Roman Album Hyper Mook 2:
Soul of Chogokin
review by Darren Pierce, February 2001

There are several toy books on the shelf which are pretty darn good pictorial encyclopedias of Popy / Bandai's complete toy lines. Roman Album Hyper Mook 2 (RAHM2) doesn't try to follow that path. Rather, it is a broad overview of the Bandai empire's greater toy world: toy design, toy making, and the toys themselves.

At 128 picture-packed pages of magazine format fun, RAHM2 is a festival of eye candy that promises many long hours of browsing pleasure.

We open with Soul of Chogokin Mazinger Z, which had just been released at the time of printing. A 16 page color documentary of the history of Chogokin & Popinica toys from 1972 to 1997 ensues.

A Super Sentai robot design section features a set of beautiful, full color conceptual design portraits of the assembled Toei robot army. I've never seen these printed in any other book, and this alone justifies the cost of the publication in my mind.

Next up is a section on toy variations covering differences in box art as well as the toys themselves. Following is a spread on Jumbo Machinders that comes close to matching the coverage found in Gangu Jinsei #2's Jumbo feature.

The mook goes on and on with sections covering playset-format bases, non-sentai Toei heroes, Kamen Rider heroes, extreme Machine Robo coverage, and other delicacies.

Only half way through, RAHM2 dives into interviews with "big names" in the industry. Can't read Japanese? Stick around for the pictures -- a rare glimpse into toy designs that never materialized, a peek into the back office to see how new designs slowly evolve into tangible toys, and a tour of Bandai's mold center.

We wrap-up with a rather complete 14 page color photo encyclopedia of Super Sentai robot toys.

It's easy to recommend RAHM2 to anyone who appreciates the full bounty of Popy / Bandai's offerings. The mook doesn't take the time to specialize in any one area of expertise, rather, this is a toy lover's photo overdose.

I find the many images of toy designs that never "made it" absolutely fascinating. If you consider yourself a student of Japanese toy design, Roman Album Hyper Mook 2: Soul of Chogokin is not to be missed.