Overview
The character of Tohoku Zunko was originally developed by SSS LLC in 2012. Originally, Zunko was developed in the wake of the Tohoku earthquake to raise funds through sales on the Voiceroid, and later Vocaloid engines – her name was even derived from the zunda-mochi, a regional delicacy made from green soybean paste. Zunko’s family rapidly grew, with two sisters, Itako and Kiritan and her pet Zundamon, a rival Ankomon and a classmate, Shikoku Metan.
SSS would collaborate with AH-Software on creating Vocaloid voicebanks for the whole lot. Her seiyuu Satomi Sato (known, among other things, as Ritsu from K-On!, Aemeath from Wuthering Waves and Saki from the excellent Fruits Basket 2019 adaptation) wrote a novel about her in 2012, while an original anime film Zunda Horizon was released in early 2017. Since her inception, Zunko has amassed a line of merchandise – t-shirts, games, apps, phone accessories and, fittingly, sweets.
Having had extensive experience covering local mascots (more on that in their article), it seems fitting that Plum would be the company tasked with producing model kits for Zunko, which they duly did in 2024, starting with Zundamon, before moving onto Ankomon, and then releasing kits of Zunko herself, Kiritan, an ojou variant of Zundamon and Shikoku Metan.
As a final note, the line is part of PMOA’s Plafia line, with further kits in that line being Doala (mascot of the baseball team the Chunichi Dragons) and Chino (Is The Order a Rabbit?), released in June 2026, as well as the earlier ToHeart2 and PangYa model kits from the early 10s.
Construction and Engineering
The construction of these kits is very basic, with very few runners and fairly easy instructions. Arguably, this is probably the only line that is simpler than 30 Minutes Sisters, already known for its simplicity and low skill floor. This is not a good thing in this context; for what it costs to get one of these kits, the amount of time it takes to actually assemble one and the challenge taken is very disproportionate.
Engineering, however, isn’t as dire. While not quite on the Machineca standard, Tohoku Zunko kits are fairly articulate, again comparable to Sisters. As such, they are very poseable, if a bit stiff at times. Plastic quality is decent and nothing to write home about; while not Bandai or Kotobukiya-tier, it’s still fairly high quality.
Aesthetics:
Aesthetics are where the kits fall flat. While Zunko and her “family” are fairly adorable, they are also fairly simplistic and undetailed. With Another World’s Travel Diary providing significantly more detailed chibi kits, someone interested in these kits for their super-deformed aesthetic may find better value for money elsewhere. With regards to the non-chibi kits, compared to other lines that follow high school aesthetics, most notably Sousai Shoujo Teien, Zunko and her friends may come off as very generic. However, Vocaloid fans and existing fans of Zunko will appreciate her nonetheless.
Ease of Acquisition:
These kits are only available in Japan, as a property fundamentally tied to a region of Japan. As such, you will need to resort to using AmiAmi or other sellers to get your hands on one, if you can at all. Furthermore, the kits are insanely expensive relative to the amount of plastic and complexity per kit, starting at ¥4840 (£23/$30) for Zundamon, ¥6050 (£28/$38) for Zunko herself and hovering between those rough values for the rest of the line.
Personal Verdict?
While yes, Zunko and her friends are very cute, the line is overpriced relative to the amount of content per box and time spent per kit. Only get this if you really like Zunko or really liked spending time in Tohoku. However, if you’re new to the hobby and don’t care about the price, Tohoku Zunko kits are very easy to assemble, probably taking less than an hour if you’re quick, and are, again, fairly cute.
Personal Recommendations:
We liked Zunko and Zundamon a fair bit; as soon as we can, we’ll also snag Shikoku Metan.
Official Site: https://zunko.jp/
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