High Grade Gashapon Kamen Rider Part 34Our first HG Kabuto, the long-awaited Biorider, plus the final member of the Delzer Army. Oh, and Faiz is there for some reason.
What it is: Yet another entry in the long-running series of High Grade Gashapon (capsule toy) figures, based on characters from all the various Kamen Rider shows and movies. Notable features about this set include the then-newest Rider, Kabuto, on a display base (continuing the based, neutral-posed Riders started back in Part 20) as well as the first time we've seen two figures specifically designed to be displayed together in a Rider set. Well, technically the second, but Bandai didn't tell anyone about the first time.
What's the deal: Most of the time, a new High Grade Rider set is a cause for celebration (well, at least cause for an "Aww, yeah!" or two.) Every so often though, Bandai brings out a line-up that leaves us scratching our heads, wondering 1) "Hey, where's the Shocker Kaijin"? and 2) "Another version of that guy?". While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it also begs the question: what is going to be so cool about this set that deserves getting 2 characters we've already seen before and no next-Kaijin-in-line?
Well, this is something of a benchmark set, as it features a number of firsts and lasts. It's the first time we've seen Kamen Rider Kabuto in Gashapon form, and uniquely his first go-round is as one of the on-the-base figures, who are usually guys we've seen before (the previous set featured Zolda, who we haven't seen since the original Action Pose set way back when.) Since there's going to be plenty more Kabuto after this, it's a pretty good start, since really, a lot of the time in the pictures and publicity materials, Kabuto pretty much looks just like that.
We also have our first ever rendition of Biorider, who along with Roborider has been getting the shaft time and again (they even did Kamen Rider Kuuga Amazing Mighty Form before either of them, and that says something.) But Biorider is here in full force, and in another first, is part of the first ever "action scene" involving two separate figures.
Actually, they've been doing this in the High Grade Ultraman sets for a while now, and just finally Kamen Rider is catching on. The other half of the scene is Bosgan, our first ever BLACK RX foe (aside from Shadow Moon, who wields the Satan Saber, so I guess it's the BLACK incarnation.) While both figures can be displayed separately, they can also be placed together to recreate... well, whenever Biorider and Bosgan had a fight. This is accomplished by adjusting Biorider's arm and wrist so it looks like he's pushing Bosgan's sword out of the way while preparing to counter with his own Bio Blade. Not exactly complex, but it's a nice little experiment, and hopefully we'll see more "action scene" figure combos in the future. There's sure plenty to choose from! As I mentioned earlier, we did kinda see this already in a previous set involving Tackle, but this was the first time Bandai really pushed the idea in print.
Finally, we have the last member of the 12-man (well, 12-man/woman/thing) Rider villain group, the Delzer Army, from Kamen Rider Stronger: Generalissimo Machine. This also makes Delzer the first Rider villain group to be completed in High Grade form (all we need now are Delzer henchmen with interchangeable masks!) Given the complex design of the character, it's impossible to fully capture all the little intricate details of the real costume, but Bandai made an effort, even if they went light on the paint (something shared by a lot of the figures in this set.) Still, it's great to see they gave it their best shot, because a couple years ago I'd never have thought they'd really go all the way and do everybody in Delzer. Score one for the forces of evil.
The two fightin' Oni from Kamen Rider Hibiki are sure to raise some eyebrows: eternal loser Kamen Rider Sabaki was pretty much guaranteed after we saw Danki last time, and the big brown & red one is here in all his glory. One thing I find highly amusing is that while his belt buckle is the same kind that Todoroki and Zanki had, designed for use with string weapons, he's also got the Hibiki-style drumsticks on his belt back. No wonder he always gets his butt kicked- he brings the wrong weapons into battle! Todoroki is the other Hibiki Rider figure in this set, and one of the two resculpted characters. Considering we just got a good Todoroki in the recent Action Pose Hibiki set, it's a bit puzzling why he's here... until you see his guitar. It's huge compared to the one Action Pose Todoroki had, and I guess therefore more show-accurate. I also theorize that since we had regular, fixed-pose Hibiki & Ibuki figures before the Action Pose versions, Bandai wanted to give us a fixed-pose Todoroki to round out the trinity. Amazingly, they resisted doing a Zanki variant, but then again the pose is fairly Todoroki-specific. (But go figure, they did a fixed-posed Zanki not long after this.) I just hope we'll still see the rest of the cool movie-only Hibiki Riders, because I want my Touki with giant club!
And lastly... Faiz. You're probably wondering why he's here. This is, I think, the 7th or so version of this character we've seen, and the 3rd of just regular, non-powered up Faiz. What's up with that? Apparently, according to a survey Bandai took, Faiz is the most popular Heisei Rider of them all among High Grade collectors (the character, as opposed to the show) so they jumped on the chance to do another version of 5 Cubed himself. This time around, Faiz is in his "pre-Crimson Smash" pose.
Final Vent: Paint issues aside (and I can't really complain, since I always buy an extra set or two to paint up/customize) Bandai gives us another winner. The variety and innovation going on here makes up for any shortcomings, and even just barely makes up for the lack of Shocker presence (what can I say? I am one of the self-described 5 biggest Shocker fans in the world, people.) If you like any of the characters, High Grade figures in general, or just want to collect them all (like me), it's worth a pick-up.
Where to get them: Anime Jungle still has it of this writing.
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Stay tuned tomorrow as IKRB celebrates over 100 posts...only about 5 or 6 of which were any good!
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I'm so jealous of the fact what youcan access to this wonderful gashapons! You are sooo lucky!
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