anime figure sculptor

彼はSHO 東京に住む２４歳

*alarm rings*

今起きるところだ

This is Sho, 24 years old living in

SHOはこの１Kの部屋で一人暮らしをしてる

Tokyo and he's just waking up for work.

部屋は仕事や趣味に打ち込めるように シンプルにしてるぞ

[Music]

そこんとこ、詳しく後で説明するな

He lives alone in this one room studio

あ、お肌のケアしてる！

apartment and prefers to keep things

これは日本では普通

simple so he can focus on work and his hobbies

20代の日本人男性の５８％が スキンケア商品を使ってるからな

which we'll get into later on

すっげー！漫画がいっぺーあんぞ！

Oh he's doing skin care, common in Japan

日本人は漫画好きなんだよな〜

as 58 percent of males in their 20s use skin care products

漫画ってさ、日本の生活に馴染んでて

Wow his apartment is stacked with manga

なんと大人でも８０％が 日常的に漫画を読んでるんだ

which is fairly common in Japan as manga

SHO! 朝メシ食わねーのか？

is so embedded in popular Japanese culture

YouTubeを観ながら朝を過ごすのは ジェネレーションZらしいのかも

that 80 percent of the adults

SHOは千葉県、東京の隣の県の出身だ

read manga regularly.

日本を代表する美術大学の一つ、武蔵野美術大学に通うために

Sho! You didn't eat breakfast.

東京に引っ越してきたんだって

I suppose that it's quite common for Gen Z in Japan to spend their time in the morning

大学ではインダストリアルデザインや カリグラフィを勉強したんだけど

watching youtube.

原型師の道を選んだんだ

Sho is originally from Chiba, a neighboring prefecture.

通勤は電車、日本では一般的だな

He moved to Tokyo to attend Musashino Bijutsu University

運良く最寄り駅は徒歩5分だ

one of the top art schools in Japan.

乗車時間は一回の乗り換えを含めて15〜20分

He studied industrial design

東京の平均通勤時間を比べると短い方だ

and calligraphy but decided to pursue as a GENKEISHI

おっす、みんな！

but decided to pursue his career as a genkeishi aka figure sculptor.

今日、オラは1日密着をしにきてるぞ

Like most Japanese, he commutes to work by train.

SHOがそろそろ到着する時間だ

Luckily, his home station is less than a five minute walk away.

会うのが楽しみだぞ

He has about a 15 to 20 minutes train ride including one transfer.

おはよう！

A little better than the average salaryman.

昨日はよく眠れたか？

Good morning, everyone!

彼のオフィスは秋葉原だ

We're back with another Day in the Life.

日本のオタクカルチャーの発信地

Sho should be coming in just a little bit.

秋葉原といえば、アニメや漫画、メイドカフェ

Excited to see how he's doing this morning.

そして、もちろん「フィギュア」！

Good morning!

ここがSHOの職場「グッドスマイルカンパニー」 働き始めて今年で3年目だ

Did you sleep well last night?

業界人やフィギュア好きの間では 「グッスマ」で知られてる

His office is located in Akihabara - the capital of Japanese otaku culture,

日本を代表するフィギュア制作会社で

synonymous for anime, manga, maid cafes, and, of course, figures.

約175人の従業員が 毎日様々なフィギュアを作ってるんだ

Sho has worked three years at Good Smile Company,

呪術廻戦や鬼滅の刃のフィギュアも作ってるんだぞ！

also called gusma by people in the know.

ここでは、オフィスに入る前に必ず靴を脱ぐんだ

It's one of the top figure production companies in Japan,

日本の家では一般的なんだけど

with about 175 staff in their Tokyo office,

職場ではあまり見ねぇかもな

creating all sorts of popular figures

特に従業員全員靴を脱ぐってのは珍しい

like Jujutsu Kaisen and even Kimetsu no Yaiba.

従業員にリラックスして仕事をして欲しい ってのが伝わってくるな

Workers here take off their shoes before going into the office,

出勤してまず取りかかるのは、出勤日報

which is customary in the Japanese home,

英語だとDaily Logだ

but less common these days in a Japanese office setting,

出勤日報には何を書くんだ？

especially as a company-wide policy.

次は毎日行われるチームミーティング

The company must really want their staff to feel at home.

今、作業してるプロジェクトの進行状況や

The very first thing he does when he arrives at work,

いつ終わりそうかを共有するんだ

is to write his shukkin nippo aka daily log.

SHOの部署は６チームに分かれてて

So what do you write in your daily log?

別々にミーティングが行われるんだって

Now Sho has his daily team meeting.

ここでようやく作業にとりかかれる

Each person reports how their current project is progressing,

何を作ってるんだ？

as well as an estimated completion date.

SHOは粘土を使って手作業で原型を作る

Within his department, there are a total of six different teams, all meeting separately.

粘土は英語でputty かclayだ

Now Sho has time to focus on sculpting.

SHOの場合はポリエステルパテを使ってる

What are you making right now?

これを爪楊枝で盛り付けて、 尖った綿棒で平にならすんだ

Sho sculptures figure prototypes by hand, using nendo (in English - putty or clay).

原型師ってどんな仕事するんだ？

In his case, a polyester putty.

グッスマで就職したての頃は、 先輩原型師のサポート業務がメインだったんだって

For his main tools, he uses a toothpick to add putty

原型の最終調整をする作業とかな

and a sharp q-tip to smooth out the surface.

経験を積むにつれて、手だけ・足だけみたいな 小さなパーツを任されるようになった

So what does a genkeishi do?

で、今は一人で原型を任されるレベルに熟練したってわけ

When he started at the company, his main tasks were to support senior staff,

ちなみに、「ねんどろいど」は グッスマの人気商品の一つで

who were making the actual prototypes,

二頭身の可愛いフィギュアシリーズだ

by helping to make minor adjustments to the final prototype.

今年が１５周年で、今までに1500種類も生産したんだって！

As he gained more experience, he was given responsibility

ねんどろいどって名前は、シリーズを作った チームの名前「ねんどろん」が由来なんだって

for smaller parts like hands and legs

SHOはしばらく作業をするみてぇだから

and eventually advanced his skill enough

オラは探検に出かけるとすっか

to create a full prototype on his own.

ここはメインエントランス

In case you didn't know, nendoroid is the company's popular figure series,

クールなフィギュアがいっぺー並んでんぞ！

which are typically figures with a large head and a smaller body.

ちょっと見てみようぜ

The company has produced over 1500 figures in the last 15 years.

素晴らしいディズプレイだ！

The nendoroid name itself came from a team in the company who created it - Nendoron.

なんでもあんぞ！

So it looks like Sho's going to be at his desk for just a little bit longer.

あ、あそこに誰かいる

While he's doing that, why don't we go around

話しかけてみっか

and try to figure this place out.

おっす！今、何してんだ？

Wow, as you can see, this is their main entrance,

それはなんだ？

and they have so many cool figures here.

POP UP PARADEは手に取りやすい価格の スケールフィギュアシリーズ

Let me show you.

高級なスケールフィギュアやねんどろいどよりも低価格帯のシリーズだな

This is a pretty impressive display!

仕事は何してんだ？

It seems like they've got everything here.

気に入ってるのはどれなんだ？

Oh, look, there's someone actually standing over there.

お気に入りだらけじゃねーか！

Let's see what they're doing.

おっそりゃなんだ？

Excuse me, what are you doing right now?

あんたが作ったのか？

What's that?

作るのにどのくれぇの期間がかかったんだ？

Pop Up Parade is their reasonably priced figure series

オフィスエリアでオラが楽しみにしてるのは

Pop Up Parade is their reasonably priced figure series

がっつり飾り付けされたデスクだ

at a lower cost compared to their super high quality figures

例えばこのデスク！

and even their nendoroid series.

すっげー！ちっさい男がスクリーン裏で寝てるじゃねぇか！

So what do you do?

それにこのデスク！

Which one is your favorite?

このデスクが優勝だな

How about this one?

ここはエグゼクティブの部屋だ

It seems like he has a lot of favorites.

中央には専用のミーティングスペースがあんぞ

Oh, wow, what is that?

ここは3Dプリンターの部屋だ

You've made this?

どうなってるか見てみようぜ

How long did it take you to make this product?

３Dプリンターがいっペーあんぞ

So one of the things that I love the most about going into this office

あ、これ今印刷中だ！

is that some of the desks are designed so cool!

反対側は作業場になってるな

For example, check out this desk.

原型が３Dプリントされた後に

Oh, wow, a little guy is sleeping on the back of the screen!

ガタついた箇所を削る作業をするんだ

And check out this desk right here.

ここは撮影をするへやだ

I think we found a winner.

リリース前に写真を撮って、サイトに載せたりするんだろう

This is where all the executives sit,

オラ、探検で地下にはあんま行かねぇよな

and, you can see, in the middle they even have their own meeting space.

気になるから行ってみようぜ

So it looks like they do all the 3D printing here.

すっげーなんてクレイジーなんだ！

Let's have a look around.

ガチなレーシングカーがいっぺーある！

Damn, they have a lot of 3D printers!

すげーーー

Oh, and this one is printing right now!

なんて言えばいいかわかんねーくれぇすげーぞ

They even have work benches,

後でSHOに何か聞いてみようぜ

readily used after the prototypes are 3D printed

下にすごいレーシングカーがあったけど あれは何なんだ？

as they come out jagged and still need to be shaved and smoothed out by hand.

2008年から初音ミクのラッピングカーで レースしてるんだって

This area, right here, looks like the place where they take all the pictures,

なんてワイルドなんだ！

probably before the release, and then they take these pictures

次は表面にサーフェイサーを吹きかける

and put them on the website.

これをすることで、表面の凸凹が見やすくなるから 平にする作業がしやすくなるんだ

So one thing we never do when we're doing these explorations

匂いがかなりキツいんだな

is check the basement floor.

このダクトが匂いを吸い取ってんのか？

So let's do that now, cause I'm a little bit interested.

よく見たら、どのデスクにもダクトがつながってて

Oh, wow, that is crazy!

匂いやフィギュアを削った時に 出るカスを吸い取る作りになってる

These are serious real deal racing cars!

この仕事の面白い所ってなんだ

This is amazing! It's crazy. I don't even know what to say.

この部屋はシリコンの型を使って レジンの原型を作る部屋だ

I'm gonna need to ask Sho what this is all about.

SHOはまだ髪の毛部分の作業中だけど

Hey, Sho, I've found some insane cars downstairs. Why are they there?

顔は終わってるから、先に顔部分だけ原型を作るんだって

Hey, Sho, I've found some insane cars downstairs. Why are they there?

この白濁色のブロックが 原型を元に作ったシリコン型だぞ

So they've had racing cars

レジンの液体を混ぜて作って

wrapped with the Hatsune Miku design ever since 2008. That's wild!

型に流し込むんだ

Now he sprays the surfacer on the figure

全部入れ終わったら真空脱泡機に入れるぞ

to make the dents more visible, so it's easier to polish.

中が真空状態になるから 液体から空気や余分なガスが出るんだ

Wow, the smell here is pretty strong.

この作業が終わったら、時間を置いて固まるのを待つぞ

Is that duct sucking up all the fumes?

ここで作られる最終原型が工場に送られるんだ

It looks like all the desks have their own personal duct

それを元に、大量生産のための金型が工場作られるぞ

to remove smells and figure shavings.

やったー！昼メシの時間だ〜！

So what's the most enjoyable part of your job?

パテのストックがないから 昼メシを買うついでに買い出しに行くぞ

So this is the room where they cast the silicone molds

ここはSHOが秋葉原でよく行く店 ホビーショップタムタム

and produce the resin prototypes.

オフィスのすぐ近くってのも都合が良い

Sho's still working on the figure's hair,

なかったのか？

but the face has been completed.

違うやつを見つけたみたいだ

So he's able to make the resin prototype for that.

昼メシは大体コンビニで買って

The milky looking block is a finished silicone mold

休憩室で食べるんだって

made from the putty prototype.

何食ってんだ？

A precise resin mixture is then poured into the mold.

予想通り昼メシはすぐに食い終わったから

Once completely filled, the mold is placed into a de-aerator,

残り時間は漫画を読んで過ごすぞ

which creates a vacuum inside,

SHO、何読んでんだ？

removing oxygen and other dissolved gases from the liquid mixture.

昼メシの後は、プランナーと生産と 今作ってる原型についての最終ミーティングだ

Afterwards, Sho lets the resin sit, so it can harden.

あ！爆豪勝己を作った男だ！

These finalized resin prototypes are sent to the factory and

各セクションを細かく確認して、 元絵とマッチするかチェックするぞ

metal molds are created from them to mass produce the finished product.

社長に見せる前に調整するべき箇所があるかも確認する

Yay, finally, lunch time!

次は何すんだ？

Apparently, Sho is running low on putty,

フィギュアの目を印刷してるみてぇだ

so he needs to stop by the supply shop on his way to pick up lunch.

前髪の作業をするとどうしても目が汚れちまうんだ

This is one of his favorite hobby shops in Akihabara, Tamtam,

だから社長に見せる前に 新しく印刷した目に貼り直すんだって

and, conveniently, it's just next to the office.

もうちょい時間がありそうだな

They don't have it?

オラは他の人に話しかけに行くとすっか

They don't have it?

この辺りはでかいスクリーンで 仕事してる人が一ペーいんぞ

I guess he found another brand [Note: same brand, different type: epoxy instead of polyester.]

何してるのか聞いてみっか

Like most days, he picks up lunch at the convenience store

すみません

and eats it in his office's kyukeishitsu a.k.a. rest area.

何してんだ？

What are you eating?

SHOと同じように原型を作ってんだけど PCを使って作業をしてるんだな

As expected, he finishes lunch pretty quickly,

作業が終わったら３Dプリンターで 印刷するって違いがあるぞ

so he uses the rest of the time to read manga.

これは学校で学んだのか？

Sho, what are you reading?

すげークール！

After lunch, he has a final meeting

これを作った時に 一番難しかったのは何だ？

with a figure planner and production team member

この辺の人たちは何してるんだろう？

about the prototype he's working on.

あの人 、面白そうなことをしてるぞ

Oh, that's the guy who made the Bakugo Katsuki.

今何をしてるか聞いていい？

They meticulously review each section to see if it matches the original design,

働きはじめて何年目なんだ？

and if any changes need to be made before showing it to the president.

自分で色を決められるのか？

What are you doing now?

どっか行くのか？

Oh, he's printing out eyes for his figure.

ついに社長に見せる時間がきた！！

I see what he's doing.

ちょっと緊張してんな

Apparently, eyes sometimes get smudged when working on the bangs,

でも大丈夫なはずだ

so he's applying freshly printed eye decals

なるほど

to ready it for the presentation with the president.

修正箇所がもう一つ

I guess, I have some more free time.

これが社長に見せるっていうことだよな

Let's go talk to some people.

どうだった？

Just over here, there're a lot of people with some big screens.

今日の残りの時間を使って 社長に指摘された部分を直す作業をするぞ

Let's see what they're doing.

そう言えば、これはなんだ？

Excuse me

これは修正テープ

What are you doing right now?

これは爪切り！

He creates prototype figures, just like Sho, but on his PC.

鉛筆削りも

Only when he finishes, he prints out his figures on their 3D printers.

間違いなくメイドインジャパンだな

Did you learn all this in school?

顔の部分が出来上がったみてぇだ

Wow, this is so cool!

これで今日は終わりか？

What was the hardest part about making this one?

やっと終わった！

I wonder what these people are doing over here.

帰る前に日報を書くぞ

This guy looks like he's doing something interesting.

仕事後は友達や同僚とさくっと飲みに行ったりするけど

Excuse me, can I ask what you're doing?

今はコロナで自粛中だから 晩めしの買い出しをしてまっすぐ帰るぞ

How long have you been with the company?

ナイス！今日の晩めしはそうめんと天ぷらだ！

Do you get to decide the colors on your own?

気付いてると思うけど、食生活クレイジーだよな

Where are you going now?

ま、わさび食ってるからぎりセーフか

Finally, it's go time to see the president.

一応、緑だもんな

Sho does seem a little nervous, I'm sure he'll be fine though.

これから何かするんだ？

The front looks a little bulky.

あ、おじさんフィギュアを作るのか！

Okay.

実は、フィギュアの箱には原型師の名前が載るんだ

That's another fix.

もしかしたら、みんなが買うフィギュアに SHOの名前が載ってるかもな！

Well, I guess, that's what it's like to meet the president.

数時間この作業をして、

So, how did it go?

12時くらいに寝るんだって

Now he spends the rest of the day to fix all the items the president pointed out.

これでSHOの1日は終わりだ

By the way, what are these?

どう思ったかコメント欄で教えてくれよな

Wow, it's a white-out tape,

他にどんな動画が見たいかもコメントで教えてくれ

a nail cutter,

オラの日常はインスタでチェック

and a pencil sharpener.

チャンネルサポートはグッズ購入からお願いな！

Definitely Made in Japan!

1日密着シリーズはまだまだ続くぞ

It seems like the face parts are done.

興味があったらチャンネル登録忘れずにな

Are you done for today?

またな

Yes, with this I'm done for today.

Finally, finished!

But, before leaving, he makes sure to complete his daily log.

But, before leaving, he makes sure to complete his daily log.

After work, he often goes out with his friends and co-workers for a quick drink,

but, because of covid, he's gonna keep it simple tonight

and pick up dinner on his way home.

Itadakimasu.

Nice, tonight's dinner is somen noodles with tempura.

You know, you kind of have a crazy diet.

Well, at least, you're having wasabi, kind of a veggie.

What are you doing now?

Oh, he's making ojisan figures a.k.a. old dudes.

In case you didn't know,

every figure created has a sculptor's name on the box.

Maybe, one day, if you ever buy a figure, you'll see Sho's name on it.

So it looks like Sho is going to be doing this for another few hours,

and then he's going to go sleep later tonight at 12.

But that's pretty much the day in his life.

Let me know what you thought in the comments below.

If you want to see any more videos, also let me know in the comments.

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