Hey gang, Valkor here. Toy Fair 2014 saw a lot of new, interesting and fun stuff showcased and while I don't always have the best of times - even on a profesional level at this event, this year saw things turn out quite different. And I think future adventures into the show will be just as exciting. While walking the floor with fellow blogger Greg Wilcox @ Fanboy Destroy, we stumbled across a booth with what look liked Transformers... but not exactly Transformers. But they were robots in disguise for a completely different reason. Enter Tobot; based on a popular hit series in Korea, Tobot is actually two robots powered by keys from two young boys whose father was suddenly kidnapped, but left behind two cars that transform into robots – Tobot X and Tobot Y. The robots themselves seem to display the personality of their key owner; for instance Tobot X appears more reserved, while Tobot Y is more loose and fun. The series is CG based and spans four to five minutes each episode, in total it would appear there are 13 seasons in all; if you know Korean or don’t mind watching unsubbed cartoons then you can watch the entire run on YouTube.
Now what makes the toys unique from say Transformers in that it’s “what you see is what you get” – the way the robots transform on the show is exactly how the actual toy transformers. Think Gobots but with more detail. And as an eighties kid who grew up with G1 Transformers, you know how crazy difficult those were (I'm looking at you Hound!). Right now, the company that makes the toys as well as the series don’t have US distribution… yet. But I believe this is a simple and fun alternative that the younglings can enjoy. So someone, Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, jump on this ASAP. I’ve included a couple of the vids from the YouTube series and tons of pics direct from the show floor for you guys to enjoy. And hopefully we'll see more Tobot across the TOV pages
Tobots in order of appearance (below):
- From left to right: Tobot X/Y, Tobot Titan, Tobot Titan Hurricanespin
- Tobot Titan (closer look)
- Tobot Accessories
- Tobot Z Gun
- Tobot Evolution X and Y
- Tobot Evolution X/Y Shield-On
- Tobot W Shield-On
- Great Tobot X
- Tobot Quatran
- Rescue Tobot R
- Rescue Tobot C and D