WING SABER TOYZ SPOTLIGHT: SOUL OF CHOGOKIN GX-13:- Super Beast Machine God ( 超獣機神ダンクーガ ) Chōjū Kishin Dankūga aka DANCOUGAR!!

11:39 PM in 1980's, 4-Piece Combiner, Dancouga, NOT IN COLLECTION, Potential Buy, Soul Of Chogokin

DANCOUGA: -WHAT'S IN A NAME?!


Hey there folks! Warm welcome to yet another blog-post by yours truly Adam. I'd like to dedicate 
this particular special post all of you out there who are hard-core nostalgic Mecha- enthusiast  who are, one way or the other, fairly familliar with the uber -influential and quite unique 'old-school' Mecha Animes which were churned out by Japan (there were hundreds!)- and such were aired during the golden era of Super-robot shows of the 70's and 80's. To say that they don't make em like they used to is a huge understatement, ( not to mention by comparison to the   'kid-like and innocent' American and European continental cartoons) have always almost been depicted as being more dynamic and sometimes laden with heavily 'deep' philosophical and violently themed story-lines -- hard to believe that this was way back in the 70's! --  

"Dancouga - Super Beast Machine God (超獣機神ダンクーガ Chōjū Kishin Dankūga^?) is a super robot anime television series. (The English name chosen by the Japanese companies is "God Bless The Machine Dancougar". When released on VHS in the USA, the release uses the literal translated title.) The show ran for 38 episodes from 4 April 1985 to 17 December 1985 and was produced by Ashi Productions (also known for their work in the Dorvack series). After the TV series ended, a number of OVAs were created. Juusenki Tai Songs featured music videos of the various theme and insert songs from the series to TV series footage. The 1986 OVA Requiem for Victims featured a recap of the television series and a newly-animated conclusion to the story. Additionally, there was a 1987 sequel OVA (often mislabeled a movie by American fans because it was animated in widescreen) God Bless Dancouga. In 1989 the four-part Blazing Epilogue OVA series presented a new sequel.

A show called Dancouga Nova (directed by Dancouga's original mecha designer, Masami Obari) began airing in Japan in March 2007. However, it appears to be related to the series in name and mechanical design only, the overall plot bearing no apparent direct connection to the original and seeming to fans as more of a third season to Obari's Gravion than a successor to its namesake."

^Text for the introductory story DANCOUGA style linked to wikipedia.

超獣機神ダンクーガ (Chōjū Kishin Dankūga)
Genre	Mecha
TV anime
Directed by	Seiji Okuda
Studio	Ashi Productions
Network	TBS  ABS-CBN
Original run	4 April 1985 – 17 December 1985
Episodes	38
Original video animation
Requiem for Victims
Directed by	Seiji Okuda
Studio	Ashi Productions
Released	April 1986
Episodes	1
Original video animation
Jūsenkitai Songs
Studio	Ashi Productions
Released	1986
Episodes	1
Original video animation
God Bless Dancouga
Studio	Ashi Productions
Released	1987
Episodes	1
Original video animation
Blazing Epilogue
Studio	Ashi Productions
Released	December 1989-1990
Episodes	4
Anime and Manga Portal

It's hard to argue that the Japanese Super- Robot genere to this modern day, still manages to leave a series of profound influence in the upper-echelons of pop-culture even after almost three decades since its beginnings. Which brings me to the soul reason to write this particular blog-post. Although to my memory, there were some really dynamic and 'one-off' anime series which never for some reason, made it to the local terrestrial television stations during my early to mid childhood. 

All images, info on DANCOUGA are credited to these Japanese web-sites inked  here, here, here , and not to mention the fantastic  Amiami Japan-English language web!

ME, A SOUL OF CHOGOKIN FAN?! Pffft!
(WELL, MAYBE)







To be perfectly honest, there was not enough a good reason/ a few valid ones for me to go all out to actually make the effort to go out and hunt for this particular line of 'collectors' edition'/ 
die-cast made, solidly built and very high Quality Control craftsmanship from the folks at Bandai Japan. The pricing, not to mention the likely difficulty which might be posed when the eventuality or decision to sell the Soul Of CHOGOKIN figures if and when I get bored of keeping them, was one of the main 'excuses' that I used time again to shy away and not validate my liking for them. 

^More detailed pictures  are linked to this uber  Japanese blog here (dont worry, folks, least some of you here start being picky and accusing me of using more stock online photos--without permission!) LOL-- Id be using a very minimalistic presentation this time around!

YOU-TUBE ROCKS!!




Been trying to understand and kinda 'school' myself in the Mecha Japanese genere since a couple of days ago and what better medium to really immerse myself with the click of a button than  blissfully simplistic way to watch some of those older and 'rarer' 1980's Super-Robot shows than the ever popular video-site YouTube?! From the get-go, it was very clearly shown that GOD BEAST DANCOUGA was not going to just be yet another tried and tested re-hash of the other previous Super-Robot franchises of the past. It had fire in the belly and was aimed at the most action-packed minded fan! The animation was pretty standard- i.e. lots of rough explosions/ swift battle scenes and the tried "Alien Invasion" storyline, but after watching some of the key episodes online, I've gotta say that overall it was stylishly made. 

Plot

"The series is about a team of four soldiers; Shinobu Fujiwara, Sara Yuki, Masato Shikibu and Ryo Shiba. They pilot the mecha Dancouga and fight to liberate Earth from alien invaders known as the Muge Zorbados Empire.

Dancouga is an example of the combining robot type of Super Robot. However, unlike the more traditional "component machines struggle against the monster of the week before combining and easily dispatching the monster" format, Dancouga does not combine until midway through the series. This means that, unlike the previously mentioned type of combining robot, where the components were generally of little use, the Cyber Beast Machines were all capable of effectively combating their enemies. The main components of the Cyber Beast mecha were able to follow the emulation of evolution. The mecha started out as four vehicles that could transform into beasts (an eagle, cougar, liger and mammoth respectively) to humanoid robots, and finally combining together to form Dancouga.

Many of the Dancouga story elements revolve centrally around religion (mostly Christianity, although the series also borrows heavily from Taoist philosophy), harmony, and music. The theme of "gods" is heavily present in most of the episodes."

Personally, the Red-head in the show, although the only female protagonist, is, aside from the main hero who pilots the Falcon mode / head of DANCOUGA is my favorite of the quint team. She's feisty, and like the GOD-BEAST COUGAR she pilots shown above, is a ferocious character off and on the battle-field!

FINAL SAY

As any true fan of this unique genere, the Super-robot franchise of the 70's and 80' were well and truly 
 in a league of their own.  Suffice to say, that the SOUL of CHOGOKIN DANCOUGA toy was so immensely popular, that to date, since it's initial release way back in 2003, there have been at least THREE re-releases of this huge and heavy Mecha since then. You know what's gonna happen to old WSX, dontcha'?! SOC GX-13 GOD BEAST DANCOUGA WILL BE BOUGHT HOPEFULLY
 BY YEAR'S END!! IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THIS RE-RELEASE WHICH WAS MADE IN 2008, CHANCES ARE THAT THE ONLY PLACE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FIND IT IS ON EBAY. EXPECT TO PAY IN THE REGION OF BETWEEN USD$ 200 -- TO-- USD$ 300+ FOR THIS BAD BOY. HELL YEAH AND RECOMMENDED. PERIOD! A++

DANCOUGA is Copyright 1985 Ashi Productions/ TBS and 2003 Bandai Co. Japan.

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REMADE INTO PERFECTION! VINTAGE CHOGOKIN LIONBOT AKA GOLION / VOLTRON!!!

11:17 AM in 1980's, LIONBOT, Remake, TAIWANESE, Vintage, VOLTRON

UPDATE: TOY ARRIVED IN POST TODAY-- FRIDAY, JANUARY 22nd 2010! ECSTATIC, ALTHOUGH HAVE NOT OPENED HIM UP, SAVE FOR A FEW IN BOX SHOTS. MORE PICS TO FOLLOW? WE SHALL SEE!

Arriving sometime next week to WSX toyz is yet another of those rare gem of a piece toys--one which every serious Mecha collectors absolutely need to add to their 'armament' of diecast-engineered Japanese toys. I'm very sure that most of you guys and girls out there are quite familiar with the "invasion" of sorts on your Saturday morning TV cartoon slots when you were just young kids. One of my fondest childhood memories was being able to own one of the more "commercial" version of the mighty Defender of the Universe: VOLTRON.



The version of VOLRTON/LIONBOT which I have bought on ebay, is supposedly a "bootlegged" Taiwanese reproduction made famous somewhere during the 1980's- early 1990's. Yup, like the original Gokin Golion, this version still sports pretty much the same features/weight and more importantly, all the firing spring-loaded mechanisms and weapons of those famous FIVE Lions. The HUGE box in question is packaged in true Gokin style, very reminiscent of the original GOLION Bandai/Poppy vintage one, save for the original Japanese Kanji being replaced with English fonts. After scouring the internet, there are several mini-reviews/ write-ups and most certainly feed-back on this very-well done LIONBOT. The additional feature and bonus of this unofficial boxed set is that it came with a plethora of "original" accessories and weapons, which were omitted in the US Gokin/ Trendmaster's American versions for obvious reasons-- chiefly US child-safety laws on toys which have lots of pointy sharp bits. Even the Blazing Sword was not considered in one of those releases!



Now, I know that most recently as 2003, and last year, there has been a mini-revival of sorts since the phenomenal success of the Live Action 2007 Transformers movie. What, may you ask, does Voltron have to do with that multi-million dollar cash-cow of a franchise by Hasbro!? Well, its simple really, as more movie and comics/ toys companies wanted to cash in on nostalgic 1980's themed cartoons/ television series-- Hence, Japanese/American toy makers Toynami too, decided the time was right to make another re-issue on the hugely popular Lion-themed super-robot. IMHO, although more aesthetically accurate and faithful to the shows slender mecha proportions, --however, its the vintage designs which really adds more weight in gold-- Solid, built like a brick and imposing--With over 90% of the individual Lions' bodies made of diecast, plus numerous gimmicks and weapons! I like!


LET'S GO VOLTRON FORCE!


Pictures are credited/linked to brilliant sites which include Collectiondx.com and for some strange reason-- in addition, a Zoids http://www.zoid.us/lionbot.htm page! WSX Toyz extends a sincere thanks and gratitude which goes out to them. In addition some pictures from these sites would be taken down, as soon as the seller has shipped the giant and heavy box to yours truly. My own original in box shots will be watermarked as usual--middle finger pose and all--LOL!--especially for my "die-hard fans" ( those internet "white-knights" and lame asses) who still have nothing better to do with their lives- At this point, the ebay seller and auction for LIONBOT can be seen here-- http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370320279771&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

GoLion/ Lionbot / Voltron Specifications

GoLion was separated into five separate lion robots by a goddess/ (in Voltron Hagar the witch )who wished to teach GoLion humility until he could be reassembled. GoLion later gains a soul after being reawakened by the five pilots who use GoLion to protect the universe from Emperor Daibazaal's/Zarkon's evil.

GoLion is 60 metres (197 ft) tall, and weighs 700 tonnes (771 tons).

• Black Lion (黒獅子, Kurojishi): Forms the body and head of GoLion. Powered by lightning. Piloted by Akira/Keith
• Red Lion (赤獅子, Akajishi): Forms the right arm of GoLion. Powered by fire. Piloted by Isamu/ Lance
  
• Green Lion (緑獅子, Midorijishi): Forms the left arm of GoLion. Powered by wind. Piloted by Hiroshi/Pidge
• Blue Lion (青獅子, Aojishi): Forms the right leg of GoLion. Powered by water. Piloted by Takashi/Sven, and later Fala/Princess Allura, after Takashi's/Sven's death.
• Yellow Lion (黄獅子, Kijishi): Forms the left leg of GoLion. Powered by sand. Piloted by Tsuyoshi/ Hunk
  

So, without further delay, here is another quick run through of the 5 individual lions which make up LIONBOT, as well as its individual strengths and weaknesses. As usual well start with the King of the team, the main torso and head of LIONBOT/ GOLION:

BLACK LION

My most favorite lion as a kid. He is the most bulky naturally- a big, solid fella who has pegs hidden in all four thighs with interlocking mechanisms to insert the other lions' tails. Legs and main body is entirely made up of diecast-- His overall appearance is pretty kickass--especially when the side cannons and weapons are added. The fact that he is the leader of the lions and protagonist in the cartoon series--Shoom!--lighting silhouetted Black Lion introduction flashback scene in my head! makes him A-graded in my books. Excellent. A ++


RED LION

Emerging from the fiery depths of the volcano, Red Lion's toy really didn't do any justice as far as scale and cartoon accuracy was concerned-Red lion, being the right arm of Voltron, is skinny looking but with a more solid and "fuller" body design. His mid-drift section can be also rotated, and head launched with the press of a button visible just behind the lion head. Better than Green Lion , IMHO in terms of the overall aesthetics, but not the greatest of all. B


GREEN LION

Piloted by the spunky and vertically challenged kid-genius, Pidge. The main essence why I kinda liked the Green Lion more than the Red-- I dunno, dontcha ever notice, that every time Voltron/Golion strikes the "finishing off the enemy" pose, he ALWAYS uses the Green Lion as the main ROAR before he slices them i half?! I know all the Lions would take turns to let out roars, but the Red one would be wielding the sword. Spindly, with a rounder body design, Green Lion also comes with a spring loaded mechanism which enables him to launch is "head-attack". In addition, as expected, his mid-drift is jointed and can be moved and rotated, just like his other arm component counterpart, Red Lion. B +


BLUE LION

My second most fave, this Lion had its fair share of pilots, but none more so charming than the Princess of Planet Arus herself, Allura. Out of all the limb-attachment Lions, the Blue Lion is to me the epitome of
grace and strength. Add to the back missile pods and its head design looks miles better than the rest of its limb counterparts. Awesome! A


YELLOW LION

Although pretty tough looking, the Yellow Lion is pretty useless in the Voltron cartoon series, if memory serves me correctly. His face design was not one of my favorites, although without his other weapons, he just has a single cannon on his back and "cheek-flares"--kinda lame if you ask me... B


MEGA-THRUSTERS ARE GO!



FINAL THOUGHTS:

TWO WORDS: HELL YEAH! For those who are on a tight shoe-string budget, but also rather reluctant to spend thousands of Ringgit on the original GOLION, one has to be "smart" enough to be able to "see" a good deal when it hits them right smack in the face, THEN BY ALL MEANS, NOSTALGIC FEELINGS ASIDE, scour ebay.com to hunt for this bad-boy. These days, LIONBOT's are still widely available-- however, you must be prepared to fork out a small but justifiable sum of around US$ 90.00 to US$190.00 plus shipping if you wish to own a cheaper and high quality Taiwanese reproduction. There is no such shame in owing a so-called "bootlegged" toy in your collection, as to me everything has its price, but I wont be willing to shell out close to RM2,000 on a mint in box American Chogokin or loose Japan-made GOLION just yet. Damn that Voltron theme song and introduction by the great Peter Cullen- voice of Optimus Prime--is stuck in my head now. LIONBOT is a cheaper alternative, not necessarily a flawed one and encouraging the support of acquiring bootlegged toys--BUT its for those who want to own a priceless vintage toy for a fraction of the cost. VERDICT? NO HESITATIONS AND BUY IT!!!

VOLTRON © 2009 World Event Productions/Toei.inc.Japan. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2009, Toynami Inc.

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