Clayz

An early anime figure maker that quietly moved into custom production

At a glance

Status: Active. Consumer figure work shifted to custom production for businesses; regional mascot work; event participation.
Based in: Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture in Japan.
Known for: Cold cast figures; resin model kits; early PVC figures of female characters.
Good fit: collectors who enjoy resin building; the weight and grain of cold cast; early PVC figure history.
Before buying: confirm whether the listing is a finished figure or a resin model kit that requires assembly and paint.
Research coverage: Developing

TL;DR

A small Japanese manufacturer active during the early-to-mid 2000s, as model kits that buyers assembled and painted gave way to mass-produced PVC plastic figures.
Produced resin-based cold-cast and PVC figures based on interactive story games, including adult titles, and early anime such as Cardcaptor Sakura and Fate/stay night.
Quality was variable by modern standards, but the figures have character as artifacts of a specific moment in the market’s development.
Moved from consumer figures into custom production for other businesses and regional mascot work instead of formally closing.
Clayz figures still surface on the resale market, preserving the handmade character of an era before large-scale production became standard.

Cold Cast and Visual Novel Roots

Search for Clayz today and you will find a company that still exists, but not in a form most figure buyers would recognize. It moved from consumer figures into business-to-business (B2B) custom production and regional mascot work as the industry consolidated around larger players. Clayz was active during the early-to-mid 2000s, when kits that buyers assembled and painted were giving way to mass-produced PVC plastic figures. Sculptor Miyagawa Takeshi established the company while the commercial anime figure market was still taking shape.

Details about Clayz’s founding are frustratingly scarce. There was no corporate website that survived, no press interviews, no industry profiles. The company specialized in cold cast (a resin-based material with a smooth, weighty finish) and PVC figures, often focusing on characters from visual novels, eroge, and early-era anime franchises like Cardcaptor Sakura and Fate/stay night.

Miyagawa’s cold cast and resin work gave the studio a tactile identity: heavier in the hand, cooler to the touch, with a grainier surface than the smooth PVC that was about to reshape the market.

Handmade Character in Cold Cast

Clayz’s catalog included ready-to-display PVC figures at one-sixth and one-eighth of a character’s intended height, some with flexible vinyl parts. It also sold resin model kits for buyers who assembled and painted their own figures. The finished pieces had a handmade quality, with visible sculpting character, varied paint, and a sense of creative exploration. Miyagawa’s Cardcaptor Sakura and Fate/stay night designs show aesthetic discoveries happening alongside technical ones.

The Resin Kit Series bridged garage kit culture and the consumer figure market. For garage-kit builders, Clayz kits still hold appeal as craft objects from the era when resin and cold cast were the premium materials, before PVC manufacturing scaled up and standardized the industry.

Cold cast (a resin-based material with a smooth, weighty finish) gave Clayz figures a physical presence different from the PVC pieces that came to dominate the market. Cold cast pieces are noticeably heavier than PVC, cooler to the touch, and have a finely grained surface texture.

Cold Cast Charm, Era-Typical Craft

By current production standards, Clayz’s quality was variable. Some sculpts captured their characters with real charm, and the cold cast pieces had a material warmth that PVC cannot replicate. Others had awkward poses or flat paint. This inconsistency was typical of the era: the entire industry was still developing quality control processes that later became standard.

Among those who remember Clayz, the reputation is affectionate. The figures represent an era when a small outfit with a talented sculptor and a few licenses could still ship product and find an audience back then. That era’s character shows in the work.

Clayz operates as an independent, privately held company headquartered in Maebashi, Gunma, with a mail-order division in Hachioji, Tokyo. Representative director is Miyagawa Emi. The company ran sub-brands including Chibiez and Resi-Carat during its consumer figure era.

As the 2010s progressed and larger manufacturers built distribution networks and global retail partnerships, Clayz shifted its business model away from consumer figures toward B2B custom production and regional mascot work, a pivot that took it out of collector visibility while the company itself continued operating.

What Clayz Offers Secondhand

Clayz figures appeal to builders who value its resin kits as craft objects and to collectors drawn to the tactile character of cold cast and early PVC. Most Clayz PVC figures are easy to find at low prices on the resale market.

Many of the characters Clayz covered, including Saber and Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura, have since received later interpretations from other manufacturers. Clayz pieces can sit alongside those newer figures as era comparisons, while the resin kits suit builders who enjoy the craft itself.

The Pivot Away from Collectors

Clayz did not close. Instead, it pivoted away from consumer figures toward B2B custom figure production, regional mascot work, and event participation. Their official website (clayz.jp) and X account remain active, and products are still indexed on HobbySearch through 2025-2026. What looked like a disappearance was a business model shift that moved the company out of collector visibility.

The figures Clayz made during its consumer era still exist, and some still display well. For anyone who was buying figures in the mid-2000s, Clayz is part of the story of how the hobby took shape.