As soon as in an important whereas, the Soul of Chogokin Gold Lightan goes on sale once more in some type, and each time, I really feel tempted to purchase it. The factor fascinates me, and never simply because the anime is one wild and surprisingly violent journey. I believe I’m simply intrigued by how Gold Lightan defies the standard sensibility of the SoC toyline and makes it stick out like a sore thumb.
Soul of Chogokin is all about high-quality toys that goal to seize the coolness of a given mecha by discovering a pleasant center floor between the unique toy and its illustration in media corresponding to anime or live-action. Over time, this has typically meant attempting to match physique ratios, colours, and aesthetic particulars whereas retaining gimmicks like transformations. However Gold Lightan is a bizarre case as a result of it’s a problem to get him to look “anime-accurate,” “toy-faithful,” and in addition “cool” on the similar time.
Conceptually, Gold Lightan is meant to be a flip-top cigarette lighter that transforms right into a robotic. He’s primarily a field with a head and limbs, and there’s solely a lot you are able to do with that. He doesn’t have something to tuck or fold in to present him a extra dynamic look. For those who have a look at the very first toys, his legs and arms are hilariously small to be able to get them to suit.
The creators of the anime by Tatsunoko Professional clearly knew this, so that they gave Gold Lightan extra human proportions. Nonetheless, if his limbs are that measurement, they will’t presumably fold into the torso with out cartoon magic. The SoC toy compromised by making them longer to considerably higher match the anime, however they’re not thick sufficient to look good relative to the torso. The “chest” and “intestine” stick out to this point past the pinnacle as to be comical.
Then there’s the problem of precise bodily texture. The unique bodily toy had that sample as a result of it was attempting to imitate actual cigarette lighters. This may have been a nightmare for the animators, so Gold Lightan within the present is usually portrayed with a vivid, flat yellow. Nonetheless, throughout close-ups, the anime implies that the textured sample continues to be there; it’s simply not being rendered more often than not. A toy possible can’t concurrently obtain each the saturated “gold” of the anime and the look of the unique toy/shut pictures.
The one portrayal of Gold Lightan that managed to attain one thing of a visible stability between these two elements is the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom combating sport franchise, however that’s by way of non-physical 3DCG with out the necessity to embody the cigarette lighter transformation. There’s additionally the “Full Motion” subcategory of the SoC line that eschews transformation and mixture features in favor of in depth poseability, but it surely’s most likely very troublesome to present a field with limbs and no waist the “Obari Masami” that defines the FA entries.
Consequently and maybe greater than another Soul of Chogokin, the design of Gold Lightan prioritizes its toy-friendly qualities over every little thing else. It’s as in the event that they deserted any hope of creating it look thrilling. And let’s be actual: Even when they managed to make it look similar to the anime, it’s not like that animated design is all that thrilling both. The attraction is exactly as a result of Gold Lightan is so ugly and peculiar, that it’s a curio that makes you surprise who even thought it was a good suggestion.
Gold Lightan is superior.
