Interview: Hisashi Yuki

Hisashi Yuki Section Chief, Sales Development Section, Sales Promotion Office, Sales Division 

Interview from the official Takara Transformers website 2004

Translated & Interpreted by Jeremy Barlow © Soundwave's Oblivion 2026

For the Transformers franchise, I was responsible for coordinating the development as a whole, from Beast Wars II (Second) through to Car Robots.

As soon as I received the assignment for Beast Wars II, I had a solid image of the new Convoy in mind within about a week: the leader would be a lion, and I wanted a “barbaric” silhouette, like a muscular, macho man clad in a lion’s pelt.

Interview: Hiroyuki Azuma

Hiroyuki Azuma, Section Chief, BOYS Marketing Department, Takara Co., Ltd. 

Interview from the official Takara Transformers website 2004

Translated & Interpreted by Jeremy Barlow © Soundwave's Oblivion 2026

 I am currently responsible for marketing for the Transformers project. We previously introduced the future direction of the project in the pages of Figure-Oh magazine, and we have received a great deal of feedback and a wide variety of opinions. As part of this initiative, we have also substantially revamped this website, and we are working hard to prepare many new sections and services, so please look forward to them.

Interview: Yuya Onishi (Planets Channel)

Surviving Transformers: Age of Extinction

Carrying On the Spirit of Japanese Craftsmanship: An Interview with Designer Yuya Onishi
Almost-Daily Planet Development Committee, Vol. 157

12th September 2014

Translated & Interpreted by Jeremy Barlow © Soundwave's Oblivion 2026

Transformers, the Takara Tomy toy line built around the innovative concept of realistic machines transforming into robots. An extraordinary long-running success, the franchise celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2014, the same year the fourth Hollywood film, Transformers: Age of Extinction, was released. How exactly is this hugely popular Japanese-born product made?

To find out, the PLANETS editorial team and Tsunehiro Uno visited Takara Tomy’s headquarters in Katsushika, where they spoke with Yuya Onishi, one of the rising stars of the Transformers design team. Through Onishi’s aesthetic as a designer, we can glimpse the culture and philosophy that underpin Japanese craftsmanship.

Interview: Takio Ejima

Takio Ejima, Head of the GIRLS Development Engineering Department 

Interview from the official Takara Transformers website 2004

Translated & Interpreted by Jeremy Barlow © Soundwave's Oblivion 2026

I’m Ejima, and I was primarily responsible for the overseas versions of Transformers products starting with the 1993 lineup. As for products released in Japan, I was responsible for developing the majority of the Versus Sets from the year of Gattai Daisakusen, as well as most of the G2, Beast Wars, Beast Wars II, Beast Wars Neo, and Beast Wars Metals lines.

Interview: Yuya Onishi

The Passion of a Young Ace Designing “Transformers” Transforming Robot Toys 

“Transformers” - Takara Tomy / Yūya Ōnishi 

Weekly Diamond Editorial Department 

Forecast & Analysis: The People Who Make Things 

1st September 2017

Original Source: Diamond Online 

Translated & Interpreted by Jeremy Barlow © Soundwave's Oblivion 2026

Introduction

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary toy car, but by pulling out the doors, lifting the roof and shifting the tyres, it instantly transforms into a robot figure. Takara Tomy’s robot toy line, “Transformers”, is a huge hit, with more than 500 million units sold across 130 countries and regions. 

The story began 33 years ago, when US toy giant Hasbro saw the transforming and combining robots released by Takara, as the company was then known, and approached the company with a proposal to launch them in the United States. Hasbro named the toys “Transformers” and established a new brand. An animated series was then created around a story in which “robot lifeforms”, capable of transforming into real-world vehicles, battle one another as opposing forces of good and evil. The series became hugely popular. The anime was subsequently brought back to Japan, and Takara Tomy and Hasbro went on to jointly develop the toys and expand the brand worldwide.

The franchise has grown into a major entertainment property, with around 20 related anime series and the fifth live-action film being released this year.

Interview: Yuichiro Hira

Yuichiro Hira, Section Chief, BOYS Marketing Department 

Interview from the official Takara Transformers website 2004

Translated & Interpreted by Jeremy Barlow © Soundwave's Oblivion 2026

I believe I first became involved in Transformers development back when I was still working on the “Ninja Turtles” line within the company. I remember it all started when Ejima-san asked me, “Why don’t you come join our department?” and I went over rather reluctantly. That was during the early planning stages of Beast Wars, and I’ve been involved in Transformers development ever since. I’ve been making more than ten toys a year, so I suppose I must have passed a hundred by now? 

Interview: Hideaki Yoke

Hideaki Yoke, General Manager, Boys Overseas Development Office, Boys Marketing Department

Interview from the official Takara Transformers website 2004

Translated & Interpreted by Jeremy Barlow © Soundwave's Oblivion 2026

My involvement with Transformers goes back to the days of Microman and Diaclone, so it has been nearly twenty years now. Following the success of those products overseas, we decided to develop them in Japan under different titles, and from then on the projects proceeded as joint production projects with our overseas counterparts.