In-Hand Images: Takara Tomy Transformers Go! Samurai Team

Honestly, these look like something from a completely different toy line, not Transformers. They look similar to the KIA toyline in Korea. Actually, I'm really not interested in having these in my collection.

I knew it was coming but...YIKES, that's a lot of backpack. I hope the Shinobi team fares better, they certainly look better in every robot mode as far as I can tell so far.

"Ganoh", eh? Guess we finally got an official spelling.

The individual robots are rather leggy, aren't they? But I like the fact that they're essentially Getter Robo style combiners. I can already imagine the head and armor portion appearing in a burst of energy and slamming into position after the three components link up.

Damn these things look awkward. You know, you would have thought that the entirely extra block of plastic for the head/shoulders could have allowed for a ball joint. The concept of samurai Transformers is cool, but the effect is lost when they look so awkward/static. These would have to be at least better molded for me to be interested in even buying them at retail

at first i really didn't like these guys at all.. but now i'm starting to warm up to them.. i wish they were being released over here.. i really like the 3 different combinations for them.. and the extra parts for each combination.

however.. part of me still thinks that these guys look a little like a big lots transformers knock off.

Am I the only one who see Blue's combined face as "grinning" of some sort?

Just an FYI to everyone, the combiner head pieces do attach to the robot modes so at least they have someplace to go.

Even though they sport backpacks in combiner mode (which obviously can't be helped) I find it better arranged than some of the Energon Powerlink ones.

Well, the plastic quality and the detailing look kinda nice. So yay?

I just really really find it hard to like these.

They don't look like they belong in the TF Prime line, they don't even look like they belong in any TF line ever. Plus they look awkward and compromised in every mode.

Dead Metal wrote:Well, the plastic quality and the detailing look kinda nice. So yay?

I just really really find it hard to like these.

They don't look like they belong in the TF Prime line, they don't even look like they belong in any TF line ever. Plus they look awkward and compromised in every mode.

Don't they look like they'd fit into the post g1 things, like Victory etc.?

I quite like the combined mode, I might be interested just for having three of possibilities, except they'll cost too much.

Takara needs to stick to paint jobs and small alterations, and leave the robot building to hasbro.. these look soo... unbalanced. i cant see these next to my transformers prime collection much less the neo classics. no.

pre-ordered the gift set of these guys. But not sure I'll keep it.

They look good, I like the combination gimmick but there's something off about them. Hmmm. Maybe need to see a proper review of them.

Mykltron wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:Well, the plastic quality and the detailing look kinda nice. So yay?

I just really really find it hard to like these.

They don't look like they belong in the TF Prime line, they don't even look like they belong in any TF line ever. Plus they look awkward and compromised in every mode.

Don't they look like they'd fit into the post g1 things, like Victory etc.?

They're more Brave-like in nature, really. Then again, one could argue Victory laid the foundation for Brave, with all the combiners and Victory Saber especially (gotta have those boots!).

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Just an FYI to everyone, the combiner head pieces do attach to the robot modes so at least they have someplace to go.

Even though they sport backpacks in combiner mode (which obviously can't be helped) I find it better arranged than some of the Energon Powerlink ones.

Very true, very true. Though some of those Energon fellows did pretty well, like Inferno (giant dual shoulder cannnons ftw).

If you'r a fan of Japanese style robots, these definitely scratch an itch! Although it's a damn shame they are not a lot closer to retail prices. I'd love them, but they are too expensive from what I can find.
And to be honest, they wouldn't really look out of place with CarRobot/RiD figures In fact they excite me they way they did back in 2000 when Beast Machines left me cold. Sadly this time around...I fear I need my money for MPs...
Why do they cost so much? Or am I just seeing inflated import prices? Over £30-£40 for each bot on Kapow. Haven't searched ebay.

hinomars19 wrote:Why do they cost so much? Or am I just seeing inflated import prices? Over £30-£40 for each bot on Kapow. Haven't searched ebay.

I think I can guess at part of the answer to this.

They're Takara exclusives, so far. That automatically bumps them up an extra ten-twenty quid over a normal toy. They're also pretty big. Each one looks to be around Voyager height. And...Kapow. Sometimes the price you pay for someone else importing stuff is an inflated retail price, but you do get the guarantee that that's all you'll pay, as opposed to importing from elsewhere in the world and possibly getting customs charges on top of much, much higher postage fees.

New videos:

craggy wrote:pre-ordered the gift set of these guys. But not sure I'll keep it.

They look good, I like the combination gimmick but there's something off about them. Hmmm. Maybe need to see a proper review of them.

There's a gift set? Anything different from ordering all three separate?

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

craggy wrote:pre-ordered the gift set of these guys. But not sure I'll keep it.

They look good, I like the combination gimmick but there's something off about them. Hmmm. Maybe need to see a proper review of them.

There's a gift set? Anything different from ordering all three separate?

Nope. Just straight up repackaged, unaltered figures a la the giftsets of the good old days.

Seibertron member Sabrblade has pointed us in the direction of 4 new videos showing off the electronic lights and sounds features of Transformers Go! Kenzan. These videos come to us courtesy of Youtube member D Tagoal. Brush up on your Japanese and check out the embedded videos below.

I really like this guy and whatever he is yelling in Japanese sounds awesome. I am pretty sure I will be getting him, but will probably hold out for the gift set later this year. I can't wait to see more pics of the Ninja team now.

That video has put me right off.

Mykltron wrote:That video has put me right off.

Odd, it has done the opposite with me I could understand some of the Japanese, but I wonder if changing his position changes the sounds as well. In short, does Kenzan have the sounds for all three Sanjo Gattai?

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Mykltron wrote:That video has put me right off.

Odd, it has done the opposite with me I could understand some of the Japanese, but I wonder if changing his position changes the sounds as well. In short, does Kenzan have the sounds for all three Sanjo Gattai?

that's a bit of a Super Sentai type idea, and going by how this thing appears to have some articulation, I don't think it's emulating those things.

edit:I'm liking the light and sounds action. Zam Zam Suzie!

I've been getting Sentai Robo vibes from this lot since pics first started to surface, these videos have done nothing to dispell that. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, though.

Gah, electronics. Meh.

Still, if it weren't for the flashing lights, the horrible sound quality and the laser noises I'd quite like it. The actual Japanese voice is awesome.

Are these triple combiner sets cross-compatible? Does anyone know???

Because I'd rather just take my favorite bots from each set and combine those instead of paying for bots I'd rather not use or have.

Prime0080 wrote:Are these triple combiner sets cross-compatible? Does anyone know???

Because I'd rather just take my favorite bots from each set and combine those instead of paying for bots I'd rather not use or have.

Undetermined.

Sabrblade wrote:

Prime0080 wrote:Are these triple combiner sets cross-compatible? Does anyone know???

Because I'd rather just take my favorite bots from each set and combine those instead of paying for bots I'd rather not use or have.

Undetermined.

But as far as we can tell unlikely.

It's a pretty impressive light-show, especially in combined mode. The voice bugs me. The character doesn't look like it should have that deep a voice, but it's probably a Japanese cultural thing I don't get. I like the samurai-themed Autobot logo. That's a nice little touch.

None of this is making me want to cough up for these though. Can't get past the aesthetics.

Sodan-1 wrote:It's a pretty impressive light-show, especially in combined mode. The voice bugs me. The character doesn't look like it should have that deep a voice, but it's probably a Japanese cultural thing I don't get.

It's a Leader thing. Leader characters in anime tend to have somewhat deep, powerful, serious sounding voices. And since Kenzan is the Team Leader, it'd make sense for him to sound that way.

Based on the video's we've seen, Jimbu sounds like he could be the youngest member of the Swordbot Samurai Team.

Then again, the last video we saw from the Tokyo Toy Show made Gekisomaru (at least, I think it was his voice) sound pretty young and easygoing, so he might be an exception to this.

Though, I could see Kenzan as the protagonist Autobot, so he might be seen as the main leader.

I likes em.

Japanese toy blogger Alfes 2010 has gotten his hands on the first three figures in Takara Tomy's Transformers Go! line, the Swordbot Samurai team of G01 Kenzan, G02 Jinbu, and G03 Ganoh. As usual he's provided extensive galleries of each figure including their combined forms GoKenzan, GoJinbu, and GoGanoh.

Each figure comes with three collectors card depicting their respective vehicle, robot, and combined modes, and a separate combiner head and shoulders that can transform into a weapon. Kenzan features lights and sounds that work in all three combined modes.

We've mirrored some of the images below, but the full galleries can be found at the following links:

• G01 Kenzan
• G02 Jinbu
• G03 Ganoh
• GoKenzan
• GoJinbu
• GoGanoh

If I ever get these they'll be displayed with the fire truck on top. Not only is that the best looking one overall despite the overly thin legs, it looks like it can use the police cars combiner arms/robot legs as a secondary set of arms. It also looks as though you can use the jets regular robot arms as a third set on top of that. Six armed super combiner.

So the three configurations are glowing boobs, glowing tummy, or glowing crotch.

That's the Japanese for you.

The more I see of them, the less I like them... I just can't help feeling that these guys are a step backwards from RiD's Team Bullet Train.

I have now lost interest. The gestalts seem to have non turning heads, which is normally a deal breaker for me. Apart from that they just look a mess. They've been too ambitious with this and my opinion is that they've failed.

Now that I think about it, I think Kenzan does have the electronics for all three combos. The combiner head pieces (which are proper named kabuto or "helmets") have different lengths, but they all end where Kenzan is in the configuration. In short, it seems different sounds are triggered by a certain kabuto. I like the helmets actually, another Brave throwback, to the "Met On" gimmick of Fighbird and Guardion.

With C.O.N.S. coming up, maybe they'll be available for sale... crap.

I like 'em. The price is steep, though.

RhA wrote:The price is steep, though.

What do you expect? They're Voyagers, one even had electronics.

nice. they're not perfect, but there's a lot of good stuff going on there. looking forward to the different combinations.

Been holding off on passing judgement or voicing an opinion on these for quite a while now. They have been getting quite a lot of hype and attention and normally when something gets TOO much hype like these have been getting then that equates, in my mind at least, to the subject being pure crap.
I actually kind of like these, at least moreso than anything we are getting in the Prime BH line and even some of the Generations figures but I can't say as I like them enough to pursue them since they aren't "domestic" figures for me. There is also the very strong feel, in my mind, of the middle universe Voltron aesthetic and that is also leaving me conflicted if not a little bit turned off to these figures since I know it's not done in an homage fashion and feels more like a blatant rip-off to me. I know, very silly line of logic to follow there and foolish thing to base an opinion on but it's something that popped into my mind the second I saw these and has bugged me ever since.
Conceptually cool figures, I like the styling and articulation on all of them and they are light years beyond the Energon series combination gimmick but I won't pursue them unless they see a U.S. release and the sad part about that is that if they are released here in the states, Hasbro is going to f--- them up so badly that I'm likely to reject buying them. Sad too since Hasbro could make good money off them here in the states if they didn't do anything beyond repackaging them but we all know that THAT will never happen.

Arctorro wrote:The more I see of them, the less I like them... I just can't help feeling that these guys are a step backwards from RiD's Team Bullet Train.

I kind of agree...but I kind of don't also.

The issue comes from the Aquarion-esque combination style. If they just wanted one perfect combiner, they'd have made Rail Racer again, but they didn't. They tried to do something different,and I'd say it worked reasonably well, but it's far from perfect.

RAcast wrote:

Arctorro wrote:The more I see of them, the less I like them... I just can't help feeling that these guys are a step backwards from RiD's Team Bullet Train.

I kind of agree...but I kind of don't also.

The issue comes from the Aquarion-esque combination style. If they just wanted one perfect combiner, they'd have made Rail Racer again, but they didn't. They tried to do something different,and I'd say it worked reasonably well, but it's far from perfect.

I think it's that "Spindly leg" thing that's killing it. The thing looks like a body builder that has only focused on bulking out everything from the waist up. It looks like the character can take a full tank barrage to the chest and not blink but one quick kick to the shin and he's screwed. I don't see how they managed to get the concept right for a similar toy over 30 years ago but now they drop the ball on it. Doesn't make sense.

T-Macksimus wrote:

RAcast wrote:

Arctorro wrote:The more I see of them, the less I like them... I just can't help feeling that these guys are a step backwards from RiD's Team Bullet Train.

I kind of agree...but I kind of don't also.

The issue comes from the Aquarion-esque combination style. If they just wanted one perfect combiner, they'd have made Rail Racer again, but they didn't. They tried to do something different,and I'd say it worked reasonably well, but it's far from perfect.

I think it's that "Spindly leg" thing that's killing it. The thing looks like a body builder that has only focused on bulking out everything from the waist up. It looks like the character can take a full tank barrage to the chest and not blink but one quick kick to the shin and he's screwed. I don't see how they managed to get the concept right for a similar toy over 30 years ago but now they drop the ball on it. Doesn't make sense.

That's precisely what I was saying, it's good, but the dropped the ball on the proportions a bit.
I would like to point out that RiD was about 12 years ago though. You can hardly compare the immobile bricks of G1 combiners to modern, articulated combiners. It's easy to make something stand that only stands in one position, it's less simple when it's something with lots of joints.

Am I alone in getting a BWII Thrust vibe from the yellow jet guy?
Yeah, despite their size they don't accomplish much in the way of a combination. They're enormous and they didn't really push past Energon in their engineering

welcometothedarksyde wrote:Am I alone in getting a BWII Thrust vibe from the yellow jet guy?
Yeah, despite their size they don't accomplish much in the way of a combination. They're enormous and they didn't really push past Energon in their engineering

Agreed. I think, even with this triple-combining style, they could have done much better than Energon-redux style robot modes.

Of the three, Jinbu's face seems to have the most personality to it, being a bit of a cocky-looking grin as opposed to the stern looks of Kenzan and Ganoh.

Okay, I know these won't get a Hasbro release, but lets pretend they did, and they were all repainted...who'd you like to see them as?

I'd like Jinbu as Armada Starscream, or at least in those colours.
Kenzan already has a more or less Prowl paintjob, so maybe Barricade? Or if they must be Autobots: Stakeout?
Ganou is clearly meant to be a firetruck, but I think he'd be an okay Grapple, which would work nicely in flipping the colours about somewhat, or else he could be HotSpot blue?

a bit of remolding to make any Autobot logos into Decepticon ones would be cool, and could then have Ganou maybe in black or a darker red as Smoulder or something? Likewise, the Shinobi team could be Predacons of sorts, but Razorclaw, Divebomb and...Jawbreaker? If they stick with them as good guys I'd like to see a Lio Prime, Airrazor and Cybershark team.

craggy wrote:Okay, I know these won't get a Hasbro release, but lets pretend they did, and they were all repainted...who'd you like to see them as?

Chase, Heatwave, and Blades.