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High Grade Collectionfigure Of Real Entertainment: Kamen Rider Part 2It's got Rider 2. It's got Den-O. It's got... Kuuga!?
As you probably determined from the previous review, the H.G.C.O.R.E. upgrade to the old High Grade Gachapon line was a very good thing indeed. The follow-up set acted as both a "Hey let's get the new Rider in here somehow" set as well as a "Hey let's repeat the great idea of the first set with revisting older Riders and giving them much-needed updates" set. The end result: Awesomeness. Literally. I'm going to start running out of positive things to say about these if Bandai keeps it up.
Kamen Rider 2 (New)If there's one thing that I think all the people of the world, regardless of color, creed, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, political, cultural or ideological differences can agree on, it's this: Ichimonji Hayato is a @#$%ing badass. I mean, this is a dude whose meddling led to dozens of Nazi war criminals being blown up in exploding secret base. On Christmas. Does it get any better than that? In my book, not much, unless it involves the words "Junko" and "swimming pool".
Naturally, with the Best. Gachapon. Rider 1. Yet. having debuted in the previous set, was anyone really surprised that we'd get Rider 2 to follow up in the next one? Probably not, but the choice of Rider 2 was an interesting one; whereas the Rider 1 was from near the end of the series, the "definitive" look of the character that has remained up to today, this Rider 2 is from the episode where he comes back to lend Hongô a hand, #72. It's sort of a transitional suit, using the red gloves and boots he is known for today, but keeping the big, thick silver lines on the side (eagle-eyed fans will spot that when he returns near the end of the series, the lines are much thinner and more silvery-white/solid white.) As a result, it's a bit unique, as we've never gotten this particular Rider 2 before. He goes along with the Kaijin in this set, so there's that too.
Next to Rider 1, he looks pretty good. Rider 1 didn't change *that much* from #72 to #92, so they go well enough together. As for Rider 2 himself, he's well-done. Another classic pose brought to life, and the detailing is spot-on. I think Rider 1's mask & eyes came out a little bit better, as the slightly more opaque plastic used there made them look more solid red, whereas these come out a bit orange red. But you know, that's a very minor nitpick, and not enough to stop me from calling this one of the best Rider 2's yet. I wouldn't say it's the pinnacle like Rider 1, and there's plenty of room to improve, but as it is, it's a pretty good shot and for the specific scenes (from episodes #72 & 73), it's as good as it gets.
Kamen Rider Den-O (Sword Form)First shots at new Riders, when their shows are still fairly young and the sculptors have to basically make it up as they go, tend to be varied. The first HG Kuuga was great, and even had an unintentional amount of poseability. Agito & Faiz were stuck in odd poses, Ryuki & Blade were true to the series, Hibiki had 2 first figures (both of which were great) and Kabuto got a "Gallery" one where he just stood there. Den-O's most famous form definitely lucked out, getting what is this set's "Gatack": he's got additional hands, so you can have him holding the Den-Gasher Sword or... not holding it.
His arms, neck, waist and wrists are moveable enough that you can get a couple poses out of him. It's not quite an Action Pose figure, but there's room for variety, which is nice. He definitely looks best with sword in hand, although in a neat little bit of cross-figure compatibility (that surprisingly went unflaunted by Bandai), the Den-Gasher parts from the Rod Form & Axe Form figures in this set can be plugged into the holes on his belt to achieve the "unassembled DenGasher" look. It's a cool little detail, and another of those great C.O.R.E. touches.
As for the eyes, making use of the clear parts as they do... they work well enough. One thing that should be apparent if you put him side-by-side with Rider 2 is that his head looks a bit small, and the follow-up Action Pose version (to be reviewed at a later date) sports a much bigger noggin. I'm not sure which is more accurate, but in any case they both look cool. I have to say, if we only got one Sword Form ever (which, as we know, isn't the case as we get one in the very next set!), this would be a pretty decent one to have.
Kamen Rider Den-O (Rod Form)Bandai did something here that I quite like: they stuck 3 Den-O's in this set, but made two of them "Gallery" series figures. In a sense, this gives us more Den-O for our buck, and also elminates the need to do these guys later on down the road. And since the then-upcoming Den-O Action Pose set would feature the basic 4 forms anyway, they could get away with doing the static, neutral-posed ones here and now. Or then.
As mentioned, the Den-Gasher parts on his belt can be removed, and used with Sword Form, or even Axe Form (who comes with his own.) Other than that, it's a good enough figure. I definitely don't think the picture does it justice, as the head, which looked somewhat wonky in early photos, actually comes across nicely, and the big orange eyes make use of clear plastic quite well. It's basically about as good as a non-posed version of the character as it can get.
Kamen Rider Den-O (Axe Form)Everything I just said about Rod Form? Applies here too, minus the eyes (which use no clear parts.) Still looks cool, and the "face axe" was done quite well. Not much else to say here, other than that he looks great displayed next to Sword Form & Rod Form from this set, or the Sword Form & Gun Form figures from the next one.
Also: "NAKERUDE!"
MosquirasA sort-of companion piece to the Rider 2 in this set, Shocker's mosquito Kaijin was after all the one who got to fight that particular version of Ichimonji, along with Shiomaneking in the next episode (and the big crabby guy will be seeing a C.O.R.E. debut in a later set.)
Mosquiras has a fairly intricate design, especially where the face is concerned, and Bandai more or less pulled it off here. The use of several parts for the face/mouth works out well, as it looks really sharp and true to the TV version. The clear plastic used for the wings is rockin', and that shiny gold Shocker belt buckle is nice to see once more (seeing as how, aside from one earlier especially notable monster from this era, it's been all silver & dark gunmetal belts.) And man, they even painted his fingernails!
Although an earlier sample had some trouble standing properly until I fumbled around with the base, the one I have here stands up no problem, so it's not a figure-wide issue. Which is good, because a Kaijin who keeps tipping over doesn't exactly inspire much fear.
Kamen Rider Kuuga (Mighty Form)Kuuga? Kuuga!? Don't get me wrong, I love Kuuga, but his inclusion here was certainly a surprise. It's a bit like how Bandai just randomly decides to do Faiz every now and then, although at least then they have the excuse of him being the most popular (design-wise) of the new Riders amongst people who actually bother to fill out the little
enquete that comes with each figure. Kuuga's inclusion is a bit of a mystery, until you go back and realize that 1) the one time we got a Rider Kickin' Kuuga, it was Rising Mighty Form and 2) after all these years, they've never done Growing Form!
Both issues were rectified here, with what was this set's "variation 1/2 assortment" chase figure. You basically could either get Mighty Form Kuuga or Growing Form Kuuga in almost the same pose. Sadly, I don't have a Growing Form on hand to show you, but I did get one (a couple, actually) back in the states via HLJ and he's basically the same from the waist down. Above the belt, his armor's painted white, his head and eyes are different (orange instead of red), and his arms are slightly different, with open hands and posed much less like the confident "Uooorrriiaaaaaaa!" Mighty Form, and more like the "Oh #$%@ I'm gonna die!" Growing Form.
Aside from that, Kuuga's one of those characters that you have to struggle with to get wrong, he pretty much always looks good in every toy I've ever bought of him. The clear plastic for the eyes is as good as ever, and I suspect this will probably be the last we'll see of Kuuga for at least... a couple sets. So it's a good thing that this one, both of them, are winners.
And that's it for now. Tune in soon for Part 3!
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