Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Various angles (1/7)

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Various angles (2/7)

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Various angles (3/7)

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Various angles (4/7)

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Various angles (5/7)

Various angles

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Detail shots (1/4)

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

For weapon options, you get the Bolting Driver, Will Knife, and parts for the Protect Shade.

You can choose from 3 different parts to attach to the tip of the Bolting Driver.

A total of 8 hands are included.

You can detach the left arm and swap parts to pose it in the Protect Shade pose.

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Raise the upper lion mane up and tuck the lower section inward to make room for the arms to c

Raise the upper lion mane up and tuck the lower section inward to make room for the arms to come together,
and you can pull off the Hell and Heaven pose.

There's a barrel deployment gimmick on both ends of the shoulders.

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Remove the rear end cover and a hole for mounting on a separate stand is revealed — but the b

Remove the rear end cover and a hole for mounting on a separate stand is revealed —
but the body is so big and heavy that it feels pretty precarious.

The lion's mouth can be opened and closed.

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - To deploy the Gadget Feather, you first need to release the upper locking pin and detach part

To deploy the Gadget Feather, you first need to release the upper locking pin and detach part of the wing.

Reassemble the detached wing and deploy it to get the result shown above.

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Deploy the wing section remaining on the body and attach the transformed wing to complete the

Deploy the wing section remaining on the body and attach the transformed wing to complete the deployment.

Leftover parts

The limbs fold up fully, showing off excellent articulation.

A hip slide gimmick is standard, of course.

The back of the lower leg can be transformed to maximize the knee's range of motion.

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Since there's no ankle joint, the outer claw and armor itself slide down to allow the leg to

Since there's no ankle joint, the outer claw and armor itself slide down
to allow the leg to tilt sideways.

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - The lion mane makes it hard to swing the shoulders forward, but they can swing back quite a l

The lion mane makes it hard to swing the shoulders forward, but they can swing back quite a lot instead.

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - There's also a gimmick where the shoulder armor opens slightly so it doesn't get in the way w

There's also a gimmick where the shoulder armor opens slightly so it doesn't get in the way when raising the shoulder up.

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - For its size, the forward/backward waist range of motion is pretty decent. That said, the bac

For its size, the forward/backward waist range of motion is pretty decent.
That said, the backpack is so heavy that you have to be careful when posing it..

The three strands at the back of the head each move individually on ball joints.

The tail moves on ball joints at each segment, but the range of motion is narrow and stiff.

Toe articulation

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - The Gadget Feather can be moved via the sub-arm shown above, but ironically this articulated

The Gadget Feather can be moved via the sub-arm shown above,
but ironically this articulated section can cause it to droop backward, so you need to handle it carefully.

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Bolting Driver pose. (1/3)

Bolting Driver pose.

Will Knife pose

Protect Shade pose

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Knee Straight Drill pose (1/3)

Knee Straight Drill pose

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Gadget Feather deployed pose. (1/3)

Gadget Feather deployed pose.

Hell and Heaven pose

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar - Alongside the RG GaoGaiGar. Since the RG is roughly MG First size, this kit has the kind of b

Alongside the RG GaoGaiGar.
Since the RG is roughly MG First size, this kit has the kind of bulk that would be equivalent to a Sazabi in MG terms.

This kit is Kotobukiya's ambitious 2024 release — the Genesic GaoGaiGar, launched as the first entry in the Amakunitech series. A bit of background: AMAKUNI is the figure brand name of Hobby Japan magazine, and this is a plastic model version of the Amakuni Kishin Genesic GaoGaiGar complete figure released in 2022. As a result, it comes out with a design very close to the original Amakuni Kishin figure. It's essentially a collaboration product published by Hobby Japan and produced by Kotobukiya.

First off, it seems to have come out significantly larger than expected before release. It's got the bulk of a Sazabi in MG terms, and the hefty weight and presence after completion is quite something. The overall design is highly detailed and complex in shape, and on top of that quite a few parts come pre-painted in the box, so the straight build looks really impressive right away.

The articulation also exceeded expectations — despite the hefty bulk, the arm and leg joints fold up completely. Above all, you might worry about stability given how big and heavy the kit is, but the joints are uniformly tight with absolutely no looseness. If anything, the joints are stiff to the point of being a bit awkward to pose, though that's still far better than being loose. Thanks to that, it holds whatever pose you put it in just fine — but the weight is substantial enough that putting it on a stand feels a bit nerve-wracking. The stand attachment point is just a plain round hole, so if you want to display it airborne for extended periods, you'll probably need some additional support.

For weapons and accessories, you get the Bolting Driver, Will Knife, and Protect Shade. These were sold separately with the complete figure version and drew a lot of criticism for it, so it's a relief that they're included with the plastic model version. On top of that, various hand types are included for use in the Protect Shade and Hell and Heaven poses. You can also deploy the Gadget Feather, though it's not a swing-out gimmick — it's a disassemble-and-reassemble affair, which is a bit of a hassle.

So it's a fantastic kit with impressive bulk, a diecast-toy-like weight, a striking appearance, great accessories, articulation, and joint strength — but the molded colors and build feel leave a bit to be desired. The overall molded colors feel slightly cheap, like something from a candy toy, and above all I was a little taken aback by a build feel reminiscent of early Kotobukiya kits from 20 years ago. -_-

I suppose this is what happens when Hobby Japan, not being plastic model development specialists, takes the lead. The overall build is so stiff throughout that by the time you're done, your hands are numb enough to give you the shakes at dinner. (Maybe I'm just getting old..) Recent Kotobukiya kits have come a long way — the build feel is much smoother and the snap-fit connections come apart cleanly. But this kit requires a lot of *force* to connect parts, and some sections are so excessively stiff that you worry about breakage (especially the Gadget Feather deployment area), while other parts are too loose and need glue. (The head parts, in particular.)

In short, it's a kit that shows a lack of know-how in snap-fit plastic model design. I've built pretty much every standard Kotobukiya kit over the past 20 years, and this one takes me right back to those early Kotobukiya days two decades ago. It's fortunate, if anything, that it leans toward being overly tight rather than loose — but I can't exactly call the build feel great. On the flip side, you do get a real sense of accomplishment from the satisfaction and solid rigidity after pushing through the tough build. This kit genuinely feels like assembling IKEA furniture. (Why do so many kits feel like IKEA lately?)

So while the quality satisfaction after completion can be high, this is a kit where you need to factor in that the building process isn't exactly comfortable. The ¥13,500 PG-level price tag is also a hurdle, though you could look at it as being far cheaper than the figure version. Either way, the appeal of this kit is being able to build the Amakuni-designed Genesic GaoGaiGar at a relatively affordable (?) price, and if you're a GaoGaiGar fan, it's definitely worth taking the challenge. :-)

Amakunitech Genesic GaoGaiGar | 2024.5 | ¥13,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.