Hiro Hamada

Funny, this Hiro doesn't look that big. Robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada has the mind of a genius - and the heart of a 14-year-old: his state-of-the-art battle-bots dominate the underground bot fights held in the dark corners of San Fransokyo. Fortunately, big brother Tadashi redirects Hiro's brilliance, inspiring him to put his brain to the test in a quest to gain admission to the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. When a tragic event changes everything, Hiro turns to a robot named Baymax, and they form an unbreakable bond - and two-sixths of a band of high-tech heroes on a very important mission. There were Hiro Hamada toys in Bandai's Big Hero 6 toyline, but they were kind of... junk. It was a mass-market Bandai US line; they're not known for their must-have quality. Anyway, there's now a Hiro in the Disney Store exclusive Toybox line, so let's finally review the main character of a movie only a scant six years after it came out. Hiro is a bit of a jerk in the movie - he's introduced participating in illegal underground robot fights, and spends the bulk of the runtime being a grumpy, surly teen who's more anti-hero than actual hero. He also proves that Disney's "eyes bigger than their wrists" design thing is not just limited to its female characters. He may not have a supranym, but Hiro is the one who designed the team's armored suits. The movie's art matches well with the Disney Toybox aesthetic, which is rather rounded and chunky. His superhero costume comprises a black cloth suit with purple armor worn over it - kneepads, gloves, and a combo chest/shoulder pad. His gloves are so large they look like goalie equipment, but he wears sneakers instead of the traditional boots. His right hand is shaped to hold an accessory that doesn't exist, and his left is held perfectly flat. The articulation is good, considering this is a store-exclusive figure and not a collectors item. He has swivel/hinge joints at the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles, plus a plain swivel waist. Everything moves well, though the pink paint on the neck joint scrapped off right away, leaving him with a patch of bare black plastic if you tip his head too far back. Measuring to the tip of his messy anime hair, the figure stands 4¾" tall, which makes him shorter than the adults in the Toybox line, as he should be. Hiro does include one accessory, though it's not really one he would hold. Well, maybe he would, meaning the curled hand isn't as pointless as it first seemed. This mystery accessory? It's his helmet. Technically it should have a glass visor, but that wouldn't work here. Why? Because the helmet is removable. More specifically, because of the way the helmet is removable: it doesn't just fit onto the head, because his hair is too big; rather, you take the hair off, and swap the helmet on. Which means you could also have a Bald Hiro, if you wanted! And you didn't mind the big slot in the back of his scalp. It's always kind of random what characters will be put into the Toybox - I mean, Hiro Hamada? Really? He and Baymax both made it into Disney Infinity, so they make a little sense here, but the team isn't called "Big Hero 2," y'know? I only got Hiro to go along with the Baymax I already had, but I'd still like the rest of the group. -- 05/03/20

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