Bandai Gashapon development lead speaks on product development and challenges ahead

I stumbled across a blog entry on the official Bandai Gashapon blog which was posted in mid April. Written by Bandai Gashapon development lead Kawa, it discusses upcoming news in Mobile Suit Ensemble and Senshi Forte, but also discusses the current state of development. Available in Japanese only (of course...) I went through it with the help of Google Translate and even though the translation is far from perfect there is a lot of interesting information inside. I wanted to share some of these findings with the risk of butchering the quotes a bit so my apologies to Kawa-san for that.

The post in full (with more illustrations) is found here: http://gashapon.jp/blog/


Kawa begins by talking about product development and managing the lifecycle of a figure series. Some select quotes from the text:

昨年と同じく、少し振り返りをしつつ、これからの展開について皆様にご共有をさせていただければと思います。
※私個人の考えが多分に含まれておりますので、この通りに進めるかどうかは別ですが・・・。

"Like last year, I would like to share with everyone about the future development while looking back a bit.
*Since my personal opinion is probably included, it is different whether to proceed as stated this way...."


と、宣伝を挟みつつ、昨年と同じく「アンサンブル」から振り返りとこれからを簡単にお話ししたいと思います。 シリーズの企画が始動してから約2年。シリーズが発売してから1年ちょっとが経ちました。大変ありがたいことに皆様に受け入れていただくことができ、順調に開発も進んでおります。 ここに関しては、昨年の振り返りでの「しっかりと継続していきたい」という部分がうまく機能してきたな、という印象です。 ここからは、どのように安定したシリーズとして成長をしていくか？がテーマになるかと思います。

"And, with the advertisement in mind, I would like to tell you a little from the "ensemble" as well as last year and look forward to the future. About 2 years since the planning of the series started. A little over a year has passed since the series was released. Thanks very much for accepting everyone, we are progressing smoothly development. Regarding here, it is the impression that the part of "I want to continue firmly" in the review of last year worked well. From here, how to grow as a stable series? I think whether it will be the theme."

Currently under scrutiny: Mobile Suit Ensemble (left) and SD Gashapon Senshi Forte (right).

ガンダムに限らず、シリーズ商品はなかなか継続展開できるまでのベースに乗せることが難しく、3弾以降の継続ができないものが多いのですが、現時点は8弾の原型も進行しており、EXシリーズの開発もかなり拡大している状況です。 これからは「売上を落とさないこと」「更に拡大すること」が重要になってきます。 言い換えると「皆様を飽きさせず継続して購入してもらえるものを作り続けること」「新規のお客様の獲得や、より多く購入したい思ってもらえる商品の展開をすること」になります。 つまりはもっと良いもの、面白いものを提供するという単純な話ですね。

"Not limited to Gundam, series products are difficult to put on the base until it is quite easy to continue deployment, many of them can not continue after the third series, but at the moment 8 prototypes are also progressing, EX series Development is also considerably expanding. From now on "not to drop sales" and "to expand further" becomes important. In other words: "Continue to make things that will not be bored by everyone," "To acquire new customers and develop products that you want to purchase more" will be. That is a simple story of providing better things and interesting things."


Let's stop here and reflect a little bit on what he said. Kawa talks about the early deaths of figure series that survive only to the third volume. Presumably because that's how far the initial planning of the series went. Bandai likely sets up a release schedule with a certain number of volumes and a predetermined initial timeframe, and then evaluates its continuation from there. Although we are talking about Gashapon here I can immediately think of three Shokugan figure series that went down this exact route:

- Build Model Gundam (3 volumes, 15 figures, ran between January and October 2015)
- MSG Mini Kit Collection (3 volumes, 48 model kits, ran between June and December 2016)
- FW SD Gundam NEO (3 volumes, 18 figures, ran between February and September 2017)

Reading between the lines it looks like the axed series run out of steam in the marketplace, perhaps the spoilt Japanese customers are a fickle bunch losing interest in "old news" easily, or perhaps it is because we tend to get the same old figures released all over again?

Purged...

Kawa then goes on to discuss the development of Mobile Suit Ensemble, with the new EX07 Double-X Gundam having just been announced.


EXに関しても、アンサンブルは「重奏×重装」というテーマを最大限に楽しむためにはより大きなパーツやバリエーションが多くほしくなるシリーズなので、より多く商品を展開できればと考えております。フルアーマーユニコーンなんかもどこかで再販できればなあと思うのですが・・・。 そして、EXシリーズに関してはガシャポン戦士も同じなのですが数量のベースがあがったらより安く提供できるように動きます。

どうしてもプレミアムバンダイ限定の商品は仕様がMAXなうえに受注少数生産のため、結構立派な値段がしてしまうのですが、過去にこのブログでコストの仕組みについて簡単にお伝えした通り、数が伸びれば値段を下げられるというのが真理です。地味にザンネックとか、今回のガンダムDXも当初予定よりは下げているのですが、まだまだ伝わりづらい感じかなと思います。 シリーズが育てば育つほどより購入しやすくなっていくのが理想ですね。（それより前にさらなる生産環境の悪化がやってくるかもですが・・・）

"As for EX, as for the ensemble, it is a series that you will want more parts and variations more in order to maximize the theme of "heavy x heavy", so we believe that we can develop more products. I wish I could resell something full armor unicorns... And as for the EX series, it is the same as the gashapon warrior, but it moves so as to be able to offer it cheaper if the base of quantity goes up.

Although the product limited only for premium Bandai is MAX specification and ordered for minority production, it costs a pretty good price, but as you briefly told about the cost mechanism in this blog in the past, if the number grows The truth is that you can lower the price. I think that I feel that it is hard to convey yet, such as Zanneck or the Gundam Double X this time is also lower than originally planned. Ideally it will become easier to purchase as the series grows up. (It may be that further deterioration of production environment comes before that...)"

Well, Kawa discusses what we all know and deal with on our everyday figure hunt; increasing the volume lowers the unit prices, and I think also if more people were supporting the MS Ensemble we would see prices dropping even more. The outlook currently seems a bit positive though, with the latest EX products having been cheaper to manufacture than already planned for, presumably because preorders are going up as the series becomes more popular?

Kawa next turns his attention to the state of the current super deformed figure line, the SD Warrior Senshi Forte line which I am a huge fan of, by the way... :)


ガシャポン戦士に関しては、昨年立てた目標が達成できたとは言えないものの、こちらも皆様に大いに支えていただいておりここまで走り続けることができております。 ガシャポン戦士は売れ行きとしてはアジアなどの販売も含めると過去の200円時代を上回る数量を売り上げており、過去最高水準となっております。

・・・が、コスト面では限界を超えてしまっていてここからどうすれば継続して提供できるか？という大きな課題を残しつつ、更に昨年テーマとしていた「組み立てやすさ」と「量産品質」に関してもまだまだ課題が多く残り、今期はそれをどう解決していくか？が課題になります。 シリーズ自体はこちらも継続していくつもりで、現在8弾の原型がスタートしております。

"Regarding the gashapon fighter, although it can not be said that the goal set up last year was able to be achieved, this has also been highly supported by everyone and we are able to continue running to this point. Gashapon warrior has sold a volume exceeding the past 200 era, including sales of Asia etc. as a sales, and it is the highest level ever.

...Has exceeded the limit in terms of cost, how can I continue to provide it from here? We remain a big challenge, and furthermore there are still many issues regarding "ease of assembly" and "mass production quality" that we had been the theme last year, so how can we solve this problem in the current term? Is an issue. The series themselves are going to continue this time, now 8 prototype starts."


Wow... Senshi Forte is in dire straits... Although the series seems to be getting continued support (for now), it has depleted its budget and been marred by quality issues both in terms of manufacturing quality and the finger-crunching mess that is their assembly. This is why it takes so long for me to review them by the way, because putting them together makes my fingers ache for days afterwards.

¥200 Zetas from SD Warrior NEXT (left) vs. ¥300 and ¥370 versions from Gashapon Senshi Forte and FW SD Gundam NEO (right).

Kawa talks about Gashapon Warrior performing better than the 200 yen era. This likely means that the sales of Gashapon Senshi Forte combined with its predecessor SD Warrior DASH has exceeded the combined sales of SD Warrior NEXT.

For a bit of perspective here, NEXT had 24 standard volumes and at least five specials (realtype colour swaps etc.) selling for 200 yen per figure for a total of 147 + 37 figures. Add to those seven sets of P-Bandai sets that are probably not included in this comparison. DASH and Senshi Forte have this far produced 13 standard volumes and three specials for a total of 77 + 20 figures. These series also have eight P-Bandai releases and some other limited stuff.

Kawa continues:


ガシャポン戦士に関しては何よりもまず「継続すること」がテーマになります。 正直、300円で走り続けるのは先にも述べた通り限界を超えてしまっているのが現状です。 今300円で展開しているのは私の意地の部分が非常に大きいのですが、それも長くは続かない（値上げは避けられない）というのが現実です。しかしながら、できれば300円という価格にはこだわりたいので、どのように展開をするのか？を模索しております。 例えば、ガンダムタイプのちょっとゴテッとした機体がいる弾は400円～500円（これ昨年テーマに挙げてたやつですね）にしつつ、より多く数を並べたい量産機がラインナップされている弾は300円で提供・・・など。

"Regarding gashapon warriors, the theme is "to continue" first and foremost. To be honest, it is the present condition that we continue to run at 300 yen has exceeded the limit as stated earlier. It is my reality that the meaning of my nature is expanding at 300 yen now, but that does not last long (price increases are inevitable). However, since we would like to stick to the price of 300 yen if possible, how do you deploy it? We are looking for. For example, volumes with gundam type aircraft have a lineup of mass production machines that want to line up more while placing between 400 yen and 500 yen (this is the theme listed last year) Offered in yen ... etc."


So in short, even though the prices went up 50% the volumes are down and the product complexity is up. We can perhaps expect Senshi Forte to be retired before long and replaced with a new figure series conveniently priced at 400-500 yen. If that happens, they better not start reissuing the same mobile suits all over again. : /


「遊び」がメインのアンサンブルに対して「コレクション性」がメインのガシャポン戦士は、とにかくシリーズを終わらせずに継続して種類を増やしていくことが大事と考え、いろいろな手を使って継続していきたいと考えております。 そして、昨年から引き続き「組み立てやすさ」と「量産品質の向上」はテーマとして取り組んでいきます。

"The gashapon fighter whose "play" is main to "ensemble" is considered to be important as it continues to increase the variety without ending the series anyway, continuing with various hands We would like to go. And from last year we will continue to work on "ease of assembly" and "improvement of mass production quality" as a theme."

That's right, this is a hold up! Give us your hands! Then we're gonna put some nice holes in you too...

I think what Kawa means here is that figures with interchangeable components are key because they add playability and allows for the customization of your own designs. We can already see this development in Mobile Suit Ensemble where all the regular figures have the exact same dark grey hands and many weapons come with holes punched through them for combination purposes; great for weapon swapping, less appealing from an aesthetic point of view of course. The smaller 300 yen figures still retain their own custom hands; it looks like we can expect these to become standardized in the future.


コスト感もさることながら、生産数がとにかく多く、工場がフル稼働しても生産が追い付いていないのがガシャポン戦士の現状です。量産の効率化が必須の課題となっているのですが、実はそれが改善できれば量産品質もおのずと上がってくるのかなというのも感じております。

"The fact is that the production is not catching up even if the factory is fully operated, the fact that the production is catching up is a current situation of the gashapon warrior. Efficiency improvement of mass production is an essential issue, but in reality it is felt that if mass production quality can be improved if it can be improved naturally."


Apart from cost issues alone, there is also a mass production aspect of this scenario, as the actual production capacity is apparently already strained. I recall there were delays in the Senshi Forte line earlier this year and Bandai are clearly looking at ways to solve this issue through smoothening the production process.


そのための新機構なども研究中です。 例えば新ジョイント。この間ブログに乗せたやつよりも複雑なバージョンの検証とかもしてます。 共通パーツが増えることによって、より効率的かつ均一な品質で作れるのではないかと・・・。 外観上はほとんど変わりませんが

"We are also researching new mechanisms for that purpose. For example, a new joint. I am doing verification of a more complicated version than the one that I put on my blog during this time. By increasing common parts, it can be made with more efficient and uniform quality... Although it does not change almost on the appearance."


Here we have an actual example of what Kawa is talking about. I have a feeling we are looking at a prototype of the successor to the Senshi Forte line. The design seems to take some input from the Mobile Suit Ensemble, specifically from the torso area.

Bandai development concept for what is a likely evolution of the Gashapon Senshi Forte series.

外観上はほとんど変わりませんが。 腕がグイン！と横に広げられるようになって。 ライフルがよりかっこよく構えられるようになったり・・・。 上腕の巻き込みがなくなる制限があったり、そもそもこんなパーツ増えたらもっとコスト死ぬんじゃん！とかあって、まだまだ実装には程遠いですが、検証作業や調整は続けております。

・・・アンサンブルに準拠って言葉、意味深ですね。

"Although it does not change almost on the appearance. The arm is GIN! And be able to spread laterally. The rifle will be able to be kept cooler... There is a limitation that the involvement of the upper arm is lost, or if such parts increase in the first place it will cost more! Although it is still far from implementation, verification work and adjustment are continued.

... It is a meaningful word, conforming to an ensemble."


Kawa then closes by reinforcing the wish to continue development of the SD Gashapon figure line and thanks the readers for another year.


ガシャポン戦士も引き続き全力で続けていきたいと考えておりますので、よろしくお願いいたします。 ということで、今年も「アンサンブル」「フォルテ」の2本の振り返りをしつつ『今期も全力で繋いでいく』という気持ちが伝われば幸いです。 今期も1年間、よろしくお願いいたします。

"We are thinking that we would like to continue gashapon warrior with full strength, so thank you. So we are pleased to hear the feeling that "We will continue to connect with you all this season" while looking back on the two of "Ensemble" and "Forte" again this year. I'd like to thank you for this year as well."


I think this is dynamite information and wish there was more of this type of insight available for the international audience as well. I remember trying to find contact information for Bandai's Shokugan line a while back, after endless trolling by their different websites I landed on the general customer helpdesk where all requests are to be made in Japanese only... Pffft. I really would have liked to interview some of the designers behind STANDart or Converge. For now, we have to make do with the scraps that we can find.

Gundam Converge CORE : Mobile Suit Gundam 00 10th Anniversary

I finally got my hands on the latest Converge CORE offering (just in time for another two to be released this month...), the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 anniversary set, which  features updated versions of the Celestial Being mobile suits that have been released after the Converge Reboot in early 2016. I had expected this set to become a real challenge but I have seen it a few times on Mandarake although they sell out really quickly.

Like most other CORE releases this is a Premium Bandai item and it was released in February 2018 at a price of nearly 6000 yen. And sure enough, I had to pay ¥8000 to grab it on the secondhand market one month later. I have a feeling this is the type of item that will quickly become scarce in the marketplace, even the regular Celestial Being figures seem to fly off the shelves.

All of the figures in this set have been previously releases, well save for the Virtue which was released more or less in tandem with this box which feels a bit silly (especially since it was more pricy than the figure included here).

The box is tiny but it is really loaded with components and of course your blue little Shokugan-style chewing gum.

Here I have opened up the exterior bags to easier showcase the new accessory bags for three of the retail figures (the Virtue doesn't come with any additional parts). We'll now study each mobile suit a bit closer.


GN-001 Gundam Exia

The Converge Gundam Exia figure was already the most involved design and here we get a figure with several new accessories in addition to the old ones. Just look at that equipment selection. Here we have everything from the mighty GN Sword to a pair of shiny beam sabers and a new set of swords that can be both wielded or stowed on the figure's hips.

The Gundam Exia from the Converge reboot was already a fantastic figure and the CORE box version does add some additional paint applications to enhance it even further. As you can see though these new markings are mainly white and blue lines on the shoulders and shield, all in all these are pretty trivial additions though, which hardly justify the release of a new figure in my opinion.

Above you can see the stock retail Gundam Exia from Converge #01 next to the CORE redesign. Apart from the new (questionable) detail markings there are also some minor colour changes; the blue is slightly darker, the translucent green is somewhat lighter, and the yellow parts are now golden metallic. All in all the changes are pretty discrete. The major difference is otherwise the clear action base. I don't like this concept at all, since it stands out like a sore thumb from the other Converge figures.

Here we see the new sword accessories in their stowed or handheld position. There is a little disc on the figure's hip which can be removed and then allow the swords to be attached to the figure. We also get a pair of new holding hands with two swords which is really superb, it is not every day we get such complicated parts swapping in Converge.

The new beam sabers are similar to the old ones except that the hilts are now painted in white. At first I was really curious about how to use them, as there were no loose hands included with the figure. That was until I realized that the hands holding the two swords can actually hold the beam sabers as well...

The beam sabers are really beautiful and I absolutely love them. With so many distinct weapons though I tend to let the Exia pose with the large GN Sword, and I guess I will let the CORE Exia wield its new swords, leaving the beam sabers unused. Fortunately they are great accessories for other Converge figures - I have even purchases some spare retail Exia figures to stock up on a few extra sabers... The Gundam Exia is easily the best figure in this box set and looks good no matter what you choose to pose it with.


GN-002 Gundam Dynames

The Dynames figure feels really Spartan when compared to the previous Exia figure. Here we only get two new accessories, a pair of GN Pistols and new holding hands. I suppose you could steal a beam saber or two from the Exia if you wanted to though.

Looking pretty good. The new Dynnames has a couple of white stripes on its shoulder armour and gives an overall brighter impression than the retail figure.

Side by side the two figures feature distinctly different colour schemes; the retail figure has a very dark green colour compared to the shiny bright green on the CORE figure. And once again the yellows are replaced with golden metallic.

Here the Dynames poses with its two GN Pistols, something that it wouldn't do so effortlessly. I really wish that there was a storage feature for the sniper rifle; it would have looked really good to have it hanging on the right shoulder.

Sadly, I had severe issues with the GN Pistols. For some reason the pegs on the hands are tinier than on the regular Dynames hands, especially on the right side. My figure simply cannot hold a gun in its right hand (except for in a few poses where the hand is simply leaning out of the arm ready to fall at a moment's notice). I have seen a review on youtube where the reviewer appeared to have no issues with this so it seems to be a(nother) quality assurance issue. Very disturbing as Converge has been a solid figure line for most of its life.

Right now I am debating whether or not I should simply glue the right hand GN Pistol to the figure's wrist but until I decide to do such a drastic measure it will be posing with the rifle in one hand and a pistol in the other...


GN-003 Gundam Kyrios

Next up we have the Kyrios, the last of the three figures introduced in the regular Converge line (Virtue was clearly added as an afterthought). The new Kyrios figure has a bit in common with the Dynames in that it comes with only one new accessory which happens to be a pair of GN Missile Launchers.

Looking pretty striking there, friend. I think the Kyrios is the best looking of the Converge Celestial Being bunch. I find its three colour pattern very effective and eyecatching.

The Converge Gundam Kyrios was already a smart looking figure and the new version cranks it up another notch with its refined paint applications of especially the gold metallic detail. The added stripes and text on the CORE figure again feel like the same type of afterthought like we have seen on the other figures in this set.

Luckily I had no issues with the fitting of the missile launchers here; the extra hand sits safely in place. The standard beam submachine gun however doesn't fit very well in the right hand, the grip is very loose. I am also a bit disappointed by the curious idea (no doubt for cost-cutting reasons) to mold the left hand directly onto one of the launchers. Why couldn't we get a simple open left hand and two identical launchers? This would have made it possible to mix and match gear and possibly exchange weapons with other figures. Clearly, Converge could benefit from a bit more standardization work.


GN-005 Gundam Virtue

I didn't bother with a parts display for Virtue since this figure comes with no extras for the CORE anniversary set. Out of all the figures in this box it is the one that most closely mimics the original version, so much so in fact that owning both seems highly superfluous. Notice also those horribly warped legs on my figure.

As you can see there are only a few markings that differ between the two, even the base is the same for the standalone Virtue (which is something I did not fancy about it).

There's even less to say about the Virtue than the other figures. It has the ability to tilt its shoulder launchers but otherwise handles like the standard figure does.

Celestial Being teams from the standard figure line (above) and the CORE box set (below).

Regular weapons loadout vs. new options found in the 00 set (minus one of the GN Pistols which the Dynames can't hold...).

All in all, I am not a big fan by this figure set and it feels like a hugely missed opportunity. And I mean that from a toy perspective of course; no doubt this set has sold well due to the popularity of the Celestial Being mobile suits. While the extra weapons are nice they cannot really compensate for the obvious QA shortcomings, the uninspired box art and an outrageous price tag - this set is for the completists only. Casual collectors would do well to seek out the (three) standard figures instead which command prices of about 800-1000 yen per unit at the moment.

Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 05 : ZMT-S29 Zanneck

When Mobile Suit Ensemble was first announced I was very curious about them, given how similar they looked to the Gundam Converge figures. Actually they looked almost exactly like Converge figures except that now they would be made in hard plastic and feature a lot of articulation. I was mightily disappointed when I finally learnt that they were not size-compatible with Converge and their high prices kind of killed off my interest right off the bat... at least for a while.

My interest was piqued once the series started moving away from the designer comfort zone of Unicorns and RX-78s and moving into Advance of Zeta territory. And when the ludicrously large Hazel Custom and later Dandelion II EX-figures appeared I knew it would only be a question of time until I got sucked in. So, I made a couple of high profile purchases in late 2017 and from then on began slowly building up a Mobile Suit Ensemble collection. Go figure...

This completely useless suzu jingle bell was apparently included as a bonus for people who bought the Zanneck early. Yay...

The first review to appear here on the blog will be the latest MS Ensemble EX offering; the equally funky and silly Zanneck - a design very rarely seen in figure form. As Mobile Suit Ensemble has continued to grow the designers have dared taking steps into some really unusual mobile suit choices and I hope they will manage to keep the series running now that they have worked up some steam. The Zanneck figure is a P-Bandai item released on March 20 2018 where it sold for a whopping ¥3900.

The MS Ensemble Zanneck comes in a flat cardboard box stuffed to the brim with components. Most of the space in the box is taken up by its peculiar flying saucer-like base. The Japanese-style suzu jingle bell that I also got with this item was not included in the box but was given as some sort of bonus item. If you (like me) haven't seen the Victory Gundam anime it will be rather impossible to see a connection between this trinket and the mobile suit. However, as I have since learnt from the Gundam Wiki, apparently Earth Federation newtype pilots could detect the imminent approach of the Zanneck from a sort of bell-like sound. Fine... ok then.

The MS Ensemble figures follow in the recent tradition of other Shokugan and Gashapon figures in that some parts come loose in bags and others sit on small runners. We've seen this also in e.g. the Senshi Forte and Universal Unit figure series.

One important thing to point out here is that not all parts included with the figure should be used. MS Ensemble figures feature standardized joints and hands which come on rounded runners (optimized for being stuffed inside Gashapon balls) but the Zanneck has some additional pieces which replace these. Pay close attention to the instructions when assembling the figure.

So here we have the Zanneck on its flying saucer thingy and rocking its huge mega beam cannon. This weapon is a pain to get into the right position and effectively nullifies most of the figure's articulation in the torso in case you want to field it. On the shoulders sit its two Minovsky Particle Accelerators which generate the power necessary to fire the beam cannon. From what I understand, only the red pieces are the actual particle accelerators while the yellow circles (which are removable) are some sort of beam effect parts.

The Zanneck guarded by two Gedlav mobile suits, one of them sporting a land-based Einerad combat support craft (the Gedlav and the Einerad were both released in MS Ensemble vol. 5 in February 2018).

One thing I wish was included with the Zanneck would be a stand for its base, even the most rudimentary one. When you consider how the MS Ensemble figures feature many holes for action bases it is strange that a couple were not made in the bottom of the base to get some more interesting poses out of it. On these figures I have slid in an Assault Kingdom figure base underneath to raise the figure up from the ground a bit.

There aren't a whole lot of Zanneck figures out there and here is the only other one that I know of. It is a "normally" proportioned Zanneck sans base which was released in the Mecha Selection volume 7 Gashapon set sometime in 2004. The new figure looks more than a little inspired by it as well.

So, is the Zanneck worth the meaty price that Bandai is asking for it? It will most likely come down to how eager you are for something unusual in your collection. My guess would be that a lot of Gundam aficionados treat Victory Gundam with skepticism at best so I wonder if it will become that popular. The other MS Ensemble EX figures have done rather well on the secondary market with prices slowly increasing. Of course those are tried and tested staples like the Full Armor Unicorn and the Kshatriya so it might not be that good of an indication. Still, if you are attracted to this design it is probably a good idea to strike now that it is relatively easily available.