Release Date: February 2024 RRP: 15800 yen 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the Transformers franchise, and a milestone like that certainly isn't going to uncelebrated. And part of that celebration is naturally looking back to where it all began with the original 1984 Optimus Prime toy. While there have been countless renditions and reissues of the Autobot leader over the years, none of them have been quite like what TakaraTomy have delivered here. Transformers Missing Link C-01 Convoy is an all-new rendition of the original Optimus ("Convoy" in Japan) toy, not only improving the deco and engineering but also giving it the one thing it lacks when stacked against modern toys - proper articulation. This properly poseable version really is a toy for the ages, exciting fans with a concept that's been dreamt of for decades. In addition to the C-01 toy deco edition, a slightly cheaper (9800 yen) C-02 Anime Edition was also released which more closely resembles Optimus...

It feels a bit strange to be writing a top five post about what toys I'm looking forward to in 2024 when I feel like I've hit a bit of a crossroads with toy collecting. While I can't see me giving up the hobby entirely any time soon, I'm definitely looking at curbing it a bit going forwards - Hasbro lines largely don't seem to hit the same for me any more, and overall I'm just beginning to get a bit overwhelmed by the quantity I've picked up in decade or so I've been into the hobby proper. But nevertheless there will always be new toy releases that excite me, and even though my preorder list feels much smaller than it did this time last year there's some really great stuff lined up for 2024! Some honourable mentions: - Haslab Deathsaurus - I know people across the world have already started to receive him so he's technically a 2023 release, but the UK's have been held back until February so I've got a little while longer to wait before I ...

Japan likes trains, and Japan also likes giant robots. So really it comes as no surprise that they certainly liked Shinkansen Robo Henkei Shinkalion - the 2018-2019 series that brought the two together in an explosion of train facts, wonderfully gimmicky toys and fond memories of the Brave Series . So much so that  TakaraTomy , the Japan Railways Group and OLM, Inc. have teamed up   once again to produce a sequel series, this time going by the name of Shinkansen Robo Henkei Shinkalion Z . Taking place after the original series with an all-new cast and story, this 2021-2022 sequel ran for a total of 41 episodes.

As if SSSS.Dynazenon and Godzilla Singular Point weren’t enough to convince you that this is a particularly great season for mecha anime, it’s all aboard the the bullet trains once more as Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion returns for a second series! The 2018 smash hit from TakaraTomy, Japan Railways Group and OLM, Inc. returns with a fresh new look - now going by the title of Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion Z . So get ready for more in-depth train trivia, potentially surprising cameos and wonderful robot fights that’ll tempt you to pick up some toys, because if the first series was anything to go by then Shinkalion Z should prove quite the wild ride.

Japan loves trains, and Japan loves giant robots. So it’s not really a surprise to hear that Japan LOVED Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion , the 2018 anime series that combined the two in one glorious love-letter for Japan’s railroad system. Touches like adding Vocaloid megastar Hatsune Miku as a supporting character and having a Neon Genesis Evangelion tribute episode only furthered attention toward the show. After the 76-episode series concluded it was announced that it would be continuing on in a feature length movie, and at the end of 2019 Shinkanesen Henkei Robo Shinkalion the Movie: The Swiftly ALFA-X that came from the Future (“ Mirai Kara Kita Shinsoku no ALFA-X ”) was released in Japanese cinemas.

Release Date: September 2020 RRP: 6600 yen/$59.99 Although the  Transformers Generation One  continuity ended in animated form in Japan with the Zone OVA in 1990, the story continued through the manga – eventually becoming Transformers: The Battlestars the following year. Promoting the Return of Convoy element of the franchise, Battlestars saw Optimus Prime resurrected once more as Star Convoy to battle the new Decepticon Emperor Dark Nova . However Dark Nova has his own resurrected champion in the form of Super Megatron , a reformatted Galvatron resurrected following his defeat and burial in ice during Transformers: Headmasters . Whilst Star Convoy did receive an original G1 figure during the run, sadly Super Megatron (as well his upgraded Ultra Megatron form) did not…until now that is. Hasbro and TakaraTomy's   Generations Selects  range is a sub-line of exclusive Transformers toys dedicated to repurposing mainline figures into more obscure homages. Among t...

Every year there are dozens of anime series released whose main purpose is to sell toys. With these toys mainly limited to Japan, the shows rarely reach a worldwide audience (be it through streaming or otherwise) and many are simply forgotten about. There are however the ones that do that little bit extra and do get noticed across the globe, even if both the show and toys fail to officially make it out of Japan. Shinkansen Robo Henkei Shinkalion is the latest venture from TakaraTomy to expand their long-running PlaRail toy line, teaming up with the Japan Railways Group to create a transforming robot show deeply rooted in Japan's love for its rail system. The 76-episode series was animated by OLM, Inc. , whose experience with merchandise-driven shows led to them to previously work with TakaraTomy on both the Zoids and Tomica Rescue Hero revivals.

It's that time of the year again! Before we usher in 2019 it's time to look back at all the purchases I've made this year and pick out my ten favourites. This year's offerings are a little different that before in that it also features I few things I haven't reviewed on the site (either because I just never got around to it or it's a relatively recent release and it's on the backlog), but like before I've tried to make it as varied as possible so it isn't just a list of ten Figuarts. It's also worth noting that these are my favourite toys of 2018, so not necessarily the best ones I've bought. So while there may be ones that didn't make the cut I've perhaps rated higher, they don't necessarily have as much emotional significance to me as the ones I've listed here. While most of my purchases for the year have arrived and been inspected to see if they'd make the list (including the ones I haven't put up reviews for...

Release Date: January 2018 RRP: 9180 yen It was a sad day in the Transformers fandom when it was announced that TakaraTomy  wouldn't be continuing with the Legends line as Hasbro moved into the Power of the Primes range - instead bringing over the US versions without any changes as part of a wider brand unification. Many (including myself) will miss Takara's more cartoon-inspired decos, but at least the beginning of 2018 has some pretty hotly anticipated releases. Amongst them is Transformers Legends LG-60 Overlord, a brand new version of the  Decepticon general from the second Japanese-exclusive anime series Transformers: Super God Masterforce . The original toy was an exclusive release to Japan and Europe, however with Overlord gaining new popularity thanks to the Last Stand of the Wreckers and other IDW comics the time has finally come for this fan favourite to receive an updated figure. This figure is an extensive remould of Leader class  Titans Return Blac...

2017 has come to a close and since I had so much fun putting a list together last year , I thought I'd go ahead and count down my top 10 favourite toys that I've purchased and reviewed over the last year. It's been a great year for S.H. Figuarts so as expected the line pops up a fair few times, but there's also a few surprises along the way too. To keep the list as varied as possible I've tried to spread the Figuarts entries across different series (so one Kamen Rider , one Ultraman etc.) on top of an additional entry for the Shinkocchou Seihou line.  Honourable mentions for the handful of figures I bought this year, but haven’t been included as I either haven’t reviewed them yet or they’re still in transit. Few of them would have probably made the top 10, but they deserve a mention regardless: - Proplica Gurren Lagann Core Drill - Figma Deadpool [DX Edition] - Figma Red - S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider 1 - S.H. Figuarts Takeshi Hongo ...

Release Date: September 2017 RRP: 4320 yen As TakaraTomy work through the remaining Titans Return offerings before Hasbro shifts over to the Power of the Primes line, they’re going to extra mile to make the Transformers Legends line really special with many figures receiving an upgrade in the form of an additional Targetmaster . One such figure is the Autobot Kup ,   a core character for the post-movie years of the Generation One cartoon after making his debut in Transformers: The Movie . Interestingly when Takara originally unveiled this figure it sported a desaturated grey colourscheme similar to his appearance in The Rebirth . However in later pics and for the release itself this colourscheme was changed to one based on his more familiar look from the movie and season three episodes.

Release Date: September 2017 RRP: 4320 yen Though the Titans Return line is slowly coming to an end to make way for Power of the Primes , TakaraTomy still have a fair few of the moulds to make use of as part of their Transformers Legends line. The 21st wave of the all-encompassing line celebrates all things Transformers: The Movie , with the release of Autobots Kup   and Hot Rod alongside a Sharkticon complete with an alternate Sweeps head for the previously released Scourge figure. Hot Rod and Kup are particularly special releases however, with the two now packed with Targetmaster partners alongside the usual Headmaster gimmick brought over from the Titans Return line.

Release Date: May 2017 RRP: 7560 yen When TakaraTomy revealed that their version of Titans Return Powermaster Optimus Prime would be heavily remoulded to match the original toy and released as Super Ginrai , Transformers fans immediately speculated that a Godbomber wouldn’t be too far behind. They were of course correct, and now the originally Japanese-exclusive Super God Masterforce  character (who was eventually released in the West as “Apex Bomber”) has returned with full compatibility with Super Ginrai to form God Ginrai . Transformers Legends LG-42 Godbomber is current only available through the Legends line, with an American release still unconfirmed even though the Super Ginrai mould is being brought over as “Magnus Prime”.

Release Date: March 2017 RRP: 24,840 yen It’s been a long time since TakaraTomy released the original Transformers Masterpiece MP-05 Megatron  way back in 2007. In that time the line has gone through quite a few changes – a new scale, a closer adherence to cartoon accuracy and a dive into the worlds of Beast Wars and Japanese-exclusive G1 characters . With Optimus Prime having been redone in this new scale way back as MP-10 in 2011, it was high time that the leader of the Decepticons had the same treatment. There may have been a number of third-party “Masterpiece” style figures over the past few years – Xtransbots’ Apollyon, DX-9’s Mightron, Maketoys’ Despotron (all of which I won’t pretend to know anything about because I’m not a third-party person), but the MP-36 Megatron is the real deal. An official, cartoon-accurate, transforming G1 Megatron. That’s the stuff that dreams are made out of.

Release Date: December 2016 RRP: 9180 yen One of the most anticipated 2016 releases from TakaraTomy ’s Transformers Legends line also happened to be one of its last. Over in the West the year saw Hasbro ’s Combiner Wars  come to its end, replaced with the Headmaster -inspired Titans Return . Kicking things was a new version of Powermaster Optimus Prime , however simply giving the figure wasn’t enough for Takara. In Japan there was no Powermaster Prime, with the figure instead becoming the entirely new character of Ginrai – an ordinary human with the power to join with a lifeless Transformer body, eventually becoming the Cybertron leader in Transformers: Super God Masterforce . As a fitting way to mark the stark differences between the new characters, Transformers Legends Super Ginrai is an extensive remould of Hasbro’s figure – boasting an all-new face, chest, arms, feet and more.

The Combiner Wars have come to an end, and now it’s time for the titans ro return! After successfully relaunching combiners as a main range, the Transformers franchise has now turned its attention toward doing the same for Headmasters – creating an all new line featuring both classic Headmaster characters as well as incorporating the gimmick into other existing characters. Among these included Transformers: The Movie/ G1 season 3 leader Galvatron , and together with the previously released Combiner Wars Cyclonus Unicron ’s trifecta of heralds is complete with the release of Scourge . While the American Titans Return figure sports a deco similar to that of the original G1 toy, TakaraTomy ’s Transformers Legends version instead draws its inspiration from the cartoon – offering fans two different interpretations depending on where their nostalgia may lie.

While the majority of the Transformers franchise’s 35-year history has been available officially or via fansubs for many years, there are two particular series that have repeatedly eluded English-speaking fans. In 1998 Japan experienced a delay between receiving seasons one and two of Beast Wars (the latter of which became known as Beast Wars Metals ), prompting them to fill the gap with their own Beast Wars shows. These were of course Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo , both of which were traditionally animated in comparison to Beast Wars ’ CGI. Both shows have remained completely unreleased in the West, and thanks to a recent DVD release in Japan and the hard work of Karyuudo Fansubs it is only now that Beast Wars II (read aloud as Beast Wars Second ) can be enjoyed with full English subtitles. Has this elusive piece of Transformers history been worth the wait, or is it a forgotten gem that was forgotten for a reason?

Transformers toys are currently in a pretty good place. The success of the Combiner Wars line has been followed by the revival of another classic Generation One gimmick - the Headmaster . Here, each robots head is in fact itself a smaller robot (or Nebulon partner, depending on your choice of fiction) - acting as a pilot or gunner when the larger body is in its alt mode. Over in the West this line is known as Titan Return , with Hasbro reviving several classic Headmaster characters while reimagining others using the gimmick. Meanwhile in Japan new figures continue to be implemented into their Transformers Legends line, which also encompasses various figures from Hasbro's Generations line. The 23rd release in this line is the new Titan Master version of  Galvatron , the reformatted version of Megatron who acted as Unicron's herald in Transformers: The Movie and the new Decepticon leader for the rest of the G1 cartoon. With the last G1 Galvatron figure being a poorly receiv...

Six years ago I started this blog with the aim of reviewing my then-ever growing Transformers collection. However thanks to a variety of circumstances (raised prices, difficulty finding the figures I wanted in the UK, Hasbro ’s increasing focus on the movie franchise) my collection diverted away from transforming robots and into the world of mecha and tokusatsu heroes. My love for the Transformers franchise never went away though, and I continued the then-airing Transformers Prime along with catching Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction in cinemas (both of which I thought were awful, but that’s another topic altogether). I keep an eye on what’s going on with the toy line though, and right now it seems to be in a pretty great state. Almost makes me want to return to what was once one of my biggest fandoms, but I guess you can’t collect everything. Masterpiece Star Saber however was a figure I could not pass up. The Autobot (or Cybertron in Japan) Supreme Commander from ...