This is a report on the Tokyo Toy Show held at Makuhari Messe, which I visited on June 3 and 4, the days it was open to the public.
On the night of June 2, I departed on an overnight train bound for Tokyo (so-called Ogaki night train), arrived at Tokyo Station at 4:42 p.m., transferred to the Keiyo Line, boarded the 4:55 a.m. train bound for Soga, and arrived at Kaihin Makuhari at 5:32 a.m. When I arrived at the central gate of Makuhari Messe, there were only about 150 people in line. I wondered if this was the way it was supposed to be. I talked with someone from a certain university in Toyohashi, and he suggested that if I wanted to go to Tomy's booth, I should line up at the West Gate. So we moved to the West Gate.
As the time progressed from 7:00 to 8:00, the vendors and their luggage began to arrive one after another. Among the group that passed us were Kyoko Hyogami, Yukana Nogami, Yuko Miyamura, and others (including Onodera-san, who was not a Tomy member but probably traveled to Makuhari with us). I was so close to them that I saw their real faces and couldn't speak. Few people seemed to notice them. Yukana Nogami was holding a big monkey gnuigurumi (bigger than Mariko Kunifuda's Wookiee).
The doors opened at 9:00a.m., and as the fireworks signaled the start of sales, I purchased my admission ticket at the entrance and headed directly to the Tomy booth. The stage was located right near the entrance of the booth, and there was enough space in front of the stage to seat 100 people or so.
I took a seat in the center of the second row and took a quick look around Tomy's booth. Tomy's main product seemed to be Wedding Peach, which occupied the most space. Next was "Ninja Sky. Plarail" was only displayed to explain the company's stance on the Product Liability Law.
At the very beginning of the "Wedding Peach" corner, a lady dressed as a Peach fighter angel was placed. It seemed that only in the area where this lady was located, it was possible to take pictures. There was also a place where Kabaya's sweets were displayed, and there were chocolates with coloring dolls (equivalent to "Red Riding Hood Chacha Magical Heroine Chocolates"). The dolls are better made than the ones from Tomy.
The items Tomy was handing out at the booth were a Wedding Peach paper bag (with just a sticker printed "Toy Show" in the furoku of the May issue of "Chao") with a pocket guide-style comic book for introducing "Chao" in it. This pocket guide may be important.
There was still some time before Tomy's event started, so I checked out the Bandai booth next door. It looks like they're going to be showing some "Fushigi Yuugi" toys. I don't really have anything to report on the Seramun toys (maybe a prototype of Sailor Link? Nothing to see). According to the schedule of future Carddus releases (but it only says until September), it seems that they will focus on Jumbo Carddus. (There is already a Carddus100 machine with a prototype at "Mecca Harajuku").
to be continued
The above report ends with "to be continued", but there is no continuation. (^^;
I had written (September 6, 1996), but the manuscript of the article I submitted to "Hiroko Kasahara ML" was found (September 20, 1996), so I added it to the end of this page.
(This is an article posted by me on Wedding Peach ML almost verbatim. I have removed the parts that quote other people's articles.)
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 1995 17:48:28 +0900
X-Real-Date: Mon, 5 Jun 95 17:42:01 JST
From: tuzimura@shizuka.otsl.oki.co.jp (Hiroshi Tsujimura)
To: w-peach@soum.co.jp
Subject: [w-peach,00192] Re: W-peach event report
Reply-To: w-peach@soum.co.jp
X-Ml-Name: w-peach
Sender: jun@soum.co.jp
X-Mail-Count: 00192
Tsujimura@OTSL. Crossed to Minto, Whoopi and one more somewhere.
I went to the toy show on the 3rd and 4th, arriving at the venue after 5:40 a.m. on the 3rd as planned. I lined up at the gate closer to the Tomy booth. Only two people were already in line. Compared to the 150 people already lined up at the central gate, we were very lucky.
Even luckier, a little after 8:00a.m., Tomy's officials walked past us in line, and among them were Kyoko Hyojo, Yukana Nogami, and Yuko Miyamura. Some of them seemed to be in agony (hearsay) because they were so close to the three of them without makeup on. Yukana in particular was even more beautiful than when she was wearing makeup. She was holding a stuffed toy monkey.
So I saw FURIL live (5 out of 6 total over 2 days, excluding the last one). On every stage, the lineup was, from left to right, Yuko Miyamura (yellow dress), Kyoko Hyojo (pink dress), and Yukana Nogami (light blue dress). The event was proceeded by
First, the 10:00 session on the first day. It was impressive that Yuko Miyamura was very nervous. It was a very orthodox event, being the first one. The play was a scene from the first episode.
Next was the 13:00 session. The dialogue was also included in the second interlude of the ED. It started with "Cheers with milk and congratulations to all three of you", followed by the battle scene, and then the closing declaration. This was the most intense part of the session. In the question and answer corner, Yuko Miyamura confessed that she had left her am/pm bag of Attack detergent on the train in the morning, which would have a lasting impact on the future live performance.
Next, the 15:00 session. The play was about Momo-pi who got lost on her way to the Tomy booth at the toy show, and the dialogue in the second interlude of the ED began with the decisive line when she transformed into a fighter angel and ended with the "Open declaration," which was the pattern for all subsequent live performances.
Day 2. Children-only seats were prepared as a measure against big friends.
10:00 session. Miyamura-san was smiling as she saw a scattering of big friends who had brought their "Attacks" to the event. The play was about Momo-pi who got lost, but the pattern was different from the first day, and the three of us must have thought carefully about the scenario.
The 13:00 session. I managed to get a seat for my big friend, which was prepared behind the children-only seats. After the fifth live performance, all three of them seemed to have gotten used to the show and were able to watch it without any worries.
After this, I was curious about the Media Works booth, so I took a peek and found that they were talking about Hiroko Kasahara's second live show has been canceled. Apparently, some heartless people had done something wrong, and the toy show organizers had ordered the cancellation of the live show. Ummm.
I wanted to see the FURIL event at 15:00, but I had to go to Yamashiroya in Ueno, Mecca Harajuku, and Takara Harajuku Popularity Center in Harajuku to get some goods, so I left the venue at around 14:30.
That's all I have to say about the event.
As for cosplay sisters, the Tomy booth had a fighter version of Peach, Bandai had Super Chibi Moon, Super Sailor Moon, and Sailor Mercury (all done by the same person, who apparently pulls out and changes when the time comes), and Takara had a Nurse Angel
(She was quite cute, but she wasn't stationed there, so you couldn't see her anytime you went). I took some pictures, so I'll take a closer look at them later. (^^;
Other goods exhibited at the toy show will be in the ML (although the original purpose of the toy show was this way).
As for the Whoopi-related products, it seems that Kabaya will be releasing chocolates with colored dolls (equivalent to Chacha's "Magical Heroine Chocolates"), and the dolls on display were better made than Tomy's dolls. I wonder what it is. (^^;
# Meiji's "Rayearth" related snacks have already been discontinued.
# In its place, Fruta will offer two types of chocolates.
--
Re: TOKYO TOY SHOW To: INET#Mint@satsuki.ics.es.osaka-u.ac.jp This is Tsujimura@OTSL. I am in a hurry because there is so much information about goods that I don't have time to summarize it all (^^; Well, I have met and talked with people who I think need to be informed, and the reports are all ready in PC-VAN's goods conference room, so it's OK. >X-Ml-Counter: 00019178 >It is XXXXXX-XXXXXX. >Especially the exit at the back left of the stage at the corner river cannot be moved. >My friend said "You still have bad manners. I don't want you to invite >any more voice actors, and I don't want you here." He was angry. I feel like they don't want too many people to come, not just voice-over fans, but also people who are here for the game. It was my first time attending the Tokyo Toy Show, but it was important to me that it was an exhibition and business meeting for new products, whereas the Nagoya and Osaka Toy Shows were trade shows for old toys, so I took the Ogaki overnight and the Keiyo Line to Makuhari with the main purpose of gathering goods information. The Tomy, Bandai, Takara, and Amada booths were must-visit booths, and there was much to gain. It is a good thing to know how things will develop until the end of this year's sales season. >In the first place, voice actors are not called for your benefit >(or mine, for that matter). If we want the general public to be able >to see our work, we have no choice but to operate in such a way. So you want to show the toy to people who are likely to buy it, rather than the general public. In that sense, if voice-over fans are the buying public, they will be welcomed, if not, they will not. >Once again, there were a mountain of all-nighters. And for two days in advance. >Do you know what the organizers think of you? I was stunned to see more than 300 people lines up for the all-night event just after the closing of the show on the 3rd. I wastched in amazement as more than 300 people were already lined up all night. ### This year I went to Makuhari for "Wedding Peach" and "Ririka", but will next year's anime be worth it? # I wonder if I should get an antique # dealer's license or open a toy store. I am # already familiar with toy wholesalers. (^^; --- Hiroshi Tsujimura tuzimura@otsl.oki.co.jp / UVG17706@pcvan.or.jp
Re: TOKYO TOY SHOW
To: INET#Mint@satsuki.ics.es.osaka-u.ac.jp
Tsujimura@OTSL. I went to Satoshi Sakura @ Nagoya.
Satoshi is such a flat chested guy. (^^;
>X-Ml-Counter: 00019189
>It is XXXXXX.
> ))) I feel like they don't want too many people to come, not just voice-over fans,
> ))) but also people who are here for the games.
> However, as long as the toy industry is focusing on game software these days, it is
>inevitable that people will come for games. That's what the manufacturers are after. :-)
In the May issue of Toy Journal, the official journal of the toy industry, the
preface (tj COLUMN) reads, "Considering the meaning of this year's Toy Show.
... The first thing that comes to mind is the sight of middle and high
school students who flocked to the open house for the video games."
I don't mean to speak out of turn, as they are also important users who
support our industry, but I have the strong impression that families with
babies and small children were pushed into a corner amidst the excitment
of the event. It seems to me that the whole thing was a complete reversal of the original plan.
This is probably the real story.
>X-Ml-Counter: 00019202
> It is XXXXXX. Just a moment.:-)
>Wouldn't everyone be at peace if we didn't have voice-over events at toy shows in the first place?
It seems that some in the industry consider "companies that hold voice-over events" and "game-related
companies" to be heretics who are outside the mainstream of toys. The roots may be quite deep.
---
Hiroshi Tsujimura tuzimura@otsl.oki.co.jp / UVG17706@pcvan.or.jp