How to Distinguish Real and Fake Touhou Figurines from Griffon Enterprises

My mom recently returned from her visit of her parents in Hong Kong. And as we probably all know, no expedition is complete with out a souvenir. Since I've been a Touhou fan for a while and since its DIFFICULT to find any goods from them, I asked her to help me look for some. Judging from the title, you will probably have the idea on what she bought.

It was a fake Marisa figure from Griffon Enterprises. Not being there myself in Hong Kong to do the purchase, I have no idea what the environment of the store was like. So I can't say that I blame my mom for such a purchase. If anything, I should be grateful, it allowed me to make a post about it.

*Note: The "real" one that I assume to be true was bought in Akihabara on my Japan trip last summer, in a store called Gamers"*

So let us begin this investigation.

First of all, we should start at the box, since that is the first thing you see when you think about buying a figurine.

There is nothing much I can really say, the box is made to mimic the official box from Griffon Enterprises. Since I don't own an official player 2 colour Marisa figure from them, I can't compare the numbers and other details. Although the box looks nearly identical, there are several things that sets them apart.

*Note: for any of the images uploaded below as a guide, the same images are also available in the gallery.*

1. The colour of the paint on the box is poorer than the official product, that is usually the case which allows the product to be sold cheaper than the original goods. However, that isn't something you can easily tell if the original box is not present.

Fake (Left) vs Real (Right)

2. In the original box, there was a sheet of paper that presents the other Touhou figurines that Griffon Enterprises was releasing along in the same batch. However I do not know if that is restricted to the mass produced models (1P colours) only. Since again, I don't have an official 2P colour version of Marisa to compare with, that is the best I can do at this point.

Fake (Left) vs Real (Right)

In terms of other features about the box, I could not tell you how to differentiate them. If you do happen to be stuck in a situation where you think it may be fake, do advise before you buy it. Or you can read the next section which talks about the differences in the figure itself.

The 2 figures changes significantly when inspected. This was not a real shocker because I didn't expect them to be anywhere near similar (as seen here). Here are what you should pay attention to:

1. Take a GOOD look at the base of the figurine, that is where you'll see the MOST difference. The official figuring has a name plaque that looks like metal and bolted onto the plastic base with 2 nuts. However, in the fake one, it looks like a sticker. Also, notice the spelling mistake.
*Note: I do not think it will be possible to see the base when the box is unopened, so this may not be helpful if you are at a store.*

Fake (Left) vs Real (Right)

2. The base connectors to attach the figure on looks different between the real and the fake, both securely fasten the figure on the base, but they still look different.

Fake (Left) vs Real (Right)

3. The fake figure tends to be more glossy, that applies to pretty much everywhere. The main distinction is from the face, arms, legs (skin area), the white apron, shoes, and hat. This seems to be a trend amongst knockoff products (refer to nendoroid petit comparison post, here)

Fake (Left) vs Real (Right)

4. The broom doesn't fit into the hand socket. Therefore the broom moves around in that general position.

Notice how the fake figure has the broom touching the base, thats because its not tightly attached to the hand (via bad mold)

5. The head position of the fake Marisa is straight while the real one is slightly bent to her right.

No, it actually looks like this. I hope you can notice the difference.

6. The fake figure is generally made with lower quality plastic or PVC (or whatever that is made with)

Fake (Left) vs Real (Right)

7. The crack at the head is much worse on the fake figure than the real one (but this might be different from one to another)

Fake (Left) vs Real (Right)

Final note: It would probably be easiest to identify the authenticity of the figure by holding it near a good light, because the main noticeable difference would be the glossy finish of the fake which would differentiate it from the real. This might be a little troublesome because of the plastic that protects the figure and keeps it from moving inside the box.

For those who are in a hurry. Though I highly encourage reading the whole thing incase I missed anything in the summary.

Summary:
- Fake figure has a glossy coat whereas the original does not
- Fake is generally lower quality for the box, the figure material
- Fake has horribly sloppy base with a sticker name tag instead of metal and has spelling errors
- Fake has a straight head whereas real has a bent one
- Probable best method to distinguish authenticity would to be bring it near a good light to check for glossy coat

*Note: In the photos with 2 items, the left is always the fake one whereas the right is real.*
Gallery: Here