Every two weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found
here.
Top 5 Transformers Toys whose Takara version was better than Hasbro'sLast time, we checked the times when the Hasbro was better than the Takara version. Now, we will do the flip side, where we check the times Takara outdid Hasbro. Many fans often expect that to be the case, but with us now being in a new age of brand unification where the same toy gets released in both markets, it is a good time to look back at the times when it was really worth getting the Takara version over Hasbro's. I am well aware there are a lot of examples that can apply out there so I dug for some that, while probably not always overly obvious, really had a difference in the enjoyment of the toy and its inclusion in one's collection.
5. Transformers Legends Gelshark (Sky-Byte) vs Generations Sky-Byte
This is an extremely underrated toy which came and went with few caring. And that is a shame. Not only was this the representative of the Robots in Disguise 2001 / Car Robots line in the thrilling 30, he was also one hell of an update. He was still a shell former like his previous Beast Wars mold roots but unlike his original toy, the shell was very compact and made for elegant wings in robot mode which did not take any attention away from the robot mode. Also, and I can never stress this enough, Takara outdid themselves on the engineering of the chest. The original toy was a shark who transformed into a robot who had a shark-like face on his chest that was a different colour on each side (giving a hint to his states of mind). Of course, the real shark head was still somewhere on the toy (part of his massive shell) so the chest was more of a reference that he was a shark and not supposed to be the shark head. This update however had the shark head actually be the chest as well. No fake parts this time, reducing the shell considerably and making the robot far more sleek. There was even a nice panel flip on the shark's nose to give the chest new robot mode detail and to further look like the original cartoon model. As you recall, the whole theme of that chest is that it had a different colour on each side, showing how he was this unstable killer. So now that Hasbro has this opportunity of having the actual shark head be the chest how do they colour it? Just all light blue. Not even one of the shades that should be there. You might think that it is for it to work better as a shark head in shark mode, but no, that shade of blue isn't found anywhere else. Takara however jumped on the opportunity of this update to give him the split colour deco on his shark head so that when it transforms into robot mode, it gets the signature look. These same colours are also made to match the shark's body which make for a better looking shark mode. Takara has often outdone Hasbro in the deco area, just look at the entire Beast Wars Returns (Beast Machines in Japan) line. However, with Gelshark the improved deco goes a long way, longer than any other improved deco, turning a toy many dismissed into, what I consider, a must have. I am a huge fan of when the deco honours the wit of the engineering and this guy does that in spades.
4. Transformers Binaltech Override vs Alternators Windcharger
Right off the bat, I think the name is better in the Takara release. Windcharger was a minibot while Override was a sleek sports car. If the Binaltech line was about giving new classic version of G1 characters, Overdrive would suit it much better since they are all the same size and any hope of semblance of scale with Windcharger would be lost (if that even matters). More than that, just look at the head. The toy issued by both companies has a visor and that is totally Overdrive's deal more so than Windcharger (and you
DO NOT want to see what a Windcharger head on this guy would look like).
I mean between this
and this
Which one would this guy be representing?
The name isn't even the biggest deal with the release, far from it. Hasbro's was made of molded plastic while Takara had a nice die cast body which was painted red. This was the case for all Binaltech (Takara) versions of the of Alternators line. You really felt you had your money's worth with these guys (when you forgot how you disliked transforming them). But that is not all, oh no, that is not all. What makes this release far ore noteworthy than the rest of the line though is the weapon. You see, licensing agreements are handled by each company separately in their home country. Honda Japan was totally cool with Overdrive having a nice long barreled gun but Honda America didnt like their brand associated to violent toys and Hasbro had to literally
circumcise neuter the gun and turn it into a non violent scanner. Yay.
3. Transformers Henkei Megatron vs Classics Megatron
Another big difference between Takara/Japan and Hasbro/USA are the laws they have to deal with. Japan is not as severe when it comes to toy guns (G1 Megatron came from them afterall) but the states is a different matter. For Megatron to be a gun again, they had to give him a Super Soaker deco. Takara, on the other hand, gave him an appropriate deco for a character who finally had a semblance of his original alt mode back. He had two appropriate decos actually, one being silver (United) and the other having more orange highlights (Henkei) which I think works even better.
2. Transformers Unite Warriors Devastator vs Generations Combiner Wars DevastatorIn most cases, the reason to get the Takara version over the Hasbro one (or vice versa) is if you prefer the differences in deco. With Devastator's case, the deco was a side note. Sure, there were a few differences here and there (with the Unite Warriors version being a bit more accurate to the cartoon) but the real deal here is that your Constructicons had improved articulation in their individual robot modes. They all had functional elbows for one and some had better knees, and they all had individual weapons. There are pegs and specific sculpting details found on the alt modes which are for the sole purpose of holding/storing the robot's weapon in that mode and what is saddening about the Hasbro version is that those details and holes are still there but you don't get the weapons. Along with the extra joints, this just adds to what Takara has confirmed that Hasbro's Devastator is a result of
taking a Takara design and build and removing parts from it. There isn't just that, the combined robot has a new head which had an optional visor and ratchets on his shoulders. It's not so much that the Takara version is better than Hasbro but instead that it is THE toy Hasbro had signed on for initially. This is the Devastator we should all have had, while the deco would have been the main difference. Instead you get the actual Titan Devastator toy from Takara and a shadow of it from Hasbro.
1. Transformers Galaxy Force Cybertron Starscream vs Cybertron Starscream(s)Yup, while a Starscream toy was the best time Hasbro had the upper hand over Takara, this character pops up again when we flip the conversation around. This case is practically a travesty all around and while at its core it's about the deco there is more to it. Looking at the mold alone, which is an excellent toy, Takara had him in perfect show accurate deco while the release of this Voyager Starscream toy by Hasbro was in a near random red colour. It was to the point where a fellow board member was talking about him to me and referring to him as Thrust since he truly believed that it was a redeco of Starscream into Thrust. Sadly, no it's not, that red thing is Starscream. Also, if you wanted him in the states, you could only get him in a two pack with Vector Prime who you probably already had, goody! So we established why the Takara release is the better one, but the reason behind the "failed attempt" for Hasbro to give fans this toy was because Hasbro was pushing another Starscream toy: Supreme Starscream, a toy which is all kinds of suck. It's just a giant Starscream which isn't even its own mold (even the craptacular Supreme Cheetor has that over him). It's just an upscaled version of the voyager, slightly retooled for the gimmicks. So all the fine details you would see on the voyager end up looking like broad strokes on the supreme class version. And while Starscream did become that big in the series, it wasn't for very long and much after this toy was released. There is a great air of disgust over this toy and a big part of it is the sacrifice of Hasbro never releasing a cartoon accurate version of the best Starscream figure of the Unicron Triogy, Cybertron Voyager Starscream, which is exactly what Takara provided.
Honourable mentions: There is a bunch of G1 stuff that was far superior when released in Japan by Takara than by Hasbro. However, I did not find it as fair since they were technically rereleases of the earlier toys from the Microchange and Diaclone lines and not specifically reworkings of a Hasbro version. Soundwave is a great example of a toy who's Japan release is awesome since it had firing missiles (something that was taken away from may Hasbro releases) as well as Headphones and a mic. However, this was all holdovers from the original release of the toy in the Microchange line which Hasbro changed for the Transformers. So it's more of a case of the Original pre Transformers version being better and not necessarily the Takara version of the Transformers toy. A very fine line, I admit, but I felt it would work better as an other list than to muddy this one.
Speaking of G1, Powermaster Prime was far superior in Japan, but since he wasn't the same character and release, I didn't really find it fair. The recent Legends line output from Takara has several deluxes coming with an extra Target Master while the Hasbro versions don't so they do offer you more, but at the same time you are paying an extra 10$ for that Target Master even before you add the import fees (plus you don't get the Hasbro weapons). So I don't know if paying more to get more counts as a fair comparison, they aren't even the same price points. However, this (and Legends Blurr from the thumbnail) all deserves mentioning, and that's why you find them here.
Still, Override is better than Windcharger anyway.
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