Tomopop Review: Uplark's Viral from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

10:00 AM on 10.10.2009   |   Pedro Cortes

People don't know how to appreciate wear-and-tear on a figure. Now, I'm not talking about the ravages that time rains on all things PVC and plush, but the conscious decision to sculpt and paint a statue that has seen better days. There is a subset of PlaMo wizards who can make their models look like they've taken battle damage, but that's a very small minority and even then that is rarely done in a mass-produced PVC statue.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you have your socks on tight because you're about to get blown away by Uplark's Viral. I would hazard to say it is a masterpiece of detail and nuance that all, and I mean ALL, companies should strive for.  Hit the jump to see how this is no mere bit of hyperbole.

Manufactured by Uplark

Released September 2009

Price: 7411 Yen (about $83)

Uplark, made up of the former EyeUp, has had four incredibly releases in September. Birdy the Mighty, Rei, Nia, and Viral are all amazing figures and worth your scratch. However, unlike the ladies, Viral is quite the manly man...beast...thing. He may be lithe, but he's been sculpted to kick ass and chop you to bits.

The pose Uplark put Viral in is quite different than most statues out there. It's a dramatic pose that has him in an unconventional position, twisting his body as he pulls out his hatchet. It's a great excuse for some surprising bits of detail that you wouldn't typically see. We'll work from the weapon up.

THIS is how you make a weapon! As much as I loved Mihawk's sword in my Portrait Of Pirates review, I didn't like that it looked so clean. Considering the paint used for the blade, it wasn't such a big issue, but come on, I'd expect the sword to look like it's been used at least once or twice. Not with Viral's hatchet. Uplark has done an incredible job making the metal of the hatchet look old and battered, like homeboy here has had to use it a couple of times on some uppity apes. The sculptor has also gone and made the blade notched, so it doesn't only have an old coloration, but it looks dinged and dented. This is easily the best weapon I've seen on a statue.

Moving up Viral's arm, the next point of interest is his hand and uniform sleeve.

I love that the sculptor included the vein on the back his hand, so you know that he's gripping that weapon tight. You can also see the fur on the cuff of his sleeve. If you look closely you can see that they've added texture to the PVC there, so it actually looks like fabric and not a hunk of plastic. It's a tiny detail that few people would've noticed, but it is telling of the product that Uplark is putting out that even the fur on this fur-ball's jacket must look excellent.

Moving up the body, we get to Viral's face. It's his typical hot-blooded 'ready to rip you to shreds' face that we've all come to love. The way that his face is etched into the PVC is also quite reminiscent to the art style of Gurren Lagann, so bonus points there. Note the fur on his collar and the texture it has as well.

Viral's armor gets some attention as well. The shoulder pads have some slashes and dents in them, showing that Viral is quite the busy boy.

I really like how Uplark hid the seam along Viral's natural musculature. It hides the line so it isn't an eyesore as well as making him look great. That's another bonus of this figure: the attention to muscles and how they move as the body moves. I mentioned earlier the unique position they posed Viral in and I'm sure this had something to do with it.

The sculptor not only gets how the fabric folds on a moving body, but also how certain muscles strain and pull depending on the angle, something that just about all male figures get wrong. Viral isn't bulky, but the sculpt makes him look like he's all lean muscle. Uplark didn't have to add that in, but it's probably my favorite bit of detail in the figure.

The sheath doesn't escape the detail. They have an appropriately worn look to them and hang loose in a convincing matter. I love the dirt and grime on the bandages. It looks like he's been wearing it for quite a while and it has gotten much use, as the chipped hatchet might indicate.

The ankle bandages also have an appropriate amount of wear to them. They aren't as grimy as the sheath, but I guess Viral takes better care of his looks than his weapons.

So to sum everything up, Viral is the best male figure to come out this year. It stands above most figures released, if only for the care that Uplark has put into the small details. You'll see a little something new each time you look at him. If Viral (and Nia) don't put Uplark in the higher echelons in the figure world, then people have simply lost their taste in good art.