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Kore Janai Robo

Comments

17 comments posted
Special Thanks

I would have had a much more difficult time researching this had I not serendipitously come across this 2004 segment from Japanese variety show Ookami Shounen. My gratitude goes to both the show and blastslash7, the user who uploaded it. Originally, I was going to try to make a video review, but anything I would have done would have most likely ended up as a poor imitation of the KJR promotional clip featured during this segment, so I’ll just post it here. I think the whole thing is worth a watch, but I at least recommend the minute or so from where it’s embedded.

SpaceRunaway's picture
Posted by SpaceRunaway on 28 July, 2014 - 16:29
This is so funny!

This is so funny!

Showapop's picture
Posted by Showapop on 30 July, 2014 - 10:22
My favorite part is when

My favorite part is when Hamada (of Downtown fame) loses it when they show off the sliding shoulders.

SpaceRunaway's picture
Posted by SpaceRunaway on 30 July, 2014 - 14:28
Oh wow... I REMEMBER this...

Oh wow... I REMEMBER this... and a perfect way to remember our friend, Yappy.

Thanks for sharing!

Harvey's picture
Posted by Harvey on 28 July, 2014 - 16:49
Mobile Force

Mobile Force Gungal

http://gundamguy.blogspot.com/2013/04/mobile-force-gungal-1980-can-you-survive.html

netkid's picture
Posted by netkid on 28 July, 2014 - 20:31
The Three Musketeers

Haha nice, one of those pictures has Gundam, Gungal, Guldan, and Bison all in the same shot.

SpaceRunaway's picture
Posted by SpaceRunaway on 28 July, 2014 - 20:44
Where can I find that grey

Where can I find that grey and black one with the ball and chain weapon?

Scarfang_The_Slayer's picture
Posted by Scarfang_The_Slayer on 28 July, 2014 - 20:54
You can watch YJ every day

You can watch YJ every day for the rest of your life and hope to eventually get lucky.

SpaceRunaway's picture
Posted by SpaceRunaway on 28 July, 2014 - 21:26
Although Medicom did make

Although Medicom did make several versions of the enemy robot, so you might find one of those. Even some of the Medicom stuff is getting hard to come by these days though.

SpaceRunaway's picture
Posted by SpaceRunaway on 28 July, 2014 - 21:30
Y'know, if we work together

Y'know, if we work together and with folks on prop building websites/forums, we could probably find all the necessary materials and build our own Kore Janai robots for a fraction of the cost. Plus, with all our gathered info and materials, we could then culminate an aesthetic these robots could follow and create our own series of hardware store built robots.

netkid's picture
Posted by netkid on 28 July, 2014 - 22:10
You probably wouldn't even

You probably wouldn't even need to do that much, you could just take a trip to your local Home Depot or whatever you have nearby.

SpaceRunaway's picture
Posted by SpaceRunaway on 28 July, 2014 - 22:23
Oh, god. I remember when

Oh, god. I remember when this first came out, too. For all the winks and nods from the creator, it still strikes me as trolling. And some collectors still went crazy for it. LOL

Sorry to hear about Yappy. Only knew him from TBDX, but I stopped visiting long ago so I never heard the news. He seemed like a good guy.

japester's picture
Posted by japester on 28 July, 2014 - 23:32
Summit Contest Idea!

I HAVE AN IDEA!

What if we make this a contest for the East Coast Summit?

Anyone who shows up with a robot made from stuff you would find at a Home Improvement or Crafts store can enter. Anything you could find/buy from these stores is fair game for use in your robot's construction.
To give you an idea, this means materials such as wood (cut/pre-cut and pre-shaped/shaped to whatever form), paint (sprayed or brushed), details drawn on from sharpies or paint markers, details made from stencils, nails, screws, glue, other assorted metal crap, plastic jewels, etc. You can even use pre-built wood pieces and wooden models like you find at craft stores for parts of your robot. If it's wood, it's good.

Robots can do something unique (optional)! If you'd like, you can make your robot transform (into a vehicle, animal, weapon, building, musical instrument, various item), combine (from vehicles or other, smaller robots), have some sort of action feature (punch, kick, fire missiles, spin, give you the finger!), fall apart from shoddy craftsmanship, make some dumb commentary/statement no one gives a crap about, or just plain suuuuuuuuck. Remember, you're not trying to make something beautiful or impressive. You're trying the opposite! The cheaper/crummier, the better! Your robot is meant to look like an unsupervised 8 year old boy built it in his Dad's garage.

All entrants will be judged by a panel formed of various folks such as CDX staff, friends of CDX, and summit attendees.
Non-judges will also vote for their favorite robot on certain awards.
Judges cannot be entrants and entrants cannot be judges.
Contest entrants can only vote on the "Builder's choice" award.

Robots can have names, but their creators name's will be replaced with random numbers assigned by the head judge.
This is to ensure that the judging is blind and to avoid "friend" votes among judges and summit attendees.

5 Awards will be given out. Awards include:

1.) People's choice award
-voting done only by any summit attendee who is not a judge.

2.) CDX staff choice award
-voting done only by CDX staff: http://www.collectiondx.com/page/about_collectiondx

3.) Judges choice award
-voting done only by the entire panel of judges.

4.) Builder's choice award
-voting done only by contest entrants. entrants can vote for any robot except for their own.

5.) CRAPhtsmanSHIfT award
-voting done by everyone (judges and attendees) for best "worst" robot

netkid's picture
Posted by netkid on 29 July, 2014 - 00:20
This is a great example of

This is a great example of the spirit of CollectionDX. Such a great review, thank you. It told a story, had a personal connection, and was encyclopedic, all at the same time.

I've always been fascinated by this robot ever since I heard about it back in the day, but could never bring myself to pick one up. Maybe it was just too meta at the time.

And I miss Yappy. He was a kind soul although I only met him a few times. One of those times he brought me to Zakka, so it's funny that this toy has that connection also.

Thanks for this.

JoshB's picture
Posted by JoshB on 29 July, 2014 - 08:16
Wow, thanks Josh.

Your comment means so much! I actually struggled with this review right from the idea stage for a long time, starting over at several points, partly because if was so personal. Even when I finally finished it I had no idea if it was actually something people would find interesting to read. Just hearing people reminisce about Yappy totally makes it worth all the effort.

SpaceRunaway's picture
Posted by SpaceRunaway on 29 July, 2014 - 19:54
Reviews like this are why

Reviews like this are why CollectionDX exists. This was beautiful, heartfelt, and packed with information on a toy that might never get the amount of love it deserves.

Great job, man. Great job.

Jmann's picture
Posted by Jmann on 30 July, 2014 - 19:08
I love this review and love

I love this review and love this toy. It's even better that you got a piece of something memorable/important at the same time. This is a perfect example of the thrill of the hunt, meaningful experiences like this are why we collect.

Mr. Ginrai's picture
Posted by Mr. Ginrai on 22 August, 2014 - 23:06