MP Star Saber - Brainmaster gimmick & more!

[Alpha Supreme]

I wasn't sure I would be getting this figure... however as usual the more I see the more I like... funnily enough I have never seen this series... and I call myself a Transfan!!! pffft.

[1AZRAEL1]

I wasn't sure I would be getting this figure... however as usual the more I see the more I like... funnily enough I have never seen this series... and I call myself a Transfan!!! pffft.

I haven't either, but I own his G1 iteration

[Sinnertwin]

I wasn't sure I would be getting this figure... however as usual the more I see the more I like... funnily enough I have never seen this series... and I call myself a Transfan!!! pffft.

I haven't either, but I own his G1 iteration

SMH. Haven't seen it?!?!
Tsk Tsk Tsk

[1AZRAEL1]

SMH

Sydney Morning Herald?

[Alpha Supreme]

Sydney Morning Herald?

LOL

[Alpha Supreme]

SMH. Haven't seen it?!?!
Tsk Tsk Tsk

I was going to buy the DVD's when they first came out and JBHiFi had them on special but they weren't in stock so I missed out. But in an exciting development in my work life I will now be regularly visiting LA so i might try and get them from america.

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't think it's unusual to like a toy despite not having seen its canonical appearance. Particularly prior to 2007, many of us collected TF toys long before they ever appeared in canon (if ever). I think it's perfectly fine to like a toy despite not having seen its canonical appearance (and also dislike a toy despite its canonical appearance). I personally find G1 Hubcap to be one of the better G1 Autobot mini-cars, yet he's made so few canonical appearances that I could count them on one hand. G1 Wheelie on the other hand has had more canon-time than any other 1986 Mini-Bot, yet I find him to be easily the weakest of the G1 Autobot mini-cars. I love Thunderwing as a character, but the G1 toy is pretty ordinary (okay, he's the best of the Mega Pretenders, but that's not a high standard ). Conversely I quite like the G1 Skids toy, but his appearance in the G1 cartoon is quite limited. I personally owned a lot of Transformers long before I ever saw them appear in the cartoon or comics, so my opinions of those toys were often already formed by time they made their canonical appearances.

If MP Star Sabre looks like a toy that appeals to you, then by all means consider getting it - regardless of whether you've seen the show or not. I've watched all of Victory, and I've seen/handled the original G1 toy. In my personal opinion, the G1 toy is rubbish, and the character... well... he's basically the same archetype as Optimus Prime (i.e. flawless heroic saviour). The G1 cartoon wasn't known for great character depth (that's was more of the comics' domain). But tbh, that's what Japanese fans love. They tried something really different with Dai Atlas in TF Zone, and received massive backlash for 'daring' to create a less-than-virtuous Autobot leader (although coincidentally, this is one of the strengths of the IDW G1 continuity, giving us morally dubious characters like Prowl etc.). Yeah sure, Star Sabre is a character that I do like -- if you like G1 Optimus Prime, then you ought to like Star Sabre (since their personalities are virtually identical)... but another big appeal of the MP toy is that it's offering what looks to me to be a good Star Sabre toy that ought to be worth getting. As someone who's not a fan of the G1 toy, there's no way that I'd be willing to pay aftermarket prices for one. I did get the Robot Masters figure, which was cheap, but also small and limited (but good value for $15 ). A pre-ordered MISB MP Star Sabre will likely cost only a fraction of what it would cost to buy an MISB G1 Star Sabre, and would offer me better value for money. I don't mean to devalue the G1 Star Sabre toy for those who own one and love it. This is purely based on my own subjective personal preferences.

[kaiden]

They tried something really different with Dai Atlas in TF Zone, and received massive backlash for 'daring' to create a less-than-virtuous Autobot leader (although coincidentally, this is one of the strengths of the IDW G1 continuity, giving us morally dubious characters like Prowl etc.).

do Japanese people even read IDW comics? I have no idea if they're translated into Japanese but I doubt many would import and read it in English.

[GoktimusPrime]

do Japanese people even read IDW comics? I have no idea if they're translated into Japanese but I doubt many would import and read it in English.

You're right, AFAIK there are no Japanese translations of the IDW comics and the majority of Japanese fans wouldn't have access to these comics. I know that the tastes of the Japanese fandom in 1990 isn't directly comparable with the taste of Anglophone fans today, but just thought that it was an interesting coincident that the same basic concept works differently across two different cultural and time contexts. At any rate, Star Sabre is very much a text-book Autobot leader archetype -- which has proven to be popular/successful w/ Japanese G1 fans.

[kaiden]

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