With the launch of "S.H.Figuarts Ultraman Ginga", NEW GENERATION HEROES is now complete with S.H.Figuarts!
To celebrate this, we interviewed Masayuki Goto, who designs Ultra Hero. With the addition of Mr. BANDAI SPIRITS Mitsuoka, who is in charge of product planning, we will approach the secret from both aspects of design and figures.
So, Ultra Live into the design world of NEW GENERATION HEROES!

――How about actually picking up SHFiguarts?

Goto:It's great that the poses in the movie are beautifully determined. It's not like the moving parts are broken. I think it's well made in the product photos, but I think you'll appreciate it even more when you actually hold it in your hands, so I'd like you to try it out first. Ah, Victory can be posed even with the EX RED KING Knuckle attached.

――How do you decorate figures on your work desk?

Goto:There's Belial (laughs). (holding up S.H.Figuarts ULTRAMAN BELIAL) This guy is also very well done. What was your reference for the silhouette and modeling of the figure?

Mitsuoka:But of course to study also seen many times the actual video, in the case of New Generation hero's LSS (Tsuburaya Productions and had our cooperation in shaping part of Dakushon), it has received the scan data of the mask and the whole body , I'm putting it in a figure.

Goto:So what is it like?

Mitsuoka:Basically it is. However, when it comes to the size of 150 mm, the impression of fine parts such as sharpening will change, so adjust it at the stage of modeling.

Goto:Is it check at Shinada (Fuoki) 's place (LSS)?

Mitsuoka:That's right.

Goto:Is it tough? (Lol)

Mitsuoka:Please check it carefully. I am thankful because it is often understood for the first time by the indications of people who are actually shaped.

--In particular?

Mitsuoka:These days, it is the difference between the shapes of Rosso and Bull's eyes.

Goto:Oh, Rosso is round and Bull has a square-like shape.

Mitsuoka:That's right. When the size was 150 mm, the size of the eye would be less than 10 mm, so I exchanged many times how it would make the impression closer.

-It has been reproduced to quite a minute part.

Goto:(Picking up the S.H.Figuarts) You're also recreating the small ledge on the back of Zero Beyond, on the shoulder blades. It's amazing. Up to this point. Also, the design of the JUGGRUS-JUGGLER ball, this one has also been reproduced. There are small parts in various parts of the JUGGRUS-JUGGLER's body, but this one was originally drawn in the shape of a screw hole. However, director Kiyotaka Taguchi told me, "This guy is not a mecha, so I want you to change it." So I changed the design to an atmosphere like a ball. It's a very detailed point, but it's interesting because the director is particular about this kind of thing. The figures were also reproduced well (laughs).

Mitsuoka:Thank you smile). This is also thanks to the full cooperation of LSS.

--So, now that "S.H.Figuarts Ultraman Ginga" is available for pre-order starting June 3 and will go on sale in October, let's talk about Ginga. What can you tell us about the design of this one?

Goto:The order was to shine Ultraman. As for the design, I was thinking of attaching crystal-like parts to masks and suits to make them emit light. The face has an orthodox design, but since it contains light-emitting parts, I think it will give it originality. Also, Ultra Hero has a line on the body, but until now it was a relatively smooth and soft line. In the case of Ginga, the line feels jerky. I think it's my habit, but I think it's tremendous when it comes to Ginga.

――Your back-like parts also have an interesting shape.

Goto:The successive ultra-heroes have no impression that their spine-like parts are sluggish and so designed. So I thought that I would like to characterize it a little, so I made it a little sharper. The spine of the ultrahero I designed is characterized by something slightly different. This is also the case with Belial and Zero designed before Ginga.

Mitsuoka:Even SHFiguarts accurately reproduces the shape around it.

―― When you look at the design picture, you can see the difference in the arrangement of the actual suit and crystal.

Goto:The part where you put parts is limited because of the action using the suit. As we proceeded in consultation with the modeling department in that area, it is a little different from design drawings.

--- What is adjustment?

Goto:At the design stage, I used crystal on the back scapula and thighs, but it was difficult to attach hard parts there. It is dangerous when lying down or rotating around the scapula. It seems that wearing the parts is difficult because the thighs are parts that stretch and shrink.

-Is there such a coordination between designers and modeling teams?

Goto:There is. For example, if you raise this line a little, your legs will look longer. I designed a zero in front of the ginga, but the line around the flank has changed when I compare it with the actual suit. These fine adjustments are often done.

――Is the interaction with the modeling department going smoothly?

Goto:When it goes smoothly, it goes smoothly. What I am drawing is just a "design picture", not a finished form. From that point on, it's only showing the initial direction, as it is only possible to create a suit, make a suit, shoot it and make it into an image as a character. If it is finally cool, it is also my desire as well. However, once boiled, it will be long though (wry smile).

-For example?

Goto:When designing Ultraman Groove, there was an order to put the image of Lube Courin (weapon) somewhere. So, I thought I'd put it on my back, but the modeling department said, "Because the back is a part that expands and contracts extremely, attaching such parts (because it interferes with the action) is a high hurdle." However, even with the ULTRAMAN R/B that I designed before that, I had the design of Lube Kourin on my chest with the same concept, so I negotiated various things because I don't want to wear it. However, this character will be drawn in full CG after all. What was the exchange so far (laughs)?

--- It is difficult to get along (laughs).

Goto:It's hard, but what's interesting is that even if a model that has a different direction from what I expected comes up, I sometimes think it's cool. It's different from the design picture, but did you interpret it like that? I may be impressed. At that time, I wouldn't complain and I wouldn't say anything (laughs). However, when I think that the design drawing is not intended and the modeling is not cool, I still give an opinion, so the work will be extended. However, this does not mean that I am self-satisfied, but because it is released to the world as Ultraman, do you say that it involves responsibility? I was particular about it and thought it was the right part. I think Ultraman will last for decades. Therefore, I wanted to do my best (because it was released to the world). It has a history of more than 50 years since the first Ultraman, and the new Ultraman is one of them, so I have a feeling that quality must be maintained.

――It's been almost 10 years since you designed Ultraman. Has there been any change during that time?

Goto:I often draw design drawings from scratch with my own hands. I think that basically every designer is the same. When designing Ultraman X, there was an order to take a picture of a suit actor and draw a design picture from above (like tracing). Because the design picture and the suit are different, aren't they? It's natural that it's different because it's modeling and people are inside.

-There is also the thickness of the suit, and the actor is in it, so it looks bloated compared to the design picture.

Goto:That's right. A voice comes out from above saying that we want to shorten something like the difference. So I was working according to my order ... What I thought at that time was rather "reverse".

--- Say?

Goto:I think it would be better in the end to present the ideal figure at the stage of design drawing and then approach that ideal at the stage of modeling. I noticed that. On the design side, I feel that the image is tied up (by using the silhouette of a real human being as an underlay), which is rather bad. To put it simply, I think you've seen a design picture of a fashion designer haute couture, but it's not like a human being. Based on the design picture, it becomes the actual clothes through the hands of various people such as fashion designers and sewing people, and it is completed only when the model person wears it. I think Ultraman 's design (which is a live-action film) has something similar to that. That's why I stopped using that method from the next design of X.

--- What is your favorite character?

Goto:First of all, I have a feeling for Zero and Belial. After all it is Ultraman that I designed first. I'm starting from here.
I also like Victory. When the story came here, the name was decided by "Victory". The transformation item also contains the voice "Victory!" (Laughs). Then I thought I would design with the letter "V" as a motif. The letter "V" is put on the head, chest, arms, legs, and body line. The design feature is "black". This is the first time that a character has extruded black all over in the design of successive ultra heroes, and in that sense it is also memorable.

-Speaking of victory, the head is very distinctive.

Goto:This was really hard to do. It looks like the design image is a solid feeling, but it was a very difficult stage when I was actually modeling. I went to see that the clay prototype was made, but the shape of the head was too different from the design. The tip of the head is jumping out with Dokhan like the tip of the battleship Yamato. "I'm not this," said Mr. Shinada and the other two people (wry smile). It was a very difficult character to balance the face when it was made to be a three-dimensional object, but I like the figure that was completed so much.

――I think there is an Ultraman event as a place where you can interact with actual fans. Do you ever go to such a place?

Goto:Not so much. I try to go to Urfes (abbreviation of Ultraman Festival, an annual summer event held in Tokyo every year) as much as possible. But it's kind of shy, isn't it? When I'm doing a hero show, a small child is cheering for Ultraman, isn't it? When I see such a scene, I almost cry. My chest is full (laughs). So I can't go much.

--(smile). Last but not least, do you have a message for your fans as an Ultraman designer?

Goto:Ultraman has a basic design line, right? It's not a two-pronged line, but two lines: the silver and red two-tone first-generation Ultraman line, and the red-based Ultraseven line. Besides this, I wonder if I can somehow make another pillar. It's a personal ambition, but I wish I could do something like that. Even if it's not, I think there is a design line that looks like Ultraman. I think that it will become possible by improving molding technology and using CG. We are always working hard to create something new, so please continue to support Ultraman Series.

(May 8, 2019 / Tsuburaya Productions at Dakushon)