Jettoras

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.