Takio Ejima (江島 多規男 Ejima Takio, born June 6, 1964) is a designer at TakaraTomy. His first product at Takara was Crazybird from the "Flower Rock" series, and after joining the Overseas Transformers Product team in the Boys Enterprise department, he single-handedly created the all European Transformers during the period when the American Transformers line ended, until the advent of Beast Wars. After Beast Wars Metals (the Japanese release of the TransmetalsBeast Wars figures), he moved to the Girls Toy Department, but came back to Transformers during the Energon line. According to fellow designer Takashi Kunihiro, Ejima is "the man who created the most transforming robot toys in the world".
Hand-in-hand with developing the Turbomasters and Predators, Eijima created the concept of using light-piping for the eyes of Transformers toys.[1] He is also credited with coming up with the idea of the extensive use of ball joints seen towards the end of the Generation 2 toyline as a means of making toys more durable, thus complying with more rigorous safety standards. This idea opened up possibilities of robot toys with extensive articulation.
The only designer who makes even cooler figures off the clock.
He is reverently referred to as "The Big E" by the Hasbro design team.[15]
Besides developing the concept of light-piped eyes, Ejima also holds patents for the Predator missile launchers[16] and megavisor system.[17]
Ejima reused the engineering from the toy that would become Machine WarsSkywarp / Thundercracker for the bat version of Optimus Primal (the toys were applied for in the same patent).[18] Likewise, the basic class version of Terrorsaur shares engineering with the toys that would become Machine WarsHoist / Hubcap and Mirage / Prowl. [19]
Fellow TakaraTomy designer Shogo Hasui was assigned to do the large Combiner Class Constructicon Devastator toy, and had completed some early sketches, but Ejima subsequently took over due to scheduling conflicts.
Off-hours, Ejima's main hobbies include gardening and creating striking, intricate, almost jewelry-esque articulated metal sculptures. Pictured right are a couple he slipped in to the bonus features of the Beast Wars Reborn behind-the-scenes DVD.
