Wow, what a great look behind the scenes. Thanks for posting and translating that interview. Full of interesting info. And I just loooooved this:

Amazing what you can do when you just focus on making a high-quality toy.

 

OK, I'll bite.

Why?

 

Again, gotta give major kudos to SydneyY and SolFury for translating such an insightful and enjoyable interview. Really look forward to a possible Star Saber, Soundwave, Rodimus Prime, or any other great TF fig the Henkei team will help to bring to life.  

 

Yeah, hmmm... why, exactly?!  

 

Thanks for the translation. Very interesting read. It is nice to see and here from the people that have created so many of the toys I love.

 

A really fantastic interview. These guys really know what they are talking about and Hasbro could stand to learn a thing or two from them (such as the whole topic of gimmicks). It was really worth it, taking the time to read this interview. To think these guys designed so many great toys is amazing. They also sound like really nice people and I am positive that when they say they're going to make Transformers way better, they mean it.

All hail TakaraTomy!

I think most people will agree that this is one of the statements of the day (there are some where TakaraTomy absolutely blow down Hasbro but this is a really neat one to hear from these guys):

 

Agreed, totally. Y, as usual, you raise the bar and rock at the same time.

As I quoted, you can certainly feel the passion these people have for their product. Plus a Star Saber Henkei would totally rule! (Along with a Deszaras to go alongside him)

 

Agreed. That's a real gem. (And something many fans had been wanting for ages)

 

THIS x 100!! All hail TakaTomy, indeed!   They tirelessly put the "T" and F.U.N. in EVERY SINGLE POPULAR TRANSFORMERS FIGURES MADE SINCE LIKE FOREVER! WORD.   Takara = always ONE up on Hasbrow in terms of getting to the "core" and essence of the Transformers Mythos/ i.e. THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE DOING; PLEASING COUNTLESS FANS ; PLUS THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY DESIGNED BY FANS THEMSELVES (THE JAPANESE DESIGNERS/ TOY ENGINEERS STATED IN THE ARTICLE) FOR THE FANS. I ~*HEART THEM~!*  

 

I worry that a desire to make things slavishly Cartoon acurate damages the implementation of a toy sometimes - but also - conversly a toy can be harmed by not paying attention to a feature that is a function of the cartoon.

So Sideswipe should have his accesssory as it's supposed to be his jet pack - leaving it off was just ignorance of him having one Takara's designers part. Heck judging by THS-02 they probably think the Jetpack is Primes'.

If they'd been paying more attention they might have done a better job with Cheetor than they did either time.

I also really wish someone would make a decent sized acurate BM Tankor sometime. (as an Ultra ideally) and a BM Condor Silverbolt.

As to the Soundwave - just make Doug's it rocks and rules - and would be backwards compatible with the old cassettes too.

 

WAY to show some gratitude, dude. I wont start a flame war but SERIOSULY.   Get with the program, "Mary Sue".  IMHO the designers got the skillz ; dibs and deserve and demand; RESPECT & REVERENCE.   Wait, are you a bitter HASBLOW staff who cant stand the fact that TAKARA rules?!      

 

Thanks SydneyY. Very informative.

Wait, what? The original toy was designed BEFORE the show. The show was based on the toy.

 

Very good read! Thanks SydneyY.

 

It seems calling "dibs" at TakaraTomy works, then.  

-airfox

 

It worked for Alex Kubalsky (Classics Mirage, Bumblebee). He got to work on Classics Hound, and wanted to ensure the toy was done right.

Why? Hound was his first Transformer toy.

 

Kunihiro wins for designing Cyclonus. I'm not the least bit surprised to learn he designed Sixshot, too.

 

Man, the Takara interviews are a load of fun. So much more insightful then the Hasbro ones, IMO.

 

That was a great interview I have to say thank you very much Sydney for doing this translation. Very good point they bring up and also its interesting that hasbro are the ones that push gimmicks I always thought it would be Takaratommy that was the ones doing that.

 

Man, and I thought the Hasbro hate just over Henkei colors being "better" was bad. This interview has really fueled the fire, heh. It's a good read though, they seem like cool guys.

Aren't these guys taking perhaps a bit too much credit as "designer" in some instances though? I mean, we know some of these toys they mention stemmed from the work of others, like Classics Prime/Henkei Convoy from Don Figueroa's design. Maybe the credits should be more for engineering the toys, turning them from the design art into working models? That's incredibly important, but it doesn't account for the entire design process.

Hasbro markets TFs towards kids, Takara markets TFs more towards collectors. Put 2 and 2 together, you know?

That in itself should lead to more understanding/tolerance of the gimmicks imo. We all know that when Hasbro is behind a release, it's for the most part, a kids toy. I think the homages and fan-nods we've gotten despite that have been incredible. The direction of the various lines from recent years could have easily abandoned any relation to previous parts of the TF franchise, but they keep pulling and pulling from it regardless.

 

Did these dudes shed any lights as to WHY the WonderFest Black Convoy from Henkei was cancelled?  

Sorry if this had been asked/answered before because I haven't been following up on this for a period of time.  

 

It's always a matter of time until it turns into a Hasbro hate-fest.

Because, y'know, Hasbro never did anything to the franchise! Like, ever!