“BE@RBRICK WORLD WIDE TOUR 3,” which premiered worldwide in Tokyo from Saturday, December 4th to Thursday, December 9th, 2021. This event brought together approximately 100 top-tier, trendsetting creators to celebrate MEDICOM TOY’s 25th anniversary and BE@RBRICK’s 20th anniversary. Here’s our report from the exhibition.

MEDICOM TOY’s event “BE@RBRICK WORLD WIDE TOUR” showcases 1000% BE@RBRICKs created by top creators from around the globe. The first tour, starting in June 2004 at Shibuya PARCO Museum in Tokyo, traveled to six cities worldwide (seven venues) until 2007, including Osaka, Sapporo, New York, Florence, and Milan. The second tour, from December 2011, visited four Asian cities—Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai, and Bangkok—until 2015, captivating many.

This third iteration, held to commemorate MEDICOM TOY’s 25th anniversary and BE@RBRICK’s 20th, featured approximately 100 top-tier, trendsetting creators. It premiered worldwide from Saturday, December 4th to Thursday, December 9th, 2021, at SPACE O in Omotesando Hills, B3F, Tokyo. Curated by Edison Chen, the Tokyo venue, themed “GARDEN,” presented the 1000% BE@RBRICKs amidst lush greenery. Artists, companies, actors, and musicians from around the world contributed unique works, marking a spectacular start to the anniversary tour.

Looking back, BE@RBRICK was born in 2001. Developed as an evolution of MEDICOM TOY’s block-type figure “KUBRICK” released the previous year, it was created with the concept of “making a digital teddy bear.” The teddy bear is said to have originated from a famous anecdote involving the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt.

In November 1902, Roosevelt went on a bear hunt and encountered a near-death bear. However, he refused to shoot it, stating it was against the spirit of sportsmanship. A political cartoonist accompanying him published the story with an illustration in The Washington Post. Upon reading the article, a couple who owned a candy shop created a stuffed bear. They named it “Teddy Bear” after Theodore’s nickname, Teddy. This couple founded the Ideal Novelty & Toy Co. in 1907.

A century later, MEDICOM TOY developed BE@RBRICK, treating the bear-shaped block figure as a canvas, with variations across nine categories: BASIC, JELLYBEAN, PATTERN, FLAG, HORROR, SF, CUTE, ANIMAL, and ARTIST. Born in an era of rapid digitalization with the spread of mobile phones and the internet, this new generation teddy bear, after two WORLD WIDE TOURs, is now beloved across Asia, America, and Europe.

And now, “BE@RBRICK WORLD WIDE TOUR 3.” Featuring approximately 100 BE@RBRICKs, many challenging conventional norms, the tour begins in Shibuya, its birthplace, and will travel to cities worldwide with unique exhibition themes for each location, undoubtedly gaining more fans. As BE@RBRICK enthusiasts, we extend our utmost respect and gratitude to the artists who participated despite the pandemic, and to the MEDICOM TOY staff.

MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION
MEDICOM TOY CORP.
BE@RBRICK celebrates its 20th anniversary. MEDICOM TOY exhibited the “BE@RBRICK 20th Anniversary DEEP CHROME Ver. 1000%,” featuring a 20th-anniversary logo designed by world-renowned artist Hajime Sorayama on the torso. The simple design, returning to the origin, is enhanced by a metallic chrome finish. This model was sold in limited quantities at the SPACE O venue as a commemorative item for the BE@RBRICK WORLD WIDE TOUR 3.
The BE@RBRICK 20th Anniversary logo is designed by HAJIME SORAYAMA.
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

UNDERCOVER Jun Takahashi
UNDERCOVER Jun Takahashi
UNDERCOVER recreates “GRACE,” a creature that originated as a handmade plush toy by designer Jun Takahashi and has since been expressed through installations, photo books, picture books, and fragrances, as a 1000% BE@RBRICK. In addition to the necklace and dress, the lights on its head actually illuminate. MEDICOM TOY also released the VCD GRACE figure, approximately 140mm tall, in 2016.
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Cul de Sac - JAPON
Cul de Sac - JAPON
Cul de Sac - JAPON, based in Nakameguro, is a new brand of Aomori Hiba products founded by a designer who grew up in a lumber business and wanted to promote the appeal of Hiba wood. This BE@RBRICK, with the concept “seeing the forest from the mountains of the north,” features a base of Aomori Hiba and contains Hiba chips inside the body. The base is designed to evoke looking out at the world from a northern forest.
© Cul de Sac – JAPON LLC.
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

fragment design Hiroshi Fujiwara
fragment design Hiroshi Fujiwara
HF, the design project team led by Hiroshi Fujiwara, has previously pushed BE@RBRICK into new territories with models like the “hf 400% Model” (2002), which recreated the entire body with woven 3D curves using molds, and the real fabric costume-style “WORLD WIDE TOUR BE@RBRICK hf 400% / 1000%” (2004). This time, HF presents a model based on the reverse concept of incorporating a teddy bear inside the BE@RBRICK.
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Hama Okamoto (OKAMOTO’S)
hama_okamoto (OKAMOTO’S)
Born in Tokyo in 1991, he is the bassist for the four-member rock band OKAMOTO’S. In 2013, he became the first Japanese bassist to sign an endorsement deal with Fender USA. His second signature model, the “Hama Okamoto Fender® Katana Bass,” also garnered attention in 2021. This BE@RBRICK, a testament to his identity as a bassist, features a built-in FENDER mini amplifier and pickups on the body.
© Sony Music Artists Inc.
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Reo Sano (GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE)
Reo Sano（GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE）
Born in Tokyo in 1996, he made his major debut in 2012 as a performer for GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE. The theme for this BE@RBRICK is “Onko Chishin” (learning from the past to understand the present). The world map setup he wears is a collaboration with his friend Soft Works, using vintage children's bedsheets. The arrangement places Japan on the left chest pocket, and the body features rust processing inspired by the cityscape of his childhood.
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

HAyU
HAyU
HAyU is a wire art brand by artist Manabu Ogawa. Active in various fields, including interior art focused on animals, public art for hotel lobbies, CD jacket designs for Yosui Inoue, and textile design. This piece expresses a 1000% BE@RBRICK with a wire art rendition, featuring an apple on its head, showcasing the new possibilities of BE@RBRICK.
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Munetaka Aoki
Munetaka Aoki
Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1980. His major works include the "Rurouni Kenshin" film series, "99.9 Criminal Lawyer THE MOVIE," the morning drama "Chiritotechin," and the Taiga dramas "Ryoma Den" and "Segodon." For this exhibition, he reconstructed a 1000% BE@RBRICK using 300 pieces of Koya Tofu (dried tofu).
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Tsuyoshi Muro
murotsuyoshi
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1976. He aspired to be an actor during his university years and began his career in 1999. His involvement in film expanded after the movie "Summer Time Machine Blues." His representative works include the films "My Daddy" and "Kawapperi Mukoritta." This BE@RBRICK represents Tsuyoshi Muro himself from his 2021 outdoor stage play "muroshiki. Gakugeikai," which was performed using a truck.
© murotsuyoshi
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Nike
Nike
NIKE, headquartered in Oregon, USA, reinterprets Nike, the Greek goddess of victory from whom the company derives its name, as a BE@RBRICK. The motif is the "Winged Victory of Samothrace," an ancient Greek marble sculpture discovered on the island of Samothrace in 1863 and housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
© 2022 Nike, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

READYMADE®
READYMADE®
READYMADE, which garners global attention not only in Japan but worldwide, was founded with an antithesis to ready-made products. It breathes new life into materials that would otherwise be discarded, transforming them into unique, one-of-a-kind pieces by adding new value to vintage military fabrics, its signature material. For this collaboration with artist Suzuki Takayuki, the BE@RBRICK is adorned with beautiful lace and pearls.
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

sacai × KAWS Chitose Abe
sacai × KAWS Chitose Abe
sacai, launched in Tokyo in 1999 by designer Chitose Abe, is based on the concept of "design that exists above the everyday." It transforms clothing into unexpected forms and silhouettes by combining contrasting fabric textures, reinterpreting patterns, and altering patterns. This BE@RBRICK recreates the look from the collaboration with KAWS, presented in the sacai man 2021 Autumn & Winter / sacai 2021 Pre Autumn Collection.
© KAWS..22
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Sarah Andelman
Sarah Andelman
Sarah Andelman, co-founder and creative director of the legendary Parisian select shop "colette" (closed in 2017) and now heading the new project "Just an Idea." She expressed her excitement for participating in "BE@RBRICK WORLD WIDE TOUR 3." Her unique interpretation replaces the torso with stone, a project realized with the design studio AVOIR.
© 2022 JUST AN IDEA
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Royal Selangor®
Royal Selangor®
Royal Selangor, founded in 1885, is the world's largest pewter manufacturer and a royal brand patronized by the Malaysian royal family. Its high-purity pewter products, handcrafted by skilled artisans, are cherished worldwide in Japan, Singapore, Australia, the UK, and the USA. This BE@RBRICK, inspired by the 2022 Year of the Tiger, features tiger stripes rendered in pewter.
© Royal Selangor International (008946K). All Rights Reserved.
BE@RBRICK TM & © 2001-2022 MEDICOM TOY CORPORATION. All rights reserved.

Participating Artists
A BATHING APE®️ | ΛCROИYM®️ Errolson Hugh | Akihiro Nishino | Alan Shirahama (EXILE/GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE/PKCZ®️) | Andre Saraiva | The Andy Warhol Foundation | Anne Valerie Dupond | Atsushi Yanaka | BATMAN [BATMAN: THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES] | bilibili | BUMP OF CHICKEN | Charles M Schulz Creative Associates Paige Braddock | Chiaki | Chizu Kobayashi | The Coca-Cola Company | COMME des GARCONS | Cul de Sac – JAPON | Dr.Woo | DRxROMANELLI | Edison Chen (CLOT) | ELLY (J SOUL BROTHERS Ⅲ from EXILE TRIBE/CrazyBoy) | EVANGELION | EXIT | fragmentdesign Hiroshi Fujiwara | FUJIKO PRO CO.,LTD. | FUJIYA CO., LTD. | GODZILLA | Hajime Sorayama | Hama Okamoto (OKAMOTO’S) | Haroshi | HAYU | Highsnobiety | HOOD BY AIR. | HxS HIROTA SAIGANSHO | Hyakuyoudo Moyoco Anno | Jackson Pollock Studio Helen A. Harrison | Jallal Malik | James Pfaff | Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat | karimoku Hiroshi Kato | Keith Haring Studio | Kentarou Tanaka | KITH Ronnie Fieg | KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS Co., Ltd. | Kong Karoon Sosothikul | Kozue Akimoto | Lucasfilm Ltd. | MAMES | Marvel Entertainment, LLC | MASTERMIND WORLD Masaaki Homma | MEDICOM TOY CORP. | midland Creation Masato Naka | Munetaka Aoki | murotsuyoshi | Nathalie Lete | NBA Harley Opolinsky | NEIGHBORHOOD Shinsuke Takizawa | NEXUSVII. Tomohiro Konno | Nigel Sylvester | Nike | Noriko Iriyama | THE NORTH FACE | Objective Collectibles Laila Sahar | TV animation “One Piece” | P.A.M. Perks And Mini | PHANTACi Jay Chou | Pixar Animation Studios | POGGY Motofumi Kogi | The Pokémon Company | Polo Ralph Lauren | PUSHEAD | READYMADE®️ | Reo Sano (GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE) | Royal Selangor®️ | sacai × KAWS Chitose Abe | Samuel Ross | Sanrio Company, Ltd. | Sarah Andelman | Shin Ultraman | Shinobu Hasegawa (Sissonne) | SHUN SUDO | Stash | Steve Aoki | Supreme | Takahisa Masuda | Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd. | TOEI COMPANY, LTD. | UNDEFEATED Eric Peng Cheng | UNDERCOVER Jun Takahashi | The Walt Disney Company | XLARGE | Yoshida & Co. Kenichiro Matsubara | Yoshiharu Tsuge | Yosuke Kubozuka