Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
Nice and beefy.

Upper body front and back

Head section.

Body section.
Clear parts are scattered all over the place.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Arms and shoulders. (1/3)

Arms and shoulders.

Back section.

Leg section

Thigh section.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Legs and feet. Even as a straight build, the color combination is pretty wild.. (1/4)

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Legs and feet. Even as a straight build, the color combination is pretty wild.. (2/4)

Legs and feet.
Even as a straight build, the color combination is pretty wild..

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Take a closer look at the backpack.. there's a game console attached. ^^; By default it comes

Take a closer look at the backpack.. there's a game console attached. ^^;
By default it comes with a Sega Dreamcast-shaped one..

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - By swapping the parts around, you can also attach a Sega Saturn-shaped console instead. Since

By swapping the parts around, you can also attach a Sega Saturn-shaped console instead.
Since Virtual-On is a Sega game, the original design was done this way from the start.

You can even open it up and put a CD in. ^^;

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - A solid bazooka launcher. Since it's assembled together with the hand itself.. grip strength i

A solid bazooka launcher.
Since it's assembled together with the hand itself.. grip strength isn't an issue;; You can pretty much think of it as one solid piece.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - There are 4 hands included in total, and they're large with great depth to them — almost feels

There are 4 hands included in total, and they're large with great depth to them — almost feels like resin.

The bazooka launcher is surprisingly well-sculpted with a lot of depth to it.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - To eliminate the seam line running down the middle, the parts are split in a staggered L-shape

To eliminate the seam line running down the middle, the parts are split in a staggered L-shape.
Thanks to that, the seam line is completely hidden.

The parts breakdown on the sole of the foot is almost unsettling..

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - The legs are built by layering external armor panels onto an inner frame. There's no mechanica

The legs are built by layering external armor panels onto an inner frame.
There's no mechanical inner detail to speak of.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - The body without the bazooka launcher. Even on its own, the main body has plenty of bulk and a

The body without the bazooka launcher.
Even on its own, the main body has plenty of bulk and a wild color scheme that gives it a serious presence.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Articulation is just so-so.. I guess you should just be grateful that something this big can m

Articulation is just so-so..
I guess you should just be grateful that something this big can move at all.

You can extend the elbow joint slightly to allow for more elbow articulation.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - The left shows the maximum arm bend in normal state, and the right shows the maximum arm bend

The left shows the maximum arm bend in normal state,
and the right shows the maximum arm bend with the elbow joint extended.
Honestly, not much difference between the two;;;
It would've been better if they'd just designed it to bend well without needing to pull out the elbow joint..

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - The shin armor slides up and down ever so slightly.. but it barely helps with articulation at

The shin armor slides up and down ever so slightly..
but it barely helps with articulation at all. (Why did they even bother? ;;)

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - The waist and head are fairly flexible, which helps compensate a little for the limited articu

The waist and head are fairly flexible, which helps compensate a little for the limited articulation.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Action poses. The leg articulation isn't great, so getting a good pose is no easy task. (1/4)

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Action poses. The leg articulation isn't great, so getting a good pose is no easy task. (2/4)

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Action poses. The leg articulation isn't great, so getting a good pose is no easy task. (3/4)

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Action poses. The leg articulation isn't great, so getting a good pose is no easy task. (4/4)

Action pose.
The leg articulation isn't great, so getting a good pose is no easy task.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Even with just a slight pose, it still manages to look pretty dynamic.. (1/4)

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Even with just a slight pose, it still manages to look pretty dynamic.. (2/4)

Even with just a slight pose, it still manages to look pretty dynamic..

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - To deploy Raiden [DNA side]'s signature weapon — the shoulder laser units — you have to swap o

To deploy Raiden [DNA side]'s signature weapon — the shoulder laser units —
you have to swap out the entire shoulder assembly.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - A look at the shoulder joint with the shoulder armor removed. The polycap isn't loose per se..

A look at the shoulder joint with the shoulder armor removed.
The polycap isn't loose per se.. but the hold isn't solid enough, so the arm droops down a bit..

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - The shoulders come in two separate versions — a normal folded type as shown above, and an open

The shoulders come in two separate versions — a normal folded type as shown above,
and an open type for deploying the laser units —
and you have to swap between them.
Looking at the structure, it seems like it could've been done as a moving part,
but they probably went with the fixed/swap approach for durability reasons.

With the shoulders swapped out for the laser unit versions.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Close-up shots of the laser unit shoulders. (1/4)

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Close-up shots of the laser unit shoulders. (2/4)

Close-up shots of the laser unit shoulders.

The massive laser units.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - With the laser units attached. (1/3)

With the laser units attached.

The laser units have a really impressive sense of depth to them.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Fully armed action poses. If the leg articulation had just been a little better, you could've

Fully armed action poses.
If the leg articulation had just been a little better, you could've pulled off some more dynamic poses.. leaves you wanting just a bit more.

This kit includes a base that can connect to the separately sold Kotobukiya display stand.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - Stand time! Since I don't have the Kotobukiya stand.. -.-; I made do with an RMC stand that ha

Stand on!
Since I don't have the Kotobukiya stand.. -.-;
I made do with an RMC stand that has the same connector structure.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - As expected, between the limited articulation and the weight, that's about the best you can do

As expected, between the limited articulation and the weight, that's about the best you can do for stand action poses..
The kit is so heavy that you can't actually angle the support arm — you have to keep it straight.

Size comparison with a Super Robot Wars kit and an Armored Core kit.
What a big boy~.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] - From another angle, compared with an HGUC and MG First. Should give you a rough idea of the sc

From another angle, compared with an HGUC and MG First.
Should give you a rough idea of the scale..

There was one item that Kotobukiya — who has been blazing their own trail with their wild color separation — simply couldn't pass up, and that was the Virtual-On series mechs. Virtual-On was a masterpiece game released in the early '90s when Sega was leading the 3D gaming world with the Virtua series, introducing the brand-new genre of 3D robot fighting. Its unique controls and flashy 3D graphics were nothing short of "revolutionary" for the time.

The various distinctive mechs in the game were famous for their incredibly flashy and loud color combinations, riding the wave of advancing CG technology. And the designer behind these Virtual-On mechs was none other than Katoki Hajime — you could say it's the design where Katoki Hajime's Ver.Ka-style design sensibility is on full display at its peak. And while it seemed like something that could never be properly made into a plastic model just by looking at the design, Hasegawa was the first to bring it to life as a kit, leading with a massive amount of decals.

Hasegawa's Virtual-On series was basically an "aliens-only" kit, relying on some seriously intense decaling to pull off those flashy color combinations. Not only are there a ton of decals, but they're also pretty tricky to apply — so us regular earthlings were kind of afraid to even touch them.

Kotobukiya's Virtual-On goes in the complete opposite direction from Hasegawa — it's practically an "earthlings-only" kit. They've put their finely honed color separation skills to full use here, and everything except the black parts is almost perfectly (almost disturbingly) color-separated. That does mean a massive parts count, but as you can see in the photos above, even a straight build delivers pretty impressive quality.

If you look closely at the color separation on this kit, as I mentioned, the black areas are the only ones that aren't separated — which did puzzle me a little at first. The black trim bands on the shoulders, legs, and various body sections have no separation at all, while all the other colors are nicely divided up. But after carefully observing things as I built it, I realized that separating the black parts would've been a real stretch, and more importantly, all the black areas are designed so you can easily fill them in with just a Gundam Marker or panel lining pen.

In other words, it looks like they made a deliberate policy decision to cleanly give up on color-separating the black trim bands, and instead focus on separating all the other colorful parts. This is actually a really effective approach, because you can perfectly nail the intended colors with just a simple black marker. Rather than doing a half-baked job trying to separate everything, they essentially sacrificed the black and let all the other colors shine. This review shows the straight build with no extra work done, but I think even just a little bit of effort would make it look even more spectacular when finished.

With so much focus on parts separation, there are inevitably a few things that got left behind — and articulation is definitely one of the weaker points. It would've been even better if the leg articulation had a bit more range. The hip joints in particular are a letdown; if the legs could spread just a little wider, you could really nail that wide-stance, stocky, imposing look.

On the other hand, joint strength is reasonably solid — there aren't really any noticeably loose or floppy joints, which is a relief. The kit is pretty heavy given the sheer number of parts, so if the joints were loose on top of that, it'd be a bit of a nightmare. That said, the arms and shoulders are heavy enough that the shoulder ball joints could potentially loosen over time. Especially when holding the large bazooka launcher, you can't really raise the arm, so you have to carefully prop the bazooka launcher against various parts of the body to get a decent pose.

Raiden's signature laser units are also very well reproduced — though it's not a transforming setup; you have to swap out the entire shoulder. It's a design that could've been done as a transforming piece, but it seems they went with the swap-out approach for durability reasons. Actually, as you're building it, you can see traces of what looks like an early attempt to make the shoulder armor transform, before they apparently abandoned the idea. Both approaches have their pros and cons, but either way, going with the swap-out method does seem to have resulted in much better stability.

Like all other Kotobukiya kits, the color separation on this one is complex enough that gluing is recommended. If you trust it as a snap-fit and just build it, you'll find yourself chasing down parts flying off in all directions from even the slightest bump — which is a real headache. I've been burned by this so many times (-,-;) that I just go ahead and glue everything when building Kotobukiya kits. Better for your sanity that way.
On the plus side, the individual parts aren't super tiny, so assembly itself is fairly manageable. At least compared to Armored Core kits, it's much easier to put together.

Personally, I always figured Kotobukiya would tackle the Virtual-On series at some point — though the lineup came together faster than I expected. I imagine the Kotobukiya developers took one look at Katoki Hajime's insane color combinations and felt a strong urge to rise to the challenge.... (^_^;)

Between the exchange rate and the already high base price, it's a kit that's a bit painful to add to your cart — but if you're really into Virtual-On mecha or want to experience the absolute pinnacle of color separation, this is one I'd definitely recommend giving a shot.

Virtual On Raiden [DNA side] | 2008. 12 | ¥7,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.