Hello Fwoosh readers! This is Josh from CollectionDX.com, and today as part of SUPER REVIEW WARS DX I’m going to write about a toy that I both love and hate: Kanti (Atomsk Ver.) from FLCL by Sentinel.
Sentinel is a relatively new Japanese toy company that first made strides with its Riobot and Rio-Bone action figure lines. They’ve made the first high-end figures of the iconic robot from Gainax’s whacked out anime FLCL (Fooly Cooley). The toys are exceptionally nice looking with a tendency to fall apart, or over, when you look at them the wrong way.
It’s almost pointless to explain the plot of FLCL, but all you know is that Kanti is a robot with a TV for a head. He’s normally teal and peaceful. However, when danger is near, he can absorb the boy Naota and channel the power of Atomsk to turn into his kick-ass red form.
I’ve reviewed the teal version over at CollectionDX, but let’s take a look at the Atomsk Ver.
Packaging
The box is nice and bright, with a big clear window up front. The trouble is everything is so wrapped in plastic that you never get a good look at the toy or accessories. There are flaps at the top and bottom that are secured with a black P sticker that over time loses its adhesive.
Inside the figure is sandwiched between two layers of plastic, with the stand being taped to the other side.
Kanti
Kanti is a lanky, top-heavy figure. The joints aren’t that tight so you can imagine what happens next. Getting Kanti to pose without a stand is an exercise in futility. He just falls over and over.
Fortunately Kanti looks as good posing on the ground as he does standing up. How many action figures do you know that can pull off these poses?
To use the stand, you need to remove a panel off of the back, remove the pin, and then put the panel back on. Then you can insert the clear peg. Once attached, the stand enables you to pose Kanti much more confidently.
There are variant hands — three sets. Closed fists, splayed hands, and guitar holding hands. Each pops on and off at a joint.
Kanti’s head features a removable screen in which you can insert the Atomsk symbol from the variant head. Each time the figure falls over (which is a lot) the orange visor pops out and you have to chase the small piece of paper wherever it lands.
The variant damaged head is an incredible pain to put on.
The neck is a dual ball joint and the cup on the bottom is too firm to accept the ball. Each attempt results in parts falling off of the figure as you struggle to get the head on. I almost didn’t bother putting the cape accessory on because it would require me removing the head again.
But first, let me talk about the guitar, and the hands required of it. The guitar is a bass guitar, and probably patterned after a Rickenbacker. It’s nicely sculpted and has a subtle sunburst finish. On the back is a pull cord which activates the guitar as a weapon.
The hands, rather than being sculpted to actually hold the guitar, are instead sculpted with a large tab that runs the length of the palm in which you are supposed to wedge the neck of the guitar into. As you can guess, it doesn’t work, and the guitar barely stays in place. Another frustration.
But damn, does it look great when you finally get it into a good pose. It’s such a dynamic figure that you almost want to forgive the frustration of getting parts to stay on.
To make it more dynamic, you need to add the cape.
The rubber cape comes in two parts, with the lower part attaching to the cowl with a revoltech-style joint. Yes you have to remove the head, but it just really makes the figure.
So yeah, it’s an import figure, and as such, it retailed at 5,800 yen (about 60 bucks). It’s a lot compared to domestic figure releases, but it’s on par with other releases of its type. However, aftermarket prices have pushed its price to two to three times it’s MSRP in about two years since its release in 2012. Prepare to pay a lot if you want to get your hands on this beautiful but frustrating release.
If you liked this review, please come check us out at CollectionDX.com where we review import toys, action figures, and other weird crap. You’ll like it, I promise
