Interview With S.I.C. Designers Gojima and Yasufuji

Marking the 15th anniversary of the Super Imaginative Chogokin (S.I.C.) toy line, known for reimagining classic Ishinomori characters, Tamashii Nations interviewed two of the line’s designers, Gojima and Yasufuji Kenji, about prototyping, the success of the Kamen Rider OOO figures, and the then-upcoming Shin Ichigo release.

The pair described their prototyping process as fully hand-crafted and passed between team members, working alongside Nakashima Kenichi and digital specialist Ito in a four-person structure. Yasufuji explained that one designer might sculpt a right arm and hand it off with instructions for a left arm to follow, often on tight turnarounds; Gojima recalled being told to finish a piece in three days. Yasufuji said mismatched parts that looked fine individually sometimes clashed once assembled, requiring repeated fixes, and Gojima joked that the back-and-forth eventually had him working out of Yasufuji’s own area of the studio.

Asked about the popularity of the Kamen Rider OOO series, Yasufuji said the prior S.I.C. line had relied on retrofitting parts to depict different characters from a single figure, a gimmick some hardcore fans said was unnecessary since they would buy each individual character anyway. For the OOO line, the designers moved away from retrofitting toward “play value,” building interchangeable arms and legs that could recreate specific scenes from the show. That approach brought its own difficulties, since the on-screen effects it referenced often lasted only an instant, leaving the team uncertain about details like the exact shape of the grasshopper-based Rider’s leg. Yasufuji said the team was anxious ahead of the first Tatobakobo release, but was relieved by its reception; Gojima added, half-jokingly, that online reactions had called the figures “gross” as a compliment.