Toy Review - NEZHA (Ultra Class)
NEZHA
Series - Cyberverse
Sub-line - Nezha: Transformers
Size/class - Ultra
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - N/A
Released here - No (released in China, December 2019)
Approximate Retail Prize - $39
Approximate Size - 15cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Car
Main Features/Gimmicks - pilot compartment
Main Colours - red with gold, black, peach and lavender accents throughout
Main accessories - x1 Universe Ring, x1 Fire-Tipped Spear, x1 Nezha (Nata) figurine (3.5cm)
Robot mode holding Universe Ring and Fire-Tipped Spear
https://i.ibb.co/QDHVCk5/cyberverse-ultra-nazhe01.jpg
Robot mode with Universe Ring and Fire-Tipped Spear attached to back
https://i.ibb.co/PwTrpPW/cyberverse-ultra-nazhe02.jpg
Robot mode with pilot compartment open; Nezha mini-figure inside
https://i.ibb.co/4gsVSY5/cyberverse-ultra-nazhe03.jpg
Robot mode (top view)
https://i.ibb.co/bBZCgqt/cyberverse-ultra-nazhe03a.jpg
A Nezha cartoon episode was playing on my hotel TV as I was showing and explaining this toy to a friend! :D
https://i.ibb.co/x6WtG5N/cyberverse-ultra-nazhe05.jpg
Vehicle mode. Note that the lugnuts are sculpted to resemble Nezha's Fire Wheels. Some bright yellow or orange paint would've helped to make these Fire Wheel shaped lugnuts stand out more against the otherwise entirely black wheels. The flames along the wheel hubs are a nice touch.
https://i.ibb.co/3BWVhrJ/cyberverse-ultra-nazhe10.jpg
Vehicle mode with weapons and figurine mounted on roof. Unfortunately there is no driver's seat for the figurine. He can still be stored in the robot chest compartment though.
https://i.ibb.co/WBp8T1n/cyberverse-ultra-nazhe11.jpg
Figurine standing in front of vehicle
https://i.ibb.co/jGHjnzf/cyberverse-ultra-nazhe12.jpg
Vehicle mode outside a scale model of a Chinese pagoda.
https://i.ibb.co/dJvLKSP/cyberverse-ultra-nazhe13.jpg
The extent of this figurine's articulation.
https://i.ibb.co/tZPvfTn/cyberverse-ultra-nazhe99.jpg
Thoughts about the line
As far as I can tell, the Nezha Transformers line seems to be languishing in production hell. The 2019 Cyberverse line ran under the "Nezha" subline name in China, so much of it was just the same toys that we got here but in variant packaging. Mixed in with these were a handful of Nezha TFs, of which this Ultra Class Nezha toy was one of. And beyond that, there were a bunch of licensed third party Nezha TF toys (based on both original Nezha TFs and Cyberverse characters) produced between 2019-2021 (I found these to be more common in China than the figures). There was a trailer released in December 2019 - same time as when the toys debuted... but then CoViD happened and there was radio silence about this presumably cancelled series until a new trailer emerged in August last year saying that the show would begin airing in late 2024. Well, we're in January 2025 now, and I was in China in late December to mid January and I saw nothing about this series there. I honestly had completely forgotten that this line even existed until I inadvertantly stumbled on this toy and the Scout-Class sized 3 pack at Choice Toys in Shanghai. Collectors are notorious for not wanting to collect "orphaned" figures, so a lack of any new figures from this series in half a decade isn't really inspiring.
Thoughts about this toy
In concept, this toy reminds me of your typical Crossover TF toys (e.g. Star Wars, Marvel), but with what feels like better build quality (I've had brittle plastic syndrome across several Star Wars TFs in multiple colours of plastic, not just gold!). As with many Crossover/Collab style Transformers, the robot mode resembles the pilot... which is something that I've never been a fan of. Having peach "flesh" colour on the face, neck, hands and feet look even weirder. If you like the stylisation on the Street Fighter Transformers, then I guess you might like this... I don't like either, so... meh.
The engineering on this toy is actually quite good for a Cyberverse Ultra Class. It feels more like a Deluxe Class figure but at the size of a Cyberverse Ultra. IMO this is how all Cyberverse Ultras should be like (see my whinge about Cyberverse Ultras in the Rack & Ruin review thread. This is the first Cyberverse Ultra that, in terms of engineering, actually feels more justified in paying Ultra RRP for. And I got this toy on the recommendation of a local Shanghai collector who told me that this toy was far better value for money than the Scout Class 3 pack (I was tossing up between getting one or the other).
There's nothing objectively wrong with the concept of this toy, I'm just personally not a huge fan of it (I have a rather limited TF Crossover/Collab collection). But for lovers of Crossover/Collab TFs, this is done well enough. And as I said, it's higher level of engineering does better justify its price point, so while it's not my cup of Oolong tea, I would say that it is worth buying.
