As much as I like to moan about Bandai not milking the mass-production type mobile suits enough it is clear that most customers are indeed interested in the centrepiece designs and sometimes they sell out quickly. You might recall the Aerial Gundam figure selling like hot cake requiring Bandai to reissue it a couple of months later. The title figures from SEED Freedom also seem to have been performing really well although I am not 100% sure the situation was as bad as with the Aerial. Where the Aerial got a straight reprint (the first of its kind really) the Freedom figures are coming back with slightly altered appearance as "Converge Revives".
This revive edition is a Premium Bandai release and shipped out in January 2025, a little less than a year from the original appearance of these two figures in Converge #24 which released in February 2024. It blurs the line further between retail and P-Bandai because Revive-releases were usually basic reissues in the regular retail line but here two figures have been packaged together and given a slightly altered appearance. The price was upped from two times the standard ¥630/693 to ¥2700/2970 which is very cheeky. However, I was able to pick this up on the secondary market for ¥2200 so not sure that price will be holding up.
This set was released in tandem with SEED Freedom Revive 02 which reissues the Mighty Strike Freedom also based on retail figures from Converge #25. That's a nice little box art-synergy they have going on there with the Compass insignia joining up between the two boxes.
The figures are shipped in typical Converge retail bags stuffed inside a protective bubble wrap for some additional protection. As is usually the case with Gundam Converge releases there is no additional cardboard padding within and it is also not really needed.
Just like with previous Converge Revive sets this is a no-frills reissue as far as the components are concerned; you are getting the same type of parts as found in the retail edition with no extra gear or accessories included.
STTS-909 Rising Freedom Gundam (Special Marking ver.)
If you are familiar with the Converge Rising Freedom figure since before there is little to surprise you here. There is a neat Compass insignia on its chest now and that is pretty much it. if you come across the figures in the field you can also identify them based on their different item numbers printed underneath the base. The retail edition is stamped with number 2671901, the new edition has number 2773217 instead.
As you can see in this comparison photo the colours are pretty much completely intact. While it is not unusual for Converge figures to have slightly different palette choices for reissued figures the Revive figures have always kept the colours the same; the fact that an insignia has been added is a first of its kind for Revive.
STTS-808 Immortal Justice Gundam (Special Marking ver.)
The Immortal Justice follows the same template as the revived Freedom, with the new insignia application on the chest. Unlike the Freedom figure this figure does not have an item number printed underneath its base, that area is surprisingly empty. I also noticed that both of these figure have very loose joints, not sure if the paint application is to blame here. The arms and wings like to fall out very easily and the base doesn't really attach at all. Due to its tiny feet the Justice has a special clear adapter piece - the adapter attaches to the base and the figure slides its heel into the adapter. Neither of these two connecting points is firm and so you will have a real mess on your hands every time you try to lift it up. Not sure if gluing everything tight is the best option but it did cross my mind.
Side-by-side view with the insignia-less retail figure on the left. As you can seem the two are otherwise practically identical. While Revive issues do not introduce new parts into the mix (at least not so far) it still would have been nice to get an alternate weapon included in the box as a further carrot to purchasing both editions.
Here is the entire SEED Freedom revive family from sets 01 and 02. All in all this is a nice release but nothing special if you already own the retail figures from before. The Compass insignia upgrade is so minor that it really doesn't count in my opinion. If you are budget conscious and don't yet own either figure variant you might be getting a better deal looking up the retail figures instead of this slightly overpriced reissue.
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