Bandai Spirits figure brand Tamashii Nations has announced they will be rereleasing the RX-78NT-1 Gundam “Alex” and MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai from their ROBOT SPIRITS <SIDE MS> ver. A.N.I.M.E line of high end Gundam action figures. The “ver. A.N.I.M.E.”(Action New Imagination Memory Emotion) series features dynamic anime proportions and dense sculpting, as well as a state-of-the-art articulation system that allows fans to recreate the impressive action scenes from the figures’ respective anime works.
Initially released in 2018, the figures are being rereleased to coincide with Sunrise’s “Road to UC 0105” YouTube campaign, in which the anime studio is streaming the 1989 Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket series on their official Gundam YouTube channel, Gundam Channel. The two mobile suits were prominently featured in the aforementioned series.
The RX-78NT-1 Gundam “Alex” was secretly developed by the Earth Federation Forces during the One Year War as a mobile suit intended to be piloted by the Newtype ace pilot Amuro Ray who had been outpacing the RX-78-2 Gundam with the development of his Newtype abilities. The mobile suit didn’t possess Psycommu weaponry but was designed to be highly maneuverable and responsive taking advantage of a Newtype’s reaction speed and reflexes. In the War in the Pocket series, the unit is test piloted by Christina MacKenzie.
The figure will include:
- 4 types of interchangeable hands (left and right)
- Hand storage deck
- Beam rifle
- Bazooka for NT-1
- Shield
- Gatling unit x2
- Beam saber effect x2
- Beam saber effect (curved)
- Beam rifle firing effect
- Arm gatling gun firing effect (long, short)
- Vernier effect x 2
- Joint parts set
- Set of damage parts
The ROBOT SPIRITS<SIDE MS> RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1 ver. A.N.I.M.E. is priced at 6,050 yen with an April 2021 release date.
One of the many variants of the MS-06 Zaku line, the MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai was developed very late during the One Year War as part of the Principality of Zeon’s United Maintenance Plan as an improved and redesigned version of the mainstay MS-06F Zaku II. The mobile suit was piloted by Cyclops Team member Bernard Wiseman in the War in the Pocket series.
The figure will include:
- 4 types of interchangeable hands
- Interchangeable head parts with antenna
- Interchangeable B-type head parts
- Two types of interchangeable mono eyes
- MMP-80 machine gun
- Grenade launcher for machine gun
- Heat Hawk (retractable form)
- Heat Hawk
- Hand grenade
- Set of damage parts
- Vernier effect x 3
- Hand storage deck
The ROBOT SPIRITS<SIDE MS> MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai ver. A.N.I.M.E. is priced at 6,050 yen with an April 2021 release date.
Credited as the first Gundam original video animation(OVA) series, beginning release on March 29, 1989 to VHS and Laser Disc, Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Gundam franchise.
The six episode series was directed by Fumihiko Takayama, and scripted by Gainax’s Hiroyuki Yamaga. The story takes place in the neutral colony Side 6 and follows Alfred Izuruha, a young boy with a fanciful view of the One Year War, as he gets embroiled in a covert Zeon military operation to destroy the experimental RX-78NT-1 Gundam “Alex” that is being housed on the colony by the Earth Federation.
The series takes an unconventional route in the Gundam franchise, being a side story focusing on a boy’s naïveté and rose-colored view of warfare as he learns the reality of its ramifications when his two sibling-figures are forced into a deadly battle completely unaware of each other.
War in the Pocket has become a favorite among fans for its emotional and tragic storyline greatly emphasizing Gundam’s anti war themes, with stunning mechanical and character designs by Yutaka Izubuchi and Haruhiko Mikimoto respectively.
Source: Tamashii Nations
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