Metal Cardbot at BotCon '25 - What's new?
4 PM PST: Updated to clarify TCG information. (It's not being planned at the moment.)
Thank you to @rinovarka for covering this event! Please see the full Twitter thread for more info.
What's new since Toyfair in February?
Names have been changed, again. See below.
They showcased the first episode of the dub at the panel. The dub appears to be the same as the existing one, even down to the old names (Blue Cop, Mega Trucker). Rino writes that "A light apology is given for the English dubbing, as it was done for affordability, and that Season 2's localization should be better."
If the first wave is received well, then there's more justification for quality dubbing, marketing, etc.. Lots of things (human figures, comic, etc) were answered with "if it does well, then maybe!",
There are talks about making a new Metal Cardbot TCG for the US audience, since TCGs don't attract much attention in Asia, but it's hypothetical (source)
They hope that MCB becomes good competition in the transforming robot market (people who work on MCB know TF and the American market, and study them for fresh views/ideas).
Planned to be distributed at Entertainment Earth, BBTS, and Amazon in Fall 2025. They hope to distribute to larger, in-person retailers in the future... "maybe"
Prototype packaging was shown off (see below) - not final
Prototype Packaging (Toyfair vs BotCon)
Toyfair coverage: misswhynowhy on Twitter
Cardbots
Season 1, Wave 1 (releasing Late 2025/2026)
Names are not final, and "they acknowledge the translated names arent that great right now", and that they're still tweaking them (and possibly the names in the dub).
Names marked in blue are new.
Blue Star (Blue Cop, formerly Blue Cobalt) - $23.99
Shadow X - $23.99
Bluster Gale (Buster Gallon) - $23.99
Mech Tackle (Mega Trucker) - $32.99
Steel Hook (Black Hook) - $32.99
Heavy Iron - $49.99
Season 1, TBD price and release date
Wild Guardian (Wild Guardy)
Buffalo Crush
Med Alert (Mega Ambler)
Fire Buster (Phoenix Fire)
Dextrous (Dexter)
Fleta Z
Ultimate Blue Star (Ultimate Blue Cop)
While Season 2 toys were shown off at the event, there was no timeline or plans announced to bring them to US retailers.
TL;DR: Dub is the same. More names changed, though none of it is final. The first wave'll come out in late 2025, along with the dub on Tubi and YouTube, which'll probably be very similar to the one we already have. "Loud support when MCB hits the Western Market greatly needed to justify bigger and better things :]" - Rino
Hopefully coming to Tubi and hopefully FOX Kids (Saturday block)