Gashapon Senshi Zero: Another new brand enters the fray

A reader comment introduced me to Bandai Namco's latest effort in the string of Gashapon super-deformed format. The couple of centimetres tall charming compact figures with large heads have been around for more than 25 years at this point but the past decade have seen them gradually perish into obscurity. The producer of the Senshi Forte line did his best to keep that line going for as long as it could but it lived its life in the shadow of the axe due to its high production costs - especially for painting. I would also hazard a guess that the increased complexity of the figures - as more and more joints and articulations were introduced - may have had something to do with it. Personally, I would like to see the return of the old simplistic SD Gundam Full Color format with tiny but decently painted figures without any articulation if need be, there are so many Gundam series that have been released since those days to add to the line-up after all.

I guess you could say that the newly unveiled Gashapon Senshi Zero brand is scratching that itch to an extent. The figures are clearly a step down in complexity from their Senshi Fortre ancestors but look at that first line-up. Are you telling me there will be fifteen figures out of which only three will be fully-painted? What am I supposed to do with the other red and blue junk (some of which are also copies of the painted figures by the way)? I think it would have been more sensible to release a smaller but fully-painted set with higher individual prices - maybe with A- and B-version equipment to force customers to spend more of their hard-earned cash but hey, what do I know? Senshi Zero seems doomed to fail from the start. The series debuts in the Japanese Gashapon arcades in late March.


On another note Capsule Index is apparently finally getting its third volume this July. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty convinced the brand had been terminated already; there were two sets in July and November last year and all quiet since then. I wouldn't be surprised if the third set will be its last hurrah, Bandai often kills off a series after the initial three volumes. The line-up consists of the Xi Gundam (again?), the Gustav Karl Type 00, a Destiny Spec II (which is also everywhere right now) and the White Gundam from GQuuuuuuX. Not a terrible line-up but not particularly novel either.

Bandai Namco Mobile Suit Gundam Capsule Index 02

The Gashapon market has been without solid Gundam representation for quite some time now. The last "serious" attempt was Gashapon Senshi Forte which drew its last breath back in 2022 and since then we have seen a couple of more gimmicky figure sets come and go. Capsule Index is one of the latest of these and premiered earlier in July - this second volume hit the scene in November. Together with the "Machiboke Gundam" series of mobile suits sitting-waiting poses it makes up the current base of prepainted Gashapon Gundam figurines together with its bigger cousins in Mobile Suit Ensemble and Capsule Action series.


For once I had the rare opportunity of living the true Gashapon experience. I kept bumping in to these machines every here and there during a recent trip to the Kansai region and of course I was not going to leave empty-handed. Each hit on the machine costs 400 yen and I was reasonably lucky obtaining the four figures in six attempts. I have to admit I was a bit discouraged when the first three pulls each produced a Red Gundam in quick succession but the luck turned for the better after that.


Each figure has its own distinct capsule colour which is not always the case. This of course helps the cheeky Gashapon raiders that are stalking the machines with flashlights and trying to see which figure is next on tap...


I really don't like these square-type booklets that both Bandai and Takara Tomy have been using for a while now. Not only are they unsuitable as banner images for the blog but they also tend to be rather crumpled and nowadays are full of disclaimers for a lot of foreign markets. Meh...


As you can see, the packaging sizes vary widely depending on each figure's needs. Each figure comes in a multi-part sealed plastic bag of a type similar to the one used with Gundam Converge.


There is a bit of assembly required but most components have shaped pegs and can only be assembled in one particular way. Capsule Index is all about setting up crazy poses and so articulation can be sacrificed for a tighter and more natural looking sculpt without bulk elbow connectors and the like. The figures are unable to stand up on their own and require basing of some sort. Bandai provides you with clear circular bases and a ball-joint that attaches to the figure's lower area offering a very limited bit of posing choice.



CPID:005 - XVX-016 Gundam Aerial


So far, Capsule Index has been strictly focused on more recent mobile suit designs. To date there has been no Universal Century representation, instead we have had machines from SEED Freedom and GQuuuuuuX but now Witch From Mercury also joins the ranks with the base Aerial. It is a good example of what Capsule Index is all about, oversized heads and arms or legs flailing in all directions in an attempt to look like a superhero. It is a nice looking design with clean and crisp paint applications and if Capsule Index lives on I hope to see some rivals for it to combat. I'm pretty sure the Bandai designers already have prototypes ready to go but I am yet to see an announcement of Capsule Index 03 so it is possible the series might come to an abrupt halt already. Fingers crossed.






CPID:006 - ZGMF-X191M2 Infinite Justice Gundam Type II


The first wave of Capsule Index figures had a SEED Freedom representation of 75% and this time they still steal two of the four spots. The Justice seems like no-brainer with the Freedom and Z'Gok already rolled out. It comes unarmed, presumably due to having the large M2X32E Volantes flight pack included in the capsule. I say unarmed, but it does actually have a beam blade at the top of its head ready to deploy like a Unicorn horn. It looks completely stupid to stick your neck out in a fight offering a vanity kill for the enemy. The wings on the flight pack will need some straightening out, you can expect some bent soft plastic parts here and there with the Capsule Index figures in general.


Side by side with the Strike Freedom from Capsule Index 01. I kind of wish they would have gone for the blue and white Rising Freedom figure instead, there are too many variants of the Freedom in my collection by now.






CPID:007 - NOG-M1A1 Black Knight Squad Shi-ve.A


Finally something new; the Black Knight Shi-ve is a brand new mobile suit to hit the prepainted figurine market and I wouldn't be opposed to see it also in Converge and Ensemble. This is a peculiar looking mobile suit with a red cape and very stylized wings on its helmet-like head. The overall concept of the suit is pretty dumb however, and it is almost exclusively designed for close-combat. I'd gun it down with a platoon of GINNs from afar. Anyway, the pose of the figure is certainly... unusual. We've seen variants of the Infinite Justice doing kicks before with its peculiar shin-mounted slicing weapons but here we have an enormous beam blade protruding from its toe. I mean, I want to like it but it looks ridiculous.


One thing that is very clear to me after playing around with the Capsule Index figures is that they are not meant to be posed on their own like in a traditional display. Instead you are encouraged to set up miniature battles with two or even more of them going toe to toe (quite literally in this case).






CPID:008 - gMS-a Red Gundam


The set closes with a wildly posed EVA Unit-02 - I mean Red Gundam - swinging its Hyper Ham.... I mean its "Gundam Hammer" medieval weapon. You spend a bazillion space credits on developing space and atmospheric-flying machines with advanced sensor packages, shielding technology, long-range projectile weaponry and then you say "screw it" and toss the guy an iron ball on a chain. Granted, it is a very big ball and the spikes are blue (I kind of expected those to be beam weapons at first) so I can't see any fault with this plan. Let's just hope the enemy doesn't have a long stick to poke at you or something... I know I shouldn't take this seriously and that is also why I can't. Still, I guess it fits in perfectly with the rest of the Capsule Index cage fighters. Now that I think about it the Aerial Gundam in this set should have been wielding a beam saber instead, allowing for more interesting figure combos.


While it really confused me at first, the pose of the GQuuuuuuX from the first Capsule Index volume actually makes perfect sense when posed together with the Red Gundam.







Here is the currently Capsule Index family all together. I have to admit I am a bit worried for the series going into 2026 but perhaps we will see some news of future sets in the coming weeks. Having said that, I won't be too sad to see this series go but I can still admire and give credit to the vision behind it. If you are looking for a continuation of the traditional super deformed Gundam mini-figures this ain't it, but if you would just like some cool looking mobile suits beating each other up on your desktop these should be right up your alley.

Bandai Namco Mobile Suit Gundam Capsule Index 01

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...).