Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Gamer Edition Starscream (Voyager)

Review:  #793

Name:  Starscream

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Decepticon

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2024

Size Class:  Voyager (Wave 23)

Mold Status:  new

JET MODE:

Based upon his appearance in the War for Cybertron game, Starscream transforms into a Cybertronian jet.

You can't help but compare to the original toy and just like the previous Gamer Edition figures, the originals are better in many ways.  Nevertheless, this new version isn't too bad itself, but just feels out of proportions, especially the big cockpit and elongated fuselage.

In terms of size, he's pretty decent, but the trade-off is that the figure can be quite hollow.

You can see from the side how the proportions aren't great, the middle section being too thin and lacking in substance.

The robot mace weapon, which is huge, attaches on top.  On the other side you can plug in the gun.

This is an okay jet mode, just that with more than ten years later, the engineering seems to have taken a step backwards.

TRANSFORMATION:

A simple transformation that mimics a lot of the original and doesn't add much flair.  The back forms the legs, while the arms fold out from the middle of the fuselage.  Finally, fold the front in to form the chest.

ROBOT MODE:

Robot mode is fine but like the jet mode, the cockpit is too big and looks somewhat weird as a result.

He is kibble free though and this makes for a neat figure.

The head sculpt is good and the two plastic pieces on either side looks great.  He doesn't have the neon or brightly colored highlights to mimic the game's models though.

He comes off shorter in robot mode though but has a bulkier look to him.

He comes with a cardboard stand, showing off a scene from the game.

Articulation is as you'd expect, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles.

He comes with two weapons, a giant purple mace, and a smaller gun.

The gun can be held in either of his hand which makes for a good change since being forced to remove an arm to attach the weapon is not great...

...but if you want to do it, you can.  Similarly to previous figures, the weapon is too thin and doesn't look natural attached like this.

The mace on the other hand is held using the 5mm port at the bottom, which unfortunately means he holds it right at the end.

Both weapons can store on his back using the same ports as in jet mode.

The mace is hollow so it is light as a result and Starscream has no trouble holding onto it.

His large feet allows him to stay stable in many poses.

There is a clever use of plastic colors so he doesn't have too many paint applications.  Like jet mode, it's an okay robot mode.

OVERALL:

Starscream is an okay figure and apart from the size class increase (which is debatable given the shrinking and cost cutting nowadays), he doesn't have that many more improvements over the original.  This is a hollow figure, there are questionable design decisions where aesthetically, it holds him significantly back.

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Goblin Slayer II (2023)

Goblin Slayer II is the second season based upon the light novel series. It is 12 episodes long and follows the first season and the movie. Goblin Slayer is the titular character, joined by Priestess, Elf Archer, Dwarf Shaman, and Lizard Warrior. Their lack of proper names adds to the theme of the show as it is set in a stereotypical fantasy world that has heavy Dungeons & Dragons inspired elements, and it is a cruel world. What you might think are the weakest of monsters, goblins, can be a huge threat to the inexperienced. They can overwhelm you with numbers or have tricks that you wouldn’t have expected. Yet the reward for defeating goblins is low, and Goblin Slayer is the only one regularly taking on these quests.

The cruel, harsh, and potentially disturbing imagery beings almost immediately upon the first episode. The first part of the season is more like a slow burn as it tells the day to day lives of the characters. Goblin Slayer is doing what he does best but is also helping in the academy to train newbie adventurers. Priestess on the other hand is worrying about ranking up in the guild and having to prove herself in the process. As a result, the characters meet a new adventurer, being a wizard that has the ego and rashness of a newbie who hasn’t experienced reality at all.

As mentioned, there are disturbing scenes but we’re passed the shock factor now, so it does not phase you much when characters get hurt or die. There are certain scenes that are supposed to have a sense of seriousness and gravity but the anime flashes by them so quickly that you don’t have the time to appreciate it. A good example is when Priestess does something that is against her beliefs and faith. We see her horrified expression; however, you might not click on why she is so horrified until much later and that’s only if you spent the time to think about it afterwards. So while the viewer might expect the violence, deaths and other harsh things to happen, that is not true for the characters who are still recovering psychologically from what they had to experience and endure.

Goblin Slayer is unique amongst the adventurers in that his mind is only ever filled with goblins. Being scarred from his childhood, he has a need to destroy and kill all goblins. This is to prevent whatever happened to him from happening to others. He seems calm and indifferent on the outside, but you can tell that he has a lot of emotions swirling inside him. While a solo adventurer at first, he has gathered around him a reliable party of friends and thanks to his efforts, he has also gained the approval and respect of many other adventurers of the guild.

A lot of the season lacks any sort of big goblin hunt. These are usually some of the most interesting aspects of the anime as it shows off the ingenuity of Goblin Slayer in his goblin slaying conquest. Thus, when the anime skips over these battles so quickly, that aspect is not present. The goblin hunts are quickly glossed over in favor of Goblin Slayer’s interactions with the other characters. While these aren’t bad or boring, it is not something that they could have filled most of the season with.

Something that also sets the anime apart is the smaller scale of its adventures. Since Goblin Slayer mainly concerns himself with goblin quests, that is naturally the case. As a result, the anime gives us a perspective on other happenings in this world. it will cut to other more conventional adventurers as they fight a bigger threat, rather than just the local monsters. These events are loosely connected to Goblin Slayer’s party but can often feel like an out of the way scene that was randomly shoved in.

The season finale naturally goes for bigger in having Goblin Slayer and his team fight against a huge nest of goblins with bigger stakes. Here, we finally see more of Goblin Slayer’s unorthodox methods of clearing out his enemies and it only whets your appetite for more. It also gives a solid ending as it leaves Goblin Slayer with something to ponder considering the current situation that he has found himself in, and the current state of the world. As an aside, the animation is bright and colorful for a lot of the scenes, despite the darker themes of its content. There are a lot of cost saving tricks such as limited movement in many scenes, but the aesthetics are unique and that helps set it apart.

Overall, while Goblin Slayer II does not have the same shock factor in its dark fantasy setting as the first season did, it is still a good watch. It focused heavily on the characters this time around with their day to day lives, which while wasn’t bad, kind of does detract from the reason that you’d watch the anime. As a result, we don’t get to see enough of the camaraderie of the party while they’re battling, nor the unexpected but clever fighting methods of Goblin Slayer himself.

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Toy Review: Transformers Studio Series Wheeljack (ROTB) (Deluxe)

Review:  #792

Name:  Wheeljack

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2024

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 23)

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Based upon his appearance in Rise of the Beasts, he is one of the last to be released into this line.  He transforms into a licensed T1 Volkswagen Type 2 van.

It's deliberately designed to look old and aged.  While the front windows are transparent smoky plastic, the back is painted, and has holes due to to the ball joints required for robot mode.

As a van, you would expect him to be bigger, but unfortunately that is not the case.  He's quite compact and small in vehicle mode.

The robot weapon can peg into a slot on the roof.

There are some neat details on the sides to replicate the vehicle from the movie, although the transformation joints are somewhat distracting.

All in all, this is a decent vehicle mode.

TRANSFORMATION:

There is little surprising about Wheeljack's transformation scheme.  In fact, it can be a little bit annoying because everything is pegged quite securely in vehicle mode (it requires some massaging when you first you transform him).  The back splits to for his legs, then you can unfold everything else from within the vehicle.  The doors that end up becoming his wings can be annoying because a lot of pieces get in the way of each other.  Since figures now rely mainly on friction joints, you'll get various pieces popping off.

ROBOT MODE:

Wheeljack's robot mode is nicer than the mainline version, even if only for the better coloring.  He does look more complex in robot mode though.

There's a lot of kibble surrounding him.  Some are intentional, like the door wings (which are the wrong way around so that the unpainted side faces the front), some are not like the chunky legs and panels on his back.

The head sculpt is very detailed and overly busy, but that is due to the movie's design.

Again, he's small in robot mode, which is sad but it is what it is.

He comes with a cardboard stand, depicting the scene in the movie where he and Arcee teams up to fight the Terrorcons.

Articulation is fine, he has the standard joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

He comes with a small joint, rather than the arm blaster he used in the movie.  It's casted in the same smoky transparent plastic though.

He can hold the weapon in either hand.

He can reuse the same place in vehicle mode to store the weapon in robot mode, which is just behind his head.

There is a reliance on using faux parts to replicate the design, and that is a byproduct of the simplified figures these days.

Wheeljack's robot mode looks good and is stable, which are the two thing mains that you would look out for.

OVERALL:

Wheeljack is a nice figure.  His design is polarising, but which movie design isn't.  For what it is, this is the best figure we've had of the character.  There are no major flaws here.

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For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page and this page.

Purchase from Amazon using this link.

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