X-Plus

The soft-vinyl specialist that keeps finding characters worth making bigger.

TL;DR

  • X-Plus was founded in 1986 and entered toys in 1998, twelve years into a broader product business.
  • Godzilla and Gamera anchor the catalog, but Ultraman, Kamen Rider Kuuga, Super Saiyan Son Goku, and Mega Man establish its humanoid character range.
  • Reviewed 2026 Japanese listings reach from ¥7,700 ($50 USD) to ¥111,650 ($745 USD), with size, material, and edition changing the cost sharply.
  • A Texas subsidiary sells direct in North America, while XMUSE opens a 2026 bishoujo figure and model-kit direction.

X-Plus entered toys after twelve years

X-Plus spent its first twelve years without a toy division. Founded in Osaka on January 17, 1986, it created R.I.C. and entered toys in 1998. Online ordering followed in 2000, international supply began in 2002, and the official Shonen-Ric shop added cross-border ordering in 2018. The figure catalog grew inside a company that also develops lifestyle goods and games.

The official entertainment page places tokusatsu, anime, and video-game characters in the same business and names Ultraman among its examples. Tokusatsu means Japanese live-action productions built around special effects, including Ultraman and Kamen Rider. Across X-Plus's current collections, Godzilla, Ultraman, and Gamera are the clearest catalog pillars, yet the company also emphasizes characters that rarely receive figures. X-Plus built its identity through both subject choice and physical scale.

The figure lines and characters

X-Plus is easiest to understand as a set of display formats. Daikaiju Series and the 30 cm lines present fixed-pose heroes and creatures in painted soft vinyl. Japanese collectors often call this material sofubi, a shortened form of soft vinyl. DefoReal compresses a character into an enlarged head and small body while keeping realistic surface texture, while Gigantic Series usually pushes above 40 cm.

Favorite Sculptors Line adapts existing work by independent sculptors into finished retail pieces. The 2023 Alien Baltan release used a Keiki Fujimoto sculpt and offered illuminated eyes in its Shonen-Ric edition. The Yuji Sakai Modeling Collection applies a related idea to Godzilla sculpts by a named artist. These lines treat an individual sculpt as part of the product's identity.

The humanoid catalog is substantial enough to qualify X-Plus without asking its giant monsters to do all the work. A Gigantic Super Saiyan Son Goku appeared in 2015, DefoReal Kamen Rider Kuuga followed in 2018, and a 2010 Ultraman A Type mold returned with new lighting in 2025. Mega Man rejoined Gigantic Series in 2026 after an earlier 2015 release.

Buying X-Plus in North America

Reviewed 2026 Japanese listings show how far the catalog can stretch. The 19 cm Ultra Daikaiju Series 5000 EX Terochilus, manufactured by PLEX and sold through X-Plus, listed at ¥7,700 ($50 USD). The standard Gigantic Shin Godzilla 10th Anniversary figure measured about 49 cm high and 86 cm long at ¥111,650 ($745 USD). Its North American Shonen-Ric edition added lighting and listed for $999.99.

X Plus North America makes the regional buying path unusually direct. Formed in Texas in 2023 and publicly launched in February 2024, the subsidiary ships every product on its site to the United States and Canada. Mexico receives all in-stock items plus eligible preorder products, with exceptions by listing. Since August 21, 2024, North American customers have been directed to this store instead of ordering X-Plus products from the Japanese company or Shonen-Ric.

Preorders deserve a careful read because the store uses the preorder window to set production quantity and normally stops accepting cancellations when that period ends. Product credits deserve the same attention. Several current pages name PLEX as manufacturer while X-Plus or Shonen-Ric handles sales, including the 2026 Gigantic Shin Godzilla and the Godzilla and Digimon crossover WarGreymon. The useful habit is simple: check the edition, dimensions, shipping territory, and manufacturer line on the individual listing.

XMUSE and Archive Figure expand the catalog

January 2026 brought XMUSE, announced by X-Plus as a bishoujo figure and plastic-model brand. Bishoujo is the hobby term for stylized female-character figures. The first documented releases are unassembled kits, not completed figures: Alice from Goddess of Victory: NIKKE and Rei Ayanami from Evangelion, each priced at ¥7,700 ($50 USD). That distinction matters, but the direction does too: a company known for screen creatures is now applying its character work to a category central to anime figure collecting.

Archive Figure opened another path in July 2026. Its first subject, the 18 cm Tetra from Juvenile, was developed from scans of a screen-used prop and priced at ¥33,000 ($220 USD), or ¥35,200 ($235 USD) for the Shonen-Ric edition. XMUSE reaches bishoujo builders while Archive Figure preserves a film object as a finished collectible. X-Plus enters its fifth decade with the giant monsters intact and more ways to turn character history into something made for a shelf.

More for collectors: Defining releases, in order

2015, Super Saiyan Son Goku: the Dragon Ball Z hero gave Gigantic Series a 46 cm humanoid release. It cost ¥8,424 ($55 USD) and was limited to 300 pieces. The same year also brought the first Gigantic Mega Man, which returned in 2026 as a 35 cm painted PVC figure at $149.99 through X Plus North America.

2018, Kamen Rider Kuuga Mighty Form: DefoReal reduced Kuuga to about 2.5 heads tall while retaining suit texture, eye detail, and a light-up belt. The 15 cm PVC figure cost ¥6,480 ($45 USD). This release makes the line's name easy to understand: deformed proportions, realistic finish.

2023 and 2025, Alien Baltan and Ultraman A Type: the Gigantic Favorite Sculptors Line Baltan converted Keiki Fujimoto's sculpt into a painted 45 cm display figure. It cost ¥27,500 ($185 USD), or ¥28,600 ($190 USD) with illuminated eyes. The 23 cm Ultraman A Type later reused a 2010 mold, added illuminated eyes and a blinking Color Timer, and listed at ¥22,000 ($145 USD).

2026, Shin Godzilla, XMUSE, and Tetra: the 49 cm standard Gigantic Shin Godzilla reached ¥111,650 ($745 USD), while the light-up North American edition reached $999.99. XMUSE's Alice and Rei Ayanami kits each opened at ¥7,700 ($50 USD). Archive Figure then introduced Tetra from Juvenile as an 18 cm completed figure based on a scan of a screen-used prop, at ¥33,000 ($220 USD) for the standard edition.

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