GO TO BRYAN'S
PERSONAL HOMEPAGE
This page hosted by
Get your own
Free Homepage
Takara Report from
Winter WonderFest, 1999
This is a picture of myself (left) with the stylish Mr. Abiko Kazutami, who is the chief of Takara's hobby division and THE person responsible for both the Neo Henshin Cyborg toys and the classic Microman reproductions. In the center is the person in charge of the production of the Sony Playstation game of Microman...unfortunately, I can't read his name on his business card, so hopefully I'll have his name straight soon! He told me that Takara was interested in seeing a US version of the game released. I also asked Kazutami-san if there would be any chance we'd see a reproduction of Lady Command...his answer? "It is currently being planned." Cool! I think Gaku "Arden" Suzuki took the photo.
This is part of the display at Takara's booth at Wonderfest. They were featuring mostly a number of Neo Henshin Cyborg toys, but also a number of reproduced Microman classics. (see the bottom of the picture).
These are the repro Micros they featured. On the left at the front are the Hyper Hobby special edition barefoot repros. Behind them is the purple m105 James that comes with the Jigsaw puzzle Sashida-san (of Microgeneration) did the design for. To the right of them are the Command 1 & 2 repros including one carded one (SRP of 1500 yen). And to the right of them are the newly slated Acroyear repros (SRP of 980 yen!).
In the center here is Neo Henshin Cyborg 99 (Double Nine), the new Cyborg toy for this year that features magnetic shoulders and back ports like the new 99 Microman Robotman toys. Neat gimmick! I met the designer of this new Cyborg series and he was a very nice fellow.
These are samples of the new series of Microman trading cards. Each card will feature a particular figure, robot, or vehicle and supply data about them on the back. Too cool! Behind them is a set of MicroGeneration CG art postcards Matsumoto printed (includes my own Rescue Nurse CG!) and the Microgeneration Phase 2 T-shirt (none available in fatso foreigner size like mine...ah well.) Below you can see the backs of these sample cards also.
A CD Single was being advertised at WonderFest of the Microman anime theme song that comes with a pack-in wingpack ("Jet Scale") for Arthur! The wings have a 5mm connector peg and two 5mm sockets on the wingtips. The detail is hard to make out in my scan, but they have lots of detailing on them, are clear red, and resemble the Evangelion Production Series Eva's wings slightly. Cool!
M.A.F.F. and other Japanese Microman fan clubs
The fan presence at Wonderfest was also hard to miss. M.A.F.F. had a table, but unfortunately no one was there when I stopped by. However, I got a number of MAFF goods from my friends earlier...
This is MAFF's "Concealed Anecdote" Microman manga by Yasuhiko Enari, based on the style of the original manga series. Scan courtesy of Ray Miller (I was too lazy to scan mine).
I also got the "Concealed Anecdote V:Final Episode", last installment of the MAFF manga. The contents are partly sealed under intsruction not to open until late 1999.
This is a real cool find. This book lists various forces of Micromen and their vital statistics, an ideal compliment to the Microman RPG they also make. Lots of original ideas.
Here's some samples of the cool artwork inside the guide.
This is a postcard from their set of postcards with art from their various books by Yasuhiko Enari. It is the cover illustration from the Microman RPG they produced, which I am now trying to get.
This is a figure with a custom head made by MAFF, owned by Sashida-san. A friend of his also made the custom hand with the pointed finger.
Another group, called "SAF" had a Microman encyclopedia at Wonderfest. It compiles info on the first Microman Series (1974-1980) including obscure character info on each of the figures and the full compiled Microman Story. Below is a sample figure profile page.
Microman is (c)1999/1974 Takara, Ltd, Japan. No infringement is intended.
Comic Bom Bom is (c)1999 Kodansha. All images are used for review purposes only. No infringement is intended.