BODY: Pokémon's 30th anniversary year is shifting into high gear, and BANDAI SPIRITS is bringing one of Japan's most beloved collectible formats to the party. The "Ichiban Kuji Pokemon 30th ANNIVERSARY vol.1" launches May 30 at ¥750 per pull, with prizes spanning a commemorative-logo Pikachu and merchandise honoring every generation of starter Pokémon.
The lineup leans hard into nostalgia. The headline figure is a Pikachu emblazoned with the official 30th anniversary logo, flanked by goods celebrating the nine generations of starter trios — from Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle all the way through the most recent Paldean lineup. As with every Ichiban Kuji, there are no losing tickets: every ¥750 draw guarantees a prize, which is a major part of why the format has built such a loyal following in Japan.
Distribution will be broad. The kuji rolls out in waves across bookstores, hobby shops, drugstores, official Ichiban Kuji shops, and Pokémon Centers nationwide — a deliberately wide net designed to put a draw within walking distance of nearly any fan in urban Japan. Pokémon Center stock typically moves fastest, so collectors chasing specific top-tier prizes tend to scout less obvious locations like drugstores on launch morning.
This is explicitly labeled "vol.1," signaling that BANDAI SPIRITS has more 30th-anniversary kuji waves planned through the year — a pattern the company has used effectively with other long-running IP anniversaries.
The insider take
Ichiban Kuji occupies a peculiar middle ground in Japanese collector culture: it's gacha you can hold, sold at the convenience store. The ¥750 price point is deliberately accessible — cheap enough to be an impulse buy on a snack run, expensive enough to feel like a small event. For Pokémon's 30th, expect lines at flagship Pokémon Centers in Ikebukuro and Shibuya on May 30, and expect the rarer figures to surface on Mercari at multiples of retail by that evening. The real collector move is knowing which neighborhood drugstore quietly stocked a case nobody else found.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).