Toy Review - OPTIMUS PRIMAL (Rise of the Beasts, Kakusei)

Kakusei OPTIMUS PRIMAL
Series - Rise of the Beasts
Size/class - Ultimate
New/remould/redeco - new
Wave - N/A (Hasbro Pulse and TakaraTomy Mall exclusive)
Released here - No (July 2023 overseas)
Approximate Retail Price - 8580JPY ($90)
Approximate Size - 22cm
Allegiance - Maximal
Alt-mode - robotic gorilla
Main Features/Gimmicks - x2 missile launchers, pop-up forearm cannons, face-changing, 5mm ports
Main Colours - black, metallic grey
Main Accessories - x2 swords, x2 missiles, Burning Cheetor Battle Master (TakaraTomy Mall only)

Note: "Kakusei" (say "cuck-say") can be translated as "awakening," and both tfwiki and Amazon refer to this toy as "Awakening" Optimus Primal. Star Wars Force Awakening is called "Force Kakusei" in Japan. It can also translate as "arise" or "rise," as Rise of the Beasts is called "Beast Kakusei" in Japanese. For this reason, I prefer to translate "Kakusei" as "Rise," but since Amazon and tfwiki are translate it otherwise, I have just referred to this toy as "Kakusei," which is its official name. AFAIK there is no official English translation.

https://i.ibb.co/8zp7M2j/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei01.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/qCPbg0C/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei02.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/6yK3gFc/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei03.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/J2n2CJv/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei04.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/b1TbgtJ/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei05.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/L5zqp3z/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei06.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/NNgZq0n/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei07.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/crnS2Bz/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei08.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/xXYvymt/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei09.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/SRZPdGs/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei10.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/h8hN4Fm/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei11.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/h1xGF2p/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei12.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Q8LgD8J/ROTB-optimu...-kakusei13.jpg

An absolutely gorgeous figure that's really fun to play with, including some play elements from the original Ultra class Optimus Primal toy. The MP-like articulated fingers are a nice touch, as is the face-changing gimmick. My only real complaint about this toy is the robot feet's inability to conceal themselves properly in beast mode. They just flip out and rest against the back of the lower legs like eyesores. Even the much cheaper and smaller mainline Voyager Optimus Primal can fold away nicely; I see no reason why this larger and dearer toy can't at least do the same. I personally don't care much for Burning Cheetor, but it was a free bonus figure. The other arguable drawback is that this toy is signifcantly out-of scale with other ROTB toys. But IMO the pros greatly outweigh the cons, and thus I do consider this toy worth getting.

I’d ordered one from Amazon.co.jp, so that I could get the exclusive red cheetor. I didn’t realise it until I read the instruction manual, but all the little toys (e.g. cheetor, rhinos, prime) that transform into weapons are actually designed to be used with this toy. There are a ton of mounting points for the weapons, so you have a bristling Optimus Primal. Add to that the extra missiles, the arm cannons, and you have one kick ass giant monkey that’s really fun to play with, and a better buy that the smaller Optimus Primal release for the mainline toy. He’s also heftier in size, and the swords have paint apps rather than dull grey.

I very strongly suspect that this will end up being a much sought after item in the west, given our limited ability to acquire it. I’d buy one on amazon.co.jp now while you can, because aftermarket prices might be high. Studio Series Primal will be bigger and more screen accurate, but this toy is just so much fun to play with right now.

Yeah, I know the red Cheetor is a limited Japanese exclusive, but I just didn't care for it so I gave it away to another collector who was looking for it and will appreciate it far more than I ever would. :)