I was supposed to review this, you creep...!
. :P
.
Oh, BTW, the combined form is called the "Ninja Mega-Falconzord", not the "Shogun Mega-Falconzord"; that name is reserved for the combined form of the Deluxe Shogun Megazord and Deluxe Falcon Ninjazord. And when you add the over-used & mysteriously-resurrected Deluxe Titanus the Carrier Zord to the mix, they're called the Ninja Ultrazord and Shogun Ultrazord respectively.
. ;)
.
Finally, aside from the pre-applied decals on the knees, the Deluxe Ninja Megazord is a dead ringer for its original Japanese counterpart, the DX Goshin Gattai Kakure Dai Shougun from "Ninja Sentai KakuRanger" (1994), though you're right about the red-to-pink change on the Crane Ninjazord.
Wow! Turn A is #100. I heard rumors about another RX-78-2, or at least another Char's variant of something. Its good to see this design honored with an MG. I half expected a Non-UC for the big 100, but I was thinking it would be closer to Wing or another concept from SEED, but Turn A is a big change. Looks great!!!
Also: saw on another site that Super Robot Wars is getting more into the 1/100 scale, Alteisen!
Don't forget that there were two different versions of this toy made. The one shown above is the missile version, and the other is the Bazooka version. The main difference is that the Bazooka version does not have the missile inserts but instead has a giant bazooka that mounts on the backpack. The toy itself is identical, it was just a way to make more money by packaging different accessories with the same toy. Also, the Bazooka version has a different version of Ginrei included.
awesome review as always, great shots. One interesting thing to note that you omitted is the fact that the Mattel Daimos uses the same fists as those found on the Popy Voltes V Jumbo, which is kinda good in it's own way as it's alot easier to find a Daimos fist than fists for a Voltes V .
"I had a choice, buy a new car or buy a Jumbo Machinder Green Ghost C3...it really wasn't a hard choice to make."
Man-- If you're gonna correct me on something in one of my reviews, PLEASE e-mail me privately rather than smearing my mistake all over my review- not to mention TWICE in the SAME review!
.
Trust me- I will get around to updating my reviews now that I can post them myself rather than using JoshB as a conduit all the time. Have you looked at all of the other reviews on CDX that are older than two years for mistakes, and that were written by other people? I'm sure that you'll find inconsistencies in them too.
.
I'm not saying that I don't like the feedback (in fact I greatly appreciate it!), just that if you see something that needs correcting, let me know first, and I'll [discreetly] fix it.
Oops, I think it was the Robotech Underground guy with the lisp, not the Space Station Liberty guy. He just talks like a guy from Revenge of the Nerds.
Its sad.....over the last 10 or so years I have watched Gaiking turn to dust. If you havn't been there you are missing out on the best store of its kind in the entire USA.
_________________________ _________ ___ _
"Why couldn't I just collect stamps like normal people!"
I didn't see any pictures of the shelf he has as you walk in the door on the upper right hand side. Where he still has a few Godaikins. He also has a Batrain that I want to get but it is still a little much. He used to have every thing you could imagine. I do not know if you got a chance or if Yuki showed you, but he has a crazy Astro Boy comic book collection. Great guy and awesome place if anyone is ever in the area you have to go there.
"Warning, this podcast represents the opinion of two jerks and does not reflect the Collectindx staff. It may contain foul language and filthy dirty lies. It should not be listen to by human beings or taken orally."
That is our disclaimer in case you can't understand robot voice. We apologize for any confusion.
In regards to the podcast - DAPDX is a separate entity than collectionDX. They are good friends and we host it for them, but we in no way have any input as to the content of their podcast. At some point we may do a CollectionDX podcast, but that would be labled as such.
i just had to comment being a big fan of this film, and Matsumoto's work in general. sorry for bad spelling.
Personally, i just can't let you guys broadcast this to newer fans interested in the series without some kind of comment about your analysis of this film. The review is pretty negative, which is a shame, as all the "bad" points you make out in your review seem either misinformed, or overly skewed to a certain point of view, and not the unusal objective commentary i've come to expect from COLLECTIONDX. I can understand and even agree with a negative review of this film, but not based on the criteria of this podcast (which seems very sophmoric: it's an old show, no continuity, they're Nazis, so its not that good).
First, it's very obvious you are coming from a more modern, 90's anime-fan point of view, as you reference the film to much more modern works like the newer Gundam shows, and not really in a more fair context of its peers from the early 1980's. You are really also missing a big point that it is a "fantasy" sci-fi, a la "star wars", rather than the "real" sci-fi of Gundam or Macross, where science and physics laws are taken into account and followed to the letter. Hense the flying trains, people in space without space suits, and strange continuity. You guys speak of this like it's a negative aspect of the series, as if the film is "broken" because of this! its just different than other shows & films that are created nowadays which seem to obsess over its back story, science, and/or continuity- all useless unless they advance a story (which they usually don't, they usuall replace weak story!)
A big point of Harlock and much of Matsumoto's work in general, all the characters in AOMY are -- analogies -- for different viewpoints/theories on the world, from those who are hated for their appearance (nerdy Tochiro), those who are idealists (Harlock/Maya), people who become unwilling tools of governments, etc. Harlock throughout Matsumoto's works is less a real human character, and more an ideal that is presented to the other characters and audience, equal parts warrior poet, philosopher, and Dracula(!)
Also, and probably most disapointingly, you guys obsess on the Harlock & Tochiro flashback. You seem to regard this scene with distain, and it seems to spoil the film for you (at least in your review, and to the listener). It's really just a visually interesting way to show these new friends have a deep, deep connection, that goes beyond friendship, without being overly sappy (this was a project aimed at 12yr old boys in Japan!) and nothing more, and i agree it does slow the pace of the film and is pretty confusing. It seems you guys think that this part is some type of an endorsement of the Nazis, and that is absolutely ridiculous. It's also disapointing that you didn't get that this film is completely, 100% written and told from a Japanese view, and obsessed on the fact that Harlock & Tochiro in flashback fought for the Axis powers in WWII. It's made very clear that the two characters don't share the idealogy of the Axis, and only fight out of a sense of honor or duty. Yet you seem very intent on pounding this home, as if the film should have taken into account the "american" point of view, even though it was made by Japanese who have no interest in this view! America did occupy Japan for years, and some Japanese felt the same way about the occupiers as the humans in ARCADIA OF MY YOUTH act to their alien oppressors. To deny this fact is to sugar-coat the past, and much of Leiji Matsumoto's work is exactly about this topic, and how dangerous it is to do so! If a movie is made in another country, for another culture, and another language, then why does it have to fall into and cater to an American viewpoint? SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO has these same themes, and you comment on this in the podcast as well, does that make the crew of the Yamato Nazis as well? No, the artists & writers were using the Yamato as a symbol of Japanese pride, very obviously. And i think the same is here as well, to show that regardless of time period, there are reluctant soliders in every army, and these two characters share a rebelious streak and friendship that is their past, present, and future lives- they can't escape their destiny.
To write off all of these details off and just call them Nazis as you do in this review is not only a severe disservice to the work, it's also a disservice to the art of objective review (which COLLECTIONDX excells at) and the listeners of the podcast unfamilar with this work, who might not try it because the 2 main characters are "nazis." it just feels like you guys didn't really watch the film, or stopped paying attention to it at some point due to this scene, or at least it seems like it in this podcast review, as you guys spend most of the middle of the 25+min broadcast on this point and don't really go anywhere afterward.
I hope you DAP! guys don't think of this as a slam comment, or take offense, as i like your podcasts a lot actually, it just feels like this time you completely dropped the ball on this film, and came at it from a mis-informed angle. C'mon guys, this is one of the most influential anime films of all time, featuring one of the most influential characters in anime of all time, and there's a lot of deep, great stuff to chew on, don't just eat the candy flower and icing, dive in and eat the whole cake too!
I found your podcast from AWO and it's great. Keep up the great work.
As to Harlock, well I've only seen the first few episodes of the original series so Arcadia is really my only exposure to the character so maybe my thoughts are a bit flawed. I found Harlock to be a bit aloof at the beginning only becoming closer to how he usually is after the blinding incident and completing the circle after Maya's death. Also I didn't think the exposition between Tochiro and Harlock was slow in any way. As his origin story I'd have to expect a lot of exposition but then again I've haven't seen all of the first series. The story of their ancestors made their friendship in the present better to understand if a little implausible.
But then again I'm not watching Harlock, or any Matsumoto story for that matter, for unnecessary things like logic or plausibility.....
The gun is big to keep Megatron scale to MP-01 Convoy/Optimus Prime. If the gun was scale to a real P-38, Megatron would be almost the same size as the old one, which would be dwarfed by MP Convoy. Takara (rightly) chose the lesser of two evils and realized that nobody is going to keep it in gun mode anyway so it was the mode to suffer a scale mis-match.
I'm not extremely pleased with it myself, due to the limited poseabilty and low metal content. It, like the Starscream MP, is not as good as the Convoy MP. I also feel that the scope/cannon is too large. In either mode it feels like it's overshadowing what it's attached to. It could stand to be at least 10% smaller and lighter.
The pistol and sword are from the final battle with Optimus in the movie. In the fight he loses his big gun, and since he actually has to be fired by someone else in pistol mode, these were his only options to fight one on one with Prime. The pistol, in fact, is what he uses to deliver the killing blow to Prime so it's actually a big deal to include it. The mace is the nemesis to Prime's axe. They fought each other in one of the first episodes this way and I think they showed up once or twice again.
All in all it's a nice companion piece to MP Convoy, but it's not perfect.
This is probably my favorite of the movie designs. I think all the iconic details of Prime are there, but there is still a fresh "Transformers Movie" look to it. Heh, even the gawdy flames have grown on me a little.
Nice job on the cool toy Hasbro, and nice job Josh on the great review.
I was supposed to review this, you creep...!
.
:P
.
Oh, BTW, the combined form is called the "Ninja Mega-Falconzord", not the "Shogun Mega-Falconzord"; that name is reserved for the combined form of the Deluxe Shogun Megazord and Deluxe Falcon Ninjazord. And when you add the over-used & mysteriously-resurrected Deluxe Titanus the Carrier Zord to the mix, they're called the Ninja Ultrazord and Shogun Ultrazord respectively.
.
;)
.
Finally, aside from the pre-applied decals on the knees, the Deluxe Ninja Megazord is a dead ringer for its original Japanese counterpart, the DX Goshin Gattai Kakure Dai Shougun from "Ninja Sentai KakuRanger" (1994), though you're right about the red-to-pink change on the Crane Ninjazord.
Wow! Turn A is #100. I heard rumors about another RX-78-2, or at least another Char's variant of something. Its good to see this design honored with an MG. I half expected a Non-UC for the big 100, but I was thinking it would be closer to Wing or another concept from SEED, but Turn A is a big change. Looks great!!!
Also: saw on another site that Super Robot Wars is getting more into the 1/100 scale, Alteisen!
:) I like.
No, it just will be a catch all for smaller news that does not have enough content for its own post.
------------------------------
CollectionDX Admin
New format is good. But by using it does that mean we would only see news updates once a week?
I have 20 of the Revoltech series figures, and Pat Lee's Megatron was my favorite until Saber arrived at my door. Still, he's incredibly put together.
Hey Guys Great Show , Keep up the good stuff
Sorry for the wait, I totally forgot to do this...
And I'm sure you know this, but the original Gundam junior wasn't by Clover. It was aby "SMC", judging by the imprint on the back.
"This must be settled the way nature intended....with a vicious, bloody fight!"
Onyx Blackman
Principal, Flatpoint High
Am I the only person who wondered if DieCast was actually Vegan?
...
Yeah? ok then. =)
Don't forget that there were two different versions of this toy made. The one shown above is the missile version, and the other is the Bazooka version. The main difference is that the Bazooka version does not have the missile inserts but instead has a giant bazooka that mounts on the backpack. The toy itself is identical, it was just a way to make more money by packaging different accessories with the same toy. Also, the Bazooka version has a different version of Ginrei included.
------------------------------
CollectionDX Admin
Diamond wants $200 for it thru the Previews system. That seems like highway robbery.
awesome review as always, great shots. One interesting thing to note that you omitted is the fact that the Mattel Daimos uses the same fists as those found on the Popy Voltes V Jumbo, which is kinda good in it's own way as it's alot easier to find a Daimos fist than fists for a Voltes V .
"I had a choice, buy a new car or buy a Jumbo Machinder Green Ghost C3...it really wasn't a hard choice to make."
I really really hope they'd come out with a SoC Saber Rider's Ramrod.
And it will very cool if the pistol has cartridge.
Man-- If you're gonna correct me on something in one of my reviews, PLEASE e-mail me privately rather than smearing my mistake all over my review- not to mention TWICE in the SAME review!
.
Trust me- I will get around to updating my reviews now that I can post them myself rather than using JoshB as a conduit all the time. Have you looked at all of the other reviews on CDX that are older than two years for mistakes, and that were written by other people? I'm sure that you'll find inconsistencies in them too.
.
I'm not saying that I don't like the feedback (in fact I greatly appreciate it!), just that if you see something that needs correcting, let me know first, and I'll [discreetly] fix it.
DX Majin Gattai Wolkaiser was never released officialy in the US, so those that want the Wolf King Megazord will have to import Wolkaiser, as I did.
Absolutely awesome, Mark!!!
I will post some pics of Balbagon and the new Alien Xam soon: Omni-Monster!!!
Oops, I think it was the Robotech Underground guy with the lisp, not the Space Station Liberty guy. He just talks like a guy from Revenge of the Nerds.
Its sad.....over the last 10 or so years I have watched Gaiking turn to dust. If you havn't been there you are missing out on the best store of its kind in the entire USA.
_________________________ _________ ___ _
"Why couldn't I just collect stamps like normal people!"
I didn't see any pictures of the shelf he has as you walk in the door on the upper right hand side. Where he still has a few Godaikins. He also has a Batrain that I want to get but it is still a little much. He used to have every thing you could imagine. I do not know if you got a chance or if Yuki showed you, but he has a crazy Astro Boy comic book collection. Great guy and awesome place if anyone is ever in the area you have to go there.
"Warning, this podcast represents the opinion of two jerks and does not reflect the Collectindx staff. It may contain foul language and filthy dirty lies. It should not be listen to by human beings or taken orally."
That is our disclaimer in case you can't understand robot voice. We apologize for any confusion.
Thanks for the great comment and welcome aboard!
In regards to the podcast - DAPDX is a separate entity than collectionDX. They are good friends and we host it for them, but we in no way have any input as to the content of their podcast. At some point we may do a CollectionDX podcast, but that would be labled as such.
Josh
------------------------------
CollectionDX Admin
hello guys, first CDX post, and nice podcast!
i just had to comment being a big fan of this film, and Matsumoto's work in general. sorry for bad spelling.
Personally, i just can't let you guys broadcast this to newer fans interested in the series without some kind of comment about your analysis of this film. The review is pretty negative, which is a shame, as all the "bad" points you make out in your review seem either misinformed, or overly skewed to a certain point of view, and not the unusal objective commentary i've come to expect from COLLECTIONDX. I can understand and even agree with a negative review of this film, but not based on the criteria of this podcast (which seems very sophmoric: it's an old show, no continuity, they're Nazis, so its not that good).
First, it's very obvious you are coming from a more modern, 90's anime-fan point of view, as you reference the film to much more modern works like the newer Gundam shows, and not really in a more fair context of its peers from the early 1980's. You are really also missing a big point that it is a "fantasy" sci-fi, a la "star wars", rather than the "real" sci-fi of Gundam or Macross, where science and physics laws are taken into account and followed to the letter. Hense the flying trains, people in space without space suits, and strange continuity. You guys speak of this like it's a negative aspect of the series, as if the film is "broken" because of this! its just different than other shows & films that are created nowadays which seem to obsess over its back story, science, and/or continuity- all useless unless they advance a story (which they usually don't, they usuall replace weak story!)
A big point of Harlock and much of Matsumoto's work in general, all the characters in AOMY are -- analogies -- for different viewpoints/theories on the world, from those who are hated for their appearance (nerdy Tochiro), those who are idealists (Harlock/Maya), people who become unwilling tools of governments, etc. Harlock throughout Matsumoto's works is less a real human character, and more an ideal that is presented to the other characters and audience, equal parts warrior poet, philosopher, and Dracula(!)
Also, and probably most disapointingly, you guys obsess on the Harlock & Tochiro flashback. You seem to regard this scene with distain, and it seems to spoil the film for you (at least in your review, and to the listener). It's really just a visually interesting way to show these new friends have a deep, deep connection, that goes beyond friendship, without being overly sappy (this was a project aimed at 12yr old boys in Japan!) and nothing more, and i agree it does slow the pace of the film and is pretty confusing. It seems you guys think that this part is some type of an endorsement of the Nazis, and that is absolutely ridiculous. It's also disapointing that you didn't get that this film is completely, 100% written and told from a Japanese view, and obsessed on the fact that Harlock & Tochiro in flashback fought for the Axis powers in WWII. It's made very clear that the two characters don't share the idealogy of the Axis, and only fight out of a sense of honor or duty. Yet you seem very intent on pounding this home, as if the film should have taken into account the "american" point of view, even though it was made by Japanese who have no interest in this view! America did occupy Japan for years, and some Japanese felt the same way about the occupiers as the humans in ARCADIA OF MY YOUTH act to their alien oppressors. To deny this fact is to sugar-coat the past, and much of Leiji Matsumoto's work is exactly about this topic, and how dangerous it is to do so! If a movie is made in another country, for another culture, and another language, then why does it have to fall into and cater to an American viewpoint? SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO has these same themes, and you comment on this in the podcast as well, does that make the crew of the Yamato Nazis as well? No, the artists & writers were using the Yamato as a symbol of Japanese pride, very obviously. And i think the same is here as well, to show that regardless of time period, there are reluctant soliders in every army, and these two characters share a rebelious streak and friendship that is their past, present, and future lives- they can't escape their destiny.
To write off all of these details off and just call them Nazis as you do in this review is not only a severe disservice to the work, it's also a disservice to the art of objective review (which COLLECTIONDX excells at) and the listeners of the podcast unfamilar with this work, who might not try it because the 2 main characters are "nazis." it just feels like you guys didn't really watch the film, or stopped paying attention to it at some point due to this scene, or at least it seems like it in this podcast review, as you guys spend most of the middle of the 25+min broadcast on this point and don't really go anywhere afterward.
I hope you DAP! guys don't think of this as a slam comment, or take offense, as i like your podcasts a lot actually, it just feels like this time you completely dropped the ball on this film, and came at it from a mis-informed angle. C'mon guys, this is one of the most influential anime films of all time, featuring one of the most influential characters in anime of all time, and there's a lot of deep, great stuff to chew on, don't just eat the candy flower and icing, dive in and eat the whole cake too!
I found your podcast from AWO and it's great. Keep up the great work.
As to Harlock, well I've only seen the first few episodes of the original series so Arcadia is really my only exposure to the character so maybe my thoughts are a bit flawed. I found Harlock to be a bit aloof at the beginning only becoming closer to how he usually is after the blinding incident and completing the circle after Maya's death. Also I didn't think the exposition between Tochiro and Harlock was slow in any way. As his origin story I'd have to expect a lot of exposition but then again I've haven't seen all of the first series. The story of their ancestors made their friendship in the present better to understand if a little implausible.
But then again I'm not watching Harlock, or any Matsumoto story for that matter, for unnecessary things like logic or plausibility.....
The gun is big to keep Megatron scale to MP-01 Convoy/Optimus Prime. If the gun was scale to a real P-38, Megatron would be almost the same size as the old one, which would be dwarfed by MP Convoy. Takara (rightly) chose the lesser of two evils and realized that nobody is going to keep it in gun mode anyway so it was the mode to suffer a scale mis-match.
I'm not extremely pleased with it myself, due to the limited poseabilty and low metal content. It, like the Starscream MP, is not as good as the Convoy MP. I also feel that the scope/cannon is too large. In either mode it feels like it's overshadowing what it's attached to. It could stand to be at least 10% smaller and lighter.
The pistol and sword are from the final battle with Optimus in the movie. In the fight he loses his big gun, and since he actually has to be fired by someone else in pistol mode, these were his only options to fight one on one with Prime. The pistol, in fact, is what he uses to deliver the killing blow to Prime so it's actually a big deal to include it. The mace is the nemesis to Prime's axe. They fought each other in one of the first episodes this way and I think they showed up once or twice again.
All in all it's a nice companion piece to MP Convoy, but it's not perfect.
This is probably my favorite of the movie designs. I think all the iconic details of Prime are there, but there is still a fresh "Transformers Movie" look to it. Heh, even the gawdy flames have grown on me a little.
Nice job on the cool toy Hasbro, and nice job Josh on the great review.