Deluxe-class Autobot Jazz
Review by EVA_Unit_4A
While the self-fulfilling and arrogant Sentinel Prime was filling Ultra Magnus’s audio receptors with horror stories of potential organic contamination from this Earth, and great mistrust & doubt of his former Academy classmate Optimus Prime, Jazz was more open-minded on both subjects. Though hearing troubling tales about giant organic alien spiders from Sentinel, Jazz was quick to realize that even though Earth and humans were vastly different from Cybertronians, they had their own ways of doing things that strangely struck a chord in him. Of particular interest to him was the fact that each human is created uniquely from all others- whereas all Autobots share similar structures and forms with unique Sparks. Trained in a higher level of Cybertronian martial arts than Prowl, this makes him equally sensitive and open-minded to things that others would not immediately recognize. And no matter what he does, he always puts a personal flair into it. This also certainly applies to his fighting style: cool, fast and impressive with his twin Energon-powered nunchaku- with which he can deflect energy shots, and slice through hard metal. Otherwise, the way Jazz figures, it just ain’t worth doin’ if he can't do it in style. The voice of Autobot Jazz is performed by cartoon and television actor Phil LaMarr, as his only character in “Transformers Animated”. Jazz’s vehicle mode (back) may no longer be a Porsche 935 Turbo, but it sure invokes the feeling of his original G1 disguised form, particularly with the red and blue stripes along the rounded nose. While no longer a racing vehicle, he retains the look of a sports coupe, though with the exaggerated styling of the “...Animated” line. The passenger section is lower than you might expect, and is flanked on either side by stylized extended side-view mirrors. Believe it or not, the front and side windows are actually made of the same transparent-turquoise ABS plastic, but for whatever reason, they have been completely blackened out [by whatever method]. Rather than being placed in back, the four exhaust pipes are located prominently on either side of the two doors. And in back, the tail lights are raised on high flairs above the back wheels. One obvious paint error is found here: on the character’s vehicle mode in the series, the red and blue stripes continue all the way up and over the car, but on the toy they occupy only the hood. The reason this was done, however, is because when Jazz is transformed, he has no blue and red stripes along the front of his lower legs... which are made up from the roof of the vehicle mode. (So, if this toy is true to the character’s appearance in that regard, then does this mean his transformation is different in the series...? I’m inclined to say “No”.)
Unlike most of the figures I’ve reviewed so far from “Transformers Animated”, Jazz is one of the very few that does not have an assisting Auto-conversion feature. Not to spoil anything here-- “Spoil what exactly...?”, you ask. --but the only ‘special feature’ he has is his robot mode’s weapon. Beyond that, you do it all yourself. (Of course- sarcasm aside- there’s certainly nothing wrong with that!) One thing about his transformation I will comment on, though, is that it’s rather difficult to get the bottom panels of the lower legs to slip past the windshield when transforming him between either mode. While bending the hips helps a little bit, I’m afraid that someday that windshield might declare it’s had enough, and finally crack or warp. (Unfortunately, the panel on the lower leg cannot be trimmed down by you because he needs it to stand upright!) So you’re just gonna have to deal with it as is, and be aware that’s you need to be both careful and patient. Oh, also, you don’t have to store his hands folded inwards 90° when he’s in vehicle mode; they’re just fine stored as if they’re extended for robot mode.
Jazz’s robot mode (back)- unlike his disguised form- does not nearly as closely resemble his G1 counterpart from 1984. Perhaps the closest comparison might be that the car’s nose, wheel wells, and hood become his upper torso, and that’s about it. While the roof and back of the car still become his legs, they are reoriented to point downwards and are placed on the front of his legs rather than the back. His head, while an original design, does carry one familiar trait- the light blue visor. The visor is transparent, so that when light shines on the back of his head, the visor will glow. (Does it work? It’s a “Transformers Animated” figure- of course it works! And quite clearly too!) While he carries the now-trademarked large chin that all characters do in this series, his gray face is narrow with sharp features, similar to Prowl’s. Because Jazz always appreciated hip-hop and pop culture, one awesome detail they added was a pair of black headphones molded directly into the sides and top of his head over his even more-subtle white flat cap-shaped forehead! Perhaps the most stand-out features of the arms other than their flexibility is the storage clips for the upward-pointing nunchaku on the outside of his elbows, and that his hands are opened up a little rather than being solid fists [which, notably, transforming toys in the “...Animated” line do not utilize nearly as much as its predecessors did]. Notice also that, not only is Jazz the first character toy to have a red Autobot symbol on his chest (all of the Autobots' are red on-screen), but he is the first release to display the winged Autobot logo created for the series which designates him as part of the Elite Guard. As Jazz is a smooth operator in everything he does, his range of motion is equally fluid and impressive, with ball-&-socket joints in his neck, shoulders, wrists, and hips, and everything else twisting freely, including a waist joint! Perhaps the only objection I have with Jazz is that his ‘headphones’ bump into the back of his neck when turned side-to-side; so when he looks to either side, his head tilts downwards quite a bit, and he can’t really look upwards. The proportions of the figure, also, are only slightly off from his on-screen counterpart- his lower legs are slightly longer than they should be, and his upper legs aren’t long enough, but there is no interruption in style or function to be a problem. While the clips for his nunchaku do indeed shift to that upwards-position in the series, the weapons themselves do not appear- stored internally instead until needed. But here, since they are big enough, their correct orientation has them rising quite a bit beyond the elbows. While poseability is in no way a problem, if you wish, you can remove the weapons and leave their clips open to recreate the more series-accurate look. Perhaps this would be the only consideration of “kibble” I would apply to this figure other than the windshield on his back (which really doesn’t get in the way of anything anyways).
. . .
Jazz has only one weapon feature- two pairs of nunchaku (aka nunchucks), which are stored on the outside of his elbows. They can be easily separated from each other- each pair being tied together with small pieces of white string- and placed in both of Jazz’s hands, though the curved sections will not fit at all.
This is another first for me in the world of Transformers®- I have never own any character by this name before (though I would certainly like to get a G1 ver of him). But I can tell that, like many of the characters from the first season, this one was crafted with a little TLC by the good folks over at Takara, and was brought to life by the wonderful animators over at Cartoon Network. You cannot look at this guy and deny that he is a tribute to the classic hip-hop-bot from the ‘80s, but now with a crafted body to match his personality and legacy. The poseability is awesome, and though he doesn’t have any shooting weapons, the nunchaku, I thought, were a nice change from a blaster or missile launcher or- heaver forbid!- a sword; we haven’t really seen that kind of weapon on a Cybertronian before. Even more-so than some of the other figures I have, the proportions chosen by the animation development team translates very well into toy form. I mean- headphones on a robot? That is an awesome idea, and, again, it fits the character! So, complaints? Other than having a difficult time getting his legs past that windshield when transforming him, not really. So, I give full marks and a high recommendation for the Deluxe-class Autobot Jazz figure. I hate to sound clichéd, but seriously... he rocks!
Posted 2 September, 2008 - 11:42 by EVA_Unit_4A |
Comments
19 comments postedThe only thing that bothers me in the least about this is the lower arms. Even a tiny bit more paint or molded detail would be nice. But that's a tiny gripe. Otherwise, it looks awesome, I'm definitely going after one.
The first review I saw of Jazz was Sean Long's video review ("transformersmatrix" on YouTube). But this is more comprehensive, and Sean can be annoying as hell, so I'm giving you the credit for selling me on this figure.
:D
Oh, God- TransformersMatrix's reviews are soooooooooo boring! And yeah- his accent doesn't help any.
But, what surprises me is how many early-releases he gets his hands on- that's why everyone goes to his channel on YouTube.
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff
He should do what I do; I have about 10+ different fake voices I switch around throughout the day. I don't even know why, I just do. Thankfully none of them have a Sean-esque sound.
I know this is kinda neither here nor there, but my favorite YouTube TF reviews are from peaugh. They're short, sweet, and to the point. He doesn't go on about the cartoon or other fluff I don't care about. He just transforms the toy, illustrates the toy's features/gimmicks, warns you about stuff to look out for, and gives his opinion of it. Bam. Done.
And no accent. ;P
--
Sanjeev
im not 100% sure but i could have sworn that in the cartoon his nunchucks come out of his shins or just below his knees.. or maybe they didnt anyways, iv found that some of the most entertaining TF reviews come from- ilovemess, and- megaprime26 both have totally different styles and neither really reviews the latest and greatest TF's but they are highly recomended.
I've never seen anything this beautiful in the entire galaxy - okay, give me the bomb
That was my exact thought too when I saw the toy's placement of the nunchaku.
So, I went back and carefully watched Jazz's debut in "Elite Guard". And, to my surprise, they did indeed come from his elbows! Reason I say this is the ejection mechanism(s) in the series are squarish gray blocks- just like the ones on the toy- rather than being rounded white covers from his knees. Now it may seem confusing because it makes more sense to deploy them from his knees, but they truly do come from his elbows. The other thing you need to realize is that a little bit of TV magic was used to hide those weapons in there, so that's also why it was easy to miss, and why it looks so odd on the toy.
Thanks for bringing that up, because I'm sure others are/were confused about it, and I never thought to mention it since I thought that I was the only one who had made that mistake.
. . .
Oh, and BTW, godmagnus1, that signature line of yours is absolutely fantastic! What's that from?
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff
ahh your right they do indeed come from his elbows. no doubt i was far to caught up in the moment while watching that episode.
haha thanks my signature is a line that ultra magnus uses in a transformers episode called "fight or flee" i think....
I've never seen anything this beautiful in the entire galaxy - okay, give me the bomb
Ironically, I just got Jazz as well. I like him, but the only thing i wish were done differently was maybe some kind of locking mechanism to keep the chest down in robot mode.
------------------------------
CollectionDX Admin
I, too, noticed the lack of a definable "click" when the chest was flipped over, but I thought it was just me or a minor & random manufacturing flaw.
But, as I say above, getting his heels past the front windshield is really trying, and my biggest gripe.
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff
Oh, that reminds me...
I didn't want to mention it in the review-proper, but for some strange reason, Jazz's torso and how it transforms reminds me vaguely of how movie Deluxe-class Concept Camaro Bumblebee's torso moves around and looks in the end. I don't know why- maybe it's how the shoulder joints inside tilt diagonally rather than being just straight; but the long panel behind his head, and the windshield on his back are undeniable...!
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff
Have you tried giving him "EXHAUST LASER NUNCHUCK WOLVERINE CLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWS(TM)"?
Cl-what??? Y- huh? Wha-? N- Claws? He ain't got no c--
(thinks for a moment)
...ohhhhh. Those claws... Huh- never thought of it that way. Hey- cool idea!
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff
If you're even remotely a Transformers fan,you have to see that "Fight or Flee" episode. Ultra Magnus' delivery of that line makes it one of the funniest things I've ever seen in a cartoon.
I'm remotely a Transformers fan. I just haven't seen G1/G2 before.
Anyways, I looked up the Ep. on YouTube. You're right- that is a hilarious line!
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff
Finally got one. I was just being paranoid about the arms, they look fine. But I agree the chest really should lock down.
Ironically, I just got Jazz as well. I like him, but the only thing i wish were done differently was maybe some kind of locking mechanism to keep the chest down in robot mode.
YahooMail, please contact me; it's important that I speak with you privately.
Be sure to set your CDX profile to allow other members to e-mail you as well.
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff
One of my favorite Transformers sites online (reprolabels) is on top of Jazz's lack of cartoon accuracy.
In Animated Upgrade Pack #10, well... they fixed it.
http://reprolabels.com/Animated/upgradea10.asp
AS you can see, this pack also has stickers for neck details on Jazz, as well as a good few other stickers included for Ultra Magnus and Sentinel Prime.
http://reprolabels.com/Animated/Upgrades/Mapa10_1.jpg
http://reprolabels.com/Animated/Upgrades/Mapa10_2.jpg
The way Hasbro botches up and or omits paint apps, it's good knowing there's fans consistently picking up the slack.
I guess it doesn't need to be said the Animated line alone has many a show-only app that needs fixing.
http://reprolabels.com/Animated/
I used to be more of a purist... but these days, not so much. It blows you need to shell out AFTER buying the initial figure, but... well, how else are you going to get a faithful representation of a character without waiting 25 years for a "masterpiece" or "collector" version to be produced?
: /
(And even then...)
Thanks for the info. I'll keep that in mind someday.
------------------------------
CollectionDX Staff