Lazengann is a lanky mecha with a style similar to the Eva units from Evangelion, but aside from proportions, the similarities end there. Lazengann's body is covered in red circles and the chest is a large face with giant grinning teeth. Oh yeah, and he's got a TAIL.

One of the downsides of being a parent is that you don't have a lot of time to just sit around and watch TV. That, coupled with running CDX, virtually ensures that I watch almost NO modern anime. I did give Gurren Lagann a good go, but stopped at episode 5 or 6. I'll get around to it eventually, but I won't let that stop me from reviewing the latest Revoltech Release, Lazengann.

Lazengann of course comes from Gurren Lagann, but he appears much farther ahead in the series than I got, so I'll have to take this toy at face value.

Lazengann is a lanky mecha with a style similar to the Eva units from Evangelion, but aside from proportions, the similarities end there. Lazengann's body is covered in red circles and the chest is a large face with giant grinning teeth. Oh yeah, and he's got a TAIL.

For articulation - Lazengann is about as good as it gets. It's simple design and lack of accessories allow you to focus on the poseability. The only weak spot in the design is the tiny wrist connector pegs. The hands just don't stay on very well.

In keeping with the drill theme of Gurren Lagann, Lazengann features two drill attachments, this time more like a standard drill bit, only really really long. The dual drill unit is placed at the elbow joint by separating it from the upper arm and putting it in the middle. The single drill attaches to the wrist, where another peg on the drill is provided to attach the hand.

The lower portion of the torso can be replaced with a solid unit by separating the figure at the torso and removing the inset part. I like that some of these gimmicks require you to actually take apart the figure - it forces fans to realize the modular aspects of the figure.

Also included are several variant hands and your typical Revoltech stand. In this case, if you want to acheive a flying or jumping pose, you actually attach the stand's Revoltech joint to a hole in the middle of the tail.

If you buy Lazengann, you get as a bonus the middle part of Gurren Lagann's Gurren Wing. The other parts will be sold with other Revoltech toys from Gurren Lagann.

Lazengann is a typically great Revoltech release, if you can overlook the wrists. You can get yours at HobbyLink Japan

Revoltech Lazengann is available at HobbyLink Japan

An affordable alternative to the expensive gokin toy - the Gurren Lagann anyone can own.

Gurren Lagann is the mecha du jour which means "nerds really dig it right now". While people really dug the Diecast from Konami, they found the price tag prohibitive. Well, Kaiyodo comes to the rescue with their Revoltech Gurren Lagann. This toy marks the 50th entry in the Revoltech Yamaguchi line and comes courtesy of HobbyLink Japan.

Jump to Video

What really sells this toy is the character. The Revoltech aspect is pretty standard - 54 points of articulation from 19 Revoltech joints. But it's the cool design of Gurren Lagann that make this what it is.

Gurren Lagann comes with two heads - One with a normal face, and one with an angry face. The heads swap easily on the dual Revloltech joint neck.

Included are various hands, including the mandatory "I'm pointing my finger to heaven for no apparent reason" hand and the "Hey buddy can you spare a dime" open hand.

Weapons include the ginormous Gurren Sunglasses and finally, a core drill. First, the Sunglasses are stored on its chest until they are needed. Then the figure can use the included option hands to grab a larger sunglass weapon to use as a kind of boomerang. Since the glasses are now gone from the chest in this mode, Kaiyodo included an option replacement part. But heed this warning - be careful when removing the sunglasses on the front of the figure.

You need to remove the whole red piece, not just the glasses. They can and will break off if you are not careful. I broke mine off, but superglued it back on.

The Core drill comes packaged as the key used to activate the robot, but you can separate the key into two parts and use the drill part as a weapon.

Included is the standard Revoltech stand, which comes with a Revoltech joint for dynamic posing.

In case you are wondering, there is no Gurren Wing - Parts for that will be included with other Gurren Lagann Revoltech releases.

This one is a must-buy for both Revoltech and Gurren lagann fans. It has awesome styling and great construction. You can get yours at HobbyLink Japan.

http://www.hlj.com/product/KYD01200

The Konami Great Impact Model Gurren Lagann is Konami’s first (that I know of) foray into the world of high-end diecast toys. It was only a matter of time really, seeing the success of similar lines by Bandai, Takara, Yamato and CM’s. I’m happy to report that this thing is awesome.

The Konami Great Impact Model Gurren Lagann is Konami’s first (that I know of) foray into the world of high-end diecast toys. It was only a matter of time really, seeing the success of similar lines by Bandai, Takara, Yamato and CM’s. I’m happy to report that this thing is awesome. Gurren Lagann WAS available from HobbyLink Japan, but as of writing this article, is sold out.

Gurren Lagann comes from the anime series Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (天元突破グレンラガン,). The series was created by legendary animation studio GAINAX (aka the people behind Evangelion) and ran on TV Tokyo for 27 episodes in 2007.

The series is very good, and I suggest you check it out. Wikipedia gives a good description of the series, but what I will tell you is this – Gurren Lagann is actually two separate robots that combine into one.

Lagann is a small Gunman (robot) that becomes the head of Gurren Lagann. He is found buried deep in the earth by Simon, a digger from Giha Village. Gurren is a Gunman that was originally owned by the enemy Beastmen. Simon’s “Brother” Kamina steals the Gunman and takes it for his own. The two combine in battle in order to overcome the enemy Gunmen, and make the combined form, Gurren Lagann, their own.

I know what you are thinking here, but no, Gurren Lagann does not transform.

Skip to the video review

Gurren Lagann comes packaged in a huge heavy-duty cardboard box with a flip-up lid. Inside the lid is a nice Styrofoam tray with each part neatly displayed. Gurren Lagann comes ready to go right out of the box.

The toy is heavy, and features lots of metal parts. Articulation on this thing is insane, with double-jointed elbows and knees, and possibly the most poseable feet ever. Check out the video to see what we are talking about, but its really great. The legs use a neat system of collapsible panels on the backs of the knees to allow for greater movement, and the elbows feature a neat pull out joint system.

At the hips there are 4 pieces of moveable skirt armor – the front and pack pivot out, while the sides move in all directions. These skirt parts are probably the only poor thing about this toy. Extreme poses can cause the skirts to pop out, but the good news is that they pop back in. Still, a stronger connection would have made this unnecessary.

Gurren Lagann’s torso has a huge range of motion. There is of course a waist joint, but in addition there is a joint in the upper chest that can move any which way. The chest is a giant face, and the joint takes advantage of the jaw placement. The jaw too is moveable. This whole chest unit is metal. It’s breathtaking. Gurren Lagann’s sunglasses can clip on to the chest and are made out of translucent plastic.

Gurren Lagann uses the sunglasses as a weapon, so Konami included not one but two additional sets to be used as weapons. These cannot be attached to the chest, and are a little bigger.

The head has a few ball joints that allow it to shift forward and back as well as the usual range of motion.

Another place where this toy really excels is the arms. The whole shoulder assembly is diecast with a section that moves forward and backward near the chest. Then there is the diecast ball joint at the shoulder and the previously mentioned elbows. Several sets of hands are included and they are easily swapped.

Included with the figure is a large Gurren Wing that can be attached to the back of the figure. This gives an impressive wingspan to an already impressive figure. The wings are all plastic and are actually collapsible. To attach the wings, you simply remove a metal panel on the back of the figure and connect the wings.

If you have watched the show, you will notice that drills play a prominent role in the series, in both the literal and metaphoric sense. I’m not sure what role these accessories play in the show, but included are what seems like dozens of small plastic drill bits that attach all over the figure. There are four different size bits, and each has a specific place, so make sure you read the manual for placement. These things are SHARP, and are made out of hard plastic. Most drill bits just plug in, but there are a few exceptions. The long drills on the arms require an additional cover piece that goes over the holes in the arms, and the drill that goes into the forehead requires some “modification” (at least on mine it did). It looks like paint filled the hole on mine, so I just had to clear it out with a thumbtack. The great thing is, that even with all the drill bits attached, Gurren Lagann is still fully poseable.

Another place where the drill metaphor comes into place is in an included accessory. A 1:1 scale key to operate Gurren is included, and is in the shape of a translucent gold drill. The handle to this key is solid metal, and it includes a holder.

An accessory called the Gurren House is included that is used to hold all the small drill bits when not in use. It has a removable cover, and requires a small amount of assembly.

Finally, included is a stand. This stand comes with two different display arms – one for standing and one for flying. The stand attaches to a hole in the rear of the figure, under the armor. It’s a solid, tight fit. There is also a small part that can clip onto either stand that can hold the wings. The back of the stand has a compartment that can hold the remainder of the accessories.

I really really love this toy. The build quality, engineering, and accessories are top notch. So where did Konami get this ability to produce high-end gokin? My theory is that they didn’t.  I think Konami subcontracted this toy out to Max Factory. Everything about this reminds me of their Max Gokin Godannar toy. The build, the finish, the stand, hell even the packaging is identical! The two just seem too similar to not be related somehow. Not that that’s bad though, it is a quality piece, regardless of who made it.

 As you can probably tell, I can’t recommend this toy enough. It is just so cool on so many levels, and is one of the rare toys that I think is worth the high price tag. Unfortunately, these things are selling like crazy and are already sold out at places like HobbyLink Japan (where I got mine). Be diligent in your search, and hopefully you will find one.

Video Review (now in HD!)

Gurren Lagann OP