Dancouga

Dancouga would not seem to be immediately suited for a smallish action figure. The bulkiness and scale of the design are pure classic gokin. But with strong advances in toy engineering, manufacturers like Kaiyodo and Yamato are rethinking these assumptions. Dancouga arrives courtesy of HobbyLink Japan

Dan arrives in a nice, if slightly over-sized, window box.

Accessories consist of a rear-mounted cannon, a sword, and a few sets of hands.

Also included are a little clear box (hand storage?) and a plastic chip for some sort of promotion.

I’ve been sat out most of the Revoltech releases after the first series. If Dancouga is any indication, the line has come a long way.

The complexity of the sculpt and engineering are impressive, particularly at this small of a scale. The huge amount of joints (both revoltech and monoshaft) and parts provide nearly unlimited movement.

Revoltechs are, above all, posing figures. Kaiyodo figures were infamous in the old days for their obtuse jointwork and bizarrely mannered posing. There’s still a little of the old Kaiyodo in this figure, which I find charming. While you can get Dan in a neutral pose, the logic of the joints makes it more intuitive to place him into heroic anime-inspired poses.

A typical minimal Revoltech stand is included, and allow for flying and standing poses.

Overall this is a very satisfying and fun incarnation of one of my favorite bots. And, unlike some other Dancouga figures, the Revoltech’s head actually stays on.