Toy exposition sets sights on unexpected clientele: adults

[yuiyoshida]

An enhanced-performance Godzilla figure is illuminated by LED lighting. The toy, manufactured by Bandai Co., is available for 19,980 yen including tax. (Mainichi)

~Tokyo~

The 2016 International Tokyo Toy Show, the largest toy exhibition in the country, kicked off on June 9 at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward -- and given the country's declining birthrate, toy manufacturers are targeting adults in their late 20s and 30s, regarded as grown-up boys and girls with cash to spare.

Born mostly during the late 1980s and the 1990s, these so-called "adult youth" spent their childhoods during a recession, and are therefore said to be a generation of frugal people. It remains to be seen, therefore, whether or not toymakers will achieve success in winning over the hearts and cash of such individuals.

Toy company Bandai Co. has an array of high-end toys on display at the exposition, including figures from the Sailor Moon animation geared toward adult consumers, which are on sale for 6,000 yen (tax not included), and those from the 1989 special-effects film Godzilla, which run 19,980 yen apiece (including tax).

A Bandai representative commented, "Figures from formerly popular animated cartoons and special-effects films are big hits among people in their 20s and 30s, so we have high hopes (that the products will sell well)."

The main attraction of Tomy Co. is a new lineup featuring four versions of the Licca-chan dress-up doll that is being targeted toward adults. The dolls' unique feature is her fashionable wardrobe, which emulates the kind of clothing popular among real-life women in their 20s and 30s.

http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160610/p2a/00m/0na/020000c