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Kazushi Kobayashi's MechatroWeGo Toys Get Manga
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Kodansha announced on Monday that it is developing Kazushi Kobayashi's MechatroWeGo robot toy line with a new manga, a smartphone app, and an educational robot toy. Kodansha will announce more details on the overall project this coming fall. The announcement also mentioned an "anime," but it is not clear whether this refers to an all-new anime, or the "HelloWeGo!" anime short that debuted for the franchise in 2019.
The story of the MechatroWeGo franchise centers on 260cm tall (about 8'6" tall) robots that kids use to go to school and for recreation in depopulated towns. Kobayashi thought of the story after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster of 2011, focusing on the concept of a "a peaceful robot that doesn't fight." The franchise now has merchandise such as figures and plastic models. Wit Studio produced an anime short for the franchise titled "Hello WeGo!" for the Anime Tamago project in 2019. The product line also features items in collaboration with Hatsune Miku and the new Neon Genesis Evangelion anime films.
Yūsaku Yamada draws the manga, titled Bannō Henka MechatroWeGo (Multi-Transforming MechatroWeGo), which launched in Kodansha's Magazine Pocket app on Tuesday. Mobile Suit Gundam franchise mechanical designer Kunio Okawara drafted the original mecha designs for the manga. The manga's first compiled book volume will ship this fall. The manga's story will center around Sora and Riku, a pair of kids whose unchanging life in a boring and rural town is upended by the appearance of something unique. At the same time, a pilotable robot appears before them, and they work to retake their future.
The smartphone game DancingWeGo also launched for the franchise on Tuesday. The game is available for Android devices, with an iOS version planned.
Living Robot is developing an educational robot toy for the franchise that will be designed to teach programming. The toy will roll out to schools in Fukushima Prefecture this July, and will debut nationwide in Japan this November.
Kobayashi has worked as a 3D CG modeling director for the mecha in the new Neon Genesis Evangelion anime film series, and has also worked as a 3D modeler on Tenchi Muyo GXP, D.I.C.E., Reideen, and Yoiko no Rekishi Anime: Ōkina Kabu.
Sources: PR Times, Magazine Pocket
