The ultra-realistic "Mantis" and the ultimate Gashapon "My Handle" born of the Corona disaster! This month we bring you two of Bandai's best capsule toys! Wacky Kaiyama's latest Gacha exploration No. 46

Last spurt toward the end of the year! Hello, this is Wacky Kaiyama.

On November 2, 2020, Bunshun Online published an article titled "Why this? The article, "The Top 50 Mystery Gachas," was published by Bunshun Online on November 2, 2020, and a video was also made available on the official Bunshun Online channel on YouTube. The video was also shown on the official YouTube channel "Bunshun Online"! While we had a feeling that we might be slightly taken back by the extraordinary lineup, we passionately talked about the charms.

The response was positive, and we were relieved to hear that the event was over. Perhaps a sequel is in the works?

So, if you haven't seen it yet, please check it out.

I will also be writing an article in one of my favorite magazines, "Showa 50-nen Otoko," vol. 8, with "Cosmos," the hero of retro gacha. There are many "Showa Aru Aru" gachas in the magazine, so please be astonished by them as well.

The last regular installment of this year's "Latest Gacha Exploration" will be the Bandai Festival! However, we will introduce two totally different types of gachas.

When I think about the fact that the high quality insect gacha and the socially conscious gashapon that were created because of the Corona disaster are being developed at the same time, I am reminded once again that Bandai is still an amazing manufacturer.

Kamakiri: 5 types, Bandai: 500 yen

In recent years, Bandai has released a number of capsule-less realistic insect gashapon to our delight. This year again, wasps appeared in spring! And in early fall, stag beetles appear. And in late fall, the "giant praying mantis," the insect that I chased so hard when I was a child, will make its debut.

I had heard rumors that it was going to appear a long time ago, but due to the worldwide Corona disaster, its release was postponed. ...... However! I am very happy to finally be able to meet him.

Let's see what ...... is all about! The Insect King is 15 cm in length and 19 cm in width!

Large insect mantis (green type), normal type of abdomen

The "Ohkamakiri" is bagged in pieces for assembly, but it has a sharp gaze that seems to pierce through the bag that wraps the parts! The eyes glaring at you are very realistic and powerful! The mouth and the two antennae that extend out from the mouth are extremely realistic. When I see this, my spirit is shaken and I say to myself, "I'm going to build it! I can't wait to assemble it!

Assembly is complete! The elegant figure made me sigh deeply ....... The gimmick of opening the wings is wonderful. Normally, we don't reproduce this much. If you remove the wing parts, the figure can also be in normal form.

The back is formed with two parts. The capsule size is calculated to fit in the capsule, but the finished product is designed to be a big size. The sickle can be bent all the way to the tip, and the legs can also be bent in various ways, allowing you to recreate various poses, such as aiming at prey, raising the sickle in a lively pose, or crawling on the ground.

Isn't this passion for insects just amazing? You can't get a better price for this elaborate product.

By the way, this one has a flat abdomen (I am impressed by the well-researched coloring and modeling of the abdomen). It is said that this is the type when they are hungry.

Ookamakiri (green type) with exaggerated abdomen

What kind of mantis love is it to have the normal abdomen type and the exaggerated abdomen type appear separately? It is true that there are mantis with a flabby belly, aren't there?

Incidentally, the exaggerated abdomen is said to be swollen for various reasons, such as when the mantis is full, when a female is carrying eggs before winter, or when there are parasites in the abdomen.

Incidentally, in a green environment such as a forest, the mantis that inhabits the forest is often green. The reason for this is that mantis with body colors that stand out from the surrounding colors, such as brown, are more likely to be preyed upon, so the species with colors that blend in with the environment survive.

Ookamakiri (brown type), normal abdomen

This is why the brown praying mantis is often found in environments where there is a lot of soil around it. You may be thinking, "Hey, is that a branch? Is it a branch?" When I approached it, I found it at ....... "Oh, no! It's moving! You have experienced that, haven't you? Try to get even more excited with Gashapon's big scale.

A brown praying mantis with an exaggerated abdomen

The female praying mantis is considered to be very strong. Dawn! and her brown belly bulging out is worthy of being called the "Queen of Insects". The more you look at it in big scale, the stronger it is. Bravo!

Ookamakiri (color just after hatching)

Here is a rare secret item! The mantis in its immediately after-hatched form is said to be transparent like this. It is so beautifully formed that you can't help but admire it. It is said to molt and turn green or brown in the blink of an eye, and it is only because it is a capsule toy that you can keep looking at this figure!

This capsule toy is a faithful and delicate reproduction of the praying mantis, and is sure to be a hit with insect enthusiasts. The fact that it is a capsule-less product made me, a capsule toy researcher (?), salivate as well. I was also excited, though, as a capsule toy researcher.

What insects will be made into capsule toys this time? I'm already looking forward to it.

My Gashapon Handle - Bandai - 5 kinds - 200 yen

Finally ...... finally! The capsule itself has become a product! It is also a rare product that was born because of these times.

If you touch the handle touched by an unspecified person, you may be infected with a disease ....... I don't want to turn the handle of a gacha machine with my bare hands! This product is perfect for the needs of those of you who are frightened that you don't want to turn the handle of the mess machine with your bare hands.

That's right! It is "My Gashapon Handle!

There are two ways to use it. First, when you break the capsule, the capsule becomes My Handle, which you grip as if you were pinching the knob of the handle in the groove, or My Handle, which is shaped as if it were wrapped around the handle itself. Since it is semi-spherical, it doesn't puff up too much when you put it in your pocket, making it easy to carry around.

I'd like to do something naughty like putting a string through the four holes on the back of the sphere and hanging it like a necklace .......

There are five colors: clear red, clear blue, clear green, clear orange, and gold. The colorful colors are stylish.

The "GASHAPON" logo is engraved on the back of the capsule, which is also cool.

We hear that the capsule toy industry has had a tough year due to the Corona disaster. However, this idea of not just falling down and getting up by itself. It has been a long time since I have had such a painful feeling.

Besides Gashapon handles, I wonder if it could be used for turning a hard faucet, tightening bolts, chopstick rests, ladle rests ....... I wonder if it would be tough.

Anyway, this product, which appeared just before the end of the year, will inevitably become the biggest Gashapon of the year. We hope you will give it a try.

However, the problem is that you have to turn it with your bare hands first. ...... Let's not think too much about that!

Last but not least, please take care of "Showa Retro Gacha: The Most Powerful Collection" (Graphix-sha), which is still going strong. Please also subscribe to our official YouTube channel "Wacky Gacha Channel," which is updated daily!

In the next issue, we will announce our annual project "Gacha Grand Prize 2020". Please look forward to seeing what kind of capsule toys will be entered!

＜Wacky Kaiyama
Freelance TV personality and capsule toy collector (capsuleist)
He has been collecting GACHA-GACHA since he was 7 years old and has 100,000 pieces. He has published several books including "Showa Retro Gacha Gacha: The Most Powerful Collection" (Graphix, Inc.), "All About My Beloved Phony Gacha Gacha Cosmos", "The Wonderful World of Phony Gacha Gacha - Cosmos Forever", and "The Final Definitive Version: The True Story of Phony Gacha Gacha! The Truth of Phony Gachagacha - Cosmos, Its Love" (Futabasha), and "Nihon Kaishikashi Gachagacha Daizen" (Tatsumi Shuppan).
Videos of the latest gacha and retro "cosmos" gacha are shown daily on his official YouTube channel, "Wacky Kaiyama Gacha Channel!