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.

The product designer team, which handles everything from the initial toy concepts through to the design of individual parts, is an elite group of around 10 people. Among them is Yūya Ōnishi, a promising young ace with an enthusiastic appetite for new challenges.

Ōnishi grew up in Higashiosaka, a city known for its concentration of small and medium-sized manufacturers. Perhaps influenced by his father, a carpenter, and the many “manufacturing dads” around him, he was a boy who loved cars and machinery.

“I want to spend my life mastering the art of making things.”

At university, he studied mechanical engineering before joining a major electronics manufacturer, where he was involved in fundamental research, including fluid mechanics. He subsequently left the company and enrolled at a specialist school for car design, where he continued to hone his skills.

Changing Careers to Become a Toy Designer, Where He Could Put His Own Ideas into His Work

Ōnishi’s next career move took him not into the electronics or automotive industries, but into the world of toys.

“The essence of making things is to imagine who will use a product, in what circumstances and for what purpose, and to think about what you want to convey through that product. Toys have enormous influence and the power to inspire dreams; when they become a hit, they can even develop into a social phenomenon. Compared with home appliances and automobiles, I was attracted to toys because they gave me greater scope to put my own ideas and feelings into the products.”

With this in mind, Ōnishi joined Takara Tomy at the age of 27 and began working on the design of Transformers.

The first character Ōnishi was assigned to was “Starscream”, which transforms from a jet. “How on earth am I supposed to design this?” Even with all the design experience he had accumulated, Ōnishi struggled with this completely unfamiliar field, something he had never encountered before.

What makes Transformers completely different from other robot figures is that they can be transformed by pulling, rotating, folding and manipulating the various parts, without removing a single one of their more than 100 components. The materials sent by the film studio show only the final forms: the vehicle and the robot. Ōnishi’s job is to work out everything involved in the transformation process between those two forms, from the mechanisms and individual part designs to the costs of materials and moulds.

For a single product, Ōnishi may sketch as many as 50 ideas on paper in a single night, developing the concepts and gradually refining them into a final plan. His days are a constant process of trial and error. Since the Transformers films were adapted into live action, the challenges of development have become increasingly demanding, with characters, for example, requiring more complex facial designs that bring them closer to human appearance.

Based on a diverse range of characters, Transformers has developed multiple product lines according to factors such as transformation difficulty, target age and price range, and has released a cumulative total of around 3,000 different products. Ōnishi is responsible for around 20 new products each year. He takes figures created by those who came before him, adds a contemporary twist and creates something new.

Throughout this process, one thing he considers particularly important is listening to the fans. Fans from around the world post countless reviews online. There have been occasions when a product has failed to live up to their expectations, but there are also times when a product that took considerable effort to bring to market receives comments such as, “Absolutely cool! I’ve been waiting for a product like this.” Feedback from fans is a vital source of both ideas and motivation.

During development, the designers also conduct four or five team reviews, in which they critique one another’s plans. “It’s pretty discouraging when a gimmick you’ve been working on all night gets rejected,” Ōnishi admits. Nevertheless, the reason they debate everything so thoroughly is that every member of the team is striving to achieve the highest possible level of finish.

Overcoming Strict Constraints to Create a Masterpiece He Can Be Proud Of

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Transformers film franchise. Among a packed lineup of key products, the latest and finest creation that Ōnishi is particularly proud of is the “MPM-3 Bumblebee”.

Its development came with a series of demanding requirements. For the first time in the top-tier series, it would carry both Hasbro and Takara Tomy branding, have specifications common to markets worldwide, and lower the target age from 15+ to 8+.

Toy specifications normally differ between Japan and overseas because of differences in the materials that can be used and in customer preferences. For example, transparent parts are made from polycarbonate in Japan, but this material cannot be used in overseas markets.

Nevertheless, Ōnishi was determined to use die-cast metal parts for the body. Fans had long been asking for the figure to have a satisfying sense of weight when held.

Both requirements presented formidable cost challenges, but he managed to overcome them by making ingenious adjustments to other parts and materials.

He then went back over the transformation process again and again, refining and improving it so that even children could enjoy a high quality Bumblebee if they were willing to put in a little effort.

Ōnishi succeeded, through his characteristic spirit of embracing challenges, in bringing together a number of conflicting requirements: the quality and cost demanded by fans, and a transformation process that could be enjoyed by both children and adults.

His dream is “to continue creating products that bring happiness to people around the world”. When he came across a social-media post about an elementary school pupil who had saved up their pocket money to buy a product he had worked on, he realised that “toys may not be necessities, but they are things that remain in people’s memories”.

“I want more people to discover the depth of toy design.”

His words are filled with passion.

(Rika Yanagisawa, Weekly Diamond Editorial Department)