[Report] I entered Hebocon 2025

I entered Hebocon 2025, so here’s a report.

If you’d like to watch the archived video, check the link below.

Entering Hebocon was a blast

First off, my overall impression: it was a blast! There were all kinds of “hebo” (crappy/lame) robots and it was hilarious, and best of all, I was satisfied just getting to take a photo with Ishikawa-san, Gyaruden, and Kubota-san at the end.

I was happy that my own robot got four “hebo” votes, and grateful that people came up to me on social media and at the venue saying things like “your robot is cute” and “I like your robot’s story.” I’d genuinely thought it was a good robot while making it, so hearing that really meant a lot.

The hebo robots

Every robot was hebo in its own great way. In particular, this time’s “hebo-est robot” was a robot made of a rock — visually it was incredibly hebo, and I felt like I’d lost on the idea alone. Even Tolga, a Turkish YouTuber who took part, couldn’t describe his own creation as anything more than “it’s just a rock” lol. The moment its arm lifted it up and set it back down, it made this dull “thud, thud, thud” sound that was honestly a bit unsettling. Probably a rock hauled over from somewhere in Turkey.

I wanted to hype up the room more

One personal regret is that I wanted to get the crowd more hyped up, but the robots that actually got the room going seemed to be the ones with a more personal story — like “a robot carrying the teacher in charge of the club,” “a robot carrying Chikushino City’s mascot,” or “a robot loaded up with everything its maker personally hated.”

Beyond that, I think the real appeal was watching robots carrying personal stories — like “the teacher robot” or “Tsukushi-chan” — clash and intertwine with each other’s stories to create brand new ones on the spot.

Before I took part, I’d simply assumed that the fun came from the gap between “the skill and the vision” — what you wanted to build versus what you actually managed to build. But once I actually took part, I realized the fun really comes from participants’ more personal stories colliding with each other.

This time’s machine

My robot’s concept was simple: I just love volcanoes and wanted to make a robot dripping with magma, and I also wanted to load it up with a sci-fi story.

The sci-fi story was this: in the future, when robots serve humans, they get worked to the bone all day, and finally at night get some free time unsupervised by humans. So they roam the night in a “Hyakki Yagyo” (Night Parade of a Hundred Demons) to blow off the exhaustion and frustration built up during the day. My robot was built as this very “Hyakki Yagyo” robot.

Mechanically, it’s a Tamiya robot kit with a papier-mâché mask fitted over it.

Its special move was attacking with “volcanic energy” (a solenoid).

My regret is that I ran out of time to really refine the idea and make it properly hebo.

Also, on the day, my robot couldn’t show off its power at all. The solenoid I’d attached had a loose contact and wouldn’t fire, and the right tread’s connection was bad and stopped moving at the venue. My opponent’s robot had a pretty powerful set of treads on it, and I was hit with the shock of “this isn’t hebo at all!” Because of that, all the commentary I’d planned to say flew out of my head and I couldn’t talk about it well either — another regret.

And the solenoid I’d specifically bought from Takaha Kiko — I’d gone out of my way at the venue that day to wire it in parallel, and that exact wiring came loose. Devastating.

Wrap-up

The ingenuity participants put into their robots this time was overwhelming. One thing I noticed was that robots with more people involved seemed to get the room more hyped up — which made me realize that when it comes to making things, who you make them with really does matter.

Having entered myself, I now understand how participants feel, so I want to put that to use next time as an organizer for a Hebocon in Tagawa City. It’s planned as a Hebocon workshop on 8/2 where you build your robot on the day itself — so please apply, or at least check out the video archive we’ll be keeping.

タビロボ社 on Instagram: "「あつまれ、技術力が低い人たち。うまく動かないロボット。足りない知識。でもなぜかたのしい。🤖😀」 当日にヘボいロボットを作り技術のヘボさを競い合う「ヘボコンワークショップ at いいかねPalette」を開催します🔥 ものづくり初心者の方もご参加できますので、気になる方は以下の紹介動画をご覧ください！ https://youtu.be/YCx_scvzxNY?si=igyqsto4CYeG_hJZ [開催日] 25/08/02（土） 12:00 ~ 16:00 [開催場所] 福岡県田川市猪国2559 いいかねパレット Room1 [募集人数] 8人 [対象年齢] 小学4年生以上 [参加費] 材料費2000円（ヘボコンを事前に自作の場合は無料） [参加方法] 以下の予約フォームからご連絡ください！ (8/2 ヘボコンワークショップ at いいかねPalette) https://forms.gle/iPpRnWv1mGBQQxpm8 (7月 ミニワークショップ) https://forms.gle/rgra2kkJeyqo9RXK7 [主催] NPO法人みんなのPalette [お問い合わせ] instagram: ＠make_tagawa mail: kokiito026@gmail.com #みんなのpalette #いいかねpalette #田川 #fukuoka #tagawa #ヘボコン #田川 #福岡 #いいかね #いいかねpalette #ヘボコンワークショップatいいかねPalette"51 likes, 0 comments - tabi_robo on June 24, 2025: "「あつまれ、技術力が低い人たち。うまく動かないロボット。足りない知識。でもなぜかたのしい。🤖😀」 当日にヘボいロボットを作り技術のヘボさを競い合う「ヘボコンワークショップ at いいかねPalette」を開催します🔥 ものづくり初心者の方もご参加できますので、気になる方は以下の紹介動画をご覧ください！ https://youtu.be/YCx_scvzxNY?si=igyqsto4CYeG_hJZ [開催日] 25/08/02（土） 12:00 ~ 16:00 [開催場所] 福岡県田川市猪国2559 いいかねパレット Room1 [募集人数] 8人 [対象年齢] 小学4年生以上 [参加費] 材料費2000円（ヘボコンを事前に自作の場合は無料） [参加方法] 以下の予約フォームからご連絡ください！ (8/2 ヘボコンワークショップ at いいかねPalette) https://forms.gle/iPpRnWv1mGBQQxpm8 (7月 ミニワークショップ) https://forms.gle/rgra2kkJeyqo9RXK7 [主催] NPO法人みんなのPalette [お問い合わせ] instagram: ＠make_tagawa mail: kokiito026@gmail.com #みんなのpalette #いいかねpalette #田川 #fukuoka #tagawa #ヘボコン #田川 #福岡 #いいかね #いいかねpalette #ヘボコンワークショップatいいかねPalette". Instagram

A side note

On a personal note, I’d always thought I was bad at striking up conversations with strangers at events, but this time I got to talk with both the organizers and other participants, which made me really happy. It made me realize I actually can talk to people even in the buzzing, noisy atmosphere of an event. The power of Hebocon — never underestimate it.