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BANDAI SPIRITS Inc. (President Hiroshi Sakakibara) held ‘TAMASHII NATION’ in Akihabara, Tokyo, from November 14 to 16. An annual product experience event where new collectible figures are introduced to consumers at three venues, including directly managed stores. This time, we have set the theme as ‘Beyond Imagination’. In line with this, on the floor dedicated to anime character merchandise, multiple boards were displayed highlighting the feature of a wide range of motion that allows scenes to be faithfully recreated. A hands-on experience area was set up where visitors could actually touch and play with the products, making efforts to promote the functions incorporated into the merchandise to the attendees. Through these efforts, we aimed to develop new demand, including overseas markets.
This time, on the floor featuring products of tokusatsu heroes, we focused on promoting the S.H.Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou series.The Shinkotsu koseiho series is a series sculpted in stages—skeleton,muscles, and hero suit—to express a genuine sense of authenticity that encompasses the soul, not just the surface. The figure incorporates elements of humans becoming heroes into its design, creating a figure that can more realistically recreate scenes from the story. This time, the release will focus on well-known heroes such as Kamen Rider (tax-included price 11,000 yen, on sale November 14), Kamen Rider 2 (tax-included price 11,000 yen, on sale in December) ,Ultraman (tax-included price 9,900 yen, re-release on November 14) ,and Akarenger of Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (tax-included price 13,200 yen, on sale November 14).These are not only well-known domestically but also highly recognized across Asia, so by introducing the features of the series at the venue, we aimed to convert this recognition into demand.
On the floor featuring robot characters, we focused on showcasing the MEATAL BUILD series. The regular type reproduces the same designs as the anime, offering a way to recreate scenes. In contrast, MEATAL BUILD adds unique design arrangements, allowing for a playstyle where you can freely create and enjoy your own scenes.This year, they announced a move away from solely focusing on the robot line, with the first step being Kamen Rider Zero-One (priced at 33,000 yen including tax, scheduled for release next May).It is 200 millimeters in length, has the solid feel of die-cast metal, the neck moves in stages allowing a greater range of motion than other series, and it gives a stronger sense of metal than the Zero-One that appears on TV. Additionally ,as a reference exhibit, there were also introductions of a robot-like Hatsune Miku and a more muscular Saint Seiya.
When asked about recent hit products on the robot-focused floor, the red Gundam from the METAL ROBOT Spirits series (released this June, priced at 24,200 yen including tax) was mentioned.The red Gundam is a character that appears in the latest TV anime Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX and was also the title of the first episode. The fact that this character was shrouded in mystery throughout the entire series became a topic of discussion among viewers, leading to an increase in sales both domestically and across Asia.Following the achievement that aligned perfectly with the concept of scene recreation, it has been decided that a product from the GUNDAM UNIVERSE series will be released next February (including tax, priced at 5,500 yen). Furthermore,It is also said that the die-cast metal figure RX-78F00/E of the Gundam statue installed at the Osaka-Kansai Expo venue (released this April, priced at 33,000 yen including tax) is selling well. Since the event has ended, we will now change the packaging and sell it. With the conclusion of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, Gundam’s 45th-anniversary activities have winded down, but the high demand generated there is expected to continue.
