Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi Harley Quinn Suicide Squad ISEKAI Ver.

Release Date: January 2026

RRP: 10,000 yen

There are many collectors (myself included) who would count Kaiyodo’s Revoltech line among their first foray into Japanese collector-grade action figures, and whilst many competitors have appeared in the years since it began the line has continued strong – its flagship Amazing Yamaguchi (named after sculptor Katsuhisa Yamaguchi) range covering the likes of Marvel and DC comics, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Evangelion and more. As such a figure like Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi Harley Quinn Suicide Squad ISEKAI Ver. feels like an obvious choice for the line, but the series getting so little merchandise elsewhere it feels like quite a pleasant surprise. As the name suggests, this version of Harley is based on her appearance in the Suicide Squad ISEKAI anime series – where Task Force X are transported to a fantasy realm of magic and monsters.

Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Zurg (Toy Story)

Release Date: March 2023

RRP: 11,880 yen

Even without appearing in the first Toy Story movie, the name "Emperor Zurg" immediately latched onto me. In amongst all the other fantastic things going on in the film I wanted to know more about Buzz Lightyear's sworn enemy, and when he finally appeared in Toy Story 2 I was not disappointed. That love continued on with the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command cartoon (where he was brilliantly voiced by Wayne Knight) and the Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin Disney Parks ride. Not so much 2022's Buzz Lightyear movie, but the less said about that the better. However despite this love I've never owned a good Zurg toy, so naturally Kaiyodo made my dreams come true when they announced Revoltech Zurg (Toy Story) would be joining Woody and Buzz as part of the Revoltech line. Despite releasing not too long after Buzz's solo movie, this figure is based on Zurg's original appearance as the sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance.

Toybox REVIEW: Figure Complex Amazing Yamaguchi Spider-Gwen

Release Date: June 2017

RRP: 5900 yen

Between Infinity War, Venom, the Playstation 4 game and of course Into the Spider-Verse, 2018 was truly the year of Spider-Man. My enjoyment of that last release in particular found me wanting to go back and pick up some of the Spidey figures I've missed over the years, and Figure Complex (aka Revoltech)'s Amazing Yamaguchi Spider-Gwen seemed like the perfect place to start. Parallel universes have always been my absolute favourite sci-fi trope, and from what I've read of the Spider-Gwen comic the writers have done an excellent job of twisting pre-established Marvel characters into something new and exciting. Both the comic and her design itself have proved exceedingly popular, and between her appearances in both Into the Spider-Verse and Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors it seems Spider-Gwen's popularity will just continue to rise.

Toybox REVIEW: Figure Complex Amazing Yamaguchi Carnage

Release Date: May 2018 

RRP: 7452 yen

Once upon a time Kaiyodo's Revoltech line ruled the roost when it came to collector-orientated affordable, articulated figures from Japan. But with the rise of competitors such as Figma and S.H. Figuarts, Revoltech's trademark clicky revolver joints began to lose their charm for many buyers. However the line never stopped, and in recent years Revoltech technology has branched off into a number of lines under the "Figure Complex" umbrella. The most popular of these has been the Amazing Yamaguchi line – where sculptor Katuhisa Yamaguchi gives his take on various characters from the Marvel Comics universe. Its latest release is another addition from the Spider-Man family, logically following on from the success of its Venom figure with the release of the symbiote's murderous offspring. With a design evocative of 90s comic edginess and all manner of possibilities when it comes to posing and accessories, Amazing Yamaguchi Carnage is the perfect addition to Revoltech's big comeback.

Favourite Toys of 2016 & Happy New Year!

Another year has come to an end and though it seems to have been a tough one for many people, there's been some great toy releases nonetheless. Thank you for reading the blog throughout 2016, it's been a big year as readership has grown exponentially and there's some big things in the pipeline for 2017.

But without further ado, here are my favourite ten toys I've reviewed this year on the site. There are a couple of I'm either yet to review or receive, but I'm fairly confident that this list wouldn't change either way.

Toybox REVIEW: Figure Complex Movie REVO Stitch

It wasn't that long ago that Kaiyodo's Revoltech line was one of the most talked about and eagerly anticipated Japanese toy lines among collectors, providing a wide variety of mecha, anime girls, tokusatsu kaiju and Western movie characters among its various divisions. But times change, and as the likes of S.H. Figuarts, Super Robot Chokogin, Robot Damashii and Figma became more and more prevalent Revoltech figures started to die down a bit in popularity. However the line never truly went away, and has recently reinvented itself with a number of different lines all working under a "Powered by Revoltech" tagline. Among these is a new Figure Complex MOVIE REVO line seemingly dedicated to Western film properties, including Back to the Future and The Avengers: Age of Ultron. The third entry however is a Disney character that's proven just as popular in Japan as he has in the West, going as far as to receive a long-running anime spin-off series that. He is of course Experiment 626, aka Stitch from Lilo & Stitch.

Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Fraulein Yoko Sailor Uniform Ver.

Although Gurren Lagann has received some pretty spectacular figures in the last few years courtesy of Sentinel and Bandai Tamashii Nations, I can't help but feel it came out at a pretty bad time for poseable figures. The only line to complete the various forms of the titular robot (as well as do some of the other Gunmen that appeared in the show) is Kaiyodo's Revoltech line, which was pretty great at the time but has now dated horribly thanks to its insistence on using its trademark revolver joints for everything. Revoltech also produced a Yoko Littner figure for their anime girls-orientated Fraulein sub line, but even that is a far cry from the likes of Figma or S.H. Figuarts. Yamato also produced their own Yoko figure a few years ago, but other than commanding a pretty high price tag there's also plenty of stories of it being a rather flimsy and breakable piece.

Anyway, nearly seven years after its original release Fraulein Yoko has made a surprising return - but this time with a twist. Limited to only 5000 pieces and bundled with the third volume of the present-day school themed Gurren Lagann Otoko Doahou! manga spinoff (which itself is an adaptation of a trilogy of previously produced drama CDs), this version of Yoko ditches her trademark bikini top and hot pants in favour of a Japanese sailor school uniform. In this universe Yoko's full name is actually Yoko Utsuwa, and is a member (and even president) of every club in Dai Gurren Academy. As well as being the gunner for Dai Gurren of course. Some things never change.

Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Evangelion Mass Production Ver.

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 white colour is accurate to the movie, there is a little discolouring around the neck area on mine (I doubt this is a wide problem though). The hands are attached via a plug system rather than small revolver joints, and can prove slightly difficult to fit on properly. When removing one set I managed to even pull out the joint piece from the arm! Thankfully it wasn't broken and was meant to come out (probably not that easily though) - I wish the same could be said for my Revoltech Lazengann's broken hand.

Finally we come onto the accessories, which if anything are the main selling point of this figure. While originally one would have to buy both versions of the figure to get all of the accessories, this re-release comes with everything included with both editions to create a "perfect version". Included are a variety of additional hands, an open mouth head, damaged/destroyed head/limb parts, exposed dummy plug piece (bearing the words "Kaworu"), double bladed weapon, replica Lance of Longinus and articulated wing backpack. While all these things are great, special mention should go to the Lance which is over double the length of the actual figure.

The wings themselves are huge, and poseable via a revolver joint at each end for a decent range of motion. The wings can be brought forward to create a "shield" effect, and posed with the double-jointed stand included for a variety of demonic-angel poses. Not gonna lie, getting the balancing right using the stand is quite difficult, but once you get the hang of it the figure can pull off some really epic poses.

Handling an older-styled Revoltech figure does feel a little antiquated, but the fact this release contains both accessories of the original more than makes up for it. Despite the dated sculpt, the mass production Eva still shows off an extremely impressive range of motion and is capable of pulling off poses which will still fit in nicely alongside its newer, "Evolution" Eva unit brethren. If I had more spare cash, I'd be inclined to army build these, or at the very least buy another two so I can pose one winged, one grounded and another with half its body parts blown off by Unit-02.

Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Camus

The third and final of my Revoltech Detroit Metal City reviews, today's focus is on Camus (real name Terumichi Nishida), the band's perverted, overweight otaku drummer. Probably the most dedicated member of the band, not even fire or snakes will stop his drumming!

Camus has an excellent build, showing off his overweight stature nicely. His costume is a lot more simplistic than his co-members, but has nice broken colour scheme and the waistcoat is a rather fetching vibrant red. The balance issues that were present in Krauser and Jagi are absent here, with Camus able to do a wide variety of poses without the aid of the stand included with the figure. That being said, he still shares the visible joint problem of his friends, particularly in the shoulders, wrists and ankles.

The figure's downfall is in its accessories. Included with Camus are 3 extra hands (3, not 3 pairs), D-M-C display stands, drumsticks, a speech bubble (what it says I am unsure of) that can be attached to his back via a revo joint, a set of expression stickers than can be applied to the figure (or any other Revoltech)'s face, and two highly posable snakes. The figure does not include a drum kit in any shape or form. While what is included with the figure is certainly well done, to not include a drum kit is a huge disappointment for me. It may have ended up being quite large and replacing the other accessories, but if the Figma Ritsu (from K-On!) can achieve it, I don't know why this can't. Obviously all the effort went into the snakes, as they have 4 revoltech joints each (which look quite obtrusive, ruining the overall effect of the snake anyway).

Camus is a great figure, but lacks that little extra spark that makes his band members so special. The lack of any form of drum kit is also a disappointment, as it means a really good DMC stage display can't be achieved without looking into toy drums that are in scale with the figure. Still, he compliments Krauser and Jagi nicely, and at the cheap price he can be found for at eBay is a necessity to anyone looking to own the full band line up.

Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Alexander Jagi

In the second of my Revoltech Detroit Metal City reviews is the band's bassist and background vocalist, Alexander Jagi (real name Masayuki Wada). While this fact is not shown in the OVAs or movie, he also isn't a huge fan of the music DMC plays, instead preferring to be in a 'visual kei' band - but like Negishi/Krauser he is also afraid of their insane manager.

Jagi, much like Krauser, boasts an impressive sculpt that does his character justice. He is mostly black and white, but the silver sequin/studded parts and red 'eyes' of his costume help break the colour scheme up nicely. The hair on both heads (again, like Krauser) is an excellent two-tone of yellow and orange. The wing piece on the back of his costume can be removed and is also useful for holding his bass (which is the shape of a Gibson Thunderbird). Once attached, the long guitar strap provides plenty of movement for the guitar so a wide variety of poses are possible.

Besides the bass guitar, the figure includes 2 sets of alternate hands, an alternate screaming face, a microphone with stand (something I felt Krauser could have probably benefited from too) and a flame piece that can be attached to the stand to recreate his fire-breathing activities. As far as problems with the figure go, the very much the same ones that Krauser had. While his balance is a lot better than Krauser's (probably due to the absence of a cape) it's still not brilliant, and especially hard if you're using the stand for a flame piece rather than on the figure. Some of the joints are particularly obvious and spoil the overall feel of the figure - particularly in the hips and ankles.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting Revoltech to put as much love into Jagi or Camus as they did for Krauser, after all he is the centrepiece of DMC. However Alexander Jagi is just as good a figure as Krauser, and definitely worth picking up at the price he can be bought for nowadays. Be sure to check back tomorrow to see how Camus turns out.

Toybox REVIEW: Revoltech Johannes Krauser II

In the first of a 3 day special, I shall be reviewing each revoltech figure of the 3 members of the band Detroit Metal City, from the manga/anime/live-action movie of the same name. Today's installment is vocalist/guitarist/frontman of the band, Johannes Krauser II. Or, as he's known off stage, Soichi Negishi - the protagonist of the series.

The figure itself is rather basic - smooth with not too many intricate details, but it is an excellent likeness of Krauser. The silver is metallic, and the cape is a nice deep purple (as is the orange toning on the figure's hair). As is the norm with revoltech - articulation is a key player, and here its no exception. While not as articulate as some of the later figures in the line, it still boasts revolver joints on the neck, shoulders, elbows, hands, hips, knees and feet. The cape is also held together by joints, meaning it can be positioned in everything from a 'swooshing' effect to being held perfectly stable in the air as if Krauser were jumping.

The cape is removable, meaning Krauser can be posed with or without it (which adds a lot more flexibility in terms of poses). Also included are three different pairs of hands, an alternate 'screaming' head, a microphone and Jack Il Dark's signature SG guitar which he receives at the end of the anime (I'm unsure about the manga). The guitar's strap is fairly sturdy but probably would break if too much pressure was applied, and can be locked onto the body nicely if the cape is placed over it. To go with the guitar are a pair of 'speed' hands, which nicely depict Krauser's thrash metal playing. However, these aren't the only hilarious things you can do with the hands, as my pictures below point out.

There's only a couple of bad things about Krauser in fact - the first being his balance. Since he's wearing stillettos, it means it can be very difficult to pose him (but not impossible) without the aid of the stand provided. Not that this is the end of the world, but some times I like my figures to be able to hold their own in terms of balance. This is made much easier if you remove the cape, but then Krauser obviously doesn't look as imposing. The second problem, and this is one that plagued most of the earlier Revoltech releases, is that the alternate hands/head can be quite difficult to put snugly on the joints, meaning obvious sections of revolver joint are left exposed.

Despite my love for Revoltech, I've never really thought they handled humanoid figures brilliantly (for those I turn to Figma), but Krauser is an all round great figure. Plenty of character, only a few minor problems and looks great both on his own and with the rest of the band. If you're a fan of DMC in any shape or form, this is definitely one to look out for since it can be found relatively cheap these days.

SAT-SU-GAAAAAAAAAI!