Kenneth Bolido (FullOanime)
FullOanime, hands down, makes some of the best figure reviews on YouTube. Ken’s use of cinematography and music in his video is highly impressive, and he uses those elements to show off the beauty of the figure. After watching his videos, I can really understand and appreciate the beauty of the figures, because it’s like art (except mass-produced). Still, I have become increasingly interested in starting to collect figures. If it only wasn’t for their quite high price and the lack of availability here in Vietnam and in my home country of Malaysia, I would definitely start buying and collecting figures. What Ken helped me understand was that everyone has a hobby, and each person has their own reasons that they enjoy it. When people ask you why you enjoy a particular hobby, it’s hard to put into words why you enjoy it. But, I think that it is good to follow your passion no matter what others say about it. It will give you a sense of happiness that no one else will understand. Just look at his content, I mean, to somebody who has never seen his Figure Spotlights before, the notion of filming figures just seems pointless. But, when you’ve actually seen his work in action, then you can truly understand his passion for both buying figures and using cinematography to bring out the best in them.
The content that Ed makes on his channel is quite good. From reviews, to build videos, to room tours, he has made some great videos for Gunpla. My favorite video is one of his most recent video of him building the Transient Gundam. He decided to step up his editing and video making skills for the video and it shows. It even has a touching moment at the end. One of the things that he does is that he admits his mistakes and strives for improvements with every Gunpla he builds, which is the attitude that modelers need to have. But, really great channel, and I personally am looking forward to seeing more of his videos.
2Old4Toys
2Old4Toys specializes at build videos and review videos. While I don’t know their names, it’s a father and a son building Gunpla together. The build videos are professional looking at and are quick and easy. He cuts many of the unnecessary parts like cutting parts of the gate and makes it a better and less boring experience to watch. If you like to watch build videos and marvel at the wonderful engineering put into Gunpla, then go ahead. He also has some reviews around as well.
DrTonyTonyChopper
DrTonyTonyChopper does very in-depth multiple parts videos on his channel on Gunpla and figures. You are able to know more about the figure with his style of multiple-parts videos. Unfortunately, he hasn’t uploaded in over a year, but his content his still good.
hadoken gundam
hadoken gundam can be best described as “a grown man screaming about robots.” He uses an “epic” styled voice to narrate his videos, and his enthusiastic attitude makes him much more interesting than your typical boring just-talking reviewer. I also really like the movement of the camera while he shows off the poses. Truly channel that just bursts with excitement, as you see a grown man getting excited over toys. You definitely won’t see this in any other channel.
This is a Korean Gunpla channel that I watch regularly. They do great reviews and livestreams every week of them building Gunpla. A question that may be on your mind now is “How do you understand Korean?” Well, the best part about being a Gunpla and figure fan is that the language barrier is non-existent. Even if you don’t understand a word someone says, through their feelings and emotions about the figure, and them showing you what the figure is about, you can draw your own conclusions. For me, it’s amazing that I can watch different people speaking different languages, but all enjoying Gunpla and figures. These hobbies can really bring people from all over the world together.
Kuukai TV is a Japanese Gunpla channel that I like to watch once in a while. While I’m sure there are many other Japanese Gunplars (is that even a word?) out there, I watch him the most regularly. There are no language problems here as well, as all you need to do is listen and watch. That’s it, simple.
Jabman025 is the go-to when it comes to Master Grade reviews. He has a large selection of Master Grade Gundam reviews, and his reviews are very detailed as he talks about every aspect of the kit. From its inner frame and build, to the weapons it comes with, and its looks and articulation, he covers all aspects of a kit so that the viewer can decide whether or not they want to buy the kit.
Kakarot197
Kakarot197 does most HG reviews and reviews of older model kits. While he also does detailed reviews on a kit, he also goes into additional information about the mobile suit in the TV show and other miscellaneous information. While his videos may seem boring to watch, and I do admit they are too long sometimes, you can really pick up a lot of knowledge about Gundam. This guy knows a lot about Gundam, and answers almost every single question in the comments. I once asked him about a question that has been on my mind for quite some time already, and he replied to me with a really great answer. Even though he knows what he is talking about, and interacts with his viewers, he really does not get as much attention as other people. Despite the number of reviews that he has made, his channel only has a small number of subscribers. But don’t let that fool you, his content is definitely worth looking into.
Meadeslemicah
Meads does reviews on both figures and Gunpla. He buys and reviews a wide variety of figures such as S.H. Figuarts and Figma, also occasionally review Gunpla and the Robot Damashii figure line. He sometimes also does other model kit reviews such as Frame Arms from other companies such as Kotobukiya. He doesn’t buy too much Gunpla nowadays, but if you look at the older content, there are quite a bit of Gunpla reviews.
Mecha Gaikotsu
Mecha Gaikotsu makes very professional looking videos. His style of reviewing is short and structured and keeps the viewers interested. He mostly reviews Figma and Nendoroid, but does Gunpla and other figure lines as well. Since he is living in Japan, he also goes to hobby conventions and films the new figures and Gunpla showcased in those conventions.
Prime has a huge backlog of reviews for Gunpla. High Grades, Super Deformed, Master Grade, Perfect Grade, she has a large collection of reviews. For a few years, she had a sponsor named iPlamo which sent her almost every single kit that came out. So, if you need a review for a Gunpla or just want to find a Gunpla to buy, this is a channel you should watch.
Rrobbert184
Rrobbert 2 r’s and 2 b’s) was the reason why I got into Gundam and Gunpla. Before, I had already been interested in another franchise called LBX, but not Gundam. One day, on December 2013, I was curious and clicked on his HG Victory Gundam review. I really liked the Gundam, and began to research and look at other videos on his channel. After watching his and Animaster’s videos on Gundam, I began intrigued with the Gundam franchise and began to research into Gunpla, as well as watching the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime. I got into anime a year later on January 2015. Rrobbert’s video are separated into parts, and his reasoning for it was that back when he first started his channel in 2008, YouTube had a time restriction on the videos. So, he has been used to uploading reviews with multiple parts. The best part about his reviews is that he not only goes in-depth by unboxing it, showing the sprues and the parts when it’s all assembled, but in his “Intro” section, he talks about the robot’s backstory in the show and various other information about the robot and the kit. So, you can learn about Gundam through watching his videos. And similar to Prime92, he also has reviewed many model kits on his channel.
The other part of his channel that I love is his “One Japan” videos. By the way, he already lives in Japan. During early 2013, he went on a trip around Japan and his goal was to go to every prefecture by train. Except for the train, his trip was almost completely unplanned, and he had to ask the information centre at every destination for local sights and food. This unique style gave his videos and adventurous feel, as you don’t know what you are actually going to do at the destination. He really “explored” Japan by asking locals where to go. It is probably one of the most entertaining travel series I have ever seen. Currently, he has been on a hiatus for almost two years now, but considering he has uploaded regularly from 2008 to 2014, sometimes you need a break. He has stated that he has some personal problems with life, so he had to take a short break. Still, I highly recommend what Rrobbert’s videos.
Side7 makes really short but informative reviews. Most of his reviews are on the Robot Damashii figure line, as he doesn’t buy as much Gunpla as Robot Damashii. He still has quite a few reviews on Gunpla and other figure lines such as HCM Pro and the Metal Build figure line. But, he mentioned that he prefers to buy Robot Damashii because they are not only well painted and detailed, but are also more solid and poseable. If you are interested in the Robot Damashii line, you can find a lot of reviews for those on this channel.
Anthony, like side7reviews, like to do Robot Damashii reviews. He also does reviews for various Japanese figure lines such as Figma and S.H. Figuarts, and various figures produced by western companies.
stryderprime does Gunpla build videos. Through watching his videos, you can go further than snap-building Gunpla, and be able to learn more advanced techniques such as painting and modifying Gunpla. If you want learn more about how you can take your hobby further and do more with Gunpla, this is a channel that you can learn from.
Type V3, or Vince, does reviews on both figures and Gunpla. His review style is short and simple. Each video is only five or so minutes long, and using quite “advanced” language, he gets the point across. His videos are easy and entertaining to watch, and by the end, you can make your own conclusion about the figure.
vegeta8259, or Henry, make WIP (Work in Progress) videos for building Gunpla and of course, reviews. He went on a hiatus for around a year from late 2013 to late 2014, due to some personal reasons, but he’s back. And you wouldn’t believe the amount of excitement the Gunpla community had when he came back. While he hasn’t been posting too much regularly, his previous videos are very good, and you can learn a lot about more professional skills such as how to paint model kits and apply decals. From what I have read from many people, his wonderful work with Gunpla has inspired many to build and paint Gunpla to the best they can. I have to say, he really is a Gunpla master. All of his painted models look excellent, and he definitely has the skill for Gunpla building.
Zeta Rise is unique in that he focuses more on the Gundam anime and manga rather than Gunpla. His channel is about the stories and world of Gundam, rather than Gunpla. It is quite rare for a channel to focus on just the Gundam story and world, and I wish that there would be more channels like this. The videos on his channel explains some of the story-related things and about Gundam, and give his thoughts on the Gundam anime.
Zaku Aurelius is a relatively new Gunpla reviewing channel. He also does videos where he gives tips for building Gunpla. The quality of his videos are very good, and the content he makes is informative.
Anime Box is a figure reviewing channel. She unboxes and reviews a wide variety of figures, and shows off what the figure offers.
Li Zhang's Anime Blog 