Five capsule toys representing the capsule toy market's major breakthrough in 2021! The Capsule Toy Award 2021 is presented at the end of the year! Wacky Kaiyama's Latest Gacha Exploration No. 59

Wacky Kaizan, a capsule toy collector and researcher, will present the "Capsule Toy Award" again this year, selecting the most memorable capsule toys of the year based on his own prejudice! This is the fifth year for this memorable event!

Before we begin, let's start with a summary of this year's awards!

Personally, my YouTube channel "Wacky Gacha Channel" has over 1,000 subscribers, and as a gacha youtuber, I was finally able to get off to a good start this year, introducing retro Showa and Heisei items from my 100,000-piece collection, as well as introducing some of the more endangered Showa items. If you haven't seen it yet, please check it out! If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to subscribe to our channel!

As for the capsule toy industry, it was a year of rapid growth in market sales, even with the Corona disaster. In addition, earth-friendly bio capsules and capsules made of paper were introduced. Unexpected capsule toys such as "Travel Gacha" and "Hotel Gacha," in which the destination and lodging are left up to the gacha, also attracted attention.

The term "parent gacha" also came into the limelight, and capsule toys became more and more popular in various fields.

We are pleased to present our annual top picks for 2021!

From the approximately 42,000 capsule toys of about 3,600 titles released between December 2020 and November 2021, we will announce the "Nice Fancy Award", "Nice Gimmick Award", "Nice Topic Award", "Nice Impact Award", and "Best MVC (Most Valuable Capsuletoy) Award" will be announced in a big way!

Please enjoy the awards along with comments from the makers!

Nice Fancy Award
Hazama Inu 3" Qualia 300 yen, released in February 2021

Qualia" is well known for its cute animal models, such as "Cat Pen Okki" released last year. This year, "Qualia" will release color variations and a derivative gacha "Animal pen-oki". In addition, the company's activities beyond gachagacha, such as collaboration projects with companies and loose YouTube distribution, have been the talk of the town.

From Qualia, "Pinching Dog 3" won the Nice Fancy Award.

The surrealistic appearance of the dog caught between various objects, and of course, the flab around the dog's neck that suggests that the dog was forced to get caught. The dog's expression of "I got him" is also a perfect example of the quality of the product.

The lineup includes a "floating ring", a "Japonica", a "Hazama Study Book", a "crater of Mt. Fuji", a "Mouth of Truth", a "hot dog", and an "Ukiyoe". Why are you so pinpointed? I feel like giving a "tsukkomi" to them.

In particular, there is a dog with a pitiful expression on his face sandwiched between "Ukiyoe" and "Edo Hyoue"! I wonder what kind of reaction a foreigner who loves Japan will have when he or she holds it in his or her hand. I would like to see their reactions. For this reason, I hope that the world will calm down soon so that people can travel overseas with ease.

The key chain can be used in daily life, and it will naturally bring a smile to your face when you look at it. This is why we have decided to award it the Fancy Grand Prize of the Year.

<Manufacturer's comment

Thank you very much for this honorable award. We will definitely aim for the grand prize next year and strive to make more products! Thank you very much for your kind attention.

Nice Gimmick Award
Miniature Roulette Omikuji Machine" Bandai, 400 yen, on sale in May 2021

The "Roulette fortune-telling machine" was sold out as soon as it went on sale due to the Showa-retro boom. The atmosphere alone is passable, but the gimmick is also amazing!

Insert a plastic coin into the coin slot and pull the lever. Then the roulette starts spinning. You will be surprised at how it behaves just like the real thing.

And the "omikuji," which is the most important part of the game, is also authentic! It is rolled up like a scroll and comes out. The fortune comes in three colors: red, yellow, and blue, and there are a total of three types of printed content. The paper is filled with authentic fortunes.

The capsule toy-size reduced omikuji can be stored securely inside the omikuji container, which, even after all this time, still amazes me at Bandai's technological prowess.

The basic color, blue, is nice, but personally, the red one brings tears to my eyes. The secret original color is nice because it gives a sense of the future of the omikuji container.

We give the nice gimmick award to a dreamy machine that you can try again and again, soaking up the memories of a nostalgic coffee shop!

<Manufacturer's comments

Thank you very much for selecting our machine for the "Nice Gimmick Award!

It was very difficult to incorporate the "roulette-type omikuji machine," in which pulling the lever rotates the roulette on the top surface and simultaneously ejects the omikuji, into the capsule specifications.

With the cooperation of Kitatama Seisakusho, we were able to reproduce the colors and constellations as if they were the real thing!

With the recent "Showa-retro" and "nostalgia boom," we are very happy that so many customers have been pleased with the product.

We are planning to develop more interesting products in the future, so please look forward to them!

Nice Topic Award
Yoshinoya Miniature Collection" Ken Elephant, 500 yen, on sale in September 2021

It is no exaggeration to say that Yoshinoya's beef bowl is now a national dish.

When the handle is turned, an orange sphere, Yoshinoya's image color, is ejected. The excitement is already at its peak with this surprise sphere-like presentation, the contents of which cannot be seen from the outside! What comes out with a crackling sound?

First, the standard beef bowl set! The expressiveness of the raw egg white is very realistic.

The grilled fish set meal can be combined with other items to create an original set meal that you can't find in stores!

The take-out set, which has been in high demand due to the Corona disaster, features a lid that can be removed as well as the head of the beef bowl.

The "Ouchi-Yoshinoya" set features a faithful reproduction of the retort package and beautifully sculpted kimchi.

If you are lucky, you can get a Yoshinoya original teacup filled with tea as a lucky item! and a lot of fun.

The most noteworthy items are the cold sake and ginger! The sake poured into the glass is good, but I was also impressed by the ginger that comes in the box and can be placed between tongs on top of the beef bowl! This is more than a commitment; I can't help but feel a real passion for craftsmanship. It made my eyes light up.

The price is higher than the actual beef bowl," was one of the topics of conversation, but once you hold it in your hand, you will be convinced of the quality of the product. It's no wonder it's a hit on social networking sites. It's an unquestionable hot topic award.

＜Comment from the manufacturer

Thank you very much for selecting our product for the "Nice Topic Award!

We were again surprised at the popularity of Yoshinoya's work, as we received a lot of positive feedback at both the announcement and the release of the product.

This product is the result of our planning and development department's persistence, including the reproduction of the rice bowl design, which was difficult to adjust the data for printing, as well as the theme of each set.

The "take-out set" includes parts such as "ginger," "shichimi," and "waribashi (chopsticks)," and we did not compromise on any of the small parts, so please take a look at the level of reproduction that was done to make the product as lifelike as possible.

We understand that many stores are currently sold out, but the Yoshinoya Miniature Collection will be re-released in March 2022 due to popular demand.

We hope you will look forward to seeing the "Yoshinoya Miniature Collection" again in the capsule toy section when warm spring comes.

Nice Impact Award
The Feel of an Electric Shaver" Turin International, 300 yen, on sale in February 2021

When I was a child, I longed for things I could do when I grew up. Cigarettes, driving a car, pachinko, and countless others. Capsule toys have long given children items that make such childishly impossible things possible. The "electric shaver" is one such item. I want to do it just like my dad does! I used to get so mad at him when he would tinker with it without my permission.

Many years later, a capsule toy that lets you play with the "electric shaver" has appeared. That alone is a shock. The fact that the gimmick is a dial is also nice.

Just turning the dial does not make anything happen. If you then press the head against your chin (it doesn't have to be your chin, but ......), it makes a sound. A jiggle. Of course, it doesn't really shave your beard. It just makes a jiggle sound. ......

Strangely enough, this "feel of an electric shaver" is very popular at Yose (a Japanese comedy theater). People who understand this funny thing can understand it. I am awarded the Nice Impact Award for such a sales time.

Congratulations!

<Manufacturer's comments

That shaver that I was not allowed to touch when I was a child! I started using it myself as an adult, and I realized that it had changed its shape.

Would you be nostalgic if I tried to recreate the shaver of that time?

I released this product with that thought in mind. I would be happy if users enjoy it.

M.V.C. (Most Valuable Capsuletoy) Award 2021
Iwayado Chest of Drawers Miniature Figure" J. Dream ¥500 Released in November 2021

Neighboring Miyagi Prefecture where I live. Furthermore, it is my mother's hometown, where I have fond memories of Gacha from my childhood. The miniature figure is a chest of drawers made by Iwatani-Do, a long-established company whose production base is in Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture, the hometown of Shohei Otani, who has been very active this year. My mother's family had a real one at home.

This long-established company has been making tansu (chests) since the days of the Oshu Fujiwara clan's prosperity. The unique coloring and black iron fittings are perfectly reproduced in miniature.

It is very satisfying just to display it, but if you look at the back side, you will see multiple holes! This is an element not found on real chests. There is an instruction to "press it with a pin". So, if you slowly push the pin into these holes, ......, the drawer will open!

This was thoughtful, wasn't it? Miniature chests must be made with precision in order to open properly, so I was surprised at the high precision of the drawer. The fact that the drawer can also hold things makes it a practical, dual-purpose product in the capsule toy industry!

J-Dream has made us think that everything we can see can be made into miniatures! Thank you again for all the excitement. We have spent a lot of our allowance. Congratulations on your unqualified first MVC award.

<Manufacturer's Comments

Thank you very much for the Grand Prize! This project began with the idea of creating miniature-sized capsule toys of traditional Japanese crafts. We have reproduced in detail the metal fittings that are characteristic of the Iwayado tansu, and created drawers, doors, and wheels that can actually be moved and enjoyed.

We will continue to release various gimmicks and types of miniature products in the future.

What did you think? This year, we were particularly worried about the future of capsule toys. Because the evolution of capsule toys has been tremendous!

Thank you again to all the manufacturers for their cooperation.

I wonder what will happen next year? I can't stop being excited already!

We are already starting to turn the wheel for next year's award selections, and we look forward to working with you again in 2022!

<Profile

Wacky Kaiyama
Freelance TV personality, 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 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!