Since I've already expressed my dislike for the Tetsuo figure, you can imagine
how I feel about Kaneda. He's about 6 3/4 inches tall and has 10 points of
articulation. 11 if you count the goggles that swing freely around his neck.

Since I've already expressed my dislike for the Tetsuo figure, you can imagine how I feel about Kaneda. He's about 6 3/4 inches tall and has 10 points of articulation. 11 if you count the goggles that swing freely around his neck.

I think, to call something a point of articulation, it really needs to do something significant. Rotating a leg mid-thigh should not be articulation. Nor should a perfectly good joint that is hampered by a static accessory like a big gun. Especially when the gun is attached to some straps which are part of the figure.

Oh, and good luck getting the power hose into the bottom of the gun.

Anyway, the detail is nice, but it's a bit too much. McFarlane's designers are used to creating hyper detailed figures like spawn, but that style doesn't fit these figures.

McFarlane also released a bike to go with the Kaneda figure, but the figure cannot sit on the bike. In series 2, they released a Kaneda and Bike box set that featured a new sculpt of Kaneda, sitting on the bike. So, If you already bought the bike from series one and this figure, you have to buy another, rare, box set just to get the pose you wanted in the first place.

Nice.

The Tetsuo figure looks great. I think they captured the emotion and intensity of the Akira manga well.

I'll be honest here.

I was never a fan of Mcfarlane Toys. I thought they were really nicely detailed statues, but I thought they were poor toys. you can't play with them. They're fragile, and unarticulated. They are good for what they are, but that's not what I look for in toys.

When McFarlane announced they acquired anime licenses and were planning on making toys of Akira characters, I was cautious. They toys came out and received lukewarm reviews. The bike was nice, but the figures sat on shelves and got marked down quickly. I decided at that low price I would check them out and see if they were any good.

The Tetsuo figure looks great. I think they captured the emotion and intensity of the Akira manga well. Unfortunately, the line is called McFarlane's 3D Animation From Japan, and this looks nothing like the anime. It's too gritty, too detailed.

Tetsuo features a whopping FIVE points of articulation. For extra excitement, you can turn the head, maybe even raise an arm. Tetsuo came with an interchangeable arm, so you could have your choice of mutated arm or REALLY mutated arm. You can see some shots of it here.

Do I sound bitter? Sorry. I just think that McFarlane has a lot of potential to make really great action figures, and all they can pump out is statues.

McFarlane toys brought us this beauty in October of 2000.

There have only been 3 real toys made of Kaneda's Bike. Back in 1988 we got a 1:35 scale diecast version of the bike from Bandai, but that was it until McFarlane toys brought us this beauty in October of 2000. We've since gotten the superior Soul of Popynica bike from Bandai, but for a while, this was the king.

At about 9 1/2 inches long, Kaneda's bike was part of McFarlane's 3D Animation From Japan Series 1. It featured an opening hood, turning rubber wheels, and a kickstand that worked. The fact that you could go down to any toy store in the US and get this was very very cool. The detail on this was awesome.

I've always felt that McFarlane's action figures were very poor (as action figures go), but always had really nice sculpting and detail. They took their strong detailing skills and came through with this great piece.

The toy had a few drawbacks though. For one, McFarlane couldn't secure the licensing to use the actual logos from the movie on the decals, so they had to use generic ones. Also, the Kaneda figure sold in the same line couldn't sit on the bike! McFarlane toys rectified this by releasing a Kaneda with Motorcycle box set in series 2.