Unlike most other Japanese toys lines, Microman series was not based on a particular TV show or anime. Moritou's works, not only brought Takara then little known sci-fi toys line to life but also introduced them to a whole generation of kids growing up during the late 1970's. The manga was one of the main driving force behind the popularity of Microman line. (This was mainly the reason for the clear plastic body, chrome head and chest plate on the first series Microman figures.) The original marketing concept was to make Microman a miniature version of the Henshin Cyborg so this way variety of play-sets and vehicles could be produced for them at reasonable price, since the cost to design and produced vehicles and play-sets for the 12" dolls was very prohibitive not to mention would not be very practical for Japanese market where living spaces were always at a premium and parents were never too keen on large size toys that take up a lot of rooms. Henshin Cyborg was Combat Joe body molded in clear plastic to expose the gleaming inner cybernetic implants and the "atomic engine". Takara's Henshin ( transforming) Cyborg was actually a spin off from Takara Combat Joe line, which interestingly was a licensed product from another popular well known dolls for boys - the GI Joe. Microman toys were first released in 1974 by a Japanese toy company TAKARA as a smaller 10cm version of their popular 8" & 12" fully articulated doll line - the Henshin Cyborg which was debuted in 1972.
Takara continued with the successful Micro Change series but the changing of the guard was inevitable. The "transformation" for Microman series began with the Micro Change series. Micro Robot series became the main focus of the new line. Takara reset the line and re-launch the series under the New Microman banner. The last year of the original series saw the shift in the line to more robot like look and larger figures. This year saw updated of old favorites like the Tower Base and Robotman 2. Takara "rescue" attempt for the series with the Rescue Team Microman. Takara tried new design and direction for the series with the released of Hoodman and Arden. The line finally came into its own during the third year with new figures and the classic Microman Transfer Fortress.Ī watershed year for Microman series, this year saw some of the best toys for the line. Second year saw more Microman and several new sub series such as the Acroyears, Titans and Victory series. The other US toy line adapted from Microman started when some smaller transforming vehicles were imported to the US by Hasbro and combined with another, similar Japanese toy line known as Diaclone to become know as Transformers.First year included the Founder Microman, Micro Kit Machines and Conning Tower. The first is the 3.75 inch action figures and some accessories imported by the Mego Corporation that where known in the United States as Micronauts. Two popular US toy lines to come from the Microman toy molds. In the US these toy lines became very popular in their own right. When the toys were imported into the US they were divided into different lines by different US companies.
The story of the Microman toys in the US is a very tangled web of toy lines and companies. These smaller toys had the advantage of being cheaper to produce as well as allowing a play pattern that included vehicles and accessories that the larger size prevented for cost reasons. The Microman toys were made in a smaller 3.75 inch figure that had a similar level of articulation to the 12 inch GIJoe. Interestingly, this figure was a modified doll produced in recycled molds originally used to produce Hasbro toy company's G.I.Joe doll. The Japanese toy company Takara made a toy series in 1974 called Microman that was a miniature spin off of their Henshin-Cyborg1 figure.