I have both but the Bandai still in the box. Without comparing side by side or picture with bike, can't really tell the inaccuracy. The McFarlane was pretty impressive when it came out and on the spot shouts Akira! I don't mind the logos were off.
The original version of McFarlane Kaneda was also pretty good especially the body sculpt. The Bandai Kaneda seems abit too skinny.
And the original ultra rare 1/6 Kaneda i think was released late 90's or early 00's. It was released with another 2 masked soldier.
I googled the pics, i think even though Medicom looks better, the facial of the old figure seems more anime accurate. Like i said the Medicom Kaneda looks like he's 2-3 years younger than in the movie.
The Kaneda sitting on couch pvc statue should be the most accurate Kaneda, too bad it wasn't painted with matte finishing so it gave a cheap figure feeling.
Makes me wanna get the McFarlane Akira with Throne.
OK, I'm really **** about this stuff so I thought I'd make some minor corrections.
The first Kaneda toy was released by BanDai when the movie came out back in 1988. It's a tiny 1/35 scale rubber figure on the bike. The bike is actually quite nice for it's size, and is mostly diecast. The figure is a one-piece rubber figure in a fixed pose with almost no paint apps. Still, for 1988, it was pretty cool.
Then there was a long dry spell. It's possible that there were unauthorized toys or garage kits made in Japan, but I'm unaware of them.
The next real toy we got was from McFarlane in late 2000. He made the bike and an almost-fixed pose Kaneda that could not ride the bike. All he could do was stand there. McFarlane added lots of "details" to make the figure more "realistic" and it was not very close to the source material.
A year later, he re-released the bike (tweaked to be longer) along with a new figure that could actually ride it. The bike now had "battle damage" and dirt and scratches painted on it, along with the completely inaccurate stickers. This Kaneda was a little better than the last one, but still not close to the anime or manga.
Around the same time, there was a one time only release by Medicom at the summer Wonderfest in Tokyo. Kaneda was released as a 12" figure, strictly limited to 300 pieces, along with Neo-Tokyo Cop A and B, who were even more limited. This figure has been valued around $1000 since then. There IS a board member here that has one and has posted pics here....it's awesome, but limited to what toy technology was at the time.
A comany named Volks made a 1/6th scale model kit of the bike. In resin. Unassembled and unpainted, it stall ran several hundred dollars. It was VERY limited. It's size was impressive, but the sculpt of the bike was way off. Still, the idea of a 1/6th bike happening again was so unlikely, I'm sure most people were thrilled to get this.
Also, starting in 2002, were sets of mini-figures, sometimes called "vignettes." Small, fixed-pose figures with mini dioramas. A few of them had Kaneda on his bike. These too, were sculpted rather oddly. The bike was passable, but not accurate. And Kaneda's face looked weird. There were three series of mini-figures from 2002-2004.
And in 2004 of course came the gorgeous Soul of Popynica Kaneda's Bike. Other than the figure, an almost-perfect rendition and my personal favorite for size and accuracy. Original retail 6800 yen in Japan....no idea what it's currently going for on ebay or amazon. Surely interest in the big one drove down the prices on this one.
And last, there was a "statue" by Yamato that was Kaneda sitting in the "junk throne' based on art by Otomo. Came out around 2004-5. The figure is also a fixed pose, all made of plastic. Scale-wise it's about 8 inches tall, or would be, if he wasn't sitting. Prices vary for this one, but it's really a well done piece and really accurate sculpt as well. But, he'll never do anything other than sit in that chair and smirk.....no riding for him!
