Good Smile Company β the outfit behind wallet-lightening collectible figures β isn’t just selling Nendoroids anymore. It’s building a legacy from scratch. Their vehicle: Dandivine, a new combined robot anime premiering October 2026.
The God of Combined Series Initiative
This isn’t a one-off production. It’s the opening gambit in something called the God of Combined Series β a long-term plan to launch a new combined robot series every single year. Company president Takanori Aki laid out the strategy plainly:
Development for the 2027 and 2028 projects is already underway. Each delivery will have its own interpretation of the combined robot concept.
It’s the most serious commitment a figure company has ever made to building a mecha franchise from the ground up.
The Production Coalition
This isn’t just a team β it’s a coalition. The anime is produced by:
- LIDENFILMS and Kayak Animation
- In association with Aniplex, Takara Tomy, and Toei
The Story
Twenty years ago, the legendary combined robot Dandivine defeated the mysterious Aposdolls and saved the world. Today? The robot is just a nostalgic memory β and the toy company that thrived on that glory is on the verge of collapse, having clung too hard to past success.
When the Aposdolls reappear in Tokyo, Gekiha Shijima β a high school student and grandson of the company president β is dragged into the conflict. He ends up piloting Dandivine again.
A Different Kind of Hero
Screenwriter Toshiki Inoue made something clear during the announcement:
Gekiha is not your typical mecha protagonist destined to become a hero. He was intentionally designed as an ordinary, unfunny boy β and that characteristic does not change.
According to Inoue, that is precisely what makes the character interesting. It shifts the focus from destiny to circumstance, from inherent greatness to reluctant adaptation.
Inoue’s Background
For context: Inoue has been writing for the tokusatsu genre for decades, with credits including:
- Kamen Rider Agito
- Kamen Rider W
That pedigree gives a very particular approach to narratives about unconventional heroes.
Music and Manga
The opening theme will be performed by Takanori Nishikawa, known as T.M.Revolution. He stated:
“I want to share the culture of Japanese robot anime with the world through this song.”
A manga adaptation was also announced, beginning serialization in Monthly Dengeki Daioh with art by TOGUCHI.
The Toy Line
Products are split between Good Smile Company and Takara Tomy, with three branded lines:
- THEεδ½ DX Dandivine
- MODEROID Dandivine Action Model
- TOYRISE β Takara Tomy’s line
Voice Cast
- Takuma Terashima as Gekiha Shijima (Shiroe in Log Horizon, Shiki Granbell in Edens Zero)
- Haruka Shiraishi as Akane Kusumi (Asirpa in Golden Kamuy, Yuri Honjou in High-Rise Invasion)
- Saya Aizawa as Kirei Shijima
Creative Team
- Director: Cao Yi
- Series composition & scripts: Toshiki Inoue
- Original character design: majiro
- Animation character design: robin
- Mecha design: An β GOD BRAVE STUDIO
- Sound director: Yoshikazu Iwanami
About Dandivine
The full title is Beast King Warrior God Dandivine. It’s an original production by Good Smile Company β the company behind Nendoroids and the Scale figure line.
Instead of adapting an existing IP, Good Smile is building a new franchise from absolute zero, with the anime and toy line developed in parallel from the planning stage.
A Throwback Model
The approach is reminiscent of the great mecha projects of the 70s and 80s, where the toy and the anime were inseparable β two sides of the same coin. That’s precisely the nostalgia the God of Combined Series wants to capitalize on for new generations.
They’re not adapting. They’re architecting.
Questions Worth Considering
- In an era of instant feedback and fleeting trends, does the public still have patience for a franchise designed to build slowly over years?
- Can a company renowned for perfection in small-scale collectibles successfully translate that ethos into the sprawling, chaotic medium of weekly anime?
- The reluctant, ordinary hero is a deliberate subversion of mecha. Is this a sign the market is fatigued with the destined saviour β or a bold risk that could disconnect traditional fans?
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