Hello everyone! My name is Funasen, and I am in charge of planning and developing the toy version of the "Auto Emotion Convert Rina-chan Board." (I am a Loveliver.)

First of all... In the initial report, we had announced that "Reservations in summer ⇒ Delivery in winter" would be the schedule, but it has now changed to "Orders in autumn ⇒ Delivery in early summer"... Sorry, please wait for another six months. We are taking our time to develop a full-fledged Rina-chan board that is packed with BANDAI 's know-how in "NARIKIRI TOYS".

And thank you to everyone who pre-ordered early!
In this blog, we will introduce detailed information about products and behind-the-scenes development stories that could not fit on the pre-order page.
I hope this will be helpful for those who are considering purchasing.

■About the exterior design
The exterior design this time is a reproduction of the "TV anime version." In other words, it's the one from "Tsunagaru Connect." When we started designing, the first dilemma we faced was whether to go with the "Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS version" (hereafter, "Sukusta version"). The aspect ratio of the board part is different between the Sukusta version and the TV anime version, and the TV anime version seems to be a little shorter vertically. The decoration of the board also changes depending on the costume, and each person can make their own adjustments to the product, but the skeleton of the board cannot be tampered with.
After careful consideration, we decided on the TV anime version, aiming to recreate Rina-chan's facial expressions from the music video set to the song "Tsunagaru Connect," which was what we wanted most in this product planning, and to thoroughly recreate Rina-chan's board from the TV anime in 3D.

Also, in the School Idol Festival version, the costumes changed for each song, and the color of the board and the presence or absence of cat ears changed completely, but in the TV anime version, most songs had boards of the same shape and color. So, this one board can be used as a board for many songs. (If you cut out the cat ears, it can also become the "ENJOY IT!" version.) For example, you can play songs such as "Dreams Start Here" on CD and try changing the facial expression on this Rina board to recreate the atmosphere of the work.

Furthermore, in the TV anime, "TOKIMEKI Runners" was also shown, and the board used in that game had a floral pattern on the ears. To recreate that, we have included interchangeable floral pattern parts. When you remove these ear parts, you'll find the battery box inside, so we added them because they would be removed anyway and could be replaced. However, in the game, in addition to the floral pattern, there are three decorative parts on the left side of the headband, but these parts are not included this time. If we made them removable from the headband parts, we would have to drill holes to insert them, which would ruin the original appearance. Other methods would be to attach a different headband part or to attach a 3D sticker, but we gave up on these due to cost and material issues. (You can't stick stickers on soft plastic materials.)

▼When you remove the ear parts, it looks like this and there is a battery box.


▼ If you look at the forehead from an angle, you can see a hole, and behind this is a speaker. The sound comes out of the forehead!
 

With that in mind, we had to decide on a size standard. Although we thought that the fan base would probably be dominated by males, we decided to make it female-sized, as the concept should be a realistic representation of the Rina-chan board from the show. We looked up the average head size for adult Japanese women, and when we placed the Rina-chan board on top of it, we designed it so that, like the original design, the lower jaw was slightly visible, and even the eyebrows were hidden. (By the way, the designer is also a Love Liver.)

So what's a man to do?
■ Equipped with size adjustment function
① Adjust the height of the headband (move it up as shown below.)
 
By shifting the holes and assembling them, you can expand it up to about 3cm.

②Side expansion
 
Loosen the screw on the inside, pull the side part outward, and tighten the screw again to slide it sideways and expand it by about 2cm in total. Furthermore, HDPE (high density polyethylene) is used for this L-shaped hinge part, so it can be expanded slightly outward in a V-shape. The material is soft yet hard, so it is taut and generates a force that holds the head down from both sides.

③Adjusting the back of the head strap
 
There is an adjustable polyester strap at the back of the head. By tying it tightly, you can prevent the Rina-chan Board from falling forward.
However, since this obi is not attached in the work, we designed it to be removable. If you want to display it without wearing it, removing it will make it look better!

With these adjustments, I think most men will be able to wear it without any problems.

■ Visibility
It's zero.
Sorry for this! The board is designed to fit a 168 LED array, a speaker, an audio button, and (as we'll explain later) a cushion and silicone nose pads to fit a wider variety of head sizes, so there was no room for a peephole.
Furthermore, because this is a mass-produced product, the plastic is molded using a mold, but drilling countless tiny holes is extremely difficult as it could lead to damage to the mold, so we came up with this design while also taking into consideration ensuring strength.
Instead, since the appearance will not have any holes, we decided to print lines on the board using a special printing method, in order to improve the visual completeness when viewed from the outside.
 
If, like in the story, you could attach a camera somewhere and place a monitor inside, it would become a complete Rina-chan board, but this would go beyond the realm of a toy, so if you have the skills, we encourage you to try making such a modification.

■About LED boards
According to episode 6 of season 1 of the TV anime, the board appears to be made up of an LCD display, but of course that would be prohibitively expensive, so I decided to use LEDs, just like all the other DIY builders out there.
The number of 168 was decided by checking the expressions in School Idol Festival, the TV anime, each music video, and other copyrighted illustrations, and tallying up the places where they were used. I think we've probably covered almost everything. As a result, this product uses the most LEDs of any toy released by BANDAI...!
If you haven't seen the Nijigasaki Live Broadcast on October 17th, you should definitely check it out, as the introduction of the Rina-chan board will begin at around 51:50. If you watch this, you'll see that the number of LEDs is directly what makes the product so appealing.

By the way, all of these LEDs are full-color LEDs (the ones we used this time were no different from single-color ones in terms of cost), but since Rina-chan's board cannot be any other color by design, we have set it to only emit a single color of magenta. However... when the "Rina-chan Beam!" sound appears occasionally on the loading screen of School Idol Festival 2, her eyes emit a rainbow-colored beam. The voice for the "Rina-chan Beam" has also been recorded, so we will make the eyes emit full color only when this sound is played!


■About Rina-chan's voice
This time, we have recorded over 150 new voices by Tanaka Chiemi, who plays Tennoji Rina! About 90% of these 150 are facial expressions and lines such as "Rina-chan board, XX". When creating the script, we checked and listed almost all of the scenarios of スクスタ (including Kizuna, Side, and Mainichi Theater), TV anime, Nijiyon, drama CDs, live broadcast special dramas, live interlude dramas, books, etc., and then selected the words to be recorded this time after consulting with the official copyright holder. You can enjoy a variety of play, such as pressing buttons to play facial expressions in sequence, buttons that only play songs, and other lines.
We introduced "Chorus Reenactment" in yesterday's live broadcast. In addition, it also includes the lines before and after "Tsunagaru Connect" in episode 6 of the first season of the TV anime, so you can fully recreate the show, including the sound effects. In addition, you can enjoy the sound and effects when Rina's board breaks down in episode 13 of the second season of the TV anime... and many other board-related scenes!

■About the song recording
It contains a whopping seven songs! All of Rina's solo songs are included, including "I am a Magnet" from her latest album, so I think it's a compilation item to date. And the seventh song is "TOKIMEKI Runners," a song that symbolizes Nijigasaki. It was also sung in the TV anime version, so it's a perfect inclusion for this TV anime version! However, unlike the TV anime, we selected the "12-person version." We hope that not only Rina fans, but fans of Nijigasaki as a whole and fans of the other members will also pick it up!
The song and the facial expression on the board are based on the concept of recreating the lyrics in the show! The mouth moves in sync with the lyrics. Scenes where facial expressions are shown in the MV will be recreated, and the parts that aren't shown will be complemented by this toy!
"Dokipipo☆Emotion", "Analog Heart", and "TOKIMEKI Runners" are being created based on the MV of School Idol Festival, and "Tsunagaru Connect" is being created based on the MV of the TV anime. For all songs without MVs, new expressions will be created, so please look forward to them! "Teletelepathy" is also a product of this kind, so I will try to create an expression.
This link between the facial expressions and the music will be very exciting to watch as it unfolds before your eyes as a toy. The scene will be shown on the Nijigasaki Live Broadcast on October 17th, so be sure to check it out.

■ 4 x 2 buttons
This product has 8 buttons. However, this is not 8 different buttons, but 4 types x 2 buttons.
When playing without the board attached, the button on the bottom of the ear touches the desk and is in a position where it cannot be pressed. Therefore, you need to press the button on the back of the board to play.
▼The following four are buttons.


On the other hand, you cannot press this button while wearing the earphones. In that case, press the button on the bottom of the earmuffs. There are two on each side. They have the same function.

▼ Two buttons on the bottom, left and right

*The cushion in this photo is temporary, and the actual cushion will have a gray cloth exterior. (Faux leather will easily fall apart over time.)

■Play in silent mode!
The power switch can be turned on in two directions, left or right, and one of them will activate "silent mode."
When the game goes into silent mode, not only will Rina's lines stop playing, but the music will also stop playing. The role of each button will change, and the four buttons will be divided into four categories: "Happy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure," and each button will display a different emotional expression for each vector in sequence.
Since you can't see what facial expression you are making, you will need to memorize the order of the facial expressions in advance, but once you get used to it, I think you'll have fun linking your voice with your facial expressions!

Also, if you take the Rina-chan Board to an event venue and want to light it up, it is best to light it up in "silent mode" rather than "sound on mode". (To avoid making the sound play in unexpected situations.) Please enjoy it in various situations, but be careful not to disturb those around you. Since you will not be able to see in front of you, please ensure your own safety and that of those around you to avoid accidents. Basically, since this is a product that does not allow you to see, we would like you to avoid moving around while wearing it.

■Exhibition Announcement
Finally, an announcement.
This weekend, at the exhibition event "NARIKIRI WORLD 2023" of BANDAI 's NARIKIRI TOYS to be held at Akihabara UDX in Tokyo for 3 days from October 20 (Fri) ~ 22 (Sun)
We will be exhibiting the "Auto Emotion Convert Rina-chan Board" at its fastest speed.

It's like a trade fair for various character NARIKIRI TOYS, and although there are mainly special effects, there are also NARIKIRI TOYS from various anime other than the "Love Live! Series" on display. If you have time, please come and visit!

That's all for this blog! Thank you for using the Auto Emotion Convert Rina-chan board!