Price Drops Across the Board for MPG Shouki, $127 On Amazon Japan and $159 on Pulse and EE

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I honestly wanted to change my order now that it's cheaper, but we are passed the Amazon.jp cancellation time.

I hope the Amazon Japan cost drops. It's usually like 15-20% cheaper than importing retail

william-james88 wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I honestly wanted to change my order now that it's cheaper, but we are passed the Amazon.jp cancellation time.

I hope the Amazon Japan cost drops. It's usually like 15-20% cheaper than importing retail

It won't go lower, this is the cheaper price we were all expecting. What we were not expecting is that the western imports would lower their price t be more competitive.

But as of right now, the Amazon japan price is exactly 20% lower than the import prices.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:But, for me right now, it is exactly the same to get it shipped with tax from Pulse as it is to get it from amazon japan shipped

o.supreme wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:But, for me right now, it is exactly the same to get it shipped with tax from Pulse as it is to get it from amazon japan shipped

Are you sure? I know every state has different tax rates. However, right now for me on Amazon Japan it is ￥ 17,511, after shipping, which is $151.80, which should be the final price as I understand it. Meanwhile Pulse is $158.99 plus taxes ($12.32) brings the total to $171.31, if I were to order from them.

basically a $20 savings with Amazon Japan.

o.supreme wrote:Interesting. It could be a rare case. because you are on the East Coast (further to ship from Japan, than myself being on the West Coast), plus PA taxes being less, where you could actually save a small bit by ordering form Pulse.

Again, a reason why it is good to do the research based on each persons location. tax and shipping rates.

o.supreme wrote:Interesting. It could be a rare case. because you are on the East Coast (further to ship from Japan, than myself being on the West Coast), plus PA taxes being less, where the savings almost negate one another.

Emerje wrote:

o.supreme wrote:Interesting. It could be a rare case. because you are on the East Coast (further to ship from Japan, than myself being on the West Coast), plus PA taxes being less, where the savings almost negate one another.

I'm way up here in Maine and my final cost is basically the same as yours. Some of our Canadian friends are 250 miles north of me and they got roughly the same price before their added tax.

DMax, just to be sure, you were logged in when ordering?

Emerje

Doctor Ōnishi, a huge fan of vintage trains, asked that he be allowed to name the DE10 diesel locomotive. He named him Kaen, a blaze that would burn brightly in the service of Japan and all mankind. Doctor Ishihara, born and raised in Tokyo, chose to name the Tōkai-type 153 express from her home metropolis. Proud of her proficiency with martial arts, named Suiken after her favorite style of martial arts. Doctor Gō, as the youngest member of the team, was given the newest model of train to name, the 200 Series Shinkansen. He chose Yukikaze, after the wind of his native Hokkaido. Doctor Fujiyama, who was born in Kyushu, chose to name the 485-200 series engine. He named him Seizan, after the mountains of his home region. Doctor Takahashi expressed little interest in which mech she would name, and was given the EF65-1000 by default. She chose Getsuei, for the Trainbots would have the capacity to travel to the moon and beyond. Last, though certainly not least, Doctor Yoshikawa was given the honor of naming the team leader, the original Shinkansen. As a fan of military history, he decided that Shouki would be a dignified and powerful name.

Sabrblade wrote:At this point, I believe we are well beyond the age of Hasbro deliberately changing the names of Japanese characters for the Western market. That was more of a thing during the Aaron Archer era. The John Warden era saw many Japanese characters retain their names, despite any and all sense (or lack thereof) some of their names made in English. The few that were changed during the Warden era were done so merely for Trademark and PC reasons, and likely would have been retained otherwise.

What's more, when the Ask Vector Prime Facebook was given the opportunity to finally explore the in-universe origins of the Trainbots, since their existing backstory cited them as natives to Japan, it was decided to leave their names as they were so as to better emphasize the fact that they were the first new Autobots fully built and brought to life on Earth in Japan (the Binaltech project was just new bodies for existing Autobots instead of new ones brought to life for the first time), with each named by a Japanese scientist from various Transformers series:

Doctor Ōnishi, a huge fan of vintage trains, asked that he be allowed to name the DE10 diesel locomotive. He named him Kaen, a blaze that would burn brightly in the service of Japan and all mankind. Doctor Ishihara, born and raised in Tokyo, chose to name the Tōkai-type 153 express from her home metropolis. Proud of her proficiency with martial arts, named Suiken after her favorite style of martial arts. Doctor Gō, as the youngest member of the team, was given the newest model of train to name, the 200 Series Shinkansen. He chose Yukikaze, after the wind of his native Hokkaido. Doctor Fujiyama, who was born in Kyushu, chose to name the 485-200 series engine. He named him Seizan, after the mountains of his home region. Doctor Takahashi expressed little interest in which mech she would name, and was given the EF65-1000 by default. She chose Getsuei, for the Trainbots would have the capacity to travel to the moon and beyond. Last, though certainly not least, Doctor Yoshikawa was given the honor of naming the team leader, the original Shinkansen. As a fan of military history, he decided that Shouki would be a dignified and powerful name.

For even in the Japanese fiction do their names stand out for being so intrinsically Japanese, unlike their fellow Autobots whose names sound much more alien and western to the native Japanese speaker.

Sabrblade wrote:At this point, I believe we are well beyond the age of Hasbro deliberately changing the names of Japanese characters for the Western market. That was more of a thing during the Aaron Archer era. The John Warden era saw many Japanese characters retain their names, despite any and all sense (or lack thereof) some of their names made in English. The few that were changed during the Warden era were done so merely for Trademark and PC reasons, and likely would have been retained otherwise.

What's more, when the Ask Vector Prime Facebook was given the opportunity to finally explore the in-universe origins of the Trainbots, since their existing backstory cited them as natives to Japan, it was decided to leave their names as they were so as to better emphasize the fact that they were the first new Autobots fully built and brought to life on Earth in Japan (the Binaltech project was just new bodies for existing Autobots instead of new ones brought to life for the first time), with each named by a Japanese scientist from various Transformers series:

Doctor Ōnishi, a huge fan of vintage trains, asked that he be allowed to name the DE10 diesel locomotive. He named him Kaen, a blaze that would burn brightly in the service of Japan and all mankind. Doctor Ishihara, born and raised in Tokyo, chose to name the Tōkai-type 153 express from her home metropolis. Proud of her proficiency with martial arts, named Suiken after her favorite style of martial arts. Doctor Gō, as the youngest member of the team, was given the newest model of train to name, the 200 Series Shinkansen. He chose Yukikaze, after the wind of his native Hokkaido. Doctor Fujiyama, who was born in Kyushu, chose to name the 485-200 series engine. He named him Seizan, after the mountains of his home region. Doctor Takahashi expressed little interest in which mech she would name, and was given the EF65-1000 by default. She chose Getsuei, for the Trainbots would have the capacity to travel to the moon and beyond. Last, though certainly not least, Doctor Yoshikawa was given the honor of naming the team leader, the original Shinkansen. As a fan of military history, he decided that Shouki would be a dignified and powerful name.

For even in the Japanese fiction do their names stand out for being so intrinsically Japanese, unlike their fellow Autobots whose names sound much more alien and western to the native Japanese speaker.

The Raiden Initiative was a communal effort, with each scientist contributing according to their specialty. The brilliant postdoc Haruma Gō, the least-senior member of the team, was responsible for their superstructures. He also brought the fire of youth to the project. Doctor Ōnishi, the leading expert on alien energy sources, created their power grid. Doctor Ishihara, a specialist in cybernetic motivation, created their neural network and initial personality component specifications. Doctor Yoshikawa, who had spent years reverse-engineering the energy-being Kremzeek, was in charge of the creation of their weapon and communication systems. As Shibuya Manufacturing, Worldwide was providing the facilities to the Japanese government for this endeavor, Sōji also served as team leader. Doctor Fujiyama, famous for the construction of Nightbird, was responsible for their combat protocols. Finally, the mysterious Doctor Takahashi created the Heavy Series-Linkage System, necessary for them to become a gestalt warrior. So focused was her work that Doctor Yoshikawa joked that she must have seen the Trainbots in their combined form before she began, if only in a dream or vision.

There was one area where each scientist had a uniquely-defined role; each one was allowed to name one of the Trainbots. Doctor Ōnishi, a huge fan of vintage trains, asked that he be allowed to name the DE10 diesel locomotive. He named him Kaen, a blaze that would burn brightly in the service of Japan and all mankind. Doctor Ishihara, born and raised in Tokyo, chose to name the Tōkai-type 153 express from her home metropolis. Proud of her proficiency with martial arts, named Suiken after her favorite style of martial arts. Doctor Gō, as the youngest member of the team, was given the newest model of train to name, the 200 Series Shinkansen. He chose Yukikaze, after the wind of his native Hokkaido. Doctor Fujiyama, who was born in Kyushu, chose to name the 485-200 series engine. He named him Seizan, after the mountains of his home region. Doctor Takahashi expressed little interest in which mech she would name, and was given the EF65-1000 by default. She chose Getsuei, for the Trainbots would have the capacity to travel to the moon and beyond. Last, though certainly not least, Doctor Yoshikawa was given the honor of naming the team leader, the original Shinkansen. As a fan of military history, he decided that Shouki would be a dignified and powerful name.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Interesting. So from the backstory, they are drones/Transtectors and not Cybertronian at all?

Sabrblade wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Interesting. So from the backstory, they are drones/Transtectors and not Cybertronian at all?

They're as alive as the Dinobots are.

And the backstory mentions their neural network and personality components (A.K.A. their minds and souls).

AllNewSuperRobot wrote: Oh I see. The nebulous grey area the G1 cartoon established, with those "made" on Earth. That really doesn't mesh with the retroactive adoption of Sparks into the mythos.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:After that emgo review. I am strongly considering both Radiatron and Raiden.

o.supreme wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote: Oh I see. The nebulous grey area the G1 cartoon established, with those "made" on Earth. That really doesn't mesh with the retroactive adoption of Sparks into the mythos.

Although unofficial, I think in many fans head canon, in the 20 year time gap between S2 and TF:TM, the Dinobots would have been presented to Vector Sigma and "upgraded" to be true living beings. That would partly account for their personality differences in TF:TM.

Sabrblade wrote:It's more than just the Dinobots who were created without Vector Sigma: Trypticon and Metroplex were built on Earth, the Technobots were built by the super-smart Grimlock out in space inside Unicron's dead head, and in The Rebirth, Fortress Maximus and Scorponok were built on Nebulos (though, admittedly, theirs is a gray area since we don't know how much of their lives were those of Cerebros/Spike and Lord Zarak, respectively, and how much of it was their own. Their Japanese counterparts, however, were definitely Cybertronian in origin, and would have been birthed by Vector Sigma).

o.supreme wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:It's more than just the Dinobots who were created without Vector Sigma: Trypticon and Metroplex were built on Earth, the Technobots were built by the super-smart Grimlock out in space inside Unicron's dead head, and in The Rebirth, Fortress Maximus and Scorponok were built on Nebulos (though, admittedly, theirs is a gray area since we don't know how much of their lives were those of Cerebros/Spike and Lord Zarak, respectively, and how much of it was their own. Their Japanese counterparts, however, were definitely Cybertronian in origin, and would have been birthed by Vector Sigma).

Understood 100%, I was just speaking specifically about the Dinobots though. Anyway it's just another reason why a new series (in whatever media would work best, I'm not picky at this point), set in the original Marvel/Sunbow animated universe to fill in a LOT of the gaps would be great. Hey they could have taken VS off-world to grant personalities to Metroplex & Trypticon, what's the worst that could happen.

o.supreme wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:After that emgo review. I am strongly considering both Radiatron and Raiden.

If you have the funds, more power to you . I was the proud owner of an original Raiden C-131 Giftset for about 3 years (from 2004-2007). I'm sure this combiner appeals to me so much mostly because of it's lack of availability in the west. If I could get both I would, but I'm just sticking with TT MPG for now, but I do hope that everyone who gets Moon Studio's enjoys it, it is a heck of an engineering accomplishment.

Sabrblade wrote:

o.supreme wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:It's more than just the Dinobots who were created without Vector Sigma: Trypticon and Metroplex were built on Earth, the Technobots were built by the super-smart Grimlock out in space inside Unicron's dead head, and in The Rebirth, Fortress Maximus and Scorponok were built on Nebulos (though, admittedly, theirs is a gray area since we don't know how much of their lives were those of Cerebros/Spike and Lord Zarak, respectively, and how much of it was their own. Their Japanese counterparts, however, were definitely Cybertronian in origin, and would have been birthed by Vector Sigma).

Understood 100%, I was just speaking specifically about the Dinobots though. Anyway it's just another reason why a new series (in whatever media would work best, I'm not picky at this point), set in the original Marvel/Sunbow animated universe to fill in a LOT of the gaps would be great. Hey they could have taken VS off-world to grant personalities to Metroplex & Trypticon, what's the worst that could happen.

Legends tackled the subject, with Wheeljack discovering the existence of his own spark hidden deep inside his personality component.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:It would have been easier to have kept Sparks as a Beast Wars/descendants thing. Nothing from G1 prior tied into it. It just complicated things unnecessarily.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:It would have been easier to have kept Sparks as a Beast Wars/descendants thing. Nothing from G1 prior tied into it. It just complicated things unnecessarily.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:So does the second train bot connect to the first one or do we have to wait for a third to come along?

Sabrblade wrote:But since Japan always treated the cartoons as the same world, this discovery of Wheeljack's serves to explain how, in the Japanese version, sparks did always exist, just unknowingly by the Autobots and Decepticons until Primacron's trial in 2011. Wheeljack was inspired by Primacron's vague words about his having created robotic life with real souls, and so spent the next 14 years investigating this matter, not unveiling his own spark until 2025 (and doing so with a Beast Machines spark extractor in that art, too).

o.supreme wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:So does the second train bot connect to the first one or do we have to wait for a third to come along?

Shouki is the upper torso. Getsuei is one of the legs. Speculation is the lower Torso will be the last one released, making the full combination impossible until the very end.

optimeow wrote:In the Japanese anime, lower ranked bots called their superior by rank (e.g, Optimus is the “Shireikan”, an equivalent of Commander). Only higher rank bots like Optimus call all other bots by their name. This is consistent with Asian culture where we address our elders and superiors by position rather than name.

Japanese Transformer toys (esp G1) have their rank and name on the packaging. This has not been carried over to Western releases as far as I am aware of.

Sabrblade wrote:At this point, I believe we are well beyond the age of Hasbro deliberately changing the names of Japanese characters for the Western market. That was more of a thing during the Aaron Archer era. The John Warden era saw many Japanese characters retain their names, despite any and all sense (or lack thereof) some of their names made in English. The few that were changed during the Warden era were done so merely for Trademark and PC reasons, and likely would have been retained otherwise.

What's more, when the Ask Vector Prime Facebook was given the opportunity to finally explore the in-universe origins of the Trainbots, since their existing backstory cited them as natives to Japan, it was decided to leave their names as they were so as to better emphasize the fact that they were the first new Autobots fully built and brought to life on Earth in Japan (the Binaltech project was just new bodies for existing Autobots instead of new ones brought to life for the first time), with each named by a Japanese scientist from various Transformers series:

Doctor Ōnishi, a huge fan of vintage trains, asked that he be allowed to name the DE10 diesel locomotive. He named him Kaen, a blaze that would burn brightly in the service of Japan and all mankind. Doctor Ishihara, born and raised in Tokyo, chose to name the Tōkai-type 153 express from her home metropolis. Proud of her proficiency with martial arts, named Suiken after her favorite style of martial arts. Doctor Gō, as the youngest member of the team, was given the newest model of train to name, the 200 Series Shinkansen. He chose Yukikaze, after the wind of his native Hokkaido. Doctor Fujiyama, who was born in Kyushu, chose to name the 485-200 series engine. He named him Seizan, after the mountains of his home region. Doctor Takahashi expressed little interest in which mech she would name, and was given the EF65-1000 by default. She chose Getsuei, for the Trainbots would have the capacity to travel to the moon and beyond. Last, though certainly not least, Doctor Yoshikawa was given the honor of naming the team leader, the original Shinkansen. As a fan of military history, he decided that Shouki would be a dignified and powerful name.

For even in the Japanese fiction do their names stand out for being so intrinsically Japanese, unlike their fellow Autobots whose names sound much more alien and western to the native Japanese speaker.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:I hate to think that if these don't sell well we may end up with a bunch of parts that we really can't do anything with. I mean this is how I would do things, I'm just that type of guy.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:I hate to think that if these don't sell well we may end up with a bunch of parts that we really can't do anything with. I mean this is how I would do things, I'm just that type of guy.

That's the flipside of leaving the important connecting part til last. If they don't sell in the numbers they are expecting, given the expense of a Masterpiece combiner, would they cut the line short? Just like the failed HasLab projects...

"Enjoy your 5/6 of an MP Gestalt."

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:I hate to think that if these don't sell well we may end up with a bunch of parts that we really can't do anything with. I mean this is how I would do things, I'm just that type of guy.

That's the flipside of leaving the important connecting part til last. If they don't sell in the numbers they are expecting, given the expense of a Masterpiece combiner, would they cut the line short? Just like the failed HasLab projects...

"Enjoy your 5/6 of an MP Gestalt."

I wouldn't think so. Some companies do prioritize customer satisfaction, even if only to boost their image. Imagine what would happen if the line was cut short by TakaraTomy...

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:I hate to think that if these don't sell well we may end up with a bunch of parts that we really can't do anything with. I mean this is how I would do things, I'm just that type of guy.

That's the flipside of leaving the important connecting part til last. If they don't sell in the numbers they are expecting, given the expense of a Masterpiece combiner, would they cut the line short? Just like the failed HasLab projects...

"Enjoy your 5/6 of an MP Gestalt."

I wouldn't think so. Some companies do prioritize customer satisfaction, even if only to boost their image. Imagine what would happen if the line was cut short by TakaraTomy...

It's good we know HasTak isn't one of them. Even a subsidiary of the Number one toy maker in the world, still values money over all things. If the Raiden project doesn't sell. They wouldn't think twice about pulling the plug. Remember of course this is even more of a niche market item than the regular Transformers lines.
Also that Takara has slept on anything Raiden related for the better part of over three decades. They won't lose sleep over it's failure either, or any minority backlash.

Jelze Bunnycat wrote:but TakaraTomy is in a different country with a different culture and different values. I don't think they would have even started Raiden if they didn't plan on finishing it.