Acrobunch Kyoui Gattai 5 DX Robot
("Wondrous Combination")
Made by Poplar and Royal Condor (1982)
From May 5, 1982-December 24, 1982 the anime series Demon Regions Legend Acrobunch appeared in Japan and featured a new super robot--Acrobunch. Nippon Television aired 24 episodes of this new anime from the creator Kyoro Ikeoa and writer Yû Yamamoto.Music was arranged by Masahiro Maruyama.
 
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As summarized byENOKI FILMS USA, INC ,--
David Owen and his family leave Earth in search of a legendary treasure which might save or destroy their world. Unfortunately, numerous greedy fortune hunters desire the treasure as well. Who will find it... who will survive?….and that treasure is Acrobunch the super-robot.
At over 20” by 16” the deluxe Gattai 5 Acrobunch set feels massive. It is on a par with the Godaikin Godsigma box. Colorful box art is placed over a detailed die-cut window cover. Graphics of the motorcycle, plane, car, and text abound. An arrow points to the partially transformed car and its folding diecast side-panels. Florescent green and asymmetrical die-cutting accent the toy below. A single sheet of cellophane lies underneath this second layer of cardboard.
 
Acrobunch DX robot parts
The parts are nestled in a Styrofoam liner behind this cellophane. The set includes the following:
- 2 motorcycles/ arms
- 2 fists, 2 hand missiles
- 2 motorcycle undercarriages
- 1 plane/ chest
- 2 sets of landing gear
- 2 racecars/ legs
- 2 front bumpers
- 2 rear airfoils
- 1gun
- 1 sword
- 1 catalog
- 2 sets of stickers
Upon opening Acrobunch was struck by how fun this toy was to put together. What can be more fun for a boy than having cars, motorcycles, and a super-sized jet make a robot? Oh, and the sword wielding fists fire.
 
Both cars #3 and #5 remind me of a 1970’s Plymouth Superbird race car. Their pointy shouts and large airfoils elicit images of Daytona 500 racers of times past. A chrome muscle car engine sticks up from beneath the midnight blue hood. Side-panels use diecast throughout and are massive. On the down side the wheels felt undersized and fragile. In fact most used Pentabots (the American release) have missing tires and broken axles. Like the Clover Xabungle they were secured by a push-pin axle that often fell out. All in all the cars are great toys.
Note-- some collectors draw a link between Poplar and Clover saying that Poplar was a spin-off. These axels and wheels, which look like Xabungle’s, make a strong case. I find flavors of Clover’s engineering and transformation designs throughout.
Likewise each of the motorcycles were a joy to put together, and each is identical in design. They form the arms of Acrobunch and launch either spring loaded fists or 2 optional drill-missiles. The sticker sets are only slightly different; one designates motorcycle #1 and the second, #2. Diecast metal undercarriages are used to transform from arms to cycles. Most kids found that those darned cycle handlebars, exhaust pipes,and seat handles easily broke off ** . These accents felt more like models than toys.
  
Note**-- one of my motorcycle chassis used an old pictured design with a thin walled exhaust pipe. It looks VERY fragile. The second set of pipes used an improved reinforced molding around the screw head.
Each motorcycle arm and hand can hold either a sword or a jawa-like gun. Both thumbs are spring loaded and opposable.
As a final show of Poplar’s ingenuity, the chest transforms like no other robot I know of. First the wings compress, tip backwards, and rotate down (see the instruction page below). Then the center of the diecast abdomen rotates on a horizontal pin through the centerline. The head tilts backwards, tucks into a cavity, and then the abdomen rotates upside-down. A ship nosecone unfolds from the chest and points up. Throw on some landing gear, add some stickers, and viola!
 
Robot fans will be eager to know the differences between the Japanese Acrobunch and the U.S./Taiwanese release by Royal Condor—Pentabot. I found differences in trademarks, fists, missiles, stickers, packaging, and quality.
 
All trademarks were removed and smoothed over in the U.S. Pentabot. The molds must have been sold over seas without anime licensing. Lionbot, a.k.a. Go-Lion, a.k.a. Voltron had a similar fate. Taiwan manufactures choose not to pay for toy licensing on top of toy mold costs.
Additionally the Pentabot did not have the latches and missile firing mechanisms for the fists. Pentabot fists only press fit into the robot. The drill missiles for the fists were omitted in the U.S. toy.
Close inspection of the stickers find less detail and a slight variation in colors. The easiest way to see a difference is to locate Acrobunch emblazoned on the wings of the jet. Pentabot is inscribed on the U.S. release. I also found that the hot pink stickers in the Japanese toy were much more brilliant versus a softer pink on the Pentabot. The second release also had more print dots-- a Moiré pattern I believe.
Packaging differences are obvious. What wasn’t apparent at first was that the U.S. box presents an assembled robot and is about 20% smaller than the Japanese release. It separates the parts and spaces them in an artful design. I prefer the briefcase style handle, color instructions, and window presentation on the first incarnation.
Quality control was good on the Pentabot but I found the paintwork to have more flaws and the castings to be slightly coarse. These details are very subtile.
So I like the robot design? Do I recommend this robot? -Yes and yes.
Acrobunch is a classic gatti (combination) design that deserves a high recommendation. Acrobunch is fun! The Japanese release rivals DX Popy, Clover, and Bullmark presentations and packaging. The weight of the toy is heavy and on a par with Dynaman DX. And the second U.S. release is truly a value these days. Beware of broken parts, handle with care, and enjoy a classic, though lesser known, transformer design.
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