For the first time in history! Robot Anime Business Evolution", a major book tracing the history of Japanese robot toys over the past half century, is now on sale! Interview with Author Koji Igarashi

Robot Anime Business Evolution" (Kobunsha), released on August 17, 2017, is generating a great deal of interest. The book is the first ever "history book on robot anime toys," summarizing the business history of robot anime, including "Mazinger Z," "Raideen the Brave," "Mobile Suit Gundam," "The Super Dimension Fortress Macross," "Transformers," and "The Brave Exciser," and their toys and models The author has been involved in the toy industry since he was a child.

The author is Koji Igarashi, who has been exposed to numerous toys since childhood and is now a leading animation researcher and writer. The book provides an accurate history of robot toys backed by his knowledge and deep insights.

We asked Mr. Igarashi, the author of this important book on Japanese toy history, about his involvement with toys and the message he hopes to convey through this book.

To convey the correct history of Japanese robot toys

─ What was the concept behind this book?

It has been exactly 20 years since I published my first book, "Chogokin Poppinica Dai Zukan" (Green Arrow Press), and I have published various books on the subject, but most of the specialized books on robot toys have been written by manufacturer or by category, and there has been no book that summarizes the history of these products in chronological order. I think that there are many things that have not been conveyed correctly.

However, even if you look it up on the Internet, you may not find the correct information, or interviews with staff members from that time may have been based on vague recollections.

In this book, I have written about things that happened before I was born, but basically it starts when I was five years old, around the time of "Gatchaman" and "Mazinger Z," and consists of my memories and experiences of what I have seen in toy stores since I can remember.

─ ─ When toys started to become important as merchandising for animation, Igarashi-san also became interested in toys.

It just so happened. In 1972, Popy's Kamen Rider transformation belts and Mini Cyclone, and Takara's Transformation Cyborg No. 1 transformation set (action figures that can be transformed by putting on a Kamen Rider or Ultraman suit. Based on "New G.I. Joe") came out at the same time. At this time, toys were rapidly becoming more realistic. There was a trend for toys to try to approach what was on TV, and right around that time, a merchandising system was also created in which "such things apparently sell".

At that time, the soft vinyl dolls of "Ultraman" and monsters were not doing well, and Popy, which was on the fringe of the Bandai Group, went boom with "Masked Rider" and "Mazinger Z" toys. Takara, which was thought to be the company behind Rika-chan, also did well with its "Transformable Cyborg No. 1" and "Microman. In other words, this was the time when the power structure of the toy industry began to change.

As a result, from the very beginning, the idea emerged, "Why don't we just make something that appears on TV = a product?" The idea of "why don't we just make it as a product? Toy makers began to take part in the design process itself. In the case of robots, "Raideen the Brave" was a pioneer.

However, in order to make realistic products, it is necessary to improve the technical capabilities of coloring and modeling. In this sense, Popy and Takara were both competing with each other to see how cool they could make their products.

───The 70s was an amazing time for robot toys, when new hooks were prepared for each new product.

That's right. In the year following the release of "Mazinger Z," a robot that lifted its arms to perform a rocket punch, Popy had already produced "Raideen," a robot that transformed from humanoid to bird form, which was a crazy time. During this period, the "Chogokin" brand sold well, and Popy, originally an intermediary manufacturer for Bandai, came to be the center of the Japanese toy industry.

───It is possible that the people who later supported Japan's technological prowess were born from the generation influenced by this era of ever-evolving progress in robot toys. ......

I think that is possible. I think there are many people who were influenced by it.