I got a vast collection of Joes, mostly from 1974-76 and they almost all muscle body figures. But I always been a fan of the Japanese Takara Joes. Gotta get me some soon! Thanks for this video!
The British company you mentioned is Denys Fisher Toys. Denys Fisher himself was an engineer, and the inventor of the Spirograph, so now I know the name to curse for inflicting the most frustrating toy of my childhood upon me.
Phrases to Google like "Henchin Cyborg" are very helpful! I had seen a 1/6 Godzilla suit on ebay but there was nothing that would allow me to find more information like that. The same thing happened with the company names for the French figures: I was able to find a very interesting 4X4 in several different styles through that information (Joustra Dune Cruiser).
I think some of the Takara figures after Henshin Cyborg that Ace mentioned are actually called "Android Ace." Some people just call them "Android A" but the "A" is like the Ace on a deck of cards. (It even says "Ace" smaller on the package). Ace should definitely have a GI Joe descendent named Ace. :)
Another fascinating episode! When I was a kid (full on in my G.I. Joe phase), I lived in Honolulu, Hawaii. Japanese media and products were fairly common, and at the Ala Moana Shopping Center, the big mall there, a favorite store was Shirokiya, pretty much a complete Japanese department store. Their toy section was amazing! They had the original Microman/Micronauts line, along with an abundance of toys and literature for whatever tokusatsu was prevalent at the time (the local Japanese language TV station, KIKU at the time, aired a lot of those shows with English subtitles). It's interesting to see that much the same Micronauts commercials I watched in Japanese on KIKU were remade in English, searchable on RUclips. =^[.]^=
It is said that based on catalogs and ads, the first anime head Takara Joes came out in 1970, followed by the henshin cyborgs in 1972. Also, this first generation Takara Joes were called "New" GI Joe because the japanese word for New appears on the box. The later 80s Takara were the ones called Combat Joe
Awesome work Guy's!! I never knew japan did a GI Joe up until a few years ago when I started looking in to Takara figure clothing. As Greg put it, it was a trip down the rabbit hole...lol Again Awesome show Guy's!!!
Loved this episode! Great take on the connection between GI Joe, Henshin Cyborg, Microman/Micronauts Diaclone/Inchman and Transformers. Good stuff as always!
I heard a story that the Japanese Joe in the Godzilla suit was originally supposed to be a WW2 Japanese soldier with headband. They didn’t want to make the soldier for political reasons, so they converted him to the Godzilla guy. This story came from a Japanese toy expert who grew up in Hong Kong.
Another excellent and informative video, well done. Thank you.
Love the videos love Cotswold products, just got my order in the mail ,ready to order more stuff.
Awesome episode, great figures and interesting info!!!
I got a vast collection of Joes, mostly from 1974-76 and they almost all muscle body figures. But I always been a fan of the Japanese Takara Joes. Gotta get me some soon! Thanks for this video!
These videos are great!!
Great , guys good to see !!! Amazing knowledge
The British company you mentioned is Denys Fisher Toys. Denys Fisher himself was an engineer, and the inventor of the Spirograph, so now I know the name to curse for inflicting the most frustrating toy of my childhood upon me.
Phrases to Google like "Henchin Cyborg" are very helpful! I had seen a 1/6 Godzilla suit on ebay but there was nothing that would allow me to find more information like that. The same thing happened with the company names for the French figures: I was able to find a very interesting 4X4 in several different styles through that information (Joustra Dune Cruiser).
I think some of the Takara figures after Henshin Cyborg that Ace mentioned are actually called "Android Ace."
Some people just call them "Android A" but the "A" is like the Ace on a deck of cards. (It even says "Ace" smaller on the package). Ace should definitely have a GI Joe descendent named Ace. :)
Another fascinating episode! When I was a kid (full on in my G.I. Joe phase), I lived in Honolulu, Hawaii. Japanese media and products were fairly common, and at the Ala Moana Shopping Center, the big mall there, a favorite store was Shirokiya, pretty much a complete Japanese department store. Their toy section was amazing! They had the original Microman/Micronauts line, along with an abundance of toys and literature for whatever tokusatsu was prevalent at the time (the local Japanese language TV station, KIKU at the time, aired a lot of those shows with English subtitles). It's interesting to see that much the same Micronauts commercials I watched in Japanese on KIKU were remade in English, searchable on RUclips. =^[.]^=
It is said that based on catalogs and ads, the first anime head Takara Joes came out in 1970, followed by the henshin cyborgs in 1972. Also, this first generation Takara Joes were called "New" GI Joe because the japanese word for New appears on the box. The later 80s Takara were the ones called Combat Joe
Awesome work Guy's!! I never knew japan did a GI Joe up until a few years ago when I started looking in to Takara figure clothing. As Greg put it, it was a trip down the rabbit hole...lol Again Awesome show Guy's!!!
Loved this episode! Great take on the connection between GI Joe, Henshin Cyborg, Microman/Micronauts Diaclone/Inchman and Transformers.
Good stuff as always!
I'm very well-versed on Henshin and Shonen Cyborgs and Greg was pretty spot on. Don't forget MEGO and how the Micronauts play into the story!
Hasbro-Takara-MEGO-Hasbro - Circle of Life. ;-)
Great presentation!
I heard a story that the Japanese Joe in the Godzilla suit was originally supposed to be a WW2 Japanese soldier with headband. They didn’t want to make the soldier for political reasons, so they converted him to the Godzilla guy. This story came from a Japanese toy expert who grew up in Hong Kong.
Another great episode guys. I love these videos. Sad that there is only one more coming.
What's nice is we have two more videos to wrap up the year, and both are with David Howard. 🙂