Hobby Industry Inside #8: The Potential of 3D Figures to Harmonize with Japanese Culture Interview with John P. Etham, President, Doobsledee!

The number of services that scan one's own figure and create a 3D figure is increasing in Japan. Doobsreedy K.K., headquartered in Germany, is leading the industry with a scanning speed of 0.01 seconds, a minimum turnaround time of two weeks, and the lowest price of 9,800 yen.

Mr. John P. Esam, president of Doobs 3D, who used to be involved in the licensing business of Japanese manga and anime, talked to us about the acceptance of Japan's unique 3D figures and their future development.

The advantages are "fast, cheap, and good"?

John, you are from Senegal, West Africa, aren't you?

Yes, I was born in West Africa, but I was born in the U.S. After graduating from college, I lived in Japan. I was in charge of sales and management of Japanese manga and anime for about 7 years. I was in charge of sales and management of Japanese manga and anime for seven years. I also managed VIZ Media Europe for five years before returning to Japan in 2012.

───What was your first encounter with 3D figures?

John: A friend of mine in Germany called me and said, "I have created a 3D figure company, do you think there is a demand for 3D figures in Japan? Do you think there is a demand for 3D figures in Japan? I didn't know what 3D figures were, so I went to Düsseldorf, Germany, to visit the company. That was about two and a half years ago. After that, I did some quick research in Japan, and people around me told me that it was very interesting, so I opened this store (Doobs 3D Shibuya store) in November 2014.

─ ─ When you first opened, were there any 3D figure services in Japan?

John No, several companies had started their services. However, most of them were using handheld scans to take data. With handheld scanning, the subject has to stay in the same pose for several minutes. It takes too much time to scan a fleeting expression. And even if you wanted a pet figure, dogs don't stay still. It is also pitiful to have a small child stand still in the same pose all the time. The delivery time would take one to two months, and the price was very high. We felt there were too many problems with that.

So you felt that Doobsreed had an advantage over other companies?

John: Yes, we have several advantages. Because the scanning is done in an instant, we can take data in many different poses. From that data, we can create a 3D figure that you like, so you can make a figure that you are happy with.

The other is software. When we turn scanned data into a figure, there are inevitably some parts that need to be adjusted manually. For example, if you want to create a figure of two people with their shoulders crossed, the part where their bodies overlap cannot be scanned. It takes time to make that adjustment, but in our case, the process is semi-automated and we can obtain high quality 3D data. Because of our efficiency, we can promise our clients that we will deliver the figure within two weeks. With the express plan, we can deliver within a week. In extreme cases, we can even respond to customers who say, "I really want it the day after tomorrow.

So, first of all, the speed of completion is fast. Another reason is that it is said to be the least expensive of all 3D figures, since it does not cost much. And yet, the key points may be "fast, cheap, and skillful" with a high level of detail reproduction (laughs).

─ ─ What kind of customers come to your store?

John: The most frequent customers are families. They want to make figurines for their children's Shichi-Go-San or weddings, or to see their daughters in kimonos, just as if they were taking commemorative photos at a photo studio.

The second most common type of customer is couples. We held a "Valentine's Day Campaign" until the other day, and now we are running a "White Day Campaign. Since Valentine's Day and White Day are not celebrated in the U.S. or Europe, this campaign is unique to the Shibuya store in Japan. Next is pets. Dogs have a shorter life span than humans, so customers want to keep their pets as figurines. We also have a surprisingly large number of sports enthusiasts who want to make figures of themselves with their snowboards or skateboards, which they are very proud of. We are able to reproduce even the smallest details such as helmets, which is very much appreciated by our customers.