Tamashii Nations Daltanious GX-59R: the review
Daltanious - The Robot of the Future
The story of Daltanious - The Robot of the Future (available for purchase online) takes place in the year 1995 and the planet Earth suffers a devastating invasion by the alien armies of Zaar . A band of thieves, led by Kento, accidentally discovers an underground base where Doctor Earl lies in hibernation. Earl arrived on Earth in 1945 in the company of little Prince Harlin and the robot lion Beralios, unfortunately, during the landing phase, he lost track of them. Only with the union of Antares, Gumper and Beralios can the powerful Robot Daltanious be created, the fundamental weapon to defeat the aliens. Finding Prince Harlin and Beralios is therefore an absolute imperative, even if someone could be much closer than you think.
The Characters
The characters of the anime are many and like any Japanese cartoon series they are divided between good and bad, but let's get to know some of them in detail:The Coupons…
Kento Tate, a nice and always carefree 16 year old boy is the protagonist. He is the pilot of Robot Antares and Daltanious. Kento has very few memories of his father, as he abandoned his family when he was still very young. His mother and sister went missing during the Akron's first attack and he has grown up as a street thug along with other orphans ever since. In reality, Kento (unbeknownst to him) is the prince and grandson of the emperor Nishimura of the planet Helios and therefore the legitimate heir of the dynasty.
Danji Hiiragi (Dani Hibari in the Italian adaptation) is the exact opposite of Kento, with an introverted character, he is always serious and mysterious. He is the pilot of a super jet called Gumper that forms the legs of Daltanious. Danji's past is shrouded in mystery, what is known is very little, he was found by Kento on the street during an alien attack, his father was executed for a crime he didn't commit, and he got into trouble looking for the responsible.
Doctor Hearl (Āru Hakase in the original version) is the chief scientist of Helios who built Antares, Beralios and Gumper the three machines that form the great Daltanious. The doctor, during the attack of the aliens on their planet Helios, manages to escape with Prince Harlin aboard a spacecraft to planet Earth. The two survivors locked themselves up in capsules that kept them in a state of hibernation, but during the journey a meteor shower hit the spacecraft causing Beralios to detach and disappear and opening the prince's capsule early, making him lose all traces.
… and the Villains
Emperor Ormen is the main villain of the entire animated series and supreme leader of the Akron. His identity is only discovered during the last episode. In all the other villains, we find many of the stereotypical characters used in this genre of Anime and some more or less are characterized by the peculiarities of their physical appearance. Kloppen wears a black costume and always wears a mask that hides his face, and is the leader of the Earth invasion forces. General Nesia, the only woman among the Akron generals, has her hair replaced by some appendages that make her look like a leaf or the classic fan used by the Tengu. General Mizuka has a small, jellyfish-shaped body with a large red eye in the center. General Prozar resembles a humanoid hybrid halfway between a reptile and an equine or a dragon. General Savada looks like a humanoid locust. Concluding with General Boider reminiscent of a stone-skinned humanoid.
The packaging
The packaging of the product is made entirely of cardboard and the aspect that struck us most of the packaging is the retro graphic appeal inspired by the 80's toy. , wide and thick, it has very generous dimensions: approximately 43 cm wide, 30 cm high and 12.5 cm deep. On the left façade we find a photo of the Daltanious in static pose while moving to the right we find the logo of the Soul of Chogokin line, immediately under the three vehicles undergoing transformation, the name of the robot in Japanese and even further down are the logos Tamashii Nations, Bandai Spirits. Equally pleasant is the abundance of photos of the products that adorn all sides of the package. Moving to the back we can see a beautiful photo gallery of Daltanious's many poses and modes, both combined and separate. We can also see the myriad of extras that are provided and that we will find inside the blister.Blister
Inside the main box we find a large and solid white polystyrene with a cardboard frame, in full 80's style, covered with a transparent plastic lid with the three main pieces that Daltanious needs to transform, namely Antares, Beralios and Gumper.Beyond to these there are a whole series of elements such as:
the spacecraft Delfino Spaziale (piloted by Kento which is positioned in the head of Antares); the second alternative head of Beralios (released in the previous model); the head of Daltanious; the Space Crossbow; the two blades that come out from the sides of Antares legs; the Burning Sword; a missile launcher that positions itself in Beralios' back; a base for the second alternative head of the lion to be inserted in the stand where all the extras are housed. In the transparent blister there are the many and above mentioned extra accessories such as:
the pieces to form the display base (which is used to store all the accessories leaving the box empty); the Cosmic Blade (combat sword); the Protective Shield; an arrow for the crossbow; two Tearing Discs; the Sigma Ray with the stand to support it; the spare parts to replace at Antares for the Torn Fists; the two blades for the Gumper spacecraft; three pairs of alternate hands; the forearms and the two interlocking shoulder straps (which will replace those of Antares once transformed into Daltanious).
Antares
Antares, the anthropomorphic robot piloted by the protagonist Kento, forms the upper part, the head and the arms of Daltanious is made almost entirely of metal alloy with very few plastic parts. The head is fully articulated thanks to a ball-head pivot while the shoulders feature a double click joint that allows the arms to make full movements in all directions. The elbow has a very functional resistance joint and the fists are semi-articulated but not interchangeable. The hips are provided with a clockwise and counterclockwise rotation on their vertical axis, otherwise the legs have a posterior flexion of the leg necessary for the transformation. The feet can move in any direction by means of a spherical joint. In conclusion, Antares appears to be very stable and well balanced.Beralios
Beralios is the robotic lion equipped with an artificial intelligence system that allows it to move without being guided by any pilot, once transformed it forms the bust of Daltanious. The animal is made almost entirely of plastic except for the pelvis. The lion's mouth can be opened and closed, the legs (front and rear) are also articulated, as are the terminal parts of the legs themselves, which are able to touch the surface in almost all conditions. The tail, thanks to a hinge, can be folded in two and the back of the pelvis can be rotated on itself during the transformation phase. In conclusion, Beralios is well proportioned but not too posable.Gumper
Gumper is the ship piloted by Danji, once transformed it forms the legs, feet and fists of Daltanious. The vehicle is made almost entirely of plastic, except for the feet and the two yellow side leg badges which also function as an ankle. In the back, hidden by two compartments closed by two small flaps, we find the two fists. The wings can be opened and closed and on the upper part we find two movable limbs equipped with object holders, just like in the anime.Daltanious
We now come to the real protagonist of this release, the robot Daltanious. The transformation, thanks to the instruction booklet, is not complex at all and all the various elements fit together perfectly. Once the three vehicles have been assembled, simply replace the Antares head and mount the interlocking shoulder covers to make everything better proportioned. The replacement head is very well made and we can rotate it in any direction. The shoulders since they are the same as Antares have no limits even in the transformed phase, being able to move at 360 °. The forearms are mounted interlocking on the fists of Antares which also act as a joint (here, in this regard ... be very careful in the interlocking phase which are quite delicate pieces). The knees, which are equipped with a snap joint, ensure a good hold on the weight of the robot. We end the analysis with the ankles, which are the weak point of this GX59, unfortunately, in addition to being unsightly, they also have a very limited functionality and the slightly more extreme poses cannot be achieved.Conclusions
Without beating around the bush, the Soul of Chogokin GX-59R Daltanious is a mandatory purchase for all robot collectors and anime fans. The three vehicles are overall very well finished and very accurate in the engravings of the details. In our opinion, at the design level, some parts could easily be made of metal without running the risk of ruining them in the phases of the transformation of the robot but in the end we always talk about a reprint with a different color and we do not necessarily consider it a negative point. Despite the complexity of the transformation in the series, Tamashii Nations engineers have managed to maintain a valid compromise with a good stability of the model, allowing us to put it in the best possible way.Daltanious is already available at an indicative price of 340, 00 €, Tamashii Nation is distributed in Italy by Cosmic Group.
