It is not a bad toy per se, but it doesn’t excel beyond merely bringing back an old-school animation technique.

Video review included!

This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan.

Thirteen generations ago, special ancient samurai warriors called the Shinkenger were authorized by the Japanese Emperor to defend their country against the Gedoushuu monsters from the mythical Sanzu River. The Shinkenger succeeded, and the Gedoushuu were defeated. Hundreds of years later in 2009, the Gedoushuu have slowly rebuilt themselves and they are slipping through all dark crevasses once more to collect human screams to flood the Sanzu River into the world for their return. Takeru Shiba, the current samurai lord of the Shiba Clan, now summons four vassal samurai from different clans, and arms them with the magical scripture power known as mojikara to become the new Samurai Sentai Shinkenger!

In Act 1- “The Gallant Appearance of the Five Samurai”, the newest generation of Shinkenger assemble together to fight the renewed threat of the demonic Gedoushuu. The Secret Playback-katana ShinkenMaru is the standard-use sidearm for the Shinkenger. While a resilient katana on its own, it is also designed to accept Secret Discs. When a Secret Disc is attached to it, and then infused with a Shinkenger’s mojikara, the associated Disc’s power will be unlocked. Most of the Secret Discs’ powers include special one-on-one attacks, and summoning & controlling busou Origami. Each Shinkenger can also morph their ShinkenMaru at will into their personal-style weapons- Rekka Daizantou, Water Arrow, Wood Spear, Land Slicer, & Heaven Fan- depending on the Secret Disc they each have.

The speaker and On/Off switch are on the right side. The front of the grip has a red trigger that, when depressed, activates one of two sword-swinging sounds. A red LED on the left side also blinks accordingly.

Ordinarily, the ShinkenMaru is utilized with a standard Common Disc (included with the Secret Disc Belt set, sold separately). However, the toy comes with Shinken Red’s personal Secret Disc- the Shishi Disc. When attached to the katana, it allows him to perform his Kaen no Mai (“Fiery Dance”) sword technique/attack. But it also gives Shinken Red authorization to control the giant-sized Shishi Origami when he is inside of it, and the Disc-equipped ShinkenMaru is place into the cockpit’s control pedestal.

. . .

The ShinkenMaru uses a very old motion picture technique for its special gimmick, called a praxinoscope. Used before film cameras were developed in the late-1800s, a series of similar images is placed around a collection of rotating mirrors. Then, when both the images and mirrors are spun at the same speed, it creates the illusion of movement because the human eye is unable to keep track of the movements of the original images (which naturally blur as they spin), but can register the specific angle of only the reflected images. (This is similar to how the centuries-older zoetrope worked, but does not depend on the images being hidden from view altogether. The praxinoscope is considered the direct successor to the zoetrope.)

The Secret Discs are designed around being used for the praxinoscope on the ShinkenMaru. A series of eight slightly-differing ‘cels’ of animation are placed on each Secret Disc, and there are eight corresponding reflective surfaces above the handle. When the Secret Disc is slipped over the handle, it at-first appears as nothing but a hand guard. But, when you spin the rim of the Secret Disc manually, the praxinoscope activates and the cels on the guard become animated on the chrome-plated plastic above!

In the case of the Shishi Disc, the left-reflected profile of the Shishi Origami is seen running & roaring alongside flames in the background.

The ShinkenMaru has an intentionally-hidden tab above the praxinoscope to register its movement. (You can easily hear it clicking loudly when it turns!) The toy can detect two different speeds- ‘normal’ and ‘fast’- and this is tied into how the Shinkenger inject mojikara into the Secret Disc(s).

• Spinning a Secret Disc at ‘normal’ speed, and then squeezing the trigger, activates an extended sword-swinging effect.
• Spinning a Secret Disc at the ‘fast’ speed, and then squeezing the trigger, produces five different sound effects, each coinciding with the Shinkenger’s personal Origami Disc. Each sound effect is pre-programmed into the toy rather than reading it off of the Secret Disc that is attached to it. So regardless of which Disc you have on it, they will each play once in random order.
  • Kaen no Mai / “Fiery Dance” (Shishi Disc, used by Shinken Red)
  • Suiryu no Mai / “Current’s Dance” (Ryuu Disc, used by Shinken Blue)
  • Tenku no Mai / “Heavenly Dance” (Kame Disc, used by Shinken Pink)
  • Kogarashi no Mai / “Winter Winds Dance” (Kuma Disc, used by Shinken Green)
  • Tsuchikemuri no Mai / “Dust Cloud Dance” (Saru Disc, used by Shinken Yellow)

The back of the ShinkenMaru can allow it to be stored into a holder provided on the separately-sold Secret Disc Belt (not shown).

I got this toy under a false pretense. I assumed that, like past card/chip/item-reading toys, this one would be able to read whatever Secret Disc was put onto it, and then provide unique sound effects only when that one Secret Disc was attached. I was wrong. And now I am frustrated because it should have easily been able to do so! Instead, when I put the Shishi Disc on it, I can just as likely get the sound of the Saru or Ryuu Origami screeching, which is wrong according to what is seen in the series. While use of the praxinoscope was cleaver and original (as well as how you activate it, by hand rather than a motor), the entire toy is built upon this one gimmick (as perhaps it should be). Additionally, I thought that having it being able to register a change in speeds was also good. (The clicking of the sensor is annoying and loud, and thus they increased the volume of the speaker to compensate… which makes my ears rattle and ring painfully at the same time!) Really, the only reason I got this toy so that I could plug other Secret Discs from other sets I bought into it to see the animation(s) of each, rather than because it was a role-playing weapon. (I usually don’t collect the weapons and devices used in Super Sentai for personal taste-reasons, so that was a strike against it in my book as well.) The Hiden Saiseitou ShinkenMaru is merely a toy sword with some average sound effects and a single LED (why even bother!?) built into it, and then has a gimmick that only meets your expectations half-way. It is not a bad toy per se, but it doesn’t excel beyond merely bringing back an old-school animation technique.

While clearly an effort is being put forward here to have a stronger influence of Japanese culture and history involved in “Shinkenger”, this set just doesn’t do it for me.

Video review included!

This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan.

Thirteen generations ago, special ancient samurai warriors called the Shinkenger were authorized by the Japanese Emperor to defend their country against the Gedoushuu monsters from the mythical Sanuz River. The Shinkenger succeeded, and the Gedoushuu were defeated. Hundreds of years later in 2009, the Gedoushuu have slowly rebuilt themselves and they are slipping through all dark crevasses once more to collect human screams to flood the Sanuz River into the world for their return. Takeru Shiba, the current samurai lord of the Shiba Clan, now summons four vassal samurai from different clans, and arms them with the magical scripture power known as mojikara to become the new Samurai Sentai Shinkenger!

In Act 1- “The Gallant Appearance of the Five Samurai”, Takeru gives his four vassals a Shodou Phone on the condition that they fight to the end, or leave immediately. With it, they can use the Phone Mode to keep in touch with each other, or fold it length-wise to transform it into Brush Mode. In this second form is where the Shinkenger control their power of mojikara- allowing them to create calligraphy (the art of East Asian writing) in the air, and then make it real. As with any language- particularly-so with mojikara- the correct length and sequence of the brush strokes is just as essential as what word to use to get the results they want. While the Shodou Phone is a powerful tool and henshin device, it can also work in concert with the Secret Discs under the right circumstances, such as activating an Origami’s attack power and initiating a samurai gattai (combination).

Phone Mode

The clock along the outside, set to 24-hr format, reads 20:09 (aka 8:09pm), with the joke being repeating inside above the ‘battery status’ icon in the decal display, implies the year that “Shinkenger” aired: 2009.

The clock along the outside, set to 24-hr format, reads 20:09 (aka 8:09pm), with the joke being repeating inside above the ‘battery status’ icon in the decal display, implies the year that “Shinkenger” aired: 2009.

On the keypad, only the Connect, Power, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 0, and * keys are functional. The Disconnect, 3, 6, 9, and # keys are molded in as part of the plastic and cannot move (having been painted white with the black lettering printed on).

These are the keys’ individual sound effects when pressed:

• green Connect - ringtone (x3) in Phone Mode, activates henshin sequence in Brush Mode
• white 1, 4, 7, * - generic keypad tones (all the same)
• red PWR - Shishi Origami grows big and roars
• red 2 - Ryuu Origami grows big and roars
• red 5 - Kuma Origami grows big and roars
• red 8 - Saru Origami grows big and roars
• red 0 - Kame Origami grows big and roars

The Shodou Phone folds down the center of the Phone Mode. When this happens, an ABS brush tip will spring out of the top end. Once Brush Mode is completely formed, the henshin sequence effects will automatically activate. The green Connect button can be pushed to end this early, or it will finish off on its own after 12 seconds of waiting. After the toy is quiet once more, the Connect button can restart the henshin sequence again, though it is shorter that when it is first changed to Brush Mode. However, while holding down the Connect Button will keep the brush-stroke sound going, when released it will not continue the henshin sequence again.

Brush Mode

For convenience, the five colors above the red keys remind you which sound belongs to which Origami.

The brush tip can be pushed back in this mode, but will not lock back in place until the toy returns to Phone Mode.

I am going to be honest here: I did not care much for this toy even before I got it. So then why did I get it? Why, only so that I could demonstrate for you on CollectionDX how mojikara is used when I cover the DX-sized Origami sets, of course! (In other words, I took one for the team… You’re welcome.)

Aside from how it folds, there is no great or inspiring gimmick here. I was stunned when I found that not only did four of the keys have the exact same sound, but five out of the 15 keys weren’t even functional! One of the bigger problems, really, is that this is now the fifth regular-use cell phone changer we’ve had since they came out with the Henshin Keitai G-Phone in 2001’s “Hyakujuu Sentai GaoRanger”! Bandai, Toei, PLEX- it’s getting really old now. I mean- the arm bracelet used to be the standard Super Sentai Series henshin device, and those are being used sparingly at best now! (The earliest changers were simply LCD watches with a sound effect-or-two and a decal!) A cell phone can be an interesting henshin device because you can use the multiple keys to create variable codes and unique sound effects- which was done to amazing effect with both the Mahou Keitai MagiPhone from 2005’s “Mahou Sentai MagiRanger”, and Bouken Keitai Accellular from 2006’s 30th-Anniversary series “Gougou Sentai Boukenger”; and they both also had an extra physical feature in addition to all those codes ‘n such. (I have both of those toys, by the way, and I love 'em to death!) But here, it’s just… dead. I think of the cell phone changers as extra soundboards to be used with the purchase of other toys. Bandai could easily have incorporated a few more sounds into the four white keys rather than have them all spout the same crap. What also irks me is the continuity- if the Shinkenger were around hundreds of years ago, would they have had cell phones back then as well…? I don’t think so either. Calligraphy has been used before [as a weapon] with the Wing Pentact from 2003’s “Bakuryuu Sentai AbaRanger”, but it looked more like a feathered quill pen. While clearly an effort is being put forward here to have a stronger influence of Japanese culture and history involved in “Shinkenger” (so much so that for the first time in 18 years, there will not be a new Power Rangers adaptation in 2010), the Henshin Keitai Shodou Phone just doesn’t do it for me. Recommended for no more than the youngest crowd and completists-only.

The Shodou Phone can be stored inside of the Shodou Phone Holder (sold separately), which is a fabric & Velcro fold-over pouch that can attach to a real belt or the Hidden Disc Buckle set (sold separately).

(I will not be covering either of those toys, so I cannot demonstrate this.)

You need to look at the mecha here not just as more transformable mecha, but as folding and twisting and bending in the same way as the ancient Japanese paper craft, origami.

Video review included!

This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan.

Thirteen generations ago, special ancient samurai warriors called the Shinkenger were authorized by the Japanese Emperor to defend their country against the Gedoushuu monsters from the mythical Sanzu River. The Shinkenger succeeded, and the Gedoushuu were defeated. Hundreds of years later in 2009, the Gedoushuu have slowly rebuilt themselves and they are slipping through all dark crevasses once more to collect human screams to flood the Sanzu River into the world for their return. Takeru Shiba, the current samurai lord of the Shiba Clan, now summons four vassal samurai from different clans, and arms them with the magical scripture power known as mojikara to become the new Samurai Sentai Shinkenger!

Each Shinkenger posses a small “folding-spirit” known as an Origami, which have been passed down from generation to generation. Each Origami is an embodiment of its owner and will follow only his or her command. Their small size allows them to spy on Gedoushuu activity or act as distractions. Through the use of both mojikara and specifically-designed Secret Discs, a Shinkenger can command their Origami to perform special maneuvers or even grow to giant size to combat the second lives of an Ayakashi monster!

The Shishi, Ryuu, Kuma, Saru, and Kame Origami belong to the core Shinkenger team. Each has a dormant Emblem Mode, which displays the kanji symbol of the specific Shinkenger that controls them.

Shishi Origami

kanji: fire (火)

Ryuu Origami

kanji: water (水)

Kame Origami

kanji: heaven/sky (天)

Kuma Origami

kanji: wood (木)

Saru Origami

kanji: earth (土)

When instructed to, they can unfold themselves into Animal Mode, and act independently/sound like the animals they physically appear as. All are able to fly, though when grown to giant size, only the Ryuu and Kame Origami can still fly (the others become land-bound except for attacks and special maneuvers).

Shishi Origami (lion)

Ryuu Origami (dragon)

Kame Origami (turtle)

Kuma Origami (bear)

Saru Origami (monkey)

Though intelligent on their own, when the Origami grow to giant size through the use of the Henshin Keitai Shodou Phones and mojikara-

“Origami dai-henge” (great change)

kanji: big (大)

-they are boarded by their respective Shinkenger for more-direct control in battle. They can also modify their forms as needed, converting back to a larger version of their Emblem Mode for escape or special attacks.

For the toys, both the Emblem and Animal Modes are at 1/1-scale with how they appear in their smaller forms in the series. (Shrinking/enlarging mecha is rare [thus-far] in the Super Sentai Series, and so to have them in-scale is extra special. Only the living-mecha Engines from 2008’s “Engine Sentai Go-Onger” had their toys in 1/1-scale, which could later grow to gigantic proportions in the series.)

Samurai Gattai

This is what happens when a gattai is performed incorrectly- without mojikara…

kanji: unite (合)

“Shinken-Oh, united under Providence!”

Shinken-Oh’s primary weapon is the DaiShinken katana sword. (The blade is hollow PVC, the rest is ABS.)

Notice the simple-shaped Origami that appears on the blade…

The Hiden Shield (essentially a giant Secret Disc) is normally stored on its back. (This was also true for real samurai in ancient times.)

It can be placed on the side of the left arm…

…or it can be held in either hand, usually the left.

For the toy, the Hiden Shield can be removed from its base…

…and placed onto the Hiden Saiseitou ShinkenMaru. Thus, the Shield becomes the Shinkenger’s own Shield Disc- which is used to activate the Shinken-Oh’s finisher, the DaiShinken Samurai Slash.

The loss of poseability on the separate Origami is no big issue since smaller Super Sentai mecha usually get such treatment anyways. Poseability has never been a strong point in DX-sized mecha, and this one is no different. In this toy- if it moves, it is needed for a transformation only. The exceptions are the jaws of the Shishi, Ryuu, and Kuma Origami, and the shoulders of the combo. In combined form, it is only the shoulders that are dedicated to posing. What does irritate me, though, is the kanji symbols in Emblem Mode- they only appear on one side of the figure rather than both sides. While this is countered a little by the presence of smaller patterned shapes molded into the black surfaces, there is no such black surface on the back of the Shishi Origami- just a mass of folded-up parts. One thing to note that is different from the series is the golden crown on the helmet- it is closed on the toy, whereas in the series there is a gap between the two horns. I seriously doubt this was changed for safety reasons, and was more likely for stability of the plastic used. A returning flaw is really annoying- it cannot hold the full length of the grip of the DaiShinken in the right hand since it is closed on the other side of the fist. One must remember, though, that Bandai and Toei like using puns and play-on-words in their naming of items, mecha, and monsters- Origami (in this case, “folding spirit/god”) is meant to be a homonym of the word origami (“folding paper”). Thus, you need to look at the mecha here not just as more transformable mecha, but as folding and twisting and bending in the same way as the ancient Japanese paper craft. When you can see it that way, the value (or rather, the unusually-high price) of the DX Samurai Gattai Shinken-Oh becomes clearer.

Okay, these Engine combos have just reached the point of ridiculousness...

Video review included!

In one of the eleven dimensions, Machine World is a planet populated by Engines- giant sentient living machines with individual personalities and capabilities. They succeed in driving the destructive Ban KiZoku Gaiarc clan off their world during one of their largest planet-wide races. Unfortunately, the Gaiarc decide to move on into the dimension where Earth is since it seems to be an easier target for them to conquer in order to turn it into the ideal world of unchecked pollution and waste which they favor. Several Engines cross the dimensional barrier to pursue them, but they will begin to suffer fatal rusting if they exist in the atmosphere of the Human World for more than ten minutes at a time! To protect against this, they separate themselves into two halves- inanimate Engine Casts which are smaller versions of their physical bodies, and Engine Souls which contain their life energy and personality. Therefore, they and their smaller rust-resistant assistant Bomper chose five young humans to fight the Gaiarc in their place, and restore them to their larger forms whenever they are needed. Together they form the Flame-god Taskforce Go-On Rangers!

Sets required for this combination:

DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh

Engine Gattai Series #4- Engine Birca

Engine Gattai Series #5- Engine Gunpherd

Engine Gattai Series #6- Engine Carrigator

Engine Gattai Series #7- Engine Toripter

Engine Gattai Series #8- Engine Jettoras

Engine Gattai Series #9- Engine Jumbwhale

Shortly after his arrival, Jumbwhale starts having quiet discussions with Bomper regarding the future of the Engines’ presence on Human World; even Hiroto (Go-On Gold) and Miu (Go-On Silver) who possess Jumbwhale’s Engine Soul and Cast are unawares of why the little white & pink robot is in their mansion. These frequent secret meetings pay-off in Grand Prix 22 - “Final Request”... Though the two Go-On Wings don’t understand at first why Jumbwhale is encouraging the thick-headed and childish Go-Onger, he tells them that it is their determination at whatever they do that makes them strong, even if- unlike the Go-On Wings- they don’t think it through first, and that can be a power unto itself when used correctly. Though initially cheering for Hiramekimedes, the Go-Onger are suddenly enraged when they learn that he betrayed their trust, and they engage the grown Bouseki Banki with Engine Gattai Engine-Oh and Engine Gattai Gunbir-Oh. Though fueled by the betrayal and waste of their earlier efforts to grant the “dying” Hiramekimedes’ last request, Jumbwhale decides that now is the time for the Go-On Wings to formally join with the Go-Onger as a single team since they finally understand the deviousness of the Ban KiZoku Gaiarc. Therefore, he recommends that the three Engine gattai put to good use the new modifications that were secretly carried out by Bomper and him earlier to all nine Engine Casts...

G9 Formation! Engine Gattai!

Hiramekimedes is stunned that the Go-Onger can make a new and even-larger gattai, which was not part of his carefully-laid plans to restore honor to himself and the Gaiarc. Indeed, as Engine-Oh G9 blasts high into the air, Speedor comments that the Wing Clan’s contribution of power is amazing. The Go-Onger and Go-On Wings change their control columns into Handle Blasters and insert their Blaster Souls into both them and the Wing Boosters. As Hiramekimedes retreats in shame and humiliation at the last moment, Engine-Oh G9 uses the combined power of all nine Engines to destroy Bouseki Banki with the G9 Grand Prix.

“Engine-Oh G9: Tune up!”

Engine-Oh G9 (back) is the next super-combo seen in the series after the Engine Gattai Engine-Oh G6, comprised now of nine Engine components. As with Engine-Oh G6, this newer and larger super-combo appears not even at the half-way point of the series, but has the distinction of being only the second nine-part combo in Super Sentai (the first being the Chou Gougou Gattai Super DaiBouken from 2006’s “Gougou Sentai Boukenger”). However, unlike the Super DaiBouken, the Engine-Oh G9’s weakness is that it appears as nothing more than a bunch of Engines casually stacked on top of one other with no real sense of combining beyond physically touching each other.

While Buson, Birca, Gunpherd, & Carrigator remain completely unchanged between this and the earlier Engine-Oh G6, Bear RV disposes of the V shield attached to the back to make way for Jumbwhale to snap in place. (The V Shield, however, is now delegated to- heh- ‘rear guard’ for the new combo- a useless and obstructive plastic lump hanging off Engine-Oh G9’s backpack to swing freely in the breeze.) With Jettoras now contributing his wings to form Engine-Oh G9’s head, Toripter swaps his tail to become stylized airman’s goggles & additional armor for Speedor on the chest! Additionally, Toripter’s rotors slide together to form two blades rather than their standard four. Engine-Oh G6/Gunbir-Oh’s head/helmet piece attaches to the back of Jumbwhale’s undercarriage, which effectively buries it in the super combo while at the same time preventing extra unused pieces from lying around after Engine-Oh G9 is formed. The boxy engines from Jumbwhale separate from beneath his wings and become additional heel supports along the back of Carrigator’s two halves, thus helping to off-set the new four-winged backpack. (Unlike Engine-Oh G6, this combo rests better on carpet despite the additional weight on its back.) Adding these heel supports, unfortunately, prevents most of the wheels on the bottom of the feet from rolling like they used to. On the new winged backpack, however, Jumbwhale’s head is once more turned around so that his eyes are covered (just the same as with his separate Jet Mode), but the light from his Engine Soul is no longer covered-up and can now be easily seen beneath the left upper wing. Remember those holes along the inside of Engine-Oh’s black upper arms that I couldn’t figure out what their use was for? Well, the answer is here... Beneath both Jettoras and Toripter are black pegs which fold down. Then, with Engine-Oh’s arms now folding outwards, the pegs are inserted into the holes, thus perching Jettoras and Toripter atop the left and right arms respectively.

With the addition of the three Wing Clan Engines along the top of the shoulders and back, posing becomes even more limited than before- what little there was to begin with! While the shoulders can still twist up and down, and Birca/Gunpherd can twist at their connection joints as usual, Toripter and Jettoras are just tall enough that they bump into Jumbwhale’s light-gray wings on the backpack. This means, now, that the arms are restricted to only 45-degrees upward motion before being forced to remain there! The only remedy to this is to carefully move the wings and Toripter & Jettoras around (separate things if you wish) until the arms can be pointed 90-degrees upwards. (Ironically, with further fiddling, the arms can continue all the way around to 180-degrees from where they started, but will not go any further. Fortunately, Toripter’s rotor can be removed, but the fact that you have to fight the arms like this to begin with....) With patience, the pose for the G9 Grand Prix finisher can be achieved to somewhat success. Needless to say, this sucks!

Okay, these Engine combos have just reached the point of ridiculousness. We knew that Toripter and Jettoras were blocks of plastic, so any larger combo might not fare well with them. That is proven here. While adding the goggles to Speedor was an odd choice (they don’t really look like goggles anyways, even though they cover just his eyes and the top of his head), it was by simply plunking the two Engines on top of the shoulders that pissed me off. And though they took great paints to hide Engine-Oh G6’s helmet in the backpack (why not?), they left Toripter’s still-free-turning rotor awkwardly on top of him, and then just let the V Shield hang of the back of the combo literally as if they didn’t care! Adding the engine pods to the back of the heels as supports is nice even though it just clutters things up down there a bit more. However, having four wings on the backpack (well... two wings and two sets of rocket engines) instead in a most-decidedly “X”-formation was a cool idea rather than just having one large pair of wings by merely recreating Jumbwhale’s Jet Mode on the back, so props there. (Again, having both halves of Jumbwhale’s tail turning instead of just the flukes would have helped a lot here too.) As a word of caution, though, I would strongly advise against picking up the toy from just the backpack and wings- those three small connection points between Jumbwhale, Speedor, & Bear RV are not that capable, and will snap it off quickly. This, of course, is another reason why I don’t like the V Shield down there- you can’t reach under properly to grab at it back there without bumping into it. (Huh- for that matter, it’s kinda hard to decide where to actually pick it up! Maybe grab one of the legs, or just above the hips...) Make no mistake, though- this is a heavy toy, nearly 12lbs! (Pick-up a gallon-and-a-half of milk, and you’ll get a rough idea how much this thing weighs.)

I think I see a trend going here for the DX toys from “Engine Sentai Go-Onger”: the individual Engines are hit-and-miss depending on your personal taste; the Engine gattai are good-and-bad mixed up cleverly; and then the super combos are not that awesome beyond the ridiculous simplicity of stacking components to make them, their weight, and their unbelievable dimensions. ...At least all the Engine Souls can be activated on the Engine Gattai Engine-Oh G9 even if they can’t all be removed in this state. (That’s good, right? *shrugs*)

. . .

One thing is nagging at me, though, when I look at this: there are still some holes and pegs that haven’t been used on these DX-sized Engines yet, and we’re only at episode 22 out of a planned 50...

The similar flight helmet-design has also been compared to another earlier flying Super Sentai secondary mecha, the DX Delta Formation Time Shadow from 2000’s “Mirai Sentai TimeRanger”; which also had a cockpit on its chest and wings on its shoulders.

Video review included!

In one of the eleven dimensions, Machine World is a planet populated by Engines- giant sentient living machines with individual personalities and capabilities. They succeed in driving the destructive Ban KiZoku Gaiarc clan off their world during one of their largest planet-wide races. Unfortunately, the Gaiarc decide to move on into the dimension where Earth is since it seems to be an easier target for them to conquer in order to turn it into the ideal world of unchecked pollution and waste which they favor. Several Engines cross the dimensional barrier to pursue them, but they will begin to suffer fatal rusting if they exist in the atmosphere of the Human World for more than ten minutes at a time! To protect against this, they separate themselves into two halves- inanimate Engine Casts which are smaller versions of their physical bodies, and Engine Souls which contain their life energy and personality. Therefore, they and their smaller rust-resistant assistant Bomper chose five young humans to fight the Gaiarc in their place, and restore them to their larger forms whenever they are needed. Together they form the Flame-god Taskforce Go-On Rangers!

Sets required for this combination:

Engine Gattai Series #7- Engine Toripter

Engine Gattai Series #8- Engine Jettoras

Engine Gattai Series #9- Engine Jumbwhale

In Grand Prix 20- “Sibling Battle!?”, after the newly-arrived Engine Jumbwhale douses the flames of a warehouse containing the trapped Go-Onger and Go-On Wings, he engages the Gaiarc’s chief tactician, Hiramekimedes, and his Bandou Moth fighters alone- demonstrating his awesome power and aerial prowess as leader of the Wing Clan. When Hiramekimedes retreats to leave Chainsaw Banki to finish off the impertinent Engine, Jumbwhale calls for Go-On Gold and Go-On Silver to summon forth Toripter and Jettoras to help him.

[Jumbwhale]- “Hiroto! Miu! Let’s form the Wings Team!”
[Go-On Silver]- “Roger that! Engine Cast- teleport! Ani? It’s finally here! Enjoy it, okay? Hurry!”
[Go-On Gold]- O.o?
[Jettoras]- “To be able to fight with the veteran hero Jumbwhale...”
[Toripter]- “I’ve been waiting for this moment!”

Engine Gattai! Mission Start!

As its name says, Seiku-Oh is the master of the skies, being a combination of three of the Wing Clan’s finest Engines. It is nimble both in the air and on the ground with both shoulder- and foot-mounted rocket engines, able to avoid incoming fire using the rotor shield on the right arm to deflect attacks, while at the same time returning in-kind with its twirling Jetori Turbulence melee attack and Seiku Sonic multi-weapon blast. To set things right, Seiku-Oh has its own stronger form of the Engine-Oh Jetripter’s Jetori Bull’s-Eye that it can use- a thin energy arrow finisher produced from Jumbwhale’s mouth on its chest, and strained on the left arm by the right, called the Seiku-Oh Seiku Impulse.

“Seiku-Oh- Tune-up!”

Engine Gattai Seiku-Oh (back) - like Jumbwhale does against the individual Engines- has the largest proportions of the three separate Engine gattai seen thus far (41.5cm wide / 28.5cm tall / 22.5cm long), so it takes up an unusual amount of space mostly due to the narrow wings being suspended from the sides of its shoulders. (Unfortunately, in case you’re wondering, the wings cannot be more-conveniently pointed downwards because the leading edge bumps into the other two arm Engines. However, if you must, Jumbwhale’s wings are designed to detach for safety reasons...) Unlike the DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh and Engine Gattai Gunbir-Oh which had large gold exhaust pipes on their heads based on the Engines in each, Seiku-Oh’s head- which features the Go-On Wings’ silver logo- is based more on a military pilot’s helmet & air-breathing mask, and has a red visor. (The similar flight helmet-design has also been compared to another earlier flying Super Sentai secondary mecha, the DX Delta Formation Time Shadow from 2000’s “Mirai Sentai TimeRanger”; which also had a cockpit on its chest and wings on its shoulders.) Jumbwhale’s head, however, is featured prominently on the chest. However, because Jumbwhale’s Engine Soul activation buttons rest along the top of him, they become covered because of this- thus explaining why the toy’s mouth can open at all: to gain access to those buttons when Seiku-Oh is formed. While having large wings above/behind the arms is nothing new to Super Sentai, having the wings be the arms is what sets Seiku-Oh apart. This means that, in order to move its arms up or down, the wings, too, must tilt up-or-down accordingly. Now, because of their positioning at the very front of the main wings, there wasn’t enough space for both the connection points for Jettoras/Toripter and the shoulder joints at the same place. Therefore, the shoulder joint(s) are located just behind the attachment holes for each Engine, so that- when rotated- the attached Engines will pivot slightly forward of the joint itself, though this isn’t really detrimental to the overall design. Again- as with the DX toy version of Engine-Oh Jetripter- Seiku-Oh cannot properly spin the rotor on its right arm unless the arm itself is twisted at the shoulder because it bumps into the right wing! Despite the reach of the wings on the shoulders, Seiku-Oh remains well-balanced when moving the arms about due to its long feet. The legs are again splayed a little as it stands, but even though the thighs have a twisting joint, you cannot really pose it with the legs turned. (The thigh joints are there only for use in a later transformation.) I wish there had been some lever-or-something that could have rotated Jumbwhale’s tail flukes around when combined as Seiku-Oh, because they are really distracting sticking out sideways like that from the feet. (If it is meant to be a flying mecha, then wouldn’t they rather be placed on the ankles or mid-way back on the foot???)

. . .

As far as weapons go, you don’t have any hand-held weapons to deal with. Instead, you have Toripter and Jettoras which you can use the same as you always do with Engine-Oh Jetripter; which means that you get to keep those great elbow-twisting joints. As to Seiku-Oh’s range of motion, it’s pretty much the same as the Engine-Oh’s- just shoulder joints (and no Gee-Dee neck joint either). So that means you still get the standard 45°-increments forward & backwards, and the two rotating elbow joints for more average poses [for a DX Super Sentai mecha]. (It’s really a shame that we didn’t get more of Gunbir-Oh’s dynamic shoulder joints...) Now, unfortunately, if you want to recreate the Seiku-Oh Seiku Impulse finisher, you’re kinda stuck on your own for this. The legs do not move, and snap into those slightly-angled positions while changing Seiku-Oh.

All three Engines Souls are still fully accessible in this form as far as their activation buttons go. However, inserting or removing them while it is transformed like this is in no way easy. While Jumbwhale’s can be easily removed from his back, with Toripter and Jettoras you have to disconnect them since their access doors also are also their elbow connection joints. Ironically, Jumbwhale’s is the only one of the three that you can’t easily see its bright red LED light when it activates in this form; it shines out from under Seiku-Oh’s right armpit.

I’ve already given my recommendations and opinions on the three individual Engines, so I’ll not rehash that here. Despite a return to the norm for posing, this is the second-best of the Engine gattai, in my opinion. The flukes on the feet are annoying, we’re unable to fond the main wings down for a storage form, and the head cannot turn side-to-side or even tilt upwards for no-damned-good reason... again! The legs, while narrow enough and with great long feet, cannot pose once more, and really feel like the weakest-looking point on the whole toy. I also thought it kinda boring that you had to disconnect Jumbwhale’s head to make this transformation. Now, perhaps later on this would be needed, but a pair of fixed-in-place swinging levers would have been nice. While it is supposed to be slimmed down, Toripter and Jettoras literally scrape past Jumbwhale when moving those arms up and down, indicating that the shoulders are a little too close together. The head is nice (except for the complete lack of a neck joint!), as are the winged shoulders, and the two accessory Engines are not misplaced either in the combination. And, I don’t know why, but Jumbwhale’s blocky jet engines on the shoulders aren’t as misplaced as I thought they might be before I got it, so I can’t really complain there. Overall, the Engine Gattai Seiku-Oh is a good design despite its quirks.

…but hold on a moment-! Jumbwhale has one last role to fulfill before I’m done with him.

In Grand Prix 22 – “Final Request”, Hiramekimedes is banished from the Gaiarc for failing to defeat the Go-Onger and Go-On Wings as he promised. Wishing to revenge himself upon the Gaiarc, he seeks out the Go-Onger to help him. Before he dies from injuries sustained in an earlier assassination attempt by Bouseki Banki against him, Hiramekimedes challenges Hiroto (Go-On Gold) and Toripter to a one-on-one air race- if the Wing Clan Engine wins, he would divulge the location of the Gaiarc’s Hellgaille Palace island headquarters. Go-On Gold accepts, and then wins the race. But when they arrive, Go-On realizes that he has been set-up, and that Hiramekimedes wasn’t actually expelled from the Gaiarc! Go-On Silver, Jettoras, and Jumbwhale arrive ahead of the Go-Onger, and Seiku-Oh is formed to beat back the grown yarn-spinning Bouseki Banki. Due to the fake island’s suddenly-bad weather, Seiku-Oh cannot fly, and is being heavily assaulted. Then the Go-Onger arrive to cheer on Hiramekimedes, unaware of his betrayal just yet (having swam Engine-Oh and Gunbir-Oh across the Pacific Ocean to the island). Thought the two Go-On Wings still cannot see why Jumbwhale has such faith in the Go-Onger despite their immaturity, the Go-Onger are filled with rage and attack Bouseki Banki...

Engine Gattai Series #9- Engine Jumbwhale is the final component required to make a new combination which also utilizes all seven DX sets released thus far. And so, please go on to the final page to read the review on the Engine Gattai Engine-Oh G9!

Like most of the other Engines, this one looks best when not combined in any way, though I think the Jet Mode is a little awkward even if a good idea, and throws that off a little. It’s a very reasonable design and is one of my favorites from the Engine line.

Video review included!

My special thanks go out to Jose (and his unnamed friend) over at Kicks-Hobby Japan for finding this for me.

Three 1.5 volt (LR44) batteries are required to operate electronic light-&-sound feature within the Engine Soul, and should be replaced by a responsible adult.

Adequate batteries have already been installed in the Engine Soul by the manufacturer and do not need to be immediately replaced. However, to activate the feature, you must first manually remove the small white tag from the back of the cartridge before it can work; this is a one-time issue. Nothing other than the Engine Soul on this toy requires batteries.

In one of the eleven dimensions, Machine World is a planet populated by Engines- giant sentient living machines with individual personalities and capabilities. They succeed in driving the destructive Ban KiZoku Gaiarc clan off their world during one of their largest planet-wide races. Unfortunately, the Gaiarc decide to move on into the dimension where Earth is since it seems to be an easier target for them to conquer in order to turn it into the ideal world of unchecked pollution and waste which they favor. Several Engines cross the dimensional barrier to pursue them, but they will begin to suffer fatal rusting if they exist in the atmosphere of the Human World for more than ten minutes at a time! To protect against this, they separate themselves into two halves- inanimate Engine Casts which are smaller versions of their physical bodies, and Engine Souls which contain their life energy and personality. Therefore, they and their smaller rust-resistant assistant Bomper chose a team of young humans to fight the Gaiarc in their place, and restore them to their larger forms whenever they are needed. Together with the arrogant & expertly-trained Go-On Wings, they form the Engine Sentai Go-Onger!

So far, the Go-Onger have had it rather easy in their fight to prevent the Gaiarc from taking over Earth. But now, the mighty Engines are all cowering before the evil genius of the Land-Pollution Vice-Minister & Gaiarc’s tactician Hirame-- ummm...

Hiramesusukidesu- Hirakimekimedesu-- (Hang on- I’ll get it...) Hiramekideathme- Hiramekiss- Hira-Hi-- rrrrgh!

Wait- it’s Hiramekimedes! (Yeah- that’s it.)

He is the only Gaiarc whom the Engines have never been able to defeat, and they fear him greatly for all the devastation he caused on Machine World. Unfortunately, Hiramekimedes suddenly disappeared just before the three Gaiarc ministers were defeated on Machine World, and no one’s heard from him since... until now. So his sudden arrival on Earth has shaken the Engines badly and sent them running for cover, leaving the Go-Onger near-powerless! And even when they manage to outwit him just one time, Hiramekimedes is still able to keep the upper hand! But then, suddenly, two new Engines appear from out of the clouds...

. . .

A few episodes earlier, the Suto siblings learned that their mentor from Engine World, Jumbwhale has arrived on Earth to help them as they fight against the Gaiarc. Then, in Grand Prix 20 – “Sibling Battle!?”, Mia is disheartened when she finds out that her brother Hiroto has been courting other girls in order to find another career, and that he was staying as part of the Go-On Wings team because of her. So Mia tries to strike out on her own against Chainsaw Banki, determined to show that he need not stay for her sake if that is his wish. Feeling that his kohai are conflicted, Instructor Jumbwhale launches from his giant secret hangar in a commercial airport, and extinguishes the flames surrounding the Go-Onger and Go-On Wings. Making sure that they are okay, he then engages Banki fighters alone with his fiery Jet Mode! With Hiramekimedes retreating to leave the grown Chainsaw Banki to finish them off, Jumbwhale instructs Jettoras and Toripter to join with him in the sky....

Engine Number 9 – Jumbwhale (back) As the leader of the Wing Clan back on Machine World, he doesn’t need a human partner. However, Hiroto Suto (Go-On Gold) keeps his Engine Soul cartridge safe. He is represented as a combination of a commercial airliner and a blue whale. Jumbwhale is both wise and just- able to anticipate problems that may arise, but is modest about is position and intelligence. In addition to firing the Bowhale Beam- which fires multiple energy shots from his engines and undercarriage cannons- he is also big (easily dwarfing even a 70.6m-long Boeing 747-400) and his armor is thick enough that he can simply plow straight through any attack or even swallow Bandou Moth fighters whole! Though he casually cruises through the clouds, when needed most, Jumbwhale can split his tail apart and merge the two halves with his wings to for a large flying wing-like Jet Mode with much faster rocket-powered speeds and cornering abilities. As a life form from Machine World, he ends most of his sentences with the second syllable of his name- “Bwaaae!” Jumbwhale , as leader of the Wing Clan, can initiate powerful combinations on his own, and so he serves as the head, torso, and legs of the Engine Gattai Seiku-Oh.

Blue whales- Balaenoptera musculus- are still the largest animals to ever inhabit the Earth, with an average length of 32.9m (108’) and weighing up to 172 metric tones (190t)! By contrast, the largest aircraft ever made in the world is the Antonov An-124 Ruslan Russian military transport which is 68.96m (226’ 3”)-long and has a max-take-off weight of 405,000 kg (893,000 lbs). However, because of the seven turquoise windows above the main wings and considering his name, perhaps Jumbwhale is meant to resemble a jumbo jet like the four-engine Boeing 747 passenger airliner because of its trademarked hump just behind the cockpit. While Jumbwhale does have that extended-cabin hump, it is not immediately noticeable amongst the other dorsal surface details, which makes determining this tricky. Additionally, because of their hollow design, Jumbwhale’s angular engine nacelles and T-tail design may give him connections to cargo planes as well. Undoubtedly, though, he’s a wide-body Engine...

Jumbwhale is the biggest Engine toy released yet as far as his dimensions- 43.5cm (17”) wingspan, 32cm (12½”) length, and 13.5cm (4¾”) tall; though Engine Gattai Series #6- Engine Carrigator may be slightly heavier. He has 12 small black ABS wheels along the undercarriage between his wings, on each of the cargo containers/engines on his wings, and beneath his tail which all freely spin. Along the top of each main wing is the profile of a blue whale’s ventral fins (where the silver Go-On Wings logo is also located), and each wing also features a raked wingtip. In addition to the horizontal stabilizers looking like a whale’s main flukes, the T-tail extends below the fuselage, ending in another set of wheels. This extended vertical stabilizer serves the combined Seiku-Oh as much as providing additional balance for Jumbwhale alone. While the blue whale has a single very small dorsal fin along the back-third of its tail, Jumbwhale has four multi-layered silver fins along his tail (these more for decoration at the Seiku-Oh’s knees than anything else). His head is rounded and features pre-applied yellow-&-orange eye decals along with the red-painted cockpit windows, silver-painted baleen (what looks like ‘teeth’ but are not such), and a large white jaw that can open up (which exposes part of Seiku-Oh’s head in the process). The undercarriage feature six of his wheels, but because it is the housing for the Engine Soul (see below), it cannot be retracted. However, two of the barrels that he uses for his Bowale Beam attack are set on pivot points and can flip up & down (though this is more due to how they’re used later on).

. . .

Jumbwhale has two special features that go beyond just his vehicle mode…

The first involves the two engine nacelles. These can separate from his wings, and each opens up to reveal a hollow interior. By itself, this is a pointless feature as far as the other DX-sized Engine sets (and truthfully I find no need to use it). However, Bandai created a short line of die-cast Hot Wheels®-sized (1½”) Chogokin Engine vehicles of Speedor, Buson, Bear RV, Birca, & Gunpherd that can fit one at a time into the compartment engine pods. (I don’t have-or-want any of the mini-Engines, so I can’t demonstrate this.)

The other is more relevant, and that is Jumbwhale’s Jet Mode. The back-half of the fuselage splits apart just behind his main wings, and swing apart. The two fuselage parts each connect to the inner edge of the main wings, and then each tail fluke & the wheels beneath it twist around independently to keep pointing forward. And finally, his head pops-off, is twisted around 180°, and put back on in this new inverted position. Twisting Jumbwhale’s head around for his Jet Mode (back) has the effect of covering up his eyes, so to make sure he can still see where he’s going, he now has a green-painted cockpit canopy on the bottom of his white mouth rather than the red airliner windscreens. (Does it make a convincing jet fighter cockpit? I don’t think so.) Because of the shift in weight for this flying-wing form, the landing gear are wider spaced to help keep his balance when resting on a flat surface. The point of splitting apart the fuselage, though, is to expose the multiple rocket engines along each half.

In addition to future accessory DX Engine sets, the common ‘collecting’ gimmick is the battery-powered Engine Soul cartridge. These serve as a replacement in all of the toys for a dedicated light-and-sound effect. Each Engine Soul shares an identical shape (2 ½” x 1 ¾” x 9/16”, or 2.57cm x 4.5cm x 1.5cm), has a single bright red LED light (which can project over 6ft / 2m in a dark room!), a large decal which identifies it, and they all have some generic sounds. Because of this, any Engine Soul (or Change Soul, which I won’t get into here) can be fitted into any properly-fitted toy that can accept one. But, the gimmick is that each Engine Soul has a unique set of sound effects...

The Engine Gattai Series #9 set comes with Jumbwhale’s Engine Soul. It is uniquely identified by its dark navy blue ABS casing, the stylized “9”, and the phrases “ES” & “09” on the front decal. While each of the Engines in the “Go-Onger” line can accept an Engine Soul, only Jumbwhale’s is provided; however, it will work equally in all of them since, again, all Engine Soul cartridges are the same size. The storage compartment is located in in the undercarriage beneath his main wings. To access it, you pull back on a small lever, flip the door down, and stick it in. (Care must be taken when inserting his Engine Soul as this is the first Engine to have the cartridge compartment on the bottom of the toy!) The bright red LED light from the Engine Soul shines through a hole in the right side of the fuselage, just above the left wing. (The sound hole is on the opposite side.)

Jumbwhale’s Engine Soul- unlike most previous Engine Souls- now has five unique effects- all performed by the same seiyu from the series, Tomomichi Nishimura. (He makes his Super Sentai debut here, but is best known for more-numerous anime and video game performances). He says:

• Jum-bwhale!
• 'Bwaaae!
• ???: take-off!
• Attention please!
• Mission Start!

The phrases will always play in that order, each preceded by the same sound of a jet plane flying past. Now, if you place Jumbwhale’ Engine Soul into any other DX Engine set, it’ll say the same things, but it’ll obviously be inaccurate since that’s not the right Engine for it to go with. Also, since English is the primary language used in the commercial aviation industry world-wide, it is not much of a surprise that Jumbwhale speaks a lot of it rather than Japanese for all these phrases.

Like most of the DX Engines before him, access to Jumbwhale’ alternate/generic sound effects can be accessed in both his regular mode and transformed mode:

• Go-On!
• 'Bwaaae!

This time, however, instead of a jet p[lane flying overhead, you hear a power-up sound followed closely by energy blasts (presumably from his Bowale Beam attack). But it is still Jumbwhale speaking.

As with all other earlier Engine Souls, if you press both of Jumbwhale’s sound-activating buttons at the same time, most of these phrases will be repeated (though now preceded by the crackle of a radio), but now two new phrases will also sound which can only be found in this way:

• ???: Go-On!
• Bon Voyage! (French, "Good Voyage")

One final addition is made here, which Engine Gattai Series #7- Engine Toripter and #8- Engine Jettoras also shares. And that is that when you hold down either of the buttons for any length of extra time, you will hear the respective sound effect (jet flying or weapon firing), and then regardless of which sound effect you stopped on earlier, you will hear Jumbwhale proclaim in Japanese:

• ???: take-off!

So, that makes three new effects piled into this new Engine Soul which are each triggered in different ways from each other!

The activation buttons for Jumbwhale are the small dark navy blue squares on top of the fuselage behind his head.

For those of you wondering the differences are between the Engine Gattai Series #9- Engine Jumbwhale from “Engine Sentai Go-Onger”, and its English-speaking counterpart- the Whale Carrier included in the [Deluxe] Mach Megazord from “Power Rangers RPM”- well, let’s just say that 2008 was a very good year to be importing…

In addition to being sold in a set with two other Zord Attack Vehicles (the Chicken Copter and Tiger Fighter), they are two completely different toys. Bandai America scaled down all of the DX-class Engines to make them more affordable to sell during the 2009 world financial crisis. However, this came at the cost of removing all electronic features (an Engine Cell chip is still provided), and shrinking down the toy by about a third. Materials were relatively un-changed (there was no die-cast metal in Jumbwhale), but the Whale Carrier is a complete redesign.

I have to say that this is one of my favored Engines. Though covered from nose-to-tail in connection points to be used later on, as a stand-alone it does well. Both the wings and flukes can separate if too much pressure is applied, and I found that to save space when stored on the shelf without combining it, the wings can be conveniently folded back. Perhaps his biggest weakness is those rather boxy engine pods that separate- if you don’t have Chogokin Engines, then they only prove their worth when used in combinations. While cross-breeding toy lines is not unheard-of in Super Sentai (*cough*Boukenger*cough*), I didn’t think it really did any good here. As for the jet Mode, I thought that if both the tail and flukes could have turned rather than just the flukes, it would have helped a lot, though I was impressed that the tail landing gear could also turn. But why turn the head around for that!? Oh well... Anyways, the Engine Soul is good, and I just like the overall size of this thing, and that’s it’s not just another lump of plastic. Like most of the other Engines, this one looks best when not combined in any way, though I think the Jet Mode is a little awkward even if a good idea, and throws that off a little. It’s a very reasonable design and is one of my favorites from the Engine line, so I recommend getting the Engine Gattai Series #9 – Engine Jumbwhale!

…but wait-! The story’s not over yet!

With Hiramekimedes on the run, Jumbwhale calls Toripter and Jettoras aloft to help him finish off Chainsaw Banki. Go-On Gold and Go-On Silver are honored to be with their powerful and wise Instructor once more after their training on Machine World months ago.

Attention please! Engine gattai!

Engine Gattai Series #9- Engine Jumbwhale is the final component required to make a new combination which also utilized both Engine Toripter and Engine Jettoras. And so, please proceed to the next page to read the review on the Engine Gattai Seiku-Oh!

Leonardo Flores reviews Bandai's Godaikin's Goggle V and how his brother Michael should replace the part he threw away when he "cleaned" the room.

Goggle V

It is fascinating how some series are just going on for years with each new generation discovering a particular program every year and making it theirs. Series like James Bond, Dr Who, Godzilla and Super Sentai are reaching or have passed their 40-year mark and still going quite strong. We all have our favorite Bond, Doctor, Godzilla and Super Sentai programs and have gotten in heated debates with our friends about the subject.

Take Super Sentai for instance. My favorite Sentai group is JAKQ Dengekitai and I just cannot get into Super Sentai starting with and after Maskman. I don’t know what it is but starting with Maskman the art design of the Chogokins and uniforms just don’t do it for me, as the late 80’s designs and music is just too late 80’s in my point of view and the 90’s and 00’s the Robot art design is just too busy for my modernist mid-century tastes. But I am sure that some younger fans who grew up with the 90’s Super Sentai shows would feel the early Super Sentai designs are dated and crude.

I like the simple clean and colorful look of the early Super Sentai robots such as Goggle V, Sun Vulcan, Dynaman and Changeman.

Bandai’s Godaikin range of re-boxed Japanese Chogokin robots for the export market was the transcending line of toys that kicked up the benchmark for kids that were infatuated with Japanese robot toys. Godaikin said, ”respect” and I respected. Even at an early age I somehow grasped that Godaikin toys were important even though nearly all the releases did not have any TV shows to promote their figures.

Somehow we had to piece together what Godaikin toys were all about. Regardless if they were from an anime or tokusatsu program the robots were just amazing. Godaikin figures were nearly all die cast, with chrome plastic details, colorful stickers, bright painted features, huge boxes with foam trays, shooting missiles and fists, cryptic names in Kanji on the chest, full color instructions, and bonus figures that confused matters even more. To this day Godaikin toys are some of the finest ever manufactured and the great success of Soul of Chogokin owes their pedigree to Godaikin.

I bought Goggle V at the toy discount store Kay-Bee Toy store at the Montclair Plaza back in the 1980’s for what I remember $15.00. Because Godaikin toys did not have TV programs to help promote the line, many uneducated kids saw these as Transformers and Go-Bots knock-offs, similar to something you find at a swap meet. Accordingly you could find many Godaikin products at the toy discount outlets, marked down to sometime more than 50% of its retail price.

Figuring out what Goggle V or Super Sentai in general was quite another matter that would be cleared up when Friday Night Flight debut its comically dubbed version of Dynaman. Although I first saw Dynaman on a lazy Sunday afternoon in 1986 on channel 11, it was Friday Night Flight, an alternative TV cable show that aired each Friday night to Saturday morning, that regularly showed Dynaman.

When I saw first viewed Dynaman I flipped out and thought I already had the robot in my collection, but it later turned out that I had a different robot but I somehow knew they were connected in some way. It would be years later that I would know the true connection between Dynaman, and Great Squadron Goggle V and many of the other Godaikin releases and its relation to a genre called Super Sentai.

Here's the opening for Goggle V and the theme is also in my top 5 Super Sentai Themes ever and Goggle Pink is way hot! ...And if I only knew the Goggle Dump flew when I was a kid.

Goggle V Comes with: 1x Goggle Jet, 1x Goggle Tank, 2x Goggle Dump halves, 1x Earth Sword, 1x Goggle Cutter, 1x Goggle Hand, 1x Goggle Spindle, 1x Goggle Shield, 2x right fists, 2x left fists, 3x kaiju cards, 6x Missiles, 1x Godaikin Catalog,1x color instruction booklet. Goggle V is packed in a slide tray box. There are no options.

Goggle V is made up of three vehicles, Goggle Jet, Goggle Tank and Goggle Dump. Goggle V is one of the smaller of the Godaikin DX sized releases. Small that it might be it still stands quite tall especially compared to recent Soul of Chogokin releases. It is made up of about 75% die cast and accordingly it is a bit heavy for its size. The paint is bright and thick and applied well. I love the chrome stickers applied throughout.

Goggle Jet is a cool little vehicle. To convert the jet into the head and chest area for Goggle Robo just telescope the wings into the body of the plane and fold down the stabilizers and rudder. I think the face sculpt is one of the best of the series. To reveal Goggle V Robo’s face just turn the cockpit around and the face will be revealed.

Goggle tank is a fun little eight-wheeled vehicle typical of the 1970’s and 1980’s Super Sentai / Chogokin era. It is a nice die-cast solid vehicle with a turret on top, which shoots two yellow missiles that are provided. The detailed chrome sticker underneath the turret is a nice touch by Bandai. To transform the Tank into Goggle Robo body just open the bottom of the tank fold out the arms and fold in the wheels.

As much as I love the Goggle Tank and Goggle Jet I just do not understand why Goggle V’s legs are a dump truck, which even threw me for a spin when I was kid. Everybody knows the legs are supposed to be some kind of submarine! Nevertheless Goggle Dump is still a nice little vehicle made with some solid metal content with two rotating carriers and a dump bed which folds to a dumper. The Goggle Dump solidly snaps together and apart with two yellow folding pegs and to convert it to Goggle Robo legs just fold in the dumping beds and snap apart the dump truck and fold up the feet.

All the vehicles snap together quite firmly and once it is in Goggle Robo mode it is a solid toy. Unfortunetly there is not much of articulation to speak just the arms having the ability to move up and down. But in today’s contempory days of ultra articulation this might seem like a bad feature but back when I was a kid I had so much fun with this toy and it was one of my favorites. Do not get me wrong I hope a Soul of Chogokin version is released but this version of Goggle V is excellent as it is.

Goggle V also comes with some great weapons. A nice large plastic chrome Earth Sword is included. Four shooting fists are also included to shoot at your cat or small dog, and a Goggle Shield is included to defend yourself from that same cat or small dog.

Three others weapons are included: a Goggle Cutter claw that snaps into the fist, a Goggle Hand mace on a real metal chain and Goggle Spindle. It looks like the Spindle should fit into something and I never figured out how the Spindle fitted with any other part, if at all. The Spindle is just a strange accessory that does not lend itself to the rest of the toy.

If you notice one part is missing, the chained Goggle Hand mace. When I was younger I had to share a room with my older brother (Yes you Michael) and I had all my robots displayed on the headboard that had a shelf above my bed. One day I get home and all my robots were gone! My brother Michael decided to “clean” our room and threw out my now thousands of dollars worth of robots in a box and threw out all the loose accessories in the dumpster.

The rest of the afternoon was spent going though the dumpster retrieving GI Joe, Spiral Zone, Godaikin, and Robotech parts. I never did find the Goggle Hand mace. Am I still angry with my brother Michael? Of course I’m still quite angry about that, we’re talking Godaikin here! I lost a lot of cool things that day and maybe I should ask him to replace it, that is something a brother would do!

You simply cannot go wrong with any of the Godaikin line of Chogokins. The packaging is always excellent, and the figure and accessories are top notch. Although Goggle V is a bit smaller than the other Godaikins it still a nice even release that is still quite impressive nearly 25 years later.

Article & Pictures © 2009 Leonardo Flores & CollectionDX.

This set is a repaint of the lead combining robo DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh. Most of what you see here is the same between the two sets, except for coloring and a few new molds. It is the differences that will be the focus of this review...

Video review included!

This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan.

Three 1.5 volt (LR44) batteries are required to operate electronic light-&-sound feature within the Engine Soul, and should be replaced by a responsible adult.

Adequate batteries have already been installed in the Engine Soul by the manufacturer and do not need to be immediately replaced. However, to activate the feature, you must first manually remove the small white tag from the back of the cartridge before it can work; this is a one-time issue. Nothing other than the Engine Soul on this toy requires batteries.

In one of the eleven dimensions, Machine World is a planet populated by Engines- giant sentient living machines with individual personalities and capabilities. They succeed in driving the destructive Ban KiZoku Gaiarc clan off their world during one of their largest planet-wide races. Unfortunately, the Gaiarc decide to move on into the dimension where Earth is since it seems to be an easier target for them to conquer in order to turn it into the ideal world of unchecked pollution and waste which they favor. Several Engines cross the dimensional barrier to pursue them, but they will begin to suffer fatal rusting if they exist in the atmosphere of the Human World for more than ten minutes at a time! To protect against this, they separate themselves into two halves- inanimate Engine Casts which are smaller versions of their physical bodies, and Engine Souls which contain their life energy and personality. Therefore, they and their smaller rust-resistant assistant Bomper chose a team of young humans to fight the Gaiarc in their place, and restore them to their larger forms whenever they are needed. Together with the arrogant & expertly-trained Go-On Wings, they form the Engine Sentai Go-Onger!

(The tie-in 2008 movie, “Engine Sentai Go-Onger: Boom Boom! Bang Bang! GekijoBang!!” aired during the series, and directly influences episodes 39 and 40. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find detailed-enough descriptions of the movie where/when Engine DaiShogun makes its debut, but I can still provide summaries of the episodes it makes a cameo in.)

In Grand Prix 39- “Nostalgic Children”, Yatai Banki lures children into his carnivals with the intent that, when they grow up, they will do nothing but party and nothing will be accomplished, which will make Earth far easier to subvert. Unfortunately Water Pollution Minister Kitaneidas severely and foolishly underestimates how long it takes children to become adults! But then, two Yoma monsters from Samurai World arrive and inform the two Gaiarc ministers that they are looking for two children that escape their dimension with a powerful sword... who Yatai Banki just-so happened to capture before he was destroyed! The two ministers lure the cautious and distrustful Samurai World children away from the fighting Go-Onger and take the sword. Then they summon the completely-rusted Engine Gattai Engine DaiShogun from Samurai World, and use the Human World counterpart of the Honoshu Warrior Retsutaka to command the Wandering Engine gattai. This lookalike uses the sword (which the real Retsutaka forged with a part of his own soul before his demise) to command the now-soulless Engine DaiShogun to be revived and destroy the world!

In Grand Prix 40- “Shogun Revival”, Engine-Oh, Gunbir-Oh and Seiku-Oh attempt to intercept Engine DaiShogun, but the two Yoma monsters overwhelm them, and force them to fall back- allowing the devastation to continue uncontested long into the night. During that time, trying to figure out why the mirror-Retsutaka wants Engine DaiShogun to rampage on, the Go-Onger learn that he is very lonely, perpetually-homeless, and has become a resentful person who is always looked down on; if the world no longer exists, then he will find peace. As they reason with the scornful man, the two Yoma monsters betray the Gaiarc ministers, and reveal that they will take Earth for themselves once Engine DaiShogun finishes it off. By morning, when the man refuses to call off Engine DaiShogun, Go-On Red has no choice but to summon Kyouretsu-Oh and regretfully destroy it himself. When the Yoma monsters move to intercept him, the other three Engine gattai appear and join in the fray. Having thought the matter over, the mirror-Retsutaka orders Engine DaiShogun to stop its attacks on the four Engine gattai and shrink into the Wandering Engines’ separate Engine Casts. Growing themselves, the Yoma monsters plan to finish off Earth with or without Engine DaiShogun. Their own Engine Casts still injured, Speedor, Buson, and Bear RV insert their Engine Souls into the three Wandering Engine Casts for a special one-time battle as Engine Gattai Engine DaiShogun! And finally, after the Yoma are destroyed, Go-On Red orders the Ancient Engines Kishamoth, Tyline, and Keline to transport the two children back through the dimensional portal to Samurai World where they belong- taking with them the sword and the Engine Casts of the three lifeless Wandering Engines for safekeeping. Feeling good about the choice he has made, the mirror-Retsutaka disappears and continues on with his life in Human World.

• Wandering Engine 1 - Retsu-Taka (back) His human Honoshu form is Retsutaka because the evil Empress Maki in Samurai World used her magic to prevent his life-force from changing into an Engine Soul. In the event of his demise and that of his companion Honoshu, Retsutaka forged a sword tied to their Engine Casts to prevent them from being used for evil purposes. He is represented as a combination of a falcon and a hot rod. Retsu-Taka forms the head, arms, and upper torso of the Engine DaiShogun.
• Retsu-Taka is portrayed by actor Kento Handa, who is better known as playing the lead hero role in “Kamen Rider 555” (2003)!



• Wandering Engine 2 Shishi-no-Shin (back) His human Honoshu form is Shishinoshin because the evil Empress Maki in Samurai World used her magic to prevent his life-force from changing into an Engine Soul. He is represented as a combination of a mythical lion and a passenger bus. Shishi-no-Shin forms the lower torso, legs and Engine Ken of the Engine DaiShogun.
• Shishi-no-Shin is portrayed by actor Jyunichi Haruta, who has played in two different roles in Super Sentai previously- Goggle Black from “Dai Sentai Goggle V” (1982) and Dyna Black from “Kagaku Sentai Dynaman” (1983)!



• Wandering Engine 3 Tsuki-no-Wa (back) Her human Honoshu form is Tsukinowa because the evil Empress Maki in Samurai World used her magic to prevent her life-force from changing into an Engine Soul. She is represented as a combination of a black bear and an all-terrain buggy. Tsuki-no-Wa forms the center torso of the Engine DaiShogun.
• Tsuki-no-Wa is portrayed by actress Mika Kikuchi, who- among other roles- is known to Super Sentai as DekaPink from “Tokusou Sentai DekaRanger” (2004)!

I must get this out of the way right away so that I don’t have to be clever about sounding like this is an original set. It is not. This set is a repaint of the lead combining robo DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh. Most of what you see here is the same between the two sets, except for coloring and a few new molds. It is the differences that will be the focus of this review...

. . .

As opposed to stylized Roman numerals with animal features like all of the regular Engines from the series have, the three Wandering Engines use Japanese daiji numerals reminiscent of the Edo period (1603-1868 CE) which is prominently represented in Samurai World. Each numeral is written in stylized scripture:

• Retsu-Taka’s symbol is 壱, which is the number “1”.
• Shishi-no-Shin’s symbol is 弐, which is the number “2”.
• Tsuki-no-Wa’s symbol is 参, which is the number “3”.

(Though these symbols are used even today in legal documents, newer symbols are used more commonly throughout Japan.)

Retsu-Taka, Shishi-no-Shin, & Tsuki-no-Wa- instead of being dressed in unique colors mirroring those of Speedor, Buson, & Bear RV- are painted and molded in identical base black with burgundy, gold, and silver highlights; to reflect typical coloring used on traditional samurai armor. Additionally, all three Wandering Engines’ eyes are green as opposed to blue, brown, and green.

Retsu-Taka’s beak has been heavily modified so that it has both tiny molded-in bolts holding bands of armor in place, and then a very large golden crest/crown can be held securely on it. Along the back, the wing-like spoilers above the rear wheels have been modified to have a more-stylized feather appearance. These, and the Engine DaiShogun's arms beneath, can be extended in an identical way to resemble Speedor's flight form (though he does not do this in either the movie or series cameo).

Shishi-no-Shin’s molds are identical to Buson’s, but two brand new parts have been added. A golden mustache (found on traditional artwork from that era) is snapped into the two holes on his face. The mustache can pop off if need-be, which then shows that Shishi-no-Shin’s face is still identical to Buson’s save for coloring. Shishi-no-Shin also has a display sign above his face, but instead of the phrase saying (in English) “Go-Onger”, the Japanese phrase- again in kanji- is 風林火山, says “Wind forest volcano”. (I had to trust an online automated translation for that, so it may have appeared/translated more awkwardly than it actually is.) Also like Buson, Shishi-no-Shin carries the Engine DaiShogun’s sword. But instead of collapsing down and being stored within the Engine Cast, the Engine Ken (literally “Engine Sword”) is stored externally with the use of specially-designed clips that fit in the holes at are used for the Engine-Oh G12 combination. The Engine Ken will only fit onto the left side however. Because the Engine Ken is stored outside, both of Shishi-no-Shin’s internal compartments are not utilized.

Tsuki-no-Wa’s modification is far more limited- only her button nose was modified slightly to have two tiny bolts and some armor bands. But her nose retains the trademark stylized “G” that the Go-Onger, Go-On Wings, and all of the Engines have.

[Go-On Red]- “Renn, Saki, let’s go! Retsutaka, please fight with us!”

“Ready!”

[Go-On Red]- “Speedor Soul, set!”
[Go-On Blue]- “Buson Soul, set!”
[Go-On Yellow]- “Bear RV Soul, set!”

“Go!”

[Speedor]- “What power!”
[Buson]- “I don’t feel the pain at all!”
[Bear RV]- “Let’s go! Just for today, we’re Engine DaiShogun!”

Engine Gattai!

Though similar in appearance to Engine-Oh, the reemerged Engine DaiShogun displays a notable increase in strength and endurance - which is remarked upon by Speedor, Buson, and Bear RV when their Engine Souls were placed inside of the Wandering Engines’ Casts. Its primary weapon is the Engine Ken, which it holds proudly at its left hip when it is not being used. With the gold-and-red katana, it can perform the powerful GouOn Guren Giri- where the Engine Ken grows larger and slashes horizontally through the Yoma monsters as tall banners fly in the wind behind the Engine gattai.

“Engine DaiShogun: Grandly marching into battle!”

Again I will not go through a complete description of the Engine Gattai Engine DaiShogun (back) except to say that it is a repaint of the Engine-Oh. Some things are functionally different, however. Perhaps the most prominent in this form is the grand crown-like horns on its head- removed from Retsu-Taka’s beak. While the hole in the beak is now exposed, flipping over his engine block reveals that though the head and face are pretty much the same, a hole has been placed on the forehead which allows the crown to be snapped into place. (The crown itself is composed of three parts- the outer edges made of PVC for safety, and are capable of separating if forced.) The two feathered spoilers along Retsu-Taka’s back half now are seen as part of the shoulder armor. On the back of the shoulder armor, the two decals in the set have also been changed so that they now resemble golden clouds on a black background. Shishi-no-Shin’s mustache is not removed in this mode either, but the Engine Ken is since Engine DaiShogun cannot stand properly with it still attached to the leg. To keep the Engine Ken close at hand, a different tab along above the other two on the side of it allow the sword to be attached to one of the slots on Engine DaiShogun’s back- just the same as samurai kept their own weapons stored; it even tilts a little diagonally! Oddly, though the toy’s does this, in the series Engine DaiShogun always holds the Engine Ken in its left hand near its left hip (also a traditional position for when katana were about to be drawn in battle). But do not be fearful- the toy can also do this (though the grip still isn’t quite as tight as I would have liked). Again, the compartments in the legs are not utilized in this set like they are in the DX Engine-Oh.

Though the Engine-Oh had the V Shield (the folded-over undercarriage of Bear RV) stored on its back which could be removed, Engine DaiShogun does not use [the] shield in either the movie or the series even though the toy can still remove it’s.

In addition to future accessory DX Engine sets, the common ‘collecting’ gimmick is the battery-powered Engine Soul cartridge. These serve as a replacement in all of the toys for a dedicated light-and-sound effect. Each Engine Soul shares an identical shape (2 ½” x 1 ¾” x 9/16”, or 2.57cm x 4.5cm x 1.5cm), has a single bright red LED light (which can project over 6ft / 2m in a dark room!), a large decal which identifies it, and they all have some generic sounds. Because of this, any Engine Soul (or Change Soul, which I won’t get into here) can be fitted into any properly-fitted toy that can accept one. But, the gimmick is that each Engine Soul has a unique set of sound effects...

. . .

The DX Engine DaiShogun set comes with a special-edition Engine Soul. It is uniquely identified by its transparent neon-yellow ABS casing, the stylized Go-Onger “G” symbol, and the phrases “ES” & “00” on the front decal. While each of the Engines in the “Go-Onger” line can accept an Engine Soul, it will work equally in all of them since, again, all Engine Soul cartridges are the same size. The storage compartment for each Engine has a small door that must be unlatched in order to place the Engine Soul inside. When inside of them, the Engine Soul in Retsu-Taka and Tsuki-no-Wa can be activated by pressing in on their noses, while you have to press up on Shishi-no-Shin’s back wheels (which explain their mysteriously spring-like suspension).

When you first place the Engine Soul cartridge into any containing compartment, you will hear the typical power-up sound, followed closely by the sound of Japanese horns- the same horns that are heard when the Engines grow to their full size in the movie and series!

This special Engine Soul- unlike all other Engine Souls- does not have any spoken phrases; since the three Honoshu warriors were the souls of the three Wandering Engines, then no physical Engine Soul cartridges were used/made. Therefore, there is no proper placement of this particular cartridge into any of the three Engine Casts. Placing it into Retsu-Taka, however, would be the best way to utilize all of its sound effects:

• When not combined into Engine DaiShogun, if Retsu-Taka’s beak is pressed, the special cartridge will produce a different sound of taiko drums!
• When combined into Engine DaiShogun, there are two sound effects available-
• a key musical phrase from the series/movie
• taiko drums beating in a third unique pattern, followed by the sound of a sword slashing quickly several times

There is a third sound effect which cannot be accessed by using any of these three Engines, unfortunately. While you could come up with a home remedy, I strongly suggest you use another “Go-Onger” toy to achieve this- which requires pressing both activation buttons at the same time. When you do this you will hear:

• a horn sounding
• a repeat of one of the taiko drum patterns, but without the following sword-slashing effect

As of this review, “Power Rangers R.P.M.” has not aired yet, so it is impossible to compare the DX Engine Gattai Engine DaiShogun to its English-speaking counterpart. We haven’t even gotten a name for it yet.

However, taking into account pre-release images, I am doubtful that the transition will be smooth in any way. With the complete rebuilding of the Deluxe High Octane Megazord for 2009, it is clear that the Engine Soul cartridge system will not be making it to American shores in their current forms, so the possibility of seeing the DX Engine DaiShogun coming over are slim-to-none. It is entirely possible that it may even be written out of the series completely so that a toy does not have to be made for the “PR-RPM” release.

Expect either a scaled-down remake, or no releases at all save for 4½” action figures in 2009...

Repaints happen maybe once a year in Super Sentai- be they an accessory mecha, or one of the lead combos. More-or-less they just change the coloring and that’s it. And once in a great while, some minor molds are changed in addition to that. For most of those repaints, it’s hard to not see them as anything other than just that. But in this case, the changes are significant enough that I truly got a different feeling off of it than I do from the Engine-Oh. Using the daiji symbols was a nice touch, as was adding a mustache to Shishi-no-Shin; finally answering the question as to what those holes in Buson’s face were for! The large crown on the head is certainly a big change, and it combined with the new shoulder armor helped me to see the overall design in a different light. Otherwise, it behaves exactly the same as the DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh. Indeed, it features all of the same holes, tabs, and pegs so it is also fully compatible with all of the other accessory Engines, in addition to being able to make the super combinations. The coloring scheme is also very appropriate and draws it just that much closer to its samurai origins even if the Engine-Oh was not. Now, was there anything I would have liked to see them do differently? there was one big thing- even though it holds the Engine Ken at its hip, I think either a different tab set-up or an accessory clip could have been included to allow it to actually click onto the hip, but I am glad that it can attach to the back as well. The special Engine Soul- oddly- is the most finicky of them all that I have had to deal with yet: it shifts around inside Retsu-Taka, and that start-up sound effect goes off at the first chances it gets! (I think the wiring may just be a little loose rather than this being intentional.) Was I disappointed that separate characterized Engines Souls weren’t included? Not really- since I didn’t want to then have to buy some other toys that I may not have wanted from the start. Could the number of effects in the cartridge been increased? Certainly and easily! But, I like the effects that are in there as well. So, for being a repaint (and CDX readers know how few of those I get as it is), having some good decorations, and for giving off a different aura that the originating design, I recommend getting the DX Engine Gattai Engine DaiShogun; it truly is worth it.

Again, more because it is needed for later combos more than on its own merits, I recommend getting Engine Jettoras.

Video review included!

This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan.

Three 1.5 volt (LR44) batteries are required to operate electronic light-&-sound feature within the Engine Soul, and should be replaced by a responsible adult.

Adequate batteries have already been installed in the Engine Soul by the manufacturer and do not need to be immediately replaced. However, to activate the feature, you must first manually remove the small white tag from the back of the cartridge before it can work; this is a one-time issue. Nothing other than the Engine Soul on this toy requires batteries.

In one of the eleven dimensions, Machine World is a planet populated by Engines- giant sentient living machines with individual personalities and capabilities. They succeed in driving the destructive Ban KiZoku Gaiarc clan off their world during one of their largest planet-wide races. Unfortunately, the Gaiarc decide to move on into the dimension where Earth is since it seems to be an easier target for them to conquer in order to turn it into the ideal world of unchecked pollution and waste which they favor. Several Engines cross the dimensional barrier to pursue them, but they will begin to suffer fatal rusting if they exist in the atmosphere of the Human World for more than ten minutes at a time! To protect against this, they separate themselves into two halves- inanimate Engine Casts which are smaller versions of their physical bodies, and Engine Souls which contain their life energy and personality. Therefore, they and their smaller rust-resistant assistant Bomper chose a team of young humans to fight the Gaiarc in their place, and restore them to their larger forms whenever they are needed. Together with the arrogant & expertly-trained Go-On Wings, they form the Engine Sentai Go-Onger!

So far, the Go-Onger have had it rather easy in their fight to prevent the Gaiarc from taking over Earth. But now, the mighty Engines are all cowering before the evil genius of the Land-Pollution Vice-Minister & Gaiarc’s tactician Hirame-- ummm...

Hiramesusukidesu- Hirakimekimedesu-- (Hang on- I’ll get it...) Hiramekideathme- Hiramekiss- Hira-Hi-- rrrrgh!

Wait- it’s Hiramekimedes! (Yeah- that’s it.)

He is the only Gaiarc whom the Engines have never been able to defeat, and they fear him greatly for all the devastation he caused on Machine World. Unfortunately, Hiramekimedes suddenly disappeared just before the three Gaiarc ministers were defeated on Machine World, and no one’s heard from him since... until now. So his sudden arrival on Earth has shaken the Engines badly and sent them running for cover, leaving the Go-Onger near-powerless! And even when they manage to outwit him just one time, Hiramekimedes is still able to keep the upper hand! But then, suddenly, two new Engines appear from out of the clouds...

. . .

Toripter and Jettoras are members of the previously-unknown Wing Clan, and it was they who chased Hiramekimedes off of Machine World and allowed the Engines to finally drive the Gaiarc off of their planet. Unfortunately, both were injured, and they crashed on Earth during their pursuit. Laying weakened, their psychic calls for help were heard by a pair of wealthy siblings- Hiroto and Mia Suto. They picked up and cared for damaged Engine Casts & their Souls, which helped them to recover. Being told of the Gaiarc, the two flying Engines transported the Suto siblings to Machine World, and there they received top-level training from the leader of the Wing Clan- the grand and wise Jumbwhale. Returning to Earth, the four have watched for some time at the amateurish efforts of the foolishly-optimistic Go-Onger. When the Go-Onger finally appeared to falter before the might of Hiramekimedes’ return, the Go-On Wings and their Engines finally intervened. But their superior training made them look down their noses at the Go-Onger as pathetic, and they shrugged them off as never able to stand up to the might of the Ban KiZoku Gaiarc.

Engine Number 8 – Jettoras (back) His partner is Mia Suto (Go-On Silver). He is represented as a combination of a jet fighter and a tiger. Jettoras is confident and even laid back in a fight... because he knows how to fight the Gaiarc so well and has little to fear from them. In addition to firing the Jettoras Torahawk missile- which can seek out multiple targets in a single shot- he also has the Jettoras Phantom at his disposal, which creates four holographic decoys of himself which can confuse enemies. The tusks projecting from his mouth have equal sting to Bandou fighters, and his special armored chassis allows him to hide from Gaiarc sensors. With all of these capabilities, Jettoras becomes an awesome partner to Mia who is more sensitive than her brother to others’ weaknesses and has an interest in, well, “interesting people”. As a life form from Machine World, he ends most of his sentences with [the Japanese] onomatopoeia for the sound of a jet passing overhead- a casual “Geeeeeeen!” Jettoras serves as a left arm component for any combination, but usually is seen as part of the Engine Gattai Seiku-Oh.

Because of his darkened-silver coloring, it is up to speculation as to if Jettoras is related to white tigers; as has happened a few times previously in Super Sentai- the larger Won Tiger (“Gosei Sentai DaiRanger”, 1993), and the smaller arm-swapping Gao Tiger (“Hyakujuu Sentai GaoRanger”, 2001). That being said, he still has a few definable feline traits- small triangular nose, indented stripe patterns (though only two sets are actually painted black), tiny indented whiskers, smallish ears just behind his eyes, and the two long fang-like projections from his mouth. To keep him airborne, there are a set of jointed ABS/PVC wings on either side painted silver & red, and a small vertical stabilizer above and behind the red angular cockpit that has the stylized golden “8” printed on both sides. Another recognizable feature is the white air intakes behind his fangs, and then the gray Go-On Wings logo printed on just behind them. The lower half of his body is white, and features three small wheels that he can roll around on a flat surface with. Unlike the toy, however, the connection joint for later combinations serves as the main exhaust nozzle in the series, but it’s unremarkable here. (In fact, the door and joint are identical to the one on Engine Gattai Series #7- Toripter!)

Aside from putting the provided Engine Soul into him (see below), you can only really just roll him around. The big gimmick when he’s alone like this is that you can shoot off one of the two provided Jettoras Torahawk missiles from his mouth! To do this, simply press on the right air intake/Engine Soul activation button; the projectile is pressure-powered rather than spring-powered, so the harder you push in, the farther it travels! The wings also have more joints than they use in the series, so you can fold those only up and down as you see fit.

In addition to future accessory DX Engine sets, the common ‘collecting’ gimmick is the battery-powered Engine Soul cartridge. These serve as a replacement in all of the toys for a dedicated light-and-sound effect. Each Engine Soul shares an identical shape (2 ½” x 1 ¾” x 9/16”, or 2.57cm x 4.5cm x 1.5cm), has a single bright red LED light (which can project over 6ft / 2m in a dark room!), a large decal which identifies it, and they all have some generic sounds. Because of this, any Engine Soul (or Change Soul, which I won’t get into here) can be fitted into any properly-fitted toy that can accept one. But, the gimmick is that each Engine Soul has a unique set of sound effects...

The Engine Gattai Series #8 set comes with Jettoras’ Engine Soul. It is uniquely identified by its pale silver ABS casing, the stylized “8”, and the phrases “ES” & “08” on the front decal. While each of the Engines in the “Go-Onger” line can accept an Engine Soul, only Jettoras’ is provided; however, it will work equally in all of them since, again, all Engine Soul cartridges are the same size. The storage compartment is located in back of Jettoras’ chassis. This time, however, two black buttons on the sides must be depressed to open the compartment. The bright red LED light from the Engine Soul shines through just behind Jettoras’ red-painted cockpit. When the Engine Soul is activated, the LED shines through, making it glow!

Jettoras’ Engine Soul- unlike all previous Engine Souls- now has five unique effects- all performed by the same seiyu from the series, Kiyotaka Furushima. (He makes his Super Sentai debut here, but is best known for more-numerous anime performances). He says, casually, in Japanese:

• Jettoras
• Geeeeen!
• Iku sa, buddy. (Let’s go, buddy)
• No problem
• Aye, sir

The phrases will always play in that order, each preceded by the same sound of a jet roaring past. Now, if you place Jettoras’ Engine Soul into any other DX Engine set, it’ll say the same things, but it’ll obviously be inaccurate since that’s not the right Engine for it to go with.

Like Birca, Gunpherd, Carrigator, and Toripter before him, access to Jettoras’ alternate/generic sound effects can be accessed in both his regular mode and transformed mode:

• Go On!
• Geeeeen!

This time, however, instead of a jet roaring past, you hear the sound of the Jettoras Torahawk missile being fired. But it is still Jettoras speaking. Also, be aware that the button for firing the Jettoras Torahawk missile is the same as the right effects-activation button- so if you want the Engine Soul to activate, you’re also gonna fire that missile off at the same time! But, easily removing the missile beforehand solves this problem.

As with all other earlier Engine Souls, if you press both of Jettoras’ sound-activating buttons at the same time, most of these phrases will be repeated (though now preceded by the crackle of a radio), but now two new phrases will also sound which can only be found in this way:

• Iku sa, buddy. Go On!
• You cannot escape from my fangs

One final addition is made here, which Engine Gattai Series #7- Toripter also shares. And that is that when you hold down either of the buttons for any length of extra time, you will hear the respective sound effect (jet engine or missile firing), and then regardless of which sound effect you stopped on earlier, you will hear Jettoras proclaim in Japanese:

• Mission Complete.

So, that makes three new effects piled into this new Engine Soul which are each triggered in different ways from each other!

The activation buttons for Jettoras are the white engine intakes on either side of his head directly below his eyes.

As of this review, “Power Rangers R.P.M.” has not aired yet, so it is impossible to compare the Engine Gattai Series #8 - Engine Jettoras to its English-speaking counterpart. We haven’t even gotten a name for it yet.

However, taking into account pre-release images, I am doubtful that the transition will be smooth in any way. With the complete rebuilding of the [Deluxe] High Octane Megazord for 2009, it is clear that the Engine Soul cartridge system will not be making it to American shores in their current forms, so the possibility of seeing the DX Jettoras coming over are slim-to-none.

Expect a scaled-down remake, and some non-poseable in 2009...

Engine Busou - Engine-Oh Jetripter

Components required for this combination:

• DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh
• Engine Gattai Series #7- Toripter
• Engine Gattai Series #8- Engine Jettoras

In Grand Prix 17 – “Commoner Hero”, Miu is kidnapped by Vacuum Banki because she unintentionally makes herself vulnerable when she takes the five Go-Onger out shopping and to lunch because she thinks that they are “interesting” despite their poor performance against the Gaiarc. Hiroto and Sousuke are forced to work together to free her and themselves from the Gaiarc’s trap. When Vacuum Banki grows to giant size, Engine-Oh and Gunbir-Oh are summoned, but he is able to disable them and avoid their weapons. With budding-yet-grudgingly respect, the two Go-On Wings board their Engines and enter the fray. At Go-On Gold’s suggestion and with Engine Speedor’s consent, Toripter and Jettoras combine with Engine-Oh.

[Go-On Gold]: “Toripter, can we combine with Engine-Oh?”
[Toripter]: “Huh? Us with them? But I’m fine if it’s a request from Aniki. Right, Jettoras?”
[Jettoras]: “Aye, sir. No problem!”
[Go-On Red]: “What do you think, Speedor?”
[Speedor]: “Doru doru doru! Okay, everyone?”
[Bear RV]: “All we can do is try it!”
[Buson]: “I’m up for anything!”

Engine Busou!

“Engine-Oh Jetripter: Tune Up! Go On!”

In this new form, Engine-Oh Jetripter is able to deflect the bullets that Vacuum Banki sucked up from the Gunbir-Oh’s earlier use of the Gunpherd Gun attack with the whirling rotor on the right arm. The rotor can then be shot out like a boomerang for the Toripter Rotor attack. The severely-weakened air-pollution monster Vacuum Banki was defeated by Engine-Oh Jetripter with use of the Jetori Bull’s Eye finisher- it shoots a fiery arrow pulled back with the right arm, and fired off from the longbow-like left arm.

Engine-Oh Jetripter (back) is the first non-super-combo where both of Engine-Oh’s arms are replaced with another Engine; which Birca and Gunpherd could not in the series [even though the DX toys obviously can]. The function of the new right arm (Toripter) is not immediately obvious, and it is not until you see it used in the series when you find out what it does. Unfortunately, like Engine-Oh Birca, the rotor cannot be spun around because it bumps into the shoulder. The only way to combat this is to twist the lower arm either forward or backwards along the eight-point ratcheting elbow joint, and then the rotor will clear the red plastic. The Toripter Rotor is easy enough to do- just pull it out. But, please don’t throw it; it may be made of PVC, but it will not fly. As for the left arm (Jettoras), while it may be a little easier to accept that the wings form the mechanical-longbow weapon. Now, obviously, there is not nearly enough flexibility in the shoulders (nor the head) to allow the DX version of Engine-Oh Jetripter to assume a firing stance for the Jetori Bull’s Eye finisher, and so simpler poses must be used; though the Jettoras Torahawk missile can still be used as a stand-in for the flaming arrow if you wish. Though Jettoras’ are a little obscured now by his replaced wings, the Engine Soul activation buttons on both arm-component Engines can still be accessed just the same as if they were separated.

On its own, this Engine has the nice little missile-firing ability; that the same button is used to access the generic Engine Soul effects [which are designed to sound like the missile firing] at the same time was pretty clever. While folding wings may be used later on, I thought little of it. Not bad, just that I didn’t care either way. The more pointed corners on the lines and shapes across the toy kinda felt like they belong on a stealth vehicle of some kind, which help explain away the blocky shape of the rest of it. The color scheme isn’t too bad, though you typically expect an all-silver mecha to be of significance, which this one is not; same with the gold on Toripter. By the way, it was pointed out to me that 2008 was the year of the Beijing Summer Olympic games, and that the colored used for all of the Go-Onger matched the colors of the rings on the Olympic flag- red, black, green, yellow, and blue- and the Go-On Wings’ gold and silver are obviously used for the medals awarded for first- and second-place positions respectively in the games! But I digress... As for the combo, the biggest hamper is that the shoulders and head on Engine-Oh are so inflexible as is the norm with DX-sized Super Sentai toys, so being able to pose the combo is really irritating. So, while this toy is just as passable as his partner Engine Toripter, the Engine-Oh Jetripter adds little to the table other than a firing missile and some additional special effects in the Engine Souls. Again, more because it is needed for later combos more than on its own merits, I recommend getting Engine Gattai Series #8- Jettoras.

Basically, the reason you want to pick up Engine Toripter is because it is used in later combinations rather than on its own merit.

This toy appears courtesy from HobbyLink Japan.

Three 1.5 volt (LR44) batteries are required to operate electronic light-&-sound feature within the Engine Soul, and should be replaced by a responsible adult.

Adequate batteries have already been installed in the Engine Soul by the manufacturer and do not need to be immediately replaced. However, to activate the feature, you must first manually remove the small white tag from the back of the cartridge before it can work; this is a one-time issue. Nothing other than the Engine Soul on this toy requires batteries.

In one of the eleven dimensions, Machine World is a planet populated by Engines- giant sentient living machines with individual personalities and capabilities. They succeed in driving the destructive Ban KiZoku Gaiarc clan off their world during one of their largest planet-wide races. Unfortunately, the Gaiarc decide to move on into the dimension where Earth is since it seems to be an easier target for them to conquer in order to turn it into the ideal world of unchecked pollution and waste which they favor. Several Engines cross the dimensional barrier to pursue them, but they will begin to suffer fatal rusting if they exist in the atmosphere of the Human World for more than ten minutes at a time! To protect against this, they separate themselves into two halves- inanimate Engine Casts which are smaller versions of their physical bodies, and Engine Souls which contain their life energy and personality. Therefore, they and their smaller rust-resistant assistant Bomper chose a team of young humans to fight the Gaiarc in their place, and restore them to their larger forms whenever they are needed. Together with the arrogant & expertly-trained Go-On Wings, they form the Engine Sentai Go-Onger!

So far, the Go-Onger have had it rather easy in their fight to prevent the Gaiarc from taking over Earth. But now, the mighty Engines are all cowering before the evil genius of the Land-Pollution Vice-Minister & Gaiarc’s tactician Hirame-- ummm...

Hiramesusukidesu- Hirakimekimedesu-- (Hang on- I’ll get it...) Hiramekideathme- Hiramekiss- Hira-Hi-- rrrrgh!

Wait- it’s Hiramekimedes! (Yeah- that’s it.)

He is the only Gaiarc whom the Engines have never been able to defeat, and they fear him greatly for all the devastation he caused on Machine World. Unfortunately, Hiramekimedes suddenly disappeared just before the three Gaiarc ministers were defeated on Machine World, and no one’s heard from him since... until now. So his sudden arrival on Earth has shaken the Engines badly and sent them running for cover, leaving the Go-Onger near-powerless! And even when they manage to outwit him just one time, Hiramekimedes is still able to keep the upper hand! But then, suddenly, two new Engines appear from out of the clouds...

. . .

Toripter and Jettoras are members of the previously-unknown Wing Clan, and it was they who chased Hiramekimedes off of Machine World and allowed the Engines to finally drive the Gaiarc off of their planet. Unfortunately, both were injured, and they crashed on Earth during their pursuit. Laying weakened, their psychic calls for help were heard by a pair of wealthy siblings- Hiroto and Mia Suto. They picked up and cared for damaged Engine Casts & their Souls, which helped them to recover. Being told of the Gaiarc, the two flying Engines transported the Suto siblings to Machine World, and there they received top-level training from the leader of the Wing Clan- the grand and wise Jumbwhale. Returning to Earth, the four have watched for some time at the amateurish efforts of the foolishly-optimistic Go-Onger. When the Go-Onger finally appeared to falter before the might of Hiramekimedes’ return, the Go-On Wings and their Engines finally intervened. But their superior training made them look down their noses at the Go-Onger as pathetic, and they shrugged them off as never able to stand up to the might of the Ban KiZoku Gaiarc.

Engine Number 7 – Toripter (back) Her partner is Hiroto Suto (Go-On Gold). She is represented as a combination of a helicopter and a rooster. High-spirited and confident, she often acts like another younger sister to Hiroto- gently nudging him with a more compassionate view towards the Go-Onger when he is inflexible & demeaning of them. As a member of the Wing Clan, she is both an agile & powerful Engine in the air- able to hide in amongst the skyscrapers to avoid detection, and then pop-out to fire her multi-barrel Toripter Battery cannon array. As a life form from Machine World, she ends most of her sentences with [the Japanese] onomatopoeia for the sound of a helicopter’s rotors spinning- a rapidly-spoken “Bata-bata-bata-bata!” Toripter serves as a right arm component for any combination, but usually is seen as part of the Engine Gattai Seiku-Oh.

I’ve been told that having a chicken for a hero mecha might be more dignified that it would seem in most Western cultures. In some cases, chickens- more likely, roosters- are honorable and respected for their boisterousness & courage. If this were not the case, then why would a rooster be honored as part of the Chinese calendar? (Me? I’m still ignorant to this even as I type & post. Only thing I see that domesticated chickens are good for are for eating. Someone wanna try and explain this to me, please...?) While Toripter retains a stylized red comb on her head just in front of the green cockpit windscreens, the lower two wattles are not. Along the rest of the top of the Engine is a wide red stripe, with a small silver printed Go-On Wings logo just behind the cockpit. Just behind her eyes are the two white cannon arrays for her Toripter Battery weapon(s); each marked with the chicken-styled golden “7” which is her Engine identification number. Beneath the main rotor are two molded-in jet engines which give her forward movement. And then on the back are two smaller widely-spaced counter-rotation vents with steering fins. The lower half of her body is white with black highlights, and features three small wheels that she can roll around on a flat surface with.

Like the front wheels from the previous Engines are on the Go-Onger’s helmets, Toripter’s comb is represented on top of Go-On Gold’s helmet, as well as a pair of turbofans.

(Hens don’t have wattles, but do still have combs. This, coupled with the higher-pitched & sharp-tongued voice- which is performed by a woman- still makes me think that Toripter is female... A female creature and/or mecha teamed with a male human partner would seem odd, but I thought that that was the case until I read otherwise online while researching for this review! Oddly, the kawaii holographic version of her seen in the series has the wattles under her beak, which then confirms him as a rooster! Very conflicting information... But for now, I shall refer to Toripter as female so that I don’t confuse myself, let alone you!)

. . .

Aside from putting the provided Engine Soul into her (see below), you can only really just roll her around. The big gimmick when she’s alone like this is that you can freely spin her main rotor. And for laughs, the rotor can also be removed, but I’m not sure why this is yet.

In addition to future accessory DX Engine sets, the common ‘collecting’ gimmick is the battery-powered Engine Soul cartridge. These serve as a replacement in all of the toys for a dedicated light-and-sound effect. Each Engine Soul shares an identical shape (2½” x 1¾” x 9/16”, or 2.57cm x 4.5cm x 1.5cm), has a single bright red LED light (which can project over 6ft / 2m in a dark room!), a large decal which identifies it, and they all have some generic sounds. Because of this, any Engine Soul (or Change Soul, which I won’t get into here) can be fitted into any properly-fitted toy that can accept one. But, the gimmick is that each Engine Soul has a unique set of sound effects...

. . .

The Engine Gattai Series #7 set comes with Toripter’s Engine Soul. It is uniquely identified by its gold ABS casing, the stylized “7”, and the phrases “ES” & “07” on the front decal. While each of the Engines in the “Go-Onger” line can accept an Engine Soul, only Toripter’s is provided; however, it will work equally in all of them since, again, all Engine Soul cartridges are the same size. The storage compartment is located in back of Toripter’s chassis, under the counter-rotation beams. This time, however, two black buttons on the sides must be depressed to open the compartment. The bright red LED light from the Engine Soul shines through just in front of Toripter’s main rotor. When the Engine Soul is activated, the LED shines through, making it glow!

Toripter’s Engine Soul- unlike all previous Engine Souls- now has five unique effects- all performed by the same seiyu from the series, Shizuka Ishikawa. (She makes her Super Sentai debut here, but is best known for more-numerous anime and video game performances.) She says, in Japanese:

• Toripter!
• Bata-bata-bata-bata!
• Iku ze, Aniki! (Let’s go, Aniki! [“Aniki” is Miu’s nickname for her older brother, Hiroto; which Toripter has also adapted.])
• Kekkou kekkou! (???)
• Iku sa! (Let’s go!)

The phrases will always play in that order, each preceded by the same sound of a helicopter’s rotor spinning. Now, if you place Toripter’s Engine Soul into any other DX Engine set, it’ll say the same things, but it’ll obviously be inaccurate since that’s not the right Engine for it to go with.

Like Birca, Gunpherd and Carrigator before her, access to Toripter’s alternate/generic sound effects can be accessed in both her regular mode and transformed mode:

• Go On!
• Bata-bata-bata-bata!

This time, however, instead of a helicopter rotor spinning, you hear the sound of the Toripter Battery cannons firing. But it is still Toripter speaking.

As with all other earlier Engine Souls, if you press both of Toripter's sound-activating buttons at the same time, most of these phrases will be repeated (though now preceded by the crackle of a radio), but now two new phrases will also sound which can only be found in this way:

• Kekkou kekkou ???-kekkou!
• ??? (Too bad I had to hide...!)

One final addition is made here, which Engine Gattai Series #8- Jettoras also shares. And that is that when you hold down either of the buttons for any length of extra time, you will hear the respective sound effect (rotors spinning or cannons firing), and then regardless of which sound effect you stopped on earlier, you will hear Toripter proclaim in Japanese:

• Mission Kandyo! (Mission Complete!)

So, that makes three new effects piled into this new Engine Soul which are each triggered in different ways from each other!

The activation buttons for Toripter are the white cannon arrays on either side of her head directly below her eyes.

The Power Rangers’ version of Engine Toripter has not appeared yet, so comparisons are impossible. If I were to take a shot in the dark, I’d say the black paint along the lower white plastic was removed, and all of the gold paint was removed as well. (While the plastic is still ABS, it is more of a light tan coloring when not painted.) I’d also venture that all Engine Soul cartridges (whatever those will be called) will be either modified to have fewer-or-no electronics, or completely eliminated from the line. There’s no PVC or die-cast metal, so that’s not a problem. (No metal in a flying vehicle? Who’d‘ve thunk it?) I doubt any plastic coloring will be changed, but there may be very minor paint changes.

Unlike the Engine Gattai Series #4- Birca and #5- Gunpherd, Toripter is not meant to attach alone the DX Engine Gattai Engine-Oh, even though the toy is fully capable of doing that if you wish. Instead, she is meant to be teamed up with her companion set, Engine Gattai Series #8- Jettoras in order to form the Engine-Oh Jetripter combination (which will be covered in the latter’s review).

This Engine seems to have more of a gender-identity crisis; rather than whether-or-not it is a chicken, similar to earlier Engines like Buson and Birca. (The split tail appearance- though obviously meant to be used later on for more that flight stabilization- and general coloring strikes me as more reminiscent of the chicken’s evolutionary ancestor, the Red Junglefowl which is found in the southern reaches of China, Malaysia, and Indonesia... where- as mentioned above- chickens are used for more than just consumption. But I leave that up to you.) Like all Engines, this one has at least one feature available when separated in addition to the use of its Engine Soul and small wheels beneath, and that is the spinning rotor. In that regard, it performs as expected. But, looking ahead at its partnering-up with Jettoras into Engine-Oh Jetripter, it has a far simpler transformation- you move only one thing, and that’s it. I mean, hell- even Bear RV has more than one step when combining! So in that regard, it gets a “Fail”; I mean, I know it’s supposed to be a simple mecha line, but Birca and Gunpherd were a little more engaging than this, so it let down in that way! I will say, though, that the detail remains up to par. So, basically, the reason you want to pick up Engine Gattai Series #7- Engine Toripter is because it is used in later combinations rather than on its own merit. So, it’s not bad, but like the rest of the series thus far, it doesn’t raise the bar any higher.