The super deformed Gundam Gashapon figure has been an institution for some 30 years but the situation is pretty bleak in 2025. With the quiet fold of Gashapon Senshi Forte in December 2022 (with a set that took me one and a half year to even get my hands on, review pending....) we have been left with Mobile Suit Ensemble to fly the flag and its output has taken a bit of a nosedive in recent years as well. However, all is not lost. Bandai have been busy throwing out new figure series in 2025 and Capsule Index is the perhaps best bet going forward. Released in July 2025 this set of four figures appeared pretty much side by side next to another fresh offering - Superior Define - an unpainted model-kit take on the SD format which mostly looks like a dumbed down version of the Gundam Artifact line. At the side we also have Mobile Suit Gundam bitlot, a series of articulated mascots sporting both mobile suits and characters.
Here is a look at the two sides of the booklet when folded out correctly. Since these are Gashapon machine figures there is no external packaging available which is a bit boring, it would have been nice to see packaging similar to what was used for Senshi Forte or even Gundam Converge but hey, at least I don't have to store more empty boxes in a cupboard so there is that...
Box packaging or not, the figures do come in compartmentalized plastic bags which are very similar to the method used for the Gundam Converge figures. My immediate reaction at this stage was that oh, it seems we have to deal wit a lot of soft and bendy plastic components and there are also no supporting cardboard pieces inside the bags as is normally the case with the Converge figures (not that they do a terribly good job a lot of the time but at least they tried...).
Here you can see packaging with barcode which I believe is the online order packaging solution if you go through the Premium Bandai preorder channel. We've seen this rather barcode-focused packaging used for many different figures, Mobile Suit Ensemble, Bandai Gasha Portraits and Bandai Aqua Shooters spring to mind immediately. The colour-coding is a nice touch that I haven't seen before.
CPID : 001 - ZGMF/A-262B Strike Freedom Gundam Type II
Let's kick things of with figure number one, and immediately we see what Capsule Index is all about. We have here the Mighty Freedom in a static pose made out of bendy PVC plastic but pretty good paint applications all around. The figure comes in a flying pose and so a little circular transparent stand is provided which has a stick with a shaped peg inserted into the mobile suit's groin area and a simple ball joint attaching to the base which will give you the option to lean the figure a bit in different directions. I don't know if I think fancy suit designs with thin wings and swords to be the right fit for a PVC figure series, this material seems better fit for bulky suits like the Zaku, Dom or Qubeley. You'll have to bring out your hairdryer or hot water bath to straighten this bird out.
Parts-wise there isn't a whole lot going on here. Assembly is minimal and the various components all have distinctly shaped pegs that only match one place and can only be inserted one way so you will have to start abusing the parts if you wish to come up with custom poses. So far there are also no option parts available for Capsule Index and in my opinion it is best if it stays that way, let this be a simple series of expressive poses and that's that. By the way, I don't know what it is about that sculpt but the golden fins look like fingers so much that it becomes a bit distracting to my eye.
Here we have side-by-side comparison of the Mighty Freedom next to its larger cousins from Gundam Converge #25 (combination of figures 291+292) and Mobile Suit Ensemble Part 28 (combination of figures 185+186).
CPID : 002 - NOG-M2D1/E Black Knight Squad Cal-re.A
The clumsily named Cal-re.A is another fancy design ready to go toe-to-toe with the Freedom in the looks department. It has lovely gold-accented armour and jewel-like purple and turquoise detail sprinkled into its overall off-white armour. When the hocus-pocus Levitators activate to provide lift the suit is lit up by a red angelic-wing effect that immediately draws the eye. While our SD figure retains a fair bit of painted detail especially on the head and shoulders the rest of the body is of course a bit toned down. If anything the mobile suit designers should know better when they bring their ideas to life - be a bit mindful of the restrictions of a factory assembly line too would you?
Save for the much larger Mobility Joint Gundam figure (which I still haven't assembled or reviewed, oops...) this is the second instance of the Cal-re.A in Gashapon form and it is looking pretty great. I am tempted to hand it over to a commissioned painter to touch it up even further. The stand could have benefitted from a few more millimetres of height as the figure is almost dragging its blades along the ground unless you tilt it backwards. She is about to be released in Ensemble Part 29 this September but I haven't yet seen any announcement for Converge.
CPID : 003 - ZGMF-MM07 Z'Gok (SEED Freedom ver.)
And now for something completely different, a compact and stubby suit without fancy wings and elongated blades to swing around, how does this fare in Gashapon form? Well, predictably, much better. We have a bit of a bend on the horn of the Justice that is peeking out at the top there but otherwise she's in great shape. Beautiful paintjob on the arms there even though I do detect the odd smudge or stain here and there it overall looks really crisp and clean. I notice that black colour has been applied all around the head, something Gashapon figures often skip on Z'Gok figurines but not here. The pose is very dynamic, perhaps a little bit too dynamic for my taste, it looks more like part of a dance routine than a concerted effort to strike someone.
This being the only grounded mobile suit of the bunch it has a base with two pegs that insert into the figure's feet. On a sturdy Z'Gok this is not a problem although the slight warp of the legs means it doesn't sit perfectly on the base without treatment. Not a big deal and the figure will stand unaided perfectly fine as well - something that may well be preferable as its wide stance has the feet reaching outside of the edges of the base anyway. I am still pleased that Bandai decided to keep the footprint of the figures conveniently small, I can't stand oversized round bases on larger prize figures.
When Capsule Index was first announced it seemed to me that the figures may well be compatible with the previous generation of SD figures; that is Gashapon NEXT, DASH and Senshi Forte. However, as you can see here the Capsule Index figure towers over the Senshi Forte (Universal Century-type) Z'Gok while in turn being dwarfed by the Converge representation which also comes loaded with a M2X32E Volantes flight pack.
CPID : 004 - gMS-Ω GQuuuuuuX (Omega Psycommu Activated)
The funkily named GQuuuuuuX - a name that so often confuses online translation tools that tend to rename it into Sieg Axe (which is a fantastic moniker btw) - has been relegated to the jumbo slot of this set which surprised me a little; you'd think it would be plastered all over the promotional material as SEED freedom is already yesterday's news. And while the figure may not be as flashy as its winged colleagues it sure does its own thing. I'm trying to figure out exactly what is going on here; are we flying or running, attacking or parrying? This pose is absolutely wild and unlike anything I have ever seen before.
I'm not sure why but the GQuuuuuuX figure comes across as much smaller than its SEED Freedom companions. It may be related to the drastic pose where it is leaning forward heavily and the left arm nearly disappears from view completely but it definitely feels one size smaller. It doesn't matter though as long as future Capsule Index figures stay in their respective series' scale.
The style of the Gundam Converge figure that released around the same time in June is night and day different from the CI-design. Where the SD figure is given space to shine in a really dynamic slash the bigger figure looks stocky and stiff in comparison. The colours are more vibrant on the GC figure and of it also has a bit more detail but overall both figures are painted very well.
The future?
All in all a decent showing for the first instance of Capsule Index. Bandai has already teased the second volume which will feature another two suits from SEED Freedom plus the Aerial from Witch and the Red Gundam from GQuuuuuuuX. I wouldn't mind it if this series continued to focus on new franchises such as these, allowing itself to dig deeper into each IP. We really don't need anymore incarnations of Universal Century evergreens, let this Gacha series do its own thing for as long as it lasts (which, presumably, won't be that long...).
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