REVIEW: 75971 Hanzo vs. Genji

[Oky]

Kon'nichiwa! Our next stop on our world tour of the Overwatch sets takes us to Hanamura, Japan, where we witness the epic fight between the two great dragons, Hanzo and Genji.

About Overwatch

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Overwatch, click below to get a brief summary of what it is:

 

Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released on May 24, 2016 for PlayStation 4, XboxOne, and Windows, and it has since gathered a huge fanbase and has even become a popular esport. What sets Overwatch apart from other first-person shooters such as Fortnite or PUBG is that it encourages teamwork as players are put into two teams of six, with each player selecting from a roster of nearly 30 characters, known as "heroes", each with a unique style of play whose roles are divided into three general categories that fit their role: tank, damage, or support. Players on a team work together to secure and defend control points on a map or escort a payload across the map in a limited amount of time.

This is the first Lego theme based on a first-person shooter game (unless you count the Star Wars Battlefront subtheme) since those usually go against their brand values, so many were shocked when this theme was announced. However, what makes Overwatch different from most other shooters is that it has a stylized kid-friendly look to it and takes place in the future with fictional weapons much like Star Wars, so it doesn’t violate TLG’s no-modern-warfare rule. This is also the reason that drew me to this game as I don’t like depictions of realistic war in video games either.

Another great thing about Overwatch is that it has a lot of lore behind it. While there sadly is no story mode in the game, the backstory behind the setting and its characters is revealed in web comics and beautifully animated short films. Seriously, even if you have no interest in playing the game, I strongly recommend you go check out the shorts on YouTube; they just might change your mind with their Pixar-level quality. The story of Overwatch is basically that in a future Earth, there was a golden age of technology where humans and robots called Omnics lived together in peace until the Omnics decided to rise up against the humans. A team of the world’s finest heroes called Overwatch was formed by the UN to fight off the robot uprising and they succeeded. Overwatch kept the peace for several decades, but due to in-fighting between its members and allegations of failure, Overwatch was eventually shut down. Six years later, with a terrorist organization called Talon causing trouble all over the world and a second Omnic Crisis on the horizon, former Overwatch member Winston decides to reform the team and save the world once again. This is where the game begins.

Add to that an ever-growing roster of fun and diverse characters and a relatively positive and creative fan community and you can see why TLG chose to make a theme based on this game. I bought Overwatch on a Black Friday sale 2 years ago and have been playing it almost every day since then because it’s just so fun and addictive! So let’s see if the sets are just as fun.

Set Number: 75971
Name: Hanzo vs. Genji
Theme: Overwatch
Year of Release: 2019
Pieces: 197
Minifigs: 3
Price: £24.99 / $19.99 / 24.99€
Links: S@H Brickset Bricklink
S@H description:

 

Quote

Now your favorite Overwatch® fan can build the Hanamura dojo in LEGO® bricks with LEGO Overwatch 75971 Hanzo vs. Genji. Based on the internationally acclaimed team-based action game, this Overwatch toy recreates the epic face-off for the Hanamura dojo between the rival dragon brothers Hanzo and cyborg ninja Genji. With weapons for the highly recognizable Overwatch heroes and a buildable dojo, kids will love to play out the action from the game, while older fans will want to show off the set next to their gaming setup.

This set is clearly based on the animated short film “Dragons”. There will be spoilers for that short in this review and it’s a great little short, so watch it before you continue reading if you haven’t already:

The Box

 

Even though the set is called Hanzo vs. Genji, you don’t actually see the two fighting on the box art. Instead, Genji is chasing after the henchman for some reason who is attempting to call for reinforcements just like in the short, while Hanzo is getting ready to strike from above. What makes it even more confusing is that the shrine seems to be located on the balcony outside of the dojo instead of inside.

The top features the usual Lego Overwatch branding with Tracer in the upper right corner, the Blizzard logo in the lower right, and the set info on the left hand side.

The back of the box looks much more accurate to the short as it shows Hanzo and Genji actually fighting and the background depicts the inside of the dojo. That along with the inclusion of the set info again here makes me think that this should have been at the front of the box. Hanzo and Genji get name tags and there is a URL for the Overwatch product page on Lego.com at the bottom.

The top shows the Hanzo and Genji minifigs at actual scale, but the two images overlap each other due to the thinness of the box. I’ve never seen that in these scale references before and I don't know why they tried to cram both of them into the picture instead of just using one minifig as usual.

On the bottom there are just some choking hazard warnings.

The choking hazard warning continue on one side of the box while on the other side there is another render of Genji and Hanzo.

Contents

Inside the box there are four unnumbered bags of varying sizes, an instructions booklet, and a sticker sheet with just two stickers.

Instructions

The first pages of the instructions show you how to sort the parts and download digital instructions using the Lego Life app (which currently doesn't work as the set isn't available yet).

Here is random instructions page that shows how the arch is constructed. The instructions are simple to read and the light blue background makes them easy to see.

The last page features the inventory and another reminder to scan the QR code on the front cover to unlock some the parts from the set in the Lego Life app.

Notable Parts

While there are some stickers in the set, many of you will be delighted to know that most of the decals are printed. The printed parts include a 1x1 cylinder with a slanted red cross, the 1x2 smartphone tile that is available in many Friends and City sets, a 1x1 round tile with the Overwatch logo to represent the medal given to the Overwatch members when they're invited to join, and 2x2 round tiles with the Shimada Clan seal - two in lime and two in blue - to represent Genji and Hanzo's spirit dragons. We also get a few parts in rare colors such as the banner in white, 2x2 curved tiles in dark red, and a 4x4 curved tile in brown, as well as an unprinted BB-9E head.

The Minifigs

We get three figs in this set: Genji, Hanzo, and a Shimada henchman. Hanzo is the oldest of the Shimada brothers and was meant to become leader of their clan when their father died. He killed his brother Genji when he refused to take part in their family’s criminal empire, or so he thought. Genji was able to survive by joining Overwatch and becoming a cyborg ninja. He has accepted his new body and forgave Hanzo who has come to regret his actions and has set out on a path to redemption. The Shimada henchman is the most important character in the game and I am so glad that he is available in such an affordable set! He is totally not just some random goon that Hanzo easily defeats in the short and whose inclusion in this set is completely pointless.

Genji gets a new mold for his helmet and Hanzo gets one for his hair, and they both get a new bandana piece to attach to their new headgear, all of which look great, although Genji’s helmet looks a bit big on him. He comes with three shuriken, but unlike in the game, he can't hold them all at the same time, which is fine. Hanzo looks pretty good for the most part, especially his gunmetal legs, but the flesh printing on his chest looks a bit pale which is a common issue with bright printing on black parts. Hopefully TLG will figure out a fix for this soon. He comes with his Storm Bow and it’s cool to get the bow and arrow piece in dark blue. The henchman looks decent and has an appropriately scared face. He comes with a neat gun similar to those from the first Batman sets and a smartphone, although the parts he is made of are preexisting and pretty generic.

When compared to the character models in the game, there are some notable inaccuracies though. For instance, Genji's white and nougat color scheme looks to bright and colorful in my opinion. I think dark tan would have been a better choice instead of that orangey color. Also, Hanzo's awesome dragon tattoo that stretches from the bare side of his chest down to his left hand is completely absent. With all the amazing arm printing Lego has been doing lately, it seems like they should have been able to include it easily, so why was this omitted? It makes his chest look so empty. For what it’s worth, the henchman looks spot-on, but that's not a huge accomplishment. Honestly, while I appreciate his inclusion, I would have much rather given up the henchman minifig in favor of another playable character from the game or at least some more printing on Hanzo and Genji.

Genji has a sword holder on his back which carries his Dragonblade and it's nice to get the katana mold in lime green. The only thing he is missing is his wakizashi sword that he uses for swift strikes and deflecting enemy fire. There is an empty spot for another katana on his back, so they could have easily fixed this by just including one more katana in silver, but perhaps they decided against it since it would be in the wrong place on his back. Hanzo has a quiver in black. As you can see, Genji's bandana attaches straight onto the back of his helmet while Hanzo's attaches to the left side of his hair bun. There is no pin hole on the other side of his hair, so you can only attach it on this side. The henchman doesn't have anything on his back other than two printed lines.

Genji and Hanzo have some nice back printing as well. Here is a picture of them without their neck- and headgear on. So what is hiding underneath Genji's mysterious helmet? Nothing. It's just an unprinted silver head, which might be useful for MOCs, but is very disappointing given the big twist at the end of the animated short that this set is based on. Sure, we never get a good look at Genji's face, but they could have at least printed his eyes. Hanzo and the henchman don't get any second faces either, so the henchman seems to constantly be in a state of anxiety, making him the most relatable minifig in 2018.

The Build

With the exception of the SNOT arch which uses an interesting technique to attach to the top of the wall, the build is pretty standard and it doesn't take very long. Here is a shot of it about halfway through the build.

The Completed Set

The finished dojo consists of a large wall with an arch and a banner and with a small hallway with stairs on each side as well as a small display with Hanzo's old sword and sheath on it which he swore never to use again after supposedly killing his brother with it. On the wall there is a slashed Shimada Clan seal and a banner with kanji on it. I'm impressed that TLG kept the blood splatters on the banner. The writing on the banner translates to "dragon head, snake tail" which is an idiom that basically means "anticlimax". It is believed that this is just Blizzard playing a joke on anyone trying to translate its meaning, but in the case of this set, I think it could also be referring to Genji's unprinted head.

While the scene is fairly recognizable as the second capture point of the Hanamura map, it does have several inaccuracies. All of the black parts should be gold and the red columns should be a light brown color. That disc below the arch is much higher up and doesn't feature a seal. There are no balconies above the hallway in the game, just a big mural, the pots are down on the ground, not up on the walkway, and the stairs extrude out from the walkway instead of being recessed back into it. Also, the stairs in the set are each missing a step. I'm guessing this was done so that you can put a minifig on there, but it makes the stairs look broken/unfinished.

The dojo looks quite boring when viewed from the back. Instead of being one continuous hallway like in the game, the section behind the wall with the arch is just empty, and the only interesting things in the two hallway sections are a small health pack on one side and an Overwatch medal on the other (which presumably belongs to Genji). There is no health pack in this part of the map in the game, but I really like the health pack because it looks just like the ones in the game, so I appreciate its inclusion. There is also a Technic pin on each side where you can store the extra dragon discs. The instructions don't tell you this, but that's what I'm assuming those are for.

Play Features

The only play features in this set are the disc shooters on each side of the dojo. One side contains Genji's spirit dragon, and the other Hanzo's. You can aim them by using a hinge and press the red tab on the back to shoot out the spirit dragon disc and try to hit a minifig. It works pretty well, although you can't angle the shooter very much without hitting the sword display.

"Ryū ga waga teki wo kurau!"

Spare Parts

There are a few interesting pieces left over after the build such as an extra Overwatch medal, an extra shuriken (since they come in packs of two) and spare bandanas for both Genji and Hanzo.

Ratings

Design: 3/5 - While the scenery is recognizable enough, it's not completely accurate and looks a bit bland, especially from the back. The black, red, and tan color scheme makes it feel more like something out of Ninjago than Overwatch.

Build: 3/5 - Except for the SNOT arch and maybe the unconventional stairs, the build is pretty average.

Minifigs: 4/5 - The minifigs we get look pretty good and come with some cool new headgear and accessories, but I have to deduct a point for Genji's missing face and Hanzo's missing tattoos.

Playability: 2/5 - The only playability this set has is two of the same play feature which is not bad, but not great either.

Parts: 3/5 - There are a couple of rare parts and I like that a lot of the parts are printed, but it's nothing to write home about.

Price: 4/5 - 197 parts with 3 figs for 20 bucks is quite fair for a licensed set.

Overall: 3/5 - This set had potential, but it kind of came out just okay. Both the figs and the build, while nice, are not as accurate as they could have been and there's just not that much playability. The Shimada henchman was a nice addition, but kind of unnecessary. If you really need to have Hanzo and Genji in your collection despite their minor flaws or if you just want to add another dojo to your Ninjago layout, you could pick this up on sale, but otherwise I'd say this Overwatch set is pretty skippable.

Thanks for reading and please check out my other Overwatch reviews! If you'd like to learn how to do high-quality reviews like this, come join the Eurobricks Reviewers Academy! Special thanks to TLG for sending me these sets for review. Lego Overwatch sets are currently available for pre-order and will go on sale January 1, 2019!

What do you think of this set? Will you be buying it? And who do you think will win this duel, Hanzo or Genji? Let me know in the comments and vote in the poll above! Oh, and if you're an Overwatch player, shoot me a PM with your username so that we can play some games together!

[RongoKongo]

Im not an overwatch fan but i think this set comes with some pretty interesting pieces like the bandanas. And the dojo is inacurate but nice for things outside overwatch.The price just ruins it

[Oky]

6 hours ago, RongoKongo said:

Im not an overwatch fan but i think this set comes with some pretty interesting pieces like the bandanas. And the dojo is inacurate but nice for things outside overwatch.The price just ruins it

Welcome to EB! I assume you're not from the US? The price does seem a bit high in other countries.

[WhiteFang]

Nothing too impressive about the Shrine and it does able to integrate with the Ninjago setting though. The minifigures are pretty nice to look at. In particular, Hanzo is something whichg I like to have. I am still undecided on this set but looking at your review. It is making me to reconsider my position again. 

[Pchan1983]

I found the set not bad given the price not that high.  And I have no knowledge on overwatch.  Main reason is getting HANZO's hair piece.  Check out my video review if interested.