Machine Robo Mugenbine facts for kids

The logo for the Machine Robo Mugenbine toys.

Machine Robo Mugenbine is a cool Japanese toy line from Bandai that started on December 27, 2003. These toys are all about transforming robots! The name "Mugenbine" comes from the Japanese word mugen, meaning 'infinite', and the English word 'combine'. This means you can combine them in endless ways! Mugenbine toys are the next generation after the popular Machine Robo robot toys.

What is Mugenbine?

The main idea behind Mugenbine is to let you create your very own animal and machine robots. Each toy has lots of special pegs and holes that let you connect and move parts around easily. While every toy has at least two official ways to transform (like an animal and a vehicle), the real fun is making up your own unique creations!

Meet the Core Figures

Most Mugenbine toys have a special robot figure called a Mugenroid. These are basic block-shaped robots that can fold into different shapes, often a cube. The Mugenroid is the main part, or "core," of the toy's different forms. Even though they look similar, each Mugenroid has a different head design.

Each set also comes with 6 to 10 extra parts called bine parts. You can attach these parts to the Mugenroid and to each other to build different forms. At first, toys only had animal and vehicle modes. But later, they added bigger robot modes too!

As the toy line grew, new types of core figures appeared:

• Turboroids are different because they have wheels already attached, which helps them become vehicles. They also have unique heads that can spin.
• Some toys don't have a core robot at all! Instead, they use a Mugen Engine that makes parts spin when you activate it.
• Newer toys use Buildroids. These are bigger core robots made from several parts themselves. They even have a small cockpit where a tiny pilot figure called a Roider can sit!

Mugenbine Toy Series

Mugen Alphabet Robot Series

The first main series of Mugenbine toys was called "Mugen Gattai," which means "infinite fusion." These toys were released in alphabetical order, and many of the Mugenroids even had a matching letter on their heads! This is why fans often call them the "Letter" or "Alphabet" series.

Some toys in this series had special themes:

• Ridebines like Teiouryu and Yuutenma were vehicles that the Mugenroid could ride on, instead of being part of the vehicle itself.
• The Three Musketeers (Quest Knight, Save Gunman, and Razor Ninja) were designed like historical warriors: a knight, a cowboy, and a ninja.
• There was also a popular group of dinosaur figures.

Here are some of the cool toys from this series:

Some popular figures were re-released with new colors and sometimes new weapon parts. For example, Air Leon was repainted in black and gold, and later in blue and black with new guns!

Later in the Mugen Gattai series, the toys became simpler and didn't always have machine modes. They also started using Japanese katakana letters for their themes instead of English letters.

Mugen Gattai Base Robot Series

These are bigger, deluxe Mugenbine sets that include Turboroids. Besides animal, machine, and robot modes, these toys can also turn into cool bases for smaller Turboroid machines to use! Their parts can even combine to form huge "big machine" modes that smaller machines can ride in. These sets are great for fans who want to build giant robots.

Here are some examples:

Mugen Police, Mugen Fire, and Mugen Builder can all combine to form a super robot called Mugen Commander 3!

Mugen Gattai Engine Robot Series

Some Mugenbine toys don't have a core robot at all! Instead, they are built around a Mugen Engine (also called a Tornado Engine). These engines use gears to make parts spin when you activate them. This allows for cool spinning weapons when combined with other Mugenbine toys. These sets also have a katakana theme.

Here are some of them:

Mugen Build Gattai Robot Series

This series brought back the idea of a core robot, but with a new twist! Instead of a single-piece Mugenroid, these toys use a Buildroid. Buildroids are made up of several bine parts themselves and have a cockpit for a tiny Roider pilot. Buildroids are bigger than Mugenroids, so these sets usually have even more bine parts. They also bring back the classic animal, machine, and robot modes.

Here are some figures from this series:

Dark Flame Dragon is special because it comes with two Roider pilots and can make 16 different official forms!

Mugenbine Candy Toys

Even though the main toy lines slowed down, Mugenbine continued as "candy toys." These are smaller, simpler toys often sold in convenience stores with a piece of candy. They usually have less paint and rely on stickers for details. You might even have to snap some parts off a plastic frame, like a model kit! In 2017, this line was brought back as "Mugen Saga" with more detailed parts.

Here are some of the candy toy series:

Series One

This series brought back popular original Mugenbine figures, but in a simpler way. For example, Air Leon's lion head no longer folded away in jet mode. These three toys could also combine into a new robot mode.

Mugen Four Holy Beasts

Starting with this series, candy toys became completely new designs and were released in groups of five. One part was a simpler Mugenroid, and the other four were beast-based figures that could turn into weapons for bigger Mugenbine toys. These animals were based on the four saint beasts from Japanese stories. All five figures could combine to form a robot called Mugen Emperor.

This set was so popular that it was re-released with dark repaints! These dark versions were called "Death" figures (like Death Emperor) and were only the second official villain in the Mugenbine world.

Mugen Four Dragons

This series followed the same idea, but with a Mugenroid and four different dragons. Each dragon had a unique theme and weapon mode. When combined, they formed Mugen Ryuuou (Dragon King), who was bigger and had more movement than the previous combined robot.

Mugen Golden God and Mugen Silver God

These sets were made by repainting all the figures from the Four Holy Beast and Four Dragons sets. The designers rearranged the figures and created completely new robot modes with new heads. These sets even had a small story about their battle with Dark Flame Dragon.

Mugen Five God Beasts

This series removed the Mugenroid and brought back the Buildroid with a Roider figure. The theme for this set was Egyptian mythology, with designs based on Egyptian gods. They combine to form Mugen Pharaoh.

Mugen Holy Beasts of the Sword

Released in June, this set focused on mythical and horned animals, mostly from European legends. It also kept the Buildroid as its core. These figures combine into a robot called Mugen Arthur, a nod to King Arthur.

Mugen Holy Beasts of the Sea

The next series of candy toys had a sea animal theme. These new sea animal molds combine to form Mugen Pirates. You can even add Mugen Leviathan from the previous set to create Mugen Kaioh, or make a different version using only parts from this set. There's also a combined pirate ship mode!

Mugen Fighting God Beasts

These two series of candy toys were released in the same month and had an Indian theme. Each set could combine into a larger robot, and all twelve figures could combine to form a super robot called Mugen Enou (Fire Emperor).

Mugen Phantom Saint Beast

The tenth and eleventh series of Mugenbine Candy Toys had a European Mystic theme. The first six figures combined to form Mugen Guardian, while the others combined into Mugen Ryustorm. Both sets could also combine even further to create Mugen Shinou!

G Mugenbine Series: Mugen G Gentoshi

This series was a direct follow-up to the Phantom Saint Beast line. It featured five figures that could combine into either Mugen G-Phantom or Mugen Blade, which could be used by Mugen Shinou. This also marked the start of the new "G Mugenbine Series."

Mugen Fierce God Beast

This series had an African Safari theme and was made up of seven units that could combine into Mugen Safari. This set could also combine with another set called Garyuuki to form Mugen Juuoh.

Mugen Super Demon Beasts

This line had an "Evil Magic" theme and featured six units that combined into Mugen Satan. This was the third official villain in the Mugenbine series, after Xenonbine and Death Emperor.

Evolbine Series

The Evolbine series was inspired by egg-shaped prizes from coin machines. These toys came as five figures, and each one could "evolve" from an egg to a hatchling, and then to a beast form. The parts from the five eggs could also combine into a bigger robot.

Series I - Mugen Burning

Series II - Mugen Tornado and Mugen Storm

Series III - Mugen Lightning

The Story of Mugenbine

The story behind the Mugenbine toys is mostly found in commercials and on the back of the toy packages.

The story begins in a place called Mugenpolis. The first Mugenbine, Air Leon, was created there, followed by Build Giraffe and Carry Eagle. These robots were designed to help with emergencies in the city. The first villain we see is Xenonbine, an evil Mugenbine that could combine in more ways than any other toy at the time.

Later, the commercials mentioned that Great Rex, Heat Tricera, and Zord Elephant were made by Mugenbine's North American branch. After Victory Leon was created as a "gateway" to the city, the commercials started calling the city "Mugen City."

At some point, the story on the toy packages changed. It said that the Mugenroids were taken over and turned against the city! Because of this, the Buildroids were created. These new robots had human pilots who couldn't be controlled by the enemy. This meant the Buildroids and their pilots became the only protectors of Mugen City against the new threat. The story is still ongoing, as the newest toys also include pilot figures.

See also

• Machine Robo