Microman (2003 Toyline)

Microman (ミクロマン) was the first true reboot of the Microman brand. Launched in 2003, the line is characterized by its extremely poseable figures and inclusion of licensed characters as part of the Micro Action and Kiguru Microman sublines. The line is also known for its complicated and "edgy" designs. It ended in mid-2008 due to declining sales and Takara's merger with Tomy causing reorganization within the company.

Micro Force (5/2003) (2/2004)
Initially released in May of 2003 as a limited test-market release, along with the first five Micro Action Series releases, the Micro Force figures were re-released in a much larger production run in February 2004.

Acroyear X (3/25/2004)
The first Acroyear figures in the line.

Micro Lady (5/28/2004)
The first female figures in the line.

Acro Lady (5/28/2004)
The first female Acroyear figures ever.

Biomachine (9/30/2004)
The first vehicles released in the line. All four Biomachine vehicles can combine into the Bio-Suit. This wave was released in the US, exclusive to KB Toys, in April 2005. The US releases came with a special promotional DVD showcasing other Microman products. Unfortunately, the US versions are infamous for their poor quality control.

Magne Force Wave 1 (4/28/2005)
These figures utilize Takara's Magnemo joints. They are only loosely compatible with the 1999 Microman figures, using the Magnemo 8 system instead of Magnemo 11.

Road Spartan (7/2005)
All four Road Spartan vehicles combine into the Road Spartan Formation.

Acroyear EXO (9/29/2005)
AcroEmperor combines with the accessories of all four figures to become AcroWyvern.

Microsister (11/29/2005)
The Microsister figures use a new smaller female mold.

Microlady 2 (9/2006)
This series introduced a new female body mold.

Exclusives
Many of the lines exclusives were sold through clothing designers and various magazines in an attempt to make Microman a collectible boutique/artisan figure line akin to Medicom's Kubrick line.

Micro Action Series
The Micro Action Series is a subline of the 2003 Microman line based around figures of licensed characters. This subline started off as a limited text market run in May of 2003, along with the Micro Force figures. This test market assortment consisted of figures licensed from the PS1 game 'Tatsunoko Fight.' This first set of figures got re-released at mass retail in February 2004. The Micro Action Series eventually became an effort by Takara to appeal to Western action figure collectors (as well as becoming the main focus of the 2003 Microman line as a whole). This is the only one of the major sublines to last from the 2003 line's very beginning to its very end.

Dual Model Zwei
All of the figures in this subset were model kits of mecha from the anime 'Armored Trooper Votoms' packed with a Micro Action figure of a character from the series.

Material Force
Material Force is the third major subline, starting only a few months after the first two initial test market figure sets. The focus of Material Force is to give action figure customizers blank base figures to use for creating their own custom Microman figures. The first four figures were released as Toys R' Us exclusives before being re-released at mass retail in February 2004, along with the initial releases of the other two sublines.

Microlady
The Microlady figures initially came in 3 different bust sizes, S(mall), M(edium), and L(arge). A fourth bust size, L+, was added later on.

Exclusives
Like the main line, many of the Material Force exclusives were available through magazines in an effort to turn Microman into a more boutique/artisan action figure line.

Kiguru Microman Series
The Kiguru Microman series is the fourth major subline, introduced at the end of 2004. It was also the least successful.

Microsister UNI
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Wrecker Signa
Wrecker Signa was a tokusatsu series project launched by Takara in September of 2007, when they were about to merge with former rival company Tomy. This subline completely replaced the main line. Wrecker Signa was not very successful and lasted only 7 months, bringing the rest of the Microman toyline down with it.