Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Makai Kado Garo review

                Makai Kado is a new toy line by Bandai (those guys that brought us SICs and yes, the same assholes that keep on releasing exclusives all the time). This line only focuses on Makai Knights (Underworld Knights) which are characters from the tv show, Garo. Of course, for a starting model, it would be really expected and is normal that the first model that they’d release will be none other than the main character, in this case, Garo.
                Garo, in a nutshell, is a bad-ass gold furry that fights off monsters and saves the day in the end. Typical Kamen Rider content shit, except Garo has way better storyline than today’s crappy Kamen Riders. And also, Garo has the sickest ride I ever seen for a warrior: a fuckin golden horse from hell named Gouten. And of course, as expected from the akuma-err-Tamashii Web, they’re releasing it as an exclusive. Worse, I think you’d even have better success rate at acquiring a SIC Kiva Emperor Form than a Makai Kadou Gouten.

Anyway...on to the review.

BOX


Trays


Accessories
                       Accessories, this guy kinda runs short on it but I really don’t feel that it is bad. You get 2 swords, the former, a metal sword, and the latter, the flaming sword, and of course, a sheath. You also get the lighter and that…fuckin…cape. This thing only has 2 extra sets of hands included. Quite short but it really isn’t that much of a bother. Though one thing is really bothering me: why did Bandai include a set of close fists? The cape is made of soft rubber plastic. And it is also severely heavy for the figure. What’s good about the cape is that it is detailed as well instead of leaving it as just one big black piece.

FIGURE
                   Sculpt, I really don’t care about sculpt as long as it looks good but for this one, yeah it is good but kinda suffers from a bit-limited articulation due to some parts. Articulation, neck joint is seriously bad, a ball-joint that connects the shoulder to the upper arm (I seriously do not know if this is a good thing or not) and a swivel joint for the elbows. Ball joint on abdomen, crotch, and feet (crotch and feet joints are bad because they really can’t be moved that much), and swivel joint for knees. 

The figure stands as tall as a regular sized SIC. And if I am not wrong, it is quite bulkier than any of the SICs I have. Hell, don’t complain me if I am wrong. I only have a few SICs anyway. Well, that off…as for details, it still looks like Garo but as expected from the guys who brought SIC, this figure is pimped out (uh…I really am not sure if that wording is in a positive way or not) with extra details such as carvings in most parts of the body which is not visible on the tv show model. The paintjob is really well done. Even though it is disappointing that the gold color wasn’t the same blinding gold that the tv show model has, I say, it still looks good. The appearance seems to give off that feeling that it just went through a huge battle that’s why it has that dirty look. 

Overall, though short on accessories and suffers from quite a bit bad articulation, Makai Kadou Garo is still worth its price (bought mine for 2650 Philippine peso).  For such price, this figure comes with great details and great paintjob. To add some more, even though it has bad articulation, this is one of those figures that really look awesome even though it is only posed on a normal standing pose.  Also, as a hint for the next model kit that I will review:


Garo: FUCK GOUTEN! I HAVE A NEW RIDE!