Review: SH KR Hibiki Kurenai & KR Zanki

Remember these guys? No? Then read on:

Sôchaku-Henshin Kamen Rider Hibiki Kurenai & Kamen Rider Zanki
Repainted, repackaged rehashes that you'll still probably want, because Zanki told you so!

What it is: A couple of good ol' Sôchaku-Henshin figures based on Kamen Rider Hibiki characters. One is Hibiki's mid-series upgrade, which you either hated because it was basically a red-colored regular Hibiki or hated because it was from Kamen Rider Hibiki period. Oh, I kid, I kid; I actually liked it, although it's admittedly not one of the more inspired form upgrades design-wise. Story-wise though, it was a cool idea; Hibiki has to get more powerful on account of more powerful bad guys appearing, and I can't fault that logic. The other one is the super-cool Zanki, Todoroki's former master and sort-of "4th main Rider" for the series. Both are remolds/repaints of previously-released figures, hence the combined review (each is normally sold separately.)

What's the deal: Seeing as how Hibiki Kurenai ("Crimson") is basically Hibiki with some color changes here and there, and Zanki is a bronze-accented Todoroki, it was inevitable that we'd get versions of these characters in Sôchaku-Henshin form. Sure enough, they both were eventually released, along with the first non-Rider figure in the new line, Space Sheriff Gavan. Naturally, Bandai just took the already-existing Hibiki & Todoroki figures and ran with those. The only real change to the figures is in paint/plastic color. Otherwise, they're the same as their predecessors.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing though. If you've been wanting to build your army of Oni, well, now you don't have to repaint an extra Hibiki or Zanki figure. Also, Hibiki Kurenai does actually feature a different Disc Animal, with one of the yellow crab discs replacing the green ape one that came with the original. And having extra Disc Animals is always a good thing!

One point of contention is that Zanki doesn't come with that other guitar he had later in the series, the black & red one. Rather, just the version Todoroki has (in two configurations, "open" and "closed".) Personally, this wasn't an issue for me, but Zanki purists (are there any?) may be put off by that. You can get the full Zanki experience (with both guitars, and even a brace thingy for his injured leg!) with the recent SIC figure, assuming, of course, you can put up with owning Ibuki as well. Oh relax, people, I'm only kidding- I like Ibuki too. His figure is really nice, and his SH figure was great as well.

Final Vent: It's a tough call. If you already own the regular Hibiki & Todoroki figures, you've got to decide whether some new paint applications are really worth it. Personally, I would say that if you like the characters, they're worth picking up. Additionally, since the Sôchaku-Henshin Hibiki figures are so good anyway, with their more flexible waist joints and loads of accessories, it's worth getting them just in case you ever lose any Hibiki accessories, or just want to have Todoroki wielding two guitars at once. Since these guys came out, we've seen many further improvements to the SH series, but they still hold up great.

Where to get them: Fortunately, Hobby Links Japan still has them, and even better, Zanki is currently on sale! Check them out here and here.

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