Available From HobbyLink Japan
By Cacophanus from Mecha Damashii
Following the unboxing, here is the review for the Robot Damashii RX-78-2 Gundam ver. A.N.I.M.E. that is part of Bandai’s new sub-line for Robot Damashii focusing on accuracy to the original anime designs. Don’t let that fool you, as this is a very modern and thoroughly sophisticated toy. It really is quite amazing, in fact.
To list the number of toys of the RX-78-2 Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam over the years would be a rather futile exercise. As such, I want to point out a few choice examples.
Since Bandai shifted to its new Robot Damashii toyline a few years back, the leaps in quality have been tremendous. As such they tackled the original Gundam with a variety of releases. Over the years, the classic Kunio Okawara design has been re-designed numerous times, with the modern versions having many hallmarks of Hajime Katoki’s oeuvre — so much so that the Ver. Ka (or Version Katoki) Gundam had its own toy, too (which was very nice in fact).
The main Robot Damashii Gundam, though, was more in line with Katoki’s approach than Okawara’s. While it was a nice toy, it didn’t capture the magic of the original design.
Now, this new toy is actually closer to something that was released over fifteen years ago now. Part of the Kado Senshi line of Gundam toys, the original design had a very faithful chogokin made. It was gorgeous and for the time beautifully done. The sculpt was also spot on to what the anime did as well.
That figure was the ultimate version of the classic design, at least in my opinion, but that honor has now been bestowed upon this new toy.
As part of a new sub-line for Robot Damashii, this Gundam figure retains the original sculpt of the classic design and merges that with all manner of modern articulation gimmicks. The results are remarkable.
The base figure itself has a lot of very clever articulation points across its body. Both the arms and legs can completely extend and retract with a new hinged joint setup. The shoulders can also sweep inward via a new chest setup and the head can swing all the way back. The arms have additional pivoting at various points as well.
The result is probably the most posable Gundam toy I have ever played with and one able to recreate the actions from the anime like never before.
The figure also comes with a barrage of accessories, for all manner of hands to jet exhaust effects as well as vulcan cannon firing effects. There are also multiple beam saber effects.
You also get the standard beam rifle hyper bazooka and shield. This set is nothing if not comprehensive.
The big takeaway here though is that the sculpt and detailing are spot on to the anime, more than any figure I have ever seen, in fact. This is the ultimate version of the classic Gundam design we have come to know and love.
Considering the very reasonable price tag of the toy, the sheer amount of accessories, and its very modern articulation, this would be a must buy anyway. What really sets this apart, though, is its faithfulness to the original design. It’s genuinely brilliant to finally have something that manages to recreate Okawara’s design so lovingly.
If you are a toy collector then you need this figure to see how much Bandai has squeezed into it. As a Gundam fan, though, this is an essential purchase.
