Now accepting reservations! THE GOSEI HAGANE WORKS DANCOUGA", the fastest three-dimensional version of the new design by Masami Ohari, interview with Yuuki Taiyo (voice actor) and Hiro Tanaka (Good Smile Company).

Good Smile Company's toy brand "Mecha Smile," which has always surprised and delighted us with its lineup that reaches the itch of anime and toy hobby fans, is releasing another great toy.

The combined robot "Chojuukigami Dancuga," which was first broadcast on TV in 1985 and still boasts strong popularity today, will be released as "THE Combined HAGANE WORKS DANCOUGA" by Good Smile Company.

This product is based on the latest drafts by Masami Ohari, an animator who has continued to draw DANCOUGA in various media since his role as mecha supervisor for the anime. Alloy parts are used for weight and durability. Of course, the figure can be transformed into various forms of the beast fighter without replacement, making it the ultimate "Dancuga" toy.

This product was so special that it was hard not to be curious about it, especially for Taiyuki, who plays Johnny Burnett, the pilot of the Nova Elephant in the sequel "DANCOUGA NOVA" and is the biggest "DANCOUGA" fan in the voice-over industry!

So we asked Hiro Tanaka, the general producer of "Mecha Smile," about the appeal and particulars of "THE GOSEI HAGANE WORKS DANCOUGA" in depth.

───Can you tell us about the genesis of the project?

Tanaka: The idea tends to be "the definitive version of this robot has already been released, so let's make the next definitive version with this robot," but I would say that this trend has recently changed as the range of generations and regions in the hobby market has expanded. There have been an increasing number of cases where we have approached a product that has already been released many times by adding more details or changing the size, etc. For example, we have not created a combined robot, but a so-called "single robot.

For example, there is an increase in the number of products that are not combined robots, but rather single robots with a variety of expressions. When I saw this situation three years ago, I thought, "This is an oligopoly market. I saw this situation three years ago and thought, "This is an oligopoly market." Right now, Japanese manufacturers are still in the lead, but I thought this would be a tough world because the number of players would eventually increase tremendously.

But in the world of combined toys, there were no players taking that approach yet, so we started with the theme of "THE Combined HAGANE WORKS DANCOUGA" to see if we could create something high-detailed with combined toys.

Tai: In June of this year, threezero released "RoboDo Dancuga (Kelvin Sau Arranged Version)," and I thought there would be nothing better than that, but just a few months later they announced this ("THE Combined HAGANE WORKS Dancuga"), and I was really surprised. I was really surprised, and I thought, "If this happens, I'll go along with it.

Tanaka Thank you (laughs). (Laughs.) It's great that you said, "I'll go out with you," instead of just saying, "That's enough. However, I think we may have recently crossed a certain threshold. I think the robots that are developing similar products are Gurren Lagann and Gorion (Voltron). In the past few years, it seems like how many of them have been released. I recently think that a certain kind of legendary robot can become a different product if it is cut differently, or that there is a way to enjoy it, like how to cook a standard product.

Yasushi: It is also true that the users are not only domestic fans, isn't it?

Tanaka That's right. Needs are diversifying worldwide, and that is why I feel that the definitive version differs from person to person. Until now, there was an atmosphere in which, once the definitive version was released, no one would go into the market for a while, but I think that has been loosening up recently. It is difficult for the buyers, though.

Tai: Is the idea behind "Da-Gaan" and other "heroic robot" series similar?

Tanaka: "Da Gaan" and other Yusha Robo series are different. Since there have been no opportunities to remake the "hero robots," the concept was to make a good three-dimensional version of "Da Gaan" that would look like a proper anime.

In contrast, "DANCOUGA" started from the point of wanting to challenge the movement (of high-detailed figures) that would eventually come, and to do something with "combined" figures.

We decided not to make the first sculpture or remake of the first figure. If "Da Gahn" came out of the blue in high detail, I'm sure I'd be at a loss on my first try. I would be happy, but I wanted something plainer, or something like that.

On the other hand, we had already come up with a robot that was close to the image of the program and that would not be too unpleasant to arrange, so we naturally decided on "DANCOUGA.

Yasushi It is true that "DANCOUGA" is very open to arrangement.

Tanaka In the meantime, "POSE+" came up with "GaoGaiGar" as a similar theme, and I thought to myself, "Yes, that's what I meant. I thought, "Yes, yes, this is what they are doing," but I also thought, "They have done it after all." A plain, definitive version of "GaoGaiGar" has already been released, including the "Soul of Chogokin," but to come out with a new interpretation of the series is a sign that this is a movement in the making.

In parallel, at our company, "THE GOSEI" was moving between the high-detail "DANCOUGA," which was conscious of the recent movement, and the first remake of the "YUUSHA ROBO" series, which was a first remake and aimed to be the greatest common denominator.

Tai I understand why those characters were chosen. In this context, DANCOUGA was the direction to arrange the gory.

Tanaka Yes. The concept of increasing the amount of information was there from the beginning.

Yasushi At what stage did you reflect Mr. Ohbari's base design in your work?

Tanaka I drew the planning sketches first, and just as we were about to start the design process, Ohbari-san's new Dancuga draft was released to the public. Since we wanted to be the first to sculpt the new design, we decided to have Ohbari-san do the base design again, and we took over the overall details that we had first thought of, and had GOD BRAVE STUDIO create the prototype from there. It was a difficult order, but they were still willing to do it, and they worked very hard.

Tai: The appearance of Mr. Ohbari's design was a tailwind for this product, wasn't it?

Tanaka That's right. Without that, the shape of DANCOUGA might have been a little different.

Yasushi: When I first saw the product information, I personally thought that the price would be higher when I learned that it was this size after incorporating Dancuga's transformation and combining gimmicks. Considering that, I think the price of 58,000 yen was a very good effort.

Tanaka As I thought, the size of a product increases in proportion to its price, so we had to find a way to make a product that would satisfy our customers. Well, we might have been able to do a little better if the exchange rate had not fluctuated so drastically, but we managed to keep the price at this level.

Eagle Fighter

Tai: Let's start with the Eagle Fighter. This time, by making it this size, it seems that for the first time you were able to have more freedom in terms of elbows and so on.

Tanaka This time, we decided on the size of the Eagle Fighter before deciding on the overall size. This size was the minimum size for what we wanted to do. The head and the detailed painting were finally completed at this size. As for the movement, I think the key point is that the crotch opens in a "C" shape. The toes also follow the ground. This is for the convenience of deformation.

The Tai gun can also be detached from the hand and connected to the die gun. Due to its small size, it is often the case that the gun and wrist are integrated into a single product, but this is a nice touch. Are the joint axes made of metal parts as much as possible?

Tanaka: Not necessarily. It is true that many parts use metal shafts, but we also use a lot of POM, a plastic material often used for joints.

Tai: Looking at the humanoid form from the front, the area of clear parts is large, so I am curious about its contents. How much of the cockpit interior has been sculpted?

Tanaka: We have sculpted the seats and even the console.

Yasushi: So much work has gone into the cockpit, even though we can only see it through the clear parts. That's amazing!

Tanaka In a way, it is no exaggeration to say that the Eagle is the most particular about this project. It is the smallest one.

Yasushi: The deformation pattern is complex, with overlapping main wings, etc., so I imagine there are a lot of design restrictions.

Tanaka That's right. That's why I spent a lot of time tinkering with the Eagle. In particular, we added one more movable part in order to open the hip joint properly, and we went into great detail.

Tai: What surprised me was the sculpting of the nose of the Eagle and the face of the humanoid form. The face is very anime-like. Also, the elbows are movable.

Tanaka This time, I wanted to make the elbows movable.

Tai: In the early part of the anime, the humanoid form was rather active, so we wanted to make sure that the posing was solid as well.

Land Cougar

Tai: With the wrist on a rotating axis, it is easier to hold the rifle, and it can be freely posed with the rifle held under its arm or held straight up with the arm extended. Also, I can't help but compare it to past items, but I don't think the waist was movable in past items.

Tanaka: There certainly was not. This time, in addition to the movability, a key point in the modeling is the tightening of the waist. The two legs tended to be rather short, but now they have a sleeker image.

Tai: The shoulders also give the impression of being larger and more powerful. Also, I think it is because of this size, but he has a good expression on his face.

Tanaka That's right. I think that the two leg pairs of Cougar and Liger are more handsome, and I think that's the key point of this product. Another key point is that the beast legs are movable for the beast form.

Tai: I did think that part was cat-like. It's not a cat, though (laughs). The soles of the feet are also sculpted in a way that reminds me of paw pads. Is the nose retractable?

Tanaka: Yes. It is a retractable type that conforms to the anime.

Tai: This is a part that could have been omitted, but only a figure of this size can reproduce it properly. It is a masterpiece. The wheels of the tank form are fixed, right?

Tanaka They do not move.

Yasushi: I don't think it would be stable underfoot when combined.

Land Liger

Tai Liger is similar to the cougar, but this one has a mane, which transforms this time. The mane is made of a small part, but the movable hinges are embedded in the mane part. It is amazing that there is no indication that this is the axis.

And of course, the cockpit can be seen through the canopy. I don't want to talk about the future just yet, but if it sells well, I would be happy to see a version with someone else in the cockpit. I dare to put Shapiro on it (laughs).

I also think that the machine gun on the shoulder is also aiming for the definitive version, with the muzzle properly open without missing a shot.

Then there is the face. I like the fearless look on his face. The brim is also sharply finished, although it looks like it would be a bit on the heavy side.

Tanaka I think GOD BRAVE STUDIO's sense of design is brilliant.

Big Moss

Tai: And then there is Big Moss. As the elephant designer, I am most interested in this machine (laughs).

It is heavy! This alone is heavy enough to be a single alloy toy. The arms are thick, so I wondered if the elbows could be raised properly, but they are superbly double-jointed and can move to nearly 180 degrees. The fingers also move individually.

Tanaka I still think that the kenpo pose is important.

Yasushi I am glad that we can make the fingers expressive. Also, the amount of information on the shoulders this time, or rather, the sense of mass, is amazing.

Tanaka The original drawing was based on Ohbari's, but a lot of detail was added from there. In that sense, there is a lot of information, and I think the parts are very impressive.

Tai: The silver paint in the hollowed-out areas is also effective. It would be troublesome to do this with plastic models, but I am very happy to have this much done with a finished toy. Looking at the grounding of the legs, the foot panels track well.

There is no twist at the toes, but instead the panel is pulled out to give it a sense of stability.

─ ─ As for the nose of Big Moss, this time you can twist the hips while it is down.

Tanaka: You can choose between a pattern in which the nose is simply lowered and cannot be turned, and a pattern in which the nose is divided into two parts and can be turned. For the "Big Moss's nose problem," there was a proposal to split the parts at the conception stage, but we decided not to go that far and proceeded with a one-part configuration.

However, once we looked at the output product, we decided that it would be too neat if the waist did not move at this size, and we did not want it to be a dummy part, so we decided to handle it this way, although it involves one action.

Tai: What are the arm-like parts on both sides?

Tanaka: They are locks for the arms and legs in the tank form. The tank form is the most difficult part of Big Moth. It is a very simple part, but I think it was one of the most difficult parts of this product because we could not provide any locks on the arms and legs due to the structure of the tank.

Yasushi: I had never thought that far ahead.

Tanaka With the first DX Chogokin, the legs were light and could be locked in place with just a click of force, but after all, using die-cast joints makes the figure heavier, so it loses stability. But the arms have fists in them, and I can't put anything in them. The leg joints are also on the soles of the feet, so I couldn't put anything in there. So, I decided to double-lock the joint by inserting small locks that come out from both sides of the joint. It is very simple, but it was a lot of work.

Tai: Indeed, when playing with other Dancouga models, there were times when I wanted to make it look like a tank, but I thought, "・・・・・・. And it is this size, you know. In addition, the tank form requires a lot of parts to be stored. ......

Tanaka That is another difficult part.

Tai: In the DX Chogokin version, we used soft parts for the fangs, but this time, we had to store the hard fangs by avoiding the parts.

Tanaka The fangs can be rotated 180 degrees, so they can be moved neatly avoiding other parts.

The pulsed laser on the chest has two types of materials: hard and soft. They can be easily removed.

The other thing we tried to do was to lower the height of the vehicle. In this case, we did this by widening the crotch in the back to avoid interference with the stomach.

Tai: If we don't do this, the figure will have short legs. The first DX Chogokin version had the thighs stretched. Also, the caterpillar is made of rubber. Is this fixed?

Tanaka The caterpillar is movable.

Yasushi: Oh, I'm glad you can move it! It is nice to be able to move it and play with it.

On the next page, the Dancuga form finally appears!