The Energon Pub

News Credits: 372 · Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:19 pm

From Phamduc (says it's a pre-release copy) --

News Credits: 372 · Fri Feb 22, 2019 4:23 pm

In-hand pix of MP-20+ --

More pix and comparison shots with the original at:
http://higekumatoytoy.blog60.fc2.com/blog-entry-2925.html

That windshield is.. very blue.

News Credits: 25 · Fri Feb 22, 2019 4:40 pm

I had completely forgotten about this. Got my payment notice the other day from HLJ. Sadly, I haven't decided if I'm gonna ship him solo, or leave him in warehouse for another purchase.

News Credits: 56 · Fri Feb 22, 2019 5:24 pm

Ironhidensh wrote:I had completely forgotten about this. Got my payment notice the other day from HLJ. Sadly, I haven't decided if I'm gonna ship him solo, or leave him in warehouse for another purchase.

Guess it goes to show how uninterested people are in this.

My advice is to wait till you get something else from there. That way you can get combined shipping for both. Waiting a little can save you a few bucks I guess

News Credits: 332 · Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:21 pm

I paid for mine today from Amazon Japan, with a 300 yen credit I got this for around $58. I can't wait.

News Credits: 33 · Mon Feb 25, 2019 7:32 am

Thanks to blogger higekumatoytoy, we now have an extensive gallery of Masterpiece 20+ “anime” Wheeljack, complete with a hefty slice of comparison shots with the original MP-20 “realistic” deco and a group shot of MP20+ with MP12+ and MP17+. The over all effect is much tidier in robot mode, but the lack of detailing might deter some fans. We have mirrored some images below, but the full gallery can be found via this link.

Have you already pre-ordered yet (or better still – has it arrived?), is the anime look simply too minimalistic for a double dip? Let us know your thoughts here on the Energon Pub at Seibertron.com.

News Credits: 11 · Mon Feb 25, 2019 8:20 am

I really prefer the detail and color pallet of the original MP-20. This one just feels so bare. This gallery makes me wish I had picked up the first one when it was readily available. I encountered the same thing with Sideswipe. By the time I realized I wanted him, there was only the low res Sunbow version on the market.

News Credits: 1 · Mon Feb 25, 2019 9:29 am

The lack of detail is pretty jarring in the vehicle mode, but I really like how clean he looks in robot mode. If I were going to pick him up (which I still might), I think I'd prefer this version.

Mon Feb 25, 2019 9:33 am

+1 for greatly preferring the original. In addition to preferring the greater detail, I greatly prefer silver and clear on the head and wings to grey and slightly different grey.

News Credits: 149 · Mon Feb 25, 2019 9:41 am

Yet another showing that (IMO) proves that the mix of cartoon and detail is far, far superior to this anime accurate only guff. They really are saving me a lot on money these days.

News Credits: 4877 · Mon Feb 25, 2019 9:53 am

At least its a very different deco than the original, making its existence more worthhile (compared to sideswipe's).

News Credits: 149 · Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:14 am

It's very different but solely because they took so much away!

News Credits: 12 · Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:13 am

Eek. That's nasty. Even aside from the heresy that is stripping away the car decals, replacing the metallics with flat greys just looks so bad. It's a classic case of cartoon literalism gone too far.

Mon Feb 25, 2019 12:26 pm

There's no way I would make this a habit, but I might buy this as a curiosity. I don't like most of these "cartoon-accurate deco" figures, but my love of all things Wheeljack might sway me this time. It'd have to be on sale or at some kind of discount, though, because I'd never pay more for this than I did for the original. I mean, what takes more effort, designing and lining up all those stripes and sponsor logos or doing "mostly white with a few color accents?"

Glarryg

Mon Feb 25, 2019 12:31 pm

I’ve always been confused why people call these the ‘anime’ version. For the sticklers isn’t Sunbow based in the US??

News Credits: 241 · Mon Feb 25, 2019 4:06 pm

For the record, the blogger is Alfes2010, Higekumatoytoy is merely the URL for the blog.

GrangerPerry wrote:I’ve always been confused why people call these the ‘anime’ version. For the sticklers isn’t Sunbow based in the US??

The animation work was outsourced to several studios in Japan and Korea (common practice too). For Transformers, Toei and AKOM are the two best known (though the latter is more notorious for its errors). Also, in Japan any animated cartoon is called "anime", be it domestic or imported. We just narrowed down the definition

Mon Feb 25, 2019 6:13 pm

It's funny... as much as I think I prefer the toy accurate version (or some kind of nice hybrid)... You put those together in a group shot and it just FEELS right. I don't mind double dipping. Looks good.

Of course, best case is when Takara can fudge both out of the same toy with some parts and head/face swapping (ala Grapple and Inferno)

All things considered, the animation "+" shelf is getting pretty filled out. Now if we can just get them to stop doing repaints and full-blown character reduxes long enough to crank out Trailbreaker, Hound, Mirage, Jazz and Cliffjumper I'll be a happy man. (Okay, yeah, and Skids, Hoist, Huffer, Windcharger, Gears, Brawn, Reflector, Hotlink...)

News Credits: 101 · Tue Feb 26, 2019 8:29 pm

Call me weird but that MP "Sunbow" Wheeljack is in serious need of Reprolabels.
Seriously, "anime look" is a sod excuse to skimp on the paint aps for twice the price. >:oP

News Credits: 332 · Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:47 am

Popped open MP-20 last night and was surprised that 20+ showed up today. Very striking differences but no real MP wow moment.

News Credits: 131 · Wed Feb 27, 2019 3:04 pm

Amelie wrote:

You know, I have never understood the appeal of these stripped down cartoon accurate decos :-?

Wed Feb 27, 2019 3:25 pm

whaaa. Is this a KO of the Unite Warriors version? Confused by the sizes here. But yeah, reminds me why I like toy decos. Seeing them side by side makes you kinda sad.

That said, I do still like the notion of getting a toy deco for vehicle mode display and an anime deco for bot display.

News Credits: 241 · Wed Feb 27, 2019 3:38 pm

gothsaurus wrote:whaaa. Is this a KO of the Unite Warriors version?

Me thinks that's photoshopped.

News Credits: 56 · Wed Feb 27, 2019 3:40 pm

carytheone wrote:
Amelie wrote:
You know, I have never understood the appeal of these stripped down cartoon accurate decos

I will admit that the deco works best in robot mode, where the less cluttered look makes the robot slightly better. Vehicle mode is the absolute opposite, where the OG beats it completely. Overall, I'd be happy to stick to the original, for a number of reasons, but I'm glad for those of you who did get this, and I hope you enjoy!