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Karakuri Kyokan- The Shinobi Machines Assembled!

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17 comments posted
Woa!

Woa! That one big bad bot! Maybe someday you pose this one with the upcoming Goonger 12 robot combination.

Berserk's picture
Posted by Berserk on 11 September, 2008 - 06:35
Hmmmm-! I just might do

Hmmmm-! I just might do that! I could also put Ultimate DaiBouken in there if there was enough support for it.

Thanks for the suggestion.
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EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 11 September, 2008 - 12:40
I don't mean to derail this

I don't mean to derail this topic/thread, but I figure here's a decent spot to start this discussion: what's with all the hate towards Ultimate Daibouken? I was very impressed with this sentai toy! I had the regular (show) colored version (Japanese release), but I ended up selling it to a friend as soon as I picked up the black/gold version. I love the durn thing!

Keep in mind that I'm no sentai expert and I'm only vaguely familiar with some shows' toy offerings, but Boukenger had some designs that really interested me. Granted, besides very rare exceptions like Transformer's Predaking, I'm not into animal-themed combining mecha. Yeah, I'm that guy who loves Dairugger XV way more than Golion!

But besides Boukenger's purely hi-tech vehicle look, I thought the detail and fit of each constituent piece was flawless. All the joints featured detents and were strong enough to support the fully-combined beast's weight. It's just a solid toy. I thought the combination was more creative than Super Dekaranger Robo (probably my second favorite sentai robot)...certainly more articulated.

The different limb combinations you could come up with were decent enough, and it was nice to be able to form two distinct robots with the constituent vehicles. I think if they'd scaled everything up just slightly (without dumping the detail like in the US releases) so that Ultimate Daibouken was as tall as the Super Dekaranger Robo toy, it would have been perfect.

It sounds like everyone's beef with the design is that each constituent vehicle's design is getting simpler and simpler...just for the sake of being able to fit more into the ultimate combination...a not-so-cool trend. Is that the main problem? I can understand that, but still...Ultimate Daibouken still manages to be a good toy.

--
Sanjeev

Sanjeev's picture
Posted by Sanjeev on 11 September, 2008 - 16:27
Finally some support

So I ain't the only one thinking like that ?
I don't actually own the ultimate daibouken, but it also seems pretty cool to me. Not as good as a Kyuukyoku Daizyujin (Original Ultrazord) or Tenraisenpuujin (Hurricane megazord) but still, the first to have some real poseability.
The toys was a good concept. I think people hate the concept of a ten mecha combination that get its butt kicked every episode more than the toy itself...

"Awww man, that's one ugly zord..." Tommy about BA Drivemax Megazord.

Christopher Andre's picture
Posted by Christopher Andre on 11 September, 2008 - 17:03
Yeah- the Ultimate DaiBouken

Yeah- the Ultimate DaiBouken kinda played out like Jack Landor's Red SPD Battlizer armor did- a really powerful form that was obsolete within a few episodes, and became a joke.
Yeah, it was cool, and in the series it works, but the toy version of Ultimate DaiBouken is where it fails the most.

While the limb-swapping was cool enough- though getting kinda tiresome by the time "Boukenger" rolled around- and the details were pretty good, as were the functions of the individual components, I thought that Ultimate DaiBouken was perhaps too much of a good thing. I mean, that fact that it had ten components kinda proves the theme of Super Sentai mecha and their combos; ten components was something of an overload of mecha for the tokusatsu sub-genre where 7-8 was the rule before. In a way, Engine-Oh G12 will do the same; though it that case, it's not that great because the components look like they were just stuck on there rather than being integrated into the design like they were in Ultimate DaiBouken.
The other big let-down, for me, was that there were joints and pegs and other stuff that was never utilized, so there was all this potential and it was never recognized except by its absence.

Now, the Kyuukyoku Daizyujin and Gourai-Senpuujin- while not being tributes to Super Sentai like the Gougou Vehicles were supposed to be- were more coherent & fluid in their own ways.
I love the Kyuukyoku Daizyujin because it was the first Ultrazord from the first sea. of PR (which I thought was kick-ass when I was 11), and, unlike all later combos, it used all of the components so that each did not overpower the others, or was more dominant, or was substituted from; every single part (save the Daizyujin's sword and Dragon Caesar's staff accessory) was used in the final combo. While Ultimate DaiBouken also did this, it did not, however, use up all of the components from the entire Gougou Vehicle system (which numbered 18 total)... which the Engine-Oh G12 is now attempting to do. I mean, when you come up with something like Riding DaiBouken as your second ten-part combo in the same series, and you still have eight mecha left over yet to be used, then you can't really make the claim that Kyuukyoku Daizyujin, Jukou Kiden (aka Thunder Ultrazord) and the Revolver Gourai-Senpuujin & Revolver Tenrai-Senpuujin can. (Granted, the latter-most-two have one mecha missing from their respective line in each combo...)
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EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 11 September, 2008 - 20:24
Waiting...

Ok eva, I'm waiting for the "ultimate big bot battle"...

About ultimate Daibouken, at first glance I hate it because of the uneven arms. But as time goes by, my hate turns into love. Just something different about it. And like Sanjeev, I doesn't dig the animal theme mecha. But vehicle theme... Love it very much.

Berserk's picture
Posted by Berserk on 11 September, 2008 - 18:51
Ooh- I really wanna get my

Ooh- I really wanna get my hands on a near-mint DX Flash King...!
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 12 September, 2008 - 01:20
You know,I love the lion

You know,I love the lion Voltron show,and I don't recall even seeing ONE episode of the vehicle one,but just on their own as designs I prefer the Dairugger one.

kidnicky's picture
Posted by kidnicky on 11 September, 2008 - 21:20
Better combo...

Before we stray away from the Hurricanger mecha combinations topic...I consider this toyline (as well as Gaoranger's Power Animal gimmick) to be better than Boukenger itself. Sure it's gimmicky, but at least the combos suit well.

Go-Onger is suffering from the same "piling-up" of mechas to form a new combo and it's not looking good...

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"I'm no ordinary ring."

makaikishi's picture
Posted by makaikishi on 11 September, 2008 - 23:04
I agree. The Shinobi

I agree. The Shinobi Machine line from "Hurricanger" was the last time in Super Sentai that I didn't frown upon any of the mecha in it, and where the combos make sense, the final mecha introduced didn't break the pre-established trend of its predecessors, and it wasn't [completely] dependent on accessory mecha to establish greater combos. Every part had its place, but did well on its own, was quirky, and it looked awesome in whatever combo you made.

(In fact, my only complaint was how Gourai-/Tenrai-Senpuujin just stood on the back of the Revolver Mammoth rather than actually connecting to it by snapping in place or swapping some components... like the Kyuukyoku Daizyujin.)
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EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 12 September, 2008 - 01:18
In addition...

...Not to mention the Heavy Armor Chi Palace from Dairanger as well...

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"I'm no ordinary ring."

makaikishi's picture
Posted by makaikishi on 12 September, 2008 - 03:21
Naw- even though the

Naw- even though the Juukou Kiden had seven components, they were just stacked on/stored in each other; that was no different, too, from Super King Pyramider (Zeo Ultrazords), Riding TimeRobo Alpha, and Riding DaiBouken.
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EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 12 September, 2008 - 03:26
Ultimate Daijujin

Ultimately (no pun intended), I prefer Ultimate Daijujin as the true expression of power when it comes to sentai mecha...although the TenraiSempuujin with Revolver Mammoth could do well otherwise.

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"I'm no ordinary ring."

makaikishi's picture
Posted by makaikishi on 12 September, 2008 - 03:38
You know, I tried to read

You know, I tried to read your comments, but got distracted by Zaruba and went into a coma from pure awesome. That being said, I like the GaoRanger power animal gimmick too.

Mike's picture
Posted by Mike on 12 September, 2008 - 12:01
Thanks for the info,

Thanks for the info, guys!

So, it seems to me that the issue isn't so much that Ultimate Daibouken is bad, per se...it's more that it's main gimmicks have already been done (limb-swapping) and that there are better robots out there (this one--Hurricaneger--for instance!).

Still, I like Ultimate Daibouken a lot. Again, it's just a cool looking robot to me. I like that high-tech (non-animal) style. It's true that it was pretty much obsolete in just a couple episodes, but I like how you can have Daibouken ride Daivoyager, and have Daitanken (sp?) as a separate robot...so none of the vehicles are wasted. [I ended up passing on Siren Builder, incidentally.]

Anyway, I have Gouraijin and Tenkujin, but never bothered to get the others. If I have a chance to complete the set for cheap, I may do so...even if only for the sake of all that diecast!

--
Sanjeev

Sanjeev's picture
Posted by Sanjeev on 15 September, 2008 - 09:10
DX Tenraisempuujin Set

The store where I got most of the toys for my collection is still selling both the regular and black versions of the boxed DX Tenraisempujin set but it's still priced at $350...

If only they sold it at $200, then I would have given the Gouraijin to my brother and the Tenkujin to my cousin...

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"I'm no ordinary ring."

makaikishi's picture
Posted by makaikishi on 17 September, 2008 - 02:04
Be aware that the

Be aware that the special-release DX Tenrai-Senpuujin set comes with a clear-plastic (aka "crystal") Tri-Condor, not the regular ver w/ paint & metal highlights. I think a "crystal" Furai-Maru is also included in that set.

Also, there was no regular-coloring release of the Gourai-Senpuujin, only the special-edition black, silver, and emerald-green version.
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CollectionDX Staff

EVA_Unit_4A's picture
Posted by EVA_Unit_4A on 17 September, 2008 - 02:26