If you grew up loving Gashapon machines and the capsule toys they churn out, then good news! Because Bandai Namco, has opened its first-ever gashapon shop in Southeast Asia at IOI City Mall Putrajaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

You’ll get to enjoy high-quality gashapon that are a cut above the usual cheap and low-quality toys you’d find in the machines that we grew up with. In fact, some gashapon are so rare that they’re considered collector’s items and fetch extremely high prices in secondhand markets.

The new store is located at L3-2-1, IOI City Mall Putrajaya 2, Gashapon Bandai Official Shop and features over 300 capsule machines, giving you plenty of options to choose from to start your own Japanese figurine collection. You’ll find gashapon from popular anime, manga, and tokusatsu franchises like Spy x Family, Pokémon, Doraemon, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, and Ultraman.

Bandai gives tremendous props to their local partners KC Distribution and Pocket Ventures for making this happen so quick and is looking forward to the journey ahead.

The tokens cost RM5 each with prices for normal gashapon ranging from RM15-RM35, while premium gashapon will cost between RM35-RM125.

We were also fortunate enough to have a quick chat with Bandai Namco’s very own Futoshi Tagawa (General Manager) and Tetsuo Tomizawa (Manager in BCL Capsule & Small Toy Business Department) and asked them some questions regarding their plans for the future.

Tetsuo Tomizawa (Left); Futoshi Tagawa (Right)

Why did Bandai choose Malaysia as its first official store in Southeast Asia & what roles do the partners play?

Tetsuo Tomizawa: Actually we don’t only plan to Gashapon shops in Asia but all over the world. When we developed the plan, we needed a partner in each region. So we contacted KC Distribution and Pocket Ventures. Because they were so responsive and passionate about opening this shop, we were able to proceed smoothly and open this shop first.

Futoshi Tagawa: When developing, we had a lot of partners, but Pocket Ventures solely focuses on Gashapon businesses and we never worked with a partner like that.

Gashapon has been around since the 1960s, so why would Bandai launch its official store in 2023?

Tetsuo Tomizawa: Last year in 2022, it was our [Bandai Namco] 45th anniversary and to celebrate that we developed a Gashapon shop similar to this in Japan and it was a big success, and that’s why we are expanding this franchise.

In the upcoming future, does Bandai Gashapon planning to add additional stores across Malaysia?

Tetsuo Tomizawa: We already have some plans to expand in Malaysia. So in the near future, you can expect to see more shops in-and-around Kuala Lumpur.

What’s Bandai’s goal with these types of shops?

Futoshi Tagawa: Our end goal is to not only have these types of shops in Asia but all over the world. So that everyone everywhere can get to experience Gashapon.