Turning Japanese (Takara GI Joes)

"Turning Japanese" was a hit single released by the Vapors in 1980.  You can listen to their song here on youtube if it strikes your fancy.  The rest of this post doesn't have anything to do with the Vapors and their song that is rumored to be about self-pleasure.  Sorry to have wasted your time, Vapors fans.  

I was trying to think of a clever title for my post about the Takara GI Joes (which are awesome!).  They are so awesome, it's taken me a couple of weeks to do this post because I wanted to get it right.  I added a Takara Roadblock MOC to my collection in recent weeks.  I've won a few more on Ebay yesterday so I can't drag my feet any longer.   

Here is my somewhat newly acquired Roadblock: 

I love how:
     -the colorful artwork jumps out at you
     -the card is written in Japanese
     -inside the bubble, it's the same old Roadblock you know and love

The Takara GI Joes are cool.  I can't say enough about how much I really dig them.  But I'm rambling and I'm sure you'd rather not read my sweet-nothings about my Japanese Roadblock.  

Anyway, the paragraph below is copied from the great YoJoe.com (here is the link if you want to check it out):

"In 1986, Hasbro released 24 GI Joe action figures in Japan.  For their release in Japan, they were repackaged in bright cardbacks with descriptions in Japanese.  GI Joe figures were relased with blue cardbacks, while Cobra figures were released with red cardbacks.  The figures themselves are exactly like the ones released in the United States, except for a few Japanese exclusive versions of Duke..."

So yeah, the Takara GI Joes are the same as the original A Real American Hero (ARAH) action figures.  It's a cheaper way to add original, unopened action figures of some of the pricier Joes.  Sure, the cardback is different.  But the figure inside is just like the one you played with as a kid.  Can't afford a MOC original Shipwreck?  You might be able to afford the Takara version.  The costs are going up but they're nowhere near the prices the original United States Joes can command.     


As an added bonus, it is easy to protect your collection.  If you already use protective cases like the Protech Star Case 1 for your regular figures, the Takara cardbacks are the same size as the U.S. cardbacks (unlike the carded Chinese GI Joes but that's a complaint for another time).


In closing, I think Takara GI Joes are awesome to the max.  My collection is slowly Turning Japanese.  (Ha! Tied in the title!  I should get bonus points or something, right?)