Greetings Seibertronians! It's not just
HasLabs Unicron that's been feeling the love from the Transformers Generations 2020 book (recently published in Japan), as there's also an interview with three Takara Designers (Mitsuhito Ohno, Hisashi Yuki and Daisuke Onohara) and one of the things they discuss is the recently announced MP Raiden project!
Caption next to small picture of Raiden apparently reads:
New information on the Raiden project is now available at the Special Exhibition Tenku no Railroad Story at the Mori Arts Center Gallery & Sky Gallery in Roppongi Hills Mori Tower.
The main details are that the toy will indeed be part of the Masterpiece line, making this the first Combiner to feature in all the years the Masterpiece line has been running. It has been said that the designers want the alt mode to satisfy even "train" people, meaning railway enthusiastics. This will probably be along the lines of realistic alt modes.
The translation below has been machine translated for the most with some tweaks done to aid grammar. Have a read and let us know what you think.
Beyond the 35th Anniversary, Toward 2020
Mitsuhito Ohno, Hisashi Yuki and Daisuke Onohara
-Let's open with thoughts on 2019 as we look back.
Ohno: After all, “Bumblebee” was big. The movie itself was very appealing to the G1 design, fans of the past were happy and I think the general public enjoyed that it looked like this (different from previous movies). I also enjoyed it personally.
Onohara: For marketing purposes, it was very good that the movie had all-ages content that could be enjoyed by children and family.
Yuki: It was a good movie that allowed you to use your characters carefully. Thanks to “Bumblebee”, I think that there will be a chance to create new types of video works in the future.
Ohno: The possibilities have expanded, and expectations for the next movie are increasing as soon as possible. Another thing that impressed me personally was that Unicron was established, and I can't tell you the exact date, but in 2021, it will reach my Japanese lol. I'm most impressed by how [much space will be needed] to place it at home, so be prepared now (laughs)
-Ohno, you can order a large number of items in Japan, thank you so much. How about the new anime “Cyberverse”?
Onohara: It was a new challenge, but I recently exhibited at the Tokyo Motor Show [and observed] there are quite a lot of children who come close to Cyberverse.
Ohno: It’s an advantage that you can watch it many times.
Onohara: This is an anime that asks Miwa Iwano for sound this time, so that various people can enjoy various ways to enjoy it. The number of viewers is also increasing because of the increased activity of major characters in Season 2.
Ohno: Toys are also good products. It ’s very interesting. First of all, it is a toy that is interesting to play with. Since it has a toy-like gimmick, I'd like you to play with it as a toy.
Yuki: In conjunction with Hasbro's “Generations Selects” in the United States, we started out in the form of trying to select characters that would not be featured in their lineup or regular “Generations”. With Legends, I was able to put it up to Dai Atlas, and I thought it would be Star Convoy the next time. I want to [make challenging] Japanese characters in the future. A large item called King Poseidon also appeared. Fortunately, the idea of the development was that I thought it was a little ... that the combiner would define it, and that the [sixth] last scrambled unit would not come out. I want [to satisfy] the fans that have collected so far, so I wanted to meet that honest hope and commercialized it.
-As a high target item, how was the Masterpiece brand in 2019?
Ohno: I am also a member, but now Masterpiece is a development system with project members. Yuuki Oshima, who draws design sketches and gives ideas to TF fans, is one of the important members.
Onohara: We were able to release Convoy Version 3 and Bumble Version 2 for the 35th anniversary. Fortunately, Masterpiece started at the 20th anniversary, so when the series reaches its 40th anniversary in 5 years, then Masterpiece will reach its 20th anniversary. Then there will have been Masterpiece for half of the Transformers' history. Because it has progressed with a good feeling for such a long time, it seems that it has a product specification that can withstand such upgrades.
Ohno: Even if you have the same character, it's all right, so I would like to put out an evolution by changing the specifications. Minibots are almost untouched, and there are many things that can be done.
-You collaborated vigorously.
Onohara: I think the most important purpose of collaboration is to create opportunities that people who once knew the Transformers brand and those who knew it were able to feel “what is interesting”.
Yuki: Thanks to movies and so on for the past few years, it seems that collaboration has become more eager.
Ohno: You may be able to say that you can now truly collaborate.
Onohara: There was also a second G-SHOCK and an amazing collaboration with BUMP OF CHICKEN was also realized rapidly.
Ohno: A woman at a live venue wears a t-shirt with Bumblebee. I saw it and it was tremendous.
- Finally, please tell us about 2020.
Onohara: First of all, it's not the end of the 35th anniversary, but in February we will carry out the “Transformers Examination”. Especially for the intermediate level, it will be a good test of your skill, so I would like you to challenge it. After that, Netflix's new animation will be distributed in Japan. Fortunately, there’s no movie, so it feels like it ’s normal (laughs). We are also preparing new works for “Generations Selects”, so please be patient.
- What was the recently announced “Raiden Project”?
Onohara: Isn't everyone thinking "No way !?" This time, we decided to officially produce Raiden for Masterpiece. I don't know the release date yet.
Ohno: I want to use vehicle mode that will satisfy even the “Train” people.
Yuki: We are very much looking forward to Mr. Ohno joining the project. Masterpieces were handled by young people so far, so there weren't many patterns to make together with your own toys.
Ohno: That's right, you're going to recreate the Raiden that you did with yourself. I have to do my best.
Yuki: You can do many things that you couldn't do at that time (laughs).
Onohara: In this way, veterans make wonderful items, so I would like to deliver them firmly to everyone.
PROFILE
Mitsuhito Ohno joined Takara in 1980. Involved in development from the beginning of "Transformers" through "Microman" and "Diaclone". In 2010, he was selected for the Hall of Fame. Currently participating in the Masterpiece Project as a fellow.
Hisashi Yuki joined Takara in 1992. Participated in the Transformers team since “Beast Wars II”. In addition to developing products for domestic and overseas, he is responsible for the localization of “Cyberverse” [as well as the] planning and development of the Japanese version of “Generations Select”.
Daisuke Onohara joined Takara Tomy in 2006. Transformers Marketing, collaboration and events planning. In Transformers Cyberverse, he is one of the producers.
What do you think of this? Let us know in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews!
I can just pray for a Selects Unite Warriors version and hope for the best!
It'll probably cost around $400, and I just can't do that crap 
)
/ 
decide to release a new mold of Rail Racer/JRX in the wake of this train TF. 
