Takara: On the Ball?

By Anthony Brucale

What's to Come

The upcoming affordable, well-packaged reissues of Jazz and Prowl may be the tip of the iceberg. There's also the nice selection of characters in Acts 7 and 8 of the PVC line (despite the filler pewter toys), and there is promise of some interesting developments in the SCF line, such as Hot Rod/Rodimus with movie accessories (like his saw blade) and combining Star Saber and Victory Leo SCFs.

Even the exclusives are shaping up. Instead of black and clear versions of toys, we're getting more show-themed recolors, such as "Golden Lagoon" Jazz and "Anime" Bluestreak, both with cartoon-style touch ups. And, as recently announced at Tokyo Toy Fare, Takara's next reissue plans include Soundwave with up to three tapes, Skids and Tracks.

Conclusion

Takara's reputation is still heavily tarnished, though on the upswing. If they handle the current reissues and SCFs better than they have handled their Transformers output since "Beast Wars: Metals", there may be decidedly more success on the Asian front. If Japanese store E-Hobby stays on the ball and requests specific recolors, we may very well see Red Tracks and Skids. And if Takara must do their black repaints, there's a good chance we could see a Soundblaster reissue

I don't know many fans who would object to that.

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