But with quirky being the paradigm so many capsule toy designers are chasing, we were blown away to find a new line that’s just straight cool.
The toys come from anime merchandiser extraordinary Bandai, and feature the cast of an anime that always oozes coolness: Lupin III. If you were to describe them in a word, they’re figures, standing 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) tall, with some snap-together assembly required. They’re made of translucent plastic, but they also each come with a sheet of black stickers for you to apply.
At first, they just seem like subtle, understated desk decorations for in-the-know fans. But master thief Lupin starts looking a lot more dynamic…
…when you flip off the lights!
Well, actually, to achieve the above effect you have to switch off the lights in your room and switch on the LED light embedded in the figure’s back plate.
The black decals don’t completely cover the figures’ surface area, leaving an outline that gets illuminated as the light projected from the LEDs bounces back from the wall. With Lupin and company always needing to make a speedy getaway after pulling off their latest heist, it looks like they’re being hit with searchlights as they escape the scene of the crime.
Even though you can’t see anyone’s face, their body language is incredibly expressive, with Jigen using a hand to keep his hat planted to his head and Goemon’s flowing hair and samurai attire buffeting as they run from the law and/or the real villains who were on the receiving end of Lupin’s latest scheme.
Really, our only complaint is that we ran out of coins and didn’t end up with the fifth figure, Inspector Zenigata, to really round out the chase scene atmosphere.
Officially, the figures are collectively called the GP Shadow Art Lupin III line, and priced at just 300 yen (US$2.60) they feel like a bargain.
Lupin III is an especially apt choice for the silhouette treatment. In addition to the original manga from creator Monkey Punch, several different anime directors, including Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki, have put their own spin on the series, and the abstract nature of these figures means fans can see them as whichever version of the characters resonates the most with them personally.
That said, this is an awesome idea for any anime character with a recognizable silhouette, and hopefully we’ll see the Shadow Art capsule toy expanded to other series too.
It appeared to nestle on a shelf sitting atop a building, looking down at passersby, possibly preparing to pounce at any moment. Since Japan is crazy for cats, it was a big hit, with some people traveling specifically to the neighborhood just to see it.
Now, the cat is back with a friend in tow – a Roomba. This 3-D cat and Roomba collaboration will be displayed on the Cross Shinjuku Vision billboard from November 2 to December 31.
▼ There’s our precious calico.
The timing of the collaboration coincides with the holidays, but it also overlaps with cat shedding season, in which having a tool to clean up cat hair is most welcome.
The 30-second ad features the cat atop a glass surface. The cat shakes itself once and dislodges a visible amount of fur. Suddenly, a Roomba starts to move towards it, and the cat appears taken aback.
▼ “What in the…”
It prods the device with a paw – complete with cute sound effects – and gives it a warning mewl when the Roomba gets closer to it to clean up the dropped fur.
▼ To hop on, or not to hop on?
Cross Shinjuku Vision tweeted about the arrival of the new installment and received many happy reactions from Japanese netizens.
“Oh, I get it! This is a great marketing opportunity. Maybe they’ll partner with cat food makers next.” “It looks fun even though I can’t see it in person!” “It’s so cute!” “I’ve heard a lot of cats like to climb on Roombas.”
This Shinjuku cat may not be a Roomba rider, but it sure gets the message across. If you’re heading out to see the cat in-person, note that it may not appear 3-D depending on the angle you watch it from. Use the video above for reference when you go! Pro tip: you can probably see a lit-up version if you go see it at night.
After exploring the city a bit more, she stumbled on the Paris Bandai Store. With its blocky “Bandai Hobby Store” sign and storefront, complete with a Gundam statue in the window, it looked somewhat out of place among the traditional buildings of Paris. But once you know that Paris is actually a haven for fans of Japanese culture, it isn’t so surprising to see it there.
In fact, there are several areas of Paris that are dedicated to Japanese culture. The particular area where Ikuna found the Bandai Store is full of niche hobby shops. This Bandai Store is actually a genuine shop directly operated by Bandai, so it’s the real deal for anime fans. It was so full of products that you would almost think you were in Japan!
Though Ikuna is familiar with the Gundam, which is one of the core franchises owned by Bandai Namco, and has watched many of the different Gundam anime series, she doesn’t really remember much of what she’s watched. However, there is one series she’s a die-hard otaku for, so much so that when it comes out in conversation she gets moon-eyed and starts to talk bizarrely fast. That series is Gundam Wing.
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing aired between 1995 and 1996 in Japan and followed the story of five young men who pilot their own Gundams. The story doesn’t revolve around anything so simple as whether or not they want to pilot the Gundams; instead, the boys are thrust into conflict and end up injured and missing, and the depiction of human characters is truly superb (so says super-fan Ikuna.)
▼ In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the English-language trailer.
But Ikuna, who only really knows Gundam Wing, was curious to know if the most popular Gundam of Gundam Wing, the Wing Gundam, would be a best-selling Gunpla model kit at the Paris Bandai Store? She asked Mattise, a smiling and super kind shop attendant, for the top five most popular models, and he was able to easily supply a top three, but the fourth and fifth spots were apparently harder to determine.
Still, Matisse was kind enough to think up a list and write it down for her, since Ikuna’s ability to speak and understand French–and Gundam–was limited.
…Unfortunately, she did not understand a thing on the list.
For starters, Ikuna admitted she can’t read cursive very well. Plus, she may know a lot about Gundam Wing, but that’s about the limit of her Gundam knowledge. Instead of being a fan of the mobile suits themselves, she likes the stories of the anime, so even given the names of specific suits, she had no idea what they were.
So not only was she unable to read the cursive, but even if she could read it, she wouldn’t know what anything on the list meant. Luckily, Mattis took his kindness to a whole new level and typed the names into her smartphone so she could at least read them.
Now armed with the knowledge of the best-selling Gunpla (even if she didn’t quite know how to interpret that knowledge), Ikuna set out to search for them in theBandai Store. It’s a surprisingly large store. Though it looks pretty small from the outside, the shop extends really far back, and its shelves are packed with merchandise.
Not all of it is Gundam, either!
But there’s a lot of Gunpla stuff. They have all kinds of paints, art supplies, and adhesives all neatly lined up on the walls.
The first floor is a mecca for Gunpla builders.
And when she went down the stairs…
It was like entering the world of Gundam!
The interior was thoroughly decorated to look like a space ship, and every nook and cranny was packed with Gunpla kits of all shapes and sizes.
Ikuna had only expected otaku to come to a place like this, but she also saw several familieschecking out the wares.
There’s even a room for building Gunpla! Ikuna was thoroughly impressed.
Anyway, here, finally, we get to the core of Ikuna’s report: the top five best-selling models at the Paris Bandai Store! Somehow, bumbling through the huge selection, Ikuna managed to find them all (she hopes). You may have already been able to decipher the list Mattis provided her, but if not, here they are:
5. MG Barbatos
This 1/100 scale Gundam model is from the series, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans. It sells for 54.99 Euros (US$63.75 or 7,939 yen), which is a lot pricier than the 4,950 yen it sells for inside Japan.
It was here that Ikuna learned that the letters on Mattise’s list indicated the type of model. The “G” refers to the grade of the model, making HG “High Grade”, RG “Real Grade”, MG “Master Grade”, and PG “Perfect Grade”. Each grade has a general size range and different numbers of pieces, so many builders shop based on the grade.
The Paris Bandai Store had its Gunpla models arranged by grade, which would make it pretty easy to find what you’re looking for…if you knew what you were looking for. Ikuna didn’t, really, so she had a bit of a struggle.
4. RG Sazabi
The Sazabi is a mobile suit used exclusively by Char Aznable, the main antagonist in the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime. It was a very recognizable mobile suit to Ikuna, so at least this one she could find easily. This particular suit comes in many different varieties, including HG and MG grades, but it seems the RG is the most popular at the Paris shop.
Ikuna had no idea how deep the Gunpla world was.
▼ They seemed to be flying off the shelves as Ikuna browsed.
3. The Evangelion Kids
Obviously, these are not Gundam, nor are they buildable models but instead standing plastic models. Still, Mattise included them in his list of top-selling models because they are definitely hot sellers. It seems like the characters sell much better than the actual Eva mobile suit, though those are also available.
Naturally, when Ikuna asked Mattise which character was the most popular, the answer was Asuka. “Though Shinji is also really popular,” he made sure to add.
2. HG Transient Gundam Glacier
This one really baffled Ikuna. When she looked it up, she learned that this is not actually a Gundam that appeared in an anime, but a Gundam that was designed specifically for Gunpla. Since Ikuna had no idea what she was looking at, she decided it was best not to say too much about it, lest she anger some diehard fans in her ignorance.
1. HG Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee
There are, it turns out, so many versions of the Unicorn Gundam that finding the right one in the Bandai Store was a labor of love that Ikuna was not prepared for (she greatly apologizes if she photographed the wrong one). This Gundam is from the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn series, which aired in Japan about five years ago, and is a successor/variant of the same Gundam that stands outside of Diver City in Odaiba, Tokyo. It seems that, based on this list, most of the popular Gundams are newer ones. Sadly Ikuna’s favorite Wing Gundam did not make the list.
▼ Yet another kind of Unicorn Gundam
Still, just like the time she checked out a Spanish manga shop, Ikuna had a fun time looking at the different Gunpla in the Paris Bandai Store and learned a bit about Gunpla culture and Parisian fandom in the process. The music playing inside the store was also a medley of theme songs and insert songs from the many Gundam series. In fact, while Ikuna was browsing, they even played Gundam Wing’s theme songs, “Just Communication” and “Rhythm Emotion,” and the OVA ending theme “White Reflection”, all in a row. That felt like the perfect anthem for her adventure.
Since that got her sufficiently in the mood for Gundam, Ikuna decided to take the plunge and buy her first-ever Gunpla model kit: an SD Wing Gundam for 7.99 Euros (“SD” models are smaller than other grades and have simplified body proportions). She panicked slightly when she opened it and realized it had a lot more parts than she expected…But she’s going to try her best at building it. After all, how cool would it be to say she built a Gunpla in Paris?
Shop information
Bandai Hobby Store
5 Bd Voltaire, 75011 Paris
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday thru Saturday; 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays
Last month low-cost airline Peach began a promotion in which people could get discounts on airfare to certain location in Japan. These locations, however, were determined randomly by the turn of a capsule machine.
Mr. Sato took the plunge and got a trip to Oita in return. However, he wasn’t the only writer who tried and was joined by colleague Mariko Ohanabatake who drew Nagasaki. Normally this would be a disappointment because Mariko is originally from Nagasaki, but since COVID-19 had kept her away for the past two years, it would be a very welcome return.
She decided to surprise her family and talked to them on the messaging app LINE as if she were still in Tokyo, saying that she would be out in the field for the day working on an article, but was secretly making sure they would be home when she popped in unannounced. Certain that her family was at home, Mariko rang the door bell and shouted “Taroimo!” into the intercom. “Taroimo” is her family’s own variation of the standard Japanese greeting “Tadaima!” which translates to “I’m home!”
He mother opened the door in shock and stared at her daughter face-to-face for the first time in two years with a look of disbelief. The first words out of her mouth were “What happened?! Did you quit your job?!”
Mariko explained what had happened and spent the rest of the day catching up with her family. Already the luck of the draw had paid off immeasurably, but this was only half of Mariko’s adventure.
Much like Mr. Sato in Oita, Mariko was given a special “mission” that gave her a chance of winning an additional 3,000 Peach Points valued at 3,000 yen (US$27). To complete the mission she would have to go to Glover Garden, a very well-known landmark to locals like her, but also often considered just a typical park. This garden was originally part of a settlement for foreigners in Japan during the Meiji Period and as a result mixes Western and Japanese architecture, and it’s in a beautiful location overlooking Nagasaki Port.
According to her voucher, Mariko’s mission was to find an “unusual fortune” on the grounds of the garden. Although she had been here many times, she was surprised to not know what the paper was referring to.
After paying the 620 yen (US$5.45) admission, she decided to search for this “unusual fortune” on her own. She could have just asked the staff, but since she already had a home-field advantage she decided to make a challenge of it.
First she consulted a map but was surprised. She never realized how big this place is before.
Without knowing exactly where to go, Mariko found herself wandering into sections of Glover Garden that she had never seen before. The weather was also perfect on this autumn afternoon, and you couldn’t have asked for a better time to visit a place like this. Whoever made this the travel mission really knew what they were doing.
Mariko used to use this garden for taking casual strolls but never really looked around it. It wasn’t until she saw it through the eyes of a tourist that she began to appreciate the small details, and that is how she found her “unusual fortune.”
▼ “Glover Garden Koi Fortune Telling”
To play, Mariko purchased a tub of fish pellets and a piece of paper with her lucky color of koi. According to the paper, by getting that colored koi to eat her pellets, her fortune shall come true. In her case she got the red and white koi with a fortune that felt almost too on the nose for her particular situation.
She tossed in her pellets, aiming for the red and white fish each time, and wished for better days ahead. When she walked back through the park, she noticed a lot of other people out and about as well. After the past two years it was a bit of a strange sight to behold, but a promising one too.
There are some valid complaints one could make about Peach’s campaign. The random capsule itself costs 5,000 yen, and you only get a guaranteed minimum discount of 6,000 yen and a chance at winning 3,000 yen more. However, it did get Mariko on that plane and back to her home and family after a long period of isolation, and for that she was extremely grateful.
