Guest review by Wonkimus Major:

Henkei! Henkei! Transformers Megatron

     Price: about 3200 yen (depending on retailer, you'll probably have to
pay more if you import this) [Dave's note: for reference, at the current
exchange rate that's $32.40, so don't be too quick to accuse online stores of
gouging.  It's expensive to start with.]

Introduction:

     Here in Japan, Takara has finally gotten around to releasing the
Classics series under the name Henkei! Henkei! Transformers.  The first wave
includes Convoy, Mirage, Bumble, Grimlock, Megatron, and Starscream.  Unlike
the recent movie line, in which Takara used the same packaging as the US
releases (to give them a more exotic/foreign/Hollywood feel, I suppose) these
toys have completely new, Japanese-language packaging and include tech specs
cards.
     Packaging isn't the only difference.  These toys all have completely new
paint jobs, too.  They are meant to look as much like their original G1
counterparts as possible.  Each figure also has a few bits in chrome--perhaps
this is some sort of G1 homage as well.

     The only one that was different enough from the original to interest me
is Megatron.  I thought Starscream looked ok too, as his paint scheme is very
similar to the stickers the G1 toy has...though I wasn't too thrilled about
the chrome on his weapons.  The rest were very "meh."  Grimlock is
particularly garish with a chrome body (which becomes his legs) and two
colors of gray plastic.  He practically looks like a knockoff.  
     [Dave's note: and this "knockoff look" is why I haven't bothered with
the line at all, in addition to the high price.]

     Also of note is the fact that unlike the shelfwarmer movie toys (my TRU
still has an entire half an aisle full of them, mainly the non-movie
characters) these things flew off the shelves here.  I usually pay careful
attention to the release dates here because that's the day stores will put
the toys on shelves, and once they're gone, that's usually it.  It's very
rare for a store to get a second shipment, so if you miss out, you're out of
luck.  So unlike in the US where you have to hunt and hunt and hunt for the
new figures, you can just show up on release date and grab what you want.
Unfortunately I forgot to check the release date for Henkei, and by the time
I got to TRU all they had left was a sole Bumble.  I had to check several
stores before I found Megatron.

Robot Mode:

     Megatron comes packaged in robot mode. My first impression as I pulled
him out of the box was, "Wow, it's G1 Megatron - with wings!"  The gaudy
green, orange, and purple have been replaced with gray and black...and red.
Boots and cannon are black, the rest of the body is gray, with lots of red
highlights.  The original Megatron toy had red inside his legs and some red
on his midsection.  Also he's usually drawn with red elbow joints.  For me,
there's too many red highlights and I find it distracting.  In addition to
the red midsection, he's got red highlights on his upper arms and the top
edges of his lower arms.  The arms would look plain otherwise, but the red is
a bit garish.  There's some red on the cannon and a little on his legs.
Also, the flap on Megs' chest (the one you open up to pull out his head) is
chromed.  This could be an homage to the original toy, which had a shiny
silver sticker in that location.  But like the red, this detail is just
distracting.  I'm glad they didn't decide to chrome his arms like the
original Megatron!  Another issue is the chromed boots.  The front of them is
a shiny black.  Aside from those flaws, I do think this is a better homage to
G1 Megatron than the US Classics version.

Gun mode:

     The new colors don't work as well here.  Realistic gun colors just don't
look good on what is essentially a fantasy/Nerf type weapon.  The original
Classics Megatron's gun mode had an orange tip and some bright purple and
green parts, in accordance with toy gun laws in various US states.  Japan
does not have such restrictions, so Megatron can have his original colors.
The American version's orange tip is black on this version.  If this toy had
been designed for the Japanese market, you can be sure he'd have an
up-to-date realistic gun mode.  But, alas, what we've got is a Nerf-style gun
with Walther P-38 colors (along with some more of that garish red on the
side).  I plan to keep this toy in robot mode.

     Overall: Despite the colors, this is a strong figure.  Recommended if
you really want a more G1-ish Classics Megatron and can find it at a
reasonable price.  Otherwise, mildly recommended, especially if you already
own this mold.