In the 1980’s the Japanese anime craze was shifting gears. With the popularity of the Tranformers cartoon, several toys created by Takara were re-packaged by Hasbro under the Tranformers banner, including the granddaddy of them all, Autobot leader Optimus Prime.
(note- forgive my ignorance if I get any of my facts wrong on this one, I’m still a novice on Japanese toys)
My exposure to Japanese robots came about after I was intrigued enough from Transformers to seek out the ‘real thing’ at an import shop in Boston. I walked away with as very strange toy that I only recently learned was of Daimos. The shop was full of strange and wonderful robots that would haunt me for decades afterwards. Like a bizarre dream come true, my glimpse into the world of Japanese toys left me with an indelible scar of intrigue.
The level of craftsmanship shown in these toys is just uncanny, hardly translating into the American releases by Hasbro.
Just look at the ‘master edition’ of Optimus Prime by Takara!
With the release of Transformers 2: Even Worse Than Transformers 1 (working title), I thought it would be neat to take a look at how the trucker known to us all simply as ‘Prime’ was presented overseas.
Japanese Diaclone Ultra-Magnus ad
The popularity of the toy and cartoon character of Optimus Prime has led many rising film makers to experiment, including this amazing (if short) piece.
Optimus Prime transformation (note- no audio)
Of course if you want to get technical, the ‘real’ transformer has been around for ages:
