Bandai Mobile Suit Gundam 30th Anniversary Okawara's Origin

As per a recent request we'll take a closer look at one of the special 30th anniversary Gashapon sets that Bandai released in 2009. The figures are based on famous designer Okawara Kunio's original mobile suit designs and some of the figures have literally been sculpted in very peculiar ways to follow the perspectives seen on the original drawings. These figures are pretty hard to find and I had to use some secondary sources to dig up a couple more facts. For example, the Gundam Ace Magazine logo at the bottom of the booklet threw me off a bit leading me to believe this may have been some kind of cross-promotional release but it looks to be nothing more than a simple advert, stating that the magazine releases on the 26th of every month.


I bought these items second hand back in 2019 and as you can see I don't have any parts of the original packaging included. According to Hobbylink Japan the figures were released as regular Gashapon capsule toys sold eight to a box. The release date is June 2009 for the first wave, while this second release most likely followed in the autumn of that same year.


This parts explosion shot reveals that we are mainly dealing with rigid figures that have shaped pegs designed to pose arms and legs in a very specific way. Thin of these figures as little statuettes with zero play value.


Each figure comes with a tiny little Okawara Kunio memorial plaque that can stand upright at a slight tilt. You can bet that these will be missing on a lot of second-hand figures out there so pay special attention when hunting if this is a concern of yours.



MS-06F Zaku II


This set is very Zeon-heavy, since the RX-78 and the Guncannon were featured in the first wave. I find it refreshing that there wasn't a repeat Gundam thrown in here for the sake of it, which is often the case. Anyway, this Zaku figure quickly shows what is so odd about this figure series. Although tiny these Gashapon are painted to a very nice standard featuring highlights and shading as well as special markings, something very unusual for tiny PVC minis. In contrast, the back of the figure is almost entirely monotone which looks really odd but I guess with the idea of you viewing the figure straight on from the front this was not going to be a problem.


Size and colour comparison with a Zaku II from the Ichiban Kuji one-shot "Solid Essence Collection" from 2020 and a STANDart 1/220 scale Zaku F2 Type. These figures don't really match any other figure series out there although you could potentially press a few of them into service in a diorama with smaller 1/280 or 1/300 Gashapon figures.






MS-07B Gouf


Up next is my favourite figure from this set, a Heat Rod-swinging Gouf in a great looking pose. The only complaint is the left foot resting atop a cloud-like white little stand but you should be able to work him into a diorama setting really nicely. Notice all the highlights painstakingly applied to the heat rod, this is really nice for a Gashapon.






RX-75 Guntank


This figure set has been doing great so far but here is where it all falls off a cliff. The idea of creating these peculiar messed-up perspective designs doesn't work at all in my opinion. if you really wanted to highlight the look of the original paintings maybe Bandai should have released these as flat rubber keyring mascots or acrylic sheets. Or why not, you know just let the figure keep its realistic proportions and put this neat paintjob on top. It doesn't help that it sits elevated from the ground on this blue mini-dais. I don't like this miniature at all.






HT-01B Magella Attack


The Magella Attack Tank unfortunately suffers from the same issues as the Guntank, this one looks like it has driven halfway into a swamp and got stuck. What a shame since the paintjob is so vibrant and colourful. Oh well, at least it save me the trouble of trying to find more units to squad-build because these things are really hard to find.






So there you have it folks, a short review today but there isn't really a whole lot to say about these minis or things to compare them to. I am still missing a couple of the first wave which includes the RX-78, Guncannon, Char's Zaku II and cursiously a Zaku I. There is also a third wave of repeats of the Gundam, Gouf and two Zaku IIs that stand on large rectangular white bases. I have them around here somewhere and they will eventually find there way on here but those are just more of the same basically.