Released in 2015 and generating significant buzz, "Toromi-kun" is back as the 4th edition. To commemorate its release, we spoke with Masaki Sada of Bad Boys, who designed and sculpted the figure.

In 2015, under the title "A Serious Showdown: Three Yoshimoto Comedians Tackle Sofubi!", Masaki Sada (Bad Boys), Motohiro Takewaka (Buffalo Gorō), and Kuki! (Kawashima Kunihiro) of Gekidan Hitori unveiled sofubi figures of their own design. A very limited number were sold at the Super Festival in January and Wonder Festival in February of that year, creating a stir among comedy and sofubi fans alike.

Since then, Sada has also been active as a "Soucho-kei" YouTuber on his channel, SATAbuilder's, introducing a wide range of hobbies including cars, motorcycles, DIY, plastic models, sofubi, interior design, plants, vintage items, fashion, and art, boasting approximately 890,000 subscribers.

To celebrate the lottery sale of new colors for "Toromi-kun," which he designed and sculpted himself, for the first time in 9 years as the 4th edition, we asked Sada about the origin story of "Toromi-kun" and his thoughts on the 4th edition release.

Masaki Sada (Bad Boys)
Born September 13, 1978, in Fukuoka Prefecture. In April 1997, he formed the comedy duo Bad Boys with Kito. His published works include the autobiographical manga "Dekin" (art by Yuu Hajime, Akita Shoten), for which he wrote the original story, and the hobby & lifestyle style books "Sada's Hobby" and "Sada's Hobby 2" (KADOKAWA).

I think my encounter with sofubi was around 2013, when I was invited to an exhibition by the apparel brand PUNK DRUNKERS. The venue was filled with sofubi figures, and that immediately caught my eye. I asked, "What are these? Are they for sale? I want to order them."

The PUNK DRUNKERS representative told me, "These are just for display as my personal collection; you can only buy them at places like Mandarake these days." That really piqued my interest.

The first one that made me think, "What is this?" was "Takemi" from ZOLLMEN's "Fantasy Toy" series. It's a girl in a skirt like a schoolgirl, but her head is bumpy. I thought the sculpting was amazing.

From there, I did some research and started visiting Mandarake. Around that time, independent sofubi figures like HXS's "Gorilla Beast," NAGNAGNAG's "Bōryoku Genjin," and Cosmo Knight α's "Yūsei Majin" were beginning to emerge. While these were being sold at high prices at Mandarake, ZOLLMEN's sofubi were still relatively affordable back then, so I gradually started collecting them.

Around the same time, Kuki! and Takewaka and I were planning a solo comedy show at Yoshimoto, and Yoshimoto asked, "Why don't we make some merchandise? Let us know if there's anything you'd like to create." Since I was so obsessed with sofubi at the time, I looked into the cost of making one. It turned out to be quite expensive, so I had to give up on the idea.

Then Kuki!, who also loves creating things, said, "I want to make one too. I found MEDICOM TOY's headquarters, so let's go there and pretend to be idiots (laughs)." We rang the doorbell and said, "Excuse us, is the president here? We're comedians from Yoshimoto, and we'd like to make sofubi." Mr. Akashi, the president of MEDICOM TOY, came out to meet us. He said he'd listen to our story.

I passionately explained my desire to create sofubi, and Mr. Akashi said, "That's interesting." He then offered, "If you sculpt it yourself, I'll fund it, so why don't you make it?" And that's how it began. Takewaka also loves creating things, so we told him about it, and we decided to make sofubi together as a trio and sell them at Super Festival, separate from the Yoshimoto event.

It was my first time attempting to sculpt a three-dimensional object. None of us knew how to make sofubi, so we learned from Mr. Toru Abe, who also does sculpting for MEDICOM TOY, and he taught us how to do it.

My initial theme was something "grossly cute." I really wanted to create a sofubi that was both creepy and adorable. I didn't want it to be too large, something that could fit in the palm of your hand, like those made by Iruiru and Buta no Hana.

"Toromi-kun" was originally inspired by "Takemi," but I later learned it was inspired by the "Chibira-kun" series, which deeply impressed me. Since "Takemi" is a girl, I started thinking about creating a male counterpart.

I liked the idea of a melting face, but naming things is surprisingly difficult, isn't it? The word "Toromi" (meaning "viscosity" or "gooeyness") seemed to fit perfectly. It wouldn't offend anyone, and it felt like just the right name. So, I first drew a picture, and then started kneading clay while thinking about it.

The sofubi casting was done by Hirota Garsyo, so "Toromi-kun" uses the same resin (sofubi material) as HXS. For the coloring, Mr. Akashi painted about five samples as a reference, and we created the figure by combining various parts. I thought, "This color would be good for the hat," and "This color for the legs." We decided on the colors after several revisions, resulting in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions.

We decided to make three patterns: one for made-to-order, and two for a limited lottery sale of 30 units each. I designated the orthodox color, which I unofficially call the "Kamen Rider color," as the 1st edition for made-to-order sales. The 2nd edition, with a tricky white color, was sold at Super Festival, and the 3rd edition, a zombie-like purple, was sold at Wonder Festival. Only 30 units of the 2nd and 3rd editions exist in the world.

Kuki! released a sofubi called "Human," and Takewaka released "Second Son," both of which were incredibly wild (laughs). Fortunately, "Toromi-kun" was also well-received and sold out at the venue. Although I created "Toromi-kun" without much knowledge, I feel that my passion for sofubi allowed me to create something that sofubi enthusiasts would want to own.

Actually, early on, I had asked Mr. Akashi if we could release a "Toromi-kun" with hair. However, it seemed that the Yoshimoto merchandise representative who was liaising with MEDICOM TOY had retired during our discussions, and we lost contact. I wasn't in a particular hurry, thinking it could wait.
After some time passed, I started receiving passionate messages from my sofubi-loving friends, asking, "Sada-san, aren't you releasing Toromi-kun anymore?" or "We want Toromi-kun again!" It reminded me of it, so I asked my manager, and that's when I learned about the situation. I then explained the circumstances to Mr. Akashi again, and the discussion to create "Toromi-kun" once more moved forward.

I was also happy that Mr. Akashi remembered the "Toromi-kun" with hair, which I introduced on my YouTube channel the other day. Having been with MEDICOM TOY for so long, Mr. Akashi offers many ideas regarding sales methods and teaches me many things I didn't know.

Although the 4th edition is also a limited lottery sale, I hope this won't be the end, and that it will continue with a 5th and 6th edition, bringing different colors to everyone. Considering the current sofubi market, I've set the price so it won't be easily resold, but I truly hope it reaches people who genuinely love sofubi.

I've recently felt the urge to sculpt again, so I'm thinking of kneading clay anew. I'm considering creating companions for "Toromi-kun," among other things. Like an old woman with warts, "Ibonnu (tentative)," or one vomiting, "Outo-kun (tentative)." When I told Mr. Akashi, he said, "Those names might be a bit difficult" (laughs).
I'd like to expand it like the "Chibira-kun" series, with its pet Pochipochi and rival Gakinko. I want to create hero-type figures, and robot-type figures too. I have too many things I want to make (laughs).

Toromi-kun (4th Edition)
Size | Approx. 150mm (Height)
Sales Method |Lottery sale via dedicated website
Lottery Application Period | May 19, 2024 (Sun) 0:00 - 23:59
Sales Channel | Worldwide
Estimated Shipping | End of May
Price | ¥33,000 (incl. tax)
© YOSHIMOTO KOGYO