Interview with the Deadline for Reservations is just around the corner! The mass-produced Getter that played a major role in "Getter Robo Arc" is now available as a commercial product! We asked him about the appeal of the "Soul of Chogokin GX-98 Getter D2!

Getter Robo Arc" has been airing on TV since July. It has been 29 years since "Getter Robo No." aired from 1991 to 1992 as a TV anime, and "Getter Robo Arc" is the first new work in the "Getter Robo" series since "New Getter Robo" was released as an OVA in 2004.

The "Getter D (Day) 2" from "Getter Robo Arc" has been released as a Soul Web Store product under the "Soul of Chogokin" brand, and reservations are being accepted until September 20 at 23:00 (shipping scheduled for December). We asked Teisei Kimura of the BANDAI SPIRITS Collectors Division, who planned this product, about the appeal of the "Soul of Chogokin GX-98 Getter D2.

--First of all, please tell us why you decided to commercialize "Getter D2" as Soul of Chogokin.

Kimura: We were planning to release "Getter Robo No." as a Soul of Chogokin in September, so we decided to make 2021 the Getter year. I decided to add "Getter Robo Arc," which will be animated starting in July, to the lineup, so I took another look at the original work, which features many Getter Robots. On the contrary, I was surprised to see even more in the anime (laughs). (Laughs.) I had the Gettersaurus in mind as a candidate, but I decided to commercialize the Getter D2 first, since it was the first machine Takuma Nagare would ride.

--I think the fact that the Getter Ark and Getter D2 will be released in the same lineup at such short intervals is a unique feature of this project.

Kimura: I wanted them to stand side by side. They are suddenly seen together in the movie. Also, Getter D2 would later appear as part of the Arc Legion, so we decided to commercialize it.

Also, the Getter D2 is a mass-produced version of the Getter Dragon. Getter Dragon (the "True (Change!) Getter Robo" version) has been commercialized as "Soul of Chogokin GX-51," and we thought it would be interesting to trace that setting with the Soul of Chogokin product as a mechanism.

--So you are saying that the lineage of mechanic development overlaps with the lineage of product development.

Kimura That's right. I thought it would be a reasonable way to set up the product. At first, I had the idea of using parts of the GX-51 that could be adapted from the GX-51, but even if I had tried, there were surprisingly many parts that couldn't be used. So, we compared the GX-51 with the GX-51 and thought about how we could upgrade the product.

--Now I would like to ask you about the appeal points of the product. First of all, what did you pay attention to in terms of modeling?

Kimura: There was no particular hesitation in modeling. After all, the areas of evolution are clear. The head is particularly impressive. It was originally designed to be a hero robot, and it has a very good point. The shoulders are voluminous, the face is strong, and the chest is simple but cool. In terms of modeling, it was not that difficult, but it all came together very nicely.

--The thinness, the flexing, and the sharpness of the getter wing really stand out in 3D.

Kimura: It may look that way, but the getter wing is surprisingly thick. However, we created the curved surface so that it does not look that way. The factory polished the molds a lot, so even though they are made of plastic, they are very shiny, and the information on the curved surfaces has been greatly improved. I think this helped to give the figure a biological feel.

--Next is the mobility. The Getter Dragon, on which the GX-51 was based, moved quite a bit, so the full body mobility of the GX-51 is also quite impressive.

Kimura: The GX-51 has a gimmick where you can pull out the hip joints to extend the movement of the left and right thighs. When the figure is posed in action poses, the retracted hip joints become almost unnoticeable. This is a good system, so we used it as is. The gimmick of bending the knees so that the joints fold inward is also based on the gimmick of the GX-51.

--The elbows can be bent more than 90 degrees, and the ankles can also move freely.

Kimura: The ankles are also retractable. So you can move it a lot more than it looks. Of course, since this is a Soul of Chogokin, we used a lot of die-cast parts, so I think the weight of the figure when you hold it is one of its charms.

--Two getter tomahawks and a large grenade launcher are included as weapons.

Kimura: I felt that the large grenade launcher should be included because it is a weapon that has never been used by the getter before. The getter tomahawk is a common weapon in the past, so I thought it should be included. But with a firearm, there are fewer chances to put it on, so I did my best to put it on. However, it is a weapon that is held in a slightly special way, so we made special wrist parts for it.

--Is that because you wanted the weapon to be held in a way that matches the image?

Kimura That's right. With a regular Soul of Chogokin product, we would pick up the parts from the footage after it aired, but this time the video production was going on at the same time, so we had to subtract and improve on the prototype that we had at the time of last year's Soul Nation. Therefore, we had to adjust the shape of the getter tomahawk and the color of the backpack to match the finished product, which caused a lot of inconvenience to our staff. I am glad that we managed to bring it to a state where customers could view it just before the reservation deadline.

--I see that the getter wings are also in a composite state with the stowed version.

Kimura It is a replacement, but we thought it would be better to have both. Also, as for optional parts, a special pedestal is included. The legs are made to be one size larger, so we made an additional footprint to cover them.

--Kimura: The main character robot, Getter Ark, will be released in November.

Kimura: I would like people to feel the difference between the two differently designed robots, from the cylindrical body of the D2 to the newest and final robot form, the Ark.

--It's great that you can experience the lineup of three different Getter robots in a three-dimensional form.

Kimura That's right. It's been three years since we started the "Getter Robo" series in 2021, and in that sense, this year has been a great year for us. When you look at the "Getter Robo" series as a whole, I think it is amazing that the series has had various entrances, such as TV anime, OVA, and manga, and has come to this point. Nowadays, you can watch almost all of them.

--In that sense, Chogokin also existed from the very first works. That is why it is still continuing as a lineage.

Kimura That's right. There are not that many robot animation series that continue even after the main character is changed. Even "Mazinger Z" has a strong image of Kouji Kabuto. In that sense, "Getter Robot" is a rich work, including the users who support it. The "Soul of Chogokin GX-100 Project" also serves as this Getter Festival, so GX-96, 98, and 99 are Getter Robots. We hope that collectors will enjoy the various Getter models, keeping in mind their GX numbers.

--What are your plans for the Soul of Chogokin Getter Robo series in the future?

Kimura: For now, I would just say that you should look forward to the Soul Nation in November. At last year's Soul Nation, I made a timeline of the Getter Robo series and laid out the products, but when I looked at it this way, I realized that there are items that are air pockets and have not been developed yet.

For example, there are some works that we haven't done yet, such as "Shin Getter Robo vs. Neo Getter Robo. I think there is still room to plan another Getter as Soul of Chogokin. There are quite a few in the "arc" alone, and I think there could be more surprises in store for the final installment.

Watching "Arc," I feel as if all the possibilities of the work "Getter Robo" are being unleashed once again right now. It's not too late to start watching it, since it is available for distribution, so I encourage everyone to do so.

--It's not too late, so I hope everyone will take a look at it.

Kimura That's right. I hope that not only the products but also "Arc" will lead to the next work.

(Interview and text by Koji Igarashi (TARKUS))

Product Information

Soul of Chogokin GX-98 Getter D2

Retail price: 15,400 yen (tax included, shipping and handling not included)

Delivery date: Scheduled to ship in December 2021

Pre-order end: 23:00, September 21, 2021 (Monday)

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