Robot Damashii Aura Battler Leprechaun – Available From HobbyLink Japan
By Cacophanus from Mecha Damashii
Following the unboxing here is the full review for Bandai’s latest Robot Damashii Aura Battler Leprechaun. This is one of the later villain mecha in Aura Battler Dunbine and I am both surprised and elated that we even have a toy of it. It’s also superbly done.
The Leprechaun is one of the first in the more potent line of Drake aura battlers and was also penned by Yutaka Izubuchi. This meant the general aesthetic shifted into more muscular mecha territory with an overt insect-based aesthetic.
While the earlier Kazutaka Miyatake designs were sleeker, something Bandai has already catered for brilliantly in earlier Robot Damashii releases, Izubuchi’s designs are beefier.
The result of this is a bigger and more robust figure, which in turn has increased the price somewhat — though admittedly, not by much.
In general though, this is a thoroughly brilliant toy and really hits all the spots for me.
The Leprechaun is like the other aura battler figures in the Robot Damashii line except quite a bit bigger. It’s also very stable in terms of posing and can hold its position very nicely without a stand.
It also has a new gimmick where grenades are stored in its legs. The legs open up and the grenade is stored in the cavity.
Like with the other aura battlers in this line, the cockpit also opens up, but lacks a pilot figure.
The articulation is superb throughout and the aura converter at the rear doesn’t affect the overall posture. The aura cannon in the crotch is also fully jointed as well.
The big things for me though are the detailing and the sculpt. In short, the original anime design has been very faithfully recreated here. The fidelity of the detailing in the aura converter and head are especially great. While the color scheme is somewhat straightforward the overall aesthetic of the design has been recreated in an almost pristine manner. For me, that is entirely worth the price of entry.
Like with other Robot Damashii figures, the Leprechaun is compatible with the Tamashii Act 5 stand and I recommend you pick one up. I also included the prior Aura Battler Billbine figure in the review, mostly for scale, but mainly because I wanted to recreate some of the action from the series.
Overall then, as Bandai continues with these Robot Damashii toys from Aura Battler Dunbine, it’s becoming increasingly clear that each release is becoming an essential purchase for me. If you love classic ’80s mecha design as much as I do, then you need these toys in your life. They are simply superb.