Good Smile’s 10th Year Commemoration Post!

Is moving on to part 2!

　　　　　 　　　＿＿＿_
　　　　　　　／　　 　 　＼　
　　　　 　／　 　─　 　 ─ 　＼　　　”May 1st was the birthday, so
　　　　／ 　 （=・=） 　（=・=）＼　　just half a year left till 11 years!”
　　　　|　 　　 　 （__人__）　 |　　
　 　　 ＼　　 　　 ｀ ⌒´　 　／
　　　　　ノ　　　　　　　 　　 　＼

So today I’ll continue asking asking the staff,
“What memory sticks in your mind the most?”

001

Nobu, from the production team
 
(ﾟ∀ﾟ) Fun Times!

・ Knowing that lots of people know about our products.
When out with someone my wife met at work, I was asked what I do for a living. I replied “I make figures for the company that makes Nendoroids”, and got the reply, “I collect Nendoroids!”. It was great.

(ﾟдﾟ) Difficult Times

・ Working out the layout of the production team’s space…
There are so many random things!

・ Getting those outside the company to understand Nendoroid specs
Even now this is tough!

GSC releases loads of figures every month, and Nobu-san here calculates the schedule for all that, as well as directing the sculptors that are not part of GSC. We’d also never have had Nendoroids if it wasn’t for him – and now that we’ve seen over 200 of them, I really think we can say with pride that they have grown into a much loved series!

002

Hiro, from the production team

(ﾟ∀ﾟ) Fun Times!
(ﾟдﾟ) Difficult Times

I’ve worked at various places, but now I’m very content here at Good Smile Company. I’m on the production team, but also been involved in some sculpting, such as the Black Rock Shooter figures.

Whilst I do work on sculpting and painting, I also work on the planning and production teams, making changes here and there. I believe that having everyone work together towards our products really is what brings out the best in them.

But that said, hard times come along all the time. Everyday working into work is kind of like waling into a danger-zone – you never know what is going to come.

I kind of combined by fun time and difficult times into a single sentence…

Yeah… the good and bad things are kind of all mixed together! :P The BRS project really was a company-wide project….

Back then I even did an interview with huke-san at a cafe in Akihabara. That was the very first time I met him….

003

Suzuki, from management

(ﾟ∀ﾟ) Fun Times!

・ The fimga cycle campaign, or the di:stage jamboree, or the country-wide tour, or the BRS X’mas campaign, or…
I really can’t say which was my best, but needless to say I’ve had loads of fun being able to go all over the place! I love being able to meet our customers from all over Japan!

(ﾟдﾟ) Difficult Times

・ WonHobby News Watch Reporter
It was a tough time, but to be fair it was also a lot of fun as well! I kind of feel that you kind of forced that role onto me. I’m glad we didn’t have NicoDouga back then, otherwise people would still be able to see that…

5 years ago before we had Nico Douga, GSC used to have a half-yearly program! Suzuki-san and I used to be the reporters for the show, running about all over the place – sorry Suzuki-san! You really don’t want to see that old footage… for more reasons than one. ^^;
004

Tsukki, from the production team

(ﾟ∀ﾟ) Fun Times!

・ Nendoroid BRS’s Development
It was a very important product to the company, and I really enjoyed putting everything I could into it. The brand new stand, weapons – it was a challenge, but we put everything into it and it came out great in the end. It was also the first product I was in charge of, so it’s definitely a very important memory to me!

(ﾟдﾟ) Difficult Times

・ China Business Trip
Once in China I ate some fresh vegetables at a 4-star hotel in China, and spent most of the business trip in a toilet thereafter… I swore to never eat raw fresh vegetables again. :P

Another time I ordered lemonade in Taiwan. It was here I realized that there were a lot of differences between Taiwan and China. I swore I’d never put ice in lemonade again.

Another person who has a memory regarding BRS! BRS was the first Nendoroid to use the Nendoroid stand we use today!

I know the production team gos to China a lot – take care of yourselves while there!! I have to say that when I went to China I had no problems – the food was delicious! :P

005

Seki-sama, from General Affairs

(ﾟ∀ﾟ) Fun Times!

・ During the Yuzuko Peppermint project, when we entered a real recording studio and took part!
I always wondered what it was like in the studios where things like Drama CDs were recorded, so it was a lot of fun for me! Although, listening to my own voice recorded there was also quite a painful experience…. orz.

006

(ﾟдﾟ) Difficult Times

・ Working on the papercraft Gedächtnis
Making one without color, and another without. Every evening was filled with nothing put cutting and pasting paper all over. Once it was done though, the result was great – so in the end it also turned into a fun thing

That brings back memories! I remember a whole team of girls working night after night in the old office’s meeting room – cutting and pasting things all night long! (Of course, Akiyama-san who had asked them to work on it had also left all sorts of tasty goodies to keep them all going as well :P) I also remember the dubbing at the studio!! It was a great experience as well… although I also can’t stand hearing my own voice… xD

007

Web Team – Saitou (Mikatan)

(ﾟ∀ﾟ) Fun Times!

・ Having lots of people read my blog!
This blog originally started as a project that was only supposed to last half a year, but there were so many voices saying, “I love reading your blog” and “I saw your photos so I grabbed the figure”. It made me really happy! To be honest, the constant daily deadline is sometimes tough, but just by hearing that everyone is enjoying the blog – I’m happy to continue it!

・ Everyone Works Hard!
In the toughest of times, even when a prototype breaks or something goes badly – everyone will always be there to reassure you that everything is alright. That anything can be done! It’s great to work with people like that!

・ Taking the Vocaloid Nendo Petites to Akihabara
Wanting to show as many people as possible we took the prototypes through to Akiba. So many people came through to take a look even though it was a weekday.

(ﾟдﾟ) Difficult Times

・ The figma #100 incident!
figma #100 was supposed to be announced at WonFes, and I accidentally put it up on the blog a day before WonFes. I know everyone was willing to forgive me, but I just stood in the office bursting into tears when I realized what I had done! :(

It wasn’t even a GSC product, but a Max Factory product, so I felt even worse about it… Max Factory just laughed it off and forgave me, but it’ll still leave a scar in my mind forever more…

・ WonHobby Live Broadcast 2!
During the last part, while broadcasting, I ended up crying here as well. I’m glad this wasn’t on Nico Douga yet at that time. :P I actually don’t really remember it all that well, but I do know that these are the only two times I’ve actually started crying while at work. :P


Thanks for all the memories everyone!!
That brings the 2nd memory corner to an end!
We’ll see about a part three next time I can’t get any figures to take a look at!
 
 
 
That’s all for this week!
I hope to see you all again on Monday – have a great weekend!! (・∀・)ノ゛