From a motorcycle to a humanoid! How was the original robot "Cyclion <TYPE Lavender>" born? A special dialogue between voice actors Yuuki Tai and Hiro Tanaka (Good Smile Company)!

Good Smile Company's first original transformable robot figure "Cyclion <TYPE Lavender>" is now on sale.

This product is an original figure that can completely transform from a motorcycle-type two-wheeled form to a female robot form without any replacements. Based on a garage kit by ZOUKEI-TAMASHII of Basil, which was the original idea of Good Smile Company's "Mecha Smile" general producer Hiro Tanaka, Tsuyoshi Nonaka was in charge of the mechanical design.

It is quite an amazing item with a calculated transformation gimmick and unbroken proportions in each form.

Akiba Research Institute has already published a review of the product by Taiyuki, a voice actor who loves robots and hobbies, and now we interviewed Hiro Tanaka, the general producer of the product! We asked Taiyuki to tell us how he came up with the development and his passion for transformable robots.

Please also see this article!

⇒[ Present for 2 winners by lottery! Transforms from a motorcycle to a female robot without replacement! In-depth review of Good Smile Company's first original robot "Cyclion <TYPE Lavender>"! The 7th installment of Yasuyuki's Toys and Games!

Commercialization of a 10-year dream!

Tai: This is almost the first original robot character item for Good Smile Company, isn't it? Motorcycle transforming robots have been around for a long time, but they tend to be rather lumpy, whereas "Cyclion" transforms from a slender motorcycle into a slender humanoid form. And it looks so simple that it is hard to tell how it is transformed at first glance.

Tanaka That's right. When you look at it from the front, you just can't see the silhouette of the tires. You may wonder if this can really be a motorcycle.

Tai Moreover, it is ...... with no replacement and no restrictions on movement. Can you tell us how you came to develop this item?

Tanaka About 10 years ago, I came across a garage kit called "Lady Roses" by "Basil's Zoukei Soul," and when I first saw the photo, I was shocked to the point of saying, "Does this really transform? When I first saw the photos, I was shocked to the point of saying, "Does this really transform? When I actually held it in my hands, I realized that the deformation and mobility had been very well thought out. However, since it was a garage kit, it was delicate to handle, so I wanted to make something that could be played with vigorously someday. That's why it took me 10 years to commercialize it.

Tai: With garage kits, the number of people who can handle them is inevitably limited, so you wanted to bring this item to a wide audience in some way.

Tanaka That's right. I had long wanted to see with my own eyes how much fun it would be to play with this item as a toy, or if it could be molded into a mass-produced product. When the opportunity arose, I asked Basil if I could actually commercialize it, and with the help of Tsuyoshi Nonaka, he designed it in a way that made it more cohesive as a toy-like product.

Tai: Many bike robots are female-typed, but Cyclion has a taller head, which gives it a more feminine appearance. Did you follow the original design to keep the head in this height?

Tanaka The head height of Lady Roses was originally high, but with the recent trend, I thought it would be better to have a lower head height to make her look cuter. I tried several times. But it just didn't work out. In the end, I came to the conclusion that Lady Roses is only possible with this head height, and after much trial and error, I decided to keep the same height.

Tai: In my mind, a woman with a motorcycle is like Fujiko Mine from "Lupin the Third.

Tanaka A-ha-ha. I have also talked with Basil-san about the image of an adult woman when it comes to motorcycles. I heard that the image of a female robot was based on the illustrations by Motoi Sorayama and Takeichi Terasawa. I had worked with Mr. Nonaka on the "Mazinger Angel" alloy lady robot product in the past, and I knew that he was the only person who could create a toy design that would bring out the best in the original kit! That's why we asked him to do it.

From a garage kit to a mass-produced product

As soon as you arrive, may I see the transformation?

(Mr. Tanaka transforms it.)

Yasushi: Wow! That's amazing! Looking at the deformation process, you can see that the range of motion is extended thanks to the deformation gimmick.

Tanaka That's part of it. The last part is to fix it with magnets.

Tai So it's not a pin! Beautiful!

Tanaka There is functional beauty in the way the thighs become the exhaust and its internal frame becomes the shaft. ...... This simple transformation makes it a motorcycle.

Tai You didn't replace any parts at all. I also used all the joints from the robot without wasting any of them.

──It is wonderful how you incorporated the feminine body line directly into the curves of the bike. It's also amazing that the waist is used as the seat.

Tanaka The design is completely lean, and you get the feeling that "this is where it will fit when it transforms. In robot form, it looks as if it could really be a motorcycle.

Tai: When it transforms, the painted logo is in the correct position. Before the transformation, I couldn't picture it at all, but when I saw the actual transformation pattern, it wasn't difficult at all. The head is not completely hidden, but the fact that it is not clear where it has been moved to speaks to the degree of perfection of the transformable robot.

Tanaka That is a great sense of deformation. It is simple and beautiful without being complicated. Most deformable robots are a combination of straight lines, but I think the wonder of this robot is that it is a combination of curved lines. It is not a gauze deformation.

Tai: It is wonderful that the hair part is used so well to create a tank.

─ What were the points you focused on or added when commercializing the figure from Lady Roses?

Tanaka: First of all, it is the production of the sense of materiality. Since this is an original character, we wanted it to be attractive as an object, so we focused on clear and plated parts. The shaft is made of stainless steel and machined. Also, the range of motion was made narrower than that of Lady Roses.

Tai: With this?

Tanaka: Yes. That's the reason for the omission of the lateral rotation of the legs. This mechanism makes it easier for the parts to come off, so we dared to eliminate it and specialize in a direction that allows for a comfortable deformation.

Also, Lady Roses was originally designed to fit 1/18 scale figures, but we have lengthened the wheelbase so that 1/12 scale figures can fit on it. Mr. Nonaka's design arrangement was based on the idea that it would be better if 1/12 scale figures could ride on it. For Lady Roses, the handle is a little further back, so that a smaller figure can ride on it. I didn't care that much about it myself, but this is Nonaka-san's passion for mass-production. The size of the robot form has not changed.

Tai: You used a lot of painted parts and clear parts, making it quite luxurious. I guess you must be very enthusiastic about this item because it is the first original item, but at the same time, the price is very modest. Is this a result of corporate efforts?

Tanaka Ha ha ha ha (laughs). (laugh) I am not sure if these specifications will be okay, but the fact is that we have to sell a lot of them (wry smile), but in terms of corporate efforts, it is not only us, but also the factory that we work with.

─ ─ When I first saw it, I had the impression that it would cost several tens of thousands of yen, so I was surprised at the pricing.

Tanaka I think that the original character is worth that much, but it is an original character, isn't it? If there was an original work, I think a certain price would be acceptable because of the emotional attachment to the original work, but since this is an original product, the true appeal of the product cannot be conveyed unless people buy it first and get to know its qualities. That is why we have made the product available at a price of less than 10,000 yen.

We wanted to make this a mass-produced product that many people would be able to afford, so we couldn't afford to raise the price too high. If that were the case, only a limited number of people would be able to enjoy it.

Tai: Do you have a worldview?

Tanaka We have not shown much, but the scenario writer, Ayumi Hosaka, has created a very detailed worldview for us. We have included about a few percent of the information in the manual. However, that is just one example of the worldview, and we want the player to imagine various things.

We may eventually show it to you, but we are going to leave it at this level to allow for a degree of freedom.

Tai: I imagine that there are other machines of the same type in the "Cyclion" world, and that there may be multiple variations.

Tanaka That is my assumption as well. At the planning stage, a different type from the Lavender was also designed. The "TYPE Lavender" is a type that specializes in melee combat and covert action, but I imagined that there might be a character who carries a heavy weapon.

Tai Did you have other ideas for the coloring besides purple?

Tanaka Yes, I did. I thought it might be red since the original was Lady Roses, but Mr. Nonaka came up with this coloring first. We had other candidate colors made, but this was the first color that felt right. We also named it Lavender after this color.

I want to enliven the transforming/combining robot scene with new mecha!

───Did you have your own feelings about transformable motorcycle robots?

Tanaka: If I trace the roots of my character of the motorcycle-turned-robot, I guess it goes all the way back to "Denjin Zaborgar". Basil-san also made a garage kit of Zaborgar, so I guess that's where the character originated.

─ ─ The fact that the waist part of the cyclion becomes a seat also has a Zaborgar feel to it. Would you like to enhance the lineup of original mecha from Good Smile Company in the future?

Tanaka: I would like to increase the number of new mecha toys rather than increase the number of originals. New mecha can be original, or they can be based on anime, games, or other original works. There are not many mecha toys nowadays, so it would be better to have a large lineup of both transformable and combined robots to give the impression that something is being created, or that this area of mecha toys is gaining momentum. I think there should be a variety of ways to do this, whether it is through media coverage or through products.

Tai: Recently, many model makers have been working hard to create original mechanisms. I want to support them, too. I fantasize about the kind of robot I would like to have, and I think of gimmicks for combining robots. Taiyuki came up with the name "Dai Titan" (laughs). I think she was also born while various people were thinking about the same thing like that.

So I hope that the world of "Cyclion" will continue to expand.

─ ─ First of all, I would like users to take it in their hands and feel the appeal of a motorcycle-type robot.

Tanaka That's right. I think that transformable robots have always had a nice feeling when they make sense. This is especially true of 1980s robots, but I think there is a puzzle-like, intellectual pleasure in seeing how this part and that part fit together. Popy's "God Sigma" and Takatoku's "VF-1 Valkyrie" have a geometric feel to them, don't they? The head fits here! or the thighs open up and change like this! This Cyclion is filled with the primitive feeling of a transforming robot.

───How is the response from users?

Tanaka: I feel that the number of fans is slowly increasing. It's not like people think, "Oh, that character is great because he's not a major character! but rather, "That deformation is amazing! I feel that the fans are accepting it by word-of-mouth.

Tai: It seems like you are trying to spread the concept over a long period of time. First of all, you want people to know about it.

Tanaka As I mentioned earlier, I think "Cyclion" has the basic fun of a transformable robot. We are particular about the feel, material, and weight of the robot when you pick it up. The feel is important, isn't it? And the geometrical interest. The basic idea of a deformable robot is to have the before and after images be consistent and pleasing to the eye, and that is what we are trying to achieve again.

One of the new features unique to the 2020s is the use of curved surfaces. Instead of an inorganic mecha, the curved female form makes it easier for the viewer to imagine the story, and to empathize with the robot's emotions.

Product Information

Cyclion ＜TYPE Lavender

On sale now

Price: 8,900 yen (including tax)

Specifications: Painted zinc alloy and ABS deformation figure

Height: approx. 165mm