BANDAI SPIRITS
STORY

Over 500 types of Chogokin

The Chogokin brand is strongly associated with robots. However, the development team does its best to avoid sticking to rigid concepts of what Chogokin should be. All toys made with die-cast materials are considered Chogokin, allowing for a wide range of possibilities. Over the 50 years since the brand's inception, more than 500 types of Chogokin products have been launched.

Toys are things that are fun to handle

What is a toy? We believe a toy is something that is fun to handle. Another answer is that a toy is something that can be enjoyed by displaying or looking at it. But the essence of a toy is in its interactive features, such as the ability to transform, glow, make sounds, and so on.

To be frank, toys are not a daily necessity. Nevertheless, customers pick up toys because they are fun and add color to their lives. What makes a Chogokin toy truly Chogokin is its fun interactive features, like launching a rocket punch or revealing wings upon transformation.

The reason we are so dedicated to ensuring that Chogokin brand products are toys stems from how the project began. It was sparked by the desire to bring to life the dream of actually touching the robots from the anime people know and love, as well as to maximize the appeal of the robots through well-crafted interactive features. We believe that Chogokin continue to be popular because of the fact that they are toys.

Unique collaborations that sound fun

What we value most in product development is creating something that brings joy and fun to as many customers as possible. We are planning products that will not only be loved by long-time fans, but also those who have never been interested in Chogokin.

For example, there's the Chogokin Rubik's Cube Robo. This Rubik's Cube can transform into a robot in an instant. In addition, we have released the Chogokin Azukibar Robot, a collaborative product based on the Imuraya Azukibar, known for its firm texture. Our past products include the Chogokin Hello Kitty, which brings to life the concept of Hello Kitty going on a great adventure aboard a Chogokin robot.

Our key criterion for developing a toy is whether or not it will be fun. Wouldn't it be fun to transform a Rubik's Cube or Hello Kitty into a robot? Doesn't it sound fun to make an azuki bar out of Chogokin, which is similarly hard and cold to the touch? These are the kinds of questions we asked ourselves in order to develop products based on intuition rather than logic. On the other hand, it's also important to take a broader view and think about whether people with differing perspectives will also find the toy fun. We believe that striking a balance between two perspectives leads to the creation of a fun toy.

Providing “blueprints” to inspire people to play with toys

As we have emphasized throughout, toys are the essence of the Chogokin brand. No matter how fun the toy may seem in the planning stages, it's meaningless if people don't end up playing with them. Notably, there was an assumption that no one would know how to play with the azukibar toy because it's not a robot.

To address this, we created our own special move named Imura Ittoryu Azuki Hyokazan along with the movements to execute it, and presented it in the promotional video. In other words, we laid down “blueprints” to inspire ideas for playing with the Azukibar Robot.

Sometimes, the “blueprint” stems from something about the toy that seems out of place. For example, in the case of the Chogokin Robo 50, the kanji character imprinted on the body (“Cho”) turns sideways as the toy transforms into a robot, which feels out of place. The toy is designed so that if you try to turn this back upright, the robot's head pops out. Part of our aesthetic is to eliminate any unnecessary moves, allowing everyone to fully appreciate each interactive feature.

Always exceeding customer expectations

The sole purpose of a toy is to enrich lives. But there are many ways to enrich your life. Our goal is for customers to choose the toys that we make from among these many options.

That's why we want to betray the expectations of our customers, in a positive sense. Having said that, there is no point in putting on airs, so we take on projects we wholeheartedly think are worthwhile. The appeal of toys is that they are fun to own and provide the experience of playing with physical objects. We would like to continue to create products that our customers can enjoy, in addition to ourselves.

Continuing to create products that transcend imagination

Toys are things that are fun to handle. We believe that something is “fun” when it transcends imagination. For enduringly popular series, we strive to create true masterpieces that surpass the expectations of fans, rather than mere remakes or predictable products. In upcoming projects, our goal is to surprise customers by creating Chogokin toys based on things they never would have expected. We will continue to deliver the pure fun of playing with toys to as many people as possible through unforeseen projects and interactive elements.

As recently as 30 years ago, toys were considered to be solely for children. Our product development efforts are driven by our desire for people to enjoy time spent with toys even as adults, not just as children.
Bandai Spirits' iconic Chogokin brand has continued to earn the love of fans for 50 years. We will continue to take on the challenge of developing products that are not just basic alloy products but are also fun to handle.