Popy was a Japanese toy manufacturer of the 1970s and early 1980s. The company was owned by Bandai. It was founded in 1971 and merged back into the parent company in 1983. The company is best known for its groundbreaking Chogokin robot figures.
History
Popy was formed by Bandai in July 1971 to distribute products intended for candy shops and other retail outlets outside of the usual toy stores. Before long, the company began to license characters and vehicles from popular live-action (Tokusatsu), Anime and Manga series. Its first major success in this vein was a child-sized version of the "Henshin Belt" worn by the hero of the Kamen Rider television series. Although other companies were selling similar products, only Popy's incorporated a light-up mechanism, making it a smashing success despite its then-high retail price of 1500 yen. (It would eventually go on to sell some 3.8 million units.) In the wake of the success of the "Henshin Belt," Popy introduced a palm-sized, diecast metal version of the bike ridden by the show's title character. It proved a major success as well and paved the way for a massive wave of vinyl and diecast metal renditions of characters from the Japanese kids' shows that dominated the Japanese toy market for more than a decade. Other notable successes included the Jumbo Machinder