Beast Saga: Guereu BS-38

The members of the Kingdom of Death Sea are varied aquatic animals with individual personalities, however Guereu seems to be the first "army builder" of the Beast Saga series. Similar to how the Seacons were used in the Japanese animated Transformers show, multiples of Guereu can be seen in both the animated and manga versions of media. Whether or not this character has his own individual personality I have no idea.

Guereu is a green frog in gray armor with a sword and shield. Maybe it's the head crest on the armor, but I feel as if the armor is modeled after an old Japanese Samurai? The armor has some nice touches, most noticeably the "frog feet" on the front of his shoulders. The paint apps are nicely done with a touch of bronze and orange on the armor. The skin is a light green with gold used for the eyes. 

Very nice sculpt, but with all Beast Saga figures the articulation is very limited. Arms have a full 360 degree of rotation. Legs are hindered by the sculpt (mostly the dice launching gimmick) from the same free range movement the arms have.

His sword is a simple weapon cast in a very soft plastic. A lot of the Beast Saga weapons came out of the packaging slightly warped. I'm sure I could use a hair dryer on low to soften the plastic enough to try and flatten it out, but I never bothered to try as the slight curve doesn't bother me that much.

Guereu also comes packaged with two dice, one translucent blue dice based on the character and light blue dice used in the game. I still don't know how the dice game plays so I just tuck the extra dice away.

The Kingdom of Death Sea quickly became one of my favorite segments of the Beast Saga series based on some of the designs. Guereu isn't my favorite, but definitely stands out amongst his teammates. Beast Saga is a lot of fun and I wish it would have lasted longer than it did. Sadly if you didn't jump on the series when it was on store shelves in Japan, it'll cost you quite a lot now on the secondary market. These figures only retailed for a few dollars each and now most sellers want $20.00+ each. Ouch! However if you keep looking you can find deals pop up online from time to time so if you're curious about these Battle Beast homage toys, don't give up searching out those deals. **EDIT** I just released that Robot Kingdom still has many of the Beast Saga figures in stock for under $7 each, including Guereu.

Beast Saga: Mantarei BS-37

I found most of the water based Beast Saga figures to be some of the better sculpted figures, and Mantarei is no exception. In fact when I saw the solicitation images of him I couldn't wait to add him to my growing collection.

Manterei has this very sleek, evil look to him. Well I think he looks evil as most of the I see Manta Rays used in animation they are the bad guys (think Tigersharks). Then again Depth Charge in Beast Wars was a Maximal. Regardless of Mantarei's actions, this is one sweet figure.

I love everything about this figure. From the animal sculpt to the blue armor. The harness on his head is fantastic looking and gives the appearance that he has built in lights for those battles deep on the ocean floor. Like with most of the Beast Saga figures, the sculpting from top to bottom is great. I challenge you to find anything negative with this figure...outside the weapons. Mantarei gets shafted in the weapons department and is handed down the drill tipped spear type weapon and generic round shield.

Mantarei makes a great addition to the Kingdom of Death Sea team. He's got that sinister, evil look going for him. Plus it's a Manta Ray humanoid creature wearing a suit of battle armor wielding weapons. Really, what more can you want?

Beast Saga: Dakka BS-42

It's been awhile since I've featured one of Takara Tomy's Beast Saga figures. I've had the whole series for quite a while now and I want to eventually share each and every release as I feel they are marvelous little figures. However like many things, they just got lost in the "digital shuffle" of my hard drive.

This character's name is Dakka, and if you can't tell he is based on a duck. Many of the Beast Saga characters are based on Beastformers (aka Battle Beasts) and Dakka is no different. However this is a little yellow rubber ducky. He is a part of the Sky Kingdom as the green packaging and die signifies.

There is so much cool detail built into the armor, from the propellers and the fins on the shoulders to the small jets on the side of his boots. I love the goggles and the old aerial flight cap he is wearing as well.

My only complaint would be the brown looks more like fur than it does feathers. I can't tell if his arms and legs have been re-used from another release. Thankfully the rest of the figure looks so great it's easy to give the designers a pass in this one department.

Dakka comes with a sword and shield, both fairly common and used by many different figures in the Beast Saga series. His green die appropriately has a duck on one side.

The air based Sky Kingdom characters are far and few when compared to the land based Kingdom of Land Gloria so it's nice to see another bird character. Dakka may not be my favorite Sky Kingdom character, but he's a worthy addition to your Beast Saga collection.

If you're looking to grab this character, or any other Beast Saga toys now is a good time. Prices have dropped for the most part and many can be had for cheaper than what I originally paid. This Amazon seller current has Dakka in stock for under $7 with free shipping!

Beast Saga: Dorufan BS-08

When the first solicitation shots were posted online for Beast Saga, I and I'm sure others figured the dolphin creature to be one of the good guys.  Wrong.  Don't let his gentle, innocent appearance food you as he is a member of the Kingdom of Death Sea!

Compared to the characters that were packaged in the Kingdom of Death Sea 3 pack, Dorufan looks like a pushover!  This is another release I was a little slow to picking up and if I'm honest probably would have skipped over completely had I not been going for a complete set.

Adorable, isn't he?  Or is he?  The longer I look at his face the more I can make out a small and slight evil grin.  He may not be the fiercest member in his kingdom, but he belongs there.

So does this guy now make you reconsider swimming w/ the dolphins next time you visit the Caribbean?

Beast Saga: Bamed BS-09

Before the Land of Sky 3 pack was released, only a few aerial members made it to the market in single package form.  One of the first was Bamed.  Not sure how to pronounce that, but I've also seen it spelled as Bamet.  Either way what we have is a basically an armored sparrow.

You can see the green on the packaging (and one of the dice) signifying the kingdom he belongs to.  I gotta admit that this guy was low on my priority list and I wasn't even sure if I'd pick him up at all.  After all, armored lions, manta rays and other creatures were just more appealing.  After I decided to make a run at the whole line I broke down and picked him at the tail end of my completing the line.

Once I got Bamed out of the package I started to like the figure more and more.  Like all the figures, the level of detail to the animal bits is fantastic.  The armor too has some great detail, but the flash of the camera washed some of that out...sorry.  His weapons are reused from previous releases, which was kind of a disappointment, but overall a nice looking figure.

Some of the later aerial creatures ended up more appealing to me, but I'm glad I decided to pick up Bamed after all.  The Sky Kingdom only received 8 total characters so they are by far the smallest of the 3 Kingdoms.  It makes sense to pick him up if for no other reason to bolster the Sky Kingdom's ranks.

Beast Saga: Swordbill BS-07

One may think Killer Shark and his crew that came packaged in the Kingdom of Death Sea BS-02 set would be up to taking on Raioga and his crew from the Kingdom of Land Gloria, but Killer Shark's crew was a little outnumbered.  Have no fear as Takara Tomy comes to the rescue with the first individually packaged Death Sea member, Swordbill.

All of the packaging for the single packaged figures is pretty much the same, only swapping out the colored background for the appropriate kingdom.  That said we'll move along.

Swordbill is a marlin.  When I see this character I immediately think he'd make a great mascot for the horrible Miami Marlins baseball club.  Initially I didn't care for this release and skipped it all together.  I thought the choice of animal to be lame and the goofy looking red eyes (or are those glasses of some sort?) didn't help matters.  Swordbill ended up being one of the last figures I picked up.

When I finally got around to opening Swordbill and many of the other Beast Saga figures I had bought, something changed.  No longer did I hate this guy.  I actually kind of dig is unique look.  While he is far from my favorite figure, even of the Death Sea characters, I don't tend to push him to the side as much.  He has a generic sword and shield which is kind of a let down, but with his long and sharp "nose" does he really need a sword?

Swordbill may not be the most intimidating member of the Kingdom of Death Sea, but he's a worthy addition to your collection.  If nothing else you get another cool trading card with some awesome CGI rendered art!

Beast Saga: Long Tsurafu BS-06

The different tribes or lands in Beast Saga are filled with many different types of animals.  The types vary from land to land.  The Kingdom of Land Gloria is comprised mostly of land dwelling mammals.  Long Tsurafu is one of the larger individually packaged figures.

Long Tsurafu is one of the beasts that was used in the original Beastformers and Battle Beasts line from the 80s, known simply as Yellow Giraffe.

Long Tsurafu is bigger than most of the Beast Saga figures and being a giraffe is certainly taller than other figures.  However I feel he just lacks character.  His armor has some nice elements and I like how the armor extends up the neck.  I'm not sure why Takara Tomy opted to paint his helmet a different color, but the orange just doesn't mesh well w/ the turquoise blue armor.

His weapons aren't anything special either.  His sword is made of a very soft plastic and as you can see it has already started to warp a bit.  His shield is decent, but like all of the Beast Saga shields it just has a peg on the back to fit into the fist hole.  It really needed to be a L shaped peg so the character can wield the shield properly.  As is he can really only defend himself from downward attacks.

I really wish I had more positive things to say for this figure, but as it is it's just an average Beast Saga figure.  I can only recommend this guy to those of you that are trying to complete the line.  The Kingdom of Land Gloria has greatest number of characters so save your money and go after one of the other cooler figures.

Beast Saga: Kingdom of Death Sea BS-02

Opposite of the Kingdom of Land Gloria would be the Kingdom of Death Sea.  Doesn't that name sound so cool?  Death Sea.  I bet you can guess what type of animals reside in this kingdom.  Upon the first solicitation images posted online of the early Beast Saga sets, the Kingdom of Death Sea was the one that seemed to garner the most attention and hype.  While the Land Gloria's lion, deer and hamster were cool characters, they just can't compete against a shark, coelacanth and pirahna.

BS-02 shares the same style packaging as BS-01.  Takara Tomy would continue to use this 3 pack style packaging for subsequent releases down the line.  I love the image of the main character blasting the dice from their chest.  In this case we have Killer Shark firing his blue die.  The rest of the box has the yellow tribal like markings.

The back of the packaging gives you a little story update (I think) at the top where you see the image of Raioga.  You can also see that a play mat is packaged inside.  Below are the three characters and a layout of their respective dice.  The right side of the box gives you abbreviated examples of how the dice game plays out.  Underneath those examples is a group shot which is a direct homage to the Beastformer packaging of old.

  

The ends of the box gives a breakdown of the characters and their accessories while the opposite end gives you each character's strengths and weaknesses.

From left to right: Killer Shark, Shirensu and Pirazon

Inside the box you'll find two items.  You get a full color play mat to play the associated game with the figures.  The back and white sheet is a basic set of instructions.

Killer Shark is the leader of the Kingdom of Death Sea.  His arch rival would be Raioga from the Kingdom of Land Gloria.  Killer Shark is based off a Beastformer of the same name.  I absolutely love the sculpt of this figure.  The sharp fin blades on his forearms, the image on his die, his toothy grin...all excellent.  Even his trident weapon looks great in hand.  However I do have one problem with my figure.  Do you see it?  He has two left arms!  At the time this set was still fairly expensive ($30) on the secondary market.  Most e-tailers had already sold through their stock and re-orders didn't seem like they were going to happen.  I know it's a small issue, but it's one that bothers me.  I will eventually buy another set so I can get a Killer Shark w/ the proper arms.

Second in command is Shirensu.  If you aren't sure what fish he is based on it's a coelacanth.  I believe this is the same animal the Transformers Seacon, Skalor, is based on.  He's pretty cool looking and has some nice features.  The armor bits on his shoulders look like the front section of a submarine.  Kinda fitting seeing how this type of fish usually lives in deep waters.  Giving a fish arms and legs couldn't have been easy for the designers so I love how the feet came out looking like flat fins versus more humanoid.  I'm not crazy about the purple armor myself, but I guess it works since it's a darker color.  He comes with a decent looking shield and a spear type weapon.  The plastic used for the weapons especially is a very soft plastic.  Because if this expect to see minor warping of the weapon, sometimes straight out of the packaging.

Pirazon looks fearsome and awesome at the same time.  The beady red eyes, the mouth full of sharp teeth and the double bladed weapon makes him someone I wouldn't want nibbling on my toes!  I also love his animal design on his blue die.  Pirazon's green armor has a slight metallic hue and works very well with the fading yellow touches to the fins on his armor.  He also has a uniquely shaped shield that looks nice in his hands.

Of the three Kingdom themed sets, BS-02 is a strong candidate for the best set.  You get three very strong and fierce looking figures with great weapons.  The artwork used on the playing cards are great looking as well.  I'm guessing I just got a dud with Killer Shark having two left arms, but thankfully I found a listing on clearance at Plamoya for this set that I plan on buying.  I just hope this time around I have better luck w/ Killer Shark!

Beast Saga: Kingdom of Land Gloria BS-01

I've already talked about a few single packaged Beast Saga figures, but now I'm going back to the beginning. Over the next week or so I'll be starting w/ BS-01 and going in numerical order, taking a look at the different Beast Saga releases.

Beast Saga is basically the spiritual successor to Beastformers, or Battle Beasts as most people remember them.  Gone are the fire, water & wood rub symbols and paper/rock/scissors "game play".   In their place are three different kingdoms, land, sea & sky.  The sub symbols are now dice that can be launched from the chest of the figure.  There is a whole game associated with the figures, but with Beast Saga being a Japanese toy line I'm unable to read the game play directions.

The BS-01 set is called Kingdom of Land Gloria.  It features 3 characters from the land subgroup, one of which is the leader of the Kingdom, Raioga.  Initially there were three different 3 packs, one for each Kingdom.  These retailed for around $20-25 at various online retailers.  While they still can be found, the prices I've noticed have creeped up a little.

The packaging of these 3 packs is beautiful.  The Kingdom of Land Gloria's primary color is red and you'll notice that red is integrated into the packaging.  Here on the back of the box you can see a play mat and what appears to be stats for the different characters.

From left to right:  Raioga, Big Serow and Jidamu

  

One end of the box shows the box's contents, while the other end of the box showcases the abilities along with the strength and weaknesses of each character.

Inside the box you'll find two items.  The colored one on the left folds out to be a play mat if you want to play the game that is associated with the figures.  The black and white paper is a set of instructions.

If Raioga looks familiar to you, he should.  1) I've already reviewed the single packaged version of this figure and 2) he is loosely based off of White Leo / Pirate Line from the original Beastformers / Battle Beasts line.  I should also mention that Raioga is the only character in any of the multi-packs that also received a single release.  While the figure is the same, his accessories in the 3 pack are different.  The single packaged version comes with a generic sword and shield, while the 3 pack version comes with a set of unique weapons.

Raioga early on was one of my favorite sculpts, but as the line progressed and the selection of characters was more diversified he sorta just blended in with the masses.  That's not to say though that this isn't a nice figure.  From the sculpted brown fur to the red bits of armor and the great head/face sculpt...he's pretty fierce looking.  His arch nemesis would end up being Killer Shark from the BS-02 Kingdom of Death Sea set.

Big Serow I believe is a fairly high ranking officer in the Land Gloria's army.  He is based off the character of the same name in the original line.  I love his look - regal, yet someone I wouldn't want to tangle with.  The dark green armor meshes well with the brown skin and the gold accents on the armor are the icing on the cake.  I'm not sure I ever noticed this feature initially, but on his back he has a set of what appears to be exhaust pipes.  I'll have to tune into the anime and see if he uses these in combat.  His weapon is a nice spear that again homages his original weapon.  If I have anything negative to say about this figure is his antlers are cast in a very soft plastic.  This causes them to easily be warped...as you can see on my figure.  Outside of that small bit, this is a great figure and one of the larger Kingdom of Land figures released (at the time).

Jidamu is one of the smallest Beast Saga figures in the whole line.  If you didn't guess correctly, Jidamu is a hamster all armored up and ready for battle.  The dice gimmick in the chest is fairly large and most of the figure's mass hides this well, but on a small figure like this one it's painfully obvious as Jidamu looks like a box with a hamster head stuck on top.  His arms and legs are relatively tiny.  I don't know if this issue is confined to my figure or if it's a widespread issue, but his right leg is slightly bent out making it harder to stand him up without added support.  Jidamu's weapons include a gun and small shield.  Most of the Beast Saga characters feature swords or other melee type weapons.  This makes him stand out a bit since he gets to wield a gun.

This is a great starter set for the Kingdom of Land Gloria as you get the leader, a high ranking officer and a adorable hamster wearing a suit of armor.  I really wish I had bought this set earlier, but I knew I wanted all the figures in the series so it was just a matter of time before this set would be mine.