Yesterday I received several items in the mail, and two of them were these guys, the Revoltech Yamaguchi EvaEvo series Evangelion Provisional Unit 05, and Evangelion Mark .06.
Both of these Evangelion mechas were first introduced in the 2009 animated movie Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance which was the second part of a four part Rebuild of Evangelion movie series mean't to reinvent the Evangelion anime series as its creator, Hideaki Anno, as he originally wanted it in the first place. These two units were not present in the original anime, and are exclusive to the Rebuild series. Evangelion Provisional Unit 05 (left) was featured pretty briefly at the start of the film, battling the unnamed Third Angel, piloted by Mari Makinami Illustrious, a spunky hardcore Eva pilot who was also not present in the original series. The Mark .06 (right) was [SPOILER ALERT] revealed at the very end of the film piloted by Kaoru Nagisa. The Mark .06 I suspect will replace Unit 02 in protagonist Shinji Ikari and Kaoru's final showdown in the upcoming film, Evangelion 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.
Anyways, let's get these toy reviews rolling! Let's start with the Provisional Unit 05.
I bought the original figure for the Provisional Unit 05 back in 2010. That figure had various flaws such as the articulation not holding up, and parts falling off too easily, and was pretty fragile. So when I began investigating the EvaEvo sculpt, my goal was to find that this figure didn't have the same flaws. From the images I found, the figure seemed to be better than its 2009/2010 counterpart. In my rekindled mood to buy Evangelion items, I snagged this figure for a decent $32 price tag off of HobbyLink Japan. Upon receiving it, I was actually quite pleased with the figure! Several things were improved. First off the size of the figure was bumped up a little, allowing ease in handling it. Also the articulation in the lance on its right right has become more firm, and can hold a pose without it bending. The legs are much more steadier and can actually hold the figure up on its own, unlike the original figure. Also articulation in the waist area has vastly improved allowing the torso to bend forward and back, while the original allowed it to only twist left and right. I also have to note that the wheels on Unit 05's four feet do in fact spin, a detail not present on the original figure either.
Unlike the original figure, the EvaEvo figure of Unit 05 comes with a lot more accessories! Two pairs of hands/robotic claws are included - one pair are opened, the other pair are shut. Also four sets of smoother wheels are included, giving the illusion that they're spinning. Finally, like with almost all of the figures in the EvaEvo line, a part of the Angel it battles is also included. In Unit 05's case it is of the unnamed Third Angel from the start of the movie. It is pinned against a pillar, and the Eva's lance is pierced into it.
While I do find this figure a vast improvement over the original by a long shot, I have only one complaint. As seen in various photos of this figure, it shows it battling the Third Angel with the help of numerous stands. However, the figure is only included with one, and does not help at all when trying to recreate the scene, which renders much of the accessories moot. I don't know whether you can buy extra stands or what, but the lack of more stands to recreate the scene in the product photos does hinder the score I'm about to give this figure, unfortunately.
Out of score of five, I'm rating the Revoltech Yamaguchi EvaEvo Evangelion Provisional Unit 05 a three. Like I said, this figure is a major improvement over the original, but the lack of stands to accomplish the intended battle scene really sucks the value out of it. But still, the figure looks pretty neat displayed on its own anyway, without any supports too!
Anyways, with that done, let's move onto the Mark .06!
The Evangelion Mark .06 is an interesting Eva. Obviously it bears a striking resemblance to Eva Unit 01, but it's also different too. Its appearance in Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance was much more brief than the Provisional Unit 05, and yet it got itself a figure. I'm not complaining, but it's a really cool move by Kaiyodo, and a way for people to anticipate the third film in the series.
The figure stands at around 5 or 6 inches, the standard height for these figures essentially. Unlike the figures before and after, the Mark .06 does not come with an Angel accessory. However it comes with various hand gestures, its lance (as seen in the photo) and the moon with an LED light fixed into it. An alternate head is also supplied, which attaches to the moon and LED light to make its red visor glow. It's a neat effect in a darkened room. However, this accessory does have its flaws.
The moon accessory is mean't to replicate the Mark .06 arrival at the end of the second Evangelion movie. However, like with the Provisional Unit 05, its the lack of stands that hinder this effect. When propped up, the figure hardly is in a levitating position and its feet touch the ground, ruining the effect of it descending. I could also perch it up higher, but the stands can only hold so much weight and the figure as well as the moon accessory either tilts backwards or forwards, risking of tipping over. I would've preferred that a special stand have been made that would allow the figure and the accessory to be sturdier and high enough to replicate the levitating effect. So like with Unit 05, the Mark .06 is displayed on its own, which looks good regardless.
Overall, I'll give the Mark .06 a rating of three and a half out of five. This figure's issues regarding accessories isn't as bad as that for the previous figure. Despite that issue, the Mark .06 is well sculpted and a neat and unique piece in any Evangelion collection.
Right now I have my EvaEvo Evangelion Unit 03 in the mail. It should arrive hopefully by Friday. With that, here's a picture of my EvaEvo collection so far!
