Emgo is probably my favorite. His JTI really helped me with SS Devastator.

 

I have to agree with you there. I know he's only young, but I cannot understand how he has so many subscribers and views. He also puts so many reviews out it dilutes the value of the content, cause it comes across as though he's churning stuff out for the views rather than any great affinity for the characters.

That alone would be okay if, as you said, he didn't have some very odd mannerisms. Apart from the incessant talking, there are the weird inflections and pronunciations, using the wrong words, the odd habit of repeating the same thing over and over in a short period of time (he said Quintesson Judge about four times in fifteen seconds when describing Dr. Egg - yes we get it), saying 'I personally' or 'it will indeed' over and over again etc, just sounds very unnatural and as a result I can't listen to his reviews. I don't find that he really offers much insight anyway; it's fluffy, talk radio DJ type stuff. Plus he doesn't really cover that much in MP scale.

I know I'm probably being overly critical, but there are some great reviewers it there with for more interesting things to say and they only have a few hundred subs and don't get free shit (or potentially factory stolen shit, allegedly).

 

If any of the TF reviewers are listening, one of the things I look for is reviewers who show the transformation both ways - bot to vehicle AND vehicle to bot. Or, failing that, reviewers who show the opposite transformation to the others (eg if it comes in bot mode everyone will be showing bot to vehicle - so show me vehicle to bot). I can't remember who it was but one of the reviewers used to show both transformations.

These days it can be a real pain - I might be transforming a bot I haven't touched in years back to vehicle mode and I can't be bothered digging out the instructions (which are often unhelpful anyway), but all the reviewers showed vehicle to bot... takes ages to find the right video. Sometimes I can't and have to try to reverse the process, which isn't always easy.

 

He churns out content to get clicks. Nothing more complicated than that, and in the internet era content is king. As for how he built up such a big base, it is by paying for "pre-release" figures stolen from Hasbro factories. Once I realized that's what he was doing I have done my best to avoid his vids, but I do catch one now and again. He seems less critical than he did earlier, and more praising of every figure. I think he realized that upselling pre-release figures is going to generate more shares among fans.

 

Did you at least enjoy my most recent one then? ;p I did it for the fans...not mine but TF!

 

The more breaks you take on YouTube, the more YouTube forgets you exist. I don't pay attention to his channel super hard but seems to me he puts out one video a day like Emgo and everybody loves him.

I try to do one video a day myself but if I'm tired I'm tired

 

I have been trying to incorporate both transformations more often on regular retail bots but to be honest, if my video is 19 mins long because I do both transformations, but my view time retention is 6 mins on average, there's no real incentive to always show both convertions.

On my channel, unless I've already reviewed the mold prior, I will never transform anything opposite of how it comes packaged. It's a waste of time to show anything at all if you do that. Might as well just do a "Review" with no transformation.

 

I actually do not like Emgo at all - the voices he does just reminds me of youtube channels aimed at tweens. He's so excitable.

I really enjoy Bobby Skullface. I think he's really insightful and his videos on lighting and how to set up your display have really helped me improve my game.

KumaStyle is great too. Really high quality video and camera work.

 

So far the only person I really watch is Jobby. I've watched other reviewers, but I feel like Jobby is the only one who really doesn't hold back about the flaws. I get that Jobby's schtick might not be for everyone, but he really does review a figure. Some of the other channels feel too nice and rarely go in-depth about the flaws a figure has despite talking about it for 20+ minutes. Jobby's videos rarely go over 15 minutes and still manages to cover the pros and cons clearly.

I do watch other channels and do enjoy them, but I definitely would like to see them really go into the pros and cons more. I'm spending a lot of money and I need to be prepared and set my expectations accordingly.

 

I appreciate the extra effort you put into your reviews, showing both transformations is extremely helpful.

 

He's not the only person to bring up flaws but I love his videos....wish he would ya know...make more.

 

Which brings us back to Prime v Prime. I just subscribed to your channel to check out.

I appreciate Jobby, Lazy Eyebrow and Thew, but they are going beyond toy reviews most of the time. A lot more work goes into what they do than most reviewers. I don't think either could churn out content like Emgo and still maintain the quality they do. And yeah, I know Jobby is very juvenile, but that doesn't mean his production isn't sophisticated.

 

I'm all for more recommendations. Give me some more channels that really do a good job at emphasizing the pros and cons of a figure.

Prime Vs Prime is pretty good too. I do wish his reviews are a little shorter.

 

In that case I nominate me. But I like jobby, Thew Paik4Life, Emgo, TMReviews

 

I second TMan’s self-nomination. He’s who you go to for a chill review. As opposed to Prime v Prime, who’s very un-chill. Plus, TMan has the best toy hunts. Don’t believe me? Then check out his channel and click, click the video. Click the f**kin’ video, baby...

 

Lately I've mostly just watched Skullface.

 

One reviewer that I'm not watching anymore is PrimeVsPrime. I watched his review of Ultra Magnus and he was bitching that it doesn't bypass the whole White Prime component and go straight from alt mode to robot mode and called Hasbro lazy for not catering to his taste. Also he knew it was remold of Siege Ultra Magnus so what did he fucking expect. If SS86 did a reissue of Siege Springer just without the paint damage would he complain that Hasbro was lazy for not making a whole new mold. And I also dislike him for the same reasons that other people have mentioned.

 

Jobby I admire for his sheer effort and humor. Thew is fabulously fantastic with his alliterations and introduced me to another favorite: Gavin Spence. It's fascinating to see a dive into old toys and their bite-sizedness makes it easy to sit down and pop one while having a drink.

 

Gavin is another one that's brilliant. He's clearly scripted but it doesn't come across that way. Always has at least one line that makes me laugh.