Interview: Figurama Collectors CEO, Mr. Shanab, on Touka VS Tsukiyama Elite Fandom Statue

Every statue created by Figurama Collectors is the result of experienced artists from around the world joining their talents together. We are blessed to have an incredible team of creatives collaborating on our second Tokyo Ghoul statue, which reunites the same team that brought Kaneki VS Yamori to life: Daniel Kamarudin (concept artist), Keita Okada (sculptor), and Three Eyes Studio (painter).

In this exclusive interview, Figurama Collectors CEO Shanab shares behind-the-scenes insight on what it’s like to collaborate with this team of award-winning talent, as well as the unique touch each artist brings to the creation of Touka VS Tsukiyama.

What makes Figurama Collectors’ vision of art unique, and how does uniting artists from around the world to collaborate on a statue like Touka VS Tsukiyama accomplish that vision?

From ideation to execution, we always make sure the spirit of Figurama Collectors and the brand vision, mission, and artistic direction are consistent. That’s challenging, especially working with different artistic teams on different statues. Having a unified goal and a touch of artistic interpretation, are the ingredients that create Figurama’s recipe for consistent quality. Our collectors feel the richness of each statue, even though sometimes the creative teams overlap or change from piece to piece. No matter the combination, the final product is fully Figurama in spirit, look, and feel. We go deep into the details. That’s very important. We believe that retail is detail, and detail is now. If we don’t add an extra layer, we’re just making toys. However, because we’ve chosen to work within the collectible statue domain, we’re determined to stick with it. We always want to make award-winning statues with every piece we produce. We consider them all to be winners.

Regarding Touka VS Tsukiyama… Keita Okada from Japan, Daniel Kamarudin from Malaysia—there’s a diverse, multi-cultural effort behind this masterpiece. Uniting all these artists took a lot of passion, effort, and persistence in continuously modifying, adapting, and reshaping the statue in order to reach a finished product. The process for Touka VS Tsukiyama took over eight months to go from ideation to finished product, because we give each statue time to become a masterpiece.

Daniel Kamarudin has been working with Figurama Collectors for a while and knows how we function. We have great chemistry because we both appreciate art more than anything else. We used his skills to break down all the elements that we want to convey in this statue, and with his artistic adaptability, open heart, and open mind, he achieved great results.

Keita Okada’s style is organic and irregular with a bold rough sculpt (we like to call this a “concept sculpt”). He has a lot of freedom when he’s able to work with organic objects, so he did a great job reflecting his wide experience in the field into the organic, fantastic shape of the kagune. That’s what gives the statue its uniqueness—because we balance the organic shapes with more materialistic objects. Touka’s kagune is a challenge because it’s not 100% organic—it’s a mix of energy, biological structure, and anatomical crystallization, as though the kagune is in mid-formation. It’s a big challenge, but I can say with confidence that it’s been achieved in the best way possible.

The various layers of painting and depth of colors make this piece unique. This is also true of all our previous statues. We always add layers upon layers to achieve this homogenous look. This unique application makes all the objects stand out as they should. We made sure that the painting of Touka VS Tsukiyama is consistent with Kaneki VS Yamori. If you put them in the same room, the statues will present a unique combination.

Each artist has a different style. Some are skilled in realism, anime-like visuals, or special effects, but we always pick artists who can adapt Figurama Collector’s unique style. We give the artist room to reflect their own style and taste while providing them with guidance. It’s important that the artist has room to be free and reflective within Figurama Collector’s guidelines.

We hope collectors will appreciate the art and the effort put into our statues. Touka VS Tsukiyama is unlike any other piece on the market, and we have noticed that the market is adapting to Figurama Collectors’ style and appreciating it. There is so much effort and detail in this piece that we are going beyond and exceeding all expectations. We will be more than happy to see the collectors praising the artistry, details, Easter Eggs, and love behind what we do—the love behind the collective efforts that created Touka VS Tsukiyama Elite Fandom Statue.

It’s our first female character and first “elegant” piece. You can enjoy looking at it as an elegant, yet human, statue. Even Tsukiyama, who has a narcistic demeanor, is meticulously sculpted to feel like a real person with real motives and stakes in the fight. The materials incorporated from the scene, such as the carpet, melting candles, golden candelabra, and aesthetics of Touka and Tsukiyama’s clothing and colors, make this statue completely unique from any other statue that we have created. At the same time, it is fully faithful to Figurama Collectors’ dynamic style.