Tag Archives: Anime

Anime (アニメ in Japanese) is the style of animation or cartoons popularized in Japan, but appreciated worldwide today. Anime inspires lots of LEGO models from builders everywhere. Whether you love the artistry of Hayao Miyazaki or mecha from shows like Gundam and Evangelion, you’ll find many wonderful LEGO creations inspired by anime here on The Brothers Brick.

Kaneda’s Bike Book Review

The Arvo Brothers published a book on their masterpiece recreation of Kaneda’s Bike from Akira. This is a unique Lego book dedicated entirely to describing one creation while including a full set of instructions. The book is available for €19.99 + shipping and is sold directly from the Arvo Brothers, whom you can reach by email at arvobrothers[at]hotmail.com. Below is my review of the book.

Pros:

Meticulous details documenting building techniques, parts selection, and references to the original model
Includes commentary on steps in the instruction manual for an in-depth building experience
Includes a parts list and sticker sheet

Cons:

Almost impossible to recreate the model due to lack of availability of the x-pod lids used on the wheels.

This is a well-written book centered on one of the Arvo Brothers’ most iconic and beloved Lego creations. It is obvious that a lot of work went into designing the model and producing the book. It is a good read for fans interested in the minutia of the design process of a top-tier fan model. For those wanting to recreate the model, there is a full set of clear-cut instructions with supporting commentary for an in-depth experience on the build process. However, you will be disappointed to find out that a key element of the model is out of production and nearly impossible to obtain on the aftermarket even if you have money. Because of this detail alone, I hesitate to recommend the book because the majority of its content is dedicated to the instruction set. However, if you are still curious about the design process, this is a publication that will not let down your expectations.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Archangel LCAM-01XA from Gundam SEED

While it’s fair to say that a lot of characters in the vast Gundam franchise run around dressed as giant robots (sorry, “mobile suits”), some of them do also use spaceships. And among the more iconic of those is probably the Archangel from ‘Cosmic Era’ spin-off Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, recreated here in mega-swooshable LEGO form by lisqr.

Be the leaf

It’s a “Summer of Korra” for Avatar fans, with the 3rd season of The Legend of Korra now in full swing on Nickelodeon. We’ve seen Korra go through some big changes in the first two seasons, and the title of the new season is ‘Change’ …go figure.

Letranger Absurde hasn’t wasted any time getting in on the action with this exquisite vignette featuring a minifig Korra demonstrating multiple bending techiques, while her trusty steed Naga looks on. The construction of the water spout (or could it be a Sharknado, I wonder??) is particularly nice.

The Naga model appears to be fully posable (…thankyou Mixels!) and ready for Korra to ride. The Avatar has also been given the perfect sassy expression: “I’m the Avatar, and you gotta deal with it!”

Dust Bunnies

While clearly inspired by Japanese Anime, RWBY (an American animated series from the Rooster Teeth stables) could never be mistaken as a product of that genre. But that hasn’t stopped Anime building master Mike Dung from adapting his signature style to depict Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang in full 3D….

I’ll admit that my first reaction upon seeing the show was “Anime-skinned Red vs Blue”. Which is not surprising since it’s made by the same team that gave us Red vs Blue. But its snappy dialogue, rock soundtrack, great fight choreography, and short episodes seem to be winning combination within the RT community.

Personally, I’d love to see Mike break from his trend of only building female characters, and perhaps try his hand at some of the guys from this show as well, like Roman or Junior!

Service with a smile

LegoWyrm has started creating adorable LEGO chibi characters, based on a style originally developed by legendary Japanese builder Moko. Here is his version of the titular heroine from the videogame American McGee’s Alice (click here for bonus gory version).

He’s also churned out some beautifully chibi-fied characters from other games and anime. See if you can name any of them (regular readers should be able to name the last one by now). And tell me that these figures don’t immediately put a huge smile on your face! Just remember to turn away before your head explodes from all the cuteness…

Life sized Hatsune Miku built from LEGO

It’s been almost three years since Japanese builder Chaosbrick (カオス煉我) created the first LEGO version of the wildly popular digital pop star and Vocaloid character Hatsune Miku (初音ミク). Since then there have been plenty of other versions, by such builders as Moko, Mike Dung, LegoWyrm and even yours truly. But now Chaosbrick has returned to outdo them all with this life sized version!

Construction of the model began in October 2013 and took 6 months to complete, during which time the builder teased fans with work in progress shots from his Twitter feed. The final model uses over 20,000 bricks, and by all accounts it was quite a feat of engineering to make such a tall and slender LEGO model stay in one piece. But the end result is spectacular in its detail and accuracy, and should meet the expectations of even the most hardened Hatsune fan. Especially with the cheeky inclusion of some brick-built fan service ;-)

MSM-03C Hygogg

Gundams are cool and all, but it is pretty clear that when it comes to wicked awesome mecha designs, the Principality of Zeon takes the cake. The amphibious Hygogg is one of my favourite of the zanier designs, and Ryan (graybandit2000) did a bang up job on this version.

Deadlier Than Thou: Miss Ruby Rose

Anime-style figure sculptures have become something of a trend these days, and Ruby Rose by Mike Dung is exemplary among them. The key to good figure sculpting in this scale is to balance creating details with merely evoking them. Ruby’s face, for instance, is nearly as simplistic as possible, while the bodice is quite intricate; both, however, meld to create a fantastic sculpture.

Mike’s not a one-hit wonder, though. Check out his other sculptures, such as Snow Miku.

SD Command Gundam by Moko

Growing up in Japan in the 80’s, one of my favorite toys (other than LEGO, of course) was little plastic models of the SD Gundam characters. Moko (Flickr) might be a bit younger than I am, but we do share a love of these adorable little mecha.

Don’t be deceived by the diminutive source material — this is a substantial model with an amazing amount of detail. Just look at the subtle grooves around Gundam’s mouth!

The full load-out is also impressive:

See more pictures on Flickr, along with break-down shots on Moko’s blog.

TO-TO-ROOOOO!!!

What can I say, this post by Carl Merriam puts a huge smile on my face. When I saw it this morning, I showed it to my son, and he immediately asked if we could watch My Neighbour Totoro tonight…that put a huge smile on my face too.

Akira bike in Lego

The Arvo Brothers revamped an early version of Kaneda’s bike from the movie Akira. They plan to release a book later this month that describes the build process as well include instructions for the model. You can learn more about the book on their Flickr page.

The Great Floating City

I’m a sucker for floating cities/rocks/whatever, and this version of the Comet Empire from 80’s anime Star Blazers/Space Battleship Yamato is terrific. We’ve highlighted excellent versions of the Comet Empire previously, but I like how builder Jim Rhoades captures the bustling, urban feel in his version. The microscale Yamato is pretty awesome, too.