Movie toy Designer Takashi Kunihiro interview

The first part of a three part interview with Japanese Transformers designer Takashi Kunihiro has been released, revealing some interesting details behind the hectic design process involved with the Movie toyline, especially for the first one in 2007... with Optimus Prime toys as an example, as he worked on a few of them (from the first one in 2007, to the MPM-04 that came out in 2017).

The interview is in Japanese, so translations were posted here at TFW. Go to that link for more of the commentary on the article, as there are parts that the translator has had to explain or guess.
The other two parts of the interview will be released over the next two weeks.

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Part 1: �The 1st Transformers Movie Toy Struggles & Revenge Of The Fallen Optimus Prime(leader class)�

For every movie, Takara only has very limited information; 1 drawing from the oblique front of the robot/vehicle modes, 1 drawing diagonally(isometric view?) from the back. This is because sometimes the onscreen models/designs are being worked on up until the last minute, long after the toy design has already been completed. For reoccurring characters with the same design from previous movies, it�s easier but when looking at them frame by frame, their movement is so fast so it�s still a challenge.
Kunihiro makes a comparison to old movies with actors in suits like Godzilla where the suit design is finalized before filming. However with Transformers, the CG model for each Transfomer does not need to be complete during filming, it can be finished during filming/post-editing and the CG director might make changes up until the last minute. So to reiterate, when initially designing toys for a Transformers movie line, the design Takara is working off of isn�t necessarily final, they work with limited information. They only see the final design when they get to watch the movie in theaters

Kunihiro talks about DA-15 DOTM Jetwing Optimus:

The design was very similar to concept art ... However he laughingly says it looked different in the finished movie.

In relation to concept art differences compared to final designs, Kunihiro mentioned Brawl.

He designed deluxe and leader Brawls for the 2007 line
He thought Brawl was going to be a big success in the movie since he was going to be made in leader class.
He laughs and said in retrospect, he should�ve made Bonecrusher in leader class instead
His point was that you never know how things turn out in the movie until the movie is finished

Intriguing tidbits about ROTF leader Optimus:

Since ROTF came out only 2 years after the 2007 movie, Kunihiro points out that usually a company could get by, by just rereleasing a previous figure(in this case the 2007 leader Optimus).
However it became clear prior to the movie that Jetfire would combine with Optimus(this wasn�t evident from the beginning)
Takara then decided to make a new leader Optimus figure
Kunihiro sought out to make ROTF leader Optimus more accurate to stand apart from the 2007 leader figure. His reasoning being that a fan wouldn�t want to buy a figure that looks so similar to an existing figure and he himself wouldn�t want to see that.
By pursing more movie accuracy, Kunihiro wanted fans to see a figure that looked much different from the 2007 figure.
The interviewer mentions that the ROTF leader Optimus is said to transform similar to how Optimus transforms onscreen
Kunihiro acknowledges that he has heard that before, but that the transformation similarity just happened by chance
He had watched Prime transform onscreen many times but when watching the details, he laughingly says he realized it will be impossible(to design the toy to transform the way Optimus does onscreen).
He thought about adding more inbetween to steps the transformation or reproducing the inner mechanical parts(Mech Alive?)

Kunihiro then talks about MPM-04 Optimus Prime

Seen as a chance to make a movie Optimus Prime with an accurate transformation
Feels that the transformation of MPM04 is based on ROTF leader Optimus(feels at this point, many figures have a similar transformation to to ROTF Optimus too) without the constraint of having to be able to combine with Jetfire.

I love insights like this, so interesting.

Part 2 and 3 have been released, translated and posted on TFW.

Part 2 talks about his design process, and his work on the Studio Series.
Part 3 has him choosing his five favourite Transformers that he's designed.

Photos from the articles have been mirrored at those links.

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�How to make a transformable robot� Kunihiro says that there are about 14 members total working on Transformers(14 is the combined number of Hasbro and Takara Transformers team members). Transformers began for Kunihiro the year he joined Takara(1984). However since then, some fans have joined and have become part of the team.
Kunihiro was asked if information is shared with the team and/or if they present their opinions:

The team gathers and they all share their ideas and opinions
They try to air out any misconceptions before starting design work
The idea is to present whatever you are thinking immediately
It�s as if you are arguing everyday but nothing goes forward if no one says anything
There are some situations where he thinks some decisions are made for the best. For example, taking influence from the cartoon for a character that was popular in the cartoon�..especially if this is presented by a team member who knows a lot about the character. However he laughs and says sometimes �There is nothing you can do about it. Please forgive me!�.

Kunihiro was asked about making consultations for designs.

When he sees that a design will not work properly, he will consult the designer(implied the Hasbro designers have some creative freedom with the designs but he will step in if he can tell something won�t work)
Mentioned how some of the Hasbro team has left over the years

Kunihiro was asked if Hasbro mainly develops the movie toys:

Kunihiro says that whatever is co-developed by Hasbro is usually led by Hasbro.

Kunihiro is asked how Transformers design proceeds:
With regards to movie figures, 1st Hasbro brings up what they want to make.

Takara then brainstorms how to make the figure
After a couple of days, the Takara team makes a simple drawing, mapping out transformation so that you can see the parts when they are transformed.
Takara then makes a parts diagram of how the toy looks when disassembled. This also shows how it transforms in order
All work completed by this stage is then compiled and presented to Hasbro as a plan for creating the toy.
If the alt mode is based on a real vehicle, a copyright must be obtained. This starts at the drawing stage but takes time.
There are so many things to cover when getting copyright approval. Some manufacturers will say things such as �the shape of this light is different�. However there are times when approval can be granted easily. For example, Sikorsky was surprised at how Blackout turned out and pleased with it.

More design info:

Kunihiro usually works on 4-5 designs simultaneously but tries hard not to keep count. The idea is to work on the next design while making drawing samples of a current design.
He thinks it�s okay if 2 designs are designed similarly. Though that may be the case, sometimes the products end up completely different despite the transformations being the same. He thinks this is kind of fun.
Ultimately he thinks toys are basically children�s things

Kunihiro was asked if design has changed with the times, due to being able to use a computer and access CG designs:

He says of course there are parts that have evolved even when such things are available but the progress of the know-how aspect is greater. In the old days, most Transformers toys could stand and their arms moved whereas now their whole bodies move. He laughed and said �if the waist does not move you will get angry�.
The method of screwing pieces of plastic together hasn�t changed but he sees this advancing in the future with new hardware.
He mentions that parts are designed to pop off when pressure is applied for example, when transforming the toy wrong. They are designed to be this way at the drawing stage.

Studio Series
It was a proposal by Hasbro to make the robot figures in scale with each other. At that point, it was decided that the deluxe, voyager and leader size classes would be used. Kunihiro said they were able to recreate the battle scenes(going by the translations I think he�s referring to the background displays that come with each figure). Also he was able to get 3D data from Paramount, so Studio Series turned out much better than previous series in terms of detail; he thinks that�s the feature of the line.
He designed Ratchet, Blackout and Megatron. He is also the designer of the 2009 ROTF voyager Megatron, didn�t get to see the final toe design until he saw the movie. Unlike before, when he was only given a mere drawing to work off of, for Studio Series he was given the CG files for robot and vehicle mode(presumably for everything but the upcoming Bumblebee movie). With the CG files he can see the designs with a 360 degree view unlike having to pause the movie between frames.
They can�t recreate every detail they see on the CG(since it�s so fine), but are able to focus on which parts to make realistic and which parts to skip.
Studio Series Blackout

Blackout has sold well worldwide and will be rereleased in Japan this month.
This figure was made since CG data was on hand
Kunihiro said Blackout has a terribly complicated shape that you can�t make out completely even though you�re watching the movie.
He wanted to design the toy to resemble the design in the movie as close as he could while having access to the CG
He wanted to make the Pave Low helicopter mode realistic
He liked the transformation from Pave Low to robot mode in the 1st movie

Megatron

Biggest voyager in the line so far
Foot design is completely different from the voyager he designed 10 years ago in the ROTF line(due to having access to CG this time)
Seems like Kunihiro was apologizing about being able to see through the gap in Megatron�s torso from the side.

Closing thoughts on the Studio Series line:

It�s a challenge for smaller figures since their smaller size makes it difficult to reproduce the finer details
There�s also the issue of a physically smaller figure coming off as boring when there are other figures in the same size class/pricepoint which are substantially bigger
Jazz was difficult to design due to sizing/dimensions of the hinges. This could�ve been easier had the entire figure been designed to be physically bigger. However it would�ve ended up too big like the size of Blackout(not sure if he was implying the voyager Blackout from 2007).
Mentioned that he is reducing the transformation process considerably overall.
Even if someone transforms Blackout a lot, he feels sorry for them(it was a joke but something may have been lost in translation here).
It�s pointed out that SS Blackout�s transformation has been suppressed(simplified?) considerably
Kunihiro mentions that it�s hard to make a figure resemble either a robot or vehicle when the transformation process is short. It�s possible to get the figure to resemble the robot or vehicle modes more by increasing the number of transformation steps
For ROTF, Kunihiro says he put too much emphasis on making the robot and vehicle designs look accurate which resulted in transformations that were too complicated for quite a few of the products.
However he doesn�t like making toys hard to play with.

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Kakakumag interview with Takashi Kunihiro Part 3

Kunihiro has designed 400 Transformers to date
By 2014, Kunihiro had already designed 300 Transformers.
Started designing Transformers during his 2nd year at Takara
Worked on some of Takara�s Braves series like Gaogaigar
Has been designing Transformers full time at Takara since Beast Wars Neo

Kunihiro�s Top 5 Favorite Transformers:

G1 Hot Rod � since it was 1st Transformers design. At the time he was told to increase durability. During that time, this was usually done by molding a bar that connected the legs together(like at the ankles or feet). Kunihiro got around this while maintaining durability(which was difficult to do) by designing the legs to slide down on diagonal rails. While the articulation overall was limited, he thought that the figure was innovative at the time.
Beast Machines Night Viper � he likes that its tail transforms into the legs. He thinks the transformation is amazing
Universe/Henkel Cyclonus � The original G1 Cyclonus was designed by a rookie designer at Takara in the 80�s. For the Universe/Henkei line, Kunihiro decided to design Cyclonus in a way that hadn�t been done before. He designed the nose of the jet to disappear completely into the body for a cleaner robot mode(compared to the G1 figure). He also designed the robot mode to be slender. He says it would�ve drove him crazy to just see the nose fold back and just merely stay there.
Arms Micron AM-14 Vehicon � as soon as the Prime 1st Edition Vehicon was released, there was talk about making a slightly smaller Vehicon at a lower price. Since there wouldn�t be any reason for anyone to buy this if they already had the 1st Edition figure, Kunihiro sought to make it a fun figure and stand apart. He found that the Vehicon character design looked like it was from Evangelion but with big boots. So while trying to design the upper body of the toy to be slender, he put all the extra parts in the feet. The proportions the figure ended up by chance and were a result of the transformation since its�s angular. Had it been a round body, Kunihiro says it would�ve had gaps.
MPM5 Decepticon Barricade � Kunihiro says the Human Alliance figure was designed by someone else and Kunihiro did things a little differently with Masterpiece Barricade. He sought out to make the arms longer and design a larger, more movie accurate weapon(compared to the Human alliance weapons which had to be made smaller). The interviewer says that Masterpiece Barricade seems better than Human Alliance Barriacade and Kunihiro says that�s the whole point; there�s no use in making a new toy the same way as the old toy one more time. As much as possible, he likes to integrate weapons into vehicle modes but gave up for Barricade since the weapon is too big. He designed a stand for the weapon since the blades will bend under their own weight without it.

Kunihiro likes to think about how to make more robust mechanisms in the future and also what to be careful with.
When asked what he thought was the best Transformer he worked on, he mentioned ROTF leader Optimus and most recently, Studio Series Blackout. However he felt that it was impossible to actually choose.
Various promotions are planned for the 35th anniversary next year. Kunihiro was asked if there was a specific character that he wanted to take on the challenge of designing. He didn�t give a specific answer but did mention that he�s working on a rather challenging secret project at the moment.

Thanks for posting this Grif.

This is the kind of behind the scenes content I love.

Thanks for the links! This confirms a suspicion that I've had for a while - that Hasbro/TakaraTOMY's designers were working mainly with concept art when it came to movieverse characters that were making their debut in a movie.

I'm impressed that Kunihiro said he designed RotF leader Optimus based on video reference material, apparently without access to the final CGI character models or files, as I had previously assumed. It's been typed that this figure has Masterpiece-level engineering at a leader class price point. That he basically designed it 'by eye' makes the work on it all the more impressive.

What these guys said!!