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Capsule toys are a small vending machine that dispenses toys or other items in capsules when you insert a coin and turn a lever, and also refer to the toys that are dispensed. They are called various names depending on the era, region, and manufacturer, such as Gachagacha, Gashakoko, Gachapon, Gashapon, Gacha, and PeeCup, but this is because the names are registered trademarks by each company. [1]
The capsule vending machine itself was invented in the United States. It is said to have started as a small vending machine for spherical gum, and eventually began selling small toys in spherical capsules in addition to spherical gum, which became popular in the United States [2] .
In Japan, capsule toy vending machines were imported from the United States by Penny Shokai (now Penny Co., Ltd.) in 1965 [3] [4] and became widespread throughout the country in the 1970s. As more manufacturers entered the market, they became even more popular as original toys and licensed character toys were introduced. They are often installed in candy stores and supermarkets, with multiple machines often located in one place. As candy toys and figurines became popular, the variety of capsule toys also increased, and since the 2000s, specialty stores with dozens or even hundreds of capsule vending machines have appeared, and some are installed in tourist spots to sell local goods. [5] [6] [7]
Famous manufacturers and shops include Value Merchandise (Nissho Boeki), Atelier Sai, Exhaust, Epoch Co., Ltd., Kaiyodo, Cafe Leo, Ashikaga Cosmos Ltd., Yamato Cosmos, Konami, CM's Corporation, Spring, Solid Theater, Toys Planning, Toys Works, Vice, Bandai, Banpresto, Millennium (Konno Sangyo), MegaHouse, Takara Tomy Arts (formerly Eugene), ARTS-TV: Video content from manufacturers, Wafuudo Toy Store, Ishikawa Toys, and more. [8]
Capsule toy is a broad, generic term referring to any small item distributed in a capsule through a coin-operated or payment-based vending machine, regardless of manufacturer, brand, or country of origin. It functions as an umbrella category encompassing a wide range of products worldwide, including toys, collectibles, etc.
Gashapon (also rendered as Gachapon or Gashapon), by contrast, is a brand-linked term historically and commercially associated most strongly, if not solely, with Bandai and its specific product lines in Japan. In Japanese usage, capsule toy (カプセルトイ) denotes the general category, while Gashapon (ガシャポン／ガチャポン) refers to one branded subset within that category. Other manufacturers similarly use their own proprietary names for capsule vending products. [9]
From a linguistic perspective, Japanese usage differentiates between カプセルトイ (capsule toy) as the umbrella category and ガシャポン／ガチャポン (Gashapon/Gachapon) as one named subset among several manufacturer terms. [10] Multiple companies use their own branded labels for capsule vending products. [11] [12] When reliable sources treat these as related but not identical, merging the idea and terms of Capsule Toy and Gashapon may create a false equivalence and introduce conceptual drift. In order to favor the most neutral and inclusive term for general topics, in keeping the general category article separate from a brand-origin term, it is important to point out this commonly confused or interchanging use of the terms Capsule Toy and Gashapon.