GokaiCellular and S.H. Figuarts GokaiYellow Pre-Order

I think there has never been so much problems for Bandai Asia before (or rather for collectors) like Gokaiger this year. Like the Ranger Key Set 04, I bought the GokaiCellular for S$65.00 from the same HWZ forum member who managed to import several pieces when online stores are all sold out. It's really nice for him to have a Japanese contact.

Brief Review:

Honestly, I don't really get toy safety regulations this time because unlike the Mobirates, the speaker is at the back of the device and sounds are not loud at all. No one is going to get deaf with this kind of volume...

Design / Personally, I'm not too fond of the wacky design and also I can't recall the times when I actually favored the 6th Ranger's changer. In other words, the Mobirates (like the rest of the main changers) is still a better choice if you would to choose between the two.

So this one is just for completion and the GokaiSilver Ranger Key.

Functions / The GokaiCellular does try to be innovative after so many years of mobile phone designs. The innovation can be found in the ability to alternate between two modes; other changers just relied on combinations of the keys.

The Henshin Mode allows the user to "Gokai Change" into one of the pre-determined Ranger on the keypad. Like-wise, the Phone Mode allows the user to summon GoJyuJin and also activates special phrases.

For comparison purposes, the Mobirates still win with the number of functions and sounds.

Toy Mechanics / Similar to the DX GoJyuJin, the GokaiCellular features the spring-loaded "scanner" which "scans" the Ranger Key when the user activate the changer. The mechanical action was notably loud which partly obscured the sounds when I tried to hear them. Also, I'm annoyed at the fact that the spring will become a liability for long-term collection.

More importantly, there is no way to bypass this step to hear the sounds at least from what I have explored. The mechanical function has to be triggered for the sounds to be activated which means less shelf life for the toy.

Ignoring all those, kids would probably enjoy the functions more and chucked them aside once they are sick of it or when the toy spoils...



I really can't handle more Japanese online exclusives at this rate if it continues to go on with one release every month.

However, Bandai Asia was kind enough to offer a similar pre-order campaign for S.H. Figuarts GokaiYellow at S$65.00 which was really lucky and beneficial for me. Normally, I would have to fork out an average of S$90.00 for an online exclusive Figuarts.

The campaign is available at most local hobby stores selling Japanese toys - Ng's Collections, Robo Robo and La Tendo etc. The pre-order ends 30 September 2011.