Figma Rebuild of Evangelion Gendo Ikari review

Gendo Ikari is a bad father, and there is no other way to put it. He not only neglected his own son after the death of his wife, Yui, but he was an extremely manipulative man behind Nerv while secretly planning the Human Instrumentality Project in the background. While people really hated his original anime version, they started to appreciate the later appearances he had in some of the spin offs and especially in the reimagining known as Rebuild of Evangelion. Perhaps it stems from the fact that those projects don't use Hideaki Anno's past experience with his dad as an influence? Then again, he did want to make the series more accessible to non-fans of the original. That said, this release honestly came out of nowhere compared to the attention put towards the Evangelion Figuarts; I'm not sure if it's due to Rei and Asuka being cash cows, the inclusion of Shinji for that line, or Figma being far less known as a whole, but regardless, the Ikaris graduated into poseable figure territory. I'd love to see them do this to Misato and Ritsuko, but after getting this for cheap on eBay, let's see if he makes for a better figure than a dad.

Here we have Gendo Ikari in-hand. Kind of feels nice to be talking about a suited body that is not reused from a Marvel Legends of DC Multiverse figure, but that doesn't mean Gendo is going to be excited on his own. Don't get me wrong, he isn't an awful figure, far from it, but he isn't as flashy like the Eva pilots because of their suits or Misato because she's Misato. At the very least, the proportions are seemingly accurate to his character model and the paint is consistently applied. And while I find him somewhat plain, at least the white gloves and red shirt are unique to him specifically. That said, there are cuts in the jacket and pants meant for better range in the articulation, and while the darker color of the suit helps them stand out less, I should mention that they barely help with the improved range. Oh and I have a slightly small QC issue on the back of his pants like he has some flakes there.

His head sculpt is the most iconic aspect of his appearance, what with the visor he would wear specifically in the Rebuild series; I love the chrome red, and this instead of the sunglasses represents after he loses his eyes from using the key of Nebuchadnezzar to surpass humanity. I'm surprised by the blue on the edges, almost like they'd help him do an optics blast. Come to think of it, the design is closer to the Fox movie version of Cyclops, huh? As for accessories, you get an alternate jacket, a flight stand, a bunch of hands, his corrupted face with his eyes missing, and a forearm with a piece that makes it look like an air pump out of context...

His articulation consists of a double ball neck, ball joints for the shoulders, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, hinged elbows, double-swivel hinge wrists, double ball torso, ball jointed hips with slight drop downs, slight thigh rotation, hinged knees, and ankles that barely move given the pants molded over the shoes while the toes hinge. He's far from the most exciting figure to pose in this line, but what I can say is that he at least does the stuff the package and stock photos lets him do. One of the alternate hands is meant to go with that forearm piece to make it appear his hand is tucked in his pocket. Neat, I guess, but it feels more like another excuse for Good Smile to bump up the price for a mostly plain design. Otherwise, it's just hands and a faceplate that doesn't deny the Cyclops similarity allegations. Oh and he is shorter than someone like Wolverine, so who knows if he will even scale with the Figuarts of Shinji, Rei, and Asuka given that's a different company while Figmas of the two girls are expensive in the aftermarket. 

So now we went over everything the overall appearances, articulation, and accessories, what about the price? As far as I can tell, online websites, both Japanese and US-based, have it range between $75 to $115. For a figure like this to mostly come with more hands than anything, not even an alternate faceplate with normal glasses or a desk lile the Nendoroid, I would not recommend paying full price. It's like buying a mass retail 1/12 scale figure with just alternate hands (or a McFarlane release where there's nothing but the stand and card that all figures come with). That said, I got this for much cheaper on eBay, and given the seller hated the price like I did, he or she sold it to me for $36 plus shipping. It wasn't a knockoff, and I doubt Gendo would be popular enough to warrant knockoffs, but it's a bargain! So if you can get him for a price lower than everyone's standards towards him as a dad, then go for it. Otherwise, don't bother.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐