonderfest has been around in some form since 1986, though its popularity was only slight at the time. Now it requires so much space that the show is shown at the Tokyo Big Site. It celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006.
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Summary
Garage Kits are homemade (some store made) figurines that are extremely detailed, colorful, and usually represent either some sort of popular character in pop culture or some sort of artistic statement. Although Wonderfest is usually a place to showcase anime and manga figurines, many garage kid artists create science fiction characters, adult themed sculptures, or anime inspired (rather than based on an anime character) characters that they hope will send some type of messege.
Wonderfest Tokyo has long been a chance for smaller garage kit assemblers and artists to display some of their handmade, limited quantity sculptures which sometimes go for very high prices at auction to avid collectors. It is also a place for garage kit companies to display their newest creations before they go on store shelves.
Erotic Figurines
Despite its resemblance to a children’s event, these model fairs are not for kids. Many of the characters and creations are of female characters, often nude or barely dressed and created in some type of erotic or sexually explicit pose. As such, it is not advertised as a toy festival but rather as a design show.
Cosplay
In addition to the models, many attendees like to dress up in Cosplay as their favorite Manga or anime characters. While this is not as common as it is at many of the anime/manga events, it does make Wonderfest a popular tourist attraction for more than just the models themselves.