BANDAI SPIRITS
STORY

Excitement both before and after drawing lots

The most attractive feature of Ichibankuji is the sense of “limited availability” that commercial merchandise doesn't offer. Not only the products are exclusive to Ichibankuji, but also many people love the addictive thrill that comes from never knowing what you'll win.

Seeing the product lineup, drawing a lot, sharing your win with friends—the best thing about Ichibankuji is how the excitement endures from the time before you draw a lot to afterwards. The value that Ichibankuji brings is both in the products themselves and also in experiences such as these.

We're committed to making products that make people think all the prizes are attractive, or that they would be happy to win a product in the lottery that they may have thought twice about buying in a regular store. We work in little references to the source material, include niche characters in the lineup, and so on—for every prize, we tackle the challenge head on. It's our goal to bring the fans of those source material new products that are truly novel.

Projects supported by surveys with approx. 8.6 million respondents

Customer survey responses are among the most important parts of planning Ichibankuji projects. Ichibankuji has a system called the “Double Chance Campaign,” in which people who enter online or via LINE using the campaign number printed on a lottery ticket can draw for prizes, and this includes a voluntary survey. The Ichibankuji Club membership site for users has about 8.6 million registered members (as of October 2024). We receive a tremendous response to each survey, and our staff review all the answers and use that feedback to plan products.

Passion for the material is our key asset

Another important aspect of planning is our love for the source material. Analyzing past lotteries isn't by itself enough for us to create products that outdo the imaginations of our customers. We also try daily processes of trial and error to find out how to create products that can surprise fans, using not only analysis, but also our passion for the source material that the products are based on as our key asset.

Additionally, the cooperation of external partners as well as internal ones is essential in order to create products that exceed expectations.

Both customer-needs analysis and our love for the source material are apparent in the Attack on Titan lottery, which was brought back to Ichibankuji in 2023 after a five-year absence. We referred to past lottery survey data from 2013 when we decided to bring Attack on Titan back, hoping to create memories that the fans can enjoy forever as the anime approaches its final episode.

For the Attack on Titan figures, we teamed up with a mold sculptor who loved the series. The Ichibankuji Attack on TitanｰRumblingｰlineup released in 2024 includes six Titan figures, each with different face shapes—and the mold sculptor was very particular about making each mold true to the source material, even if the difference was only a few millimeters in the shape of the ears. This attention to detail was an overwhelming hit with the customers.

The teams both inside and outside of the company share a love of the source material. This is one of Ichibankuji's greatest strengths.

Products that take advantage of unique appeal to outdo expectations

Ichibankuji has made many products based on manga and anime series, but in recent years, they've been actively working on collaborations with companies.

For example, the Komeda's Coffee series recently made waves in a big way. Komeda's Coffee itself is famous for outdoing customers' imaginations, with items on the menu being bigger than the photos suggest. We worked well-known concepts like that into the products, and when we made a Shiro-noir stuffed toy that was even larger than the real thing, it became a popular topic on social media, allowing us to reach new users who had never interacted with Ichibankuji before.

We believe that fully tapping into the features and charms of Komeda's Coffee with little touches like these, rather than doing a straightforward product adaptation of the brand's themes, is how we do it the Ichibankuji way, placing emphasis on little laughs and feeling like you just have to share with someone.

Love that grows living together with Ichibankuji

One major characteristic of Ichibankuji is how it's easy to buy lots at places like convenience stores. It's not limited to enthusiasts who go to shops like hobby stores and buy merchandise—the products can also reach many fans who don't own a lot of merchandise.

When we planned the Ichibankuji for Blue Lock, we were distinctly aware of this characteristic. We hoped that aside from adult fans, young soccer fans who like Blue Lock would also get involved and decorate their study desks with their Ichibankuji prizes. That even if they lost interest in soccer later on, the product would always remind them of their days chasing after the ball. We think Ichibankuji has the appeal that anyone from children to adults can enjoy it because it's so easy to buy.

Hoping to be loved by fans as the most accessible and memorable form of entertainment

One of our future goals is to make Ichibankuji into content that everyone knows. While recognition is increasing bit by bit, I think there are still a lot of people who don't know about Ichibankuji.

Ichibankuji isn't limited to anime and licensed characters. We can make products out of anything, for example Komeda's Coffee and other companies, pop idols, food, art, animals—the sky's the limit. In other words: there'll always be Ichibankuji for as long as there are fans who are obsessed with something.

We've already in the process of expanding overseas, but we want to make Ichibankuji easy to buy in even more areas around the world. I can't think of anything that would make me happier than seeing Ichibankuji become the world's most accessible and memorable form of entertainment that makes day-to-day life even just a little bit more positive.