Mouse Unit

A garage-kit circle grows into an adult PVC specialist.

TL;DR

  • Mouse Unit began publicly as a garage-kit circle in 2009; a garage kit is an unpainted resin model that the buyer assembles and paints.
  • Annette made the key move from a Wonder Festival kit in 2012 to Mouse Unit's first commercial PVC subject in 2013.
  • The brand's recurring idea is the paired release, with the same character offered through a different color, expression, or pose.
  • List prices rose from ¥14,080 ($95 USD) for Annette to ¥32,780 ($220 USD) for Mizuki Shiranui and Karryn.

A garage-kit group becomes a figure brand

The MouseUnit sculptor credited on a 2009 Index figure was not one person. The group's official blog explained that several sculptors had contributed to the prototype. That origin is a useful frame for the later brand, whose product pages continue to foreground individual sculptor and color-sample credits.

The circle's 2009 Wonder Festival Summer lineup included Black Rock Shooter, Fate/stay night's Saber, Toradora!'s Inko-chan, and Index from A Certain Magical Index. These were garage kits, meaning unpainted and unassembled resin models sold for collectors to finish themselves. The same archive later records Touhou Project characters, Hatsune Miku, Queen's Blade, Bakemonogatari, and Dark Souls subjects.

Annette from Tonari no Ie no Annette-san moved Mouse Unit into commercial PVC. Justice sculpted the 1/5 garage kit for Wonder Festival 2012 Winter, and Hobby Search records a Mouse Unit-manufactured painted PVC edition in June 2013 at ¥14,080 ($95 USD). Annette turned an event sculpt into a finished retail product without cutting the brand loose from its garage-kit roots.

Paired versions define the PVC catalog

The early PVC catalog established a steady rhythm. Liliana from Wagaya no Liliana-san followed in 2014, then the RAITA original Zettai Reiko in 2015. Melfi translated Mogudan's Comic Unreal volume 38 cover art in 2016, while Ryoko Nagaredama brought a BANG-YOU original into the line in 2019. Futaba Lily Ramses from Tentacle and Witches arrived in 2020 and returned in a newly sculpted pair in 2023.

The variant pattern changes more than one visual element. Annette, Liliana, Zettai Reiko, and Melfi each received a Creator's Choice Color edition. Ryoko launched with a Smile Bikini version, and Futaba's releases paired two distinct poses. The later Yukikaze Color and Kuro Gal versions continued the same practice, giving collectors a second reading of a familiar sculpt.

The recent licensed game figures also pushed the catalog toward more elaborate displays. Aina Winchester from Taimanin RPG was a 1/6 release with a replacement upper-body part in 2023. The 1/6 Mizuki Shiranui from Taimanin RPGX reached about 34 cm in 2024 because of her raised weapon and included replaceable clothing parts. Karryn from Karryn's Prison followed in 2025 as a 1/7 pole-dance display with several optional parts and a simultaneous Kuro Gal version.

Buying a Mouse Unit figure

Annette is the clearest historical starting point because one character connects the garage-kit circle to the commercial brand. At 1/5 scale, roughly one fifth of the character's imagined full size, her scale represents a larger proportion than 1/6 or 1/7 even though the pose and props determine the actual height. Collectors more interested in the current style should begin with Mizuki Shiranui or Karryn, which show how Mouse Unit now combines a sculpted prop with replaceable display parts.

The list prices trace a clear rise across the catalog. Annette listed for ¥14,080 ($95 USD) in 2013, Melfi for ¥17,380 ($115 USD) in 2016, and Futaba Lily Ramses for ¥18,480 ($125 USD) in 2020. Aina reached ¥21,780 ($145 USD) in 2023, while the reworked Futaba pair cost ¥25,080 each ($165 USD). Mizuki Shiranui and Karryn both listed at ¥32,780 ($220 USD), placing the current catalog well above its early pricing before shipping or import costs.

One label on a product page matters more than the search result that found it: manufacturer. Broad searches for Mouse Unit also return Q-six, Native, and Orchid Seed figures because Justice or Mouse Unit supplied sculpting or production help. A collector looking for the brand's own catalog should confirm that the individual listing names Mouse Unit as manufacturer, then choose between the standard and alternate version on their display merits.

Mouse Unit's own releases and outside sculpting work

Mouse Unit's own retail line and its service work are separate records. Native's Akasaka Rui credits Justice (MouseUnit) for the sculpt but names Native as both seller and publisher. Q-six's 2026 Misaki figure likewise credits MouseUnit for production cooperation while naming Q-six for planning and manufacturing. Neither belongs in Mouse Unit's product count.

The official Mouse Unit site names June 30, 2025 as the release date for the two Karryn versions. The Wonder Festival 2026 Summer dealer list then records MouseUnit for both original and licensed work. With no later own-brand PVC announcement on the official site as of August 2026, the evidence supports an active specialist working at a slow pace, not an inactive label.

That split explains Mouse Unit's unusual visibility. Its name can appear on new figures even between releases of its own, because the brand is also a home for sculpting knowledge that other manufacturers hire. The catalog remains small, but the connection between event kits, finished PVC, and commissioned sculpture has held for more than fifteen years.

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