Jean-Bot

I bought Jean-Bot because he was simply a cool looking robot and I knew he had something to do with Ultraman. I was content on that being enough, but like an onion, this character has many layers. 

Turns out that Jean-Bot comes from the movie “Ultraman Zero The Movie: The Revenge of Belial”, which I have not seen. As a service to you, I have included the trailer below.

Ok, so apparently Jean-Bot is the humanoid form of the spaceship Star Corvetter Jean-Bird. That’s sort of cool. He’s a giant robot that transforms into a spaceship. There’s no small human mode here – it’s all giant robot. 

But wait, there’s more. It turns out that Jean-Bot is an homage to an earlier Tokusatsu character, Jumborg A.

Here’s Jean-Bot in action, set to the theme song of the original Jumborg Ace.

This is a really great entry into the Ultra-Act line, despite a few minor shortcomings.

Expect an image heavy, text light review on this one.

Jean-Bot stands an impressive six and a half inches tall and is made out of high-quality PVC, ABS, and believe it or not, DIECAST METAL. So lets start at the top shall we?

The head is PVC and sits on dual ball joints, one at the base of the head and one where it connects with the shoulders. The upper torso is a nicely molded solid piece, but each shoulder is a multi-jointed affair.

The shoulders are very tight at first, but you can move them without fear.  

The inner red ring, shoulder, and outer shoulderpad are all separate parts. The upper arm swivels and then it leads you to a diecast double elbow joint.

OK, wait a second. I am boring even myself here. It’s pretty much got the same articulation as the other Ultra-Act figures, with the addition of diecast metal joints in the elbows, knees, and feet. Got it? 

This thing is a joy to pose, but after a little while the hip joints get a little too loose. It can still hold any pose, but if you pick it up the feet might clank together at the ankles.

The right arm features a removable shield that can be held in two positions, and can also act as a beam weapon with the included effects part.

The shield is on a ball joint.

The left arm features a removable shoulder shield and a detachable fist. Included is an effects part that simulates launching action, but I would much rather had an actual firing fist gimmick.

That shoulder shield becomes the head of an axe in the movie but here they included a more accurate axe-head to use instead.

The axe can be held securely with the variant hands. it’s very cool looking.

Despite not seeing the movie, I really liked this design and the toy did not dissapoint. I was sort of bummed that the hips were a bit loose, but overall it was really sweet!