Beast Saga Blind-Boxed Action Figures
Item No.: BS-40 Manufacturer:Takara-Tomy Includes:Lance, shield, 2 dice, trading card Action Feature:Dice launch out of stomach Retail:525 yen (or about $7) Availability: March 2013 Other: Also translated as "Mantarei" early on
It's been a while, so let's revisit Beast Saga - the short-lived revival of the classic Battle Beasts! Mantaray Burst was part of the third and final wave of clear blind-boxed figures from this nifty, short-lived line. I shot this one in 2013, and wrote it up in September. Time has been kind to it as a plaything, but it's not exactly essential.
Surprising no one, Mantaray Burst has 4 joints and stands 3-inches tall. It is cast in a sea green for the fleshy parts and a nice sea blue for the armor - the only paint are its gold eyes and some detail on the dice.
The colors go together nicely, but some of the armor on the head is quite thin and seems to bleed in to the rest of the head. I love the fins, and it's pretty amusing that an entire animal is this figure's head. The rest of it is fabricated, including submarine-inspired shoulders and pointy shoes with little fins that would make Namor proud. He's articulated at the shoulders and hips, all of which are restricted in part thanks to the design. You can only move the arms forward a little bit, and the leg articulation does little other than to balance the figure.
The toy line's central gimmick is a dice launcher in the chest - it's removable so all the figures share tooling. There's a prism so light reflects into the clear chance cubes, giving the figure a little more life. It shoots a decent distance, and the figure's hands hold its 3mm weapons nicely. You might recognize the ribbed lance and pie-shaped shield from previous series, as all blind box figures in this line basically share the same gear across all series.
Since the beast figure renaissance of the early 2010s ended quickly, nobody cares about these guys. Minimates Battle Beasts, Beast Saga, and the Armorvor from Onell Design appealed to a limited audience, and we liked what we got. Sadly nothing quite matched the charm of the original Battle Beasts, but I'd argue Takara-Tomy's offerings came closest with the super-deformed features and game component. I don't see a lot of these on eBay, but nobody cares - so the prices are pretty low. If you see it at or under the original price, I'd say give it a shot. You could buy worse. You no doubt have bought worse.
--Adam Pawlus
Additional Images
Additional Beast Saga Blind Boxed Figures Series 3 Images
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