Ribose

A Ningbo creator named after a sugar in genetic material and known for unusual figure ideas

At a glance

Status
Active.
Based in
Ningbo in China.
Known for
Evangelion characters presented as musicians; DLC Tea Time Cats; Honkai and Arknights figures.
Good fit
collectors who enjoy familiar characters in unexpected settings or gentle original designs.
Before buying
check Hpoi or Bilibili for the exact release before buying; coverage from Western collectors is still building.
Research coverage
Solid

TL;DR

  • Evangelion characters play instruments instead of fighting. Ribose puts familiar characters in creative contexts that make buyers stop scrolling and look twice.
  • The DLC Tea Time Cats original series and gacha game coverage (Honkai Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Arknights) round out a catalog at roughly 8,000 to 20,000 yen ($55-$130 USD).
  • Founded 2018 in Ningbo. Early partnerships with Myethos and APEX-TOYS built production capability before the studio scaled its own line.

The Scientific Name, the Creative Approach

Ribose was founded in 2018 in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, taking its name from the Chinese word for ribose (核糖), a sugar that forms part of ribonucleic acid (RNA).

Smart partnerships defined the early years. Myethos collaboration in 2018 provided production infrastructure and credibility; APEX-TOYS and Quark Planet followed. The debut figure, Night Witch Lilith, was an original character that sold 7,000 units globally in its first year, proving the brand could generate demand on creative merit alone.

Evangelion as Musicians, Tea Time Cats

The Evangelion line is the clearest example of Ribose's creative voice. The studio reimagined the cast as musicians playing instruments rather than placing them in familiar battle poses, an unusual approach in a market focused on faithful recreations of the same source illustration.

The Tea Time Cats series (illustrator STAR影法師) has grown steadily: Li Hua cat (May 2022), British Shorthair (April 2023), Tuxedo cat (March 2024), and Lemon cat (April 2025). Licensed characters from Honkai Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Arknights fill out the mobile game side of the catalog at moderate prices.

Recontextualizing Familiar Characters

If you want figures that do something unexpected with characters you already know, Ribose is the brand. The Evangelion musicians are the standout example, but the creative recontextualization runs through the catalog.

Western collector reviews are still building. Ribose appears more often on the Chinese collector database Hpoi and video platform Bilibili than on MyFigureCollection, another collector database. Checking Chinese collector reviews or videos is useful when evaluating a specific release.

Sources