Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the series! In this issue, we take a closer look at the origins of capsuleer Wacky Kaiyama's "Revived with Memories of Showa Era! The 8 most memorable GACHA-GACHA! Wacky Kaizan's latest gacha gacha exploration, Part 50

Thanks to all of you, this column has reached its 50th issue. I am so happy to be able to write so much about the world of capsule toys, which I love so much.

This time, I would like to write about an extra edition! Going back to my original intention, I would like to introduce 8 gacha-gacha (toy gadgets) that I have treasured and kept since I was in elementary school. I'm a kid, so I'm not the type to say, "I've messed up! items and other common items from that time period. I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm showing my own shameful side, but I'm going to go out on a limb and review them. Let's go to the Showa-era retro world at .......

1 Super Car Eraser (Jumbo) Cosmos, 1977, 20 yen prize

In the late 1970s, an unprecedented supercar boom was sweeping across Japan following the success of the comic book "Wolf of the Circuit. The thrill of being able to obtain the machine of one's dreams within one's allowance never ceased to thrill.

The "supercar eraser" was especially popular among elementary school students during this boom. Although called an eraser, it was a toy made of vinyl chloride and could not actually erase pencil characters.

The less-than-3-centimeter supercar erasers that came out of the gachacha gacha (a toy that comes out of the eaves of candy stores) were inexpensive and came in many varieties.

Incidentally, supercar erasers that really erase letters (if the letters don't disappear, it can't be called an "eraser" ......) were sold at stationery stores, but there I bought only "boxy" ballpoint pens. It's that thing where you press a click button and the butt part of the pen pops out.

At the elementary school I attended, supercar erasers were all the rage, especially among the boys. During recess, we would pop the eraser with the butt of the boxy and engage in car battles. The rules were varied and we had fun coming up with different ideas, such as if the eraser fell off the desk or tipped over, you lost, or if you reached the finish line the fastest, you won.

Each member of the team had their own ideas for tuning the car, such as sticking staples into the tires, smoothing the back of the car with cemedine, or sticking putty left over from making Gunpla models. If there were any complaints about the customization, some people would double the spring of the ballpoint pen to make it bounce harder, and so on.

The Lamborghini Iota shown in the photo was introduced in the midst of the supercar eraser boom. The size of this eraser is more than 10 times larger than the regular size. The system was that if you got a large piece of paper with "Jumbo Eraser" printed on it, you could exchange it at the store. I felt a sense of superiority when I got it, and the anticipation of "Now I can win the battle during recess! I went to school with a sense of excitement and anticipation!

At first, everyone was excited by the impact of the paper's presence! Soon after, they became a source of laughter because of the large tree of the udo, which did not move even a little no matter how hard we played it. The end result was a sad confiscation by the teacher.

In his frustration, he somehow ended up painting the windshield with magic marker to make smoked glasses.

No.2 Fly away! Sun Wukong eraser, Cosmos, 1977, 20 yen winning prize

The well-known puppet show "Fly, Son Goku" performed by The Drifters! Son Goku". This is the eraser.

Originally, the official version was sold at stationery stores, but it was available at a cheaper price! So, the boy went to a candy store.

If you look at the base paper calmly, you can tell that it is a pachimon, but "Hmmm? But it is usually only after spending a certain amount of allowance money that I notice something is different. The torso is crooked, the outline is blurred, or .......

Out of frustration, I launched another outburst! Inoha-kai's weapon is ripped off, Sun Wukong's mouth is painted black, and Sanzang Houshi's billowing lower lip is cruelly cut off. That is how a boy becomes an adult.

No.3 Mini BOOK and notebook, Cosmos Konno Sangyo, 1979, a 20-yen winning prize

In those days when printing technology was not as advanced as it is today, even if the printing was a little rough, the mini BOOK that came out of the capsule was divine~. Although there were a few bad parts, such as the "White Base" of "Mobile Suit Gundam" being painted in bright blue.

There were also "Hajimete Jiten" and "Guinness Book of Records" in this 2-centimeter mini BOOK, but the two books in the photo were the ones I treasured the most.

The quality of the paper was rather disappointing, and it was easily torn and rubbed ....... This is a testament to how they were handled at the time.

I drew an original cartoon on the mini notebook, which was printed only on the front and back covers of the picture book. Youthful indiscretion? Super embarrassing!

No.4 Bikkuri Waterworks, Cosmos, 1978, 20-yen winning prize

This is a retro Showa-era faucet.

I remember the indescribable atmosphere that flowed between the two of us when the lady at the candy store handed me just the faucet in exchange for the prize.

You can attach it anywhere with the suction cup at the back, but water does not come out even if you turn it. It's a surprise product. I thought to myself as a child that no one would fall for such a childish trick, and I stuck it on the side of the two-layer washing machine in the bathroom.

......A few minutes later, I heard a grandmother's voice saying, "Oh my God! I can't believe it!" said my grandmother. I remember laughing hysterically.

5 YouHomeyBar - Cosmos, 1978, 20-yen prize

The "Meeba" was a popular toy that was split in two with the slime. The gacha version of the "Meeber. It is still being developed by "Amiibar" even now. It is a clay toy that bounces and glows a little. The "UFO," which was very popular at the time, also glowed, so this was a flight of fancy!

It is a modeling that stirs up a sense of anticipation in the Adamski molding.

However, the capacity of the me-bar is extremely small! The only good thing I can say about it is that it spins well ....... If anything, this is a "you-ho-koma"! I was tweaking it.

And the next day, the meaver dried up to dryness and uselessness. I don't know how much pocket money I spent to win this one. ......

No.6 Pink Lady Pose Doll, Cosmos, 1978, a winning prize of 20 yen.

You never know what you will get in the gacha of those days. Among them, this one surprised me the most!

A scene from "Golden Yasha"? I thought it was a long time later, and when I was a child, I always thought it was a cursed statue of something I was not supposed to see. The lame that is kneaded into it is kind of creepy.

Eventually, I finally understood that this was the "Pink Lady". Does that lame mean that it is an image of a "star"?

If you look closely, you can see the engraving of "Carmen" on the back of the base.

I'm sure I'll miss it! It's part of the "Carmen '77" swing. It's not very nice to be put into a capsule without any explanation, and then just say, "Here you go!

No.7 "Bacteria Gundan," Imano Sangyo, 1978, 20 yen

This is a figure with a sucker that takes the unique personalities that are sure to be in your class and replaces them with the world of germs.

We had a good laugh putting these on our friends' faces. Nowadays, it would be a compliance problem, but back then there was no social networking service, so I installed it in my memory. It will always remain as a memory.

This "Bacteria Legion" was actually the first original gacha character to become a big hit. The popularity of the character was not limited to gacha, but was later published as a comic book.

Now, there are 42 types of "Baikoku Gundan" figures. Due to the unpredictable nature of the gacha, there were many duplicates. The occasional spray-painted figure would come out, which could be a fresh experience.

I was so happy that I even made an original mount when I got a full collection by repeatedly trading with friends!

My favorites are these three. I have always had a preference for the "dirty" type, with the fart fungus, athlete's foot fungus, and poop fungus in the center.

8 Character Stamp Cosmos, 1977, 20-yen winning prize.

Believe it or not, there were more Gacha products in the 1970s that were not listed on the base paper!

These are the stamps that were not listed on the base paper. These are stamps of characters from popular cartoons of the time, and they were winning prizes, but they came out one after another. But they kept popping up, not 10 or 20, so I couldn't help but say, "Stop it already! I wanted to say, "Stop it!

If a capsule with a non-transparent top and bottom appears, it's a sure thing! My allowance disappeared like hot water.

The joy I felt when I overcame this pain and got the gacha I was looking for was ....... It taught me that beyond the pain, there is true joy.

This time, as a return to my roots, I have included some items that are a bit too yanky to be included in my book. Now I feel refreshed and ready to face new capsule toys again.

The journey of gacha exploration continues at ....... See you next time in the "Latest Gacha Exploration" section of our regular business~.

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Wacky Kaiyama
Freelance TV personality and gacha-gacha collector and researcher (capsuleer)
He has been collecting GACHA-GACHA since he was 7 years old and owns 100,000 of them. He has published "Showa Retro Gacha Gacha: The Most Powerful Collection" (Graphix, Inc.), "All About My Inch Gacha Gacha Cosmos", "The Wonderful World of Inch Gacha Gacha - Cosmos Forever", and "The Final Definitive Version: The True Story of Inch 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!