If you're a SHF collector, I'm sure you've came across the terms "Japan ver." and "Asian ver." frequently. Some sellers claimed that Japan ver. is better than the Asian ver. in terms of QC, in order to justified why they're selling the Japan ver. at higher price... But is what they claimed true?
So here's the official announcement from Bandai regarding this matter:
So here's the official announcement from Bandai regarding this matter:
Please note that Tamashii Nations product specification does not vary depending on market of release unless otherwise specified. Stickers and packaging elements may differ depending on the territory the product is sold in for license related reasons. With regards to a product series where license labels differ in color or are applied/not applied based on the market which they are sold in, assertions that a difference in licensor sticker color or existence/non-existence of a license sticker reflects upon the quality or production location of the products are purely false. The application of and different colors of the aforementioned stickers solely reflect on licensor policy and are not intended to be used as a measure of value or grade of quality. All official Tamashii Nations products uphold the same level of quality control regardless of the market in which they are sold or color of any license sticker on packaging.
*You can read Bandai's statement HERE
Apparently, this "SHF Japan ver. vs SHF Asian ver." issue is not new. Collectors had been discussing about this ever since. When I just started collecting action figures, it also puzzled me that Bandai would release two versions of action figures and keep the best one for Japan. But is that true? Is there any difference between Japan ver. & Asia version? Fortunately I've found an interesting article written few years ago, which compare the difference between the SHF Japan ver. and SHF Asian ver.:
Disclaimer: The original author of the article below had granted the blog owner the
permission to share his article. The article had been modified for better reading pleasure. The original article can be read here: HS Hobby Blog.
Introduction
We always hear from retailers who claimed that SHF Japan ver. is better than SHF Asian ver.. Most of those (unverified) statements claimed that Japan ver. has better QC, better paint job, and so on. But is it true?
To seek the answer, I've asked a favor from one of my friends (who was in Japan for business trip that time) to get me either a SIC or a SHF, so that I can compare the Japan version with the Asian version I have in my hand: which in the end he got me a SHF Kamen Rider Black RX.
So wind back a little bit, how do we know if an action figure is Japan ver. or Asian ver.? All you have to do is to look at the back of the box: (refer to the picture below) If you find a Bandai hologram and a Warning sticker (left), it is Asian ver.; If there is no hologram or sticker (right), it is Japan ver.:
Also, another obvious way to differentiate the two is to look at the bottom of the box: If there is a Bandai Asia sticker, it is the Asian ver.:
Figures Comparison
Referring to the picture below, I've made it easier to differentiate by having the Japan ver figure installed with open-palm left hand. When I first looked at the two figures from different regions, I really can't see any distinctive difference between the two. Be it paint job, joint or QC, both are having the same quality:
Both versions have the same paint tone; the paint jobs are equally good; and the QC are the same:
So I thought that maybe the two might have different product code number, so I checked the code number at the back of the two figures. Surprisingly both figures are having the same code number (which means both are of the same product identity). In addition, both figures were "Made In China", as printed at the back of the figures. (Sorry for the picture quality, I don't have Micro lens):
To complete the research, I've also done some interview with my customers regarding this issue. Their answers are all the same: SHF Japan ver and Asian ver. have no differences in QC. In fact, some SHF Japan ver. have bad QC just like the SHF Asian ver. After all, they're all coming from the same manufacturing factories in China.
If we step back and think, it would be too stupid for Bandai to jeopardize their images by selling low QC items to Asia or others regions. Thus, the stories about the higher quality SHF Japan ver. were probably made up by resellers who are trying to sell their items at higher prices. In addition, there might be fraud in those items because the stickers and holograms that differentiate Japan ver. and Asian ver. can be easily peeled off if you have the correct tools.
Hope this guide will help you all to understand better about the issue of difference between SHF Japan ver. and Asia ver.
