I initially had some of these reveals in my top picks post, but I decided to separate those I consider to be more of curiosity pieces. So, here we go.
MODEROID Vandread Dita
A common thing I’m seeing with these releases, as well as those that I’m not covering, is that a good chunk of them were from anime produced by GONZO. You know that studio that used a lot of CG with their mecha series, so much so that they rebranded themselves as GONZO Digimation at one point. And there’s no better series to illustrate this than Vandread, and if you’ve been watching anime in the early 2000s, you know what I’m talking about.
That said, I’m not sure if it’s because of the dated CG or just my kid vision, but I never understood the designs of these Vandread mecha. And so, I never really appreciated them unlike other series that came earlier. That’s also the reason why I really appreciate that Good Smile Company is releasing this guy as a MODEROID kit.
To those unfamiliar, Vandread Dita is actually a combination of two machines. the humanoid SP Vanguard that only males can pilot, and the fighter-like SP Dread piloted by females. I don’t think we’re getting any combinations with this kit but at least we can now better appreciate its design. That said, I’m not the biggest fan of the design now that I have a better idea of how it looks — primarily thanks to how it looks… how do I put it… 2000s CG mecha. Basically, the design didn’t age well, at least for me, but that’s not saying I won’t give the kit a chance so we’ll see.
MODEROID Take no Yamikazuchi
Okay, that’s quite the mouthful.
Hailing from the series Kannazuki no Miko or Destiny of the Shrine Maiden in English is MODEROID Take no Yamikazuchi and I have zero idea of what this is all about. Though I have heard of Kannazuki no Miko, another series from the 2000s and has yuri overtones in it. Yes, the Witch from Mercury wasn’t the first one to do yuri mecha. And that’s everything I know about this guy.
This kit is more of a curiosity piece for me, and I do appreciate that Good Smile Company is continuing to touch upon series and franchises the larger companies have no intentions of doing. The design itself is very Brave Series-esque and has quite the number of gimmicks based on the reveal trailer. This doesn’t really translate to a purchase, but we’ll see, I do am curious with this guy.
MODEROID Demonbane
I’m placing MODEROID Demonbane in this list primarily because I have extremely basic familiarity with this property coming out of watching the 2006 series way back when. I do find Demonbane’s design somewhat interesting thanks to its unusual proportions and overall unique look. For the MODEROID release, Good Smile Company would be leveraging the designs they have from the Hagane Works. It also makes me curious which elements would be carried from the Hagane Works version to the MODEROID kit. Obviously, there won’t be any die cast components, but I hope some of the more intricately colored parts will be pre-painted to an extent.
MODEROID Shin Getter Dragon
For the most part, I’m already satisfied with my Revoltech Getter Robo collection as I do have most of the primary forms available. I say most because they didn’t do a Revoltech for Shin Getter Dragon right over here. To those unfamiliar, Shin Getter Dragon is actually not canon to the original Ken Ishikawa manga, and it actually made its debut in the game Getter Robo Daikessen.
It follows Shin Getter 1 as the second Getter Robo mecha to get a MODEROID release, and it makes me curious as to what direction they’re taking this franchise. It does have the same aesthetic as the “Infinitism” kits that Bandai Spirits does. I wanted to say that if they do a broad selection of Getter Robo mecha enough to replace my Revoltech collection, then I will dive into this. But then again, by the time I’ve made my decision, it might be hard to get a hold of these kits.
MODEROID Shikon
Gunparade March is another mecha franchise coming from the early 2000s that made its jump from game to anime, the latter being Gunparade March: The New March. It basically tells an alternate history where World War II was interrupted by an alien invasion that left over half of the planet under the control of the aliens. After half a century, humans have built large humanoid machines called Humanoid Walking Tanks to combat the invaders. And I assume MODEROID Shikon over here is a kit of these HWTs.
They only showed a gray CG render here and this is likely a design from the games, but from the anime clips I saw online, these HWTs are mostly drab in color, mainly shades of gray. Despite the absence of colors, these renders should provide a good baseline of how these kits would look, especially for their sculpt and proportions.
Out of these kits, the one I’m most curious about is Vandread Dita because of early 2000s nostalgia, but also because this is the first time, I got to see its actual design, years removed from its original broadcast. Followed by Demonbane, mainly because of the faint familiarity I have with the title. Everything else is up in the air and it’s a case of cherry picking after first checking out reviews.
