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56-645: SD Gundam originated from a contributed illustration of a junior student from Nagoya by the name of Koji Yokoi to the "Model News" magazine that Bandai was issuing in the 1980s. The illustration is of a Gundam but with an unusual proportion where the overall height of the Gundam is equal to twice that of its head. This illustration interested the chief editor and led to Koji Yokoi serializing SD Gundam in 4 frame comics in "Model News". The super deformed designs were suitable for capsule toys , and so they were first merchandised as small SD Gundam-shaped erasers as part of

112-612: A ¥ 9 billion loss from Bandai the same month, attributed to declining game sales and the poor reception of the Apple Pippin console. Bandai felt Sega was an appropriate company to merge with, as it possessed an American management model and several international offices, in addition to owning several successful franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog . Opposition arose within Bandai's employees and midlevel executives, as neither felt

168-571: A collector aimed line, the series focuses on high detail, option parts and updating popular SD Gundam characters who are only otherwise represented by decades old model kits and toys. For example, Knight Gundam was released with a display base, alternate facial expressions and armor pieces produced from metal. This is the most recent model kit series which aims for styled proportions, weapon customization, budget friendliness, and connecting every single SD Gundam Kit, and possibly even make kits from other grades that doesn't have SD versions of it; one example

224-650: A five-point skeleton block which allowed for parts swapping between the kits. This gimmick was also utilized with some of the Knight kits to allow them to combine with larger BB Senshi versions of the 'Kihei' mobile weapons they piloted. Additionally, nine of the Chi-Bi Senshi were released in three triple boxsets, depicting them in widely different transparent colours. The Comic World chapters included with these sets referred to these 'Crystal' versions as doppelgangers made from sentient alien crystals who had chosen to copy

280-420: A line of build-it-yourself toy rolling ball "roller coasters" was introduced by Bandai in the 1980s. In May 1980, Makoto Yamashina, son of the founder, became president of Bandai. Naoharu Yamashina became chairman of the board. Upon his arrival, Makoto Yamashina completely changed the ageing staff of Bandai and replaced them with younger employees with the intent of not only bringing new ideas, but also revisiting

336-425: A modern military style to name a few. Animated works based on SD Gundam are generally adapted from existing toy lines or manga and are animated by Sunrise . Musha Gundam ( 武者 頑駄無 , Musha Gandamu ) are Gundam units modelled after samurai , ninja , or other forms of feudal Japanese warriors. Musha Gundam first appeared in " Plamo-Kyoshiro "<プラモ狂四郎> (Story by Craft dan and art by Koichi Yamato). In

392-403: A mutual agreement to not renew their Power Rangers master toy license, effective Spring 2019, after which competing toy company Hasbro will inherit the license. This transition will not affect Bandai Japan's Super Sentai (the series from which Power Rangers takes footage) master toy license with Toei . A sister company, Bandai Spirits , was established on 15 February 2018. On 1 April 2018,

448-533: A period of converting board and historic TBS games to computer games, companies began basing computer turn-based strategy games on completely original properties or concepts. The presence of a computer to calculate and arbitrate allows game complexity which is not feasible in a traditional board game. Some well known turn-based strategy games are Sid Meier 's Civilization series, Heroes of Might and Magic series, Panzer General series, Warlords series, and Age of Wonders series. A further market trend

504-437: A realistic (or at least believable) representation of military tactics and operations. Tactical role-playing games are a part of this genre. Examples include Fire Emblem , The Battle for Wesnoth , Poxnora , Silent Storm , Steel Panthers: World at War! , King's Bounty , Great Big War Game , Nintendo Wars , UniWar , XCOM 2 , The Battle of Polytopia and Chessaria: The Tactical Adventure . After

560-520: Is a series that took elements from Japanese role playing games , such as the Dragon Quest series, into SD Gundam. The knight style SD Gundam designs are devised by Koji Yokoi and soon Knight Gundam became an independent series like Musha Gundam . The series first started on Carddas trading cards with the story set in the "Saddarc World" (Carddas spelt backwards). Soon after it expanded to Gashapons, plastic models, manga and games. The Gundams in

616-854: Is among the largest and most profitable toy companies worldwide, alongside Hasbro and Mattel . The company focuses on creating unique and innovative products for its consumers, and to bend established conventions within the industry; its slogan, "Break out of the box" was made in reference to this. Bandai Spirits Co., Ltd. produces figurines and plastic models targeted towards older demographics, utilizing popular licenses such as Mobile Suit Gundam , One Piece , Pokémon , Kirby , Disney , Star Wars , Hatsune Miku , Dragon Ball , Demon Slayer , Kamen Rider , Super Sentai , Ultraman , and My Hero Academia . Bandai produces confectioneries, board games, and capsule toys through its subsidiary MegaHouse Corporation, which also releases toys and figurines under its MegaToy label. MegaHouse also holds

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672-595: Is called SD Gundam BB Senshi ( SDガンダムBB戦士 , Esu Dhī Gandamu BB Senshi ) . The "BB" in the title comes from the fact that, initially, BB Senshi models came with airguns that shot BB gun pellets. Due to product liability and safety regulations, the feature was soon removed. 2007 saw the release of the 300th kit in the series. Forming the bulk of the series are Musha Gundam kits; the Musha kits have standard gimmicks like detachable armour and others, such as combination and compatibility of parts between kits. In recent years

728-410: Is distinguished from real-time strategy (RTS) , in which all players play simultaneously. Many board games are turn based, such as chess , Reversi , checkers , Hare games , and Go , as well as many modern board games . Turn-based tactical game-play is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks by using the combat forces provided to them, and usually by the provision of

784-643: Is included in the storyline by the character growing to giant size to combat an equally large foe). Another model kit series called Ganzo SD Gundam ( 元祖SDガンダム ) , though discontinued in the 1990s, covered all the SD Gundam series but mainly focus on Knight Gundam kits. These kits are made from more durable plastic and are bigger than the BB Senshi kits. They can currently be found at auction sites, usually with high prices. Century number releases (100, 200, 300, etc.) are often marked as special occasions. 2007 saw

840-548: Is now under the management and a member of Bandai Namco Holdings (Bandai Namco Group). Following a group reorganisation in 2006, Bandai heads the group's Toys and Hobby strategic business unit (SBU). Bandai Entertainment announced it would cease its distribution operations in January 2012. Beez Entertainment is no longer releasing new anime in Europe. In February 2018, Saban Brands and Bandai's US division jointly announced

896-660: Is really similar to the BB Senshi sets, but this kit series is a lot smaller than the BB sets or any other SD kit series. SD Gundam (anime) at Anime News Network 's encyclopedia Bandai Bandai Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo . Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California , and Richmond, London . Since 2005, Bandai

952-719: Is the Try Burning Gundam, which currently has a HG (High Grade) version of it, and unlike its past counterpart, the Build Burning Gundam has its own BB Senshi counterpart. So far, this kit series has ten sets, which contains (orderly) RX-78-2, Aile Strike Gundam, Gundam Exia, Wing Gundam Zero EW, Gundam Unicorn (Destroy Mode), Strike Freedom Gundam, Astray Red Frame, OO Gundam, Destiny Gundam, Gundam Barbatos (form 4), Try Burning Gundam, Gundam Deathscythe Hell EW, Sinanju, and Gundam Barbatos Lupus. This kit series

1008-656: Is the rise of "Indie" TBS games (games produced by small groups, independent or only somewhat affiliated with the major elements in the computer games industry). These games often extend or refine already existing TBS games. Examples include Freeciv or Golden Age of Civilizations . Since turn-based strategy games do not typically require vast amounts of art or modeling, developers willing to volunteer their time can focus on gameplay. Directories like Freecode provide large lists of open-source , turn-based strategy projects. Online browser-based games do not require users to install files and are often free. The Hex Empire set of games

1064-487: Is the toy production division of Bandai Namco Holdings , currently the world's second largest toy company measured by total revenue. Between 1981 and 2001, Bandai was a manufacturer of video game consoles . Bandai was founded by World War II veteran Naoharu Yamashina as Bandai-Ya on July 5, 1950, as the corporate spin-off of a textile wholesaler. The company began as a distributor of metallic toys and rubber swimming rings, before moving to metal cars and aircraft models. It

1120-667: Is universally accepted as the rarest licensed NES game released in North America. A shrink-wrapped copy of the game sold for $ 41,270 on eBay in February 2010. The sister game to Stadium Events , called Athletic World was initially released with a label that indicated compatibility with the Family Fun Fitness mat, but was later re-released with an updated label that mentions the Power Pad instead. Stadium Events

1176-467: The Super Robot Wars franchise. Although the SD Gundam franchise initially started out featuring characters and mecha from the mainstream Gundam series, by the 1990s SD Gundam spawned numerous spin-off series, SD Gundam Sengokuden ( Musha Gundam ) which has a Sengoku setting, SD Gundam Gaiden ( Knight Gundam ) which has a fantasy medieval setting and SD Command Chronicles which has

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1232-485: The Gashapon series SD Gundam World in 1985. Built with a hole so they could be skewered into a pencil, the series was a hit with Japanese schoolchildren, and the concept soon expanded to other forms of merchandising and media, including models , manga , trading cards , anime and video games. The popularity of SD Gundam was such that between the late '80s and early '90s, sales from the SD Gundam franchise far exceeded

1288-555: The SDX line is a collector aimed series of action figures based on SD Gundam characters. The first figure released, Knight Gundam, was based on a scratch-built model of the character made by Hobby Japan for his appearance in Musha Retsuden Zero . Following this was a release of 'Full Armor Knight Gundam' (depicting the character's upgraded form), with figures of Satan Gundam and Command Gundam announced for later in 2009. Being

1344-757: The Scramble Commander series, where all series featured in these games used real-sized designs instead of the traditional SD-sized ones. A real-sized Musha Gundam has been placed as a hidden, unlockable unit in Dynasty Warriors: Gundam series. Particular SD Gundams that has been converted to normal sizes are confirmed to participate in the Gundam War trading card game. While regular Gundam model lines strive for realism by introducing High Grade, Master Grade, and Perfect Grade models, SD Gundam models are designed for (and sometimes by)

1400-642: The Weekly Toy News in Tokyo, Bandai-ya distributed and imported celluloid dolls, metallic toys, and rubber swimming rings. The company released its first original product the same year, the Rhythm Ball, a beach ball with a bell inside that suffered from numerous quality defects. Bandai-ya improved the quality of its products as it continued designing new kinds of toys, such as inexpensive metal cars and aircraft models. Several of these were exported to

1456-454: The 1968 New York International Innovative productions Exhibition. An additional manufacturing plant was acquired in late 1969 to further increase the production of toys. Bandai continued its expansion throughout the 1970s. The company established a joint venture with model car manufacturer Tonka in 1970 and established Tonka Japan K.K., as part of Bandai's continuing mission in establishing ties with foreign companies. A subsidiary named Popy

1512-429: The G Generation kits have introduced a new proportion and enhanced poseability. Scale is often inconsistent, especially in older kits where many characters from the same storyline are out of scale with one another. However, as the line continued these issues have mostly been addressed and sometimes been intentional. Dai-Shogun characters have often seen their final form released as a much larger figure (in some cases, this

1568-631: The Knight Gundam series are portrayed as living beings just like in the Musha Gundam series. But later on in the series giant robots known as "Kihei"(機兵) were introduced thus creating a weird picture of a Gundam piloting a Gundam. Also different from Musha Gundam, Knight Gundam has important human characters like Knight Amuro and Princess Frau throughout the whole series. In the past most of the SD Gundam games are turn-based strategy video games and brawling-type games with shooting. However,

1624-565: The NES. Shortly after its release, Nintendo purchased the rights to the FFF mat in North America, replacing it with their own redesign, the Power Pad . In order to maintain branding continuity, Stadium Events was pulled from shelves after a short period of availability at Woolworth's stores. Because the game was pulled from shelves and discontinued before many copies were sold, Bandai's Stadium Events

1680-550: The United Kingdom (Bandai UK), Indonesia (Bandai Namco Indonesia), France, Spain, Taiwan, and mainland China. In the past, it owned offices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Germany, and East Asia, which acted as distributors for Bandai products in their respective countries. Bandai is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings and heads its parent's Toy and Hobby Content Strategic Business Unit (CSBU). Bandai

1736-489: The United States and elsewhere as a result of their popularity, being among the earliest "Made In Japan" products exported outside the country. As its revenue increased, Bandai-ya began expanding its operations. A new shipping and warehouse facility was constructed in spring 1953, followed by research and development (R&D) and product inspection departments later that year. A manufacturing facility, Waraku Works,

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1792-403: The company transitioned from working on original products to funding the creation of new television series and acting as a sponsor during their run, with advertisements that showed off Bandai's tie-in action figures and costumes. A similar blockbuster hit was found with action figures in the likenesses of Ultraman characters, largely due to the popularity of the television series at the time;

1848-575: The company's family-friendly work ethic meshed well with Sega's top-down corporate culture. As a result, Bandai called off the merge in May before its finalization in October. President Makoto Yamashina took responsibility for its failure, publicly apologizing and resigning his position within the company. Bandai instead agreed to a business alliance with Sega. After its merger with game developer and amusement facility operator Namco in 2005, Bandai Company

1904-434: The creation of several subsidiaries; Tonka Japan in 1970 following a joint venture with Tonka , Bandai Models being established in 1971, and finally Popy , who specialized in the manufacturing of toy characters. Although not their most profitable range, Bandai's 1/48 scale AFV models dominated that segment of the model kit market. Bandai America Inc. was established as local US sales/marketing operation in 1978. Spacewarp ,

1960-492: The customization crowd. Many SD Gundam models are designed such that variations of the stock models, as seen by SD Gundam comics, can be made by using parts from other SD Gundam kits. Modifying SD models is very popular in Japan, more so than the full-sized counterparts. In addition to made-up robots contributed to SD Gundam comics, Bandai also held monthly contests for custom Gundam (usually Musha-based) models. The model kit series

2016-445: The division of Bandai that dealt with products for adult customers (including figures and plastic models) as well as Banpresto 's prizes business were transferred over to Bandai Spirits. (incomplete list) Bandai has developed kits of the following Star Wars vehicles and figures: Bandai's headquarters is in Taitō, Tokyo , Japan . The company owns offices in the United States (Bandai America), Mexico (Bandai Corporación Mexico),

2072-566: The earlier Super Robot Wars games (up through SRW F and F Final , stopping at SRW Alpha for the PS1), as can be seen by the pupils present in the eyes of the various Mobile Suits that appeared. From SRW Alpha and beyond, however, the eyes of Mobile Suits remain blank, though the robots themselves are still super-deformed (just as all mechs represented in typical SRW games are). The only exceptions are in Shin Super Robot Wars and

2128-605: The early 1990s, Bandai published games for Nintendo in the United Kingdom , including Street Fighter II on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . In January 1997, Bandai announced it would merge its operations with Japanese video game developer Sega . The merger, a $ 1 billion stock swap where Sega would acquire Bandai and dissolve the company, would have established a new entertainment conglomerate named Sega Bandai Ltd. with an estimated $ 6 billion in revenue. The announcement followed

2184-461: The field, the two worked long hours to establish a small toy distribution division within the textile business. Yamashina assumed full control of the toy division on July 5, 1950, when it was spun-off as a separate company named Bandai-ya in Taitō, Tokyo . The name was derived from Japanese reading of Chinese phrase "bandai fueki" ( 万代不易 ), meaning "eternally unchanging" or "things that are eternal." Being assisted by Atsuko Tatsumi, publisher of

2240-595: The figures were later released in North America to little fanfare. In July 1966, it released Crazy Foam, a line of bubble blowing canisters that sold 2.4 million units in three months, thanks to the backing of an extensive marketing campaign. Bandai's other products included the Thunderbird electrical vehicles, the Water Motor bath toys, and the Naughty Flipper, the last of which received a gold medal at

2296-717: The first third-party developers for the Nintendo Family Computer in 1985. Among its first titles was Tag Team Match: MUSCLE , a video game adaptation of the Kinnikuman manga, which sold over one million copies. Bandai also produced the Family Trainer Pad, released outside Japan as the Power Pad , which also performed well commercially. A series of games was released both in the US and in Japan, including Athletic World and Stadium Events for

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2352-537: The license for the Rubik's Cube in Japan, and has created multiple variations of the toy specifically for Japanese audiences. Manga series, television shows, and character-themed products are created by the Plex subsidiary. Turn-based strategy A turn-based strategy ( TBS ) game is a strategy game (usually some type of wargame , especially a strategic-level wargame) where players take turns when playing. This

2408-470: The real Gundams. A related line of merchandise has included the designs from SD Gundam works presented as 'real type' versions, lacking the deformed proportions. This concept has seen a resurgence in recent years, with Bandai issuing a Master Grade model kit of Hajime Katoki's Shin Musha Gundam (appearing in Dynasty Warriors: Gundam ) and Banpresto releasing toys and mini-statues based on 'real type' versions of Musha and Knight characters. Starting in 2008,

2464-616: The recent SD Gundam games started appearing in other genres. Below is a rough list of game works, a more accurate and complete list is available at the Japanese wiki entry . Through not treated as a title from the SD Gundam series, the RPG Gundam True Odyssey (MS Saga: A New Dawn in the US) also used super-deformed graphics for the mobile weapons that were found in the game. The SD Gundam designs were also used throughout

2520-404: The release of the 300th BB Senshi kit in official numbering. However, the previous kit had been BB 295. Bandai retroactively filled in the missing five kits alongside releases of kits with the 300+ numbering. These retroactive kits were of units from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny , many being recolors of existing kits. Additionally, popular SD Gundam kits have been re-released in waves at around

2576-521: The rest of Gundam. And whereas Gundam pioneered the real robot branch of mecha anime, SD Gundam's more comical and exaggerated approach to the genre served to move it away from the ultra-realism that it was shifting towards in the '80s, and inspired a new flood of super-deformed robot shows between the late '80s and early '90s such as Sunrise 's Mashin Hero Wataru , Madö King Granzört and Haō Taikei Ryū Knight , as well as video games such as

2632-465: The same time as new kits. These re-releases are broken down by series (Musha, Knight, Command, G-Generation). The popularity of these older kits is such that many have been included in later re-release waves. A limited subline titled Chi-Bi Senshi (a pun on the mainline's 'BB' and 'chibi', meaning small) consisted of thirteen kits based on Super G-ARMS, Knight Gundam, Gundlaner and Musha. The kits were smaller and less complex than full BB Senshi, built on

2688-468: The series is set in the Warring States period the use of katakana is avoided, and kanji is used heavily. Knight Gundam ( 騎士ガンダム , Naito Gandamu ) is part of the SD Gundam franchise, a sub-franchise of the popular Gundam anime . In Knight Gundam, Gundam mecha and characters are reimagined as knights , sorcerers and other fantasy and medieval European character types. Knight Gundam

2744-543: The story, the SD Gundam is an original Gundam created by Kyoshiro (protagonist) for a showdown with Shigeru (antagonist). The original design of the SD form Musha Gundam is credited to Koichi Yamato, and Yasui Hisashi. The story of Musha Gundam, SD Sengokuden, originated from the manga "Seven Gundams" of the "Comic World" series by MARSHI (a.k.a. Susumu Imaishi). The Musha Gundam series is the longest running SD Gundam series, since

2800-454: The strategy of the group. The new president took a different commercial approach by selling directly to retailers rather than going through intermediates. In July 1980, Bandai launched the 'Gundam Plastic Model' based on the animated series Mobile Suit Gundam which gave birth to the Gunpla range of scale model kits. In November, the subsidiary Celent was created. Bandai became one of

2856-469: Was formed a year later that specialized in the manufacturing of toys based on popular children's characters. Though Bandai became a major player in the Japanese toy industry, competing with companies such as Takara and Epoch , executives believed the company needed to further spread out into international territories to help increase worldwide brand awareness. Bandai continued to expand in the 1970s with

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2912-690: Was not released by name again, but instead was slightly modified and relaunched as the Power Pad pack-in game, World Class Track Meet . Since the 1980s, Bandai has become the leading toy company of Japan, and to this day, has the main toy licenses in Japan to popular properties including Daikaiju , Ultraman , Super Robot , Kamen Rider , the Super Sentai and Power Rangers series (which it took part in creating), Gundam , and many others. In February 1989, it acquired arcade game developer Coreland and reorganized it into Banpresto , which became Bandai's coin-operated entertainment division. In

2968-463: Was opened in early 1955 to increase the production of toys. In the same year, it implemented the toy industry's first quality assurance system; the first toy approved by this was the 1956 Toyopet Crown model car, which was also Bandai-ya's first product with a guarantee. The growing company worked on creating a friendly corporate image for itself, introducing a new logo, slogan, and television commercials that emphasized its quality products. Bandai-ya

3024-513: Was renamed Bandai Co., Ltd. in 1961 and achieved considerable success with its action figures based on the anime Astro Boy . In 1947, Naoharu Yamashina began working for a Kanazawa -based textile wholesaler. The eldest son to a rice retailer, Yamashina had studied business in high school and was enlisted in World War II , where an impact from a grenade shrapnel blinded him in his right eye. The textile business, ran by his wife's brother,

3080-552: Was renamed Bandai in July 1961, the same time it started spreading its operations overseas, beginning with the establishment of Bandai Overseas Supply in New York City. While its toys often sold well in Japan, Bandai didn't achieve considerable success until 1963, when it began producing action figures based on the anime Astro Boy . The toy line's success prompted Bandai to reorganize and rethink its business strategies, as

3136-466: Was struggling financially as a result of Japan's post-war economy. He made little money working, and as he was having a difficult time finding ways to allow the business to pick up, a neighbor told him about the potential of the toy industry and the financial success that could be generated from it. Intrigued, Yamashina convinced his wife to travel to Tokyo with him to begin studying the potentially lucrative market for toys. With little money or exposure in

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