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						Description; The Terminators Older Japanese Cousin. Hakaida is approximately 6" tall and is flat-black with bronze high-lights and a blood-red 'x' on the chest.  The figure looks like Robo-Cop gone goth and techno-organic; large plates of armor, clear-dome head with a removable brain, blood-red eyes.  Unfortunately the figure sports articulation in the shoulders and neck only.  The figure comes with a ton o' accessories; spare brain and case, sawed-off shot-gun, staff, a stand, biiiiiiiiig cape, and spare hand to hold either the gun or the staff.
Hakaida- Bandai Studioworks Meat and Potatoes; 3.9 Perks; 5.0 Homer Factor; 3.0
	Before The Terminator, before there was Hakaida!  ... ok, ok, so most of you have no idea what I'm talking about.  Ok, looooooooooooooooong story short, Hakaida was THE butt-kicking cyborg villain from the '70s Japanese kids show 'Kikaida.'   Unfortunately, he didn't appear until the end of the show, but he was impressive; all in black, cool looking Harley-esque motorcycle, and he carried a large silver knife in his human form, a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig silver pistol that would have made Dirty Harry drool in robot form.  He was the start of the 'honorable' villain in many ways; he wouldn't hurt anyone defenseless, that sort of thing.  Granted, this shows was product of it's time, i.e. the effects were crap and the stories were obscenely melodramatic, but it was still fun.  And besides, Hakaida looked like a Bad-Ass.  Naturally, oodles and oodles of toys were produced in the '70s, and of course the entire nostalgia bug means a re-release of figures.  Bandai started to issue a line of high-end, collector figures based upon a number of characters from this period, such as Kamen Rider and Kikaida.  At first, you could only get these as imports... and pay through the nose.  Fortunately, Bandai realizes Americans LOVE this stuff and has started to sell them here under the moniker StudioWorks.  So, how good is this stuff?  Unfortunately, Bandai took a page from Todd Toys on this one; in some ways, this piece is awesome.. in some ways... well... good thing I didn't blow the $50 for the import version.  Meat and potatoes on this thing are extremes.  Good news; sculpt is AMAZING.  Think H. R. Geiger meets Dirty Harry.  The figure is 6" of plastic, with very intricate sculpting that gives that eerie techno-organic feel; you see plates of armor, bolts, but you also see what looks like 'skin' stretched over spots, and having a clear plastic head so you can see the brain doesn't hurt.  Although the paint is plain, it's very appropriate; flat black with bronze high-lights, and a very dark-red 'x' on the chest, just like the character had on the show. VERY bad news; there is almost no articulation on the dang thing.  The shoulders move very little; just enough so the arms can swivel out to the sides.  Oh, and the neck rotates.  Yes, that's IT.  No hips, no elbows, it's not like the shoulders can move forward or anything, they just shift into this weird position that doesn't do much of anything.  Perks are over-the-top.  The figure comes with a stand, another 'brain' that you can stick into the figures head, a sawed-off shot-gun in place of the old pistol, a large vinyl cape, and a large staff.  All pieces are intricately sculpted as well and go perfectly with the figure, adding to the Agent of Evil and Darkness look. Homer factor.  This just breaks my heart.  When I heard these figures were coming out state-side at normal prices, I was SOOOOOOOOOOO psyched; intricately crafted figures of classic characters and they've been revamped for the 21st century.  What more can you ask for? Well, in this case, HOW ABOUT A FEW MORE FREAKING JOINTS.  Ok, fine, some folks like to have this stuff around just so you can put this on your desk at work and look cool.  Personally, I like knowing there's SOME play value in the thing.  Final verdict?  If you're looking for a cool piece to display, you really can't go wrong with this; LOTS of accessories so you can change the look of your display, and the sculpt and painting on this thing are incredible.  Even people who aren't into toys will be impressed.  However, if you're looking for a TOY, something that you can pose, mess with, have fun with, well save your quarters, folks.