Bandai has the trademark Gashapon. It was one of the many capsule toys sold in vending machines that first appeared in the 1960s, and it gained popularity in Japan and other countries. “Gashapon” is an onomatopoeic combination of the sounds “pon” for the toy capsule landing in the collection tray and “gasha” for the hand-cranking action of a toy vending machine.
Built For a Fast-Paced Culture
It’s simple to link robots, automation, and technology with Japanese culture. Thus, vending machines have become essential to the everyday user in a culture that values convenience. Surprisingly, Japanese society emphasises ceremony heavily as well, especially when it comes to providing services.
Unique Features of Gashapon
Despite their low cost, gashapon machine such as capsule toys, trinkets, keychains, and other items are renowned for their outstanding quality. Any capsule can be opened to reveal the quality of the goods inside. Furthermore, the term “monozukuri” comes from the Japanese culture’s appreciation of exquisitely made things.
Working activity
Always wanted a tiny plastic figure of a capybara drinking sushi in a tub; he’s in the collection of animals doing so. If you’ve always wanted to see a cat that resembles a piece of sushi.
Blind-Boxes
The term “capsule toys” has expanded in recent years to include “blind-box trading figures,” which are effectively the same product supplied at random from sealed packets as opposed to a machine. Once you have the money in your hand, you must make a decision regarding the toy you desire.
Bottlecap depictions
Bottle cap figurines are one more kind of capsule toy. These tiny characters are perched atop a bottle cap made of plastic, similar to one that would be on a 20-ounce soda bottle. They are offered for sale in both blind boxes and machine capsules. The caps are useless because they don’t have screw threads to fasten them to the bottle’s mouth.
Expanded Gacha Games
The gashapon concept is advanced in the video game SD Gundam Gashapon Wars, which is based on the SD Gundam television series. In this game, players can unlock additional characters by purchasing particular SD Gundam gashapon series in real life, such as SD Full Color STAGE.
Favorite Gashapon Toys
The sheer quantity of gashapon available for collectors is a little intimidating because fresh and limited runs are released virtually every month. Nevertheless, there are a few standout sets that have won the hearts and minds of many over the years and continue to be popular today.
On the Cup with Fuchico
“Fuchico on the Cup” is a relatively recent but wildly popular gashapon series. The “cup edge” type of gashapon toys was developed as a result of the original “cup edge” character’s social media popularity explosion.
Keshigomu Kinniku
“Kinniku Man Keshigomu” was one of the first gashapon toys to become very well-liked. The title of the protagonist of the well-known manga series with the same name is “Kinniku Man,” while “keshigomu” is Japanese for “eraser.” This was one of the first and most well-known gashapon when it was introduced in 1983.