From Astro Boy to Gundam to Ultraman, how Bandai became Japan’s top toy company
- Bandai was founded in 1950 to make toys to cheer up children in post-war Japan
- It started with simple toys and models; its fortunes were transformed after it began producing action figures in the 1960s
Now 32 years old, Sho Ueda remembers the thrill he felt as a nine-year-old when his father bought him his first model from the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series. With massive red-and-white shoulder protectors, powerful robotic legs and headgear reminiscent of a samurai warrior’s helmet, Ueda says he was hooked after building his first “Burning Gundam” model.
A confessed otaku, or geek, with an abiding passion for animated science-fiction series, Ueda estimates he has now built about 50 models from the series and keeps many of them on a shelf in his bedroom.
“I like the television programmes, but I also find making models like these very relaxing, almost therapeutic, and I feel satisfied when I complete one,” he said. “It helps that they are already painted so they’re not difficult to put together, which was a big plus when I was much younger, but they are also very high quality, so they always go together well.”
Ueda’s latest purchase is a model of the sword wielding Gerugugu robot warrior from the series, although he hasn’t started putting it together yet. And just like his first model, the Gerugugu kit has the logo of Bandai, the largest toymaker in Japan, on the box. Ueda says he has tried other brands, but they are never quite as good.
Nearly 70 years after Bandai was founded, Yumiko Taguchi, a spokeswoman for the Tokyo-based company says the founder would be pleased to hear that the ethos he wanted to instil in his fledgling firm remains in place today.
“Naoharu Yamashina originally named his company Bandai-ya, from the ancient phrase bandai fueki, which means ‘eternally unchanging’ and incorporates the aspiration to always create products that satisfy the souls of people of every age,” she says.