Differences between Asian & Japanese Collectable Versions

Differences between Asian & Japanese Collectable Versions
	Since Japanese toy & collectable products tend to be sold only in Japan, Asian countries would require to import them in order to sell them in their area. Not too long ago, Asian versions have been popping up in Asian countries. Thus, giving the chance for Asian countries outside of Japan to purchase them. But are there any differences between the Asian & Japanese versions?
	Price Comparing the retail prices of the Asian versions to the Japanese ones, there is no difference. They are about the same, give or take the currency conversion. However, there are some products that offer bonuses. For example, Bandai Asia's Chogokin products come with an extra accessory, base, stand, or mini figure. Bandai Japan's Chogokin products doesn't have these bonuses. But the prices of those products are the same.
	Quality Personally examining the Asian versions to the Japanese ones, I can see no differences really. I asked other toy collectors & some hobby shops about this & they too say there is no difference. Aside from the obvious reason that all the products come from the same factory, the reason is basically because they don't have strict toy quality regulations like the US; especially Hong Kong. In fact, there is virtually no such thing as Asian versions. There are actually the Japanese versions; just imported & have extra packaging labels put on by importers. Bandai Asia is the only toy company that has Asian versions and those versions are just Japanese versions with warning & Bandai Asia logo stickers in Chinese & English to meet language labelling requirements. There are only a few situations that Bandai Asia actually repackages the products. Those times are to include Asian exclusive bonuses for higher end products like the Chogokin & Saint Seiya series. In rare cases, Bandai Asia releases Asian exclusive products that is only available in Asia & not in Japan. One example would be the Mah Jong Haro Collection trading figures. Those were available only for the Asian market in limited quantities. For other companies like Yamato, Kaiyodo, & Kotobukiya, those come directly from the factories in China through importers; mainly Hong Kong ones. Those are from the same production run that the Japanese market gets. No differences really. In my case, as many of you may know, I run an online retail store selling anime collectables. My suppliers come from Asia & they consist of Hong Kong & Japan suppliers. The products I get from Hong Kong come from Hong Kong importing companies. If you look at the packaging of the products, you would see a warning & the name of the importing company in one label. They are slapped over the Japanese caution prints by those importing companies themselves. No differences in quality. I don't think Hong Kong has any laws or quality regulations on toys. Although it is the same case as North American versions in terms of slapping labels, quality differs since the North American versions come from later production runs & are redesigned to meet US quality standards. Some of these companies now have offices in other parts of Asia. One company is ALTER & uses the name ALTER Shanghai. This is basically to extend their market reach. If you read some of my reviews on my collection, you may notice that I have Asian versions of some products. I'm happy with their quality because they are actually Japanese versions with slight packaging differences.
	Overall Conclusion There is no differences between Asian & Japanese versions. The only difference is the packaging labels. Asian versions are actually Japanese versions since they come from the same production runs, follow the same product design & quality regulations, & are released at the same time. There are some cases where Hong Kong gets the product released first. One example is the Transformer Collection Target Master Rodimus which was released in Hong Kong about a week earlier than the Japanese release date. Bandai Asia is the only company that has Asian versions & all of them are just packaged a bit differently to met language law requirements. Now, other companies are going to other parts of Asia to cover more grounds. But they won't slap an Asian version on their products. If you were given the choice of choosing either an Asian or Japanese version of the product with no bonuses included, take what ever one you want. It makes no difference. For me, I would select the one with the better quality & lower price. But, I still stick with Japanese versions.
Last updated on February 19, 2008

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws