Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. Eight Elements

[Note: I've updated this post with the more detailed review I posted on my blog, which you can see here.]

The Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. Eight Elements from Code Geass has finally arrived in figure form from Bandai’s Robot Damashii line, and let me tell you right away that the wait was worth it. Bandai have put together another extremely solid entry in their Robot Damashii line, topping the already-impressive quality of their Lancelot Albion figure. After the arsenal of accessories that figure came with, some may be disappointed to see a few less items in the box with the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N., but there are a couple of things to consider. First, the Guren itself is a bit larger than the Lancelot. Secondly, and no less importantly, Bandai have included just about all the accessories the figure needed. Of course you may feel differently, but I think that including accessories just for the sake of it is pointless and doesn’t add any real value, so I’m quite happy with what is in the box here… not to mention the excellent figure itself.

So what is included? Along with the Knightmare Frame itself, you’ll find two slash harkens (plus their unfired forms which attach to the shoulder joint), an MVS fork knife, two spare left hands (making three in total: an open palm, a fist and a hand for holding the knife), a harken booster and energy disc for use with the Radiant Wave Surger (the Guren’s right arm) and, of course, the incredible energy wings that set the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. and Lancelot Albion apart from the rest of the Knightmare Frames in Code Geass. Like the Albion, you’ll also get two small pieces to act as “closed” wings.

All of those accessories are pretty self-explanatory, except perhaps for the accessories pertaining to the Radiant Wave Surger. The harken booster is what enables the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. to fire its right forearm like a slash harken, and while you can attach the booster to the figure you can’t actually display it in a mid-firing position as there’s no wire included to do so. I don’t know why Bandai didn’t include– no wait, I know exactly why they didn’t include one: they’ll be releasing an additional accessory set for the Lancelot Albion and Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. called the Hyper Set early next year. I’ve seen people suggest that you could just buy a piece of wire but those people probably haven’t seen the figure; sadly it’s not that simple. The wire that comes with the Hyper Set doesn’t attach to the figure through holes that are already there, it has its own connectors that you’d need to emulate if you wanted a decent solution. It’s a little disappointing to see Bandai exclude such a simple accessory from being included with the figure.

Missing wires notwithstanding, everything that should be in the box with the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. is in there… including a silly piece of green plastic that’s supposed to look like an energy disc to be fired from the Radiant Wave Surger. It’s nicely coloured and textured, but personally I think effects parts of this nature rarely work. The aforementioned Hyper Set includes an alternative red version, which I don’t think makes much difference in terms of looking like an energy disc. Bandai have done a decent job with the construction on this piece, but it’s just not an accessory that I think works and I’d have preferred if they included a wire for the harken booster instead.

Aside from these relatively minor issues with accessories, I have nothing to complain about with this figure. If anyone is still on the fence about the Robot Damashii line, the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. should win you over. The colouring, build quality and finish are impeccable, and the design is very faithful to the source material. There’s plenty of articulation, allowing you to recreate most poses from the anime with joints that are solid and tight yet easy to adjust without feeling like you’re going to break them. The energy wings are much more richly coloured that the Lancelot Albion’s, are more posable thanks to an extra joint in the middle and really make the Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. stand out amongst your figure collection. All up, this is a stunning figure of a really great mech design. For anything it suffers with accessory oddities, it makes up for in sheer aesthetic and construction quality. If you’re a Code Geass fan and didn’t order this figure during the long wait for its release, don’t wait any longer: this is a must have.