Founder and CEO of Japanese art-toy brand Medicom Toy, Tatsuhiko “Ryu” Akashi has led his company through yet another successful and fruitful year, continuously bringing creative and innovative designs for its most popular product: BE@BRICKs. Following its usual practice of dressing its bear-shaped figures in pop-culture characters, this year’s lineup saw the likes of Evangelion, Kamen Rider, Kylo Ren and the First Order Stormtrooper, Hello Kitty, and even It’s Pennywise grace the notorious canvas. The company also expanded on its collaborations with numerous other brands and designers, including BAPE, ANREALAGE, K-Pop group BTS, OVO, Karimoku, Baccarat, fragment design, and a topographical capsule with HYPEBEAST. It also hosted its annual exhibition in Tokyo earlier in July, celebrating the company’s 23rd anniversary.