Interview just before the order deadline! Commercialization of the legendary Chogokin toy more faithful to the images! Soul of Chogokin "GX-97 Super Planet Battle Giant Direon" Development Story

The special effects program "Giant Beast Searching Jaspion" aired in 1985. The giant robot Direon, which is the mother ship of the main character Jaspion and battles against Giant Beasts, will be commercialized as "GX-97 Super Planet Battle Giant Direon" in the BANDAI SPIRITS "Soul of Chogokin" series.

The "Giant Beast Special Searching Jaspion" began broadcasting as the fourth installment in Toei's "Metal Hero" series, which was based on the "Space Cop Gabin" series. In this series, battles with giant monsters called "Giant Beasts" were the highlight of each episode, and a great deal of emphasis was placed on the battle between the giant robot Direon, which Jaspion rides, and the Giant Beasts. The popularity of the series was not limited to Japan; it was also broadcast in Brazil in 1988, where it gained immense popularity.

Direon, the face of this work, will be commercialized as the Soul of Chogokin "GX-97 Super Planet Battle Giant Direon," scheduled to ship in October 2021.

We asked Mr. Sei Okazaki of the BANDAI SPIRITS Collectors Division, who planned this product, about the appeal of the "GX-97 Super Planetary Combat Giant DYREON.

If you have any doubts about purchasing this product, or if you learned about the commercialization of this product through this article, we hope that this article will help you consider purchasing this product.

The abundant use of die-cast metal gives the figure a more dignified appearance!

The "DX Chogokin DYREON" released at the time of the broadcast had a very high level of perfection, so how did they approach the same level of perfection for the new Soul of Chogokin? I would like to hear about the secret story behind its development.

Okazaki: This is a nearly final sample that just arrived from the factory yesterday. This is the image of the new package, and it pays homage to the package design of the "DX Chogokin" version from that time. It is housed in a vertical package in Titan mode, just like the items of that time. Please take it in your hands.

─ ─ When you hold it in your hand, ...... it is very heavy, isn't it?

Okazaki: It must be heavy. It's a bit smaller than the "DX Chogokin" version of the time, but that's because it matches the standard size of other "Soul of Chogokin" figures. The Leopardon released last year and the Battle Fever Robo released previously are about 17 cm in length, and although Dyereon is about a head taller than those, it's a size that allows it to be enjoyed side by side with other Toei special effects robots. And to be honest, using a lot of die-cast parts in this size (of the "DX Chogokin" version at the time of broadcast) would make it too heavy to play with, and also too expensive. Therefore, we have reduced the size to a size that fits comfortably as a Soul of Chogokin, while at the same time using a lot of die-cast parts to increase the level of satisfaction.

──You certainly feel a great sense of satisfaction when you hold it in your hand.

Okazaki: Except for the arms and head, almost the entire body is made of diecast. You can see the difference in size more clearly when you put it side by side with the original product, but please try weighing it. (While placing it on a scale)......The old Daileon weighs about 400 grams and the new Daileon about 470 grams.

─ ─ The "Soul of Chogokin" version is much heavier even though it is smaller. And since the whole body is die-cast, it feels very cool when you hold it. It's like a piece of metal.

Okazaki: Direon is a silver-colored robot with a stylish and simple design, so I thought the texture of die-cast would match well, so I used a lot of die-cast. The "DX Chogokin" version had plating on the thighs and upper arms, which I think was a distinctive feature of that version, so I wanted to bring that out as well. Also, as you may have noticed when we announced the overall proportions, the "DX Chogokin" version is basically based on a miniature (prop) from the movie, while the "Soul of Chogokin" version was created with the balance of the suit for action scenes in mind. For this reason, the head and fists are made larger. I think the characteristic of Direon was the way he would fight realistically against the giant beasts in his suit every time, although the transformation scene is a bank film of miniatures. I think that was the biggest attraction of the suit, so I designed it with the balance of the suit in mind to leave a lasting impression on the viewer. The fist is just barely large enough to be balanced while still allowing for deformation.

Comparison of old and new Direon. The left one is the "Soul of Chogokin" version, and the right one is the "DX Chogokin" version that was released at the time of the broadcast.

─ Basically, the Direons fought each other with their fists or with kicks, didn't they?

Okazaki: That's right. He was a robot without any hand-held weapons. The only time he fought with a sword was in the last episode.

─ ─ You gather children and create a golden sword. Of course, the golden sword was the first commercialized sword, wasn't it?

Okazaki: Yes, it is. It will be the only hand-held weapon.

───The movable joints are also excellent, just like the "Soul of Chogokin" version.

Okazaki: The "DX Soul of Chogokin" version also had a fair amount of movable joints, but of course this "Soul of Chogokin" version moves much more freely. The die-cast parts are used with great strength, so the figure is stable even when standing on one leg, and ball joints are used for the ankles, so there are many more movable parts.

─ ─ The clicking sound is very pleasant. is a pleasant clicking sound, isn't it?

Okazaki: Yes, it is. It is possible to reproduce the action in the movie, while bringing out the good qualities that only toys can have.

The level of perfection has been enhanced based on the legendary "DX Chogokin" version.

─ ─ In addition, what other areas did you pay particular attention to?

Okazaki: I had the "DX Chogokin" version at the time, and while the transformation of this DYREON was wonderful, the color of the bow was a disappointment. The rest of the model was a beautiful silver color, but the bow, which stands out the most, was molded in a gray color. At the time, this was the only thing that was disappointing, so this time, the bow is also die-cast, and the color is matched to the silver of the other parts of the hull.

Another special feature is the nozzle gimmick on the backs of the legs. The "DX Chogokin" version has a gimmick where the thighs slide down and retract into the legs, and the verniers on the tips of the thighs slide out through the soles of the feet. Therefore, Soul of Chogokin uses a gimmick in which the nozzle comes out in conjunction with the heel when the heel is raised during transformation.

─ ─ Oh, wow! You have the feel of the old product and the gimmick unique to the new product in the same place.

Okazaki: Yes. The other thing is the back. When the "DX Chogokin" version is in Titan mode, there is a gap in the back. Due to the structural problem of having both the bow of the spaceship and the robot's thighs stored in the body, there is inevitably a large space on the back. Therefore, we folded the parts that cover this gap inside to close the gap on the back when the robot is in Titan mode.

The "Soul of Soul of Chogokin" version has the hole in its back neatly covered.

Okazaki: In a sense, we were able to stick to this level of detail because of the legacy of our predecessors with their high degree of perfection. While following the gimmicks of the "DX Chogokin" version, we updated them with today's technology and planned to satisfy today's users. We were especially conscious of the need to realize the transformation from mothership mode to Titan mode while maintaining the proportions of the suit, and to expand the range of motion of the legs and arms. The legs of the "DX Chogokin" version could not be raised high in the front, so we have incorporated a joint mechanism that allows the dileon kick to be reproduced.

Also, this is a point where the "DX Chogokin" version has been taken advantage of, but in the old version, the landing gear also came out in conjunction with the mother ship when it transformed into the mother ship. This is fine, but it cannot be retracted.

If you watch the video, you can see DYREON flying in its mothership form, but at that time, the landing gear is retracted. So the "Soul of Chogokin" version can be recreated with both the landing gear out and the landing gear closed.

When in Titan mode, the landing gear can also be linked to the gimmick on the chest parts to prevent it from coming out.

─ ─ In addition, there are figures of the same scale super-planet tank Garvin, super-planet machine Iron Wolf, and Jaspion. There are also many nice extras, such as a figure of Jaspion.

Okazaki: I think that many of the "Soul of Chogokin" products are named after TV show titles, such as Mazinger Z from "Mazinger Z" or Gaiking from "Gaiking the Great Sky Demon Dragon. I wanted to make sure that the name of the product was not only the Direon from "Giant Beast Searching Jaspion" but also Jaspion himself, so I made sure to include the element of Direon standing alongside Jaspion.

Jaspion is a busy hero. When a life-sized enemy appears, he jumps out from the tip of the dileon with the Iron Wolf, and when a child is taken hostage while fighting a Giant Beast, he jumps out with the Garbine to save the child, leaving the dileon behind. I think "Kyoju Tokussho Jaspion" was a challenging film even for its time.

It was a show with a lot of service spirit, with life-size heroes fighting alongside larger-scale ones. In "Super Sentai," there is a format in which the defeated enemies become huge and fight again riding on robots, but in "Jaspion," the giant robot battle and the life-size battle were held side by side, so it was like how many elements were packed into a 30-minute program.

───And as each episode went on, the drama of the relationship with the enemy deepened. I am also pleased to see that these small items and the dileon itself have been painted in great detail.

Okazaki: We painted as much detail as possible.

─ By the way, how is the reaction of users to the "Soul of Chogokin" DYREON?

Okazaki: It seems that tokusatsu fans were surprised. Last year at "TAMASHII NATIONS 2020," we exhibited the DYREON and the electronic star beast DOLL for reference, but to be honest, there were not many people in our department who knew much about Jaspion at that time, and their reaction was, "Is this OK? I was not sure if it was safe or not. However, users responded well to Direon, saying, "It's a buzz," and "I didn't think the response would be this strong. We decided to commercialize the Direon product. We officially announced the commercialization and released a PV directed by Koichi Sakamoto, and the response to the PV was very positive.

─ ─ My personal impression is that the first Metal Hero series, the "Space Cop" trilogy, was particularly popular and naturally had many merchandising opportunities, but after that, I felt that the series was a bit overshadowed.

Okazaki: That's right. Some users asked us, "Why start with Jaspion? But, to put it another way, by daring to start with Jaspion, we were expressing our will to make Toei tokusatsu superalloys more popular. We wanted to take an unexpected step to achieve this.

─ ─ Direon is a unique robot that stands out from the robots in the "Metal Hero" series up to that point, so in that sense, I thought it would be an appropriate first commercialization of the "Metal Hero" series.

Okazaki: That's right. Certainly, the way the robot is depicted in the work is different from the robots in the previous "Metal Hero" series. In that sense, the fact that the mothership transforms into an action robot and that the entire body is made of silver-colored metal would fit the play value of the Soul of Chogokin, and I thought it would be a suitable robot to join the "Soul of Chogokin" lineup.

──Wouldn't there be many fans who would like to display this figure side by side with Satangorse?

Okazaki: That's right. We would like to make this happen, but it will depend on the results of the orders for the "GX97 Direon". We would appreciate the support of our fans.

On the left is a prototype Satangose for consideration. Depending on the results of the orders, there is a possibility of commercialization at ......?

The first step in the development of the tokusatsu robot genre

───Can you tell us about your own memories of "Jaspion"?

Okazaki: I was a college student at the time of the broadcast, but I watched the show with great interest. I went to a boys' high school and lived in a dormitory. When you live in a dormitory, you don't watch TV anymore, and since I was a high school student, I didn't watch any special effects programs.

At the time, there was a pro-wrestling boom, and a program called "World Pro Wrestling" was broadcast on Fridays at 20:00, with Itiro Furudate doing the play-by-play.

When I was in prep school, I started watching pro wrestling, and I also started watching "Space Detective Shariban," which was on the previous program, and from there I started watching the sequel "Shaider" and special effects such as "Dinaman" and "Bioman," which are both from the Sentai series. I had that kind of background, so I saw "Jaspion" and thought, "Direon, that's cool! I thought.

─ ─ The character of Jaspion was not a hero in the usual sense, but rather a friendly, easy-going neighborhood older brother, wasn't he?

Okazaki: I think they were trying to create a maverick vibe. Because of that opportunity, I was older than the children who watched the program in real time, but I enjoyed it as a viewer. It was a time when tokusatsu programs were gaining new appeal and excitement, and I think there were many fans who watched the "Space Cop" series and "Super Sentai" even after they were university or high school students. So the main users of "Soul of Chogokin" are at the core the 40s, the generation of children who liked to watch the series back then, and the 50s who watched the series as adults like me.

───Mr. Okazaki, what kind of robot would you like to make in the future?

Okazaki: Since we have done "Daileon," I think we need to focus on the "Space Cop" series, including the "GABAN" electronic star beast Dor, which we exhibited as a reference, and I would like to consider various ideas for the "Metal Hero" series. Next year will be the 40th anniversary of "GABAN," which means that the anniversary of the "Metal Hero" series will come every year from next year onward, so we would like to think about that.

───There are still robots in the "Metal Hero" series, so with the success of "Direon," I think we can expect more in the future.

Okazaki: Yes, that's right. In the "Metal Hero" series at this time, there is always some kind of transformable robot. Depending on the outcome of this year's event, we hope to develop the tokusatsu robot genre with "Soul of Chogokin.

Product Information

Soul of Chogokin GX-97 Super Planet Battle Giant Direon

Retail price: 18,700 yen (tax included, shipping and handling not included)

Delivery date: Scheduled to ship in October 2021

Pre-order end: 23:00, August 1, 2021 (Sun.)

<Created by

　 Giant Beast Special Search Jaspion

<Main product contents

　Direon main body

　One interchangeable left wrist and two interchangeable right wrists

　Golden sword

　Super Planet Chariot Garvin

　Super Planet Machine Iron Wolf

　Jaspion mini figure

　Display prop for spaceship form

＜Main product materials

　ABS, PVC, die-cast

<Product Size

　Battle Titan mode - approximately 185mm in height

　Battle mother ship mode - approximately 170mm in height

<Age Range

　15 years old and up

<Number of orders accepted

　Up to 12 per order

<Remarks

　Before purchasing: Please be sure to read this page.

　Actual product may differ slightly.

　*The coloring and other appearances of the products may vary slightly from each other.

　Product specifications and shipping dates are subject to change without notice.

　*Orders may be closed when the planned quantity is reached.

　　In the event of a large number of requests, we may accept the order again.

　*This product may be sold overseas.

　Please read the above in advance.

*Please check the product sales page for the latest information and details.

*Sales may be terminated when the number of products available has been reached.

*Sales may have ended by the time you access the page.

Product specifications are subject to change without notice.

The pictures shown are under development and may differ slightly from the actual product.

(C) Toei Co.