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| Lupin | Fujiko | Devilman Set | Tezuka Osamu Set | Kamen Rider Series 1 |
Action Figures
As American action figures became more and more popular with Japanese collectors, Banpresto introduced action figures as catcher toy prizes in 1998. They average about 3 & 1/2 inches in size and have posable arms, legs and heads.
1. & 2. Lupin the 3rd Action figures - 1998 - There are 5 in the series. Lupin & Fujiko are shown here.
3. Devilman Action figures - 1998 - The image shows the complete set of 5: Akira, Devilman (manga), Devilman (anime), Silene, Devilman Lady.
4. Tezuka Osamu Collection - 1999 - Popular characters from legendary creator Tezuka Osamu, including Black Jack, Triton of the Sea (aka Marine Boy), Astro Boy (aka Mighty Atom), Uran and an Astro Boy villain. This is a great set. Black Jack comes with his briefcase and a scalpel, Triton has a red knife and a dolphin. Astro Boy's chest opens up to show his mechanical insides and his heart, and he comes with interchangable legs. An extra set is included for his flying mode!
5. Masked Rider (aka Kamen Rider) Series 1 - 1998 - Complete set of 5 shown. Includes versions 1 & 2, V3, Kamen Rider X and Riderman. Riderman comes with interchangeable hands, the others come with superdeformed villains!
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| Lupin | Fujiko | Devilman Set | Tezuka Osamu Set | Kamen Rider Series 1 |
Keychains
Keychains have been available as catcher toy prizes since the early nineties. Plush keychains are generally about 4 inches in size, and the PVC keychains are about 2 inches tall. Keychains have cardboard hang tags much like the larger plush figures. The detail and paint jobs on the PVC figures are always outstanding and they make great collectibles. Unfortunately, the keychains are often bootlegged. The first thing to look for is the cardboard tag. If the tag has been removed, look for the copyright imprint, which can be usually be found on the back of the figure's head. On the original figures, the imprint appears sharp and clear.
6. Yokoyama Set - Banpresto, 1998 - Popular characters from various series created by Mitsuteru Yokoyama, including Tetsujin 28 and Shotaro with the remote control unit (aka Gigantor and Jimmy Sparks in the US), and the Giant Robot from the Johnny Sokko series, Giant Robo and Genrei from the Giant Robo series, and a few others I'm not familiar with. Complete set of 8 keychains shown.
7. Go Nagai Collection - 1998 - This set contains 11 characters created by legendary creator Go Nagai, including Cutey Honey, Kekko Kamen, Violence Jack, Devilman (both the anime and the manga versions) Devilman Lady, Silene and other characters I'm not familiar with. For those who haven't heard of her, Kekko Kamen is a superheroine who fights wearing just her gloves, boots and a mask. Her opponents get overwhelmed by the site of her nude body and she kicks their asses without much trouble.
8. & 9. Mazinger & Devilman Glow in the Dark Set - 1998 - This set of 7 keychains feature Go Nagai characters from Mazinger Z and Devilman. The Mazinger robots have glow in the dark paint accents. The Devilman characters are made with a glow in the dark PVC. The complete set is shown here in images 7 & 8. The first has Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, another Maz version I don't know. Image #8 shows both the manga and anime versions of Devilman, Silene & Devilman Lady.
10. Robocon - 1998 - Robocon standing and in riding mode, one of Robocon's classmates, plus the cook. There were a total of 7 keychains in this set. These were all I could find.
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| Yokoyama Keychains | Go Nagai Collection | Glow/Dark Mazinger | Glow/Dark Devilman | Robocon |
11. - 14. Super Robot Collection - 1998 - This collection of 15 "Super Robots" combined characters from many different series. The first image includes robots from Gundam plus Dragun Getta. (He's the one with the two battle axes.) The second has Daitarn 3, Combattler V, Dancougar and one other I don't know. The third image has Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and Getta Robo. The fourth image has Reideen, Macron 1, Daimos and one other I don't know. If you've got any names I'm missing, please let me know!
15. Megazords - 1998 - Ok, I admit it - I picked this set up because I thought they looked cool, even though I couldn't figure out who the characters were or what they were from. Then, one Saturday morning when I was flipping through the channels, I caught a few minutes of the Power Rangers, and there was one of the robots from this keychain set! When the Rangers combine their vehicles into one giant robot, its called a Megazord, and this set represents the Megazords from the various PR series.
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| Super Robots 1 | Super Robots 2 | Super Robots 3 | Super Robots 4 | Megazords |
16. Astro Boy aka The Mighty Atom - 1998 - Five are shown here, although there was at least one more in the set.
17. Osamu Tezuka Collection - 1998 - Tezuku is called the "God of Manga" for good reasons. Although comic strips had been around for a while, it was Tezuka who first created story manga in Japan. And with his 1953 manga Ribbon No Knight, he created the first "Shoujo Manga." (This story became an animated series in 1967, and appeared in the US as "Princess Knight." This set presents some of this creator's most popular characters. Astro Boy, Princess Knight and Choppy, Fushigina Merumo, Kitty & Simba The White Lion, and Black Jack and his little assistant. I believe this is the complete set of 8.
18. Gundam Wing - Endless Waltz Set 1 - Gundam Wing, Gundam Heavy Arms, Gundam Sandrock, Quatre & Trowa. There was one other human in this series, who I've yet to find.
19. Gundam Wing - Endless Waltz Set 2 - Gundam Wing Special, Gundam Deathscythe, Zechs, Tallgeese, Gundam Nataku & Wufei. This set also had one other human that I still need to find.
Tokusatsu Heroes - 1999 - The full set contained 8 keychains.
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| Astro Boy | Osamu Tezuka Collection | Gundam Wing Set 1 | Gundam Wing Set 2 | Tokusatsu |
