It appears as if my local Barnes and Noble has almost no Gunpla in stock. I cannot tell whether this is because they are giving up on them, or whether they are simply in short supply due to the pandemic. I am hoping it is the latter - even though it may not be my go-to place for kits, it is always nice to pop in and see what they have for sale.
As of this writing, the store had only one actual Gundam model kit, as well as a handful of figurines. I thought I might as well get the kit before someone else did, and so that’s exactly what I did. Behold the Haropla Zakrello!!
If you are a crazy serious Gundam fan, you probably got a kick out of seeing this kit. If you’re a medium-to-casual fan, it still probably put a smile on your face. For everyone else, let me explain.
About Haro
Haropla, like Gunpla, is a portmanteau, in this case meaning “Haro Gunpla”. But what exactly is a Haro?
Simply put, Haro is the unofficial mascot of the Gundam franchise at large, as well as the mascot of animation studio Sunrise (who actually includes the little guy in the intro to their shows).
Haro’s first appearance is in the original Mobile Suit Gundam, where it is depicted as a custom-made toy robot built by protagonist Amuro Ray.
Haro’s main purpose is to roll around, look cute, and cheer on Amuro and his friends:
Oh, and I guess it technically has hands and feet, though it doesn’t use them often:
Honestly, what else do you need from a mascot?
Having not been alive at the time, I cannot say whether Haro became an actual fan favorite, or simply a favorite among the animators. In either case, the roly poly little guy continued to show up in sequel stories:
As well Gundam shows that take place in alternate universes. Perhaps the most famous of these is Lockon Stratos’ Haro in Gundam 00, which accompanies him on missions and provides extra computing power for calculating long distance sniper shots.
Haro also shows up in Gundam Seed, though I only know this from research (never seen the show):
So there you have it. Cute, round, and ripe for merchandising opportunities. That’s Haro in a nutshell.
In-Universe Haro merch
While Haro starts off as a one-off custom robot in the original Gundam, it eventually becomes famous within the setting of the show, so much so that toy companies begin to create mass produced Haro replicas:
About Haropla
According to the Gundam Wiki, Haropla is the name given specifically to a line of Haro-based model kits launched in 2018 and still ongoing today. The first few kits in the line were basic Haros in a variety of colors:
Eventually the line began to feature parodical, “Haro-ified” versions of existing mobile suits and machines.
The topic of this build, the Haro Zakrello, is one such parody.
About the Zakrello
The Zakrello is one of those mecha that even most dedicated Gundam fans may not be familiar with. It is a mobile armor from the original Mobile Suit Gundam, and is a perfect example of why the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” exists. Just look at the thing:
Where do I even begin? Do I make fun of the goofy shape? The goofy face? The knife hands? The heart tatoo on its arm? Nothing about this thing makes a lot of sense, which is why it is largely forgotten by most fans, and infamous among those that remember.
So yeah, the Haro Zakrello simply dresses a yellow Haro up with the Zakrello’s knife hands and rockets.
It looks less “what the heck were they thinking?” goofy, and more “cute, but unsettling” goofy. I call it an all-around improvement over the original.
About the model
There is more to this model than meets the eye. For one, you get a stand!
More importantly, you don’t have to keep it in the Zakrello configuration if you don’t want to. The kit comes with the pieces needed to instead attach Haro’s regular hands and feet. Or you can put it in its original ball form.
You can also open up the face and look at some of the circuitry inside. I’m not sure why, but it is a cute little touch all the same.
About the Build
Obviously this is going to be a pretty simple kit, though there are some possibilities for detailing. I guess we’ll see how it goes.
Other Thoughts
- You may have noticed that the box art for this kit looks strangely old school. That’s not by accident, since it is an homage to the box art for the original Zakrello model released way back in 1982!
