Gundam Converge EX 33 : NZ-333 Alpha Azieru

Once the large mobile armors began invading the Gundam Converge line I think we all saw the Alpha Azieru coming. The only question would be, would it be a bit of a cop-out, like the tiny Rafflesia and Shamblo, or a majestic piece like the Neo Zeong? Finally the AA was announced and released in the EX line in February 2021. I have to confess I was a bit guarded about it, with the recent Byg Zam flop still fresh in my mind.


My first observation upon receiving this figure was that the box was wee bit smaller than I had anticipated. Not exactly a good sign, is it? The Alpha Azieru is an enormous mobile armor yet the box has about the same footprint as the one for the Neue Ziel although it is a couple of extra centimeters taller. Bandai's price idea was ¥4400 yet I kept seeing them go at a steady pace over at Mandarake for ¥5000 each.


The next mental hurdle was actually opening the box. I somehow expected a really messy figure to assemble but once the couple of bags came out I was pleasantly surprised to see that this would indeed be a quick build. The figure shares a build style similar to the Neo Zeong and Neue Ziel with mostly large chunky pieces of plastic ready to slap together.


While there are some components on a pair of runners, this is a really quick build. Do note however that the box art does not give a good breakdown of what you can expect to find inside the box. Granted most buyers were probably aware but it still seems a bit questionable to feature the banged up Re-GZ on the cover since you won't find it here but in the companion option parts set. I'll assume the text on the box says something to that effect but it still seems a bit shady to me.


The Azieru figure continued to throw my expectations off. I was prepared to go through a couple of builds but there really only is one mode to be built with the parts in this box. There are no options or tweaks so you can just slap it all together and consumer all the components and the end result will be like you see here. The figure has a really Converge look and feel to it and the colours and proportions feel exactly right.


Articulation is down to an absolute minimum; there are only a few limbs that can be swung or lowered a bit. The main sore point here is the funnel weapon systems. Coming off of that sprue they will have many ugly marks that you have to take care of somehow. I tried to just rotate them inwards but with two or three marks spread out on each component it is hard to cover up. There is also no denying that this figure is a bit shorter than I had expected but perhaps that is just a blessing in disguise? Let's see how it holds up against some mobile suits.


Comparative size


Teamed up with the Sazabi and Nu Gundam from Converge #01. How do you feel about the size? Personally I think it suits them quite well. Adding more height to the figure doesn't really make it look more interesting after all, rather more like an oversized pen. I quite like the black base and it goes well together with the smaller Converge figures too.


Could the Converge Alpha Azieru be of interest to Mobile Suit Ensemble collectors? I don't see why not. The effect isn't that much different compared to Converge figures although if you like to place your Ensemble figures on their clear stands they will of course come up a bit towards the waist of the AA. My feeling is that Bandai seems to love recycling figures between their figure lines though, so who knows, they might make an insanely expensive Azieru in the Ensemble line so you may want to hold off and wait for one to be announced.


And here we have the AA together with some of the decently sized Converge mobile armor figures. The Neue Ziel on the left is my usual benchmark and as you can see the AA is pretty much the same head height which I think is fine. While it could have made sense to increase its head height a bit to around the same as the Neo Zeong on the right I don't think you miss out on a whole lot this way and it will definitely be easier to display now. Notice also how the style of the sculpt follows the same look and feel of the Neue Ziel and the Queen Mansa, they look great together.


Gundam Converge vs. Gashapon Senshi Forte EX 06

The real comparison I wanted to do however, was against the very large Gashapon Warrior Senshi Forte version from 2019. I have been really happy about that figure (once I got past building it, which was a bit tedious) and in no way did I expect the Converge figure to be able to measure up against it. So let's see how they compare.


I find it really fascinating that the two figures are so similar and yet so different. While they mostly have the exact same features in their sculpts, the proportions, size or angle of each individual component differs a lot, sometimes drastically so. The Converge figure has a more organic and rounded feel to it whereas the Senshi Forte figure looks like an early build, with sharper angles and more straight lines. It is a bit ironic that the larger figure was made to accompany smaller Gashapon sized figures while the smaller Converge figure is paired with larger Shokugan mobile suits. I think the size of the Senshi Forte figure is better suited for being placed next to the Converge Neo Zeong but overall either figure could do the job equally well regardless of if you want to pair it up with Senshi Forte or Converge figures. I think it is mainly a matter of taste (and the fact that the Senshi Forte figure is now quite rare on the market...).


Conclusion

Overall I feel pleasantly surprised by the Converge Alpha Azieru and I think it is one of the better mobile armors in the line. We can save all the finicky option parts and modes for a separate option parts set review because I haven't had the mental strength to get into that one yet, there are just so many parts...