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High Grade Collectionfigure Of Real Entertainment: Kamen Rider Part 4Hey, wasn't V3 in the last one?
There's this strange thing about me and the "revamp" movies Kamen Rider THE FIRST and Kamen Rider THE NEXT: so little stuff related to them comes out (at first) that I find myself getting excited about everything. I mean, under normal circumstances, an expensive Kamen Rider USB flashdrive that has Kabuto's face on it is something I'd probably skip over. But put the Shocker emblem or TRC logo on that sucker, and I'm sold. As a result, anything with the FIRSTy/NEXTy logo on it just demands my attention. This *may* have something to do with the fact that the movies are about a bunch of guys call Rider 1, Rider 2, and V3 (or at least modernized ciphers of them), but I digress. Onto the review!
Kamen Rider V3 (THE NEXT version)Aside from like, a theater exclusive V3 stamp figure that you could get if you bought an advance ticket (and even then, you got it at the theater when the movie came out), I'm pretty sure this set had the first real Kamen Rider THE NEXT-related figures released. A big deal was made out of this fact: not only do NEXTy characters make up half the set (or more than half if you count the variations), the whole thing is given the subtitle "Kamen Rider V3 Reborn". So fittingly enough, the big V to the 3 is here, and
he compares favorably to his old TV self from the last set.
If you've read any of the other C.O.R.E. reviews, you know by now that really great detailing and clear eye parts on the Riders are pretty much standard issue with these figures, so I won't get too deep into that other than to say that this is one nice V3, although I'm sure we'll see another (Gallery or Rider Kicking) soon enough. As it is though, it's a pretty good one. The pose is yet again a throwback to that of the original High Grader series Part 1's V3, albeit more dynamic now with those seperately-sculpted scarves.
Those green scarves! Yes, looking at this figure really brings out a lot of the color and stylistic differences to the original V3. The lower half of his mask is silver (the original's ranged from white to grey at various points in the series.) His gloves are yellowish-gold, Shocker Rider-style, and not white. His suit's more of an olive drab than the solid green of the original. And we can see his neck and hair. As with the updated Rider 1 & 2 costumes from the movies, I prefer the TV series originals, but the revamps are still pretty freakin' awesome, so no complaints there. All told, V3 2007 looks sweet.
He's got the little Shocker emblems on his back and gloves too. Cuz, you know, V3 starts out on the opposing team this time.
I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of V3 in the coming year, but if you have to get at least one figure of the new spin on the big green guy, this is a pretty good one to get.
Kamen Rider Den-O (Liner Form)Bandai's just tearing through those Den-O forms, isn't it? We get not one, but two all-new forms this time around, both of which are conceptually similar but quite unique from a design standpoint. Liner Form is... well, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It's sort of less cohesive with the other designs as Climax Form is, but it looks a bit more well-planned. As opposed to just being like "Okay, this goes here, that goes there, and we put one of those right there."
I'm sure the upcoming Sôchaku-Henshin figure will change my opinion a great deal (they always do), but for the moment I have to say this is a pretty good figure for the big red one. Yes, it skims on the paint, and it's a lot more blatant here than on other figures. His belt phone thingy is unpainted, and the big crazy sword thing could use some touching up. But then again, it is just a Gachapon figure, and none but the most absolutely picky of fans should expect perfection when it comes to paint. Also, I like getting extras of HG figures and paintin' them up (or "super-detailing" as I tend to say) so no harm done.
He comes with an extra open hand to switch around with the sword-wielding one. As a result, you can make it appear as though he's surfing (and honestly, the above V3 kind of looks like he could be surfing too.) The clear parts used on the eyes work well enough. The Den-Gasher parts on his belt are removable, and curiously are different than what we've seen with past Den-O figures (they're much smaller, and painted.)
Other than that, there isn't much to say, but (as the alternate ad shows) if you're not buying this for the movie guys, then this is the figure to get excited about this time. Because it is after all this year's STRONGEST FORM EVER!!!1!!1!11one
Kamen Rider Den-O (Climax Form)Den-O's mid-series upgrade. Known by a number of interesting nicknames which I won't reprint here (it is a family blog, after all), this guy combines the four basic forms into one big supa-dupa form that's still not as amazingly powerful as Liner Form, but not too shabby either. Plus, he has a nasty Rider Punch & Rider Kick, and those are always good things.
Like Liner Form, he's got the new, smaller Den-Gasher parts for his belt. He's got clear eye parts that do the job, and he's got a big red chunky phone on his belt.
The pose is pretty cool. It's not the most action-oriented one, but more like a "Come get some" taunting pose. I bet if you fudged around with it a bit, you could get him to hold some of the Action Pose figures' weapons.
The details are overall pretty spot-on. And this one actually outdoes Liner-Form in the paint department: nice to see somebody remembered Rod Form's eyes this time!
It's also as good a time as any to point out something I forgot in the C.O.R.E. Part 3 review. As of that set (not counting the Action Pose one) the figures all have holes in their feet. This will come into play in the upcoming H.G.C.O.R.E. EX Kamen Rider set, which I'll review at a later date. Like, when it finally comes out!
Chainsaw-Lizard (Without & With Chainsaw)First off, you should know that there are two figures here. It's another "variation 1/2 assortment" thingy. You can either get the one on the left, or the one on the right. The only differense is the arms, they're both different for either figure. And yes, you can mix & match them!
Now onto the figure itself, which is of course representing the psychotic chainsaw-wielding villainess from Kamen Rider THE NEXT. If you read my review of the film, you probably gathered two things. 1) I like Chainsaw-Lizard and 2) I was rather disappointed that, along with Scissors-Jaguar, she was not responsible for the film's gorier killings. I suppose the reason for this is it makes her character a bit more accessible since kids will now doubt be adding figures of her to their collections, but then again this is a character whose first scene is her and a bunch of other guys standing around wearing very little (and by very little I mean creepy monster helmets and not much more) and later extols upon the audience how killing people really gets her off. Ummm... yeah. So I'm not sure what the deal is exactly, but the point remains that I like Chainsaw-Lizard, even if she wasn't used the way I would have used her (here's a hint: in a movie that has a lot of very violent and bloody deaths, doesn't it sort of, you know, make sense if they're committed by people who have chainsaws and giant blades for hands?)
But onto the figure at hand... whoa. An update of classic V3 villainess Nokogiri-Tokage, I have to say that, along with Scissors-Jaguar '07, I really like the costume. She's slinky, deadly, and decked out in leather, metal, and Shocker paraphernalia. Her "hair" (a bunch of chains shaped into a braid) that comes out the back of her head is really well done, and making it a seperate part paid off. I can't really make up my mind about the paint. While there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of it, based on the film and photos of the character, she isn't incredibly colorful anyway, so it does the job.
Both versions are quite neat. I like the chainsaw one just a bit more because, as mentioned in my review, I like the idea of monsters with chainsaws, because it's such an imposing weapon that it automatically makes whoever's going up them look 1000% cooler (and at least 5000% more doomed) than usual. Also, Bandai did a nice job on the chainsaw arm. All that's missing is the "SHOCKERS" inscription on the side!
And then there's the boots. I once described Chainsaw-Lizard's boots as being able to "kill the sidewalk". And indeed, I don't think it's possible for her to stand without the aid of a base (although I admit I haven't tried it yet.) Seriously, her heels alone are worthy of being considered a deadly weapon, and it's quite amusing to play "watch the boot change" during the movie (as with Kamen Rider Femme, where her heels magically appear and disappear depending on the scene.)
So yeah, this one's a winner. I'm hoping for a Scissors-Jaguar companion piece soon. And Shocker Riders! A whole buncha them hang around with the chainsaw-wielding one. Just no Chiharu please. I'll even take an Ouja Blank Form before her. And I don't often say that.
Gani-KoumoruI talked about Bandai's seeming indecision about how to properly approach the Shocker Kaijin in a previous C.O.R.E. review. This time, they decided to just jump ahead and do the very first Gelshocker Kaijin (although we're back to Shocker next time.)
Not that I'm complaining. Gani-Koumoru here is known to Rider fans as being one of the biggest badasses of 1972. And that's a year that also introduced us to Jiro, a guy who could drive around on a bright yellow motorcycle with a bright red guitar and *still* manage to look like a stone-cold playa. The crabby bat guy here managed to hang around for 3 episodes (4 if you count the recap at the beginning of #81), go through 2 voice actors and famously had his final showdown with Rider 1 on Toei-favorite Sarushima, a place I've been to before and will talk all about in the future. So it was only natural that, at some point, he'd get a Gachapon figure.
And you know something? For such a colorful character, Bandai really managed to do him justice. The paintjob on this guy is top-notch, and the sculpting is something to write home about as well. Yes, he does look a bit like he's surfing (don't they all) but this one's a real winner. And in a set with new Den-O forms and new Rider movie characters, the fact that I can still get excited over a monster who made biplane noises when he flies just proves to me one thing: I really *am* the biggest Gelshocker fan there is.
Black Shôgun would be proud.
Kamen Rider (THE FIRST verion & THE NEXT version)Seeing as how Kamen Rider THE NEXT is just as much about Rider 1 & 2 as it is about V3 (and sadly, at times it's more about Chiharu and her @#$%ed-up life than any of them), it's only fitting that we get a Rider 1 figure in this set. But what's this? We get not only the main main in his current, "Sakurajima Rider 1"-inspired threads, but the first version from Kamen Rider THE FIRST, both in "Gallery Form". So yes, it's another variant figure deal.
Looking at the two side-by-side, you can see just how much Rider 1's changed over the course of two years. The newer costume is darker and more beat-up. I like to think it's a result of him fighting a long, difficult battle against Shocker, but it's probably just due to him not taking the costume to the dry cleaner's (where's Takumi when you need him?) While the only real difference in the figures is the color (and clear plastic used for the eyes, pink or red), the current version has some extra "damage" detailing painted onto his helmet, and it looks pretty neato.
Not much else to say other than "Dude, it's a Rider 1, of course I'm going to like it." Hopefully we'll see Rider 2 (in both versions) follow suit soon enough.
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And that's it for the reviews! I hope you've enjoyed reading them, because I sure enjoyed writing them (even if they take forever!)
Bonus:
The alternate ad/insert for this set, featuring Liner Form as the main selling point.***
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