RobotKingdom Newsletter #1108 - Warbot Defender, New Images of Headrobots Cobra and Takara Animated!

Here are a few thoughts I have about Takara's TFA toys.

1. I like that they're packaged in robot mode.

2. I like that they've got the proper colored faction symbols instead of the silver ones Hasbro did.

3. Interesting that the packaging has a "technical point" scale for the level of transformation difficulty.

4. I really like that Takara keeps using the American names instead of the traditional Japanese names (Optimus Prime, Autobots, Decepticons, Bumblebee instead of Convoy, Cybertrons, Destrons, and Bumble). The Transformers have never been as popular in Japan as it has been elsewhere in the world ... so I'd like to think that what they were doing all those years just wasn't working. It makes things much simpler just having it be Optimus Prime no matter what country you're in.

Seibertron wrote:Here are a few thoughts I have about Takara's TFA toys.
3. Interesting that the packaging has a "technical point" scale for the level of transformation difficulty.

Unless I'm missing something what's Interesting is that cliffjumper and bumblebee have a different "technical point" rating

Damn Takara for including collector cards... I like the Hasbro versions better, but I'm a sucker for those collector cards. Must resist trading in all of Hasbro versions for the Takara ones...

Seibertron wrote:Here are a few thoughts I have about Takara's TFA toys.

1. I like that they're packaged in robot mode.

2. I like that they've got the proper colored faction symbols instead of the silver ones Hasbro did.

3. Interesting that the packaging has a "technical point" scale for the level of transformation difficulty.

4. I really like that Takara keeps using the American names instead of the traditional Japanese names (Optimus Prime, Autobots, Decepticons, Bumblebee instead of Convoy, Cybertrons, Destrons, and Bumble). The Transformers have never been as popular in Japan as it has been elsewhere in the world ... so I'd like to think that what they were doing all those years just wasn't working. It makes things much simpler just having it be Optimus Prime no matter what country you're in.

I also think it's great that for Japanese a release, there seems to be more English on the packaging than their own native language

But yeah, even as a big Hasbro supporter, I'm really digging what TT is doing with the line. I may consider picking up the battle packs to keep MISB.