The Rise And Fall Of The SHOGUN WARRIORS | Vintage Henshin EXTRA
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- Опубликовано: 6 авг 2024
- A subject voted on by the Vintage Henshin Patreon! In the 1970s, one American toy company dared to challenge the competition with Japanese toys, towering over the market with rocket-punching, missile-firing Invincible Guardians of World Freedom. But what is the legacy of this toy line? Its history? Its future?!
Special extended thanks to Smug King for uploading the full Chogokin Demo Video. Check the episode cards for the full video!
FURTHER READING/VIEWING:
- via Let's Anime - More on the Marukai RAIDEEN broadcast, along with more little-known subtitled UHF anime: bit.ly/3bzd1tO
- WATCH HORROR FILMS, KEEP AMERICA STRONG - Documentary on KTLA's Creature Features show: vimeo.com/340571886
- TOKYOSCOPE, Episode 10 featuring Matt Alt and Patrick Macias talking the ups and downs of Japanese toy collecting: / episode-ten-toys-36085001
- The wealth of information over at ShogunWarriors.org
0:00 Intro
1:42 Chapter 1: "Chogokin, Only From Popy"
3:15 Chapter 2: "Those Crazy Japanese Toys"
5:03 Chapter 3: "Rise of the Shogun Warriors"
7:26 Chapter 4: "The Battle for Christmas '77"
11:25 Chapter 5: "Godzilla & Mattel, They (Rocket) Punch Punch Punch!"
13:59 Chapter 6: "The Brand That Failed"
18:01 Chapter 7: "Enter Godaikin!"
20:24 Chapter 8: "The New Generation"
22:32 Chapter 9: "Let Sleeping Memories Lie"
23:55 Credits
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TWITTER: @VintageHenshin
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I spoke to Marty Abrams from Mego a couple of weeks back, he told me that when he was getting Microman from Takara, he visited Bandai and was also offered what would become Shogun Warriors but he turned it down. When he saw the Mattel line on the shelves, he told me he really regretted it.
I just realized that by dying when they did, the shogun warriors dodged a major bullet, the toy line discontinued about the time the empire strikes back toyline came out, along with the infamous boba fett figure controversy, considering how many small projectiles those figure launched, if the changing of toy fads hadn’t killed them, the parent groups and controversy of that frenzy certainly would have
Fun fact: I actually was going to go into that in the main episode! Some behind-the-scenes shenanigans called for me to restructure the script, and a segment focusing on the projectile issues and the Galactica "Missile Mail-In" Campaign got lost in the cracks.
I'm 52yrs old ,and you had me mouth open in awe for the entire video. Thank you for turning me into an 8yr old full of wonder again.
This video brought a tear to this 46 year old fans eye. Great video!
From another fan in his late 40s, me too. Me too.
In the late '70s I was obsessed with Shogun warriors and the micronauts. to be a kid in the late '70s and early '80s was all sci-fi. And it was a lot of fun. After that it became all Smurfs...
Me too.... 😂😂 I had the 6 million dollar man.. as well as Shogun.. and the diecast metal small ones
I was born in 73. I can remember the craze in the late 70s. I was so happy anime caught on in America. In Chinatown at NYC I would always see model kits of various mech robots and knew that world still existed. Great video.
I remember having a Godzilla figure as a child and after I saw Godzilla vs. The cosmic monster I covered my Godzilla figure in aluminum foil to make my own Mechagodzilla.
That's genius! Pretty smart as a kid. How he look?
RAIDEEN was my favorite.
I'm 49 years old and this really brings back some very fond memories.
I had the five inch chogokin figure of RAIDEEN. Thank you for the nostalgia.
There was one major detail you left out of your retrospective of this toyline, one that was also a major factor in its downfall. Kids were hurting eachother with the toy's projectiles, and it stirred the ire of parents all across America. This was during the hight of the child safety scare that saw old toylines like this one get heavily nudderd to meet the new safety regulations.
So not only was it facing stiff competition from other toylines, but it also became a pariah among parents because of previous incidents with kids shooting at eachother with the toy's missiles.
True, I was planning to dig into it along with the Battlestar Galactica missile mail-in recall. Ultimately it ended up just slipping through the cracks in the final edit due to complications behind-the-scenes (I had to restart this episode from scratch midway through production, yay).
oh god yes i tortured my poor sister with the flying fists and chest missiles
What makes me sick to my stomach is knowing that as a kid I owned those classic Shogun Warrior characters I had mazinger Z and the great mazinger I remember casually losing the rocket punch fist and breaking off one of the diecast legs on my mazinger Z you see as an adult one of my past times is collecting soul of chogokin figures both modern and classic so it hurts me deep down in my gut to know that as a stupid little kid I was so reckless and careless with a figure that as an adult I would pay a small fortune for sometimes I think about wanting to build a time machine and going back in time and kicking my younger self right in the ass.
Nah! Toys were meant to be played with or else they would end up on the island of unwanted toys...
If you didn't play with it, you wouldn't have such fond memories of it. Hawley is right as toy in boxes are no fun to a kid. It's like having a birthday cake, but can't eat it. My brothers and I had 3 of the big plastic ones. They were so much fun. I wonder if I can 3d print one now?
Kids are supposed to play with toys, just because you have an obsessive compulsion now doesn't mean you should be able to punish your younger self for being normal
I had a bunch of these as a kid as well. I really wish that I still kept them or convinced my parents not to get rid of them since I have no recollection of what happened to any of htem.
Well, a lot of them are being remade again today. Could always pick some of those up. Ease your soul a bit.
I had Great Mazinga and Godzilla...and some of the Shogun Warriors Marvel Comics.
These images were truly everything to my seventh grade heart and mind. I really believe this was my first taste of what it's like to have your soul crushed. Seeing the TV guide listing on our local station for the afternoon Shogun cartoon at 5pm in Sept 1980 and it never aired. They continued showing Battle of the Planets reruns and I went ahead and just grew up. Thanks for showing me the reality of the situation. It was wonderful playing with those fantastical toys.
The Marvel Micronauts comic was one of the better efforts of its era, went far beyond just being a toy commercial. It was admittedly rather obvious about borrowing from Star Wars in spots, but it executed it well and a young Michael Golden's artwork gave it a distinctive look. The similarly toy-inspired Rom: Spaceknight book lasted longer and was (at times) a better read, but the original arc in Micronauts was top notch.
This is the best Shogun Warriors historical video on RUclips. All the other ones fall short of this one. Even the video produced by Toy Galaxy was lackluster. I loved how you tied in the history and aftermath of Japanese toys as a whole surrounding the legacy of Shogun Warriors. This is the quintessential video to show others who don't know what Shogun Warriors was about. Thank you for your time and effort in producing this video!!
I never knew there was a Micronauts connection.
You know Toy Galaxy now did a longer version of the vid similar to this one. Just as good as this retrospective.
Toy Galaxy didn’t go that in depth to the history of the Japanese toys, but their video wasn’t bad at all. Their focus was on the American brand, and in that regard it’s pretty good. I see this video and the Toy Galaxy one as just two sides of the same coin for the same story. Both are great and I learned a lot from these.
@mr.goblin6039 that sounds like a good idea, they are indeed 2 sides of the coin in that, so that's a good thinking!
I also didn't realize how much a moving force Kiku Honolulu was in the tokusatsu/toy/ licensing development. I was born a little too late in 1981, but I remember watching a little bit of diamond eye on it when I was really small and they re-aired kikaida in 1993 for a short bit. But to me kiku was just the channel my Grandparents watched Abarembo Shogun and other Japanese mystery and samurai dramas on. My dad still watches their new samurai shows even now. Amazing to think that they contributed so much. Wow.
"Invincible Guardians of World Freedom" is such an incredible tagline.
Remind me of a very obscure but awesome toy line from Takara: Armored Police Metal Jack
I was so envious of the neighborhood kids who had these toys...
Good stuff! The early/mid 80s TRU “robot aisle” was magical; Dougram, Votoms, Xabungle, Dunbine, Prares Sanshiro, etc. Gold, Jerry, gold!
Sounds like it. Oh to have a time machine just to go back and buy up the lot of them...
Vintage Henshin I want to say it was the one that used to be up by Mayfair Mall. After connecting with coastal collectors on TBDX many years later and hearing what the Bay Area folks and Massholes were getting, I was a bit envious!
excellent video dude --- really brought back some memories!
OMG!! I had that Godzilla toy. I was way too young to know where it even came from. I completely forgot about it until now.
I remember Mazinger as Tranzor Z in the early 80's.
very different.
"Sometimes, well, he's not a very straight shooter."
You just know the copy editor of that news network was having himself a giggle at that line making air.
Also the fact Bandai made Tamashii Nations which involves anime robots and got American releases defeats the purpose of a Shogun Warriors and Godaikin revival as well.
Great video! I was born in 74 and have distinct memories of finding Shogun toys at rummage sales. I was also strangely given a brand new Bandai Godaikin Godsigma at Rahway Penitentiary in the mid 80's, I'm still not sure that wasn't a fever dream.
What a great decade to be a kid. Before video games took over and later the internet. When you were a kid in the 70’s kids were riding bikes and playing non stop. The Mego Super hero line was one of my fav along with Hot Wheels, The Six Million Dollar Man,Comic books and the Shogun Warriors. I wasn’t into Star Wars as much as most kids. The Shogun Warriors were amazing. Still have mine today in the attic protecting my house👍
Aw, man, I loved these as a kid. I had Raydeen and Daimos. Always wanted Gaiking, but never managed to get them.
Got a bit of nostalgia high by watching the Gaiking 2005 revival anime with my son. :)
As a child of this era, I can say that the lack of any TV series for the Shogun Warriors or Godaikin had no serious impact on whether or not I wanted them. It was the price point. I had a number of the smaller vehicles from the Shogun Warriors line. The Shigcon Jet was one of my favorite toys, despite it not fitting in with my Star Wars toys. The giant robots were simply not in my price range. I was practically drooling the first time I saw Godaikin mecha at Toys R Us, but they were outrageously expensive. It would have taken me half a years worth of allowance to buy Golion. That doesn't seem so long as an adult, but it's an eternity when you're a kid.
Have we forgotten "ROM:Space Knight."
I mean Rom is doing pretty well for himself these days with the IDW comic series!
Really well done video. I remember the Jim Terry Productions Force Five series when it was out. A lot of us in New England, North Eastern states watched that way back in the day. Good times back then.
Yes, we need more rocket fists, we always need more rocket fists.
There was a hero action figure called Torpedo Fist.
We still have a marukai in Hawaii. But now it's just a small section of capsule toys and blind boxes. I'm really loving your videos!
I was in a used book store up in Cincinnati when I ran across an entire collection of Shogun warriors done by Marvel comics. I was floored because I knew all these robots because earlier I had lived in Japan right there at the end of the '70s in the beginning of the early '80s.
What a great trip down memory lane! As a kid growing up in the 70's, I had a lot of those toys! Sadly, as a kid of the 70's, I also had no clue about collectables. LOL! All of those toys either broke or lost. However, one thing I won't regret is the countless hours I spent playing with them and how they fueled my imagination as a kid.
This video displayed my childhood. These toys, especially the Micronauts were my world. I can't believe this video showed so many things I had as a child.
Hi , I'm from Mexico and i want to share a similar story with the Shogun warriors and even Kamen rider here in my country .
Jugarama was a brand in 1976 who brought to Mexico 3 jumbo mazingers and 1 Kamen rider,
and yes 3 of them where renamed except geta 1 .
They have some weird names
Goro Goro was geta 3 ,
Aquaman was Kamen rider X and
Ultraman was the name for Raideen
Fun fact , the return of ultraman was broadcast in Mexico in 1975 before this toy line was brought in here . Even the original ultraman and ultraseven were broadcast in the late 60's and they were very popular among kids , and some people suggest that was the reason for renaming raideen .
Oh heck! Thanks for sharing, I will definitely have to take a deep dive into that on my own time.
I remember In when I was visiting family in Puerto Rico had my cousin had Gaiking toy. I even recall my mom rented Gaiking on VHS that was around the mid 1980's.
Aquaman was not an official release, it was a bootleg.
I remember visiting relatives in Mexico in the late 70s and being fascinated with their Japanese toys.
I had mazinga,radeen, and getter robo when I was a kid. knew nothing about them but they were my prized possessions.😀
I'm 47 and i still have that huge Godzilla figure!!!! My 10 year old plays with it now! Thank you for this video, brought back a lot of memories from the Shogun toy line. I had the initial three robots, Rodan and Godzilla!
アメリカでも日本のロボット玩具を販売してたとは、全然知らなかった。日本の玩具メーカーもアメリカの玩具メーカーと提携して頑張ってた事を知りました。 ジャンボマシンダーの登場は、当時の子供には驚きだった。でも欲しくても、価格が高くて買ってもらえなかった。懐かしい昭和の玩具を思い出させてくれてありがとう。最後の「owari」には笑ってしまいました。
I never knew that Japanese robot toys were also sold in the United States. I learned that Japanese toy makers also worked hard in partnership with American toy makers. The appearance of Jumbo Machinedar was a surprise to children at the time.
But even if I wanted it, it was too expensive to buy. Thank you for reminding me of the nostalgic Showa toys.
I laughed at the last "owari".
Shogun Warriors was basically a prototype to the Super Robot Wars video games.
I so loved this video, I remember watching the cartoon in early 80s in Dominican Republic. Could never remember the name until now. Great video.
Thanks a lot! I think I shed a tear at the end, damn it! ~Mazinga , Christmas '76 or '77
A lot of people have mentioned that! I’m happy to have brought back some good memories in that case and thanks!
Imagine a Shogun Warrior Pacific Rim toy line
Like the one shown in the actual film
Now funding a Kickstarter for a rocket to get me to that universe
I'm combining a Raideen head from Shogun Warriors with the body of a Marvel Universe Sentinel for a 23" tall super posable version of the old Shogun... I still have a ways to go, but it's a labor of love...
Great video! I lived in Guam '79-'82, and there was plenty of Japanese influence. Not all of that neat stuff had its full impact stateside, and Shogun Warriors just kind of faded away. With each new wave of Japanese pop culture, I'm always reminded of Speed Racer, Johnny Sokko, Ultraman, and the Shogun Warriors.
The SW's went hand-in-hand with my 1970's youth! So many fond memories of pitting Mazinga against Godzilla! I also had a few issues of the comic book line as well. Those toys took a beating and wound up missing a few parts here and there, but most kids of my era played rough with their toys, and we didn't think twice about it. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20, and as a 50-something toy collector now, I kind of wish we had taken better care of them.
I used to have a bunch of those - can't imagine how much they'd be worth now even in used condition. Nice video though as a walk down memory lane.
I had the Great Mazinga as a kid, later having quite a micronauts collection, sadly almost all got destroyed in a house fire. I still have some of comic books. Also had ROM the space Knight and its comics, ahh good times.
Technically they were "Saturday Afternoons", not mornings where I saw them.
An excellent video with an excellent, insightful, mature and thoughtful conclusion. Could not agree with you more. Finding the vintage, smaller-sized Great Mazinger and Voltes V on a trip to Japan gave me more joy than any modern re-release could hope to match, and new ideas are sorely lacking in these IP-obsessed times. Here's to any Shogun Warriors future bringing with it something we've never seen before.
Thank you so much for this video! Brings back a lot of great memories and was super informative!!!
Awesome video! This really brought back some of the best memories of my childhood. Thank you for such a great presentation!
Absolutely great video I grew up in japan in the early 70’s I loved the Giant robots there was not one I didn’t have. My collection to this day looks like a small toy store. I now reside in japan I decided to Go to the big mandrake in Nakano. Good God the toys start at $800 the jumbo figures $3000. My prize possession is jumbo UFO Daiapolon. I actually picked that up in queens NYC. Everything I have is complete and still in the boxes but I can’t give them up. As for my comic and toy collection I’m gonna need a bigger boat. I still have this plastic toy of Daiapolon it was going for $2000. It came in a pack of candies when I was 6 cost ¥360 yen I couldn’t believe I saw the current price. When I arrived back in the states we had Japanese TV programs in Manhattan on Saturday’s from 7pm until 2am to see the old cyborg 009 brought back some memories. Raideen, Grendizer and Daiapolon were my favorites growing up in japan, 1975 was a great year.
I want to make one statement, Jim Terry in no way was in a buisness agreement with Mattel. Jim purchased the licensing for the five shows, The Great Mazinger fell through and The Spacekateers, which, had no Giant Robot was used in the line up. Jim Terry was the one who used The Shogun Warriors when all five Force Five shows was Dubbed into a 1 hour and 41 minute movie on Showtime, Mattel was unaware of it.
Yet another amazing video from you! So much amazing detailed history. I always learn something new from your videos. That 2013 Shogun Warriors line seemed awesome. I very much wish to own them and hope they somehow get made!
Really great video- both full of facts and your obvious love of the line!
Wow! This was put together very well! So many memories came flooding back. Brought a tear to my eye!
Subscribed! Equal amounts info, expert narration, and humor.
Thank you! Exceptional research, production, and passion. Very much appreciated.
So glad this showed up in my feed! I was so young during this time I all but forgot about a lot of the details. I even remember having a Godzilla and Mazinger Z. Thanks for the walk down memory lane
Loved the video! It brought up a lot of memories and put me on the path to collecting!
This video gave me goosebumps throughout. I miss this era. Great work!
I have all the US Jumbo Shogun Warriors, the Canadian Goldorak/Grendizer, Godzilla, Rodan, the Popy Godzilla, Combattler V, as well as all three Getter Robo G jumbos! I also collected the Jumbo LJN Voltron from the 80s and the Jumbo Shogun line from Toynami released a few years ago! I'm obsessed and love them all! Fantastic video!
Excellent video! I was there when these were new! I was awe struck! Popy Bullmark , shogun warriors and Godaikens were my toy of choice! And to this day I still collect them.
Best video about Shogun Warriors. Great job!
Nice touch having the themes from Mazinger Z & Combattler V and other series in the background.
Watched Svengoolie recently, didnt even know it was a "son of"! Great stuff though, loving these videos. THE KNOWLEDGEEEEEE
Fun fact, he held the “Son Of” title after taking over for the original, but eventually got the blessing to remove it. Also, thanks!
Yes yes yes! You validate my entire childhood! I used to watch these and G-Force on Showtime in the 80s and be in heaven!! Nobody else knew what shows I was talking about! We were on of the only families with cable in my hood.
Awesome! Good job thanks for doing this. I was having trouble remembering some of the robot names and shows. Great memories :-)
Best times of our lives in the 70's . I still have my shogun warrior comic books. Raiden was the best one to me.
There should be a Love button for this video!
Excellent work!
Wow. Don't even know this video exists. I love it. Brought back my childhood memory. Thank you.
Thanks for putting this together. Brought back a lot of memories for me and to know the history of the toy line.
I remember wanting to get the raydeen shogun warrior at Fedco and my older brother talked me into getting mazinga instead.
I mean that is a good trade-off but I do also love me some Raideen/Raydeen so I feel that pain. All the same, happy to help bring back some good memories.
I never knew that Super Shogun Optimus Prime existed. What an awesome looking toy. Never realized that there was an Optimus Prime toy, prior to Master Piece, that bore so close a likeness to the comic and cartoon.
The Shogun Warriors were an iconic part of my youth in the 70's. I had the Mazinga and Godzilla jumbo machinders plus a few issues of the Marvel comic. Hours and hours of fun!
I had the Raideen Shogun Warrior as a kid and I loved it! Unfortunately I lost it in a house fire in 1981. But it was one of my favorite toys growing up.
I really like your video, and I still own several of the Shogun Warriors and Soul of Chogokin. But i disagreed that they should be lost in the past. Many cartoons from the 80's shows have seem newer beginnings in recent years, some less than interesting stories have seen movies in the big screen. I hope that one day I get to see them in the big screen too. PS. I did enjoy Mazinger Infinity in the big screen as much as I enjoyed Shin Gojira.
This was well made. Excellent documentary!
DUUUDE. My brother and I had all the Shogun Warriors and Micronauts in the late 70s and early 80s. Loved to have them in battles against our Transformers and GI Joe toys in battlefields made from Erector sets while watching Saturday morning cartoons until noon. THAT'S when being a kid was awesome!
Thank you so much for this!!
I had a Mazinga and of course, the Godzilla!! We had a show and tell at school and the subject was our favorite toy and I actually got to take my Godzilla to school with me!!
I was pretty popular that day.
Loved this video.
Omg I managed to score Godaiken Godsigma, Daltanias and Daidenjin with a $500 shopping spree at J. Cort Toys when I was like 10 years old! Still have them in box in storage even.
What a great video. Also glad I discovered this channel!
Amazing all encompassing retrospective! Great job 👍🏾
FANTASTIC video!!!
This is why I enjoy RUclips. Amazing content. Subscribed.
Great video ! I loved it 👍
Excellent, brought a tear in my eye.
Williamwu hishow gun warroiwear
Great memories. I had Shogun Warrior toys as a kid. Awesome vid.
I had the giant Shogun Gaiking featured right in the middle of the thumbnail pic as a little kid in the late '70s, but I didn't know any of the backstory, so my parents just told me to call him Shogun Warrior. That toy was passed down to my brothers later. They lost the flying fist and 2 of the missiles, and broke off 1 of the rolling feet. My dad glued it back on, and glued a trident onto the arm to replace the missing fist. I always wanted to pull the head off and just imagine it as a spaceship, but I never could manage to pop it out of the body, because that part was built like a tank!
The production value of your videos is really high! You deserve way more subs!
Great video. Brought back good memories of my childhood
Great review AAA++++you took me back in time...
Holy hell this channel is perfect. Thank you.
The guy who was the host of Son of Svenghoulie is the current Svenghoulie and is still going strong on METV.
There’s a local family owned food joint that’s been in my town since the 80s and still going, and as long as I can remember they HAVE a Shogun Warriors Godzilla by their soda machine.
I don’t know the story on it but it’s been there for years even when they relocated shop.
You should ask them if they'd be willing to part with it!
Best video I’ve ever seen of these toys. Arigatou!
Outstanding. Having lived it (in real time), I knew much of it. But I'd forgotten. I still have my original, 24", pre-Shogun Warriors RAIDEEN. Much more well-constructed then the Mattel remake; with a flexible, rubbery head. The "God Missile" still fires and could damn near put somebody's eye out-- to this day!
Another great video! Love my Takara Microman and Henshin Cyborg figures... and while I think the Shogun Warriors are amazing, they are waaay out of my price range these days. Love a bunch of Popy's other figures. Hope to see more toy-centric videos from ya!
Chogokin is my favourite toy line in my collection and I'm still hunting this today and thanks to this informative review
Another great video VH!
Damn, love the video and you really did your research knowing "Goldorak" and all!
Grandaizer in up till now one of the biggest anime ever in France on the same level as DBZ.
Thanks! I used to have friends in French fan circles where I learned a lot about 80s sentai, Metal Hero shows, and some anime. So Goldorak was always in the mix somewhere!
@@VintageHenshin yeah, the 80th was really good for japones show lovers in France. we love Space Sheriff Gaban, called after the French actor "Jean Gabin".
Anyway, great Chanel, thanks for the video. I'm subscribing right away ❤️
Love it, from head to toe. I wish that Mattel would bring back the Shogun Warriors in their 24 inch glory. They were awesome and truly captured my imagination back in the day.
Keep up the excellent work. Take care and thank you very much. Brought back happy memories.