“Huge Selection of Imported Japanese Robots that Change!”
December 5, 1984. Thanks to the ToyboxDX Facebook group, I now know that the robot shown in this 1984 advertisement is from the Xabungle series (see CollectionDX), an anime I don’t remember hearing of before I shared this ad and asked for an assist. I’m not all that familiar with many of the Japanese robot toys of the early eighties, but I do appreciate the artwork, and this ad looked far too awesome for me to leave it without sharing.
Xabungle is interesting in that the small plastic toys from the series were bootlegged mercilessly in the early 80s. Copies of Xabungle itself are ubiquitous with loose examples often missing many parts. There is also another mecha called Iron Gear that made the rounds from this series. Buddy L had released both toys as part of their cash-in Robotron line.