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Takara Tomy's Transformers Designer Hideaki Yoke Retires
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Former Hasbro Transformers team leader Aaron Archer (pictured left in image at right) revealed on Thursday that Transformers designer Hideaki Yoke (pictured right) has retired from Takara Tomy. Yoke was a lead designer for the Transformers toy line.
Yoke worked for Takara to design products in the Diaclone and Micorman lines in the 1980s. His Battle Convoy toy design in the Diaclone line became the original Optimus Prime toy in the Transformers line in 1984. He also helped design Perceptor, Scourge, and other toys in the Transformers line. According to Archer, "[Yoke] was there for every toy product and every piece of media since the beginning."
Yoke served as as liaison between Takara and Hasbro during the Transformers toy line's early development years. He worked on Transformers products until the release of the line for the Transformers: The Movie American animated film in 1986. He then took on a management role until his retirement.
[Via Transformer World 2005]
