Taiwanese Creators Build Original Mecha Characters and Worlds

Taiwanese creators are turning a long-standing love of mecha into original toy properties, mixing robot designs with themes that reach beyond the genre’s established Japanese franchises.

Veteran intellectual-property producer Luo Chi-ming traced the rise of robot toys to the 1970s, when Japanese toy and snack companies used advertising and animation to promote products. Gigantor, Mazinger Z and Transformers helped fuel the chogokin toy trend. In the 1980s and 1990s, Macross and Gundam expanded mecha beyond children’s toys and toward teenagers and adults.

Luo said the growth of digital games and an aging player base have turned mecha model kits into a nostalgic passion for “kids at heart.” Taiwan once hosted many plastic injection-molding factories serving major international toy companies, but production later moved overseas. The island remains an important test market for Japanese firms, with some products launched there before wider overseas releases.

The market is large, Luo said, citing Gundam sales of ¥254.3 billion, or about US$1.63 billion, last year. Taiwanese original properties face established competition, but he said Southeast Asia could offer room for expansion.

One creator, Chou Ta-mu, entered the toy business after COVID-19 brought orders at his automotive parts and customization company to a halt. Drawing on his team’s design abilities and his own passion for mecha, he founded Giga Garage. Its Shen Ji Mecha Wars series combines anime-style heroines, mecha, space monsters and Taiwanese street food. The first two machines, Ignatius and Aurelian, have entered Japan with Japanese-style packaging and mid-range pricing, and sell more there than in Taiwan.