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Danny Choo: Loving Mirai
Danny Choo: (JP/Aruna Harjani)âMirai is my daughter,â says Danny Choo, looking at his beautiful female protégé, sitting on his shoulder
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Danny Choo: (JP/Aruna Harjani) (JP/Aruna Harjani)
Danny Choo: (JP/Aruna Harjani)
'Mirai is my daughter,' says Danny Choo, looking at his beautiful female protégé, sitting on his shoulder.
He was referring to character Mirai Suenaga, the heroine for the story Mirai Millennium who became an official mascot for Japanese tourism last year and who, by early this year, had her own racing team that is set to race GT tracks worldwide.
Mirai was originally a two-dimensional illustration created by Danny in 2007 to bring more 'life' to his site.
'I created a girl because I think girls are cute,' says the smart doll creator. 'There is more life to girls.'
Later, he decided to bring the character to life by creating a physical formation of Mirai.
'A few years ago, I decided to make Mirai into something physical because whenever I introduced her to everyone, I could only show a piece of paper,' said Danny, who has more than 2.5 million followers on communications application LINE.
After Mirai was created, Danny proceeded to clone her and market her as a designer doll all over the world. One Mirai doll, handmade in Japan, costs around US$580. Since the introduction of the product, some 2,000 dolls have been sold.
Mirai features a frame into which is a mold is injected. All of the doll's body parts are made through slush cutting and are formed one by one. The mold inside the doll is made of soft vinyl, which is heated and then cooled down. The vinyl is then pulled out and the flesh cut around it and then polished.
'I also collaborate with Korean designers for her clothes and hair as well,' Danny says.
Special mentoring on Mirai's footwear comes from Danny's father, renowned shoe designer Jimmy Choo.
'My father has given direction on how to design the shoes that she wears,' Danny says.
'I ended up making dolls, not shoes, but the shoes Mirai wears are actually a collaboration with my father.'
Due to the manual making process, stocks are limited.
'I am planning to use injection molding for the body parts of the doll to facilitate faster production,' Danny said, adding that with injection molding, thousands of dolls could be produced on a daily basis at lower cost.
His aim right now is not to make money but to give buyers a satisfactory experience using the product.
'I don't want to rush the quality. There are three people who do the quality control for each doll.'
Originally from the UK, Danny Choo resides in Tokyo and runs a brand known as Culture Japan, which focuses on sharing Japanese culture and making it more accessible to the world through various media, content and products ' all with the help of Mirai, whose age will forever be sweet 17.
Danny is also the director and a presenter of a TV show called Culture Japan, which is broadcast in Japan, Asia and the US, as well as being the host of the TV show Japan Mode, which is aired across Asia.
Danny, who has previously worked at Japan Airlines, Amazon and Microsoft, credits his creativity to his father. He grew up watching his father draw sketches of shoes.
'I think I have my father's creative DNA,' said Danny, who was helping out his father in his studio when he stumbled upon Japanese culture though games.
'I wanted to get more involved with Japanese culture so I decided to work and live in Japan.'
He was recently in Jakarta for the Anime Festival Asia where he brought with him his smart dolls for Indonesian fans to enjoy and get to know better. Thousands of fans flocked to his booth at the festival, taking pictures with him and Mirai.
Danny has also created a robotic version of Mirai that is undergoing the finishing touches.
'Robotic Mirai is an answer to a new generation of high technology because she is not only a computer but also a telecommunications device,' he says.
The robotic Mirai has a built-in computer and motors on the sides of her body. While the smartphone will 'ring' and 'ting' for social media notifications ' the robotic Mirai will wave at you and tell that you have an email.
'Since she takes the form of a little girl, she becomes a bit more personal. You can find there is more attachment to her more than this flat device here [cell phone],' Danny says.
From October this year, Mirai will be displayed in a museum in Malaysia and then will proceed to tour all over the world.
'I look at Mirai, she's not just a doll but a work of art,' he says.
As Mirai's manager, Danny aim is to see her as the world's next fashion doll.
'What's so special about her is that she is designed to be a fashion doll. Her legs are long, she has a slender neck and her proportions are model-like,' he says.
'Mirai is a fashion doll and I will be working with designers from all over the world. I would like to see her do well.'
Danny likes designing products and seeing people enjoy them. 'I sign each purchased doll, which is personally shipped to the buyer, who is encouraged to share Mirai's photos online,' he says.
'It is heartwarming to see so many people of so many races and different ages around the world taking pictures with Mirai. I want to see Mirai become the standard fashion doll before I die.'
