Red vs Blue Bandai Logo’s

This topic came up today on a Facebook group i follow and i wanted to share it here as well since we havent covered the topic yet. A user noticed the different colored bandai logos on the following Vegeta figure and wanted to know why there was a difference. In short, both logo’s are legit and neither are fake, but the more nuanced explanation is below and is based on a press release from Bandai back in 2018.

Apparently, BANDAI CO. LTD split into 2 companies, BANDAI and BANDAI SPIRITS. BANDAI has a red logo and will focus on products aimed at a younger audience (such as confectionery, trading cards, and apparels). While BANDAI SPIRITS has a blue logo and focused primarily on products aimed at more “mature” audiences, ie; model kits, collectible figurines, lottery items from Ichiban kuji, etc.

What this means is that BANDAI SPIRITS is now running the Tamashii Nations’ series. So expect to see the new Blue Bandai logo on newer releases of Tamashii Nations’ lines such as S.H.figuarts, S.H. MonsterArts, D-Arts, Metal Build, DX Soul of Chogokin and more.

Eventually BANDAI HOBBY will also reprint all of its active products under the new Blue logo. However, these products retain their original features without any changes whatsoever, except, for the change in logo color, item serial number and UPC.

The Red Bandai logo will still be seen on (I supposed) more entry-level items. Bottom line, the difference is that the blue logo represents a higher-end market segment.