There are many Gashapon fans like these who remain addicted to the colorful plastic capsules long past their childhood. Edmond Tang

Ellen Chan, a 12-year-old secondary school student, is a self-professed Gashapon (capsule toys) maniac. On most days after school, the girl lingers outside toyshops, gazing at the vending machines and the promises of excitement inside.

"I've had many collections at home since I started two years ago," she said. "It's really exciting when you open the capsule to see what toy is inside. Sometimes it's a surprise; other times it's a let down. The discovery is all the fun."

The schoolgirl's sentiments are echoed among many youngsters and even adults in Hong Kong. Gashapon has been a long established trend, but it has gained momentum and turned into frenzy in the last two years.

Blind delights

The gleaming capsule toys draw both children and kidults, grown-ups who remain young at heart. Michael Cheung, owner of a toyshop in Tsuen Wan, stated that his Gashapon customers are aged between 3 and 40.

"Over half of them are primary school and junior high school students who come by a couple times a week. There're also quite a few people in their twenties who come with their boyfriends and girlfriends."

"Occasionally there are middle-aged men sneaking up on the vending machines in the evening and on weekends," Cheung explained. "A few of these may be doing it for their children, but the rest are probably into it themselves."

Leung Chin-yiu, a 24-year-old marketing professional, has gone on Gashapon sprees with his girlfriend. The couple explored Gashapon machines all over town, from a shopping mall in Shatin to a small toyshop in Sheung Wan.

"What's there for a young couple to do in Hong Kong, especially when we don't have a lot of money?" Leung exclaimed. "I know it sounds silly, but getting a capsule toy is a quick thrill, and my girlfriend does enjoy collecting them."

As all Gashapon are released in sets and there are a number of figures to collect in each series, the collectors can often be frustrated by getting the same capsules repeatedly. The frustration, however, is sometimes the drive for further Gashapon action.

"I get determined to get the figures I want," said Sarah Hui, a 29-year-old clerk. "I've always loved these capsule toys since I was a child, so it's a life-long hobby rather than a silly passtime."

Paul Lau, a 38-year-old accountant, is another long-time lover of Gashapon. Lau has a 7-year-old son who loves Gashapon, but does not get enough pocket money from his mother to try his luck at the vending machines.

"My wife is very strict. She doesn't understand why little boys get obsessed with small toys like this. So I listen to what he says about Gashapon and try to bring him home something he wants, just what I'd want from my father when I was a child," Lau said.

Most other parents are far less understanding. Eugene Chan, a 37-year-old magazine editor, attempts to stop his 4-year-old daughter from collecting capsule toys because they are 'a waste of money'.

"Those plastic toys cost $5 to $10 each. I don't want my girl to waste the little pocket money she has and develop the wrong values from such a tender age," Chan contended. "Getting a toy 'blindly' like this is very unhealthy."

Big investments

The Gashapon mania is indeed an expensive hobby for youngsters. Ellen Chan, who receives $200 of pocket money a week, sometimes spends over half her allowance on the capsule toys.

"When I'm short, I stay at school and eat instant noodles rather than go out for lunch with my classmates. A few of them are also Gashapon fans and do the same thing as I do, though," she elaborated.

The obsession runs deep in Wong Kwan-yu, an 18-year-old student and collector of capsule toys for four years. "There are times when I spent $2,000 a month on it and had to borrow money from my classmates," she recalled.

The numbers sure do not sound right to Simon Luk, regional vice-president of Money Concepts. Luk believed parents should set good examples for their children, by limiting the amount kids spend on capsule toys.

"They should set rules on the amount of money their children can spend on capsule toys each month. If the children break the rules, parents should deduct their pocket money from the next month. It's a matter of resources distribution," Luk remarked.

Cultural critic Yiu Wai-hung, however, views youngsters' obsession with Gashapon as a normal phenomenon. Yiu thinks that it is common for capsule toy collectors to want to collect the entire set of figures, the same way stamp lovers collect stamps.

"Collecting things is a simple motive," Yiu wrote in an extensive discussion on the Gashapon fad and its critics in his personal blog. "It's important to understand Gashapon is a culture and consumers can spend a huge amount on such enjoyment."

Miho Kaneko, a 33-year-old Japanese woman working in trading in Hong Kong, agreed that Gashapon is a cultural phenomenon that is mostly harmless, save for instances where young students get loans to indulge in their hobby.

"In Japan it's a part of the youngsters' regular life. As long as you accept it as that, and don't go overboard, I don't see what's wrong with it," Kaneko concurred. "It's just like young girls collecting posters and souvenirs of their idols."

(HK Edition 07/18/2009 page4)