Votoms at 40
April 1, 2023 marked the 40th anniversary of Votoms‘ debut on TV in Japan. Over the year that followed, this milestone was observed through events, new product releases, and an extended celebration for this groundbreaking series. Here’s a roundup of this well-earned birthday celebration.
40th Anniversary Exhibition
Organized by Bandai Namco Filmworks and Hobby Japan, this mini-festival took place from September 1-24 (2023) at Seibu Shibuya Movida in Tokyo. On display were newly-created objects from the “Votoms world,” a huge lineup of model kits and dioramas, production artifacts, original art, and more. And where exhibitions go, commemorative merch follows.
Photo gallery with synth narration
The 38th Kamigusa Model Club Radio show (with photos)
Exhibition merch
Pamphlet
This 48-page beauty sported a new cover painting by Kunio Okawara and offered capsule coverage of all the major works in anime, games, and spinoff stories. (Not as comprehensive as it could have been, but certainly good enough for 48 pages). See it from cover to cover here.
Fabric posters
Postcards
Art panels
Seiko watch
Toolbox by Toyo Steel
40th Anniversary Official Settings books
It’s hard to come up with a better product than this one to mark a big anniversary. They are nothing less than a set of encyclopedias containing every piece of Votoms production art within reach of Bandai and Sunrise, collected in four A4 size softcover books. This includes animation model sheets, color guides, rough sketches, package illustrations, concept roughs, and more.
The first set was published in December 2023 and the second followed in June 2024. They were only sold online in limited numbers. Here’s how they break down…
Bonus item: those who ordered both book sets from the online A-on store received this incentive item, a CD titled Rochina’s Question. In it, Banjo Ginga reprises his role as Jean Paul Rochina in a 35-minute dialogue with Ryosuke Takahashi about the origins of the Votoms TV series. In keeping with Rochina’s character, the interchange is staged as an interrogation, which gets more heated whenever Chirico is mentioned. Includes music and TV narration drop-ins.