Tamagoras

With the new Transformers film now very popular, it should be remembered that the original transformers were invented in Japan - due to Japan's high technology and space-efficient packaging. However, the less celebrated aspect of the Transformers are their fantastic names - Optimus Prime, Cybertron (the name of the planet where they come from) etc.

So, what is the latest trend is in terms of space-efficient shape-morphing toys?

The answer is Tamagoras. Tamago is "egg" in Japanese, and these are slightly angry-looking creatures hidden inside eggs:

Available in Lion, Squirel, Dinosaur, and many kinds of bear. Helpfully, the egg says "BEAR" on it.

The lion is no more friendly, although he is saying "HELLO".

And we can get the same bear but in a polar bear version - this proves that polar bears are, in fact dangerous creatures, and not just cute zoo animals.


And this is very much like the market. There are many kinds of bears, but the net result is fairly similar.

*JTMIJ is moving to a 3-per-week schedule - sorry - I said there would be free and fair elections, but this is a military coup. Next installment Friday, then Mon-Weds-Fri.