My Shiny Toy Robots

It's been quite a while since I've bought a Revoltech, but when they announced a re-release of a figure long discontinued I'd been itching to get my hands on for a while there was no chance I would be passing it up. Appearing in Neon Genesis Evangelion's  conclusive End of Evangelion  movie, the mass production Eva units were build in different places around the world and were Seele's backup plan for initiating instrumentality. The original release of this figure (numbered #26 in the Yamaguchi  line) came in two different varieties - one with the wings and another with the various armaments the unit wields. As a figure originally released in 2007, the Mass Production does seem a little dated in terms of sculpt and engineering when put alongside the newer Evangelion releases in the Revoltech line. The figure has revolver joints in the head, waist, shoulders, elbows, knees and feet while the hips move via what feels like a plug joint. While the figure's ...

When I first heard of Guilty Crown, it sounded like something that would be right up my alley. Post-apocalyptic  setting? Check. Protagonist granted godlike powers? Check. Robots? You better believe it. Created by Production I.G. (whose repertoire includes works such as Ghost in the Shell , Palabor and The End of Evangelion ), this 22-episode series aired between October 2011 and March 2012. On Christmas Eve, 2029, the unidentified "Apocalypse Virus" spreads and plunges Japan into a state of emergency in a chaos known as the "Lost Christmas" incident. An international organisation named the GHQ intervenes using martial law in order to restore Japan, but it comes at the cost of the country's independence. Ten years later in 2039, Shu Ouma, a reserved 17-year-old high school student, meets Inori Yuzuriha (lead singer of music group Egoist) while visiting one of his favorite places on before heading home from school. While Shu is a big fan of Inori's m...

A few months ago I bought Figuarts Kamen Rider Decade (Violent Emotion ver.), and since then my display shelf has felt like its been lacking something. And this figure is exactly what was missing. Originally released in August 2009, Kamen Rider Diend is the secondary rider from the Kamen Rider Decade series - a treasure hunter named Daiki Kaito who travels through the various Kamen Rider worlds searching for their treasures. He also crossed paths with the Shinkengers, and more recently the Gokaigers in  Kamen Rider X Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen . Diend shares the same body type as the Decade figure, and so also has all of its flaws. The sculpt is accurate and the figure has (those sorely missed) diecast feet to give it extra balance, yet boasts less versatile hip joints and the slightly-oversized hands that were so noticeable on Decade. While Decade's shoulders felt a little restrictive, this is only amplified by Diend's massive shoulder pads. Just as well Kaito...

Where there is light, shadows lurk and fear reigns. But by the blade of knights, mankind was given hope. While there's so much more to the tokusatsu genre than just Super Sentai and Kamen Rider, its arguable that these two franchises are the ones that come to mind first when you think of it (well, those and Godzilla). While in the West most Sentai and Rider fans may be adults, these shows are still meant for kids. But what if there was a similar style programme on offer for adults that wasn't a comedy or parody? Garo might be exactly what you are looking for. After an initial 25 episode series in 2005-2006 (and a feature length TV special), Garo returned for a feature length movie (entitled Red Requiem) in 2010, a spin-off video release in 2011 and finally a 25-episode sequel series: Garo: Makai Senki, between 2011 and 2012. A final film is also confirmed for release. Kouga: Golden Knight and undisputed badass. Garo focuses on Kouga Saejima, a Makai Knight wh...

Despite this being the fourth Figma I've bought, it'll be the first time I've done a review for one for this blog. Not sure why I never did the Evangelion girls (long story short - they're great figures and well worth buying if you're a fan), but there we go. Therefore my first Figma review (but probably not the last) is of the 123rd entry into the mainline, and none other than Ika Musume (or Squid Girl if you prefer), star of the Shinryaku! Ika Musume anime and manga series. Tired of failing to conquer the surface world in the name of the sea, she's trying new tactics by invading toy collections instead. Much like her animated self, Ika Musume is pretty short. In fact, she's around 2/3 the height of your usual Figma. Her skirt is made from soft PVC to allow lots of flexibility, and has a full range of motion in the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and feet. The fact she has pretty big shoes means her she has a good centre of ...