HGAnno Domini

GN-0000 00 Gundam MATSUMOTO YAMAGA F.C. Ver.

A great little 00 Gundam wearing a J.League scarf instead of its usual colors.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

00 Gundam MATSUMOTO YAMAGA F.C. Ver. · 1/144 · 2020

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the same excellent HG 00 Gundam skeleton from 2008 dressed up for a soccer crossover, and the engineering underneath is what actually carries it.

I like this kit because the base mold earned its reputation the hard way, with joints that still hold poses better than plenty of kits released years after it. The Matsumoto Yamaga F.C. colorway is a novelty, but the suit inside that novelty is a genuinely well built HG.

Best for: Gundam 00 fans and J.League supporters who want a novelty colorway built on a genuinely strong HG frame

The full review

What it is

This is a repaint of the 2008 HG00 GN-0000 00 Gundam, retooled in Matsumoto Yamaga F.C.'s club colors as part of Bandai's 2020 J.League crossover, which put a Gundam kit into each team's colors for the Gundam 40th anniversary push. Under the new plastic colors and team decals it is unchanged mechanically. That matters because the original 00 Gundam mold is one of the more important HGs in Bandai's catalog, the kit that introduced the PC-001 polycap runner and helped set the articulation bar HGs still get judged against. Building it, I kept forgetting I was holding a soccer tie-in and not just a well made mainline 00 Gundam.

The catch

The novelty is the whole point and also the ceiling. This is a team-colors reskin sold around specific J.League match dates, so molded plastic colors follow club branding rather than the anime's canon scheme, and you are relying on stickers or the included decal sheet for the team logo rather than any deep new tooling. It shares the 2008 kit's known soft spots too, loose wrists that do not grip the GN Sword II confidently and a torso that only leans a limited amount before the shoulder blocks it. Being a limited promotional item, it was also sold in smaller regional runs, so secondhand pricing and availability outside Japan can be inconsistent.

Who it's for

If you follow Matsumoto Yamaga F.C., collect Gundam crossover oddities, or just want a cheap and well engineered 00 Gundam in an unusual colorway, this earns its spot on the shelf. It is also a fine pickup for a newer builder who wants to feel how good HG articulation can be without paying MG prices. Skip it if you want the 00 Gundam in its correct anime colors (the standard HG00 or later HG00 Sky/Diver Arc releases cover that better) or if you are chasing an authentic in-universe suit rather than a real-world sports tie-in.

What works

The 00 Gundam's PC-001 polycap frame gives it double-jointed knees and a ball-jointed neck that still outpose a lot of newer HGs
Legs rotate a full 360 degrees from the hip and the ankle joint gives a wide 180 degree swing, so dynamic action poses actually hold
A fun, cheap way to own a piece of Gundam's 2020 J.League crossover with real club branding rather than a generic repaint

Worth knowing

Wrist and hand joints are loose and struggle to keep a firm grip on the GN Sword II, especially in two-handed poses
Torso twist and forward lean are limited by the shoulder armor, so some dramatic poses top out early
As a limited promotional release tied to specific match dates, it is scarcer and pricier secondhand than the standard-issue HG00

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The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

The build itself is straightforward HG snap-fit, no surprises in gate placement and nothing that fights you during assembly. Parts seat cleanly, the polycap joints go in without any fuss, and cleanup is quick because the part count stays modest for a 1/144. It is a comfortable build for someone still getting used to nippers and sanding sticks, and it goes together in an evening without needing glue.

Where it earns its reputation is articulation. This was the kit that brought the PC-001 polycap into HG lines, and it shows in how far the knees bend, how freely the hips rotate, and how much range the ankle gives you for a stable stance. It comes with the twin GN Sword II blades that double as GN Beam Pistols plus the GN Drive backpack, so the accessory loadout is on the light side but covers the character's signature silhouette. Color separation on the base mold is handled well through plastic color rather than heavy stickers, though this team-colors version leans on its decal sheet for the club crest and jersey-style detailing.

Lore & trivia

01The GN-0000 00 Gundam is piloted by Setsuna F. Seiei in the second season of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and was built as Celestial Being's answer after their defeat by the UN Forces in AD 2308.
02Its signature Twin Drive System runs two GN Drives synchronized together, and because the theory came from Celestial Being founder Aeolia Schenberg's own research hidden in the Veda system, the GN particle output squares rather than simply doubles when the drives lock in sync.
03This kit belongs to Bandai's 2020 J.League collaboration, which put Gunpla kits in the colors of individual Japanese football clubs for Gundam's 40th anniversary, and was sold at Matsumoto Yamaga F.C. match events rather than through general retail.
04The base HG00 GN-0000 mold dates to Fall 2008 and was the first HG kit to use Bandai's PC-001 polycap runner, a piece of internal engineering that influenced articulation standards across later High Grade kits.