Rairyu

Rairyu is a Decepticon from the Victory portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Slow and steady, that's how Rairyu (ライリュウ Rairyū) works. Patient, straightforward and unflinchingly honest, he strides into battle ready to take any Autobot head-on, confident in his strength and determination. He's possibly the most reliable of the Dinoforce members, though that's certainly damning him with faint praise. He's not smart, but he's not prone to the rashness most of his fellow not-smart Dinoforcers are, so his measured methods tend to mitigate his low intelligence and make him somewhat less failure-prone. Somewhat.

When merged with his semi-autonomous Brontosaurus shell, his already-impressive strength is amplified to incredible degrees. He can create localized earthquakes that leave massive cracks in the ground, throwing enemies off-balance and sending them plummeting, a move he calls the "Rai-Bronto Hole". He's also the Dinoforce's aquatic specialist, capable of surprisingly quick movement when submerged; he can even spin his body in a devastating high-speed corkscrew-torpedo attack. The shell is also armed with a multi-missile rack as well as shoulder-cannons that fire stored-up water at intensely high pressures, quickly eroding and punching through enemy armor.

Where Rairyu falters, however, is his temper. He tries to keep it cool at all times, but once he's had enough, he's had enough, and launches into an uncontrollable rampage. Which means his incredible strength and devastating attacks are just as likely to take out his teammates and himself as they are any unfortunate Autobots in range. Rairyu combines with the rest of his team to form Dinoking.

Fiction

Victory cartoon

Voice actor: Shinobu Satouchi (Japanese)

Why, hell-o there...

Victory comic

Rairyu and the Dinoforce rode their shells into battle, ransacking the planet Earth. They attempted to escalate the devastation by forming Dinoking, but were stopped cold by the power of Landcross. So Cool! Our Ally, Star Saber!

Rairyu stood watch as Kakuryu went through his daily fitness routine. Star Saber, Warrior of Love!

As the Autobots infiltrated the Decepticon Space Stronghold, their sudden appearance scattered Rairyu and the Dinoforce. The fighting soon ceased as the Decepticons revealed they only sought energy for their families, including the adorable Dinobabies. The Grand Victory War

2005 IDW continuity

Rairyu was part of Deathsaurus's contingent of Decepticons stationed in their Warworld. In agreement with Tarn, Deathsaurus and his forces joined with the Decepticon Justice Division to continue the Decepticon dream and eliminate Megatron. The Permanent Revolution

Toys

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers

It's a giraffe! (Attempts to mitigate the green patina on the shell-paint were made. Only so much could be done.)

• Rairyu (Dinoforce, 1989)

• ID number: D-327
• Accessories: Brontosaurus shell, shell-back, "Bronto Gun", Dinoking hip
• Known designers: Kōjin Ōno (TakaraTomy), Masakatsu Saito (concept artist)

A redeco of the Pretender Monster Birdbrain, Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers Rairyu transforms into a quadrupedal monster-thing. He can also form the middle torso to the team's combined mode Dinoking.

He comes with a rubbery, cyborg Brontosaurus shell he hides inside. The back of the shell can also store his rifle and the Dinoking hip assembly. This shell, like all the Dinoforce shells, has a pair of QC flaws that appear nearly universal: the shell has a nasty tendency to "sweat" an oily residue, plus the metallic paints age poorly, with the gold famously developing a green patina. While some water and a little bit of hand-soap should take care of the slime, there's not much to be done about the green discoloration.

• More information on Rairyu at TFU.info

• Dinoking (Dinoforce giftset, 1989)

• ID number: D-328
• Accessories: Brontosaurus shell, shell-back, "Bronto Gun", Dinoking hip
• Known designers: Kōjin Ōno (TakaraTomy)

All six members of the Dinoforce were available both in individual boxes, and in a complete six-piece giftset. While there are no differences in the toys themselves, the giftset lacks any bio or Tech Spec cards for the individual components, only having cards for the combined mode.

• More information on Dinoking at TFU.info

Legacy

Thunder thighs for a Thunder Dinosaur.

• Dinoking (Gift set, 2024)

• TakaraTomy name: Decepticon Dinoking (ディセプティコンダイノキング)
• TakaraTomy ID number: TL-89
• TakaraTomy release date: March 29, 2025
• Accessories: Left & right missile pods
• Known designers: Evan Brooks (Hasbro), Shuhei Umezu and Shogo Hasui (TakaraTomy), Amy Bence (packaging)

Finally achieving the form this mold was clearly meant to be from the beginning, Legacy: United Rairyu is a redeco and new-head retooling of Legacy: Evolution Core Class Sludge, transforming into a robotic Brontosaurus, with his deco heavily favoring his anime portrayal; which actually works out better for him than most of the team since his bestial "shell" mode was already functionally off-white. He comes with a pair of all-new, massive non-firing missile pods that peg into his dino-mode hips, or onto his arms in robot mode. His Brontosaurus head still retains the asymmetrical sculpting that was present on Sludge.

Rairyu also forms the lower torso to Dinoking. The twin missile pods clip into the "feet" of Goryu and Doryu in their leg modes as foot-plates, with the connectors having an ankle-tilt joint for extra stability.

If you want an extra bit of anime-accuracy, you can give him the sword that comes with Doryu for a melee weapon.

He was originally only available in a Hasbro Pulse Con 2024 box set of six Dinoforce members, along with Doryu, Gairyu, Goryu, Kakuryu, and Yokuryu. This set was late released in Japan under TakaraTomy's T-SPARK banner.

Rairyu's missile pods were reused for Generations Selects Birdbrain for the Age of the Primes toyline.

Notes

• Rairyū corresponds with 雷竜, meaning "Thunder Dinosaur". The term is a Japanese calque of Brontosaurus, which means "thunder lizard" in Greek.
• Rairyu's box art and dino-mode character model depict him with Kakuryu's gun accessory, and vice versa, a swap carried over from Birdbrain and Slog's box art.
• Much like Zaur, his depiction of being skilled underwater, coupled with being paired with a Brontosaurus, seems to be a reference to the erroneous idea that sauropod dinosaurs were semi-aquatic.
• The Victory anime depicted the Dinoforce members as carrying melee weapons, rather than the blasters the toys actually came with. Rairyu brandishes a sword, though he can shoot energy from its tip like it was a gun.

Foreign names

• English: Birdbrain (Omni Productions dub)
• Mandarin: Chángjǐngguài (China, 长颈怪, "Long-necked Monster")
• Russian: Bezmozglyy (Безмозглый, "Brainless")