Characters from some of the most popular anime are part of a new toy series for Bandai Co.’s high-end “gacha gacha” capsule vending machines that cost up to 2,500 yen ($24) a spin.

You feed coins into a “gacha gacha” vending machine, crank the handle and voila, you get a capsule toy. I was astounded by how sophisticated the toys had become when I visited a specialty ...