Ultraman Toy Blog Vol. 59 Blazar Brace 24 Secrets / Part 4 Now Revealing the Inside Story of the Transformation Gimmick! | Ultraman TOY WEB

Hello everyone.
My name is Nno, and I'm in charge of planning and development Ultraman Blazar toys.

Finally, this weekend, July 8th (Saturday)
"Ultraman Blazar" begins broadcasting × "DX Blazar Brace" goes on sale!
So! This week, I will be posting the blog "The Secret of DX Blazar Brace 24" twice in a row.

Well, the information ban on the "DX Blazar Brace" was lifted in April, but at the time, there was very little information available about the Blazer, so
Even though it is only part of the product specifications, we have refrained as much as possible from releasing specific information such as the contents of the audio.

Since then, some time has passed and information about the work itself has been gradually released.
This time, I'd like to take another look at the "Blazer transformation process" and reveal the hidden aims of each element and the behind-the-scenes development stories!

The Secret of Blazar Brace 24 <14/24: Instant Transformation>
First, set Blazar Stone into Blazar Brace.

When you turn on the power switch on the back of Blazar Brace, you will hear the sound effect of the breath appearing on Gent's left arm, which is also seen in the teaser trailer, and a startup animation will light up, with light piercing the body of the breath.

▲The chorus of the theme song includes the line, "The moment we were shot through the stars and became one," and this animation evokes that exact image!

After that, place Blazar Stone in the slot on the red side of the bracelet...
The crystal cover covering the bracelet transforms with a single "bang", revealing the pitch black face.

Due to the specifications of Blazar Brace, I think the most eye-catching feature will be the light gimmick using the Versalight.
The main premise is that it is a toy for boys that is primarily aimed at NARIKIRI playing.
I believe that a "physical gimmick where the object itself transforms" is an element that must be included.

Personally, the Guts Spark Lens that I was in charge of previously required manual transformation (so I focused on the loud clicking sound of the transformation), so this time I tried to pursue the satisfaction of a one-click transformation.

In terms of design, when the cover was on, the case had a rugged, mineral-like appearance, but
The moment you open the cover, a large, shiny black hole appears in the middle, emphasizing the "mysterious object X" feel...that's the key point.

By the way, the correct procedure for returning this cover to its pre-transformation state is to "take out the stone and then close the cover."
When the stone is set, the cover is designed so that it cannot be closed (the lock does not work) even if you try to put it back on.

This is because once you set the stone, the light animations will play one after another.
This is a deliberate design, so that if you accidentally close the cover, it won't ruin the experience or cause you to miss out on the action.

If you would like to display it with the cover closed, we would appreciate it if you would remove the stones before closing the cover, just like in the movie!

The Secret of Blazar Brace 24 <15/24: Black Vision>
Next, let's talk about the pitch black surface that appears when the cover transforms.

We called this board, on which the Versalight animation appears, "Black Vision," but even here there is a toy-like attention to detail...
After trying out many different molding colors for the black parts, we chose "the level of transparency that maintains the brightness and color of the light while not allowing the internal structure to be seen."

This "you can't see what's inside" aspect is a very important point for Blazar Brace.
Due to the show's production design, it is portrayed as a "mysterious item that suddenly appears on Gent's arm," so we absolutely wanted to avoid the mechanics of the gimmick being visible through the parts.

▲This is what it would look like if you could see through it. You can see the high-tech looking board hiding inside...

The aim was to heighten the sense of mystery and surprise of the animation by having "light suddenly emerge on the pitch black, unseen surface" while completely hiding the structure.

In addition, the surface of the board is actually a gentle hemisphere,
When you tilt the device and watch the light animation, it creates a parallax effect, making it appear as if the light-emitting part is slightly further back.

▲It's hard to tell from the photo, but the light seems to be somewhat recessed, right?

This also helps to achieve the aim I mentioned earlier of "enhancing the sense of mystery of the gimmick," so once you get your hands on the actual product, I'd like you to look at it from various angles!

The 24 Secrets of Blazar Brace <16/24: Vibration>
Next, let's talk about vibration, one of the elements I like about this bracelet.

We explained how the Versalight works in the second article,
Some people may be wondering if the motor inside makes a loud noise when rotating.

In this regard, the design and EL team in the development technology department worked hard to make adjustments that were as precise as possible, resulting in a sound that is surprisingly quiet.

Of course there is a slight vibration noise, but at least it is not an abnormal noise that interferes with the sound of the sound, and those who have purchased Versalight toys in the past will be amazed at how technology has advanced.

By the way, the thing I like about it is not just that it is quiet...
When I was playing with the bracelet, I could definitely feel the vibrations of the motor in my left arm...!!
This is so, so good!!

The drive sound itself is quiet, so the vibration is a modest "buzzing" sound.
In fact, it is precisely because the vibration is so subtle that it feels like "pulsation of a blazer transmitted through the breath,"the which is kind of exciting.

The Blazar Brace icon on the package has three options: "It lights up!", "It rings!", and "It spins!", but we'd like to secretly add "It vibrates!" to add to the excitement, so be sure to try playing with the real thing.

The Secret of Blazar Brace 24 <17/24: Blazer Animation>
The Secret of Blazar Brace 24 <18/24: How to Make Animation>
Finally, we will introduce two related topics regarding the Blazar Stone transformation animation that is activated when you press the button after the standby sound.

"I wanted the Blazer transformation animation to be a smooth, active, light-emitting animation!" was something I had in mind from the beginning, but
What kind of visuals would match the worldview?
Unlike Ultraman series, which have already been completed, this will be a completely different story, as we will be starting from scratch.
We carefully proceeded with development, consulting with Tsuburaya Productions and Director Taguchi.

The development process began with working with DecoVocal, an animation creator who we introduced in a previous article, to come up with ideas for "movements that would be interesting to express using the Versalight."

▲ A pattern where red and blue arrows of light fly in one after another while meteor-like particles overflow from the back to the front.

▲A pattern where a red and blue halo is sucked into the background of the screen, dissolves, disperses, then changes shape and begins to move again.

This was my first time developing a Versalight toy, and I was worried that if I paid too much attention to the round shape of the display surface and the light emission along the rotation orbit, the movement would end up looking like something I'd seen somewhere before.
We asked them to consider many movements that emphasized the element of surprise, such as deliberate movement from side to side or rising from the back of the screen to the front.

Based on the draft of the performance pattern created in this way, we picked up the design of the Blazer, etc.
・Images of black holes and quasars
・Red and blue lines
Spiral pattern
We pick out things that match these elements and adjust the colors and details.

This animation was created through that process.
The next hurdle we faced was how to incorporate this into a light-emitting program for a toy.

Those who have had the chance to see Blazar Brace light up in advance on a demo machine in a store may know this, but the lighting effects this time are connected and move very smoothly.

This is actually very difficult, because the huge amount of drawing data that makes up the animation
From the beginning of development, it was thought that the challenge of how to control the toy's IC and ensure smooth playback would be a major hurdle.

The person who overcame this challenge was a young developer in charge of the EL technology for Blazar Brace (a man who could literally be called a superman of light, having worked on many of the latest unusual LED gimmick toys despite only being with the company for a few years).
In order to maintain the image of the original animation as much as possible, he made delicate adjustments to each and every frame to trace it into an LED representation.