HGBuild Divers

RX-零 RX-Zeromaru (Shishiku)

A ninja's love letter to the Unicorn, built for part-swapping theatrics more than posing.

MechaGrade Score

3.4 out of 53.4/5

RX-零 RX-Zeromaru (Shishiku) · 1/144 · 2019

GradeHG
Scale1/144
Released2019
Runnersn/a

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

This kit is a novelty piece first and a poseable model second, and once I accepted that, I had a genuinely good time with it.

The Shishiku colorway is a Gundam Base exclusive built around Ayame's ninja gimmick, swapping between hidden and combat forms with a small pile of extra parts rather than a complex frame underneath. I would not buy this expecting MG-grade engineering, but as a shelf piece tied to one of Build Divers' better characters, it earns its spot.

Best for: Build Divers fans who want Ayame's actual screen-accurate Zeromaru and don't mind a parts-swap gimmick instead of deep articulation

The full review

What it is

RX-Zeromaru is Ayame's personal machine in Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise, her own SD-flavored reinterpretation of the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam, and the Shishiku release is the Gundam Base exclusive colorway of that kit. What got me was how much personality is packed into the accessory set. You get a Ninjato that racks onto the rear waist armor, a pair of Kunai that tuck under the forearms, a Tanegashima rifle, a shield shuriken, and a lion-faced mask piece that gives Shishiku its name. Building it feels less like assembling a robot and more like assembling a ninja's toolkit, which fits the character perfectly.

The catch

The articulation is modest. Elbows and knees bend, shoulders swing a bit, and that's about the ceiling, so dynamic action poses are limited compared to a proper HG or RG frame. The transformation between the hidden ninja form and the combat form is achieved entirely through swapping the Armed Armor Hattori pieces rather than any internal mechanism, so it rewards patience with small parts more than clever engineering. And because Shishiku was a Gundam Base limited release, secondhand pricing runs well above what the part count and complexity would normally justify.

Who it's for

Buy this if you're building out the Build Divers cast and want Ayame's actual kit, colorway and all, or if the ninja-transformation gimmick genuinely appeals to you more than pose range. Skip it if you're shopping by spec sheet, want a kit that holds dynamic action poses, or aren't willing to pay exclusive-release prices for a kit with a fairly small part count. This is a character-collection buy, not a build-quality showcase, and it's worth being honest with yourself about which one you're after before you track down a copy.

The build story

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

The build itself moves quickly since the part count stays low and the frame is simple, so most of the actual time goes into sorting and swapping the accessory pieces rather than wrestling with tricky joints. Nothing about the assembly is frustrating, it's just not deep.

The standout is the accessory ecosystem. Weapon storage is genuinely thought out, with the Ninjato racking onto the rear waist armor and the Kunai stowing under the forearms, so the kit looks tidy in its base loadout instead of leaving you holding a fistful of unused parts. The lion-faced mask piece is the one detail that makes Shishiku instantly recognizable next to the standard release.

Lore & trivia

  • 01RX-Zeromaru is the personal Gunpla of Ayame (Aya Fujisawa), a ninja-styled Diver who first appears partway through Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise, and it's built as her own SD-style reinterpretation of the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam.
  • 02Shishiku (meaning roughly "lion body") is a Gundam Base Limited colorway of the kit, released in 2019 alongside other Base-exclusive Gunpla drops.
  • 03The kit converts between Kakure (hidden) and Shinobi combat forms, and separately swaps into a Real Mode via the Armed Armor Hattori pieces, echoing the NT-D transformation of the Unicorn Gundam it's modeled after.
  • 04Ayame later upgrades her Ninjato to combine with a flame scarf, letting her switch it into a beam-flame blade and apply the same effect to her shuriken, a story beat tied directly to this kit's weapon set.

More reviews

All reviews