HGAnno Domini

GN-0000 00 Gundam SHONAN BELLMARE Ver.

The same excellent 00 Gundam frame, dressed head to toe in a J-League football club's colors.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

00 Gundam SHONAN BELLMARE Ver. · 1/144 · 2020

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a genuinely good HG wearing a novelty jersey, and I mean that as a compliment.

Strip away the Shonan Bellmare blue and gold and you have the 2008 HG 00 Gundam underneath, which was ahead of its time on articulation and still holds up. The team-color runners and club decals are the whole reason to buy this specific version, so judge it on that basis, not as a random 00 Gundam reissue.

Best for: Gundam 00 fans and J-League supporters who want a genuine crossover piece, not just another standard-color 00 Gundam

The full review

What it is

Under the paint job this is the well-regarded HG 00 Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam 00, released as part of Bandai's 2020 collaboration between Gunpla's 40th anniversary and the J.League, done up in Shonan Bellmare's blue and gold with club emblem decals in place of the usual Celestial Being markings. I went in expecting a gimmick reskin and came out impressed, because the underlying kit is the real deal. The twin GN Drive housing on the back, the sleek waist, and the GN Sword II all snap together cleanly, and seeing the club crest on the shoulder instead of a faction symbol is a genuinely fun novelty for anyone into both hobbies.

The catch

The articulation that makes this kit great is also what makes it a little wobbly on its feet. The hip and ankle joints let the legs rotate an impressive amount, but that same looseness means dynamic poses can leave the kit unsteady without a stand, and the elbows get slack below the joint over time. This is also a limited team-collab release, so pricing and availability run well above a standard HG, and if you don't care about Shonan Bellmare or the J-League angle specifically, you're paying a premium for decals and plastic color you could otherwise get on a regular 00 Gundam for less. The sleek 00 design also means there isn't a lot of molded panel line detail to bring out with a wash.

Who it's for

Buy this one if you're a Gundam 00 fan who also follows Japanese football, or if you just want a genuinely different-looking 00 Gundam for the shelf without repainting anything yourself. It's also a fair pickup for HG collectors chasing the 2020 J.League Gunpla wave since these went out of print and aren't easy to find complete anymore. Skip it if you only want the cheapest route to a poseable 00 Gundam, since the standard release gives you the same excellent frame without the collector markup, and skip it if football team colors on a Gundam just isn't your thing.

The build story

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

The build itself is a straightforward HG experience, snap-fit with the usual nub cleanup on the limbs and torso, and nothing about the Shonan Bellmare tooling changes the assembly steps from the standard release. The frame goes together quickly and the twin GN Drive backpack clips on securely, though builders who want the joints tight for years rather than months should expect to eventually reinforce the elbows and hips with a bit of tension fix.

Where this kit earns its reputation is articulation for its era and price. Full 360-degree rotation from the hip down, elbows that bend past 90 degrees, and that distinctive lengthways ankle polycap add up to poses a lot of HGs still can't match. Color separation is handled through the team-color plastic itself plus the included club decals rather than heavy stickering, so the Shonan Bellmare look holds up without constant peeling or fading.

Lore & trivia

01The 00 Gundam is piloted by Setsuna F. Seiei in Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and is the first Gundam in the series built around the Twin Drive System, running two GN Drives at once.
02This version was released in 2020 as part of a joint promotion between Gunpla's 40th anniversary and Japan's J.League, which put out a run of team-colored HG kits across several clubs alongside Shonan Bellmare.
03Shonan Bellmare is a J.League football club based in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, and the kit's blue and gold finish reflects the club's actual team colors rather than an original Gundam 00 color scheme.
04The GN Sword II featured on this kit can switch between blade and long-range rifle configurations without needing separate parts, one of the more versatile weapon setups among HG 00-series kits.