The Collaboration Eyeglasses which Started from Touhou Project

Were there any particular reasons why the number of male customers increased?

‘The number increased since the collaboration with Touhou Project.’

I heard that the first collab series was with Touhou Project in 2013. Why was this?

‘It’s simply because I’m a big fan [laugh]! At the time, my friend had a doujinshi of Touhou MEGANE (Touhou Eyeglasses), and when I saw this doujinshi, I felt “This is a great idea!” I immediately made an appointment with the staff members of Team Shanghai Alice and asked them for permission of the collab-glasses manufacturing. They were kind enough to say yes.’

The BGM in this store is the classic version of Touhou Project’s theme song, right [laugh]?

‘Yes, that’s right. Of course, we have customers who are not anime fans, so we choose music which only hardcore fans would recognize as being from an anime [laugh].’

What were some of the reactions you received when you first released the Touhou Project collab glasses?

‘To be honest, at first, we received many critical comments. Some fans of Touhou Project said to us that the store is abusing the anime’s fame. However, now we have many customers who come and buy these collab glasses, and I believe this is because people understood our craftsmanship and love towards our products.’

It is amazing how each of the collaboration glasses are finely designed with the aspects of the characters included. It seems very difficult to create something this faithful to the original anime.

‘When I first started this business and was trying to make orders to manufacturers, there were many cases in which the manufacturers refused without even looking at the designs. There were many experienced workers at the factories who were unfamiliar with anime, so they weren’t interested in making glasses featuring a story they had never heard of. It was a challenge for me to have a chance to speak to them in the first place. I tried to negotiate with quite a few manufacturers.’

When it came to actually making these collab eyeglasses, what did you discuss?

‘I first explained the concept and the story of the anime. I tried to make the manufacturers understand how famous the anime is and how enthusiastic the fans are. I kept on saying, ‘Yoroshiku onegaishimasu! (We really appreciate your kindness!)’ with great passion.’

Part 1 of the Touhou Project collaboration was with two characters, Reimu and Marisa. You previously mentioned that you received harsh comments about them. When did the fans’ reactions start to change?

‘I believe that people’s reactions started to change after Part 2 of the collaboration, which featured Alice and Byakuren. Our customers who bought the Part 1 collab glasses had put photos and good comments on Twitter and other social networking sites, so the people who saw these comments became interested in our products.’

The characters from Touhou Project are all unique in their own ways, and this is well expressed in each pair of glasses. In particular, I am interested in the monocle which uses Sakuya as its motif. How was this made? I think monocles are very rare items.

‘Let me first tell you about the history of monocles. Originally, they were a status symbol in the fashionable society of Europe. Similar to items such as a cane or a silk hat, monocles developed as a fashion item for men. Because men did not wear earrings like women did, monocles were the only accessory they could wear on their faces. Honestly, at first I was afraid that no one might be interested in purchasing such items. However, when they were released, we have gotten so many good reactions. Many customers gave us comments such as, “It is a rare item today, and that is why I want it.” We also have received many requests to sell them again, but unfortunately, the manufacturers do not have the necessary parts for the monocles any more.’

I saw that your booth at Comiket had gained a lot of attention and was very successful. The summer of 2016 was your first time in joining Comiket. Why did you choose that event?

‘We originally had been selling our products at Hakurei Jinja Reitaisai (Hakurei Shrine Festival), the annual doujinshi festival of Touhou Project, but since we now have made collaborations with anime other than Touhou Project, we decided that this was the perfect timing to participate in Comiket. I had already visited the event myself a few times [laugh], so I wanted to join as a commercial booth this time. As we had expected, we received many comments from our customers telling us that they never knew the existence of our store.’

How do you decide the anime or manga to collaborate with?

‘In most cases, we choose the original work ourselves and make an offer, but recently, we have gotten many collaboration requests, too. The anime collaborations are increasing, and our next collab project is with Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] which will be released on March 25. It is one of my favorite anime [laugh].’

What was one of the collaborations which received the biggest reactions recently?

‘I have to say Girls und Panzer. The anime is very popular, so when we made the collab eyeglasses, many fans told us, “Finally! Thank you for making them!” The anime already had original goods, but there weren’t any eyeglasses, so we received many happy comments.’

Their designs are very beautiful. What are some points you especially care about when designing these collab glasses?

‘The most important thing for me is to make them with a design that only the hardcore fans could identify it’s anime-related. I used to work at a company for many years, and I was a so-called ‘closet otaku’, hiding my love toward anime and manga from the public eye. Therefore, I could not use the character goods with illustrations on the outside either during work or my private time. That is why I believe it is important to include “the hidden playful aspect” in the collab goods. They need to be items that the fans would love and are also fashionable for those who do not know the anime.’

I think that fans really appreciate these stylish eyeglasses which has the ‘hidden’ uniqueness. I also heard that Shitsuji Megane has its own brand goods, apart from the collab eyeglasses.

‘We have our own brand called ‘under score’, which is a brand for under-rim glasses, and we have voice actor Arthur Lounsbery as the brand’s image model. Under-rim glasses have always had hard-core fans, but there was never a brand that specialized in them. That is why we decided to make ‘under score’. We even have Jun Kouga, the famous designer of one of the top Japanese brands, Lessthanhuman, as our eyeglasses designer.

I love these designs! They are beautiful. We are looking forward for your future activities. By the way, could you tell us an anime that you want to collaborate with?

‘I really want to collaborate with Fate/Grand Order!’

I see! The anime has many unique characters, so it would probably be really fun to design the glasses. Finally, could you give a message for the readers who are interested in Shitsuji Megane eyemirror?

‘We hope to provide you with the best eyeglasses, and to publicize the charms of glasses through collaborations and activities, so please look forward to them! Also, please feel free to come to our store whenever you visit Ikebukuro!’

Thank you very much!

source: http://animeanime.jp/article/2017/03/05/32813.html