Police Keeper M23X
Takara released the Microman Police Keeper series in 1978, which was the fifth year of the original Microman series. Microman line reached its peak during the Command series and the Police Keeper was the beginning of the decline. Five years was a very long time for a toy line and by this time it was very hard for Takara to keep the line fresh and interesting for its ever growing fans. Also, in 1977, one event happened that would forever change the landscape of sci-fi world - the released of small budget space opera movie call Star Wars. Star Wars would soon take over the sci-fi toys genre.
The theme for 1978 was the space voyage story made popular by such shows as Space Yamato and Captain Harlock. Microman Police Keeper, while very streamlined and refined in appearance, were not very popular with fans. Police Keeper was very different from the previous years Command series in term of design and look. One of the most prominent feature of Police Keeper was the inclusion of a weapon accessory - the Pulsar Gun and Energy Pack. The gun came with a hose that attached to the backpack and has a 2mm peg so it can be snapped on to the 2mm hole in Microman legs. They were the first Microman type at the time to have more than four members in the group.
Despite being somewhat unpopular at the time, the M23X Police Keeper figures have reached a sort of myhtological status due to the fact that they weren't part of Takara's 1999 Replica series,and therefore are harder (though certainly not impossible) to attain on the collector market. The line also has two of my favorite colorways, the Lifesavers green, and I'll call it the 'Creamsicle' color.
Takara also released a M23X type as New Microman M006 Kamui. He had a yellow and black color scheme, and came both as a capsuled figure, and as a pack-in with the Micro Gander 3 set.
M231
M232
M233
M234
M235
M236
Police Keeper Story
In the year 19XX, Microman discovered a mysterious comet orbiting near Jupiter. Microman detected alpha-H7 radiation emitted from the comet which they had now call "Micro-Comet" They send out a team to investigate and met new companion who declared themselves to be Microman Police Keeper. Police Keeper said they travel to Earth via "Micro-comet" to help Earth at its critical junction due to the arrival of Satan Arden.
Each Microman Police Keeper came with Pulsar Short weapon and Energy backpack. Each Police Keeper also had ability to generate Police Keeper Barrier - a special force field from their belt. Police Keeper Microman would constructed Police Keeper MicroKnight androids to fight against Cosmo Satan Arden using material from Micro-Comet. Microman Police Keeper also build a super defense system call Build Base. When Rescue Secret Base was finished Police Keeper became part of CRIM section and tasked with escorting Rescue Microman.
Police Keeper Checklist
M231 Arnold - red/white
M232 Arthur - blue/white.
M233 Alex - clear green/yellow
M234 Anthony - black/yellow
M235 Aaron - clear orange/white
M236 Alan - white/blue
** Note - M231 was also sold with Play Build 1 - Build Lance, M232 was also sold with Play Build 2 - Build Crane, and M233 was also sold with Play Build 3 - Build Bazooka. See Also - Police Keeper Play Build Series.
Accessories
Police Keeper Pulsar Short-wave Gun and Energy backpack. The weapon would became the standard accessory for Micro Knight and the first two Rescue Microman series.
Packaging
Police Keeper was sold in white case. The case was now simple square design with Microman logo and RCB Noah embossed on the lower left. The case also doubled as stand for the figure. Micro Hoodman and Micro Knight were also sold in the same style case. The clear cover featured concentric ring of circles which probably meant to represent the Police Keeper energy shield.