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The upgraded version of the Gundam Amazing Exia, the Gundam Exia Dark Matter (Dark Matter) from Gundam Build Fighters finally makes its HG debut!

Controlled by the famous Meijin Kawaguchi in final round of the Gunpla Battle Championship against Iori Sei and Reiji, this mobile suit emanates a malicious aura only seeking absolute victory at all costs, even to its own fighter.

Looks: 9

This Exia variation takes on a sinister look, sporting a Red-Black-Purple color scheme in contrast to its original Gundam parade colors. It also has a much sharper look as compared to the original, many parts of the kit now has a sharp edge to it; the shoulders, chest, legs and knees as well. The head part has a facemask covering the Gundam face, which further accentuates its sinister look. Thankfully, most of the parts of the Dark Matter are replicated in the correct colors so there’s no need to put effort into getting the correct colors.

It also comes equipped with the Dark Matter booster, a winged backpacked that looks similar to the giant Mobile Armor Sid from Gundam AGE.  It has two pairs of winged appendages on each side and one pair can be used as a pair of swords as well! In all, the Gundam Exia Dark Matter definitely feels like an antagonist Gundam and it succeeds in doing just that and more.

Articulation: 8

As this Gundam is based off the Gundam Exia, the original base kit is the same as the previously released HG Gundam Exia from 2007. While it fares much better than the Build Gundam Mark II and the Beargguy III, it won’t be as articulate as the Build Strike or the Wing Fenice.

Suffice to say, it still boasts quite decent articulation in most aspects of the kit. The arms rotate just enough to pass off for a decent kit in this day and the legs are able to rotate all the way.

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The Dark Matter booster does have solid articulation thankfully. Utilizing ball joints at each point of articulation, it is really easy to manipulate the wings to any particular position you choose although they may pop out at very infrequent of times.

Weapons: 9

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Naturally the strongest point of the Gundam Exia line, the Dark Matter does not disappoint here. The main armaments consist of a pair of swords attached to its waist; the Brinicle Blade and the Prominence Blade. The Brinicle Blade has the ability of freeze while the Prominence Blade can generate fire and using them in tandem definitely makes the Dark Matter a fearful opponent. They do look like a pair of weapons a wicked Gundam would use.

It also comes equipped with the Dark Matter rifle, the main long range weapon of choice. The construction is similar to the Exia’s GN Sword, sans the actual GN Sword. It works as a GN beam saber as well! Last of all, it comes with the Dark Matter Blades, a pair of solid blades attached to the Dark Matter Booster. This can be used as wings or melee weapons.

While the weapons may look pretty simple, I do like how the kit still retains the Gundam Exia’s melee focus.

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Fun Factor: 8

The HG Exia in itself was a pretty enjoyable experience when it comes to building; the Dark Matter enhances the experience. While the base kit is pretty much the same, you do get new parts to mix up the building process. Most of the colors are already color accurate on the Dark Matter sans the handles and the spikes on the GN Swords so there won’t be much frustration in the way of getting it color accurate.

The Dark Matter booster is relatively simple to build so there isn’t much difficulty in making the kit. I do like how some of the weapon parts are from the original Exia kit but mixed in with new parts to give it a fresh challenge to the builder.

It is also really fun to play around with the Dark Matter with all the different kind of swords it has available to use.

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Extras: 7.5

While it does not have much in the way of extra parts, it comes with an alternate face part!

You can choose to display your Dark Matter with its original face, or the Exia Amazing’s face part, in Dark Matter colors. I do like that you can use the Dark Matter booster as an alternate point to connect to your display base to the Dark Matter so that the joints won’t get in the way of the legs. There are also new hand parts you can use with the Brinicle and Prominence blades too.

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Overall: 8.5/10

While the original kit may not have the best articulation as compared to the more recent Gunpla kits, every other component more than makes up for that which makes this a fun, quality build in the end.

The Gundam Exia Dark Matter is a must get for all Gundam Build Fighters fans as the token final boss mobile suit of the series, and it also ranks in as one of the most evil looking Gundams in the entire franchise as well! Also, this being a 00 series suit, fans of Gundam 00 would also want to get their hands on it and add it to their collection.