BanDai has a unique blend of properties, most with an Asian feel or origin, and most of which are aimed at a relatively younger demographic than us here at ANR know how to deal with. While something like Teen Titans can be appreciated by kids and adults alike, there's a lesser cross generational appeal in something like Power Rangers, or D.I.C.E. Nevertheless, there's something very satisfying in seeing a robot dog get twisted in half, whimper, and turn into a ray gun. Maybe it's not the exact kind of entertainment that they were going for, but I couldn't keep a straight face as the presenter went on about various Power Rangers items in complete seriousness. I probably turned to Dan and whispered, 'Holy Jesus! Dog Gun!' or something like that.

While wandering the showrooms, there are basically two types of presentations you're given. The most common kind of interaction is pretty organic. You talk, you touch, you play. The other kind of interaction is more of a constructed, scripted, corporate interaction, and these usually involve a hired actor / presenter going through the financial pros and specific kid appeal of the property in question. BanDai was responsible for the most unintentionally entertaining of these, the best show being delivered by two early 30's males who said 'Go team go!' in unison and feigned a summary discussion about what products boys would be interested in this year. ANR really has never really focused on the financial aspects of the marketplace, usually aiming for other factors instead, like the Awesome Factor, the Squidability Factor, the Quantity of Visible Nipples Factor or the Chemical Reaction with Hydrochloric Acid Factor. It even kind of makes me uncomfortable to hear about how kids are aggressively and directly marketed to. It makes me feel like there's a large storehouse of little boys somewhere, all still and with wires jacked into their heads, some algorithm determining what collective brainwave will resonate at the exact frequency of MUST HAVE NOW.

Our active sense of humor, though, tends to break down these hard barriers, and PR sees that they can relax and return to the more natural forms of interaction. You say something like, "Oh man, did that missile just launch out of that dinosaur's butt?" and like a secret password, communications are open. Almost always, anyone you meet at the Fair will have a true, deep interest in toys and a youthful excitement, somewhere under the surface.

No photography was allowed in the BanDai showrooms. Well, one or two very special photographs in the Teen Titans section, but we'll get to that, so these are approved press images.

I'm not entirely sure how much I can say about Power Rangers. They have that Dog Gun, called RIC if you want to be technical about it, which you should really check out when it hits the shelves in June, but almost all of the items are variations on things we've been seeing sell for years. A new transformation thing here, a new sound clip there, people turning into racecars, racecars turning into giant battling robots, giraffes turning into vapor and my aunt turning into a pot of geraniums. Oh, and battle Unicycles, since everything else in the world has already been turned into some kind of battling vehicle... except for maybe dirigibles and junks. That's next season.

Tell me this - have there ever been action figures of perennial bumbling bullies Farkus 'Bulk' Bulkmeier or Eugene 'Skull' Skullovitch? That's totally their full names in the show, too. And they're best friends in real life! 'Cause they did this PSA once, after the original Power Rangers, that really got to me, and I've been a fan ever since. And I'd really like action figures of them, because THAT is the truest form of affection.

Them there's Gundam, which is also more robots in the same vein as previous waves of things, including the really well made Battle Scarred line.

The Teen Titans line continues to expand with further 1.5" figures, which are a lot more fun than they might initially look, and a great way for BanDai to explore a large quantity of characters and character variations cheaply and in high volume. As an added bonus, collecting multiple packs will allow you to assemble spare parts into the T-Tower or the T-Sub vehicle model. There's really no other way to get the newer or more obscure character, like Gizmo or Queen Bee, but the 3.5" line is working hard to match these aspirations, with new, even more inexpensive releases of characters like the Master of Games, Speedy and Aqualad.

My niece, somehow, has dubbed her own Cyborg figure 'Cyborg Stanley Doofus'. I don't know how or why. The rest of the Teen Titans line consists of the requisite vehicles and transforming and combining things, but the variety of upcoming characters is what stands out for me. As usual, there's a void of Raven figures, who is presumably the least marketable and my personal favorite Titan. The coolest non-figural item was the skittering Cyborg's Spy Hand, which was real-hand sized and spidered its way across the countertop really neatly.

Even though we were told that we couldn't take pictures, I'd just slipped my camera into my pocket and planned to ignore it. There came a point in the Teen Titans presentation where we were allowed to be photographed with three costumed characters, and well....

[Dan, terrified by crime and foods that incorporate ham, faces down the nefarious camera, while Beast Boy reveals the hand that was mangled in the T-Cotton Gin. Watch this space for my adventures, as soon as Dan finds me the pic he took...]

[there we go.]

Then we come to D.I.C.E., which may be a wonderfully entertaining show. I don't know. That would require watching it. It's BanDai's first in-house property, created entirely by them and not licensed from elsewhere, which presents even more toy-related items appearing in the show, for the sole purpose of being sold as toys later. I kinda remain confused by the involved terminology, though, since the show has nothing to do with actual dice, and the vehicles, which are robotic dinosaurs, are called Dinobreakers, which seems to imply that their purpose is to... break dinosaurs. Until now, I thought that it was only me who'd taken on this arduous task. It's good to know that relief is in sight.

No, I really have no clue what's going on. Some of the bizarreness of this all is kind of creatively inspiring. I mean, I don't know if I could have come up with the idea of making a dinosaur with flame detailing all by myself. I don't really have enough glue to inhale to create these wild ideas. This was another one of those things that prompted giggly whispers.

"Why did the dinosaurs become extinct?"
"They weren't tricked out enough?"

Finally, we get to gaming. While BanDai plans to continue their Navia Dratp line, which really hasn't seen the light of day outside of gaming conventions and specialty shops, I was disappointed to hear that there's no plans to market it to a more mainstream audience. The miniatures are really strikingly beautiful and could really catch on if there was more effort directed behind spreading them, but as it is now, I've never even seen one in a shop. A MSRP of nine dollars for three miniatures is a steep price to pay, and the thirty dollar starter set, which contains 18 pieces, seems more reasonable. While I've not played it personally, the game mechanics are innovative and tremendously interesting. The following photos are from the preview set that we'll be testing out this weekend.

Two card games set to debut which hold my interest are Teen Titans and Zatch Bell! While I don't know much about Teen Titans gameplay and what sets it apart from other battling card games, the designs and sense of humor would be enough to keep me attracted. We'll see in April. Zatch Bell!, however, which will arrive in May, involves the very interesting game mechanic of assembling your cards into an actual spellbook by slipping them into pages, and turning these pages to cast spells. This game has been around in Japan for a few years, we were told, and will (insert groan) be accompanied by a TV show. Hopefully, the game will be interesting enough to stand on its own merits, since historically, cartoon / card game tie-ins are miserable things.

We were honored with an individualized walkthrough, and as always, impressed with BanDai's genuine interest in audience feedback and interaction with the media, no matter how small the outlet.