Kaneda and Tetsuo

McFarlane’s Akira sets capture the manga beautifully as action figures!

Warning: If you’re not an Akira fan…note that after reading this review you’ll be out looking for the Akira manga and animated movie! Both are part of the whole sci-fi, bleak futures history and you may experience a terrible urge to get INTO IT.

I know it’s been awhile since this series came out – but it was only recently that I was able to get my hands on this set. Yeah, the series came out waay back in 2000, under McFarlane’s 3D Animation from Japan – Series 1. The set includes Kaneda, Tetsuo, and Kaneda’s bike. Just about the only two characters that really mattered. Anyway, this’ll just be a short and sweet review of this series, unlike my usual long-winded articles.

Let’s start with the packaging – all figures are in blister packs with cards. Akira is boldly spelled at the front, right next to artwork of the encased figure. A catalogue of the series can be seen at the back. Nothing special here, but the design looks neat, conveying all you want to know at the first glance.

Kaneda

At 6 3/4 inches tall, the detail on Kaneda is superb – the jacket is well-endowed with folds and creases, from the big collar down to the folded sleeves. There are wrist straps that are sculpted away from the sleeves – you’ll notice straps like these down on the boots as well. Kaneda’s face is a careful but great translation of his anime and manga origins. Quite Asian, caught in a stern look of determination. It’s like he’s about to breathe the first syllables when shouting out “Tetsuooo!”.

Paint application is great – red is properly applied, with some shades of dry-brushing that are subtle but effective so the details come out (and not flat). Skin tones are perfectly captured (it’s just the face, neck and forearms). Paint on the accessories is passe though, they’re colored the way they are – all the attention is focused on Kaneda himself.

Accessories abound – the big blaster is fixed on his hips, with a belt extending from it, up to around Kaneda’s shoulder. You won’t be able to equip it in his hand though – he’s not meant to in this pose, so don’t try prying it or you’ll have to do some Xacto knife cutting. Kaneda is posed to hold something though – and unfortunately it’s NOT the blaster, just the hose extending from it towards the other accessory, the power cell. Weird enough, the power cell is the removable accessory, which you can sling over Kaneda’s shoulder opposite the blaster. The thin, black rubber hose can be connected to a hold in it to insert on a small peg on the blaster. Then there’s Kaneda’s orange-rimmed goggles which look great and is a welcome addition. The ‘glasses’ are clear and Kaneda just looks adorable (no I’m not fagging out) when you slip it on his forehead, or better when you slip it down further so it’s on his face on how it’s worn. It can even be slipped down to his neck, hanging down.

Articulation is a total let-down. He’s got about 8 points of articulation -  swivel neck, shoulders/arms, hips, and shins/boots. That’s about it. But then again, they weren’t meant to be articulated. He’s find just standing there….until you see his bike (scroll down LATER for the bike’s review and you’ll see what I intend to say next here).

Tetsuo

If I said that Kaneda’s detail was superb – well Tetsuo totally surpasses him. All 6 1/8 inches tall of Tetsuo is ripe with detail: from the spiky hair (ala Dragonball Z’s Vegeta or such), red cloak, cybernetic arm, everything you need to appreciate the PVC representation of Tetsuo is here. By detail I mean all the small cyber-organic thing going-on with Tetsuo. He has some scratches underneath his facial cheeks (yes I had to specify which cheeks!), proof that he’s ‘going down with the sickness’. His facial expression is one of anger with a tinge of pain (oh yeah I’m an empath for PVC’s) – you’ll have to judge it from his expression.

Clothing is terrifically detailed. His red cloak is separately sculpted and wraps around his neck, with enough room for it to move around sideways. Rips and tears are loyally applied, supplemented by the folds and creases on his clothes. These abound, making the sure you spend lots of minutes counting ‘em. Hmm, do you actually do that? LOL.

Paint is perfect – the cel shade on his clothes works for me. Dark gray spots run across his clothes, right against the gray ‘fabric’. That goes for hair and cloak shades. Where the painting really excels is on his arms. And I mean this for his two accessories: his cybernetic right arm that’s removable and replaceable by the bigger cyber-organic mass of  goo that stands as heavier and almost as tall as Tetsuo himself.

The metallic grays run awash with some shadows and blacks of wiring and ribs. Same goes about the extra arm that is the overgrowth of cyber-mass. That’s fleshy goo encrusted by steel cables and wires. Each muscle, vein, membrane, welt, and swelling is beautifully sculpted and painted. That’s gooey flesh tones for you, Fangoria fans. Steel and electric parts mesh perfectly with these, especially paint-wise.

Articulation is at 5 points – swivel neck, swivel shoulders, swivel wrist on the cybernetic armand swivel shins. Nothing much here, but he’s got everything he needs.

Overall, Tetsuo’s pretty pissed-off. He’s got a painful overgrowth of teenage funky flesh, really bad wardrobe plus the bad hair day. And just from his facial expression, this is easily and perfectly conveyed.

Kaneda’s bike

This plastic and rubber piece of history is loyally sculpted to give tribute to its origins. Why plastic and rubber? ‘Coz there’s a die-cast version of this bad bike. Except that this one is satisfaction at the fraction of the price! I don’t have to explain how this is one of coolest bike designs ever conceptualized. You just have to look at it to appreciate it. Well, maybe seeing it in action in the manga and movie will convince you. Still, the bike is cool. Accept that. And this is the toy review. We’ll take forever drooling over the design.

First off, the bike’s at about 10 inches long. It’s at bright red, as what it is in the source material. It has spinning rubber wheels, so you can actually “voom-voom” it back and forth. The windwhield is sleekand clear, covering the headlight, which is just colored silver. The handlebars are of short plastic and look as though would turn the entire front area/wheels when turned, but they actually don’t.

The driver console on the handlebars, down to the seat console, are all greatly detailed, with buttons, panels, and switches. There’s a big sticker for the digital speedometer though, which is bit of turn-off, but seemed like the best solution for it.

The seat area is really low, as it really is with brown paint which makes it look like leather. The trademark crazy decals abound – completing the entire look. There’s also a side support stand which you can flip from underneath the middle section. Another moveable part is the engine cover, underneath the handle bars. You just lift it up so you can see the detailed engine parts. Just a lot of bric-a-brac resembling the engine, with sculpted lines and panels, painted and washed by muted silver and black, respectively.

Overall, the bike’s great. Too bad the Kaneda included in this series has no articulation to make it sit on the bike. But then you’ll find out on other Kaneda+bike releases that there are ‘seated’ versions. But those don’t stand-up anyway. Makes for a making a custom Kaneda that can sit and stand, donnit? I have this planned as well

The next photos may prove to be disturbing and is not meant for the weak of heart…

Capt. Marvel (Marvel Legends 6-incher) steals Kaneda’s bike!

Since Kaneda doesn’t have the joints to sit on his bike properly, our good ol’ Capt. Marvel most vigorously demonstrated the benefits of having the proper scale and articulation to ride the legendary red bike.

We salute you, Capt. Marvel for coming back from Marvel limbo and providing us with this simple demo (and still looking good at it)!

There’s a 2nd series from McFarlane’s 3D Animation from Japan featuring three more Akira figs which came out 2001. You can go search for them in Ebay – just be mindful not to get ripped-off by high prices. I got series 1 for about US$ 45 from a local Ebay reseller. Can’t say I got the best deal, but I’d definitely claim its worth it.

Overall, if you’re a fan of anything related to Akira – the animated movie or the original manga, these are the best PVC representations that can invade your workstation or collector’s cabinet.

“Tetsuoooo!!!!”