Transformers 40th Anniversary Expo Additional Images

PoweredConvoy

Dengeki Hobby's coverage of the event and interview with Takayuki Miyauchi from TakaraTomy.

知りたくないか？彼らの歴史を！「40周年記念 トランスフォーマー博2024」内覧会レポート＆関係者インタビュー!!｜電撃ホビーウェブ note臨時出張所

Machine translated interview.

Our job is to further expand the diversity and possibilities of Transformers!
–First of all, congratulations on holding the "40th Anniversary Transformers Expo 2024"!

Miyauchi: Thank you.

–What was the reaction of customers at the "Transformers Exhibition" held at two locations across the country?

Miyauchi: Osaka and Fukuoka were the core events of this large-scale exhibition project, and people were lined up before the doors opened at both venues, so we think it was a great success. We saw many children and female fans, and once again realized the breadth of Transformers fans. Currently, as part of the 40th anniversary project, we are distributing past Transformers animations on our Hobby Channel, and perhaps due to this influence, we saw a small boy walking around the venue humming the opening theme of the original animation "Transformers: Super Robot Lifeform."

–This is your first large-scale exhibition in 10 years. I imagine there were many difficulties you faced?

Miyauchi: Because this character has been around for 40 years, when we started planning the event we were very worried about which generation would enjoy it. The task of searching through old documents and compiling them was as difficult as archaeology, and some documents and products were no longer available within the company, but we were fortunate to receive cooperation from outside the company and were able to make it to the opening date without any problems.

–Please tell us about the current user base for Transformers toys.

Miyauchi: In terms of popularity, they are roughly divided into "G1", "Beast" and "Movie". This has been the case for a long time, but the overwhelming majority of people who buy toys are men. Female fans seem to be more likely to collect character goods than toys. We had overseas fans visit the Osaka and Fukuoka venues. There are many ways to enjoy Transformers, including toys, games, goods, anime and movies. Forty years after its birth, it has become loved by "three generations of parents and children", and with the release of the latest anime "Transformers Earth Spark", the proportion of toy buyers is also rapidly increasing among children.

–Please tell us about the current state of Transformers toys.

Miyauchi: In addition to the ongoing series, we are also working on a new original project for fully transformable figures with the theme of high character reproduction. When the movie "Transformers: Beast Awakening" was released last year, a product called "Awakened Optimal Primal" that was created as an original project for Japan was a big hit. "BPC-01 Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa Change Optimus Primal", which transforms from a gorilla in beast mode to robot mode in three steps with "bang! bang! bang!", also sold well in Japan. This product, which can be easily transformed in three steps and can be enjoyed by people of all ages and genders, has become a product that is loved (sold) all over the world. For the movie "Transformers: ONE" released this year, we will release a transformable figure called "Brave Commander Optimus Prime" as an original product for Japan.

–So you're continuing to aim to create products that can be sold all over the world!

Miyauchi: Yes. We believe we must live up to those expectations.

–Please tell us about the appeal of Transformers.

Miyauchi: Transformers are metal lifeforms that can transform into different objects by scanning them. The unique characters are all unique, and users can choose any character they like, whether they are good or bad, enemies or allies. They were introduced with the catchphrase "You choose your hero!" and have been loved by many children, which I think is what makes them unique and different from other character works. As the theme of Transformers, "Robots in Disguis," suggests, a car running through the city might suddenly transform into a robot one day. They might be hiding in a familiar place in a mimicry of something. I think that kind of excitement is not found in other robot content.

— Until 10 years ago, fans knew the commander-in-chief as "Convoy," but since the release of the live-action film in 2007, his name has come to be mixed with "Optimus Prime," the name given to him overseas.

Miyauchi: Commander Convoy is the representative "face" of Transformers. Kids love both the trailers and the robots, and he is the most popular character in each series. I guess the image of old fans is "Convoy". People who became fans of Transformers after seeing the live-action movies have known him as "Optimus Prime" since the beginning, so they only learned later that "Optimus Prime" was known as "Convoy" in Japan. Our company tries to commercialize products for G1 generation fans under the name "Convoy". When commercializing as "Convoy", we give it the setting of Cybertron, and for products aimed at the movie generation, we incorporate the setting of Autobots under the name "Optimus Prime". We will continue to promote both "Convoy" and "Optimus Prime" in a way that will make them familiar with each other.

–Are there any differences in how robots are viewed in Japan and overseas?

Miyauchi: Japanese Transformer fans see the Autobots and Decepticons as "friends" or "partners." Many fans overseas, including in the U.S., make their own costumes and weapons to become Transformers, and I get the impression that they see Transformers as superheroes. Large-sized Transformer figures are popular overseas, but in Japan, it seems that the attention is focused on the high level of reproduction of the characters and the interesting transformation gimmicks, rather than the size.

–What is the age range of the toy designers on the Transformers team responsible for developing Transformer toys?

Miyauchi: We have a wide range of employees, from 20 to 50 years old. We have designers who have been involved in development since the early days, people from the generation who grew up watching the original Transformers animation, people who joined the company because they were influenced by Beast Wars, and developers who are fans of the live-action movies, so we have a very different environment (ideal) from 10 years ago, where people who experienced the big movement that was a turning point for Transformers are all in one department. As a team, we work hard every day on product development, hoping to foster "fun" and "playfulness" through the toy called Transformers.

–It's been 10 years since the first large-scale exhibition event, "Transformers Expo 2014," and not only has the market been revitalized, but the development scene has also changed significantly!

Miyauchi: We can now consider the different generations of toy designers and propose new products from a perspective closer to the users. It seems that not only the technical aspects but also the passion for toy development of the veterans has been firmly passed down.

–Transformers have been creating a lot of buzz so far and are expanding their field of activity into various fields. Please tell us about your future plans.

Miyauchi: A new project is underway to mark the 40th anniversary. Masterpiece, the highest-end brand of Transformer toys, has been inherited by MPG, and the technology has been further improved. We are also waiting for a project to follow the Raiden Project, Super Ginrai, and God Bomber, which were held the year before last and last year. Details will be announced in the future, but we would like to further enhance our product plans for children as well as products for core fans. Our job is to further expand the diversity and possibilities of Transformers. We will work to make it possible to hold a large-scale Transformers Expo again in 10 years, so please look forward to it.

–thank you very much!

[PROFILE]
Takayuki Miyauchi
is in his third year in charge of Transformers marketing at Takara Tomy (Chief of Marketing, Collector Division). He is using his natural agility to act as a bridge between senders and users.

Currently, there are over 500 characters of good and evil Transformers. Always inspiring new generations, Transformers has continued to shine as a symbol of exciting transforming robot toys, and it is aiming for new heights in the next decade!

Dengeki Hobby's coverage of the event and interview with Takayuki Miyauchi from TakaraTomy.

知りたくないか？彼らの歴史を！「40周年記念 トランスフォーマー博2024」内覧会レポート＆関係者インタビュー!!｜電撃ホビーウェブ note臨時出張所

GizmoTron

Well I think it's a little easier to pull off in Japan where the logistics are easier for having a small traveling expo. Here you can't just jump on a bus or a train and be just about anywhere in the country within hours, so whenever we have an event or show of any significance in the States it ends up being at just a one time venue in like California, New York, or maybe Chicago, and instead of celebrating you just end up with pages and pages of people lamenting that these things are never near and easily accessible for them and they cannot go.

I've heard similar complaints with, say, concerts or events in my region in South-East Asia. The big difference is that there's a number of budget airlines that make things somewhat more doable so it's possible to take a flight from, say, Indonesia to attend an event in Singapore or Malaysia.

lord ginrai

Yes.
Missing Link Arcee & Sunstreaker

Sweet baby Jesus! That looks mint as hell. Now please release it Takara!

Missing Links Sunstreaker? On Image 17.

IGEBM

That’s definitely not a reason why, because they have G1 figured that were exclusive to the European market on display

The mold is owned by Bandai. They wouldn't legally be able to have it on display in connection with their brand.

All the EU exclusive stuff was still designed by Takara, just not sold by them.

Ravewind

I don't think he had been sold in Japan ever as Jetfire thus would not be included.

That’s definitely not a reason why, because they have G1 figured that were exclusive to the European market on display

evenstaves

Wonder if those the same Multiforce figs that were up on Mandarake within the past month?

Saw specifically these two pairs (and not the 3rd pair) up on Mandy recently

View attachment 30541501

Wing Waver is a Chinese release. Is that what you saw on Mandarake? I’d never seen one before.

BLOODRAGED189

If anyone is still there, could you get better pics of the prototype display case? It's hard to make much of anything out in the one photo here

No photography of that case allowed.

sort of surprised that I didn\'t see any G1 Jetfire anywhere

That gallery of Titans is beautiful