There have been a few attempts at making a nice toy of the bike, but none come anywhere as close as the PX-03 Soul of Popynica Kaneda’s Bike. This is an amazing piece, and if you are a fan of Akira, there’s no reason for you not to have it.

Everyone loves Kaneda’s bike. It has become a symbol to anime fans across the world.

I remember watching AKIRA for the first time. I just picked up a bootleg vhs tape of the raw movie at a comic convention after seeing it on the screen at a dealers booth. I ran home to watch it, only to find that all of my VCRs were broken. I quickly called a few friends to see if I could bring it over and watch it. I ended up going over this kid Scott’s house to watch it – he could care less about it. I remember watching that scene where all the buildings explode with the riot going on… I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but right then and there my mind was opened to a whole new world.

Kaneda’s bike in AKIRA is just awesome. Street punk Kaneda steals the bike and uses it to fight against the clown gang. This bike is smoking hot. To this day people are still trying to make a working version of it. I think it is every otaku’s dream to sit behind the wheel of this thing and cruise around Neo Tokyo.

There have been a few attempts at making a nice toy of the bike, but none come anywhere as close as the PX-03 Soul of Popynica Kaneda’s Bike. This is an amazing piece, and if you are a fan of Akira, there’s no reason for you not to have it.

First of all, the bike comes with a Kaneda figure that is basically stuck in the pose you see him in. Boo to Bandai for not making him articulated. Still, he looks nice and fits well on the bike.

The markings on Kaneda’s bike are anime accurate – something the McFarlane version wasn’t able to do. The toy features rubber tires, clear windscreen, and diecast internal skeleton.

Most of the parts on Kaneda’s bike can be removed to expose the beautiful diecast beneath. Pretty much anything you see silver is metal. The front fork turns, raises and lowers, and has spring loaded suspension.

Kaneda’s bike comes with a second set of coverings that can separate a little differently than the first set.

This toy was first unveiled at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show with a limited edition “naked” version – this was basically just the bike without any of the sponsor logos printed on it. Also, the Kaneda figure was not included with this version.

I’m not kidding – this thing rocks and you need to get it. They are reasonably cheap, all things considered.

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.