TakaraTomy is launching a new Beast Wars project titled "Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers Again" (or just "Beast Wars Again", for short).
This project consists of a new toy release of the Kingdom Optimus Primal and Megatron molds given new show-accurate color schemes similar to those of their Masterpiece toys. Megatron even features some retooling in the form of his grimacing alternate head that more closely resembles the facial expression of his original 1996 Ultra class toy (and which was probably supposed to have been used for the Kingdom T-Wrecks release instead of the same normal head that it ended up using).
The two figures are packaged together in a 2-pack based on the original Japanese Beast Wars toyline's Ultra class toy 2-pack, and here named "BWVS-01 Eternal Beast Showdown: Convoy VS Megatron".
The 2-pack is set to release at Japanese retail in late August 2023. There is currently no word of any Hasbro Pulse importation of this set, but we can probably expect it to be available at the usual online retailers.
In addition to this set, TakaraTomy will be using this project to also build up to the Japanese theatrical release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts by actually bringing the original Beast Wars cartoon back to Japanese broadcast!
Well, kind of.
Select episodes of the original Beast Wars cartoon are coming back to Japanese television, airing under the new "Beast Wars Again" title. This time, however, the particular episodes chosen for this rebroadcast will be given brand new narrations provided by the legendary Kappei Yamaguchi, whose voice acting résumé is far too extensive and impressive to list, but of notable relevance is the fact that he is the Japanese voice of Rattrap (known better in Japan as "Rattle").
Yamaguchi's new narrations will be featured at the very beginning and end of each episode, during the opening theme song (before the vocals begin singing) and during the end credits (after the vocals finish singing).
The "Beast Wars Again" episodes will begin their Japanese broadcast on six TV Tokyo affiliation stations at 9:15am on the Sunday of April 2, 2023. It is currently not yet known which particular episodes have been chosen for this special rebroadcasting, but they are likely to all be from the show's first season since the Season 2 and 3 episodes were treated as part of a separate series called "Beast Wars Metals" instead of the normal "Beast Wars" series that consisted of just the show's first season.
And, yes, this is the infamous Japanese dub that features lots of adlibbing, gag dialogue, and campy humor, which proved very popular with Japanese children at the time, and who have since grown into adults who feel a sense of nostalgia for this gag-filled dub. The only difference for this rebroadcasting is the aforementioned new narration by Kappei Yamaguchi. Maybe the title card might be altered to feature the new "Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers Again" logo, but only time will tell.
This project consists of a new toy release of the Kingdom Optimus Primal and Megatron molds given new show-accurate color schemes similar to those of their Masterpiece toys. Megatron even features some retooling in the form of his grimacing alternate head that more closely resembles the facial expression of his original 1996 Ultra class toy (and which was probably supposed to have been used for the Kingdom T-Wrecks release instead of the same normal head that it ended up using).
The two figures are packaged together in a 2-pack based on the original Japanese Beast Wars toyline's Ultra class toy 2-pack, and here named "BWVS-01 Eternal Beast Showdown: Convoy VS Megatron".
The 2-pack is set to release at Japanese retail in late August 2023. There is currently no word of any Hasbro Pulse importation of this set, but we can probably expect it to be available at the usual online retailers.
In addition to this set, TakaraTomy will be using this project to also build up to the Japanese theatrical release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts by actually bringing the original Beast Wars cartoon back to Japanese broadcast!
Well, kind of.
Select episodes of the original Beast Wars cartoon are coming back to Japanese television, airing under the new "Beast Wars Again" title. This time, however, the particular episodes chosen for this rebroadcast will be given brand new narrations provided by the legendary Kappei Yamaguchi, whose voice acting résumé is far too extensive and impressive to list, but of notable relevance is the fact that he is the Japanese voice of Rattrap (known better in Japan as "Rattle").
Yamaguchi's new narrations will be featured at the very beginning and end of each episode, during the opening theme song (before the vocals begin singing) and during the end credits (after the vocals finish singing).
The "Beast Wars Again" episodes will begin their Japanese broadcast on six TV Tokyo affiliation stations at 9:15am on the Sunday of April 2, 2023. It is currently not yet known which particular episodes have been chosen for this special rebroadcasting, but they are likely to all be from the show's first season since the Season 2 and 3 episodes were treated as part of a separate series called "Beast Wars Metals" instead of the normal "Beast Wars" series that consisted of just the show's first season.
And, yes, this is the infamous Japanese dub that features lots of adlibbing, gag dialogue, and campy humor, which proved very popular with Japanese children at the time, and who have since grown into adults who feel a sense of nostalgia for this gag-filled dub. The only difference for this rebroadcasting is the aforementioned new narration by Kappei Yamaguchi. Maybe the title card might be altered to feature the new "Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers Again" logo, but only time will tell.
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