When most hobbyists think of airsoft history, they think Tokyo Marui — the company that standardized the AEG format and gave us the Version 2 and Version 3 gearboxes we still see everywhere today. But before Marui locked in the formula, there were bold experiments. One of the most fascinating was the Takatoku SS9000 Super X, a rifle that feels almost mythical now, remembered fondly by collectors and old-timers.
A Child of the Early Days
The SS9000 Super X came out in the early 1980s, back when airsoft was still a wild frontier in Japan. Takatoku, a toy and model manufacturer better known for die-cast mecha and transforming robots, decided to enter the airsoft scene. What they produced wasn’t just another springer — it was a spring-powered rifle with styling that screamed sci-fi, yet was built with enough heft and quality to appeal to serious hobbyists.
For many players in Japan at the time, the SS9000 was their first taste of what felt like a “real” airsoft gun, long before the AEG era.
Design and Features
The SS9000 was spring-powered, not electric. That means you cocked it manually before every shot, much like the other early airsoft rifles of the era. What made it stand out was its futuristic design and unusual ergonomics — a chunky, almost bullpup-like profile that gave it a unique silhouette on the field.
The build quality was impressive for the time. Takatoku poured effort into the externals, using tough plastics and detailing that made the rifle feel substantial. Inside, it was still fairly simple — a spring, a piston, and a barrel — but it delivered consistent power and range that rivaled or exceeded many of its contemporaries.
Collectors often note the innovative magazine system, which was styled to match the rifle’s futuristic look rather than strictly mimic a real firearm. That made it stand out, though it also meant compatibility was limited.
Performance and Legacy
By today’s standards, the SS9000’s performance seems modest. It was a single-shot springer, after all. But in its time, it was a reliable skirmish piece that gave players something unique. Unlike the toy-like spring pistols and rifles that dominated the market, the SS9000 felt like a serious piece of kit.
Unfortunately, Takatoku went bankrupt in the mid-1980s, and the SS9000 never got a successor. Tokyo Marui would later rise to prominence with their electric gearboxes, and the Takatoku line became a curiosity — a glimpse into a different path airsoft might have taken. Today, original SS9000 rifles are highly sought after by collectors, not because of battlefield utility, but because of their place in the pre-Maruhai era of airsoft development.
A Hobbyist’s Take
For me, reading about the SS9000 is like flipping through a family photo album — you see where the hobby came from, the experiments, the bold designs that didn’t always stick but left their mark. If you hold one in your hands today, it feels almost like a prop from a vintage anime, which makes sense given Takatoku’s design DNA.
It’s not a rifle you’ll field at a modern skirmish, but as a piece of airsoft history, the SS9000 Super X reminds us that the hobby wasn’t always about realism. Sometimes, it was about imagination.
