Hirota Saigansho: Gorilla-ju, Mecha Gorilla-ju, & Others

Well, someone has LOTS of rules, and now even being a toy maker eliminates my chances.

yay

 

I think it’s funny that the guy even announces releases anymore. So many rules, and the toys are so very expensive. He should just notify his regular ultra-wealthy clientele directly when he’s ready to sell.

 

his next “sales” rule will be if you look at one of these toys without proper authorization he will pluck out an eye

 

It is unfortunate that US collectors have seemingly no-to-little chance of scoring his toys. Hopefully it changes in the future.

 

Yeah, how does he think these Asian superfans scored their 10+ HxS collection if not the aftermarket? These rules seem a bit late

I do like the new Mr. X though

 

I don't think it will. I don't think Hirota has reached a certain level of credibility by any means. He isn't a household name but has followers on sb and instagram but beyond that? Ask anyone who he is and it's a no go. But when fans are willing to pay 1000+ for vinyl toys obviously he's found his niche. At this point..I'm uncertain why we are discussing it or why people are shocked. He's clearly found his group...a large amount of the masses aren't on his list and a very few are paying a ton for a vinyl toy.

 

I wonder where a lot of these toys will end up in 5 or 10 years? It seems like wealthy people tend to just throw things away when they have lost interest in them... it's not worth the hassle to put things on ebay etc for a few measley bills - even though a few hundred bucks would be well worth it for most of us!

I imagine when the dust settles quite a few HxS (and other hyped makers) will end up in the trash. Not saying that's a judgement on the artist's work or anything, it's the likely spot these toys will remain after the instagram likes dry up. What is Greta Thunberg gonna think about the sofubi sustainability strategy hmmmmMMMM ps I heard the off-gassing from our expensive dollies is burning up the ozone layer or whatever shit people believe in these days

 

If HxS toys were readily available (aka Medicom releases), would people still want them as "desperately" as they do now? It was nice to have access to the Medicom Anraku toys, but people don't seem to go gaga over them as they used to, when they were "exclusive". As Glenn mentioned, it wouldn't surprise me if the super wealthy collectors ended up ditching their toys at some point... personally, I can't see spending that sort of money on "toys"

 

Would be great to have the opportunity to have these sculpts on the shelves.. and at this point it seems like Medicom is the only hope for most of us. Heck I would probably even take them if they were made out of shitty Chinese vinyl which may be the case if it was a Medicom preorder..

 

There's a big gulf between "readily available" and your most easily-obtainable toy being $1500-1800 at standard aftermarket. Rarity is fun until every single toy is a rent payment.

And the price-tags matter less than the demographic shift. Glenn touched on it with very wealthy folks throwing stuff out: the toys end up mostly circulating in communities where people don't care about sofubi as a whole, and don't see us lot as peers. If your house is all OG Anraku, I'd think you're a very specific kind of doll nerd. If your house is all HS in the current market, I'm less sure.

 

^^^Very true re. the kind of doll nerd we are talking about here. For me it comes down to "it's a TOY!", which means it's suppose to be fun, playable (yes, I do play with my toys, even though they are kept very clean), and for lack of a better phrase "spark joy" (and we're not talking about owning something for the sake of making everyone else envious just for the sake of owning it). Rarity is fun, and "expensive" is a relative term depending on how much wealth you have, but even if I was a gazillionaire, I wouldn't buy a toy for a "status symbol" (sort of defeats the purpose of toy = fun). The best status symbol is having money in the bank (and NOT telling anyone), and running around in rags and plain cars vs. people who spend all of their money on designer this and that and having no money in the bank!

Personally, HxS doesn't really interest me, but I'm not criticizing anyone with different tastes. What sort of annoys me is someone who creates "toys" with the thought of selling only to the very very wealthy (regardless of demographics). The definition of toys will always be for me, something that is fun, makes you happy, you can play with it, and it doesn't break the piggy bank (which is not the same as splurging, as long as you can afford it). Even though I've spent sizeable wads for vintage Tiger 7's and Butas, in the end, they do bring me lots of happiness (and I hope I don't come across as bragging about my toy collection). They are finally making it into shelves, and those that are on display do get taken out and played with (I have to lock up Emma and Odin though ). My sis-in-law calls my toys, "those ugly things" Contractors (big burly guys) think they are the coolest things they've ever seen! ...and no, they have no idea what they're worth, they think they are Target toys

 

I love when people play the Greta soundbit at minor annoyances: “How DARE you!?”

I’ve wondered about the environmental impact of toys. Ours are hollow, so that has to be slightly better for the environment, right? A few companies are experimenting with plant-based plastics, but idk if anybody in this hobby is doing it yet.

 

To begin that line of thought I'd imagine makers would have to come to terms with the fact that their stuff will one day end up as garbage. I'm sure it's not a particular way of thinking that some of the independent and egotistical creators out there would like to entertain (for the time being).

ALSO

Are there even any feasible eco friendly alternatives out there? Sofvi is quite specific so fucked if I know (Guessing the answer is probably not).

 

I got that legit sofvi texture poppin out erryday - surely poop is eco-friendly enough for you wack-ass hippies out there?? Look out for the Kickstarter soon.. gotta cash in on that Greta hype sustainable bros

 

I’m only interested if you charge $800-$1000 a po(o)p.

 

I recently sold the only HxS toy I had. I was able to make a mortgage payment (home and work studio included). Bottom line - even as a maker who occasionally sells my own stuff at a premium - that’s just bonkers... I’ll never miss the thing either.

 

Even as a long term fan and collector whose now stuck in Siberia with the rest of the Western world, and knowing that this was never Hirota's original intention (dude's a stand-up family guy just looking out for his family) . . . who can blame him for taking advantage when faced with the insane $$$ the new wave are offering.

Just working smarter, not harder!

 

I'm with Andy, when I met Hirota at a pus event way back when, he couldn't have been friendlier, humbler, and even a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing. Just a nice, normal guy. He definitely didn't intend for it to turn out this way.

That having been said, I'm glad I sold off the few pieces I had. Collecting his toys became too stressful and unenjoyable for me. It does make me happy to know they went to good homes where they'll be appreciated the way I appreciated them. I still enjoy looking and watching from a distance.

 

Zheng is your man. He can send for any color.

 

Yeah I moved all production to him, top shelf. Now I can also charge 2k per figure for production runs.

 

I feel like US collectors that sit around and complain about hirota, and that asian collectors and the secondary market prices ruined HxS toys, forget that US “collectors” are largely the ones who sold off their collections to fuel the secondary market and this new 2nd wave of collectors.
it’s not like hirota reissued these toys... all these dudes with new collections got stuff by sliding in DMs on instagram, and people saying sure I’ll take a bunch of money... and now flash forward and people complain his stuff is too expensive, when they are the ones who contributed to the current state of things.
everyone “hates flippers” but yet, for some reason with hirota, everyone gets excited with how much money they can sell their toys for but will also complain about it at the same time.

 

I hear as long as it’s Hirota your allowed to flip flop on your rule set though. So everyone is still good I think.

 

This seems to be an inevitable consequence of the push to recognize toys as art, as well. Some people will drop thousands on one piece, to feel like they own a piece of art history.

I mean...we’re doing it in smaller installments, and we’re getting more material for the price...but we’re all doing that in some way.