Via Kakakumag website we have the second part of the interview with longtime Transformers designer Takashi Kunihiro.
Once again, thanks to our very own super mod Shin Densetsu for translating the interview for all of us. This second part is titled: “God of the Transformers speaks! The Secret story of robot transformation development”. This should give you an idea a<bout the respect and importance of Takashi-san in Takara Tomy’s development team. He shares great comments about the creative process of Transformers figures that you may find quite interesting. To top it all, we have great comments and information about the popular Studio Series line.
This interview is part 2 of 3. You can read part 1 here, while Part 3 will be published on August 18 and cover Kunihiro’s top 5 favorite Transformers toys.
You can read the full translation and the mirrored images after the jump, and then you can sound off your impressions on the 2005 Boards.
This is part 2: “How to make a transformable robot”
Kunihiro says that there are about 14 members total working on Transformers(14 is the combined number of Hasbro and Takara Transformers team members). Transformers began for Kunihiro the year he joined Takara(1984). However since then, some fans have joined and have become part of the team.
Kunihiro was asked if information is shared with the team and/or if they present their opinions:
- The team gathers and they all share their ideas and opinions
- They try to air out any misconceptions before starting design work
- The idea is to present whatever you are thinking immediately
- It’s as if you are arguing everyday but nothing goes forward if no one says anything
- There are some situations where he thinks some decisions are made for the best. For example, taking influence from the cartoon for a character that was popular in the cartoon…..especially if this is presented by a team member who knows a lot about the character. However he laughs and says sometimes “There is nothing you can do about it. Please forgive me!”.
Kunihiro was asked about making consultations for designs.
- When he sees that a design will not work properly, he will consult the designer(implied the Hasbro designers have some creative freedom with the designs but he will step in if he can tell something won’t work)
- Mentioned how some of the Hasbro team has left over the years
Kunihiro was asked if Hasbro mainly develops the movie toys:
- Kunihiro says that whatever is co-developed by Hasbro is usually led by Hasbro.
Kunihiro is asked how Transformers design proceeds:
With regards to movie figures, 1st Hasbro brings up what they want to make.
- Takara then brainstorms how to make the figure
- After a couple of days, the Takara team makes a simple drawing, mapping out transformation so that you can see the parts when they are transformed.
- Takara then makes a parts diagram of how the toy looks when disassembled. This also shows how it transforms in order
- All work completed by this stage is then compiled and presented to Hasbro as a plan for creating the toy.
- If the alt mode is based on a real vehicle, a copyright must be obtained. This starts at the drawing stage but takes time.
- There are so many things to cover when getting copyright approval. Some manufacturers will say things such as “the shape of this light is different”. However there are times when approval can be granted easily. For example, Sikorsky was surprised at how Blackout turned out and pleased with it.
More design info:
- Kunihiro usually works on 4-5 designs simultaneously but tries hard not to keep count. The idea is to work on the next design while making drawing samples of a current design.
- He thinks it’s okay if 2 designs are designed similarly. Though that may be the case, sometimes the products end up completely different despite the transformations being the same. He thinks this is kind of fun.
- Ultimately he thinks toys are basically children’s things
Kunihiro was asked if design has changed with the times, due to being able to use a computer and access CG designs:
- He says of course there are parts that have evolved even when such things are available but the progress of the know-how aspect is greater. In the old days, most Transformers toys could stand and their arms moved whereas now their whole bodies move. He laughed and said “if the waist does not move you will get angry”.
- The method of screwing pieces of plastic together hasn’t changed but he sees this advancing in the future with new hardware.
- He mentions that parts are designed to pop off when pressure is applied for example, when transforming the toy wrong. They are designed to be this way at the drawing stage.
Studio Series
It was a proposal by Hasbro to make the robot figures in scale with each other. At that point, it was decided that the deluxe, voyager and leader size classes would be used. Kunihiro said they were able to recreate the battle scenes(going by the translations I think he’s referring to the background displays that come with each figure). Also he was able to get 3D data from Paramount, so Studio Series turned out much better than previous series in terms of detail; he thinks that’s the feature of the line.
He designed Ratchet, Blackout and Megatron. He is also the designer of the 2009 ROTF voyager Megatron, didn’t get to see the final toe design until he saw the movie. Unlike before, when he was only given a mere drawing to work off of, for Studio Series he was given the CG files for robot and vehicle mode(presumably for everything but the upcoming Bumblebee movie). With the CG files he can see the designs with a 360 degree view unlike having to pause the movie between frames.
They can’t recreate every detail they see on the CG(since it’s so fine), but are able to focus on which parts to make realistic and which parts to skip.
Studio Series Blackout
- Blackout has sold well worldwide and will be rereleased in Japan this month.
- This figure was made since CG data was on hand
- Kunihiro said Blackout has a terribly complicated shape that you can’t make out completely even though you’re watching the movie.
- He wanted to design the toy to resemble the design in the movie as close as he could while having access to the CG
- He wanted to make the Pave Low helicopter mode realistic
- He liked the transformation from Pave Low to robot mode in the 1st movie
Megatron
- Biggest voyager in the line so far
- Foot design is completely different from the voyager he designed 10 years ago in the ROTF line(due to having access to CG this time)
- Seems like Kunihiro was apologizing about being able to see through the gap in Megatron’s torso from the side.
Closing thoughts on the Studio Series line:
- It’s a challenge for smaller figures since their smaller size makes it difficult to reproduce the finer details
- There’s also the issue of a physically smaller figure coming off as boring when there are other figures in the same size class/pricepoint which are substantially bigger
- Jazz was difficult to design due to sizing/dimensions of the hinges. This could’ve been easier had the entire figure been designed to be physically bigger. However it would’ve ended up too big like the size of Blackout(not sure if he was implying the voyager Blackout from 2007).
- Mentioned that he is reducing the transformation process considerably overall.
- Even if someone transforms Blackout a lot, he feels sorry for them(it was a joke but something may have been lost in translation here).
- It’s pointed out that SS Blackout’s transformation has been suppressed(simplified?) considerably
- Kunihiro mentions that it’s hard to make a figure resemble either a robot or vehicle when the transformation process is short. It’s possible to get the figure to resemble the robot or vehicle modes more by increasing the number of transformation steps
- For ROTF, Kunihiro says he put too much emphasis on making the robot and vehicle designs look accurate which resulted in transformations that were too complicated for quite a few of the products.
- However he doesn’t like making toys hard to play with.
snoopcow
Blasphemy, we all know blackapple is better than those hacks at tt.
Afterburner
Seems like a great guy who loves our hobby as much as we do, as they all do. He also seems to get it, like their team generally does. His hard work is appreciated.
Datsun87
No kidding. For as much as we tend to put specific designers on a pedestal around here, they are still working on bringing someone else's vision to life. I adore Hasui, Kobayashi, and Kunihiro but I know they weren't responsible for coming up with G1 Prowl, G1 Starscream, or movie Barricade.
cybernaut
…but at the end of the day, Kunihiro is still an employee of the company. Regardless of his "vision", if management decrees he accomplish said design with the "compromised" constraints, he will have to do it.
Richard McBeef
I'm talking about G1 CHUG scale though. The 3rd party stuff is all Masterpiece scale.
I agree 100%. The only thing missing is an awesome vehicle mode, one that is as sleek and aerodynamic as he was in the G1 days.
Raiyuki
Universe Cyclonus was one of my favorite molds at the time. In retrospect it's articulation is a bit hampered in the arms but that transformation and the bot mode are still stellar. I'm still trying to get every version of that mold along with Classics Rodimus to pull as many sets of Rodimus vs. Cyclonus as possible (though United Rodimus Prime ruins everything there by not having an extra Cyclonus to go with.)
Shmoptimus Prime
There are a lot of G1 inspired Cyclonus figures when you include 3P stuff. I want a decent and accurate IDW-inspired one that isn't that add-on kit.
Richard McBeef
Universe cyclonus was okay, but I still think that they could come up with a perfect CHUG interpretation. It was cool that they did a voyager version recently, because Cyclonus should be a voyager.
But hampering him with the combiner wars gimmick really did a disservice to how cool he could have been in both modes. I am so tired of gimmicks ruining what could be fantastic Transformers, which is why I'm excited for Siege.
Shin Densetsu
You're welcome. I have the FE Vehicon and RID one. Once I got my RID one I was surprised, most FE figures are better than their RID counterparts but the RID Vehicon stuck out. It's very impressive.
Loved Universe Cyclonus, dug how the Targetmaster could be handheld or turned into an armgun
EradiconA113N
!!! I am so glad the vehicon made it on to his top 5. Anyone who loves the vehicons and their frame, especially the toy is an awesome person in my book!
supervir2
Thanks for the translation!
Nightviper and cyclonus were unexpected additions. Nightviper was definitely unique and I enjoyed cyclonus at the time. Don’t have movie figures so I can’t comment on those. I know the vehicon is well-regarded – may have to see what the buzz is about.
Shin Densetsu
They aren't guest designers. Takara didn't give Yuki a choice for MP5 Megatron, it was 2 weeks or nothing.
XXLMagnus
Star Saber was just … boring … I know that’s super subjective but even with the travails of Dinobot, which I purchased at a roughly similar price point, he still feels miles more engaging as a MP figure … Hot Rod’s boxy chest and simplistic spindleshanks just scream ‘fuck it, they’ll buy it anyway’ and the whole ‘designed MP-05 in a wkend’ narrative always rubbed me the wrong way … a true master of his craft, one w/artisic vision and professional integrity, would reject such a comprised proposition out of hand … so yeah, I’m out on “guest designers” in the MP line … my bad
Raiyuki
Exactly where was Star Saber "flubbed?" In fact outside of the chrome how was Hot Rod "flubbed?"
MegaDolrailer
I want to say that was Hisashi Yuki, since he also designed Leo Convoy and Big Convoy, and his designs in BWII and Neo were in the style of original BW.
I'm only making a guess because i've never seen beast wars designer credits unfortunately.
rendsora
Alright it's ok but I find it odd Takashi Kunihiro has been involved with so many lines & iterations in the TF franchise but hasn't been openly involved in the MP line. Maybe he's there behind the scenes in an advisory role or something (who knows?).
I would love to see him as a guest star designer just like what TT did with Yuki san for designing MP Star Saber. Other than some weak ratchets on mp Star Saber, overall that turned out great!
Although some fans moaned abt the lack of paint apps on mp Star Saber, making it less premium. But there's a reason for that, Yuki san openly said in an interview, he purposely used mostly colored plastics instead of painted parts bcoz he wants the figure to be played with and transform back & forth without fear of paint chipping. He didn't want it to be a static display piece hence it's more toy-like in appearance.
D307
I love getting into the mindset of these designers, interviews are kinda rare which is unfortunate but I reckon somewhat necessary to keep things secret and to build momentum. I still find the same level of amazement that I did when I was 6 years old for Transformers, and I really do appreciate the efforts of these guys! My fingers and toes are crossed as to what may be coming for the 35th anniversary!
Shin Densetsu
I wonder if he designed Ultra Optimus Primal. Whoever designed that was a freaking GENIUS. Even today that toy holds up(I have that and Kobayashi's MP, yes the MP is good but I look at both toys differently).
If he designed Primal maybe he also designed voyager Incinerator from 2007. That's another favorite figure of mine since like Primal, its gimmicks are still able to work no matter which mode they're in and no matter how their limbs are arranged. There's so much going on yet parts still work in unison.
RazorclawX
Somehow I knew it was Night Viper. That was one of the standout figures.
Shin Densetsu
I get that you are joking but Kunihiro is no novice. He's been with Takara since 1984 and started working on Transformers in 1985. He's got years on Kobayashi and Hasui. Kobayashi joined in the late 90's.
Yuki designed MP Star Saber and is not new to MP's. He designed MP5 Megatron in under 2 weeks. If he can design something like that in under 2 weeks, imagine if he was given 2 years to work on something.
It's assumed Kobayashi designed MP36 but the jury is still out. With recent MP's, Takara hasn't been outright in saying who designed which. We didn't know until this interview that Kunihiro was behind MPM Barricade.
Not to shift blame to Hasbro but we do know Hasbro did play a part in designing some of the MPM line. Which figures and to what extent, we don't know. We know Ben Montano worked on the line but we don't know which Takara designers were paired with him(aside from Kunihiro designing MPM Barricade and Yuya designing MPM Bumblebee). MPM4 struck me as being designed by a newer member of the team due to the lack of secure locking mechanisms going to truck mode and the way the head was designed. At this point we know that any collaborative effort is led by Hasbro, so the MPM differs from the main MP line because it's not a Takara-led effort.
It's been a big misconception that MP's are largely led by 1 designer. It's a team effort. The whole team was giving Hasui feedback when he was designing MP10. They all bounce ideas off of each other. A main designer isn't permanently there, they all switch off every few years. So while there is sometimes a main designer, the resulting toy is a team effort.
We may not all like the end results and that's fine. I just find it odd that one of the most experienced veteran designers out there is being referred to as a guest and should be relegated to the fry station, especially when he's one of the guys the other designers turn to for advice.
You're welcome
Thanks! It's probably something to do with the 35th anniversary next year. I'm pretty excited but have no idea what it could be. I'm thinking a rather big/important G1 MP.
You're welcome. I love how their interviews are a treasure trove of background information. Being that he's been at Takara for over 30 years, it's great hearing about how things came to be from him.
Transformers would outright SUCK without Takara.
You're welcome and I agree, it was an amazing toy. It was one of the rare times I liked an RID figure a bit more than its 1st Edition counterpart.