What Is Phat Company? The Figure Maker Behind Uma Musume, Explained
Phat Company is a Tokyo-based PVC figure manufacturer best known today for its Uma Musume Pretty Derby and Fate/Grand Order scale figures, though its catalog also stretches into Azur Lane, Blue Archive, and original illustrator-designed characters. If a figure's box says “Phat!” but the order shipped from Good Smile Company's storefront, that is not a mix-up — it is how the company has operated since 2007.
What Is Phat Company?
Phat Company Inc. (株式会社ファット・カンパニー) was founded on September 26, 2007, and is headquartered in Kanda, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Its own company profile lists capital of ¥4 million and names Haruhiko Miyamoto (宮本栈彼) as representative, though that specific snapshot is dated October 2016, so treat the staffing details as historical rather than current. The company's registered business covers planning, development, manufacturing, and sales of toy and hobby goods, plus apparel and sundries, including import and export.
Today Phat Company's lineup leans heavily on 1/7 and 1/8 scale PVC figures from gacha-style mobile games and anime, built around dynamic standing poses rather than seated desk displays. Akibato's own figures collection carries current Phat Company stock, including a 1/7 scale Durandal figure from Uma Musume Pretty Derby, so the brand is easy to spot the next time you are browsing.
Phat Company vs. Good Smile Company: Who Actually Makes the Figure?
Phat Company makes the figures; Good Smile Company sells and supports them. Phat Company's own contact page tells customers to direct all product questions to Good Smile Company's customer support line, describing Good Smile Company as its “sales agent” (販売代理店). That single sentence explains most of the confusion collectors run into online.
It also explains a second, more common mix-up: figma. A figma box looks right at home next to a Phat Company scale figure on a store shelf, and both often ship through Good Smile Company's storefront, but figma is a separate product line developed by Max Factory, not Phat Company, as Wikipedia's entry on the figma toy line confirms. Nendoroid is a third, distinct case — a Good Smile Company house brand in its own right. Three different manufacturers, one shared distributor, and one easy label to misread.
Phat Company's 3 Figure Lines, Compared
Scale figures are the headline product, but Phat Company runs two smaller lines alongside them.
| Line | What it is |
|---|---|
| Scale figures | Non-articulated 1/7, 1/8, and occasional 1/4 scale PVC statues, Phat Company's main output |
| Parfom | Palm-sized, poseable figures co-developed with the garage kit dealer RyunRyunTei, priced for easy collecting |
| Minicchu / Medicchu / Dekacchu | A deformed, chibi-style line in three sizes — about 50mm, 65mm, and 220mm — built around illustrator Kengo Yagumo's character designs |
The size tiers matter for shelf planning: Minicchu sits closer to Nendoroid Petit scale, while Medicchu is roughly Nendoroid-sized, so the two do not compete with Phat Company's own large-scale figures for display space.
Which Franchises Does Phat Company Cover?
Phat Company's current release slate, tracked on its own information page, is dominated by one franchise: Uma Musume Pretty Derby, where most figures are based on real Japanese racehorses reimagined as characters. Durandal, the figure Akibato currently stocks, is one of these — built around the real-life racehorse of the same name, per Wikipedia's list of Umamusume: Pretty Derby characters. Beyond Uma Musume, recent and upcoming Phat Company releases span:
- Fate/Grand Order — including Lancer/Melusine and Saber/Miyamoto Musashi
- Azur Lane — naval-themed characters such as Washington and Nagato
- Blue Archive — school-setting characters including Shiroko and Neru
- Dolls Frontline — PA-15 and Nikita
- Danganronpa and New Danganronpa V3
- Original illustrator-designed characters under Good Smile Company's “Original Character” imprint
That last category covers figures with no anime or game tie-in at all. Akibato's other in-stock Phat Company figure, “Flower Imitation: DR.,” is one example — a 1/7 scale statue based on illustrator neco's original “Flower Imitation” artwork, sculpted by Takatori with translucent cape and mask parts, according to both HLJ's and Nin-Nin-Game's listings for the figure.
Pricing follows a fairly consistent band across the catalog. Retailer Tsurumai Hobby lists current Phat Company scale figures running from 1/4 to 1/8 scale at roughly ¥16,800 to ¥39,800 before overseas shipping, with most new releases clustering toward the upper half of that range as sculpting detail and included extras — swappable faceplates, display bases, and the occasional LED-lit accessory — have grown more elaborate in recent years. A figure's listed scale is a reasonable first guide to where it will land in that band, though character popularity and pose complexity both push the price around.
Why Phat Company Preorders Keep Slipping
Phat Company's information page is, in large part, a running log of release-delay notices — on September 11, 2026 alone it posted two separate apology notices for pushed-back releases, including one for its Tamamo Cross figure. Scrolling back through 2025 and 2026 turns up delay notices roughly every month or two, alongside the occasional opposite case, such as a July 2026 notice announcing a release moved earlier than planned.
This is not unique to Phat Company among PVC scale figure makers, where a preorder can sit for a year or more between announcement and shipment, but it is worth knowing before paying for a preorder in full. Delays are usually attributed to production or quality issues rather than canceled altogether — the information page's history going back to 2016 shows almost every delayed figure eventually shipping, just later than first announced. Checking a figure's current ETA on a retailer listing page close to the payment deadline, rather than trusting the date printed when the preorder opened, is the simplest way to avoid a surprise.
FAQ: Phat Company Figures
Is Phat Company the same company as Good Smile Company?
No. Phat Company manufactures the figures; Good Smile Company is its sales agent and handles customer support, according to Phat Company's own contact page. They are separate, independently operated companies.
Does Phat Company make figma or Nendoroid figures?
No. figma is made by Max Factory and Nendoroid is a Good Smile Company house line. Phat Company's own products are scale figures, Parfom, and the Minicchu/Medicchu/Dekacchu chibi line.
What franchise does Phat Company make the most figures for right now?
Uma Musume Pretty Derby, based on its own current release listings, with Fate/Grand Order, Azur Lane, and Blue Archive making up most of the rest of the active slate.
The Short Version
- Phat Company, founded September 26, 2007 in Tokyo, manufactures the figures; Good Smile Company sells and supports them as its sales agent.
- figma belongs to Max Factory and Nendoroid to Good Smile Company — neither is made by Phat Company, despite sharing a storefront.
- Phat Company runs three lines: large-scale PVC figures, palm-sized Parfom, and the Minicchu/Medicchu/Dekacchu chibi tiers.
- Uma Musume Pretty Derby currently dominates its release slate, alongside Fate/Grand Order, Azur Lane, and Blue Archive.
- Release-delay notices are frequent enough to expect; check a figure's current ETA before a preorder's final payment is due.
If Uma Musume Pretty Derby or Fate figures are what you are shelf-hunting for, Akibato's figures collection ships Phat Company's current releases internationally. For a look at a different kind of manufacturer in the same space, see Akibato's guide to Union Creative's illustrator-designed figures.
Sources
- Phat Company — Company Profile (About)
- Phat Company — Information / Release Notices
- Tsurumai Hobby — Phat! Maker Page
- HLJ — Flower Imitation: DR. 1/7 Scale Figure
- Nin-Nin-Game — Original Character: Flower Imitation Series DR.
- Wikipedia — Figma (toy)
- Wikipedia — List of Umamusume: Pretty Derby characters