Nezha Power-Up Pack (2019)

As I've described in the past, most Transformers fall into one of two categories: 1) toys available in North America through Hasbro, 2) toys available in Japan through TakaraTomy. This toy is an exception. That's not such a big deal, in and of itself. There are quite a few Transformers that don't properly fall into one of those two main categories. Even so, I'd argue that this toy is somewhat distinctive even amongst those exceptions. Nezha has a history that is perhaps unique among Transformers, and the full story is possibly still waiting to be told (although at this point, whether or not it will remains uncertain).

Let's get a few details out of the way. So far as I can determine, "Nezha" is pronounced "NEH-jah," with the accent on the first syllable, and the "j" less as it would sound in "jar" and more as the "zs" in "Zsa Zsa Gabor" (yes, I know I've dated myself with that reference!). There are competing pronunciations out there, so I'm not going to insist on this too harshly, but that's what comes from the sources I consider most reliable. Figuring out what sources are reliable is especially important in the case of this toy, because the information that's out there in a language I can actually read and understand (that is, English) is pretty spotty.

Nezha is a character from Chinese mythology, featured in a children's cartoon from 2003 called (in English) "The Legend of Nezha." China Central Television, the folks behind that cartoon, announced a partnership with Hasbro in 2017, whereby they would create a new cartoon that was a crossover between "The Legend of Nezha" and the Transformers. A trailer for this cartoon was finally released in 2019, as was this toy, along with an assortment of reissues/redecoes of otherwise-available Cyberverse toys and some block-building sets under the franchise heading of Nezha: Transformers. Then, COVID-19 stopped the world. At least, that's the best explanation anyone's offered for why the cartoon hasn't yet come out (to the best of my knowledge), and very few Nezha: Transformers toys ever made it to market. There were at least a few additional toys advertised that have yet to see release, as well.

Whatever happened, this toy did make it to market. The TFWiki calls this the "Nezha Power-Up Pack," and I have to take their word for it, as only the name "Nezha" shows up in English lettering, with the rest all in Chinese characters. The back of the package does say "Function: Protector of the Human World," which gives at least some idea of the character. The set comes with weapons called the Qiankun Circle and the Fire-tipped Spear, seen in the image to the left, in the Nezha robot's hands. These can also be stored on the robot's back, as seen here.

I was pretty careful to call this "the Nezha robot," rather than "Nezha," since from what I can tell, the robot is not meant to represent the Chinese mythological character. Rather, there's a little figure that comes with this set to represent Nezha himself. He can store in the robot's chest when opened up, as seen here to the right.

The robot turns into a distinctive red sports car. Although I show the Nezha figure here outside of the vehicle, the toy's transformation is such that you can leave the figure in the robot's chest compartment and transform the toy without fear of damage to the little figure. You can also store the weapons on top of the vehicle, as seen here.

It perhaps goes without saying that, given the limited nature of the market to which Nezha was intended, and the still-unclear circumstances surrounding the line and its intended cartoon, this can be a difficult toy to find. That said, I'd recommend shopping around a bit to find a good deal. While this toy is worth searching out, it's not worth breaking the bank for, and you should be able to find a reasonable price with just a bit of effort. Good luck!