Gashapon

Gashapon (ガシャポン), also called gachapon (ガチャポン), is a kind of vending machine-dispensed capsule toy manufactured and sold by Bandai.

The word Gashapon, a Bandai trademark, is onomatopoeic from two sounds, gasha (or gacha) for the hand-cranking action of a toy-vending machine, and pon for the toy capsule landing in the collection tray.

The toys are often constructed from high-grade PVC plastic, and contain detailed molding and intricately painted features.

They are engineered for high quality, small size, and minimal manufacturing cost; many do not turn a profit for their producers.

[8] Gashapon toys are often licensed from popular characters in Japanese manga, video games or anime, or from the American entertainment industry.

These highly detailed toys have found a large following among all generations in Japan, and the trend is spreading elsewhere in the world, especially among adult collectors.

Enthusiastic collectors will buy sets from gashapon stores in places such as Tokyo's Akihabara or Osaka's Nipponbashi (Den-Den Town).

[10] Gashapon figures and items are available outside of Japan, including through officially licensed repackagings in the form of blind bags, sold in stores like the U.S. chains Five Below and Target.

Capsule toys has also come to refer to blind-box trading figures, which are essentially the same product sold randomly out of sealed cardboard packages instead of a machine.

[23] If a player does not obtain what they hoped for, there is the option of paying with their own money for more draws, and this is the main way to monetize the Gacha games.

In addition, paid console games have included gacha-style progression based on random items but with no in-app purchases, such as Work Time Fun.

The anime-oriented subculture surrounding the production of gacha games has also given birth to the term gacha pop, referring to J-pop songs in diverse genres, from those of pop act Yoasobi to rock musician Kenshi Yonezu, associated with anime soundtracks or aesthetics sought by a global audience.

[24][33] It is at this stage in which some players develop an intense emotional connection and as a result, engage in a parasocial relationship with an in-game character.