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

Guld Goa Bowman's YF-21 Valkyrie from Macross Plus is realized in Revoltech form. With Video comparison with the GNU series YF-21

The YF-21 Valkyrie is a unique valkyrie design that unfortunately was never used after the series aside from an appearance in a Macross video game. I guess thats what happens when you lose the contract to UN Spacy for the next generation fighter.

The Revoltech YF-21 is a good toy - very articulated and durable. Despite being bested by the GNU series YF-21, it is still a worthy purchase and worth adding to your collection.

Articulation is great, especially for this design. Somehow Revoltech designer Yamaguchi managed to give this toy a waist joint, a much-needed addition to the design. There are 46 points of articulation, largely due to the Revoltech joint system. Because the YF-21 is a slimmer mecha, they use the smaller Revoltech joints for most of the joints in this figure.

There are a plethora of accessories included with the YF-21.

The Gun fits securely into one of the included variant hands. There are also closed hands and open hands.

Fastpacks are included with this figure as well. The Fastpacks are additional armor used to beef up the existing design. Here the panels are added onto the wing sections on the arms (which are articulated with Revoltech joints) and on the large panels on the hips. They go on easy enough, but taking them off is tough.

Also included are parts for the pinpoint barrier system - a movable electric shield of sorts. These parts can plug into either forearm armor for additional protection.

A small pinpoint barrier shell can attach to one of the variant arms to act as a pinpoint barrier weapon.

The stand is pretty much the same as any other Revoltech stand, and attaches to the rear of the waist of the figure.

Naturally one is going to compare the Revoltech YF-21 to Yamato's GNU series YF-21. Both have their pluses and minuses, but I am drawn to the clean lines and toy-like quality of the GNU version. The Revoltech version is not bad at all, but when stood next to the GNU - you can see the differences.

I do still recommend this version, especially if you are a fan of the Macross line. the feedback I have been getting is that although the GNU appears superior, people just like collecting the Revoltech line.

Of course, you can get your Revoltech YF-21 at HobbyLink Japan.

VIDEO REVIEW

You can get your Revoltech YF-21 at HobbyLink Japan

On the planet Eden, two test pilots battle it out for for the contract and the girl. In this corner, Isamu Dyson and the YF-19 Valkyrie...

The YF-19 valkyrie comes from the 1994 OVA series Macross Plus. I won't go into the details again, but suffice it to say that it is one of my favorite anime.

Previously, Yamato had put out larger scale transforming versions of the YF-19, and then when they announced a GNU version, someone must have tipped off Kaiyodo, because I doubt it is just coincidence that both companies put out similar toys at the same time. We saw this earlier in the year with Mospeada toys - its just how the industry works.

So lets cut to the chase. Is it any good? yeah, its really good. It's typical Yamaguchi Revoltech fare - if you've had one before and liked it you will like this. The proportions are a bit exaggerated for my tastes - the head seems a bit small and low to the shoulders, but it works. It's a very stylized representation of the mecha. The YF-19 comes courtesy of HobbyLink Japan

What makes this toy above average in my opinion is the accessories. Not only do you get the YF-19 and his gun, but you get fastpacks, a shield, a stand and even pinpoint barrier effects. While I prefer the styling of the GNU YF-19, this one has it beat on accessories.

The gun is one piece and can be held by one of the variant hands in either hand. Nothing too exciting here. The gun holds firmly in the grip of the machine.

The shield attaches to the left arm by a Revoltech joint, oddly placed at the rear of the arm.

Fastpacks are attached to the end of the shoulders and the back of the legs. They are the same color and style as the rest of the figure, so they don't really stand out that much. They are nicely done and a welcome addition.

The pinpoint barrier system is kind of like an electronic shield that moves around to wherever a blast is anticipated to hit. This manifests itself as small glowing circles that appear on the surface of the valkyrie. Kaiyodo includes 2 pinpoint barrier shields that can be attached to the arms or the shield.

Also included is a green transparent shield that fits over the hand of the valkyrie. This replicates the use of the pinpoint barrier system as a weapon.

The stand is standard Revoltech fare.

I like this one a lot, but i still am partial to the GNU series one. Don't misunderstand me - it's a great figure, but the other is like a breath of fresh air where this seems like more of the same. I suppose it is good that "more of the same" is pretty good.

You can get your Revoltech YF-29 at HobbyLink Japan

Video Review and comparison with the GNU series

You can get your Revoltech YF-29 at HobbyLink Japan

One of the newest releases from the Revoltech Fraulein line; Pocco has a real nice set of perky, full, well-displayed … wings. This character design could be considered borderline PG/PG-13 by some folk’s standards and the photos in this review reflect that. Think twice before clicking if you’re a cupcake. You have been warned …

Angolz.com was nice enough to send release number 004 for me to review and while I really like it, it is not without some issues. To be fair Revoltech’s are massed produced so I may have just gotten the”luck of the draw” and gotten a bum one but more on that a little further into the article.

Pocco is not an anime character but a character that appears in and on the cover of Shunya Yamashita’s artbook Sweet Dreams.

From Wikipedia :

“Shunya worked at Square Enix as a character designer for Final Fantasy X as an NPC and weapons designer. He later worked as a character designer on the online game Depth Fantasia, and was an event illustrator for the game Phantom Kingdom. He also worked on the other titles such as Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria and Xanadu: Next. He is also working with various toy companies to release a line-up of PVC figures, garage kits and statues based on his character designs.”

What this release does do well is bring to life his illustration of the character to three dimensions very nicely. The sculpting and detail as well as the paint application are all excellent. They omitted the scarf on her left hip in the illustration in this sculpt however and I would have liked to have seen that included in its design.

Accessories are a bit light this time for a Revoltech release including only the Fraulein stand and 2 sets of alternate hands. I would have liked the “cat” in the illustration to be included.

I really like this character design and have always liked that sort of “naughty” angel motif. While she is scantly clad and overtly sexy it still falls into that realm of “cute” sexy not “fetishized (is that a word?) Perversion” and anything inappropriate is more than adequately covered. She’s sexy, got wings, is fantasy and post-apocalyptic and well- pulls of the “naughty” and “nice” thing pretty well.

So with the good out of the way, let’s dive into the bad. My Pocco has horrible joint issues, her arms are fairly loose at the shoulders and her right leg keeps falling off. Granted you can pop them back on but it’s still annoying as hell. This would have been a flawless addition to my collection and a real win for the money but those two problems really suck out the joy of posing the figure.

So while I can say it’s a nice design and features a good sculpt, the QC on mine makes me hesitate to say go grab one today. Should you still want to add Pocco to your collection you can get yours at Angolz.com.

Video is below.

The Regult is the long-awaited enemy mecha from Macross, otherwise known as Robotech! With Video!

The bad guys never get any love in toy form. Take for example, Batman. In any assortment of Batman figures, there are like 17 versions of the Batman and only one Joker. the same goes for many other toy lines but here we are talking about Macross A.K.A. Robotech in the states.

See, for years we have gotten valkyrie after valkyrie, in all kinds of scales and variations. There must be HUNDREDS of different valkyrie toys made but only a handful of enemy mecha. Can you imagine, the primary enemy mecha of one of the most influential anime of all time, and almost no toys of it?

Well, thats what happened with the Regult. This enemy battlepod of the Zentradi had a few kits made and only two toys - one of which made in America. Kaiyodo must have sensed this injustice when they decided to produce the Revoltech Regult. The same sculptor Katsuhisa Yamaguchi made a gashapon Regult a few years earlier and now he has had the opportunity to see it in toy form.

Skip to Video

The Revoltech Regult is a great figure - not just because it is a long-anticipated design, but it is executed so well.

At 6" tall, the Regult is taller than most other Revoltech releases, and it towers over the existing Macross Revoltech releases. Although not to scale, it does give the impression of being larger.

There are 9 Revoltech joints throughout the figure to give it a wide range of motion. Despite having spindly legs, the Regult can take on a number of difficult poses. Aside from that, there is little articulation. The waist has a Revoltech joint, as do the cannons on the head.

The back antennae can be removed and replaced with a cluster of missiles that pivot on a dual Revoltech joint.

Those white things on the side of the head - those move too.

In addition to all that, you have the stand, which is pretty much the same as all the other Revoltech stands.

So yeah - it's one that people have been waiting for for a long time so what are you waiting for - go to HobbyLink Japan and get yours today!

http://www.hlj.com/product/KYD01201

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

This re-release is is still a Friend Shop Limited edition, but this time includes different faces

When the original Kuro was released, it was a relatively quiet affair. It was a Revoltech Friend Shop Exclusive, and not many retailers carried it.

If you were looking for one you now have a second chance with the re-release of the Revoltech Kuro (Alternate Face Version)

Kuro means "Black" in Japanese.

As if you couldn't guess already, Kuro comes from Sony’s Japanese PS3 game, Doko Demo Issyo (どこでもいっしょ). Kuro is a simple cat, with no accessories except for a stand.

This is not a straight reissue. Like the Toro reissue, Kuro comes with 4 completely new facial expressions. It is otherwise almost the same toy as the Toro. The shape of the body and head is the same, the only difference being the color and the tail.

Do you like Kuro? if so, You can get yours at HobbyLink Japan.

You can get yours at HobbyLink Japan

I know what you are thinking. “I just love my Revoltech Toro, but I just don’t feel that the included facial expressions adequately represents the full emotional spectrum!”

Well, If this is you, your prayers have been answered.

Then again, if this is you, you need to get out more often.

I know what you are thinking. “I just love my Revoltech Toro, but I just don’t feel that the included facial expressions adequately represents the full emotional spectrum!”

Well, If this is you, your prayers have been answered.

Then again, if this is you, you need to get out more often.

I have to give some credit to Kaiyodo though – they could have done a straight reissue of Toro, but instead they decided to do something a little different. With this reissue they changed up all the facial expressions. So, if you buy both the original and reissue, you now have 8 faces to choose from.

Other than that, it’s the same toy as the original, and you can get yours at HobbyLink Japan.

Does your toy collection suffer from too many robots? Too many manly blocks of zinc with firing fists and missiles? Have we got the toy for you. The Revoltech Jun is just the thing to get in touch with your feminine side.

Does your toy collection suffer from too many robots? Too many manly blocks of zinc with firing fists and missiles? Have we got the toy for you. The Revoltech Jun is just the thing to get in touch with your feminine side.

Jun is yet another character from Sony’s Japanese PS3 game, Doko Demo Issyo (どこでもいっしょ). Jun is a Rabbit who loves curry, noodles, MTV and Karaoke.

Jun is the self-proclaimed Master of Love.

This cute pink bunny comes loaded with accessories. There are three extra faces that can be swapped out for a variety of expressions.

Jun is all set for Karaoke with a microphone and a mug of beer.

The next day she can relax with sushi and green tea. Each piece of sushi is removable and can be attached to the arms.

Included with Jun are new arms for Toro so that he can join in on the fun.

But look out, Toro is a mean drunk!

The usual Revoltech quality applies here, and like the other figures with swappable faces, it can be difficult to get the face off. This is my favorite of all the Doko Demo Issyo – it’s just so stupidly cute.

You can get Jun as well as all your other Revoltech at HobbyLink Japan.

Revoltech Jun at HobbyLink Japan

Revoltech Suzuki comes from the Japanese video game "Doko Demo Issyo", which means "Everywhere Together"

What we have here is the Revoltech Suzuki (ジュン) from Doko Demo Issho (どこでもいっしょ), a popular Japanese Playstation and PSP game. Doko Demo Issyo roughly translates to “Everywhere Together” It’s an everyday life RPG based around the lives of the cute characters within. Revoltech Suzuki arrives courtesy of HobbyLink Japan.

To get an idea of the madness that is Doko Demo Issyo, check this out:

http://www.dokodemoissyo.com/psp/indexf.html

Suzuki is a robot that goes to class with Toro, Kuro and Jun (among others). He was born September 13, 2006, making him a Virgo. His favorite things are Pottery and he is a Qualified Ship Boiler Engineer. Suzuki is a serious robot, a student of philosophy and fan of music.

Check out Suzuki in action:

The four faces of Suzuki represent his different moods and are “Normal”, “Smile”, “Vacancy” and “Frenzy”.

This is kind of an interesting Revoltech release that I think benefits greatly from knowing the source material. I had no idea what these Doko Demo Issyo toys were all about until I translated half a dozen Japanese web pages. I don’t know that the American market will latch on to these other than for the curiosity factor (or for Revoltech Completists).

Suzuki comes with a few accessories, including a book and pointing wand that attach to the claw hands via pegs. The dual drill missile arms used in Frenzy mode require the arms to be replaced after the elbow, and were designed espescially for this release by the Doko Demo Issyo staff!

The stand is purple, and comes with the logo printed on it. Suzuki can stand on the stand itself, or can be attached at the back with the connecting arm.

It’s well done, as usual, and very out-there as far as design goes. If this is your bag you won’t be disappointed. You can get your Revoltech Suzuki at HobbyLink Japan!