The 30th anniversary of "The Magic King Granzort"! Interview on the development of "Variable Action Hi-SPEC Super Granzort", the ultimate transformable toy that turns my heart into magic!

Doma kisa lamoon!" and my life will glow with magic!

MegaHouse is releasing the ultimate toy of Super Granzort, the main character of the legendary robot anime "King Granzort of Magic". The name of the toy is "Variable Action Hi-SPEC Super Granzort"!

This is a big scale item that is 130% larger than the previous "Granzort" in the "Variable Action" series, and it is a big and powerful figure that transforms completely from face mode to battle mode, has both eyes glowing, and comes with hand parts with detailed expressions, making it the ultimate "Super Granzort" toy! The figure is of the highest quality in the history of the "Variable Action Granzort Series". The figure also comes with a magical pedestal that emits five different colors and features newly recorded lines by Shinya Otaki, who plays the role of Super Granzort, as well as SEs from the movie!

Akiba Research Institute interviewed Riko Fujiki of MegaHouse, Inc. who planned the ultimate "Super Granzort," which is exactly what we wanted. She talked about the points of particular interest in this product and the story behind its development.

Actually, "Granzort" was my first experience with robot animation.

--I would like to talk to Ms. Fujiki, who was in charge of "Granzort," but from a generational standpoint, you probably didn't watch it when it aired, did you?

Fujiki: Yes, I did. Actually, I was about the same age as "The King of Magic Granzort" and "Neon Genesis GPX Cyber Formula" in terms of Sunrise's works. ......

--Could you tell us how you came to work on this product?

Fujiki: I took over the Variable Action Series from my predecessor, and "VA Hi-SPEC Super Asrada 01" was the first product I worked on. Last year marked the 10th anniversary of Variable Action and the 30th anniversary of Granzort, so we decided to release Super Granzort as a commemorative project.

--Mr. Fujiki, have you always been a fan of robot and mecha anime?

Fujiki: Actually, I wasn't very familiar with them, but after I started working on Variable Action, I started watching a lot of anime. I've already watched it many, many times on the ...... train, at work, and at home. First of all, I wanted to get used to the atmosphere of that era.

--I got the impression that "Granzort" had a lot of female fans back then, but what were your impressions after actually watching it?

Fujiki: I was not familiar with robot animation, so I honestly had the image of "Gundam" when it came to robots. In that context, when I saw "Granzort" for the first time, I had a strong impression of Daichi and the other characters. My favorite one is Grigori, though. I felt it was easy for me to get into this work because it was a robot with such cute characters.

--So, was this your first experience with robot animation?

Fujiki: Yes.

--And then you got to work on this big guy .......

Fujiki Yes, that's right! Before that, I actually worked on a Variable Action product last year, a metallic version of Super Granzort, Super Aquabeat, and Super Windsor, which included a Gri-Gri-chan figure as a bonus.

--Was that something you wanted to do?

Fujiki: That's right (laughs).

--(Laughs.) And now we come to the Super Granzote. Was that a decision based on the response to the previous metallic version?

Fujiki That's right. Of course, the decision was based on the response, but also because 2019 is the 30th anniversary of the anime broadcast, and the "Neon Genesis GPX Cyber Formula" VA Hi-SPEC Super Asrada 01 that we released last year was very popular. Both "Cyber Formula" and "Granzort" are very popular not only in Japan but also in other countries, especially in Asia, where people around 30 years old used to run home from school to watch "Granzort" when they were still children. This is the reason why MegaHouse was able to release Super Granzort this time.

--Did you do any research on "Granzort" fans?

Fujiki: I actually traveled to events held in Asia several times and asked the hot fans at the events, "What do you think of this kind of product? I also interviewed store staff and fans. We wanted to make sure that the production side and the customers were heading in the same direction as much as possible.

Many particulars that only "Hi-SPEC" can offer

--I see. First of all, I was surprised at the large size of "Super Granzort," and at the same time, it is quite heavy, isn't it?

Fujiki: It is quite heavy. It is made of die-cast metal, so I am sure that everyone will be able to feel its weight.

--The joints click nicely, and the range of motion is much wider than I expected.

Fujiki: That's right. Compared to the previous Variable Action models, the range of motion has been increased. In addition, the hand parts used to be PVC parts that were not movable, but this time, in addition, hand parts with movable fingers are included. All five fingers are movable. This allows for more expressive hand expressions.

--Oh, wow! Wow! So detailed!

Fujiki: The PVC nonmovable hand parts also come with a standard sword handle, a hand that can hold the sword right next to it, and a hand for special moves. The special move hand parts in particular were not included in previous Variable Action figures, so we wanted to be sure to include them. In fact, we have received such comments from our customers, and in fact, when I saw the anime, I thought, "This must be included," so it was one of the parts that I included.

--That's a lot of care!

Fujiki: In addition, this time, the most recommended item, the magic circle pedestal, is also included. It is truly a set of two items. The magic circle glows in three different patterns, each of which emits light in five different colors. White when the magic circle appears, red, blue, and green, inspired by Granzort, Aquabeat, and Winzert. There is yellow, which is also impressive in the production. This is also meant to allow those who have already bought the Variable Action to play with it on the magic circle pedestal. In fact, the pattern of the magic circle is different for Granzort, Aquabeat, and Winzert, so some people may feel a little uncomfortable. ...... would be happy if you can play with it.

The stand parts for the magic circle pedestal are also included. The scene in the movie where Super Granzote is summoned with the magic circle in the background is very impressive. I wanted to recreate that scene, so the stand parts allow the figure to be placed on the back of the pedestal.

--One of the selling points of this product is that you can reproduce the complete transformation without any replacement parts.

Fujiki: Yes, that's right. We were particular about the fact that it is a Hi-SPEC model, so it can be fully transformed without replacement. We managed to achieve this with the previous "VA Hi-SPEC Super Asrada 01," and we focused on it again this time. In terms of complete transformation, it was not as difficult as last time, but we were careful about the sense of balance when the figure was in face mode. It had to look cool in face mode, and it had to look cool in battle mode.

Also, since the figure is a size or two larger than the Variable Action, we have added a lot of detail. The stone on her chest and other details that were not included in the actual setting were added in consultation with Sunrise, the copyright holder, to the extent that the original appeal of the setting would not be lost.

--Fujiki: Was there anything else that was difficult to do because of the larger size of the figure?

Fujiki: The most difficult part was the light emitted from her eyes. Even though the size of the figure was increased, the head is still small, so it was very difficult to put the batteries and on/off mechanism inside the head.

--The eyes light up when the Gaia Hazer (the horn part of the head) is folded down, don't they?

Fujiki: That's right. In the film, when the gaiahazer goes down, it is impressive to see the eyes light up, isn't it? I really wanted to make that shine.

--And then there are the proportions of the battle mode. Granzort has a unique head height that is a bit different from that of a real robot. It's kind of stocky or stout. ......

Fujiki: That's right. The silhouette varies slightly depending on the drawing and the scene, and I wanted to keep the distinctive impression but also give it a sharpness that only the "Hi-SPEC" version can have, so I checked the silhouette many times with a red pen and adjusted it. The robot has a cute, chubby look, doesn't it?

--It's hard to believe that you started watching robot animation after "Granzort".

Fujiki: Haha (laughs).

(laughs) -- Did you put a lot of effort into watching the movie?

Fujiki: Yes, I did my best. I took notes as I watched it, and I rewatched it many times, deciding on themes in my mind. For example, sometimes I would watch the movie from the perspective of "what is the most memorable scene for fans" or "I want to be able to recreate this pose in this scene! Or sometimes I would just listen to Granzort's voice in order to choose the lines to be used on the magic pedestal. Of course, there were also times when I just enjoyed the story.

--It's amazing, isn't it? By the way, the "Granzort" toys were sold by Takara (now Takara Tomy) at the time of the broadcast.

Fujiki: Yes. Of all the products, the one that we referred to the most was the arm that connects the Zora Crown to the main body. For those who watched "Granzort" at the time, the complete transformation of the Zora Crown was very impressive, so we used Takara's product as a reference.

--How long did it take you to develop the product?

Fujiki: It took nearly ......2 years from planning to release.

--How long does it take to develop a normal variable action game?

Fujiki: I would say less than a year; 8 to 10 months would be the base.

--So it took about twice as long to complete as a normal product?

Fujiki That's right. I thought about Granzote every day.

MegaHouse aims for both gimmick and proportion

--One of the main attractions of the figure is a new line by Shinya Otaki, who plays the role of Super Granzort.

Fujiki: That's right. Cruise Inc. was in charge of sound production when the anime was broadcast, and we asked Cruise to record the dialogue again, this time under the direction of Sadayoshi Fujino, the sound director at the time. We recorded a total of six different lines of dialogue, plus additional sound effects, which are linked to the lights and sound effects.

--How was the atmosphere when you were recording the dialogues?

Fujiki: It had been 30 years since the last recording, and before the recording, some people said, "I wonder if I can remember. But after practicing a few times, he said, "Here it comes, Daichi! I was very impressed that after practicing a few times, Director Fujino said, "Oh, he's back, he's back. Mr. Otaki later said in an interview, "We were able to do it without too much difficulty.

--When I actually listened to the soundtrack, I was impressed by the exquisite sound of the soundtrack, which made me think, "Indeed, this is the soundtrack of early 90's anime! I was impressed by the exquisite sound.

Fujiki: That's right. When I asked Director Fujino for the sound effects, he asked me, "How much arrangement do you want? He asked me, "How much of the arrangement do you want? He asked me if I wanted it to be clear for the product, or if I wanted the echoes to be stronger, etc. But I asked him first and foremost to keep the sound as it was at the time and as it was in the image of the time. We wanted to keep the product as it was back then, with the same image as it was back then.

--The price of this product is quite expensive, but I think that is understandable. ......By the way, I think it's human nature to want to have the other two when one is released. ......

Fujiki: Ha-ha-ha (laughs). Yes, I'm sure that's what fans want to know the most. ...... In terms of the "Granzort Series," we have decided to launch a new series from Variable Action, and we displayed the prototype for the first time at the recent One Fest. We are planning to release the first three magical kings, Granzort, Aquabeat, and Winzart, at the same time, and we hope to make many more in the series. For the next VA Hi-SPEC product, I would like to try a complete deformation with another series.

--Will it be deformable?

Fujiki: Of course it will transform. Of course it will transform, and it will be movable.

--Wow! That's amazing. I think there is always a trade-off between proportions and gimmicks in transformable robot toys, but MegaHouse seems to be unusually particular about not compromising on either.

Fujiki: Yes. We try to balance both. I think that's part of our corporate culture, and I think it's because we are conscious of creating what we want most. When I took over "Super Asrada 01" from my predecessor, I was always told, "Even if it can transform, it must not be cool. He always said, "Transforming is a prerequisite, but the robot has to look cool. This is a bit of a "Cyber Formula" story, but you see the boost of the "Super Asrada 01"? At first, the boost was not very high. But I was told, "No, the boost is even higher in the anime.

--Hahaha (laughs). (Laughs.) So the standard is based on the depiction in the anime!

Fujiki: We went over and over the design, trying to figure out how we could fit the mechanism inside, and persisted until the very end. ......

--It has a bit of a "Project X" feel to it (laughs). In that respect, were there any reckless specifications in this "Super Granzort" like the Super Asrada 01?

Fujiki: It's not crazy, but the point was to make it "cool" in both battle mode and face mode. The challenge was to achieve a balance of both styles while maintaining the basic premise of complete transformation. After all, this is a transformable model, so if we tweaked any part of it, it would hit or interfere with any other part, resulting in an imbalance. So it was not simply a matter of the difficulty of the deformation gimmick.

--What do you think is the most interesting aspect of transformable robot toys?

Fujiki: It's the feeling of seeing something you saw in a movie actually being recreated in front of your eyes. The more you touch "Super Granzort," the more you feel that "Oh, this is how it's made, so this movement can be reproduced," and I think that people who pick it up will probably feel that. We hope that people will experience the enjoyment of the product as it is, without losing the image of the anime.

In particular, this product is a product that contains everything that MegaHouse is currently working on. Movable, luminous, sound, and voice ....... In that sense, this item is a memorial item that is a part of both the history of MegaHouse, the 10th anniversary of Variable Action, and the 30th anniversary of "Granzort".

And each of the parts is a key item in the world of the work. In that sense, it is truly the ultimate, memorial, full-specification Super GranZort.

--Thank you very much!

[Product Information

Variable Action Hi-SPEC Super Granzort with limited bonus

・Selling price: 39,636 yen (including tax and shipping)

Delivery date: Scheduled to ship in July 2019

<Set Contents.

Complete painted action figure

Super Eldy Kaiser

Various hand parts

Magic circle pedestal (with built-in luminescence, voice and sound gimmick)

Limited bonus: Interview with Shinya Otaki (Granzort) and Sadayoshi Fujino (sound director), as well as a booklet of development design materials, "The Book of the Creation of the King of Magic".

<Product materials

ABS, POM, PVC, die-cast

<Age range

15 years old and up

<Product Size

Body: approx. 220mm in height, base: approx. 200mm in diameter

<Order quantity

Up to 3 per person.

One per order. 3 orders are required for a total of 3 pieces.

<Order from

MegaHouse, Inc.

The photo is from a product under development.