Before the Varitank rolled onto the scene, the Shogun Warriors were already making waves. Originally based on popular Japanese super robot anime—Mazinger Z, Gaiking, Getter Robo, and others—the toys were introduced to Western audiences by Mattel in the late 1970s. For many kids, these were their first encounters with Japanese mecha culture. This was definitely one of my first exposures to it. This particular Varitank is the one that I had as a kid. Judging by the looks of it, you can imagine that it went on a lot of adventures.