Design COCO
The sign shop turned life-size anime landmark builder, with proprietary 3D printing
At a glance
- Status
- Active.
- Based in
- Sendai Miyagi Prefecture Japan.
- Known for
- Life size anime installations and scale figures made with proprietary industrial printing.
- Good fit
- collectors interested in large display pieces or infrequent premium scales from a studio with life size installation experience.
- Before buying
- check availability around each announcement; collector figure releases are infrequent.
- Research coverage
- Developing
TL;DR
- Sendai-based company founded in 2000, known for life-size anime installations at venues like Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Tower.
- The company builds its own COCO MIYAGI industrial 3D printers, an unusual capability for a figure maker.
- Its collector figures are usually one-seventh or one-quarter of a character's full size, with prices around $115 to more than $420 USD.
- The Japanese government recognized founder Chiga Junya with a Cabinet Office award for manufacturing excellence in 2018.
From Sign Shop to Life-Size Installations
Design COCO started as a one-person sign shop in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, when Chiga Junya launched it in September 2000. Today, 95 employees across three offices build life-size ONE PIECE installations at Roppongi Hills and develop proprietary industrial 3D printers.
Unusually for a figure manufacturer, Design COCO engineers and builds its own industrial-grade 3D printers under the COCO MIYAGI series name, giving the company proprietary in-house printing capabilities. Chiga received a Cabinet Office government award for manufacturing excellence in 2018.
ONE PIECE at Roppongi Hills, Figures on the Side
Design COCO's public profile is dominated by its life-size and large-scale installation work for the ONE PIECE Exhibition at Roppongi Hills, Tokyo Tower's museum spaces, and Anpanman Museums. For collectors, Design COCO makes figures at one-seventh and one-quarter of a character's full size, priced from 17,200 to more than 62,700 yen ($115-$420+ USD).
One standout project paired Design COCO with Yoshitoku, a doll-making house whose roots stretch back to 1711, for a hololive Pekora figure that blended traditional Japanese doll craftsmanship with virtual-streamer (VTuber) character design.
In-House 3D Printers, Infrequent Collector Releases
Design COCO releases collector figures less frequently than most studios here. Its manufacturing depth is central to the brand's identity. A company that engineers its own industrial 3D printers and builds life-size venue installations brings experience with molds, early models, and materials to a figure made at one-seventh of a character's full size.