A figure nerd goes to Kotobukiya's shareholders' meeting

A hobby manufacturer with a store in Akihabara,Kotobukiya.
The first general shareholders' meeting since the company's initial listing on JASDAQ in September last year was held today (9/27) in Tachikawa...I went to playI'll let you know how it goes!!

Figure related links are here ↓

A figure nerd goes to Kotobukiya's shareholders' meeting

Kotobukiya Shareholders Meeting Report

Otakus head to the shareholders' meeting

The venue is the Kotobukiya Building in Tachikawa.
This is the head office building, which was completed in March 2016.

Since this was the venue, we went inside the building.

Entrance to the venue.
You will be greeted by banners for the three major in-house IPs: FA Girl, Hexa Gear, and Megami Device.

In addition to banners,

Figures,

Plastic models, etc.

A variety of products were on display.

I received my attendance slip and took my seat.
The number of seatsThere were about 120 seats and it was almost full.

In the reportI've heard the term "Frame Arms Girl" about 20 times.It seems like they place a lot of importance on the fact that it's an animated IP that they created themselves, but at the same time, I can't help but wonder if it's okay to focus solely on that.

Otaku Excite!! Q&A

Next to the resolutions
The long-awaited Q&A time!

Taken on siteOtaku-like content based on notesI'll introduce them to you.
My memory isn't that great, so I hope I can give you an idea of ​​what it's like.

Q. Question about our own IP.
The IP currently being developed is all aimed at the core male demographic, but I would like to know whether the IP developed in the future will be aimed at the same demographic, or whether it will be aimed at women, children, the elderly, etc.

A. As you can see in the showcase, we are currently developing products other than plastic models, and we would like to increase the number of IP products themselves.
They also offer products for more than just men, and are developing a market for women.
Kotobukiya pioneered the female figure market.
We are always thinking of new things and want to do things that only Kotobukiya can do.

Q. What happened to the Busou Shinki plastic models that were exhibited at WF etc?

A. "Edelweiss" is scheduled for release in 2019 and pre-orders have begun.
We are also quietly developing other products, so please wait for more information.

Q. I live in Tachikawa and watch Udora on the bus on my way to work.
I love Udora, but what's next for Udora?

A. Thank you for loving Udra.
We plan to nurture it as part of our IP.
I want to spread the good things about Tachikawa.
Thank you for your continued support.

Q. I sell products on an e-commerce site, and I sometimes come across counterfeit products on online auction sites.
I would like to know if you are taking any measures against piracy.

A.We have posted a warning on our official website.
They have asked their internet service providers to block access to pages selling pirated copies, and have consulted with the police and lawyers, but it has become a game of cat and mouse with no results.
The reality is painful.

Q. Regarding overseas expansion.
Plastic models are often in short supply in Japan as well.
You say you're expanding sales of plastic models in Asia. Is that okay?

A. We had asked one company to produce the plastic models, but we decided to produce the single-color runners domestically.
We have increased the number of machines and increased capacity by about 2%, but we still have a lot of multi-color molding molds, so we would like to make them more efficient and increase production numbers.

Q. Your company has developed its own IPs, Megami Device, Hexa Gear, and FA Girl, but I don't really understand the differences.
Do I need to separate them?
As for FA Girls, the first one designed by Shimada Fumikane was good, but the others are not memorable. (The audience is filled with murderous excitement.)
For example, why don't you invite popular illustrators from "Kantai Collection" or something?

A. We have developed the products to meet the needs of each Megami, Hexa, and FA Girl, but if it is difficult to understand, it is because we have not put in enough effort.
We would like to highlight the differences through advertising and other means.
There is no particular difference in sales between FA Girl items.
I want to create attractive illustrations and characters.
Thank you for your feedback.

Q. What are the advertising and public relations methods for your company's IP and what are your goals?
I found out about the FA Girl anime because of the high DVD sales, but when I asked a friend who's an anime fan, he said the viewership ratings were low.
So I went looking for it in Akihabara to see what kind of advertising was being carried out, but all I found was a poster in Yes Sub in Radiokan.
I think public relations is important for growth, but what do you think?

A. To be honest, since it was my first time watching anime, we conducted a survey to find out what people thought of the announcement, and many people had the same opinion.
We received some harsh feedback, such as comments from people who didn't know the anime had started and started watching from the second episode, and from stores saying that if they had told us about the anime earlier, it would have sold better.
I didn't know much about anime.
Next time I'll do it both in real life and online.
Instagram and Facebook for overseas audiences.
In China, there is Weibo WeChat.
In Japan, Twitter is being strengthened as a promotional medium.

I think that because it is an anime made by a plastic model manufacturer, it was looked down upon by the market to some extent, but given its popularity, I think it will be able to start in a good environment next time.

Q. The plastic model market itself is declining due to factors such as the declining birthrate.
Other companies are trying to expand their target audience with things like runner gates that don't require nippers, but is Kotobukiya doing anything about it?

A. Tamiya and Bandai run plastic model classes to try to get children interested, but Kotobukiya actually also has a study room where they are doing something similar.
We are considering developing easy-to-assemble plastic models to help children regain interest in hobbies, especially games, as they become more diverse.
Additionally, we are working on designing the runners so that less material is wasted.

Q. When I look at shareholder message boards on the Internet, I see a lot of discussion about preferential treatment.
Wouldn't holding preferential treatment events attract more shareholders?
If something happens, it can also serve as advertising.

A. We are considering whether we can do something about long-term holding benefits.

Q. There was an announcement that a sequel to the FA Girl anime will be released in March and a movie version in July, but how is the progress going?

A: Thank you for your expectations.
We work to deliver the best entertainment possible.
We would like to release information through various media while seeking business judgment.
We will do our best to promote it, so please look forward to it and support us.

That's all the interesting stuff.
There are also other general meetings and other events.

Companies that have this kind of geek contentShareholder meetings are very long because the geeks get excited and ask all sorts of incomprehensible questions.
As a result, quite a few people left halfway through.

Go to the Otaku Headquarters shop

After the general meeting of shareholders
BelowKotobukiyaShopI've also seen it.
It's smaller than the one in Akihabara, isn't it?
Or so I thought, but as expected from the headquarters!!
The display is amazing!!

The store is divided into two floors, and this floor mainly sells plastic models and figures.

Frame Arms Girl, whose name I've heard about 20000000000000 times,

Sells Western movie figures and other items.

There was also a photography space.

This one mainly features character goods.

The topic came up during the question and answer sessionUdoraThere were also.

The name is unknown.MaskI felt like they were pushing this too much.

By the way, the convocation notice"There are no souvenirs."Something like that was written,

"But then you say, won't you actually give me something?"

I had a faint hope,I didn't get anything.

Oh, just kidding.

teaI got it.

Maybe I won't have to go next year...

I want to read it together

Kotobukiya Shareholders Meeting 2019 Report [Akihabara Company Shareholders Meeting Series]

I want to read it together

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I want to read it together

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