Shimpei Takahashi | TEDxTokyo 2013
The man responsible for developing Bandai Co., Ltd.’s wildly popular capsule toys, Shimpei Takahashi, is in love with the idea of ideas. His most notable work, called the “∞ Endless series” (Mugen Puchi Puchi, Mugen Edamame), received the first-ever Japan Toy Grand Prize “Trendy Toy” Award from the Japan Toy Association and achieved remarkable global sales of over five million units. Back in 2005, he even invented a board game called Simpei—named after himself—that’s been described as “tic-tac-toe on steroids.” His brand-new social gaming app Onedari Wanko (Fawning Puppy) already has many devotees. Shimpei revealed his unique cogitation methods in a book called Ways to Develop ∞ (Mugen) Ideas (East Press, 2012). He continues to research simple methods of imaginative thinking, determined to turn all of us into idea people.