Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Alpha Trion (One) (Voyager)

Review:  #922

Name:  Alpha Trion

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Studio Series

Year of Release:  2026

Size Class: Voyager (Wave 30)

Mold Status:  new

BEAST MODE:

Alpha Trion is based upon appearance in the Transformers One movie, and transforms into a robotic lion.

He looks good at first glance, but he's very skinny and lacks mass and bulk.  There are some transparent pieces including his tail and the various spikes, these are made from a softer rubbery plastic.

Size-wise, he is okay, but only because he is in beast mode, so looks bigger than he really is.  As mentioned, he lacks bulk and feels quite light for this price point.

You can see that he is long due to the way the hind legs are designed.

The head has a transparent purple horn, and the mouth can open and close.

Articulation is actually not great, he can move his front legs a little bit, but the rear legs are pretty much locked into place as they do not have meaningful or useful articulation, which is disappointing for a Voyager figure in this day and age.

While Alpha Trion looks good at first glance, he is more static that you'd like and expect.

TRANSFORMATION:

Alpha Trion has a relatively simple transformation, since the rear legs straighten to form the robot legs.  The front legs are the robot arms.  The only tricky part is moving the piece behind the beast mode's head and rotating it to the back in robot mode, which will also reveal his head and torso in the process.  It can get caught somehow.  An annoying thing is that the tail is detached as a weapon which is fine, but the rest of the spikes also needs to be detached from various places to attach to the tail weapon.  These are small pieces, so feels like they will be easily lost.

ROBOT MODE:

Okay, if the beast mode is not amazing, surely the focus would have been on robot mode and made it super great?  Well, that's not fully the case either.

Robot mode is similar to beast mode in that again he looks fine at first glance, but handling him, you will find minor issues here and there.

The head sculpt is fine, and captures the design quite well, which is not always a given for the Transformers One figures.

Robot mode shows off how much smaller he is compared to a typical Voyager, which is really disappointing.  His engineering is not that complex, there aren't an abnormally high amount of paint applications, and as we'll see later, he is missing some critical joints, so there's no excuse for being this small.

Articulation is okay, he has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips and knees.  Critically, he is missing ankle tilts and he really needs them due to the way his feet was designed.

The beast mode's tail becomes a whip weapon, and the spikes are detached from various places of the figure and reattached here.

He can hold the weapon in either hand, and thanks to the transparent plastic used, it looks really nice.

As mentioned earlier, he lacks ankle tilts, and while it is not essential in most figures, it feels needed here due to the way his feet are designed, which is similar to high heels in that there is a front section and a heel section, with a gap in between.  So he doesn't feel like he stands flat in a stable manner like this.

The figure manages to capture the hunchback look of the character design, and the older nature without going overboard (such as the green moldy piece on his back).

Unfortunately, Alpha Trion is missing his cape.  It would have been hard to pull off, as plastic would be too bulky, but a cloth is too finnicky.  As a result though, this figure does feel like he is missing something.

Despite the flaws, this is still the best rendition of the character that we have, and he looks fine, it's just that he has potential and that could have been easily rectified.

OVERALL:

Is Alpha Trion worth it?  Probably not at full price.  He is an average figure, he doesn't have any major flaws, but just enough minor nitpicks that you feel that the figure is a missed opportunity.  He is like 80% of the way there, and just needs a little bit more effort to be great.

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Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Windcharger (86 Movie)

Review:  #921

Name:  Windcharger

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Studio Series

Year of Release:  2026

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 30)

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Windcharger transforms into a red muscle car, although he has the cartoon proportions, which means he looks "mushed" together.  

It's still not a bad looking vehicle, and he has some nice sculpted features, although said the back are exposed knee hinges from robot mode.

Due to his proportions, he is quite short compared to contemporary Deluxes, and he is slightly smaller than normal, but similar in size and mass to the other Minibots like Brawn and Huffer.

The rear wheels aren't great if you look at the vehicle from a certain angle, as it's on a hinge / panel, and you can see through it.

While the gun pegs underneath, the other effects piece attaches at the front.  Apart from that, the wheels roll and that's it for gimmicks.

It's still a decent vehicle mode, it just depends on your tastes and preferences.

TRANSFORMATION:

Windcharger has one of those neat transformations where the roof of the vehicle folds in panels upon itself into the legs, even includes the rear wheel tucking in, thereby removing a lot of kibble in robot mode.  The rest of the transformation is pretty stock standard, with the sides forming the arms, and the torso revealed when the roof folded away.

ROBOT MODE:

It's an excellent looking robot mode and very clean looking.  Although given that this type of transformation has been done a few times now, it's not as mindblowing, but still quite impressive.

Since most of the vehicle is in his legs, this means it doesn't randomly sticking out of the robot mode elsewhere.  That said, this does make his lower legs very chunky.

The head sculpt is a classic G1 cartoon look, and has a hinge at the back so he can face up.

As mentioned earlier, he is smaller than a typical Deluxe, as you can see, he is quite short, but the proportions are good and he does look great.

Articulation is nice, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips and knees.

He comes with two accessories, a small grey guy, and an effects part that emulates his magnetism powers.

He can hold the gun in either hand.

While the effects part attaches to his chest.

Both the gun and the effects part can store on his back.

One thing to note is while the leg transformation is impressive, this robs him of ankle tilts.  Instead, he has the tilts at his knees, so they do look a bit weird if you tilt them too much.

He also lacks proper feet, but that's based on the cartoon design, so he just has big lumps instead.

A great looking robot, and with just enough versatility in his accessories to make it fun.

OVERALL:

Despite his small size, Windcharger is a nice figure.  He has an interesting transformation, even if it is something we have seen before, it's still impressive.  The vehicle mode is weaker due to its purposely deformed look, but the robot mode is where he shines, and he looks fantastic, and plays well.

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How Not to Summon a Demon Lord (2018)

How Not to Summon a Demon Lord is a 12 episode anime based upon the light novel series. It is yet another isekai anime, and the twist here is that the protagonist, Takuma Sakamoto, has dedicated his time in playing the MMORPG Cross Reverie and leveling up his character, known as the Demon Lord Diablo. He’s infamous within the game, but as per usual with these types of anime, he finds himself summoned into another world, within his game avatar of Demon Lord Diablo.

Now the world that he was summoned in has parallels with Cross Reverie, however, there are still many differences. The biggest of which is that while he retained Diablo’s high level, the monsters aren’t as common and ferocious in this world, so most people / characters are at a much lower level. Therefore, Diablo is now a super overpowered character that is leagues stronger than anyone else that he will ever encounter.

The excuse given for his reincarnation is that two characters, Rem and Shera, used a spell to summon a servant. Instead, they got Diablo, who, because he wields a ring that reflects all magic, ends up causing Rem and Shera to be the servants instead. To be honest, this isn’t a big thing over the course of the anime, there’s no real repercussions, and it just means that Diablo ends up accompanying the two girls.

Naturally, the two are attracted to Diablo. Diablo, in his previous life, being a shut-in, has no experience with girls at all. He has his own outwardly cold persona, but inside he’s freaking out a lot (like Ains from Overlord). While not extreme, there are ecchi scenes, especially with Shera who unashamedly lays it on thick to Diablo. If you’re watched isekai / harem anime before, these scenes would not come off as a shock and are stock standard for the genre.

The plot mostly had Diablo helping Rem and Shera, and the issues that their backgrounds bring with them. At least as characters, they have a more involved backstory so that they feel more fleshed out. The pair are head over heels with Diablo though, although the anime keeps up the pretense of having the group working together to find a way to remove the slave collars.

While the world is based on a game, and Diablo has a significant advantage given that was his whole life previously, it’s not a one-to-one creation. It was established early on that Diablo is severely overpowered, with a huge gap in levels compared to the next strongest. It’s fun watching him be so overpowered though, since he doesn’t fully abuse it (i.e. humble brag about it too much), so there’s a good power trip going on. However, the anime falls into typical traps where the villains are one-note, obviously evil people, with ugly expressions, and that’s a big turn-off.

The anime isn’t too serious most of the time, but it can get more so when required. The season does completely cover off the two girls’ backstories, making it feel complete. Although the party gets larger, there are still plenty of stories left to tell. The season finale was interesting as it included some world building and character development but ramps up the ecchi side of things. Look, it’s not going to win any writing awards, but the plot was more involved and more fun than you would expect.

Overall, How Not to Summon a Demon Lord starts off as yet another generic isekai. After completing it, in a way, it still is. However, that’s not to say the anime doesn’t have its charms. It doesn’t have much action, and it’s not a full ecchi harem, and while it has the power fantasy element, it doesn’t go overboard with an overly arrogant or overly humble protagonist. It has a little bit of everything and is a fun journey.

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