Toy Review: Back to the Future x Transformers Collaborative Gigawatt

Review:  #703

Name:  Gigawatt

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  N/A

Line:  Back to the Future x Transformers Collaborative

Year of Release:  2020

Size Class:  Deluxe

Mold Status:  remold of Siege Sideswipe

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:

As part of the Collaborative line, Gigawatt comes in a G1 inspired box, one that actually looks pretty decent and definitely feels more premium than standard retail releases.

The back shows off the classic artwork from Back to the Future, as well as tech specs.

In true G1 fashion, the sides have simplified transformation steps as well as other shots of the figure.

Opening the packaging up, the figure it in a clear plastic insert, the figure itself doesn't have many accessories.

The instructions booklet is a little bit more fancy, being bigger and having the Gigawatt artwork on the front.

VEHICLE MODE:

Gigawatt transforms into a silver DMC DeLorean, an iconic vehicle thanks to the Back to the Future movies.

It's a customized version with all the stuff at the back, as inspired by the movie.

The vehicle has a brushed metal look to it, so it's not bare unpainted plastic (thus you need to be careful of chipping it).

It's well painted all around, even the rear lights and license plates are filled, which is to be expected considering that this figure, despite being the size of a Deluxe, is at the price point of even higher than a Voyager.

While Gigawatt is a remold of Sideswipe, it is effectively a new toy borrowing the engineering of Sideswipe.  Little it reused here (mainly limbs in robot mode), and it's quite impressive actually.

Thanks to the squared aesthetics of the vehicle, Gigawatt is slightly larger than Sideswipe, and is average sized for a Deluxe.  Above is a comparison against TLK Bumblebee.

The figure has a ton of detail, particularly around the back.  It might look like a mess of sculpted detailing at first glance, but pay attention and there's a lot of intricate details present.

The doors are able to be opened, although as there are no bottom door frames, it can look somewhat weird.  The option is nice though.

You can also fold the wheels down to simulate the flying mode, and he comes with a mini Mr Fusion generator accessory that can peg on the back.

Finally, he comes with the wire hook that we saw at the climax of the movie.  This is made of soft flexible plastic, which is understandable, but this does warp out of shape too easily.

The wire hook can peg onto the back.

Looking underneath, you can see how packed the figure is, and you can also store the robot weapon beneath, another nice touch.

This is a fantastic vehicle mode, and it's great that Hasbro ended up listening to fan feedback from its initial reveal and decided to make the windows much darker, to lessen the visibility of the hinges (as that was definitely distracting).

TRANSFORMATION:

Gigawatt's transformation is largely the same as Siege Sideswipe's, with a few smaller touches of difference.  Basically, the back unfolds to become the legs, the arms fold out from the middle, and the hood of the vehicle folds down to form the chest.  The differences are:  the hood has a flip out piece to reveal the flux capacitor in robot mode; his shoulders have small pieces that flip out to lock in car mode; and perhaps best of it, the panels where his shoulders sit now peg against the torso, preventing it from becoming loose like it did with Sideswipe.

ROBOT MODE:

Robot mode is initially a bit of a hit and miss.  In particular, the chest is humungous and overwhelms the figure.

In person though, it's a lot easier on the eyes, and actually looks pretty good.  The photos definitely make him look worse.

The head sculpt is pretty good, although feels quite generic.

Here's a quick comparison with Siege Sideswipe and you can see just how different Gigawatt is.  The only things they share are some limb parts like the thighs.

In terms of size, here's a comparison with Earthrise Sunstreaker, so Gigawatt is around normal height for a Deluxe.

Gigawatt has a few cool details, like the flux capacitor on his chest, which also shows various dates corresponding to the times that he had travelled to.

Articulation, as you can expect, is excellent.  He has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

Speaking of which, his feet are better designed than Siege Sideswipe's, as his feet doesn't sag forward.

He comes with two weapons, the wire-hook from vehicle mode, and a gun (which has the Mr Fusion generator accessory plugged onto the back, so that's a nice way to store it).

He can hold the gun in either hand, but unfortunately it's unpainted grey plastic.

Thanks to the large chest, his arms feels a bit too short, and is unable to lift high enough up to his eye level.

The wire-hook's default position is to peg onto one of the slots on his upper arm, as a melee weapon.

It's passable as a weapon, but does look a bit awkward at times.

Otherwise, this is a better robot mode than photos initially showed.  He's solid, has a few nice touches to tie him back to the Back to the Future movies, and has enough play value to be fun.

OVERALL:

Gigawatt is a nice figure, and one of the better Collaborative figures in the line.  The vehicle is definitely the stand out here, as it is just pure awesomeness.  The robot mode isn't bad, it has a few minor issues, so it just depends on which mode you'd want to display him in.  At full price, he is a bit pricey, but on sale, he's worth the cash.

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Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)

Dora and the Lost City of Gold is a live-action adaptation of the animated series for young children.  As a result, it should be expected that the film isn't exactly made with older audiences in mind.  The casting of the actress for the titular role did a great job at portraying the character but that's about where the positives ends.  Immediately upon the opening scene, it sets the expectations that this is not going to be a serious film.  The special effects are noticeably poor in quality, and when the animated talking fox shows up, you know that it forgoes realism for a more faithful adaptation (which isn't necessary a bad thing if you're a fan of the show).  The film doesn't have much that would keep the attention of older audiences.  The plot is simple in which Dora, having grown up in the jungle, struggles to adjust to city life and going to high school.  Naturally, she ends up being called upon to find a lost city in order to save her parents and her "friends" are being forced to tag along and then appreciate her for who she is.  The villain is one note and it is one generic development after another.  Just when you thought some scenes are okay, the next will have some attempt at humor that can feel forced.  Overall, the film is below average if you judge it as a standalone with no familiarity with the show, but it's a bit better if you're younger and are a fan of the character already.

The Pet Girl of Sakurasou (2012-13)

The Pet Girl of Sakurasou is a 24 episode romantic comedy anime that is based on the light novel series. It follows Kanda Sorata, your typical male protagonist who ends up striking it lucky with the ladies. He’s currently staying in Sakura Dormitory (the titular Sakurasou), which is the school dorm for Suimei University for the Arts. The thing with Sakura Dormitory is that it is for trouble students, so the residents lean more towards the weird side. That said, they are all talented, it’s just that their personalities are definitely not normal.

Sorata got put into Sakura Dormitory not because he was clever, or talented, or even a (true) troublemaker. He plays the nice guy and was there because he wanted to take care of abandoned cats that couldn’t stay at the normal student dorm he was previously at. Shiina Mashiro, the cousin of the teacher overlooking Sakura Dorm, arrives from England to transfer to the school and Sorata ends up with the task of looking after her.

Mashiro, in keeping with the theme of the rest of the residents, is an odd character. Sorata has his hands full just taking care of her as it seems that Mashiro is incapable of doing it herself. She also has social issues, not conforming to the norm and just seemingly oblivious to her surroundings and what is accepted. This easily leads to misunderstandings, although there is a deeper meaning to Mashiro’s background that is gradually explored over the course of the first half of the season.

Mashiro, along with Sorata’s friend Aoyama, are initially portrayed as rivals for Sorata’s attention. Even if they don’t compete with each other in the open, it’s sort of implied with both having feelings for Sorata. However, everyone in the Sakura Dorm has their own aspirations, from Mashiro wanting to become a manga artist, Aoyama a voice actress, and Sorata a game designer. Their chosen career paths are similar given that they are all studying arts.

Sorata is portrayed as having a hectic life and in some ways he does, but it also falls into the usual trope of him being a wish fulfillment character with enough girls vying for him. That said, with the paths that the characters take towards achieving their dreams, they are not always successful and encounter failure more than a few times. There several developments where it is very predictable. In particular, the one where the team as Sakura Dorm creates an original anime for the cultural festival, and Sorata wants to put in several gimmicks to have audience involvement. Naturally, you can easily see how it can backfire as it asks too much from the audience but of course it works when the group kickstarts the process and leads it to huge success. It’s cringe-worthy and hard to watch.

While Mashiro gets the bulk of the focus and screen-time, there are several ongoing stories involving the side characters. These characters have sad back-stories. The anime also finds a lot of opportunities to give several fan service shots, even when they have nothing to do with what’s currently occurring and can feel out of place when there’s a scene transition for the fan service, before instantly transitioning to the next.  Jealously is an ugly emotion and Sorata shows bouts of it, which is really unfair to those that he takes it out on. While it is hard to avoid the emotion, the way that Sorata acts by lashing out, even unintentionally, to others like Mashiro, does not paint Sorata in a good light. At the same time, he’s confused about his feelings and his indecisiveness is also unfair to Aoyama.

Mashiro has the curse of being too talented and too amazing at what she can do, that she completely overshadows everyone else. Even if you don’t want to, you’ll end up at least feeling a little bit of resentment when you’re just a normal, or even an above average talented person and failing at every turn. The anime actually does a good job at conveying these feelings of unfairness but not in a way that’s overly negative.

The anime impressively turns what was a casual carefree story into one with a more serious front packing an emotional punch. The ending, as with all endings where the characters have to say goodbye to each other, is sad. While some of the developments are crazy and idealistic, it manages to rouse the atmosphere quite effectively, keeping you enraptured. You’ll end up empathizing with the characters, feeling their sorrows and gratitude at the same time. The ending is well balanced between an idealistic happy ending and a more realistic picture that not everyone will succeed. It gives the message that even if you fail, you will continue to grown from the experience so that you will eventually succeed.

Overall, The Pet Girl of Sakurasou started off as yet another generic romantic comedy where the male protagonist gets the adoring love of several female characters, however, it turns into a surprisingly good and meaningful story. The obstacles that each character has to overcome as they journey on to achieve their dreams allows you to appreciate their efforts, doubly so when they do not immediately succeed and has to experience several failures along the way. The second half of the second, and in particular the ending, is where it truly shines with how it shows all the characters maturing and marching on despite time forcing everyone to separate and move on.

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