Plastic Culture

I’m sure that most of you who read this site on a regular basis are well aware of my affinity for figures — it’s beyond my control. If you share that love, then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Woodrow Phoenix‘s PLASTIC CULTURE: HOW JAPANESE TOYS CONQUERED THE WORLD. It was released through Kodansha International last year, and I find it to be a great “tour” of the Japanese toy market, from its roots all the way to the modern vinyl “design” toys, as well as the art-related stuff that fans of Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara will definitely love. It also features plenty of great imagery inside, which is what you’d want to see in a book that covers this kind of topic. Kodansha’s page for the book offers a more detailed description, as well as a peek inside.