Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
That PG-worthy grandeur is something else!

1. 00 Raiser

PG 00 Raiser - Even with the heavy 0 Raiser attached to the back and sides, the joints are solid enough that just a slight pos

Even with the heavy 0 Raiser attached to the back and sides..
The joints are solid enough that just a slight pose adjustment is all you need to keep it standing upright.

0 Raiser connection points.

PG 00 Raiser - There's a locking pin you can insert into the backpack to prevent the rear 0 Raiser connection from drooping. H

There's a locking pin you can insert into the backpack to prevent the rear 0 Raiser connection from drooping.
Honestly it holds just fine without it, but it seems like they included it just to be safe.

PG 00 Raiser - A new attachment method for the 0 Raiser side binders. A U-shaped spread locking pin clips onto the bottom of b

A new attachment method for the 0 Raiser side binders.
A U-shaped spread locking pin clips onto the bottom of both sides of the GN Drive.
Probably went with this approach due to the weight, and the hold is absolutely rock-solid —
It won't come off unless you deliberately pull it out.

GN Sword III

PG 00 Raiser - 00 Raiser with GN Shields added to both sides. (1/4)

PG 00 Raiser - 00 Raiser with GN Shields added to both sides. (2/4)

00 Raiser with GN Shields added to both sides.

PG 00 Raiser - It's already got serious bulk, but throw in the GN Shields and the overall width gets absolutely ridiculous.. A

It's already got serious bulk, but throw in the GN Shields and
the overall width gets absolutely ridiculous..
And the amazing thing is it still stands upright just fine with all that stuff hanging off it!

Cockpit hatch open.
It opens all the way up through the chest, giving it quite a unique look.

2. 00 Gundam

00 Gundam base body.

Upper body front

Head

Hold on! There's actually a choice when assembling the head's light-up section.
It comes down to whether you apply seals to the eyes/ears/back of the head or not. The manual even notes that
applying seals will block the LED glow, so it recommends leaving them off if you want the LEDs to shine.
For the review I swapped the seals on and off while shooting,
with the left side showing seals applied and the right side showing the glow without them.
You can clearly see how much brighter the ear area gets.

PG 00 Raiser - Eye area comparison. With seals on (left), barely any light comes through at all. Just a tiny bit leaking throu

Eye area comparison. With seals on like the left side, barely any light comes through at all.
Just a tiny bit leaking through the gaps?

PG 00 Raiser - Back of the head. The right side without seals shows a proper glow. Even without seals, the text engraved into

Back of the head.
The right side without seals shows a proper glow.
Even without seals, the text engraved into the clear parts gives plenty of effect on its own.

Back and backpack

Lower torso front and rear

Shoulders and GN Drive

Arm section

Leg section

Leg detail shots

Feet.

GN Sword II with its dazzling chrome finish

PG 00 Raiser - 00 Gundam with GN Shields attached to both sides. (1/4)

PG 00 Raiser - 00 Gundam with GN Shields attached to both sides. (2/4)

00 Gundam with GN Shields attached to both sides.

3. 0 Raiser

PG 0 Raiser.

PG 00 Raiser - The bulk is massive, as you'd expect from a big scale kit. (1/4)

PG 00 Raiser - The bulk is massive, as you'd expect from a big scale kit. (2/4)

The bulk is massive, as you'd expect from a big scale kit.

PG 00 Raiser - Panel lining and detail across various parts of the kit (1/7)

PG 00 Raiser - Panel lining and detail across various parts of the kit (2/7)

PG 00 Raiser - Panel lining and detail across various parts of the kit (3/7)

PG 00 Raiser - Panel lining and detail across various parts of the kit (4/7)

PG 00 Raiser - Panel lining and detail across various parts of the kit (5/7)

Panel lining and detail across various parts of the kit

Various hatch opens

Missile hatch open gimmick

GN Shield mounted on the side binder

Underside

Bottom detail shot

Landing gear deployed

PG 00 Raiser - The landing gear sits so low... it really just feels like it's resting flat on the ground. I guess we should ju

The landing gear sits so low... it really just feels like it's resting flat on the ground.
I guess we should just be happy that it has retractable articulated landing gear rather than a simple swap-out piece. :-)

0 Raiser exclusive weapon set!

PG 00 Raiser - Ah... with the GN Sword III mounted too, it looks absolutely badass~ (1/6)

PG 00 Raiser - Ah... with the GN Sword III mounted too, it looks absolutely badass~ (2/6)

PG 00 Raiser - Ah... with the GN Sword III mounted too, it looks absolutely badass~ (3/6)

PG 00 Raiser - Ah... with the GN Sword III mounted too, it looks absolutely badass~ (4/6)

Ah... with the GN Sword III mounted too, it looks absolutely badass~

PG 00 Raiser - Decals go all over every nook and cranny of the wings.. (1/4)

PG 00 Raiser - Decals go all over every nook and cranny of the wings.. (2/4)

Decals go all over every nook and cranny of the wings..

Bottom.

PG 00 Raiser - The first-release limited 2-way stand lets you apply a metallic sticker, but the manual oddly shows it going on

The first-release limited 2-way stand lets you apply a metallic sticker,
but the manual oddly shows it going on the left side.
Look closely though and it's just an example — it says you can put it wherever you want,
and in practice sticking it on the very front seems to show it off best.

4. Mechanic Frame

Outer armor removed

Frame shots

Front and rear body frame

PG 00 Raiser - Body frame detail shots. Overall it's basically a poseable skeleton-type frame with almost no mechanical detail

Body frame detail shots.
Overall it's basically a poseable skeleton-type frame with almost no mechanical detail to speak of.
A bit disappointing for a PG..

Head frame

Backpack frame

PG 00 Raiser - GN Drive area frame (1/3)

GN Drive area frame

Back frame with backpack removed

Seriously plain arm frame.

Solid thigh frame

Lower leg frame

Foot frame

PG 00 Raiser - Articulation in frame state. The PG 00 is a kit where articulation barely changes whether the armor is on or of

Articulation in frame state.
The PG 00 is a kit where articulation barely changes whether the armor is on or off.

PG 00 Raiser - A perfectly comfortable-looking squat pose. (1/3)

A perfectly comfortable-looking squat pose.

Legs spread wide apart.
The ankle articulation feels a bit lacking somehow..

PG 00 Raiser - Even in frame state, the ankles bend forward a little but won't bend backward at all — I can already see this b

Even in frame state, the ankles bend forward a little but won't bend backward at all —
I can already see this becoming a popular modification point for a lot of modelers.

The shoulder armor and skirts have separate inner parts to add detail on the inside.

Molds on the inside of the armor pieces..

PG 00 Raiser - That said, some of the major armor pieces have absolutely no molds on the inside at all. Some have them, some d

That said, some of the major armor pieces have absolutely no molds on the inside at all.
Some have them, some don't... it's a really inconsistent design -.-;
I can already imagine the subtle mismatch between sections if clear color armor parts come out down the line.

PG 00 Raiser - 0 Raiser outer armor removed shots. The main body armor can all be removed except for the bottom panel, but the

0 Raiser outer armor removed shots.
The main body armor can all be removed except for the bottom panel,
but the side binders have virtually no mechanical frame to speak of.

0 Raiser frame.
It's a bit sparse to really call it a frame.

PG 00 Raiser - Frame of each body section (1/5)

PG 00 Raiser - Frame of each body section (2/5)

PG 00 Raiser - Frame of each body section (3/5)

Frame of each body section

Molds on the inside of the body armor pieces.

PG 00 Raiser - The 0 Raiser likewise has some major armor pieces with zero molds on the inside. It's a really puzzling design

The 0 Raiser likewise has some major armor pieces with zero molds on the inside.
It's a really puzzling design choice.. did they just give up halfway?

PG 00 Raiser - Frame shots in 00 Raiser combined mode. Since the 0 Raiser's frame is already pretty vague compared to the 00,

Frame shots in 00 Raiser combined mode.
Since the 0 Raiser's frame is already pretty vague compared to the 00..
The combined frame shot of the two doesn't seem to serve much purpose.

5. Action

PG 00 Raiser - Articulation test. Bends and folds beautifully, just as you'd expect from a PG. Though thanks to the clutch joi

Articulation test. Bends and folds beautifully, just as you'd expect from a PG.
Though thanks to the clutch joints.. you have to push and fiddle around when folding things into place, which is honestly a bit of a hassle..

PG 00 Raiser - The front skirt rotates and the U-shaped side skirts swing up, pushing the hip joint range of motion to the abs

The front skirt rotates and the U-shaped side skirts swing up,
pushing the hip joint range of motion to the absolute limit.
The best we've seen from any kit so far.

And if you also use the hip slide gimmick for raising the legs even higher..

The thigh goes shooting up almost completely vertical like this.

PG 00 Raiser - The waist joint rotates along the circular band around the torso. Gets a decent amount of side-to-side bend out

The waist joint rotates along the circular band around the torso.
Gets a decent amount of side-to-side bend out of it.

PG 00 Raiser - The angle the shoulders can raise is decent enough.. but the shoulder linked gimmick is small and stiff, so get

The angle the shoulders can raise is decent enough..
But the shoulder linked gimmick is small and stiff, so getting them up there isn't easy.
And when you have it holding a weapon.. it barely holds the position T_T

PG 00 Raiser - The range the shoulders can swing forward is noticeably reduced compared to when it's just the frame. Guess the

The range the shoulders can swing forward is noticeably reduced compared to when it's just the frame.
Guess there's no getting around it with the shoulder armor in the way..

PG 00 Raiser - The 0 Raiser's side binders can rotate. On other scales the entire GN Drive mount moves, but on the PG it's spe

The 0 Raiser's side binders can rotate.
On other scales the entire GN Drive mount moves,
but on the PG it's specifically just the area around the circular GN Drive that rotates, which in turn moves the side binders along with it.

A draw pose is no problem at all..

00 Gundam warm-up pose.

The ankle side-to-side tilt isn't quite satisfying, but it's still pretty impressive.

PG 00 Raiser - A kneeling pose comes off completely naturally. (1/5)

PG 00 Raiser - A kneeling pose comes off completely naturally. (2/5)

PG 00 Raiser - A kneeling pose comes off completely naturally. (3/5)

A kneeling pose comes off completely naturally.

PG 00 Raiser - GN Drive in action! (1/3)

GN Drive in action!

GN Drive LED special effect gimmick switched on.

PG 00 Raiser - The light is gorgeous.. but photos just can't do it justice! Check the video below to see both GN Drives runnin

The light is gorgeous.. but photos just can't do it justice!
Check the video below to see both GN Drives running at the same time.

PG 00 Raiser - Double beam saber action. The footing is solid.. but the feet are small so you do need to balance it carefully.

Double beam saber action.
The footing is solid.. but the feet are small so you do need to balance it carefully.

PG 00 Raiser - Attack pose using the GN Shield (1/4)

PG 00 Raiser - Attack pose using the GN Shield (2/4)

Attack pose using the GN Shield

PG 00 Raiser - 00 Gundam on the first-release limited 2-way stand. (1/4)

PG 00 Raiser - 00 Gundam on the first-release limited 2-way stand. (2/4)

00 Gundam on the first-release limited 2-way stand.

Charging pose.

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword II shooting pose (1/4)

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword II shooting pose (2/4)

GN Sword II shooting pose

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword II dual-wield action (1/4)

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword II dual-wield action (2/4)

GN Sword II dual-wield action

PG 00 Raiser - 00 Raiser charging pose with the 0 Raiser docked. The presence this thing has in person is absolutely insane..;

The 00 Raiser assault pose with the 0 Raiser combined.
The presence this thing has in person is no joke..;;

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword III action. The sword is so massive that hoisting it up is a bit of a struggle. (1/3)

GN Sword III action.
The sword is so massive that hoisting it up is a bit of a struggle.

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword III shooting pose (1/5)

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword III shooting pose (2/5)

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword III shooting pose (3/5)

GN Sword III shooting pose

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword III with the extra beam parts attached. The beam parts are so huge that the whole action pose stretche

GN Sword III with the extra beam parts attached.
The beam parts are so huge that the whole action pose stretches close to 60cm,
which means it doesn't fit entirely inside my photo mini studio. T_T
On top of that, the beam parts are surprisingly quite heavy, making it really hard to hold the pose even with the shoulder and arm ratchet joints.
(The photo above was taken with some sneaky hidden support.)

PG 00 Raiser - Anyway, GN Sword III action with the beam parts. (1/3)

Anyway, GN Sword III action with the beam parts.

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword II dual-wield assault action (1/3)

GN Sword II dual-wield assault action

PG 00 Raiser - The beam parts that plug into the GN Sword II are also way too big and heavy... it's a pain to photograph and a

The beam parts that plug into the GN Sword II are also way too big and heavy...
it's a pain to photograph and a real struggle to hold up.. T_T

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword II + beam parts action (1/3)

GN Sword II + beam parts action

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword II shooting pose. You can rotate the side binders and expose the missile hatches. Full of impact! (1/4

PG 00 Raiser - GN Sword II shooting pose. You can rotate the side binders and expose the missile hatches. Full of impact! (2/4

GN Sword II shooting pose.
You can rotate the side binders and expose the missile hatches. Full of impact!

PG 00 Raiser - 00 Raiser dual-wield action (1/3)

00 Raiser dual-wield action

6. ETC

PG 00 Raiser - Included are 1/60 figures of Setsuna, the 00 Gundam's pilot, and Saji Crossroad, the 0 Raiser's pilot. Being a

Included are 1/60 figures of Setsuna, the 00 Gundam's pilot, and Saji Crossroad, the 0 Raiser's pilot.
Being a big scale kit, the 1/60 figures are quite large and nicely detailed.

Together with the PG Astray released in the spring.
Two PGs in 2009 — that's quite something.

PG 00 Raiser - Together with the PG Aile Strike Rouge. Both of them carry a hefty load on the back, but no matter how you look

Together with the PG Aile Strike Rouge.
Both of them carry a hefty load on the back, but no matter how you look at it, the 0 Raiser with the 0 Raiser on its back wins on sheer bulk..

Comparison with HG and 1/100.

Comparison with HG and 1/100 0 Raiser.

Looking at it this way, the 1/100 detail really was pretty plain..

PG 00 Raiser - Together with the PG Sky Grasper. The 0 Raiser turned out to be quite a bit bigger than I expected~

Alongside the PG Sky Grasper.
The 0 Raiser turned out to be quite a bit bigger than I expected~

PG 00 Raiser - All the various 1/100 and HG 00 Raiser kits assembled together. I'm sure the Designer's Color and Trans-Am Mode

All the various 1/100 and HG 00 Raiser kits assembled together.
I'm sure the Designer's Color and Trans-Am Mode versions will eventually come out in PG too, right? T_T

● First all-new PG mold in 5 years

In the spring of 2009, the PG Astray came out — the first PG in 4 years. I thought that might be it for the year, but then at the end of the year, a brand-new PG, the 00 Gundam, dropped. Since the PG Astray was essentially a variation, this marks exactly 5 years since a completely new PG was released, going back to the PG Strike in November 2004. It's been a long time coming..

As Master Kawaguchi has said, a PG needs not just the right subject matter, but some kind of "new technology" to justify its release. The PG 00 debuted the innovative clutch joints and the special-effect GN Drive, and along with those, it brings together all the excitement that only a PG can deliver.

Looking at the runner layout, it seems like the 0 Raiser was originally planned as a separate release — similar to the Strike — but I guess they decided to go big right out of the gate and bundled it together. That could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing, but it's the reason the price ended up at a hefty ¥25,000.;

● The feel of building a PG.

First of all, this kit definitely delivers that classic PG building experience. A full inner frame packed to the brim, top-notch parts breakdown, premium gimmicks you can only appreciate at this big scale... the smooth, satisfying assembly that gives off a slight MG Zaku II vibe... and the unique culture shock of completing the brand-new clutch joint system for the first time...

Even just finishing the 00 Gundam on its own and standing it up, you get that feeling of "a PG is a PG!" — both in the build process and the feel in your hands. Whatever else you might say, if you've been craving the experience of building a completely new PG after all these years, I think you'll get your fill. The excellent parts breakdown and the solid, weighty presence after assembly that you just can't get from MG or other grades — plus the strongest joint strength of any PG to date — all add up to a very satisfying build overall.

And as the box size and price suggest, the parts volume in the 0 Raiser box — which might look like an accessory — is actually enormous, giving the whole kit a wonderfully generous feel. For those who believe a PG should mean runners covering every inch of the floor, this is great news.

● New Technology 1: Clutch Joints

The PG 00 Raiser introduced a pretty novel concept called the clutch joint. As you can see in the partial review, a total of 8 clutch joints were used — 3 in each arm and 1 in each leg. It works similarly to a car's clutch, using two interlocking gear faces held together by spring tension to improve joint stability. Unlike a car clutch, which is designed to transmit driving force, this kit uses the mechanism in reverse — to prevent movement.

For parts with clutch joints, you have to press the round button to move them normally, and once you let go, they lock in place quite firmly. Overall, the stability is at an impressive level — with the exception of the elbows, which can be a bit iffy. Thanks to this, the stability in action poses has genuinely taken a big leap forward.

That said... if I were to grade the clutch joint, I'd give it a B+. The function itself is solid, but when you really look closely, there are quite a few head-scratching moments.

- Overall, you have to press the clutch joint every single time you want to change a pose... which is honestly kind of a pain ;;
- Assembly is on the tricky side, so you really need to follow the manual carefully. If you mess it up, the joint might not move at all;
- Due to the weight distribution, you'll mostly be posing it on a stand anyway, so the leg clutch joints don't end up being all that useful in practice.
- Even with the 0 Raiser attached and the center of gravity pushed way up high, the stability when standing upright is impressive, but...
That's not because of the leg clutch joints — it's because the polycap connections at the hip and ankle joints are just solidly built.
- The shoulder clutch joints hold well, but the shoulder joint on the body side is weak, making it hard to raise the arms up high.
- The wrist clutch joints have too limited a range of motion to be very useful.
- The press buttons can get stiff sometimes, making them hard to push in and out.
- By design, it seems like this feature can only really be applied to OO-series PGs, where the joint sections naturally have that round shape — which is a bit of a limitation.

Writing it all out like this makes it sound kind of underwhelming (^^;), but it's definitely a meaningful technical attempt. My personal conclusion is that it's still hard to feel like it's all that useful just yet... but if it gets refined a bit more down the line, I think it could bring a whole new level of joint design to large-scale kits. :-)

● New Technology 2: Rotation-Vibration-Light Special Effects.

The second new feature is the use of special effect parts. They already put LEDs in the GN Drive on the 1/100 No Grade, so just slapping in a plain LED on a PG would've felt a bit beneath it, right? ^^

The PG OO's GN Drives come pre-assembled and packaged separately — and at ¥1,800 each, they're quite pricey parts. Sure, the kit itself is already expensive so it's a bit less noticeable, but inside each one you've got rotation driven by a small motor, vibration and sound from that rotation, and even a mesmerizing light effect from the spinning multi-LED setup. In short, it's a rotation-vibration-light special effect part unlike anything we've seen before — it feels like a mashup of all the various gimmicks that were in the 1/350 Yamato.

The first time you see the GN Drive special effect in action, it's pretty fascinating and you'll end up playing with it for a while. ^^ Press the top once and the LEDs light up, slowly start spinning... then gradually speed up and scatter light like a fireworks display. After about a minute it stops automatically, but pressing the switch again will also stop it. (See the videos in the review.)

According to the manual, there can be a time difference between units, so don't worry if both GN Drives don't stop at the same time. Also, uniquely for this kit, a CP2032 coin battery is included — but if you look closely, it's labeled "for testing." That means it's just to verify the unit works, so the power may be a bit weak or drain quickly. In practice, if you put in a fresh battery of the same type, the light gets brighter and the rotation speeds up — so if you want a more impressive light show, I'd recommend picking up a new battery separately.

As those who've watched the motion video will know, the GN Drive special effect gimmick produces a distinct sound when spinning. It's an intentional drive sound, but it's fair to say it's pretty noisy. Depending on your tolerance, it could get quite annoying — that's definitely going to vary from person to person. Either way, it's a fun gimmick that's very much in the spirit of a PG, and it's well worth the points. I'd also expect this part to be reused when future OO-related PGs like the Exia get released.

As a bonus, the head LED that's standard on PGs is also included — but if you apply the eye/ear/back-of-head stickers, they block quite a bit of the LED's light output. On top of that, the green clear parts that go over the stickers even have laser-engraved text on them, and those clear parts actually make the stickers hard to see anyway. -.-; I'd honestly recommend just skipping the eye/ear/back-of-head stickers altogether.

● Joint Strength Upgrade

The first thing I want to mention is joint strength. The strong locking from the clutch joints is one thing, but the overall polycap stability is the best of any PG to date. PGs have pretty much always struggled with ankles that can't hold up under the weight. The PG Astray was a noticeable improvement, but it also didn't have much in the way of body accessories, so it was a bit easier to manage.

The PG 00 Raiser has a top-heavy design that looks intimidating just to look at. In PG 00 Gundam mode the body is slim enough that standing upright isn't a problem, but I fully expected it to be unstable once the 0 Raiser was mounted. But surprisingly, even with the 0 Raiser and GN Shields loaded all over it, a little pose adjustment is all it takes to get a stable standing pose. Those who've built a lot of PGs will know what I mean — and having built every PG myself, I was genuinely amazed at how solid the standing joint strength was. I felt a real rush of joy thinking, "We've finally achieved perfect joint strength in a PG!"

Even with the PG Strike, the leg and ankle joints are perfectly fine at the base body level, but things get pretty shaky once you add the Aile pack. That's why a stand is basically required for that kit — yet the PG 0 Raiser is carrying a much heavier load and still feels far more stable. On top of that, it includes the same anti-slip rubber sole pads that were used on the PG Astray, so it doesn't topple over even if you bump it. :-)

That said... for action poses or display purposes, a dedicated stand just looks so much better that the standing stability might not matter as much. And there are still some areas — like the shoulders — that struggle to hold up particularly large and heavy weapons. But in terms of significantly improving the chronic joint strength issues that have plagued PGs, this is clearly an excellent and up-to-date PG.

● Articulation, Articulation...

Ever since the PG Strike, it feels like any similar non-Universal Century PG is just expected to come with incredible articulation as a baseline. MG articulation has gotten so good that PGs need their own advantages to justify themselves. As befitting a modern PG, it delivers A+ articulation — with full limb bend, a hip joint slide gimmick, and a unique body gimmick on top of that.

The skirt section in particular is excellent — it's a simple structure, but I really love how it easily gives the legs plenty of room to move. Part of that is just because the skirt design is simple to begin with — almost like a pair of trunks — but either way, you can tell they put in the effort to make sure even that skirt doesn't restrict articulation.

The gimmick where the neck, shoulders, and waist all rotate along the same circular band around the body is really clever and precise. It was the part I was most impressed by during assembly — and the hollow center makes me think it was very much designed with a future PG Exia in mind as well. The actual range of motion isn't all that exceptional, but the assembly experience of watching small parts come together to form this massive structure is just really satisfying!

The hip joint also saw some improvement over previous designs — specifically in the locking pin. Plenty of kits have a sliding hip joint gimmick for more dynamic poses, but they often have trouble staying locked after you move them. This has been a common complaint, and the PG OO has addressed it almost perfectly. As you can see in the partial review, the shape of the locking pin and the groove in the socket have been redesigned, so once it's locked in, it absolutely does not budge. It might seem like a minor detail, but it's an improvement that'll put a little smile on your face.

Early on, there was a lot of disappointment that it didn't have the iconic single-piece molded fingers typical of PGs — but having actually assembled them, they go together easily and the joint strength and stability at each finger segment is noticeably better. In short, it's a case of prioritizing real-world usability over visual impact on the runner, and while cleaning up the gate marks is a bit fiddly, the fingers feel secure enough that they're unlikely to pop off — so it's a change I'm fairly happy with overall. The connection between the palm pegs and the weapon grips, on the other hand... isn't particularly satisfying, though it holds well enough to get by. The bigger issue is probably just that the weapons themselves are so long and large. T_T

The biggest ankle issue with the PG 00's articulation is... literally the ankles.
(?) Sure, it doesn't need to go as crazy as the HG 00 where the feet could lay completely flat sideways, but even though the design structurally allows for quite a bit of lateral tilt, it just doesn't lean over all that much.. Makes you wonder if they really needed to do it that way.

More than that, the front-to-back ankle range of motion is a bit disappointing. Fortunately, forward movement is manageable since the foot folds in two stages, but backward movement has almost no give at all — it barely moves. A lot of modelers out there will probably try to mod the ankles because of this limitation... My guess is they designed it this way to prevent the kit from toppling backward since it's back-heavy, but it's still hard not to feel let down by it. You might wonder — since it's better displayed on a stand than sitting on a shelf, does the ankle even matter? But even on a stand, the ankles don't bend much, which somehow kills the dynamic feel of the pose. Even when you just want to straighten the feet out, they're stuck at a 90-degree angle, so it ends up looking a bit stiff.

● Details that are a bit too simple

The biggest disappointment with the PG 0 Raiser is probably the detail. Overall it's got a clean, sculpted look with great three-dimensionality, but... for a PG, the detail is pretty sparse. In other words, at a glance the exterior doesn't look all that different from a 1/100, with nothing particularly special going on detail-wise. Sure, up close you can definitely tell it's a PG, but it doesn't have that clearly differentiated, distinctly PG-level exterior detail like other PGs do.

And it's not just the outer armor — the inner armor molding, which is a basic staple of both MG and PG kits, is all over the place. Some armor pieces have dense inner detail, others have none at all, with no apparent rhyme or reason to it. This is a kit that's already confirmed to get a clear color armor release down the line, and now there's concern that the clear parts might end up looking out of place because of this inconsistency. It really feels like they were rushing the development schedule, or were so focused on joint strength and new gimmicks that the detail work got a bit half-baked.

And the most glaring issue — the frame detail is, frankly, disappointingly plain for a PG. It feels like the frame design has been getting progressively worse with each new release... it's just too simple compared to the PG Strike, which had such impressive frame detail. The arm section in particular is almost completely bare, like they couldn't even be bothered to add any surface detail — and honestly, that's a real letdown. A lot of people expect ultra-precise frame work from a PG, so this is... a bit of a surprise. OTL

Honestly, the detail is even worse than the PG Wing Zero Custom's frame, which was already considered one of the weaker ones. Of course, if you want to argue that this PG's concept was strictly an action frame — pursuing a simple yet sculptural frame rather than a detailed one — then there's not much left to say. At a glance it does look like the MG Zaku 2.0's frame style, which prioritized form over detail, so it's not entirely fair to call it bad either. Either way, if you're expecting the kind of precise, densely detailed mechanical frame that PGs are known for, you'll need to drop that expectation.

As for the 0 Raiser itself — it feels like it was originally planned as a separately sold accessory, kind of like the Sky Grasper, and it doesn't really show much of what you'd call PG-worthy qualities. There's not much frame to speak of, and what's there isn't particularly impressive detail-wise. If you want to compare, it's generally a step above the Sky Grasper which was sold separately, but the 0 Raiser still feels like just a big 1/60 scale 0 Raiser — the PG treatment really only applies to the 00 Gundam itself. Maybe they felt a little bad about it though... because the two runners' worth of 0 Raiser-exclusive weapons do make the whole package feel a bit more luxurious. :-)

So while I can understand that this PG 00 was focused on things other than high detail, I do worry that it's going to draw quite a bit of criticism — given that it's a top-tier Gunpla PG kit at a record-high price of ¥25,000.

● A truly "new" PG

The word "new" here carries a few different meanings at once. For starters, it's obviously new in the straightforward sense — it's the first new tooling in five years, and it incorporates a number of fresh ideas. But beyond that, there's a sense of newness in that it feels a little different from the PG we thought we knew. It's like... the direction PG is evolving has shifted somehow.

There's been a lot of progress in achieving solid joints and top-tier articulation despite the massive size, but there's a certain distance when it comes to detail and the finer points. Setting aside whether that's a good or bad thing, it feels like PG has evolved away from the high-detail approach that old-school fans and enthusiasts love, and more toward an action figure direction that a broader audience can enjoy without reservation.

From that evolutionary standpoint, the PG 00 Raiser is definitely a great PG. Maybe the non-Universal Century setting pushed it in that direction, and if a Universal Century PG comes out down the line, things might shift again. The key point is... it's developed in a somewhat different direction from the early PG style of old, and how you feel about that is going to vary from person to person.

Overall, this is a new PG that I'd rate somewhere between B+ and A. If you can let go of any expectations for extreme detail, it's a fun kit that offers a variety of new gimmicks and the satisfying hands-on feel of a brand-new PG after a long wait. The price has crept up to ¥25,000, but considering that Gunpla prices hadn't kept up with inflation for a long time, it's something you can probably come to terms with. More than anything, I'm hoping that the PG lineup — which has felt like it was on life support — can see a bit of a revival off the back of this PG 00. :-)

PG 00 Raiser | 2009.11 | ¥26,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.