Did you know that the Tsume company has made Luxembourg the world reference for high-end figurines? Our colleague at 5Minutes got a guided tour by Lorrain Cyril Marchiol.

CHAPTER I: CARTOON KID

Imagine a child who collects mountains of video games, figurines and manga. A child who could break into football but who prefers to watch TV. A child who, having become an adult, brings back from Japan whole containers of figurines and proudly proclaims: "It's decided, this will be my life!".

In some parents, this child would provoke an epilepsy attack as surely as some Japanese cartoons.

But Cyril Marchiol, a big fan of Akira Toriyama (alias "the God Father of Dragon Ball"), knows that what doesn't kill you makes you Super Saiyan. And to be sure, this Lorraine native of Metzervisse (near Thionville) has energy to spare. A rage to succeed that would make a Berserk pale by comparison. "One day, I will become the king of figurines, I will surpass them all" is his answer to the incredulous ...

A few years later, we meet the bearded and tattooed thirty-something in Luxembourg. The sweet dreamer is now the father of a flourishing business. His baby is called Tsume, and she is quite simply the world reference for high-end figurines. "You should know that when they talk in China of figurines and statues, they say that the best are made in Luxembourg" he says with a smile.

CHAPTER II: NO GREAT ADVENTURE WITHOUT COMPANIONS

It's a universal truth in manga: no great adventure can unfold without fellow travellers. Cyril therefore gathered around him a gang of folk equally obsessed with Japanimation, video games and pop culture.

And where could be better than the neighbouring Luxembourg, obsessed with promising young entrepreneurs a shot, to serve as headquarters for this armada? It is in Sandweiler, in the workshops of Tsume, that we meet these curious experts: mangakas, resin sculptors, 3D computer graphics artists ... The cream of the crop from the Greater Region and from far more distant regions. "Our big strength is that we know how to do everything, from A to Z" says Cyril.

Once Tsume obtains a license for a product, it is in Luxembourg that the figurine will be drawn, modelled, sculpted ... Then, a prototype is sent to China, to a handpicked factory, where the figurine will be mass produced. From the first pencil stroke to the final figurine, the process will take more than a year!

Tsume Gallery

CHAPTER III: SHARPENED CLAWS

With sharpened claws and growing fangs, Tsume is on the hunt. The company, founded in 2011, saw 30% growth last year and already has 55 employees and a turnover of €9 million. Not bad for a niche market!

They hold their catalogue the licenses for the most prestigious manga: Naruto, One Punch Man, Dragon Ball, One Piece, Fairy Tail, Street Fighter, Predator ... Their figurines, which sell from a few tens of euros to several thousand for the most expensive, are a hit. But Tsume does not intend to stop there. "I want to touch everything I love. I have no limits" warns Cyril who, like Luffy from One Piece, is not afraid to have eyes bigger than his stomach.

"Today Tsume is known for manga and Japanimation. But we want to open up to pop culture, Marvel, comics ... I can't tell you too much, but the biggest licenses have yet to come" he says proudly. But we do have one scoop that will leave only muggles unimpressed: Tsume has secured a license to produce Harry Potter figurines!

Finally, Tsume has several original creations: a clothing line, board games, and now, in closing the loop, manga ("Ragnafall" and "Imperium Circus") ...

Of course, the adventure is far from easy for Cyril and his team. "My life is a shōnen: we get hit in the face, but we fight all the time and we find friends to help us and move forward." All this with the label "Made in Luxembourg", which delights this cross-border worker: "I am in my way a standard for pop culture in Luxembourg. It's really great!"

To discover Tsume's products: www.tsume-art.com

