The Malaysia star is one of the asian newspapers/sites I read regularly for their unique take on anime and manga news. Today they’ve decided to focus on the strange, but increasingly popular, phenomenon of erotic anime figures with not just one, but two feature articles.

In a piece titled Figurine Love, writer Holy Cow says:

Recently, questions were raised about the integrity of anime figurines, with a Malay daily claiming that the figurines are overtly sexual and have provocative poses

“a market survey of Japanese figurine catalog shows that only a very small percentage of figurines are adult-oriented. Figurines made by good, reputable companies like Good Smile and Alter are 100% clean and fit for all ages.”

In another Malaysia Star piece called “Concern Over Hobby“, writer P. Chan talks about a recent crackdown on the figures by the Malaysian authorities:

A recent crackdown on ‘pornographic’ anime figurines has some otaku wondering, ‘What’s next?’

WHEN a mother walked into a toy shop and saw some naughty figurines displayed in full view of her young sons, she was understandably upset. The story became the front page news of a Malay daily on Aug 4 and had caught the attention of KDN (Kementerian Dalam Negeri) who went on to confiscate about RM10,000 worth of figurines.

Interesting stuff. I’ve definitely seen a rise in figurine “activity” on various forums, and I found the trend rather strange. But then again, anime fans have always been a strange bunch.

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