Levi

Levi is the first release in Sen-ti-nel’s new Brave Act line if 1/8 scale figures. These fixed-pose statues represent characters from popular series in Japan, and what better way to start with one of the current most popular series around, Attack on Titan.

I know we talk a lot about AoT here at CDX, but trust us, it’s a really cool show.

Levi is the leader of the Survey Corps, charged with leading excursions outside of the city walls. As such, he is a skillful fighter and one of the most talented users of the 3D Maneuver gear. To be honest, I didn’t like Levi at first – he just looked odd with his furrowed brow and half-opened eyes. But once you get to know him he is a great character.

The Brave-Act figure comes in an attractive window box that allows full view of the figure inside. On the bottom is the sticker from the new “official” US distributor for Sen-ti-nel merchandise, Zwyer Industries. Also, because this is an official US release, the top has an added Funimation sticker, as they are the license holder to AoT in the states.

When you first remove the figure, pay attention to all the little silver tabs on the maneuver gear. These placeholders for replacement blades can be a bit loose and may fall off during shipping. One of mine was found in the wrapping plastic when I thought I had lost it.

In order to assemble the figure, you need to attach several tubes to the Maneuver Gear. Rather than struggle with which pipes go where, why not watch’s Sen-ti-nel’s assembly video.

I found that getting the tubes on was easy, but getting them to stay on was difficult. The big trouble point for me was the ones on the back of the Maneuver gear. The pipes just aren’t pliable enough to stay attached through such tight bends. I just ended up stuffing mine behind the gear and it looks just fine.

Levi features a moveable head with the joint at the base of the neck. You can remove the head in order to remove the Survey Corps cloak. The cloak has a nice raised emblem of the Corps on the back.

The blades for the maneuver gear fit snugly into the triggers. In the show, each member of the survey corps, as part of their Maneuver Gear, carries four spare blades on either side of them. With this figure, the spares are placeholder tabs only, and not full blades.

Extra hands are included that allow Levi to hold the blades backward as they often do when in flight. The triggers are removable, and must be attached to the new hands in reverse.

The Maneuver gear is only articulated at the waist hinge, and then, only to allow for the blade holders to snap into place. Aside from the head, there is no articulation on the figure.

Levi is anchored to a nicely detailed base and is not removable. The base is hollow on the bottom, and mine had a paint smudge. This is not a big deal, as you never see the bottom, but it is worth mentioning.

The real selling point of something like this is the extreme attention to detail. Levi looks as if he jumped out of your screen onto your table. Each and every fold, button, seam and strap is rendered in exacting detail.

There are no paint flaws on this figure. There are no manufacturing flaws. In fact the only two issues I see are the small smudge on the bottom of the base, and the difficulty keeping hoses in place.

That said, he looks amazing.

Brave Act Levi is being brought to the states by Zwyer Industries, and will be available in early March at retailers such as www.toyslogic.com, www.robot4less.com, www.imageanime.com and www.tatsuhobby.com.

Thanks to Zwyer Industries for the sample!