The Godzilla-Making Toy Factory In Japan
63,566
Published 2024-07-19
This story delves into the rich history of one of the oldest sofubi manufacturers, and showcases the skilled artisans and passionate collectors behind these cherished collectibles. Learn about the creation process, the cultural significance, and the enduring appeal of these soft vinyl masterpieces that captivate fans worldwide.
#Toys #Japan #Travel
Director - Christopher Bobyn
Producer - Yu Minobe
Translations - Yu Minobe
Editor - Steven Kelly
Graphics - Will Minns
00.00 - Intro
00.20 - What is sofubi?
00.49 - The history of Marusan
01.41 - Godzilla is born
02.13 - How is sofubi made?
02.46 - The 86 year old sofubi painter
03.33 - The American sofubi collector
05.10 - Not just a male industry...
06.44 - Sofubi shopping: Nakano Broadway
07.56 - Conclusion
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All Comments (21)
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What's a rare toy you love or want to get? 👀🤩
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Thank you for visiting and documenting my collection! It was an honor 🙇♂
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4:10 omg, that little chubby Gamera is so cute
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As an adult who recently started collecting kaiju figures again and unboxed all of them from my youth, I found this video quite touching.
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I see Godzilla I click immediately. Love this story!
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I had the mass produced American Godzilla as a kid. Fired rockets I believe. These are dope. Another level of the toy game.
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I wonder why collecting things make us feel good. I love collecting old electronic watches and calculators and still do. It is curious that we do stuff like that. Besides that, I love these small batch toys. I respect such a craft.
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This video actually answered some kaiju questions I've had in the back of my mind for years. As a casual kaiju fan, I wondered what materials these old toys were made out of & why some of them had psychedelic looking paint jobs.
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6:29 Mashu is one of the cutest toy critters I've ever seen. In the words of Dr. Zoidberg "I'll take eight!".
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This is honestly an awesome expiration as a Godzilla fan
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The fact that Godzilla has never faced Ultraman is criminal. Hope Hollywood, Toei and Tsuburaya could make it happen!
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Reminds me of my Warhammer days. I must buy one!
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I had the pleasure of purchasing a signed Marusan Alien Baltan ( Ultraman ) Sofubi from Kaminaga himself just last week. Everything about these pieces of art are incredible.
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Hedorah is everywhere, wow!
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Sofubi Godzilla figs are so awesome. There's just something different from American figures and the classic Japanese figures
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Always loved seeing these little paint shops work. It's crazy how it's just these guys painting everything. A whole life making pretty and shiny toys. Thank you for your service!
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Wow! You guys are back, and you brought my favorite thing in the world: a Godzilla sofubi figure!
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亜~ちゃん、見たよー! 海外進出ご出演おめでとう♬
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yay more great big story godzilla content
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That is so fucking cool. I personally have the rubber Keshi toys. I have a bunch of muscle men/kinnikuman. I knew about the soft vinyl fingers, but I didn't know that they were called sofubi and that more indie-like people were making them. I have a bunch of Bandai puppet finger Pokemon and I have some of the DX ones. Glad Asaka was able to prove herself and Goto-San is badass. The soft vinyl fingers are some of the coolest toys ever. I'd rather have a Kaiju painted by Goto-san than have an actual art piece. It's not only an art piece, but you can play with it as well.