Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Various angles (1/6)

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Various angles (2/6)

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Various angles (3/6)

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Various angles (4/6)

Various angles

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Detail shots (1/4)

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

For weapons, you get a Dino Shield and two Dino Blades.

You can connect the two Dino Blades together using the joint parts.

The Dino Shield can be secured with a fixed pin and a movable handle.

Five sets of hands are included.

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - The weapon-gripping hands come in two different forms depending on the wrist articulation directio

The weapon-gripping hands come in two different forms depending on the wrist articulation direction.

Deploying the Dino Cannon mounted on the knee

Leftover parts

Limb articulation

Hip joint slide gimmick

The legs can spread out to the sides quite a bit.

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Swapping the hip joint pin on the legs to the longer version gives you an even wider range of moti

Swapping the hip joint pin on the legs to the longer version gives you an even wider range of motion.
I tried to swap it for the comparison review, but the fit was so tight I was worried about breaking something, so I gave up.
It seems like you should decide which parts you want to use before assembly and build accordingly.

Shoulder articulation

The center section of the forearm moves as well.

The waist and upper body are also separated and can move independently.

Backpack articulation.

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Action poses (1/5)

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Action poses (2/5)

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Action poses (3/5)

Action poses

Dino Cannon deployed pose

Dino Blade pose

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - Pose with the Dino Blades connected. (1/3)

Pose with the Dino Blades connected.

Together with the previously released Great Exkaiser.

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - This kit includes bonus parts for Great Exkaiser — a new head with two face options, chest mane pa

This kit includes bonus parts for Great Exkaiser.
You get a new head with two face options, chest mane parts, and hip joint upgrade parts.

Great Exkaiser with the bonus parts applied.
Visually, the difference isn't all that noticeable.

The hip joint has been upgraded to allow sliding movement.

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist - The chest mane parts are angled forward, making it much easier to bring both arms together in fron

The chest mane parts are angled forward, making it much easier to bring both arms together in front to grip the Great Kaisersword
in a combat pose.
Unfortunately though, I couldn't find my original weapons (T_T) so I wasn't able to get any action poses.

Dainogaist, the main villain from Brave Exkaiser, has been released as a plastic model in Kotobukiya's Brave Series lineup. The basic setup is the same as previous Brave Series kits — the transformation gimmick is left out, with the focus on proportions and articulation — and overall it shows clean color separation and an excellent joint structure.

Like the previous Brave Series kits, the parts are on the softer side, so trimming the gates and putting everything together goes smoothly. The molded colors look great and the parts breakdown is well done, giving you a surprisingly solid straight build visual even without stickers. On top of that, the articulation is excellent — including a hip joint slide gimmick — and the joints hold their positions firmly. In fact, the joints are so stiff that movement can feel a bit uncomfortable. There's also an option to swap in longer hip joint pins for an even wider range of motion, but the fit is so tight that swapping them out from the shorter stock pins risks breakage. It's probably best to decide whether you're prioritizing proportions or articulation before you start building.

For weapons, you get a Dino Shield and two Dino Blades, and the Dino Blades can be connected together using joint parts. There are also bonus parts included for Great Exkaiser, letting you swap in a new head, lion mane, and hip joint upgrade parts. The new head lets you choose between two face options, and with the forward-angled lion mane applied, it becomes much easier to pose both arms reaching forward to grip the Great Kaisersword.

So it's a solid, well-rounded Kotobukiya Brave Series kit — but the price tag of ¥9,800 is pretty steep. That's ¥2,000 more than Great Exkaiser, and looking at the contents, they feel pretty comparable, so it does feel like inflation is catching up. Either way, if you've got fond memories of Brave Exkaiser, this should be a very welcome kit. :-)

Brave Exkaiser Dainogaist | 2023.12 | ¥9,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.