Gundam Of The Year: 2006!

Well, it's been a little over a year since we last gathered here to examine all in one place the past year's offerings in MSiA. 2006 was an unusual year for MSiA, I think. With the merger of Bandai and Namco, there seemed a bit of a slowdown in the rate of releases. Indeed, when I compiled the list of releases to distribute to my colleagues, I was both baffled and slightly alarmed at how just plain short it was. But, this is not to be unexpected from what was likely a year of some internal reorganization for Bandai. In all, I think we can safely say that whatever happened inside Bandai Japan this year, we ended up with some downright baffling, or perhaps even insulting moves. But then, after that was out of the way, we sure wound up with some of the nicest product I could have hoped for. Hopefully with time, Bandai-Namco has found their groove, and we can look forward to a new year filled with excellent figures... at a slightly higher rate, please.

As always, none of this would have been possible without the support of my fellow reviewer and co-webmaster RAC, and of course our reviewer-to-be Magnus PI, both of whose contributions not only to this project but to the website as a whole make everything you see here possible. You guys are awesome! This year, there's more thanks to spread around. First, thanks so much to Tercero for donating space and resources at his Gundam Board in Action!! in order to expand this feature beyond the simple show staged last year. Thanks too to everybody at GBiA!! who voted in our Fan's Choice polls and offered up their comments to give us even more unique perspectives, and really helped to make our results more fairly balanced than we ever could have had otherwise.

So, without further delay, we here at It Figures! and our friends at Gundam Board in Action!! are extremely pleased to present you with the second annual Gundam of The Year!

Articulation

A measure of the excellent and horrifying uses of jointing.

ExVee's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

As if there was any doubt. The figure takes advantage of the Shiki's slightly unusual design to expand range of articulation in certain key places, allowing some joints an unparalelled range of movement, with no joint falling below the current, relatively high "average" mark. It's simply an excellent balance between stability and flexibility.

ExVee's Loser: Tie! BuCUE and LaGOWE

For purposes of articulation, these two figures are nigh-identical, so it seems unfair to pick one over the other for this dubious distinction. Put simply, they don't have half the articulation they really ought to given the development stage they were created in. Movement feels very restricted in either figure, and there is no real reason for the price of these toys that they could not have been designed with many more joints to allow more natural range of motion. If the thing looks like a cat, it's only natural to expect it to move like one, no?

RAC's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

Hurrah, Bandai finally gets the mid-torso balljoint up and running! Fortunately Mamoru Nagano's typical torso stylings beg for such a joint. Even without that bit of happy news, you get the least obtrusive triple-jointed shoulders since the Gabthley, flexible Binders, and leg range that beats all. EMIA Hyaku Shiki does everything right.

RAC's Loser: Gouf Custom

With the age of this year's reissues it was a given one of those would have to lose here. Decent for its time but woefully stiff by modern standards, Gouf Custom has little to no waist joint to speak of and a spike-launching action feature if you attempt any lateral arm movement. If you like the design or want to see how far MSiA have advanced, get one. Otherwise, sit tight and wish for Extension.

Magnus's Winner: EMIA Justice

EMIA figures in general excel at articulation - almost to the point of
ridiculousness. Really, when you compare the Justice to other EMIA's, its
points of articulation don't really stand out. BUT the reason why I chose
it for this category is because, even with its massive backpack, it can
still outpose practically anything around. I hope none of you experienced
the sheer awfulness of the Advanced MSIA Justice, but if you did, you'd
understand why I've chosen the EMIA Justice as the winner here. It really
is a testament to the belief that any Gundam design can be made
hyper-poseable with just a little effort.

Magnus's Loser: EMIA Hyaku-Shiki

Lo, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

So, judging from the polling results it looks like my choice for the
articulation loser this year will be rather unpopular. I know that people
have been clamoring for a new Shiki ever since the craptastic MSIA was
released a few years back, and I fully admit that this Shiki is superior to
the v.1 version. BUT as an EMIA, the Shiki falls flat. Although it
features that nifty new ankle articulation, it actually has less range of
movement than pretty much every other EMIA out there. Specifically, it
doesn't have the mid-foot cut, it doesn't have the ability to raise its
shoulders up to its head, and its skirt armour interferes significantly with
forward leg movement. As a regular MSIA, this figure would be great. But
there really is nothing "extended" about this figure articulation-wise.

GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

"I think the Shiki has it in articulation. He has the above average joints along with the cool ankles!" -Shin_Matsunaga

"Shiki all the way. You can't deny those ankles, and the rest ain't so bad either!" -cannon05

"the shiki gets my vote - joints are just right and the articulation is S-class. truly remarkable." -V2-Assault

"Oof, I have a feeling my choice of loser in the articulation category is going to be pretty unpopular here..." -Magnus P.I.

Accessories

A measure of excellence and failure in delivering appropriate extra parts with the figure.

ExVee's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set

This was a straightforward choice for me. This set comes with nearly any accessory you could ever think of wanting to go with your Gundam Mk II (except maybe that G-Defenser...), and then some. Add to that the fact of certain improvements made to some accessory interactions, and you really end up with a winning formula. The price may have been a little high, but you can't deny getting a load of stuff for that money. Besides, can you really put a price on owning MSiA-scale Amuro Ray?

ExVee's Loser: BuCUE

Granted, the BuCUE is not an accessory-friendly design to begin with. But there was one item that it could have included which was not: The large missile launcher piece to take the place of the railgun turret. This may seem minor, but given how excellent Bandai-Namco has been on delivering appropriate accessories this year, this tends to stand out.

RAC's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Re-entry Set

This set has it all. I mean that literally- it has everything you ever see the Mark-II use without changing its designation to Super Gundam. Everything that caused ExVee to vote its predecessor Best Accessories of 2005, plus a new shield mount, plus a white flag only ever used by other MS in the Zeta movies, plus the massive Flying Armor, PLUS your very own tiny Amuro Ray. Winner by a mile!

RAC's Loser: Gaza-C

The Gaza-C's main weapon falls just short of unusable thanks to Bandai's refusing to accomodate the bizarre design with a hardpoint or other support. The Knuckle Buster is designed to socket into the Gaza's torso, and instead it just sort of hangs there underneath. It's also never supposed to be disconnected, and yet you have to improvise a way to stow the blasted thing. Argh.

Magnus's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set

There really isn't much that needs to be said about what this figure comes
with. Even someone like me who isn't a huge fan of Zeta was lured into
buying the mold again, just because of what it came with. But where it
really shines is in the creativity displayed in its accessory set - a white
flag and mini Amuro (the first MSIA human!). Too cool.

Magnus's Loser: Gundam Expo 2006 Strike Freedom

I'm a funnels guy. I likes me some funnels. I'm also an unabashed SEED
fan, so there's nothing worse to me than an amazing MS translated into a
crappy MSIA. I ragged on the Strike Freedom last year because of its
ill-execution, and I'm going to rag on it this year.and next year.and the
year after until Bandai gets off their collective butts and gives us a
proper Strike Freedom MSIA (or even better, EMIA) with funnels, moving side
skirts, proper paint scheme etc. A turd covered in metallic paint with
unremovable funnels is still a turd with unremovable funnels, albeit a shiny
one. Boo.

GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set

"I believe the Atmospheric Set wins it. The Gundam Mk.II, normal accessories, shield mount, flag, Flying Armor, stand, and much more!" -Shin_Matsunaga

"the mk.II atmospheric set wins for me. it has everything (well, except for the g-defensor system) you need that that the Mk.II had." -V2-Assault

Sculpt

A measure of quality of the figure's physical appearance relative to the design it's meant to represent.

ExVee's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

True, the design may not be 100% accurate, but on the other hand I sure can't argu with the results. Despite any proportion tweaking that has occured, there's no debating that this figure is much, much more lineart accurate than its predecessor, and in my opinion delivers the best sculpt job of the year's products.

ExVee's Loser: EMIA Gundam

In contrast to last year, it was more difficult to choose a loser this year than a winner. Indeed, we've had an exceptional year for sculpt quality, which has at least brought me down to the realm of small details to make my decision. That said I'm calling the EMIA Gundam for the build of the head and face. It seems that all progress following the very first MSiA, 1999's RX-78 has been lost, and the appearance has reverted to that unfortunate state. With the Second Version having a head and especially facial sculpt nearly identical to the intended animated appearance of the Gundam, the EMIA is rightly viewed as taking a leap backward. We can but hope the next iteration of the RX-78 falls closer to the top of the scale.

RAC's Winner: Gaza-C

This sculpt not only is dead-on to the animation model, but it actually made me re-evaluate my opinion of the design with its carefully sculpted curves. That's a good sculpt!

RAC's Loser: EMIA Gundam

Overall, I like the retro stylings, and still await a perfect RX-78 Ver.`79 figure. But the head is odd, and the hands are ridiculous. Bandai needs to finally bite the bullet and issue separate Retro and Modern Gundams.

Magnus's Winner: EMIA Nu Gundam

With my SEED bias raging, I was going to award this to either the Freedom or
Justice. But then I got the Nu and Sazabi in very recently, and no dice.
Wow, what great figures to cap off the year with! Of the two, the Nu is the
real winner. It just looks phenomenal. Powerful, yet sleek and graceful,
with one of the best head sculpts I've ever seen on an MSIA or EMIA. When
you look at it, you just think "damn". That's how well done it is. It has
the looks of a FIX figure with the sturdiness and poseability of the best
MSIA's out there. DEFINITELY buy this figure.

Magnus's Loser: Providence

Don't get me wrong, I love the Providence. I love its funnels. Its making
me jones for a Legend MSIA even more. BUT...even a fan like me has to admit
that the Providence MSIA is..well, fat. There's no denying it, he's a
porker. I don't think he was this plump in the anime, but the figure looks
like it went crazy at a Krispy Kreme stand. Still, he has funnels. Lots of
funnels, and you can never get enough funnels. Or funnel cake apparently.

GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

Paint

A measure of excellent and dismal paint jobs.

ExVee's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

I think a trend may be developing. In any case, the Shiki deserves special recognition, as a new painting process was developed for it to truly bring out the shine of its gold paint. Even were that not the case, you can certainly see paint quality that is good even among Extended MSiA. But in truth, everything this year has been painted unusually well, and we all hope it's a sign of what 2007 has in store for us.

ExVee's Loser: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set

The only reason this merits a Loser title is due to the lack of panel lining on the Flying Armor, and some missing paint operations on the weapons as compared to the original AEUG Mk II release. While I'm not truly aware of the cost effect considerations at play, I really feel that for the price of the set those extra paint apps could and should have been in place, and their absence detracts from the set.

RAC's Winner: EMIA Sazabi

While I nearly gave it to EMIA Hyaku Shiki's ostentatious paint job, the Sazabi really grabs me. First off, there's finally a Char-colors MSiA that isn't some ugly shade of uncooked fish! Secondly, the complexity of painting the Sazabi's countless verniers deserves mention. And I really love the look of bright silver for thruster cones, which this MS also has plenty of.

RAC's Loser: EMIA Gundam

On the other hand, we have EMIA Gundam. Not only is the face painting uniformly muddy on all the examples I've seen, but the dullest possible color schemes were chosen for all of its accessories, making damn near everything it carries a drab gray.

Magnus's Winner: EMIA Justice

It was a toss-up here between the Shiki and the Justice. In the end, the
Justice won out because, honestly, the Shiki is just covered in gold paint.
Justice, however, is a thing of beauty. You have to feel sorry for Athrun:
every time he gets a new MS, it's always this pinkish/fuchsia coloured suit.
Poor us, because every time Bandai releases one of his suits in MS form, we
get a cool robot that's.pink. Until now. Somehow, someway, Bandai has
managed to make pink look cool. It's darker, more reddish, with some
excellent and very subtle shading effects that really make the figure look
powerful instead of flowery. For not emasculating Athrun once again,
Justice wins this category.

Magnus's Loser: GOUF Ignited (production colors)

The colours itself on this figure are nice. However, it was the second
hurdle in the way of finally getting a Heine-coloured Gouf, which is
arguably the one most people were eager to buy of the three releases. I
understand the marketing rationale behind repaints, and holding out the
fan-favourite figure after all the others have been released, but that doesn't
mean I'm still not annoyed by it.

GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

"Gee...I guess I'll go with the shiny gold one! Almost need sunglasses to gaze upon it. But not really." -cannon05

"not too shiny, not too dull.

the shiki's finish is just right!" -V2-Assault

Transformation

A measure of what worked and what didn't.

ExVee's Winner: Baund Doc

We've had much fewer transforming figures in 2006, just for the fact that there aren't that many transforming designs to start with, especially ones that weren't set out last year. I decided the Baund Doc deserved this title for the simple fact that it can transform among any of its three modes without a single part needing to be added, changed, or removed, much as 2005's Hambrabi. A perfect transformation in my view is an easy qualifier for Best Transformation.

ExVee's Loser: Methuss

This on the other hand was a choice that pretty well made itself. During my half hour wrestling match to get it transformed for the first time, the thought that kept ringing through my head between obscenities was, "yep, this is making worst of the year this time..." Let's run the problems down a bit. First of all, the mechanisms in place to move transformation elements from one position to the other are largely of improper size to correctly do the job. Beyond that, much of the Mobile Armor mode doesn't quite lock together or even fit a certain way, so you have no immediate indication of when you're doing something right or wrong. It's a big, fiddley mess that is more frustrating than challenging. For what's supposed to be one of the simplest transforming designs of Zeta, the toy sure didn't work out that way. The real shame is that most all of the engineering is within a hair or two of being just right to be beautifully elegant. Except that it's not.

RAC's Winner: Gaza-C

There's really not a lot of new transforming MSiA this year, especially compared to last year's bounty of wonderful Zeta weirdness. But of the three new models presented, the Gaza-C probably pulls its transformation off the best. It's a decent, offbeat toy in all three configurations, and despite the lack of a stand for MA Flight Mode, it's pretty nice all the way around. It gets the edge over Baund Doc because it lacks ears- I'm still convinced I'm gonna break those off my Doc.

RAC's Loser: Methuss and Mega Bazooka Launcher

The Methuss is incredibly frustrating to muscle into Mobile Armor mode. Longtime Transformers connoisseurs could easily have warned Bandai-Namco of the woes of transformation schemes that don't lock into place at any point, a problem that Hasbro and Takara have pretty much conquered.

Magnus's Winner: Baund Doc

There really weren't many suits to choose from this year when it came to
transformations. Of them, I'd give the nod to the Baund Doc. Although I
still can't quite grasp why it was made, I have to admit, its transformation
is decent, with few if any parts falling off, and an MA mode that actually
looks better than its MS mode. The fact that the large skirt is removable is
a bonus as well.

Magnus's Loser: Green Divers Asshimar

Little flying donut, that falls to pieces when you touch it. It's still a
pain to transform and fit all of the pieces together properly, and it seems
to be covered in reactive armor, because damn if its donut bits don't go
flying away as soon as you seemingly touch them. These are toys Bandai, not
models, remember?

GBiA!! Winner: Green Divers Asshimar

"I found the Gaza C and Bound Doc's transformations to be kind of clunky but the asshimar was superb. The only bad part was having to remove the hands but that's common to all transformations." -Mav1

"Asshimar because...he looks like a donut." -Gogg!

Reuse of a Feature

The best and worst ways that an existing special feature have been applied to new figures.

ExVee's Winner: Mid-torso joint (EMIA Hyaku Shiki)

This joint has been a staple of the EMIA series (including its direct ancestor, the Dom Second Version), but has never really been executed very well the whole time. With the Hyaku Shiki, all that changed. Finally a figure can execute the joint's intent without some physical barrier interfering. Of course, as smoothly as that one moves, it makes me want a second such joint adapted to the waist, for maximum flexibility. But I'm good with that I have here, and you really have no idea how happy I am that they're finally starting to get it right.

ExVee's Loser: Equipment Backpack (EMIA Justice)

For purposes of this category, we're calling Infinite Justice the original. Where I. Justice's lifter backpack was engineered with much care paid to being securely fixed in both docked positions, this Justice takes no such care. The previous lifter attached by two notched connectors, with a hinge and slider set up for moving between positions. Further, there was a tab and groove system for locking it down into the shoulders for flight mode. This lifter attaches by a single rectangle peg in a single hole in the back. All movement is done by a single hinge, and there's no notching for strength at all. So the lifter stays well enough folded against the back. Raised to flight mode it's noticeably separated from the tops of the shoulders, but remains decently secure feeling. There's an additional element: Infinite Justice came with a stand to support the weight of the lifter in flight mode. Despite a compatible hole in the underside of Justice's lifter, it does not in fact include this stand. So you have little or no way to keep the figure upright in flight mode. Yep, I'd call that a bad reuse of a feature.

RAC's Winner: Triple Shoulder-joints (EMIA Hyaku Shiki)

Extrapolated from the hinges first seen on the Gabthley, the spectacular upgraded shoulder joints debuted on the EMIA line much earlier in the year. But Hyaku Shiki is thus far the only figure where no aesthetic compromises were made to house them. While this restricts their ultimate range compared to the other figures using this joint, it isn't missed terribly much and the figure is still remarkably flexible. Shiki has the best, most balanced use of this feature so far.

RAC's Loser: Lifter Pack (Justice Gundam)

While the Justice Gundam was designed first by several years, Infinite Justice was the first to make the scene as an MSiA, and its lifter backpack has some key features (more secure mounting, locking tabs on the shoulders) that it would have been good to see on its later, Extended, um... predecessor. Not to mention that you have to buy Infinite Justice if you want the much-needed stand.

Magnus's Winner: Funnels (EMIA Nu, Providence)

This category was a tie. The feature in question? You guessed it.funnels!
Ok look, I know that there's no way you can really play with ALL the funnels
you get with these figures, unless you have some weird psychic ability or
get a sibling to hold them up in the air for you and make the "pwee-pwee"
sounds as they zip about. But you know what? It's nice to have that option,
just in case you evolve suddenly one Sunday morning. At any rate, both of
these figures include their full complement of funnels, and do so very well.
The Nu Gundam is a marked improvement over its old MSIA counterpart, as
these funnels are rigid enough to actually stay together, as well as deploy
and regroup in a much easier way. Providence wins because the thing is like
a damn porcupine, but miraculously, none of the pieces fall off when you
play with it! Moreover, it proves that you can add features like this to a
regular MSIA if you really wanted to (oh Strike-Freedom, I hate you so.).

Magnus's Loser: Backpack Connection (EMIA Justice)

EMIA Justice is an awesome figure. Its Advanced MSIA counterpart is like
something made by cavemen in comparison. Yet.there's something not quite
right with it. When the MSIA Infinite Justice figure came out, arguably one
of the best things about it was its innovative backpack design. Not only
could the backpack be posed in multiple ways while attached to the figure,
but it locked in securely via an ingenious double peg-and-slider system.
You would naturally think that this same system would be used on the EMIA
Justice. It wasn't. Instead they used the AMSIA's attachment mechanism,
which results in the backpack not locking into the figure at all, loosening
the plastic at the point of attachment, and generally just kinda sucking.
The fix for this was to cut out a little square of laminate from a credit
card, and glue it into the slot on the Justice's back, but really Bandai,
you proved with the Infinite Justice that this wasn't necessary. Why did
you take 2 steps backwards when designing this feature on the Justice?

GBiA!! Winner: Funnels (EMIA Nu, Sazabi, Providence)

"I think the funnels are a key feature to be re-used." -Shin_Matsunaga

Value

A measure of the best and worst deal for your buck, based on original Japanese retail prices.

ExVee's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set

Shoot, what can you even say about this? For about the same price as the Baund Doc, you get almost a complete equipment outfitting for the included Gundam Mk II, plus a small assortment of largely superfluous but completely awesome extra bits. There's been more expensive sets, but few if any have delivered in the same way this one has.

ExVee's Loser: LaGOWE

In general, when a figure is released of a design that doesn't have a lot of equipment to add to it, it's made up for in extra articulation or otherwise some kind of special engineering in the figure. This was not the case for the LaGOWE. It's engineering is on the level of a figure from around 2003 at the latest, and it lacks any compensatory factors. By all rights this is a ¥1200 figure, and it's really beyond me what qualities in this thing required that I pay an additional 300 for it.

RAC's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Re-Entry Set

I'm developing a habit of tieing the Value and Accessories categories together, it seems. While this Mk.II is pricey, the sheer range of accessories makes it well worth your time and money. If, like me, you lacked the AEUG Mk.II, there's no reason not to get this version.

RAC's Loser: Zeong

Reissued once again this year, the Zeong has always been light on accessories- you're paying for sheer bulk. But beyond that, I rate it as the worst value this year simply because the Zeong has been issued so many times both in Japan and elsewhere that there's really no reason to pay full price for it anymore! Look around enough, and you'll surely find a store online that has a supply of an older issue at a reduced rate.

Magnus's Winner: Providence

The fact that this figure can easily stand side-by-side with the EMIA
Freedom and Justice speaks volumes for how much "oomph" you get for the
price. Apart from all of those delicious funnels (11!), you get an
ingenious sword and shield combo, with one of the biggest beam-blades
around, as well as a nifty over-the-shoulder cannon. All of this for the
around the price of a regular MSIA.

Magnus's Loser: Baund Doc

Bleh. I know this is a big figure, but from the deceptively big
packaging(meant to hold its massive skirt), to its wonky colours, to its
large price tag, this is one of those figures that I really couldn't
recommend anyone to buy value-wise (unless you like giant cross-dressing
robo-bunnies). Strictly for collectors.

GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

"I've got to go with the GOUF. Sure, Shiki's a better figure, but in terms of value the GOUF wins." -Red XIV

"I would have to completely disagree. The sword could have had sliding gimmick (instead of the two separate on/off models), and the heat whip was horribly static, and the fact that it only fits in the right hand does nothing to endear itself to me. The figure itself got high marks from me, but it isn't enough for me to consider it high in "value." Arguably the 'Shiki had the better accessories, paint job, sculpt, and the price wasn't exorbitant. For me Better Figure= Better Value." -hydrogenizedsoy

"I think the Shiki was the best value overall. You get this articulate EMSiA with lots of accessories and tons of detail and scene-specific parts along with a fancy gold paintjob for the price of a normal EMSiA." -Shin_Matsunaga

Best Surprise

The figure that went most above and beyond your expectations.

ExVee's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

The really amazing thing is how high my expectations for this figure really were. That those expectations could then be exceeded is simply astounding. It's a figure with virtually no flaw, no drawback, and in my opinion is quite simply the model upon which any future figure should be drawn.

RAC's Winner: Baund Doc

This is a tough category, as Bandai Namco keeps raising the bar and my expectations keep rising with them. But in the end I plunked for the Baund Doc. Transforming figures quite often present unique problems. So do oversized figures and non-standard designs. Taking all of this into consideration, the Baund Doc manages to avoid all the hurdles inherent in the design to become a pretty solid MSiA with no major flaws. Most unexpected!

Magnus's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

Ok ok, I know I have to give the Shiki *something*. Even with its flaws, it
was still a pretty nifty figure, and the inclusion of the battle damage bits
was very nice, as well as the ankle articulation, which was new and worked
surprisingly well. My favourite surprise would have to be the extra head
with visible eyes. We don't see much of that sort of thing, if at all, and
I would not be opposed to having more swappable heads show up in the future.

GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

"Boy these polls are almost all in favor of Shiki. For good reason, too. I think i nearly fainted when I found that they were coming out with the emsia. And they truly did a wonderful job on it." -cannon05

"Wow, Shiki again. Even though we all wanted it so bad, it still took me by surprise. And it delivered!" -Garada

"I think the best surprise was the Shiki. He was in desperate need of a remake and got it done beautifully." -Shin_Matsunaga

Worst Disappointment

The figure that fell flat on its face the worst.

ExVee's Loser: Methuss and Mega Bazooka Launcher

Largely why the Methuss earned this unflattering distinction was because of how poorly engineered and executed the transformation is. There's some other aspects, but what it really comes down to is how could such a relatively simplistic design get screwed up the way this did? In some spots the figure has even reverted to an earlier stop on the evolutionary highway of articulation for no readily apparent reason. Heck, the frustration level has made me loathe to even pick the dumb thing up again after I got it transformed right the first time.

RAC's Loser: EMIA Gundam

Updated RX-78 molds quite often usher in a higher level of engineering in the line they're issued for, which created higher expectations than this figure probably deserved. But despite this Gundam having shoulder and leg joints which will live on, Hyaku Shiki is the undeniable standard-bearer this time. This Gundam isn't a total loss, and has some serious strong points, but compared to this year's subsequent EMIAs it's the weakest of the lot overall. Unlike the Gundam Second Version which outclassed everything around it for several years, I could see EMIA Gundam being remade this very minute and improved upon.

Magnus's Loser: EMIA Gundam

Let me just say right now that I don't own this figure. I'm sure it's
great. I bet it has a ton of articulation, poses wonderfully, bla bla. My
disappointment with it lies from finding out it was being released. I mean
come ON. Did we REALLY need another RX-78-2 figure? The v.2 MSIA we got is
still quite excellent, even if it is a few years old, and there are so many
other suits out there that are more deserving of the EMIA treatment than
the RX (hello EZ-8). Being the gundam fanboy I am, I might have even bought
it, if they had still included the little cockpit with mini-Amuro, as they
did with the v.2 version. As it stands, with so much other great product
out there, it's hard to justify buying yet another RX figure to put on the
shelf. Enough already Bandai.

GBiA!! Loser: EMIA Gundam

"As much as i like the RX-78-2 i was dissapointed with the EMSIA. I just didn't like the sculpt of the figure. I feel they just didn't do my favorite gundam justice and i still prefer the old V2." -Mav1

Best New Feature

The best new innovation from this year's batch.

ExVee's Winner: Option Parts (EMIA Hyaku Shiki, Sazabi)

This is something I've wanted for a while, and hope to see expanded on. It's not necessarily entirely a new feature. For one, there was that Zaku Weapons Set from Dengeki Hobby, plus the EMIA Zaku came with the alternate commander's head. But the Shiki and Sazabi have gone a different way. The Shiki uses an extra head to give the options of lit eyes as seen in the movie, and the Sazabi has an extra head depicting the head open for cockpit access. In either case the options are being used to allow the buyer to display his or her figure with a mind to a particular event rather than as conversion from one type to another. Not that I wouldn't mind seeing a figure that can convert from one model to another, but I think there's some good promise with these scene recreation pieces. The EMIA Gundam pushed it even farther by including option parts for other figures. I want more of this sort, where both the consumers and creators can exercise their imaginations just a little bit more.

RAC's Winner: Improved Legs (EMIA series)

While Bandai pretty much perfected MSiA knees in 2005, in `06 they went to work on the joints above and below. Almost all of this year's new Extended molds feature enough leg articulation to do a full split with both feet planted firmly on the ground, showing marked improvement in the hip and ankle joints. And the upper-thigh swivel became a standard, finally!

Magnus's Winner: Full Burst Mode (EMIA Freedom)

Since the first awful Advanced MSIA release of the Freedom, to the
sorta-okay release of the MSIA, fans have been clamoring for a figure that
can pull off the "full-burst" mode as depicted in the animation - you know,
with the wings splayed, cannons pointing menacingly forward, and the breathy
voice of T.M. Revolution playing in the background. Minus that last part,
our clamoring has paid off. The EMIA Freedom, along with being insanely
poseable, can also go full-burst and blast its enemies to smithereens. The
innovation here can be categorized as "hyper-poseable boom-guns".

GBiA!! Winner: Scene Recreation Parts (EMIA Sazabi, Nu, Hyaku Shiki, Gundam)

"Scene Recreation Parts... so cool! I hope this continues in 2007 for sure. Since I like to pose my figs in dramatic ways, these little bits add a lot of value. Kinda the cousin to Battle Scarred pieces." -Garada

"Im definitely sold to the recreation parts, simply because there's more play value not to mention key events you can recreate in your displays." -cannon05

Best Reissue Concept

Award for the most well-thought reissue.

ExVee's Winner: Gundam G04

Although we don't know any details about it, it's pretty clear that somehow or another a bunch of the G04 showed up minus the costly, costly video game attachments in Hong Kong, allowing a whole slew of buyers to finally claim ownership of what was once one of the most sought after original sculpt figures. So while we don't know how or why, we'll certainly appreciate being able to buy for about $20 what once cost well over $100 along with a video game you could neither understand nor probably play. So I'm declaring honorary reissue status for this, whether or not we ever really know what the deal was, and with that in mind I think this is a clear winner.

RAC's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Re-Entry Set

I've already raved about the accessories a couple times, but in addition to that the EMIA Gundam Mk.II also picked up a new clean paint-job- very nice for those of us who can take or leave weathering. More importantly, it also prevents the figure from being totally identical to the original AEUG version. And, one of the figure's key flaws was fixed with a new set of Beam Saber storage racks that actually work!

Magnus's Winner: Transforming Wing Zero

Gundam Wing is what got me into Gundam in the first place. I know that a
lot of people don't hold the show or its mechs in high regard, but I simply
cannot get enough of the Wing designs. The V.2 versions of these already
high-quality suits were welcome and very well done, and I hope that this
re-issue is a precursor to the EW versions of the Wing suits finally getting
a v2, or even EMIA, treatment sometime soon.

GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set

"I think the best reissue was the Mark II and Flying Armor. It incorporated an improved Mark II figure with all flaws fixed AND the Flying Armor which is cool since other MSiA got Ballutes." -Shin_Matsunaga

Can't Give It Away

Award for the worst conceived reissue or recolor of the year.

ExVee's Winner: Yzak's GOUF Ignited

The GOUF Ignited: 2007's ZAKU family. Though not having nearly as many recolor options as the ZAKU (and there's even a couple ZAKUs Bandai never touched), the GOUF got its mileage stretched out pretty well too. I've chosen Yzak's GOUF for the simple reason that it's easily the least-wanted. I can't necessarily speak for others, but in my mind, what I first think of for the GOUF is Heine's orange one, and secondly the blue production version. Yzak's bland, mostly-white, easily forgotten custom unit is just that for me - easily forgotten. I feel that this kind of recolor is best held for later, after the truly popular or otherwise wanted recolors have gone out of the gate. In my mind we should right about *now* be seeing Yzak's GOUF, during the traditionally slow time. Don't waste a release space in October for February-April type product.

RAC's Loser: Zeong

The legless, toaster-headed wonder must be more popular in Japan than I realized. As I mentioned above, this figure is still plentiful on this side of the world, and often at a discount. Even so, Bandai-Namco dutifully produced a new run of the revised packaging version. There must be a reason, but for the life of me I can't figure out what.

Magnus's Winner: Gundam Expo 2006 Strike Freedom

I hate you Strike Freedom Gundam MSIA, with every fiber of my being. You
did not deserve to be made, let alone recolored and REISSUED. Curse you. [At least it was just an event premium and not a full-out regular release. -ed.]

GBiA!! Winner: Reissue Zeong

"one word: wtf Zeong?!" -Gogg!

"Poor Zeong. Its listed as Jeong on BBTS. As if it hasn't been picked on enough already." -cannon05

"I didn't like the Zeong reissue. Since the first one didn't sell well, why make a reissue?" -Shin_Matsunaga

What Were They Thinking?!

Special award for the most baffling, inexplicable move on the part of Bandai-Namco in the past year.

ExVee's Winner(?): Re-release Zeong?!

Didn't we just do this a year or two ago? And haven't certain Japanese retailers been sitting on them even marked down ever since? So what possible reason could there have been to release that dumb thing *again*?! Release something that doesn't routinely appear secondhand or even still new in shops; the production colors GINN, Astray Red Frame, heck, the GM Second Version. Just about anything is a better choice than the Zeong! Get me some of those Second Version High Mobility Zakus out again!

RAC's Winner(?): Methuss with Mega Bazooka Launcher

As I mentioned before, transformations without locking or stabilizing methods of some sort are very bad. Such is the fate of the poor Methuss, that oft-repaired anthropomorphic scissor-jack of a Mobile Suit. With a torso that rotates freely and arms and legs that connect up and virtually any angle, you're trapped in a topsy- turvy transformation universe where there is no up, no down, and no right answer. Just lots of little tweaks and adjustments until you have something that sort of looks somewhat rightish. Maybe.

Magnus's Winner: Tie - EMIA Freedom and EMIA Sazabi

A few paragraphs up, I was raving about the EMIA Freedom's ability to go
full-burst. But its spiffy new wings aren't perfect. Sure, they don't warp
like the MSIA's do, yes, they're longer and better proportioned, and yeah,
they can go full-burst. BUT THEY USE THE SAME ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES OF THE
AMSIA FREEDOM! Waugh! The biggest problem with the AMSIA Freedom (and
there were a LOT of problems) was the fact that the wings were not securely
locked in with each other. That mean that half the time you were unfolding
the wings into full display, half the wing and accompanying cannon would
fall off. The MSIA Freedom fixed this. But inexplicably, bizarrely,
insanely, Bandai ignored this fix and repeated the mistake it made with the
AMSIA Freedom! Although the EMIA's wings are not as bad, they have fallen
out on me a number of times, and could be more prone to do so with more play
in the future as the plastic loosens up. Bandai, you knuckleheads, WHY??

The other things that gets me with this figure is that this is the third
(fourth, if you count the Chaos) MSIA with hip-mounted beam sabers that just
can't hold its sabers properly. Come on guys, I know you can fix this, why
haven't you??

The other 'winner' of this category goes to the EMIA Sazabi. The biggest
problem with the original MSIA version of this figure was that it's lower
legs had a propensity of removing themselves from the rest of the figure
whenever you would move them. More often than not, you'd have a
double-amputee Sazabi facing off against the Nu. You'd think that Bandai
would have fixed this, but no. Try bending the EMIA Sazabi's legs at their
knees. Go ahead, I'll wait...

See what I mean? To add insult to injury, they're twice as hard to
re-attach to, thanks to the incredibly stiff/tiny joints they attach to.
Weak.

Best of Breed

Special Award in two categories: Best of MSiA and Best of EMIA

ExVee's Winner:

MSiA - Gaza-C

This was a pretty close match between the Gaza and the GOUF. Both figures are excellent examples of current state normal MSiA, and both have roughly equivalent minor issues. What it really came down to is that the little things about the GOUF struck me as being worse than the little things about the Gaza. The transformation is pulled off almost perfectly, with all three modes being stable. Beyond that, it manages excellent articulation without compromising the design appearance. In fact, all it really lacks is some way - any way to store the main gun.

EMIA - Hyaku Shiki

What in my estimation comprises the very model of what any Extended MSiA should be from this point forward. Maybe it doesn't do a whole not that's new or exceptional over those that came before, but what it brings to the table is the fantastic execution of everything that has been done right across the EMIA series. And on top of that, it has a newly devised method of painting that delivers the appropriate glossy sheen to reflect (no pun intended) the Shiki's anti-beam coating. Coolness!

RAC's Winner:

Magnus's Winner:

MSiA - Providence

Although a bit of a porker, it's still an excellent figure with near
EMIA-levels of articulation, and a host of tiny little accessories that you
can easily lose. Of the MSIA's released this year, Providence is the best
of the breed.

EMIA - Nu Gundam

For the way Bandai fixed every little problem with the original figure, for
the fact that this is a FIX Figuration quality figure with the playability
of an MSIA, and because it has all those delicious funnels, this guy is the
EMIA best of the breed this year.

GBiA!! Winner:

MSiA - GOUF Ignited

EMIA - Hyaku Shiki

"I haven't gotten any new EMiA this year other than Hyaku Shiki, but I think it would be very hard to top that IMO. It definitely is a top notch figure and one of my favorite purchases this year(and I've bought some excellent figures this year)." -Zetsu

"I like the Hyaku Shiki because it was in desperate need of a redo and they did it almost flawlessly." -Shin_Matsunaga

"Shiki for sure... It was just so needed and it did not disappoint." -Garada

Best of Show

The winner of a special poll at Gundam Board in Action!! between the Best of Breed winners.

Winner: Hyaku Shiki

"While the Gouf Ignited is a strong MSiA release, the Hyaku Shiki delivers volumes in accessories, articulation, and appearance. The suit comes with accessories to recreate nearly any scene from the show, and some from the new movies as well. The suit boasts articulation to the point where it is practically unwarranted. It has double ball jointed wrists and enough joints in the feet to give my brain difficulty wrapping itself around it. The paint used is fantastic and delivers a great sheen that looks true to the suit. I don't feel the Gouf delivers quite as much in any of these categories - the accessories are pretty much what's nessecarry, the articulation gets the job done, but is pretty standard for the line nowadays, and the colors are pretty standard too. While a very strong release, I just don't feel it can really compete with the Shiki when it comes to quality.

Then again, we're kind of comparing apples to oranges with this one - the price point and manufacturing processes from MSiA to EMSiA are different enough where the two are really totally different breeds. Even the best of the MSiA line is going to have trouble competing with an EMSiA, which I feel is really evidenced here." -Tercero

"I'm quite fond of the GOUF's design, but what makes it fall short of being great is the poor accessories. I've complained about this before, but here it is again: No extra hand to hold the heatwhip in the other hand, the static whip that wasn't changed between iterations, the iffy shield design. The backpack is great, and it's good to see that it's being incorperated into the Akatsuki pack, but still, unlike, lets say, the Hi-Zack, which was the full package deal (full weapon load and good articulation and sculpt) the GOUF lands short, so the as far as I'm concerned the 'Shiki and the GOUF aren't even in the same catagory.

Another odd thing is that the SEED grunts haven't incorperated basic ver. 2 gimmicks, like the ball joint foot, which strikes me as kind of odd. It looks like this year's crop of MSIA are going to be much stronger then last year's with the chockfull of goodies Zudah, the Hazel (which looks like it's pushing the limits of MSIA engineering) and the fan-favorite/not scrimped on in terms of engineering Akatsuki." -hydrogenizedsoy

"I own both the Shiki and the GOUF. My GOUF has a bad right arm that just doesn't go anything but besides that the figure is pretty good, but the Shiki has beat in everything, better articulation, better acessories, better paint job(the GOUF has this wierd plastic feeling to it)." -Cerpin Taxt

"I don't disagree with the sentiment expressed regarding competition between MSiA and EMIA, but as limited as the year's offerings were to begin with, this may have been a matter of bad timing in introducing this category. We can but hope that 2007 will give us a broader range and a more level field of competition for GOTY '07." -ExVee

Overall

Our picks of best and worst of the year.

ExVee's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

I mean, come on. You expected me to have a different answer? For me, the Shiki was the absolute highlight of my year's MSiA purchases.

ExVee's Loser: EMIA Gundam

I can only explain calling this worst for the simple reason that it has no excuse. Beyond basically pioneering a single new joint type, it does nothing really new, and nothing particularly well. Visually and mechanically, I find it to be inferior to its immediate predecessor, the Second Version, which itself set a benchmark for how MSiA after were to be constructed. If anything, it seems more like the Second Version and EMIA represent different developmental paths from the original MSiA Gundam, more than six years older. This one starts from scratch, rather than building on what's been done already.

RAC's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki

While it would be hard to disappoint me after the figure it replaced, EMIA Shiki does just about everything right. Great to look at, to pose, and fun Battle-Scarred parts make for a well-rounded package. In my opinion, it's the definitive version of the design, and a figure you can hold up and say "This is what Extended MSiA means, and this is why it should cost more than a regular figure."

RAC's Loser: EMIA Gundam

It was a tough call picking between this and Methuss for Worst of the Year. It's been a good year MSiA-wise, and these are the only two I really have big problems with. (And it's not really fair to pick a reissue for this category, I think.) Thing is, while Methuss' Mobile Armor Mode is pain personified, Mobile Suit Mode is pretty good, and everything that form needs functions pretty well. And the accessories are pretty nice, remolding the old MBL liberally for a sleeker look.

However, EMIA Gundam only has one mode, and it's iffy. I like some things about it, but its hands are stupidly big, the face is weird, and the accessories are purposely drab even though the animation itself provides more colorful alternatives. Worst of all, the shield design is really, really dumb, A throwback that flies in the face of seven years of improved MSiA development. Since none of its problems can be shifted out of sight and ignored, EMIA Gundam ultimately wins the day- if you can call it winning.

Magnus's Winner: EMIA Nu Gundam

Seriously, go buy this guy.

Magnus's Loser: Gundam Expo 2006 Strike Freedom

A metallic-painted turd is still a
turd. Albeit a shiny one.

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	Evolution Revolution: A Beast Era Retrospective Gundam Of The Year: 2006! Well, it's been a little over a year since we last gathered here to examine all in one place the past year's offerings in MSiA. 2006 was an unusual year for MSiA, I think. With the merger of Bandai and Namco, there seemed a bit of a slowdown in the rate of releases. Indeed, when I compiled the list of releases to distribute to my colleagues, I was both baffled and slightly alarmed at how just plain short it was. But, this is not to be unexpected from what was likely a year of some internal reorganization for Bandai. In all, I think we can safely say that whatever happened inside Bandai Japan this year, we ended up with some downright baffling, or perhaps even insulting moves. But then, after that was out of the way, we sure wound up with some of the nicest product I could have hoped for. Hopefully with time, Bandai-Namco has found their groove, and we can look forward to a new year filled with excellent figures... at a slightly higher rate, please. As always, none of this would have been possible without the support of my fellow reviewer and co-webmaster RAC, and of course our reviewer-to-be Magnus PI, both of whose contributions not only to this project but to the website as a whole make everything you see here possible. You guys are awesome! This year, there's more thanks to spread around. First, thanks so much to Tercero for donating space and resources at his Gundam Board in Action!! in order to expand this feature beyond the simple show staged last year. Thanks too to everybody at GBiA!! who voted in our Fan's Choice polls and offered up their comments to give us even more unique perspectives, and really helped to make our results more fairly balanced than we ever could have had otherwise. So, without further delay, we here at It Figures! and our friends at Gundam Board in Action!! are extremely pleased to present you with the second annual Gundam of The Year! Articulation A measure of the excellent and horrifying uses of jointing. ExVee's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki As if there was any doubt. The figure takes advantage of the Shiki's slightly unusual design to expand range of articulation in certain key places, allowing some joints an unparalelled range of movement, with no joint falling below the current, relatively high "average" mark. It's simply an excellent balance between stability and flexibility. ExVee's Loser: Tie! BuCUE and LaGOWE For purposes of articulation, these two figures are nigh-identical, so it seems unfair to pick one over the other for this dubious distinction. Put simply, they don't have half the articulation they really ought to given the development stage they were created in. Movement feels very restricted in either figure, and there is no real reason for the price of these toys that they could not have been designed with many more joints to allow more natural range of motion. If the thing looks like a cat, it's only natural to expect it to move like one, no? RAC's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki Hurrah, Bandai finally gets the mid-torso balljoint up and running! Fortunately Mamoru Nagano's typical torso stylings beg for such a joint. Even without that bit of happy news, you get the least obtrusive triple-jointed shoulders since the Gabthley, flexible Binders, and leg range that beats all. EMIA Hyaku Shiki does everything right. RAC's Loser: Gouf Custom With the age of this year's reissues it was a given one of those would have to lose here. Decent for its time but woefully stiff by modern standards, Gouf Custom has little to no waist joint to speak of and a spike-launching action feature if you attempt any lateral arm movement. If you like the design or want to see how far MSiA have advanced, get one. Otherwise, sit tight and wish for Extension. Magnus's Winner: EMIA Justice EMIA figures in general excel at articulation - almost to the point of ridiculousness. Really, when you compare the Justice to other EMIA's, its points of articulation don't really stand out. BUT the reason why I chose it for this category is because, even with its massive backpack, it can still outpose practically anything around. I hope none of you experienced the sheer awfulness of the Advanced MSIA Justice, but if you did, you'd understand why I've chosen the EMIA Justice as the winner here. It really is a testament to the belief that any Gundam design can be made hyper-poseable with just a little effort. Magnus's Loser: EMIA Hyaku-Shiki Lo, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. So, judging from the polling results it looks like my choice for the articulation loser this year will be rather unpopular. I know that people have been clamoring for a new Shiki ever since the craptastic MSIA was released a few years back, and I fully admit that this Shiki is superior to the v.1 version. BUT as an EMIA, the Shiki falls flat. Although it features that nifty new ankle articulation, it actually has less range of movement than pretty much every other EMIA out there. Specifically, it doesn't have the mid-foot cut, it doesn't have the ability to raise its shoulders up to its head, and its skirt armour interferes significantly with forward leg movement. As a regular MSIA, this figure would be great. But there really is nothing "extended" about this figure articulation-wise. GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki "I think the Shiki has it in articulation. He has the above average joints along with the cool ankles!" -Shin_Matsunaga "Shiki all the way. You can't deny those ankles, and the rest ain't so bad either!" -cannon05 "the shiki gets my vote - joints are just right and the articulation is S-class. truly remarkable." -V2-Assault "Oof, I have a feeling my choice of loser in the articulation category is going to be pretty unpopular here..." -Magnus P.I. Accessories A measure of excellence and failure in delivering appropriate extra parts with the figure. ExVee's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set This was a straightforward choice for me. This set comes with nearly any accessory you could ever think of wanting to go with your Gundam Mk II (except maybe that G-Defenser...), and then some. Add to that the fact of certain improvements made to some accessory interactions, and you really end up with a winning formula. The price may have been a little high, but you can't deny getting a load of stuff for that money. Besides, can you really put a price on owning MSiA-scale Amuro Ray? ExVee's Loser: BuCUE Granted, the BuCUE is not an accessory-friendly design to begin with. But there was one item that it could have included which was not: The large missile launcher piece to take the place of the railgun turret. This may seem minor, but given how excellent Bandai-Namco has been on delivering appropriate accessories this year, this tends to stand out. RAC's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Re-entry Set This set has it all. I mean that literally- it has everything you ever see the Mark-II use without changing its designation to Super Gundam. Everything that caused ExVee to vote its predecessor Best Accessories of 2005, plus a new shield mount, plus a white flag only ever used by other MS in the Zeta movies, plus the massive Flying Armor, PLUS your very own tiny Amuro Ray. Winner by a mile! RAC's Loser: Gaza-C The Gaza-C's main weapon falls just short of unusable thanks to Bandai's refusing to accomodate the bizarre design with a hardpoint or other support. The Knuckle Buster is designed to socket into the Gaza's torso, and instead it just sort of hangs there underneath. It's also never supposed to be disconnected, and yet you have to improvise a way to stow the blasted thing. Argh. Magnus's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set There really isn't much that needs to be said about what this figure comes with. Even someone like me who isn't a huge fan of Zeta was lured into buying the mold again, just because of what it came with. But where it really shines is in the creativity displayed in its accessory set - a white flag and mini Amuro (the first MSIA human!). Too cool. Magnus's Loser: Gundam Expo 2006 Strike Freedom I'm a funnels guy. I likes me some funnels. I'm also an unabashed SEED fan, so there's nothing worse to me than an amazing MS translated into a crappy MSIA. I ragged on the Strike Freedom last year because of its ill-execution, and I'm going to rag on it this year.and next year.and the year after until Bandai gets off their collective butts and gives us a proper Strike Freedom MSIA (or even better, EMIA) with funnels, moving side skirts, proper paint scheme etc. A turd covered in metallic paint with unremovable funnels is still a turd with unremovable funnels, albeit a shiny one. Boo. GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set "I believe the Atmospheric Set wins it. The Gundam Mk.II, normal accessories, shield mount, flag, Flying Armor, stand, and much more!" -Shin_Matsunaga "the mk.II atmospheric set wins for me. it has everything (well, except for the g-defensor system) you need that that the Mk.II had." -V2-Assault Sculpt A measure of quality of the figure's physical appearance relative to the design it's meant to represent. ExVee's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki True, the design may not be 100% accurate, but on the other hand I sure can't argu with the results. Despite any proportion tweaking that has occured, there's no debating that this figure is much, much more lineart accurate than its predecessor, and in my opinion delivers the best sculpt job of the year's products. ExVee's Loser: EMIA Gundam In contrast to last year, it was more difficult to choose a loser this year than a winner. Indeed, we've had an exceptional year for sculpt quality, which has at least brought me down to the realm of small details to make my decision. That said I'm calling the EMIA Gundam for the build of the head and face. It seems that all progress following the very first MSiA, 1999's RX-78 has been lost, and the appearance has reverted to that unfortunate state. With the Second Version having a head and especially facial sculpt nearly identical to the intended animated appearance of the Gundam, the EMIA is rightly viewed as taking a leap backward. We can but hope the next iteration of the RX-78 falls closer to the top of the scale. RAC's Winner: Gaza-C This sculpt not only is dead-on to the animation model, but it actually made me re-evaluate my opinion of the design with its carefully sculpted curves. That's a good sculpt! RAC's Loser: EMIA Gundam Overall, I like the retro stylings, and still await a perfect RX-78 Ver.`79 figure. But the head is odd, and the hands are ridiculous. Bandai needs to finally bite the bullet and issue separate Retro and Modern Gundams. Magnus's Winner: EMIA Nu Gundam With my SEED bias raging, I was going to award this to either the Freedom or Justice. But then I got the Nu and Sazabi in very recently, and no dice. Wow, what great figures to cap off the year with! Of the two, the Nu is the real winner. It just looks phenomenal. Powerful, yet sleek and graceful, with one of the best head sculpts I've ever seen on an MSIA or EMIA. When you look at it, you just think "damn". That's how well done it is. It has the looks of a FIX figure with the sturdiness and poseability of the best MSIA's out there. DEFINITELY buy this figure. Magnus's Loser: Providence Don't get me wrong, I love the Providence. I love its funnels. Its making me jones for a Legend MSIA even more. BUT...even a fan like me has to admit that the Providence MSIA is..well, fat. There's no denying it, he's a porker. I don't think he was this plump in the anime, but the figure looks like it went crazy at a Krispy Kreme stand. Still, he has funnels. Lots of funnels, and you can never get enough funnels. Or funnel cake apparently. GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki Paint A measure of excellent and dismal paint jobs. ExVee's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki I think a trend may be developing. In any case, the Shiki deserves special recognition, as a new painting process was developed for it to truly bring out the shine of its gold paint. Even were that not the case, you can certainly see paint quality that is good even among Extended MSiA. But in truth, everything this year has been painted unusually well, and we all hope it's a sign of what 2007 has in store for us. ExVee's Loser: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set The only reason this merits a Loser title is due to the lack of panel lining on the Flying Armor, and some missing paint operations on the weapons as compared to the original AEUG Mk II release. While I'm not truly aware of the cost effect considerations at play, I really feel that for the price of the set those extra paint apps could and should have been in place, and their absence detracts from the set. RAC's Winner: EMIA Sazabi While I nearly gave it to EMIA Hyaku Shiki's ostentatious paint job, the Sazabi really grabs me. First off, there's finally a Char-colors MSiA that isn't some ugly shade of uncooked fish! Secondly, the complexity of painting the Sazabi's countless verniers deserves mention. And I really love the look of bright silver for thruster cones, which this MS also has plenty of. RAC's Loser: EMIA Gundam On the other hand, we have EMIA Gundam. Not only is the face painting uniformly muddy on all the examples I've seen, but the dullest possible color schemes were chosen for all of its accessories, making damn near everything it carries a drab gray. Magnus's Winner: EMIA Justice It was a toss-up here between the Shiki and the Justice. In the end, the Justice won out because, honestly, the Shiki is just covered in gold paint. Justice, however, is a thing of beauty. You have to feel sorry for Athrun: every time he gets a new MS, it's always this pinkish/fuchsia coloured suit. Poor us, because every time Bandai releases one of his suits in MS form, we get a cool robot that's.pink. Until now. Somehow, someway, Bandai has managed to make pink look cool. It's darker, more reddish, with some excellent and very subtle shading effects that really make the figure look powerful instead of flowery. For not emasculating Athrun once again, Justice wins this category. Magnus's Loser: GOUF Ignited (production colors) The colours itself on this figure are nice. However, it was the second hurdle in the way of finally getting a Heine-coloured Gouf, which is arguably the one most people were eager to buy of the three releases. I understand the marketing rationale behind repaints, and holding out the fan-favourite figure after all the others have been released, but that doesn't mean I'm still not annoyed by it. GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki "Gee...I guess I'll go with the shiny gold one! Almost need sunglasses to gaze upon it. But not really." -cannon05 "not too shiny, not too dull. the shiki's finish is just right!" -V2-Assault Transformation A measure of what worked and what didn't. ExVee's Winner: Baund Doc We've had much fewer transforming figures in 2006, just for the fact that there aren't that many transforming designs to start with, especially ones that weren't set out last year. I decided the Baund Doc deserved this title for the simple fact that it can transform among any of its three modes without a single part needing to be added, changed, or removed, much as 2005's Hambrabi. A perfect transformation in my view is an easy qualifier for Best Transformation. ExVee's Loser: Methuss This on the other hand was a choice that pretty well made itself. During my half hour wrestling match to get it transformed for the first time, the thought that kept ringing through my head between obscenities was, "yep, this is making worst of the year this time..." Let's run the problems down a bit. First of all, the mechanisms in place to move transformation elements from one position to the other are largely of improper size to correctly do the job. Beyond that, much of the Mobile Armor mode doesn't quite lock together or even fit a certain way, so you have no immediate indication of when you're doing something right or wrong. It's a big, fiddley mess that is more frustrating than challenging. For what's supposed to be one of the simplest transforming designs of Zeta, the toy sure didn't work out that way. The real shame is that most all of the engineering is within a hair or two of being just right to be beautifully elegant. Except that it's not. RAC's Winner: Gaza-C There's really not a lot of new transforming MSiA this year, especially compared to last year's bounty of wonderful Zeta weirdness. But of the three new models presented, the Gaza-C probably pulls its transformation off the best. It's a decent, offbeat toy in all three configurations, and despite the lack of a stand for MA Flight Mode, it's pretty nice all the way around. It gets the edge over Baund Doc because it lacks ears- I'm still convinced I'm gonna break those off my Doc. RAC's Loser: Methuss and Mega Bazooka Launcher The Methuss is incredibly frustrating to muscle into Mobile Armor mode. Longtime Transformers connoisseurs could easily have warned Bandai-Namco of the woes of transformation schemes that don't lock into place at any point, a problem that Hasbro and Takara have pretty much conquered. Magnus's Winner: Baund Doc There really weren't many suits to choose from this year when it came to transformations. Of them, I'd give the nod to the Baund Doc. Although I still can't quite grasp why it was made, I have to admit, its transformation is decent, with few if any parts falling off, and an MA mode that actually looks better than its MS mode. The fact that the large skirt is removable is a bonus as well. Magnus's Loser: Green Divers Asshimar Little flying donut, that falls to pieces when you touch it. It's still a pain to transform and fit all of the pieces together properly, and it seems to be covered in reactive armor, because damn if its donut bits don't go flying away as soon as you seemingly touch them. These are toys Bandai, not models, remember? GBiA!! Winner: Green Divers Asshimar "I found the Gaza C and Bound Doc's transformations to be kind of clunky but the asshimar was superb. The only bad part was having to remove the hands but that's common to all transformations." -Mav1 "Asshimar because...he looks like a donut." -Gogg! Reuse of a Feature The best and worst ways that an existing special feature have been applied to new figures. ExVee's Winner: Mid-torso joint (EMIA Hyaku Shiki) This joint has been a staple of the EMIA series (including its direct ancestor, the Dom Second Version), but has never really been executed very well the whole time. With the Hyaku Shiki, all that changed. Finally a figure can execute the joint's intent without some physical barrier interfering. Of course, as smoothly as that one moves, it makes me want a second such joint adapted to the waist, for maximum flexibility. But I'm good with that I have here, and you really have no idea how happy I am that they're finally starting to get it right. ExVee's Loser: Equipment Backpack (EMIA Justice) For purposes of this category, we're calling Infinite Justice the original. Where I. Justice's lifter backpack was engineered with much care paid to being securely fixed in both docked positions, this Justice takes no such care. The previous lifter attached by two notched connectors, with a hinge and slider set up for moving between positions. Further, there was a tab and groove system for locking it down into the shoulders for flight mode. This lifter attaches by a single rectangle peg in a single hole in the back. All movement is done by a single hinge, and there's no notching for strength at all. So the lifter stays well enough folded against the back. Raised to flight mode it's noticeably separated from the tops of the shoulders, but remains decently secure feeling. There's an additional element: Infinite Justice came with a stand to support the weight of the lifter in flight mode. Despite a compatible hole in the underside of Justice's lifter, it does not in fact include this stand. So you have little or no way to keep the figure upright in flight mode. Yep, I'd call that a bad reuse of a feature. RAC's Winner: Triple Shoulder-joints (EMIA Hyaku Shiki) Extrapolated from the hinges first seen on the Gabthley, the spectacular upgraded shoulder joints debuted on the EMIA line much earlier in the year. But Hyaku Shiki is thus far the only figure where no aesthetic compromises were made to house them. While this restricts their ultimate range compared to the other figures using this joint, it isn't missed terribly much and the figure is still remarkably flexible. Shiki has the best, most balanced use of this feature so far. RAC's Loser: Lifter Pack (Justice Gundam) While the Justice Gundam was designed first by several years, Infinite Justice was the first to make the scene as an MSiA, and its lifter backpack has some key features (more secure mounting, locking tabs on the shoulders) that it would have been good to see on its later, Extended, um... predecessor. Not to mention that you have to buy Infinite Justice if you want the much-needed stand. Magnus's Winner: Funnels (EMIA Nu, Providence) This category was a tie. The feature in question? You guessed it.funnels! Ok look, I know that there's no way you can really play with ALL the funnels you get with these figures, unless you have some weird psychic ability or get a sibling to hold them up in the air for you and make the "pwee-pwee" sounds as they zip about. But you know what? It's nice to have that option, just in case you evolve suddenly one Sunday morning. At any rate, both of these figures include their full complement of funnels, and do so very well. The Nu Gundam is a marked improvement over its old MSIA counterpart, as these funnels are rigid enough to actually stay together, as well as deploy and regroup in a much easier way. Providence wins because the thing is like a damn porcupine, but miraculously, none of the pieces fall off when you play with it! Moreover, it proves that you can add features like this to a regular MSIA if you really wanted to (oh Strike-Freedom, I hate you so.). Magnus's Loser: Backpack Connection (EMIA Justice) EMIA Justice is an awesome figure. Its Advanced MSIA counterpart is like something made by cavemen in comparison. Yet.there's something not quite right with it. When the MSIA Infinite Justice figure came out, arguably one of the best things about it was its innovative backpack design. Not only could the backpack be posed in multiple ways while attached to the figure, but it locked in securely via an ingenious double peg-and-slider system. You would naturally think that this same system would be used on the EMIA Justice. It wasn't. Instead they used the AMSIA's attachment mechanism, which results in the backpack not locking into the figure at all, loosening the plastic at the point of attachment, and generally just kinda sucking. The fix for this was to cut out a little square of laminate from a credit card, and glue it into the slot on the Justice's back, but really Bandai, you proved with the Infinite Justice that this wasn't necessary. Why did you take 2 steps backwards when designing this feature on the Justice? GBiA!! Winner: Funnels (EMIA Nu, Sazabi, Providence) "I think the funnels are a key feature to be re-used." -Shin_Matsunaga Value A measure of the best and worst deal for your buck, based on original Japanese retail prices. ExVee's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set Shoot, what can you even say about this? For about the same price as the Baund Doc, you get almost a complete equipment outfitting for the included Gundam Mk II, plus a small assortment of largely superfluous but completely awesome extra bits. There's been more expensive sets, but few if any have delivered in the same way this one has. ExVee's Loser: LaGOWE In general, when a figure is released of a design that doesn't have a lot of equipment to add to it, it's made up for in extra articulation or otherwise some kind of special engineering in the figure. This was not the case for the LaGOWE. It's engineering is on the level of a figure from around 2003 at the latest, and it lacks any compensatory factors. By all rights this is a ¥1200 figure, and it's really beyond me what qualities in this thing required that I pay an additional 300 for it. RAC's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Re-Entry Set I'm developing a habit of tieing the Value and Accessories categories together, it seems. While this Mk.II is pricey, the sheer range of accessories makes it well worth your time and money. If, like me, you lacked the AEUG Mk.II, there's no reason not to get this version. RAC's Loser: Zeong Reissued once again this year, the Zeong has always been light on accessories- you're paying for sheer bulk. But beyond that, I rate it as the worst value this year simply because the Zeong has been issued so many times both in Japan and elsewhere that there's really no reason to pay full price for it anymore! Look around enough, and you'll surely find a store online that has a supply of an older issue at a reduced rate. Magnus's Winner: Providence The fact that this figure can easily stand side-by-side with the EMIA Freedom and Justice speaks volumes for how much "oomph" you get for the price. Apart from all of those delicious funnels (11!), you get an ingenious sword and shield combo, with one of the biggest beam-blades around, as well as a nifty over-the-shoulder cannon. All of this for the around the price of a regular MSIA. Magnus's Loser: Baund Doc Bleh. I know this is a big figure, but from the deceptively big packaging(meant to hold its massive skirt), to its wonky colours, to its large price tag, this is one of those figures that I really couldn't recommend anyone to buy value-wise (unless you like giant cross-dressing robo-bunnies). Strictly for collectors. GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki "I've got to go with the GOUF. Sure, Shiki's a better figure, but in terms of value the GOUF wins." -Red XIV "I would have to completely disagree. The sword could have had sliding gimmick (instead of the two separate on/off models), and the heat whip was horribly static, and the fact that it only fits in the right hand does nothing to endear itself to me. The figure itself got high marks from me, but it isn't enough for me to consider it high in "value." Arguably the 'Shiki had the better accessories, paint job, sculpt, and the price wasn't exorbitant. For me Better Figure= Better Value." -hydrogenizedsoy "I think the Shiki was the best value overall. You get this articulate EMSiA with lots of accessories and tons of detail and scene-specific parts along with a fancy gold paintjob for the price of a normal EMSiA." -Shin_Matsunaga Best Surprise The figure that went most above and beyond your expectations. ExVee's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki The really amazing thing is how high my expectations for this figure really were. That those expectations could then be exceeded is simply astounding. It's a figure with virtually no flaw, no drawback, and in my opinion is quite simply the model upon which any future figure should be drawn. RAC's Winner: Baund Doc This is a tough category, as Bandai Namco keeps raising the bar and my expectations keep rising with them. But in the end I plunked for the Baund Doc. Transforming figures quite often present unique problems. So do oversized figures and non-standard designs. Taking all of this into consideration, the Baund Doc manages to avoid all the hurdles inherent in the design to become a pretty solid MSiA with no major flaws. Most unexpected! Magnus's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki Ok ok, I know I have to give the Shiki something. Even with its flaws, it was still a pretty nifty figure, and the inclusion of the battle damage bits was very nice, as well as the ankle articulation, which was new and worked surprisingly well. My favourite surprise would have to be the extra head with visible eyes. We don't see much of that sort of thing, if at all, and I would not be opposed to having more swappable heads show up in the future. GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki "Boy these polls are almost all in favor of Shiki. For good reason, too. I think i nearly fainted when I found that they were coming out with the emsia. And they truly did a wonderful job on it." -cannon05 "Wow, Shiki again. Even though we all wanted it so bad, it still took me by surprise. And it delivered!" -Garada "I think the best surprise was the Shiki. He was in desperate need of a remake and got it done beautifully." -Shin_Matsunaga Worst Disappointment The figure that fell flat on its face the worst. ExVee's Loser: Methuss and Mega Bazooka Launcher Largely why the Methuss earned this unflattering distinction was because of how poorly engineered and executed the transformation is. There's some other aspects, but what it really comes down to is how could such a relatively simplistic design get screwed up the way this did? In some spots the figure has even reverted to an earlier stop on the evolutionary highway of articulation for no readily apparent reason. Heck, the frustration level has made me loathe to even pick the dumb thing up again after I got it transformed right the first time. RAC's Loser: EMIA Gundam Updated RX-78 molds quite often usher in a higher level of engineering in the line they're issued for, which created higher expectations than this figure probably deserved. But despite this Gundam having shoulder and leg joints which will live on, Hyaku Shiki is the undeniable standard-bearer this time. This Gundam isn't a total loss, and has some serious strong points, but compared to this year's subsequent EMIAs it's the weakest of the lot overall. Unlike the Gundam Second Version which outclassed everything around it for several years, I could see EMIA Gundam being remade this very minute and improved upon. Magnus's Loser: EMIA Gundam Let me just say right now that I don't own this figure. I'm sure it's great. I bet it has a ton of articulation, poses wonderfully, bla bla. My disappointment with it lies from finding out it was being released. I mean come ON. Did we REALLY need another RX-78-2 figure? The v.2 MSIA we got is still quite excellent, even if it is a few years old, and there are so many other suits out there that are more deserving of the EMIA treatment than the RX (hello EZ-8). Being the gundam fanboy I am, I might have even bought it, if they had still included the little cockpit with mini-Amuro, as they did with the v.2 version. As it stands, with so much other great product out there, it's hard to justify buying yet another RX figure to put on the shelf. Enough already Bandai. GBiA!! Loser: EMIA Gundam "As much as i like the RX-78-2 i was dissapointed with the EMSIA. I just didn't like the sculpt of the figure. I feel they just didn't do my favorite gundam justice and i still prefer the old V2." -Mav1 Best New Feature The best new innovation from this year's batch. ExVee's Winner: Option Parts (EMIA Hyaku Shiki, Sazabi) This is something I've wanted for a while, and hope to see expanded on. It's not necessarily entirely a new feature. For one, there was that Zaku Weapons Set from Dengeki Hobby, plus the EMIA Zaku came with the alternate commander's head. But the Shiki and Sazabi have gone a different way. The Shiki uses an extra head to give the options of lit eyes as seen in the movie, and the Sazabi has an extra head depicting the head open for cockpit access. In either case the options are being used to allow the buyer to display his or her figure with a mind to a particular event rather than as conversion from one type to another. Not that I wouldn't mind seeing a figure that can convert from one model to another, but I think there's some good promise with these scene recreation pieces. The EMIA Gundam pushed it even farther by including option parts for other figures. I want more of this sort, where both the consumers and creators can exercise their imaginations just a little bit more. RAC's Winner: Improved Legs (EMIA series) While Bandai pretty much perfected MSiA knees in 2005, in `06 they went to work on the joints above and below. Almost all of this year's new Extended molds feature enough leg articulation to do a full split with both feet planted firmly on the ground, showing marked improvement in the hip and ankle joints. And the upper-thigh swivel became a standard, finally! Magnus's Winner: Full Burst Mode (EMIA Freedom) Since the first awful Advanced MSIA release of the Freedom, to the sorta-okay release of the MSIA, fans have been clamoring for a figure that can pull off the "full-burst" mode as depicted in the animation - you know, with the wings splayed, cannons pointing menacingly forward, and the breathy voice of T.M. Revolution playing in the background. Minus that last part, our clamoring has paid off. The EMIA Freedom, along with being insanely poseable, can also go full-burst and blast its enemies to smithereens. The innovation here can be categorized as "hyper-poseable boom-guns". GBiA!! Winner: Scene Recreation Parts (EMIA Sazabi, Nu, Hyaku Shiki, Gundam) "Scene Recreation Parts... so cool! I hope this continues in 2007 for sure. Since I like to pose my figs in dramatic ways, these little bits add a lot of value. Kinda the cousin to Battle Scarred pieces." -Garada "Im definitely sold to the recreation parts, simply because there's more play value not to mention key events you can recreate in your displays." -cannon05 Best Reissue Concept Award for the most well-thought reissue. ExVee's Winner: Gundam G04 Although we don't know any details about it, it's pretty clear that somehow or another a bunch of the G04 showed up minus the costly, costly video game attachments in Hong Kong, allowing a whole slew of buyers to finally claim ownership of what was once one of the most sought after original sculpt figures. So while we don't know how or why, we'll certainly appreciate being able to buy for about $20 what once cost well over $100 along with a video game you could neither understand nor probably play. So I'm declaring honorary reissue status for this, whether or not we ever really know what the deal was, and with that in mind I think this is a clear winner. RAC's Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Re-Entry Set I've already raved about the accessories a couple times, but in addition to that the EMIA Gundam Mk.II also picked up a new clean paint-job- very nice for those of us who can take or leave weathering. More importantly, it also prevents the figure from being totally identical to the original AEUG version. And, one of the figure's key flaws was fixed with a new set of Beam Saber storage racks that actually work! Magnus's Winner: Transforming Wing Zero Gundam Wing is what got me into Gundam in the first place. I know that a lot of people don't hold the show or its mechs in high regard, but I simply cannot get enough of the Wing designs. The V.2 versions of these already high-quality suits were welcome and very well done, and I hope that this re-issue is a precursor to the EW versions of the Wing suits finally getting a v2, or even EMIA, treatment sometime soon. GBiA!! Winner: EMIA Atmospheric Entry Set "I think the best reissue was the Mark II and Flying Armor. It incorporated an improved Mark II figure with all flaws fixed AND the Flying Armor which is cool since other MSiA got Ballutes." -Shin_Matsunaga Can't Give It Away Award for the worst conceived reissue or recolor of the year. ExVee's Winner: Yzak's GOUF Ignited The GOUF Ignited: 2007's ZAKU family. Though not having nearly as many recolor options as the ZAKU (and there's even a couple ZAKUs Bandai never touched), the GOUF got its mileage stretched out pretty well too. I've chosen Yzak's GOUF for the simple reason that it's easily the least-wanted. I can't necessarily speak for others, but in my mind, what I first think of for the GOUF is Heine's orange one, and secondly the blue production version. Yzak's bland, mostly-white, easily forgotten custom unit is just that for me - easily forgotten. I feel that this kind of recolor is best held for later, after the truly popular or otherwise wanted recolors have gone out of the gate. In my mind we should right about now be seeing Yzak's GOUF, during the traditionally slow time. Don't waste a release space in October for February-April type product. RAC's Loser: Zeong The legless, toaster-headed wonder must be more popular in Japan than I realized. As I mentioned above, this figure is still plentiful on this side of the world, and often at a discount. Even so, Bandai-Namco dutifully produced a new run of the revised packaging version. There must be a reason, but for the life of me I can't figure out what. Magnus's Winner: Gundam Expo 2006 Strike Freedom I hate you Strike Freedom Gundam MSIA, with every fiber of my being. You did not deserve to be made, let alone recolored and REISSUED. Curse you. [At least it was just an event premium and not a full-out regular release. -ed.] GBiA!! Winner: Reissue Zeong "one word: wtf Zeong?!" -Gogg! "Poor Zeong. Its listed as Jeong on BBTS. As if it hasn't been picked on enough already." -cannon05 "I didn't like the Zeong reissue. Since the first one didn't sell well, why make a reissue?" -Shin_Matsunaga What Were They Thinking?! Special award for the most baffling, inexplicable move on the part of Bandai-Namco in the past year. ExVee's Winner(?): Re-release Zeong?! Didn't we just do this a year or two ago? And haven't certain Japanese retailers been sitting on them even marked down ever since? So what possible reason could there have been to release that dumb thing again?! Release something that doesn't routinely appear secondhand or even still new in shops; the production colors GINN, Astray Red Frame, heck, the GM Second Version. Just about anything is a better choice than the Zeong! Get me some of those Second Version High Mobility Zakus out again! RAC's Winner(?): Methuss with Mega Bazooka Launcher As I mentioned before, transformations without locking or stabilizing methods of some sort are very bad. Such is the fate of the poor Methuss, that oft-repaired anthropomorphic scissor-jack of a Mobile Suit. With a torso that rotates freely and arms and legs that connect up and virtually any angle, you're trapped in a topsy- turvy transformation universe where there is no up, no down, and no right answer. Just lots of little tweaks and adjustments until you have something that sort of looks somewhat rightish. Maybe. Magnus's Winner: Tie - EMIA Freedom and EMIA Sazabi A few paragraphs up, I was raving about the EMIA Freedom's ability to go full-burst. But its spiffy new wings aren't perfect. Sure, they don't warp like the MSIA's do, yes, they're longer and better proportioned, and yeah, they can go full-burst. BUT THEY USE THE SAME ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES OF THE AMSIA FREEDOM! Waugh! The biggest problem with the AMSIA Freedom (and there were a LOT of problems) was the fact that the wings were not securely locked in with each other. That mean that half the time you were unfolding the wings into full display, half the wing and accompanying cannon would fall off. The MSIA Freedom fixed this. But inexplicably, bizarrely, insanely, Bandai ignored this fix and repeated the mistake it made with the AMSIA Freedom! Although the EMIA's wings are not as bad, they have fallen out on me a number of times, and could be more prone to do so with more play in the future as the plastic loosens up. Bandai, you knuckleheads, WHY?? The other things that gets me with this figure is that this is the third (fourth, if you count the Chaos) MSIA with hip-mounted beam sabers that just can't hold its sabers properly. Come on guys, I know you can fix this, why haven't you?? The other 'winner' of this category goes to the EMIA Sazabi. The biggest problem with the original MSIA version of this figure was that it's lower legs had a propensity of removing themselves from the rest of the figure whenever you would move them. More often than not, you'd have a double-amputee Sazabi facing off against the Nu. You'd think that Bandai would have fixed this, but no. Try bending the EMIA Sazabi's legs at their knees. Go ahead, I'll wait... See what I mean? To add insult to injury, they're twice as hard to re-attach to, thanks to the incredibly stiff/tiny joints they attach to. Weak. Best of Breed Special Award in two categories: Best of MSiA and Best of EMIA ExVee's Winner: MSiA - Gaza-C This was a pretty close match between the Gaza and the GOUF. Both figures are excellent examples of current state normal MSiA, and both have roughly equivalent minor issues. What it really came down to is that the little things about the GOUF struck me as being worse than the little things about the Gaza. The transformation is pulled off almost perfectly, with all three modes being stable. Beyond that, it manages excellent articulation without compromising the design appearance. In fact, all it really lacks is some way - any way to store the main gun. EMIA - Hyaku Shiki What in my estimation comprises the very model of what any Extended MSiA should be from this point forward. Maybe it doesn't do a whole not that's new or exceptional over those that came before, but what it brings to the table is the fantastic execution of everything that has been done right across the EMIA series. And on top of that, it has a newly devised method of painting that delivers the appropriate glossy sheen to reflect (no pun intended) the Shiki's anti-beam coating. Coolness! RAC's Winner: Magnus's Winner: MSiA - Providence Although a bit of a porker, it's still an excellent figure with near EMIA-levels of articulation, and a host of tiny little accessories that you can easily lose. Of the MSIA's released this year, Providence is the best of the breed. EMIA - Nu Gundam For the way Bandai fixed every little problem with the original figure, for the fact that this is a FIX Figuration quality figure with the playability of an MSIA, and because it has all those delicious funnels, this guy is the EMIA best of the breed this year. GBiA!! Winner: MSiA - GOUF Ignited EMIA - Hyaku Shiki "I haven't gotten any new EMiA this year other than Hyaku Shiki, but I think it would be very hard to top that IMO. It definitely is a top notch figure and one of my favorite purchases this year(and I've bought some excellent figures this year)." -Zetsu "I like the Hyaku Shiki because it was in desperate need of a redo and they did it almost flawlessly." -Shin_Matsunaga "Shiki for sure... It was just so needed and it did not disappoint." -Garada Best of Show The winner of a special poll at Gundam Board in Action!! between the Best of Breed winners. Winner: Hyaku Shiki "While the Gouf Ignited is a strong MSiA release, the Hyaku Shiki delivers volumes in accessories, articulation, and appearance. The suit comes with accessories to recreate nearly any scene from the show, and some from the new movies as well. The suit boasts articulation to the point where it is practically unwarranted. It has double ball jointed wrists and enough joints in the feet to give my brain difficulty wrapping itself around it. The paint used is fantastic and delivers a great sheen that looks true to the suit. I don't feel the Gouf delivers quite as much in any of these categories - the accessories are pretty much what's nessecarry, the articulation gets the job done, but is pretty standard for the line nowadays, and the colors are pretty standard too. While a very strong release, I just don't feel it can really compete with the Shiki when it comes to quality. Then again, we're kind of comparing apples to oranges with this one - the price point and manufacturing processes from MSiA to EMSiA are different enough where the two are really totally different breeds. Even the best of the MSiA line is going to have trouble competing with an EMSiA, which I feel is really evidenced here." -Tercero "I'm quite fond of the GOUF's design, but what makes it fall short of being great is the poor accessories. I've complained about this before, but here it is again: No extra hand to hold the heatwhip in the other hand, the static whip that wasn't changed between iterations, the iffy shield design. The backpack is great, and it's good to see that it's being incorperated into the Akatsuki pack, but still, unlike, lets say, the Hi-Zack, which was the full package deal (full weapon load and good articulation and sculpt) the GOUF lands short, so the as far as I'm concerned the 'Shiki and the GOUF aren't even in the same catagory. Another odd thing is that the SEED grunts haven't incorperated basic ver. 2 gimmicks, like the ball joint foot, which strikes me as kind of odd. It looks like this year's crop of MSIA are going to be much stronger then last year's with the chockfull of goodies Zudah, the Hazel (which looks like it's pushing the limits of MSIA engineering) and the fan-favorite/not scrimped on in terms of engineering Akatsuki." -hydrogenizedsoy "I own both the Shiki and the GOUF. My GOUF has a bad right arm that just doesn't go anything but besides that the figure is pretty good, but the Shiki has beat in everything, better articulation, better acessories, better paint job(the GOUF has this wierd plastic feeling to it)." -Cerpin Taxt "I don't disagree with the sentiment expressed regarding competition between MSiA and EMIA, but as limited as the year's offerings were to begin with, this may have been a matter of bad timing in introducing this category. We can but hope that 2007 will give us a broader range and a more level field of competition for GOTY '07." -ExVee Overall Our picks of best and worst of the year. ExVee's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki I mean, come on. You expected me to have a different answer? For me, the Shiki was the absolute highlight of my year's MSiA purchases. ExVee's Loser: EMIA Gundam I can only explain calling this worst for the simple reason that it has no excuse. Beyond basically pioneering a single new joint type, it does nothing really new, and nothing particularly well. Visually and mechanically, I find it to be inferior to its immediate predecessor, the Second Version, which itself set a benchmark for how MSiA after were to be constructed. If anything, it seems more like the Second Version and EMIA represent different developmental paths from the original MSiA Gundam, more than six years older. This one starts from scratch, rather than building on what's been done already. RAC's Winner: EMIA Hyaku Shiki While it would be hard to disappoint me after the figure it replaced, EMIA Shiki does just about everything right. Great to look at, to pose, and fun Battle-Scarred parts make for a well-rounded package. In my opinion, it's the definitive version of the design, and a figure you can hold up and say "This is what Extended MSiA means, and this is why it should cost more than a regular figure." RAC's Loser: EMIA Gundam It was a tough call picking between this and Methuss for Worst of the Year. It's been a good year MSiA-wise, and these are the only two I really have big problems with. (And it's not really fair to pick a reissue for this category, I think.) Thing is, while Methuss' Mobile Armor Mode is pain personified, Mobile Suit Mode is pretty good, and everything that form needs functions pretty well. And the accessories are pretty nice, remolding the old MBL liberally for a sleeker look. However, EMIA Gundam only has one mode, and it's iffy. I like some things about it, but its hands are stupidly big, the face is weird, and the accessories are purposely drab even though the animation itself provides more colorful alternatives. Worst of all, the shield design is really, really dumb, A throwback that flies in the face of seven years of improved MSiA development. Since none of its problems can be shifted out of sight and ignored, EMIA Gundam ultimately wins the day- if you can call it winning. Magnus's Winner: EMIA Nu Gundam Seriously, go buy this guy. Magnus's Loser: Gundam Expo 2006 Strike Freedom A metallic-painted turd is still a turd. Albeit a shiny one.	Latest Reviews: 2012/02/03 - Kamen Rider Den-O Climax Form 2012/02/03 - SH Figuarts Kamen Rider Den-O Climax Form 2012/02/02 - Kamen Rider Den-O Five Form Change Set 2012/02/02 - Momotaros Uncontracted Version 2012/02/01 - Kamen Rider Den-O Liner Form 2012/02/01 - Kamen Rider Den-O Plat Form & Momotaros Search Reviews Older Archived Updates

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