Toybox REVIEW: DX King Joe STORAGE Custom

Release Date: September 2020

RRP: 4180 yen

One of the big selling points of Ultraman Z has been the inclusion of mecha among STORAGE’s arsenal, so this was the perfect year for Bandai of Japan to branch out the Ultraman toy line with the inclusion of DX combining mecha. While this kind of toy might be a staple in Super Sentai, to see it in Ultraman (or even Kamen Rider for that matter) is a much rarer treat. And what better character to launch these Ultraman DX robos with than King Joe, rebooted and reimagined for the series as the King Joe STORAGE Custom. After salvaging the wreckage of Alien Barossa’s King Joe, the Global Allied Force’s anti-monster unit STORAGE reverse-engineered the alien robot to create the third mecha in their arsenal. Armed with a powerful Pedanium cannon, this King Joe can split into four separate vehicles - with the pilot sitting within the Core Fighter and issuing commands to the others via remote control.

Toybox REVIEW: Figma A Link Between Worlds Link DX Edition

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild may be drawing ever closer, but thanks to the slow process that is figure manufacturing Figma’s latest entry from the prolific franchise takes us back to 2013 and the release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds on the 3DS. Previewed at Wonderfests for years but only now finally seeing release, Figma A Link Between Worlds Link is the second Link from Max Factory and the fourth from Good Smile Company as a whole. This figure had the particular honour of being released in two different formats – in addition to a general release version a “DX Edition” with more accessories was also made available via the GSC Online Store as well as any of the brand’s partner stores across the globe.

Toybox REVIEW: Kamen Rider Ghost DX Yurusen

Over the past year Kamen Rider Ghost has proven itself to be a rather divisive series, spawning considerable debate about everything from characters and story to gimmicks and merchandising. One such facet is of course Yurusen - the small ghost that assists Takeru Tenkuji on his journey and acts as the show's unofficial mascot. Some might see Yurusen's childish and often unhelpful nature as one of the more memorable aspects of the show, while others might not be so fond of a floating hand puppet whose plot significance is ultimately questionable. However Bandai clearly have faith in the creation, with the release of a 1:1 scale DX Yurusen toy as a Premium Bandai exclusive. The full name of this toy is the "Chat Familiar DX Yurusen" (Oshaberi Tsukaima DX Yurusen), and just as this name suggests it features a number of sounds and phrases provided by voice actress Aoi Yuuki (of Madoka Magica and Symphogear fame).

However what makes this toy truly special to collectors is that it was limited to only 6000 units - something that will likely make it a sought out item among Kamen Rider Ghost fans.

Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Legacy Collection Thunder Megazord

The 20th Anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise may have spawned a pretty terrible celebration in terms of the show, but as far as the toys go Bandai of America have been doing some pretty interesting things since. Although the strict focus on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers might be irksome to fans who want to see the other iterations receive fair representation, the Legacy Collection toy line has come a long way from beginning with a nice repaint of the 2010 Megazord release – now churning out high-end quality role play weapons and zords with better sculpting and detailing. The original Dino Megazord was followed by new versions of the Dragonzord, Titanus and the White Tigerzord, and as the trip through the three seasons of MMPR continued the Thunder Megazord came next. Initial pictures suggested this could be the most impressive Legacy Collection release yet, but at $200 it certainly doesn’t come cheap.

Legend Ranger Key Set: Go-Busters 02

This is a ranger key set that's been out for a quite a while now and I've never got around to getting. But thanks to Hobby Link Japan's amazing sale recently, I managed to pick up the second Go-Busters Legend Ranger Key set for as little as £3 (plus shipping)! This second set features the Beet Buster and Stag Buster keys, who were introduced into Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters midway into the show. Rounding the set off to three keys is a Beet J Stag buddyroid key.

The packaging is very similar to that seen with the first Go-Busters key set, only this time swapping the yellow backing card for a cooler blue colour and replacing the "It's Time for Buster" slogan with the more appropriate "Boost Up for Buster".

One thing that's a little disappointing with this set is that the Beet and Stag Buster keys aren't metallic, with the gold and silver colouring more orange and grey. While I don't consider this a necessity (after all, none of the other gold/silver ranger keys are metallic), its only striking here because the Beet J Stag key DOES have a number of gold/silver paint applications and thus kind of puts the other two to shame.

While inserting these keys into the original release Mobirates will just yield the "special ranger key" noises, putting them in the Legends release will activate the Go-Busters sounds and bio (if activated in encylopaedia mode).

Legend Sentai Ranger Key Set: Magiranger

With over 199 keys to collect from DX sets, candy toys and gashapon (not to mention Tamashii Web Exclusives), I think I made the right decision in only picking up my favourite teams in key form. This post is dedicated to my favourite Super Sentai series that isn't Gokaiger...the Mahou Sentai Magiranger! Though originally released in late August, Hobby Link Japan didn't send mine until earlier this month (despite pre-ordering as soon as they went up) so I've been eagerly anticipating these for a while now. The set includes Magi Red, Blue, Pink, Yellow and Green. Magi Shine, Magi Mother and Wolzard Fire are also available in key form, however are not included here.

Unlike the Dekaranger key set, the Magiranger packaging is fantastic. Suitable font, excellent colours and the Ozu family crest superbly used as the background. This set will look just as good on the card as it would opened.

As you'd expect, inserting any of the keys into the Mobirates or Legend Mobirates makes the "Magiranger" call out (along with a unique sound effect). Using the Legends Mobirates inencyclopaedia mode will also give you a short bio of the team in Japanese.

Legend Sentai Ranger Key Set: Dekaranger

The Legend Sentai Ranger Key sets are slowly ploughing through both old and new Sentai teams, and last month one of the few key sets I've decided to pick up was released - one of my favourite Sentai series...the Dekarangers! Included in the set is Deka Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and Pink (so Deka Break, Master and Swan still need to be bought by other means).

Usually I'm not one to complain that much about box art, but the font they chose for the "Special Police Dekaranger" is just flat out awful. It doesn't match the look and tone of the box or the series itself, and feels like something that was pulled out of a default computer font bank last minute. I originally thought about displaying these in the box (like I've done with my Gokaiger set) but the end product has really put me off that idea.

As you'd expect, inserting any of the keys into the Mobirates or Legend Mobirates makes the "DEEEEKAAAARAAANGER" call out (along with a unique sound effect). In the Legends Mobirates encyclopaedia mode you'll also get a short bio of the team.

Legend Sentai Ranger Key Set: Go-Busters

The ranger keys don't stop at Gokaiger! As well as slowly releasing ranger keys of the 34 Super Sentai teams that preceded Gokaiger, Bandai have also taken things further and released keys for the 36th Sentai team - Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters! This set is comprised of ranger keys for the core three Go-Busters (Red, Blue and Yellow), with an additional set of the revealed-but-not-yet-appeared-in-show Beet Buster and Stag Buster due later this year. At around £5/$8 before shipping, its a pretty good deal for Go-Busters fans and ranger key collectors alike.

Inserting the key into the original Mobirates will give off the "special ranger key" sound, while the Legend Mobirates will sound the Go-Busters call out. Using the keys in the Legend Mobirates' encyclopaedia mode will give you a short synopsis about the team/show (in Japanese of course).

Toybox REVIEW: Super Sentai Henshin Keitai Legend Mobirate

While the Gokaiger series may be over it looks like Bandai will be continuing on with the ranger key collectibles, and since we have a brand new team with a whole new set of ranger keys (not to mention Kamen Rider keys are on the way) Bandai have gone all the way and released a brand new version of the Gokaiger changer, the mobirate - dubbed the Legend mobirate. It supposedly boasts 68 new sounds to create a grand total of 148 voice commands.

 

The box art is particularly impressive - depicting images of all 36 red Sentai warriors on each side. Also included in a DX AkaRed key, the flip-up key part bearing the official 35th anniversary Super Sentai logo that the character also wore during his appearances in Gokaiger.

 

The legend mobirate sports a slightly different deco to the original, which the gold and silver colouring reversed and the front now bearing "MOBILATE" (which I guess means is the official romanization, but I'm sticking with mobirate for now as that's not only what its commonly known as, but what stores are advertising it as). Check here for side by side comparison images. 

Once you've installed 2 AAA batteries into the phone (which aren't included in the box) flip the on/off switch on the back and the toy will make the familiar ringtone from the show. When a ranger key is inserted there'll be a noise, and turning the key results in the Gokaiger logo opening out and the call of whichever team's key you've placed in. The narration is once again provided by Tomozaki Senki, who narrated and voiced the mobirate in Gokaiger and has also provided his voice to anime such as Fullmetal Panic!, Steins;Gate and Fruits Basket.

A new feature for the legend mobirates is the encyclopaedia mode. Inputting 0000 on the keypad followed by the top centre button will activate this mode, where you will be invited to insert a ranger key. Once the key has been activated, the mobirate will say a short paragraph about the show, mentioning things such as the enemies the team fought etc. A quick demonstration of this mode using the Gokai Red and AkaRed keys can be seen below.

The mobirates also boasts an additional 47 keypad sounds. While 0001-0036 are taken up by the individual team callouts, there a few surprises too. Pressing 0414 will give you a special callout of all 36 teams one by one, while inputting 1225 will give you a greeting of Merry Christmas. There are also several other festival sound effects which I have listed below;

• 0101 - Happy New Year
• 0203 - Setsubun
• 0214 - Valentine's Day
• 0314 - White Day
• 0505 - Children's Day
• 0707 - Tanabata
• 1115 - Shichi-Go-San
• 1224 - Christmas Eve
• 1231 - New Years Eve

My biggest gripe with the legend mobirates is that these have come at the expense of the sounds featured on the original mobirates, which were far more relevant to Super Sentai in general. Gone are the mecha callouts and references to the Dice-O card game. Since this toy apparently has so many new sounds, they may be lurking around somewhere, but its more than likely that if they are you need the corresponding key to activate them. Any incorrect keypad code will result in the mobirates ringtone playing three times in a row, which can get a little annoying if you're simply fiddling around with the pad looking for new sounds.

The legend mobirates is an incredibly fun toy, but just how fun depends on how many ranger keys you own. To unlock its full potential at least requires one key for every Sentai team. I currently only own a complete set of Gokaiger keys (plus the AkaRed included) and will certainly be looking into getting more in the near future. Those looking for show accuracy and fun from the keypad alone should probably stick with the original release, but those looking for an updated version at a cheaper price should certainly be satisfied by this version.