Toybox DX

text: Matt Alt
graphics: Robert Duban
January 2006

Image contributions: Macrossworld, Zor Master

Updated: 02.05.06

Ohsato is quite possibly the oldest and most successful Japanese toy company you've never heard of. The company flooded store shelves with all manner of forgettable, low-grade character toys in the 1970s and early 1980s, from trading cards to vinyl figures to simple plastic and die cast action toys.

It's tempting to dismiss Ohsato as just another minor player on the Japanese toy scene. In fact, however, they were -- and continue to be -- one of the country's oldest toy producers, boasting a surprisingly long and storied history. Founded in 1927, the Ohsato Corporation changed its name to the Ohsato Toy Factory in 1947, the Ohsato Toy Manufacturing Company in 1985, and finally back to the Ohsato Corporation, which it remains today. (As you can see from the samples of their logo on this page, they also experimented with several varieties of English translation of their company name as well.) Yes, unlike the vast majority of other companies chronicled here in the Datafiles, they're still alive and kicking. Flying under the radar has apparently paid off for Ohsato; the bulk of their current products are manufactured on a subcontracted basis for larger companies such as Tomy, Takara, and Sega.

Actual Ohsato-branded products, once plentiful but now a fairly uncommon sight on modern toy store shelves, exude a volatile mixture of inspiration and desperation. The licenses are mainly top-notch fare. But the toys themselves are cheap and almost disposable: vinyl "finger puppets" of monsters from Ultraman shows, easily broken plastic Gundam figures, cardboard and Styrofoam gliders emblazoned with anime characters. Many of the packages feature bold "AS SEEN ON TV!" logos, the sort of thing you'd be more likely to see on a Home Shopping Network waffle iron than a robot toy. Perhaps because the concept was so painfully obvious -- children had to see the characters on TV before they could ask their parents for them -- very few other Japanese companies ever bothered with this sort of thing.

Always eager to latch onto new trends, Ohsato produced products for a huge variety of shows, many only of interest to Japanese audiences. Here's a perfect example: trading cards from "Detective Sanma," a parody-mystery series starring comedian Akashiya Sanma, which rocked Japanese airwaves in the mid-Eighties. If you find your loins a-quiver at the thought of completing your Ohsato collection with these, we strongly advise seeking professional help.

Ironically, while other more celebrated, risk-taking manufacturers like Popy, Clover, and Takatoku began dropping like flies in the mid-Eighties, Ohsato's low-key approach allowed it to survive...and thrive. (There's an Icarus analogy here, but we'll leave it for the lit majors.) Currently boasting relationships with numerous other manufacturers and even of having their own factory in Shanghai, Ohsato shows no signs of disappearing anytime soon. Everyone loves the story of a hard-working, determined underdog, and Ohsato fits the bill perfectly. If we're lucky, perhaps one day we'll even see their exploits portrayed ON THE TV!




					Gundam

					Gundam - white version

					Flying Jet Airplane - gliders



					Mechanical Robo Pura - VF-1S

					Mechanical Robo Pura - VF-1J Hikaru Type

					Gattai Robo Pura No. 1 - VF-1J Hikaru

					Gattai Robo Pura No. 2 - VF-1J Hikaru w. GBP armor

					Gattai Robo Pura No. 3 - Glaug Pod

					Gattai Robo Pura No. 4 - Destroid Tomahawk

					Gattai Robo Series Pt. 1 - Battroid Set

					Valkyrie & Variety Box Pt. 2

					Special 1 - Macro Dagurasu & Battroid Set

					Special 2 - Kaki Kaki Collection Set

					VF-1J Hikaru & SDF-1 rubber toy set

					Collectible Erasers set ("Korekushon Keshigomu")

					Meka Robo Pura - VF-1J Battroid Valkyrie

					Meka Robo Pura - Armored Valkyrie

					Mobile Kite

					Special Box / Big Winner

					Special Box Mini Card set Pt. 1 (#1- #60) [pic 2]

					Special Box Mini Card set Pt. 2 (#61- #121) [pic 2]

					Jumbo trading card set [pic 2]

					strung card set [pic 2, pic 3]

					Anime Film Collection Sticker set [pic 2, pic 3]

					Collection Sticker set Pt.1 [pic 2, pic 3, pic 4]



					Ban Ban Action Set Shooting Game

					Orguss Robo Series - Change Type (w. blue Orgroid)

					Orguss Robo Series - Change Type (w. brown Orgroid)

					Orguss Robo Series - Change Type (w. green Orgroid)

					Orguss Robo Series - Change Type (w. grey Orgroid)

					Orguss Robo Series - Change Type set

					Orguss Robo Series New Type - trading cards

					Orguss New Type set (w. grey Orgroid)

					Orguss New Type set (w. maroon Orgroid)

					Orguss Kaki Kaki Collection Set

					Gattai Change Type - Orgroid plastic model

					Special Box Mini Card set Pt. 1



					Flying Jet Airplane - gliders

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