[Honey's Anime Interview] Takayuki Miyauchi and Kenta Wakisawa From T-SPARK at the Los Angeles Anime Expo 2025

T-SPARK is described as a brand for adult hobbyists. What’s the vision behind creating a unified brand for adult hobbyists and has that vision evolved since its launch?

Wakisawa: Our division handles long-running IPs like Transformers and ZOIDS, and we’d already been developing products for a high-target demographic. So under the company-wide policy of increasing lifetime value and expanding customer segments, we decided to take the lead in expanding offerings for kidults (adults with a playful spirit).

Although the toy and hobby businesses may seem similar, their structures differ significantly. So for this initiative, we assembled a project team that included members beyond just management and our division. Together, we held in-depth discussions, looking ten years ahead, on how our company should approach and expand the kidult market from a medium- to long-term perspective.

Through those discussions, we realized that Takara TOMY now targets a wide spectrum of customers, from children to adults, and that this requires different approaches for each segment in both product development and marketing. In the hobby category especially, we recognized the need to clearly define and separate our kidult offerings. For instance, our official YouTube channel previously featured videos for both kids and adults, but to deliver more relevant content to each audience, shouldn’t we consider separating the channels?

There are also differences in focus between children’s and adults’ products when it comes to quality and ethical standards, raising the need for distinct criteria. As we looked to expand the kidult segment over the medium to long term, it became clear that clearer boundaries were needed. That led to the decision to launch a separate label for kidult-focused collector items. This was the rationale behind T-SPARK, and our vision has remained unchanged since its launch.

How do you prepare your marketing strategies to reach its intended audience, particularly in international markets like here in the USA?

Wakisawa: We only began expanding into the U.S. market in 2025, so we’re still in the early stages, testing various strategies to see what works. While overall trends in the U.S. market aren’t drastically different from those in Japan, action figures are a particularly strong category, and in recent years, Japanese IPs have become extremely popular. By leveraging that interest in Japanese culture and applying Takara TOMY’s hobby expertise, we aim to develop new products and build awareness of the T-SPARK brand. Our appearance at AX this time is part of that effort.

Looking ahead, we plan to roll out a variety of collaboration products featuring popular manga, anime, and other globally loved content. We’re also working to strengthen our online presence, centered around our North American e-commerce platform, Tommy Plus. At the same time, we want to create more offline touchpoints, such as places where fans can see product samples in person.

How do you approach targeting adult collectors over younger fans, especially when working with huge titles like My Hero Academia that attract multi-generational audiences?

Miyauchi: We believe that expanding the T-SPARK brand is essential to gaining traction with adult collectors. The new figure brands we’ve launched will offer a wide range of products, from affordable to high-end, designed to appeal to various fan demographics.

SPARK Fig is a mid- to high-priced series targeting adult collectors, while the COLLEKAZARO series is designed not only for adult collectors but also to appeal to female fans.

By offering a diverse range of products targeting a broad fan base, we hope to raise awareness of the T-SPARK brand among as many people as possible.

Although brief, our conversation with Miyauchi-san and Wakisawa-san shed light on how Takara TOMY is shaping the future of its collector business through T-SPARK, a brand built with a playful spirit, yet crafted with the sophistication and quality adult fans expect. From the long-term vision that led to creating a distinct label, to early steps in expanding into the U.S. market, and the thoughtful strategies behind engaging multi-generational fandoms with lines like SPARK Fig and COLLEKAZARO, it’s clear that T-SPARK represents more than just figures—it’s a commitment to redefining what it means to collect, connect, and celebrate Japanese pop culture on a global scale.