Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Big Bad Beetleborgs JARA!

Saban's Beetleborgs: Magnavores - Whip-Cracking Jara - Bandai 1996

Big Bad Beetleborgs was the fourth wave of Saban's "Power Rangers" invasion.  I say Power Rangers because it always seemed to me like they were trying to replicate that initial success with other Japanese/American Hybrid shows.  First VR Troopers, then Masked Rider, then Big Bad Beetleborgs.  Beetleborgs was adapted from Toei's Metal Heroes Series: Juukou B-Fighter (Beetle-Fighter) and B-Fighter Kabuto.  Jara was a Russian-accented villain in league with the evil Magnavores.  She had a static mask that didn't allow for any facial expression, but her Baroness-like voice was enough to develop her personality convincingly.  She often wielded a whip that emitted energy blasts when she cracked it.  Hence this figure's "Whip Cracking" action feature.  The female heroes of this series always made pretty disappointing toys because the bodies seemed to be recycled from the men, but the villains always had original (and feminine) sculpts.  Jara is pretty great.  Let's check her out below!













 
Above you can see a peg in the palm of her right hand that anchors her (somewhat large) whip in place, and below you can see the lever in her back that controls her Whip-Cracking action.







Jara comes with a whip and two snap-together pieces of rigid plastic that form her breast and waistcoat.  You can see there's a slot for the action lever on her back.


 
 









 
 
 
 
Here are some images of Jara from the show.



 

 
 
 
 


 
Time for a Comparison Shot!





Cheers!



2 comments:

  1. I swear you each into my Brian and review my favorite figures and usually the same time I"m into them I have my Jaralyn out today ! Except the Star Trek woman I have but haven't pulled the out lately .on a side note I never saw Jaralyn in the store in Canada but... When I was in London I found her :)wish her knees bent .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe I'll find my fame as the world's first psychic toy blogger! I'm glad you like these older toy reviews. They don't get near the amount of traffic that brand new figures get, but I love doing them :)

      Delete