Review: S.I.C. KR Kaixa & KR Delta

And now, another old review!

S.I.C. Kamen Rider Kaixa & Kamen Rider Delta

Faiz's best buddies/worst enemies get the S.I.C. Treatment!

What it is: The ever-popular "Super Imaginative Chôgôkin" line re-imagines the other two main Riders from Kamen Rider Faiz, Kaixa & Delta, as... well, not too far off from how they really are. But if you like how they are already, that's a good thing.

What's the deal: The S.I.C. series has really come a long way. When it first started, the figures were more or less statues, boasting lots of optional/replacement parts, radical redesigns that drew both praise and criticism, and a hefty price tag, but not the best thing if you were looking for a super-articulated figure capable of doing this pose from that episode. But as the years went by, the S.I.C. series went in new directions, first as slightly more movable figures designed to be displayed on and off accompanying vehicles, and eventually as the high-quality figures we know today. A reevaluation of the line's goals included adding more "play value" to the mix, and that's exactly what we have now (assuming, of course, you take your figures out to the boxes... and all the cool people do.)

Additionally, the line expanded to include more Riders as well as classic heroes like Kikaida & Inazuman, and in fact, the Riders almost dominate it now (although Akumaizer-3 saw a nice S.I.C. 3-pack release not too long ago, and another version of Kikaida 01 is supposedly in the works.) This is due in large part to all the new Riders the 2000-era series have given us. Following several successful Kamen Rider Ryuki figures, Bandai jumped right into Kamen Rider Faiz, with the big man himself, followed by two-pack of a "Blaster"ed-up Faiz and his transforming motorcycle buddy Auto-Vajin.

So it was only a matter of time before Kaixa & Delta, who along with Faiz form a sort of dysfunctional version of the Agito/G3-X/Gills trinity, got done S.I.C.-style. As is the case with the Ryuki figures, I think Bandai didn't do too much work to make these guys look as radically different as some of the earlier Rider figures. You can still tell who they're supposed to be, and all the right details are still there. The biggest difference really is with the figures themselves, as their weapons are pretty much along the lines of what we saw on TV. This is a good thing though, as it means these figures could, on one level, be said to be the best version of the characters yet, even trumping the Sôchaku-Henshin versions because all their weapons work just as they should (and thus there's no "two versions of the same weapon" thing going on): you can actually take the Mission Memory off of their belts, put it on their weapons, and expand the weapons for the killing moves.

The only real exception is that the blade for Kaixa's Blay-Gun has to be attached separately, but that's totally understandable. Otherwise, everything else included can be stored either on the Riders' person or in the accompanying SMART BRAIN™ suitcases.The Riders themselves, as I said, look pretty much how they should, if just a little more bulked-up and less streamlined than how they were on TV. Kaixa is affected the most by this, as the whole "X" motif he has going on turns into more of a "the lines just go wherever they want" sort of thing, but it's cool. Delta looks a little more blue & silver to me than he does on TV (where he's primarily white & black), but hey, these are S.I.C. figures. While they don't have some of the crazy features of early Riders, like the removable chests (complete with rib cages), they do have plenty of nice details, especially the eyes (check out those pictures, they really don't do them justice), the clear Photon Streams, and Delta's chest, which is semi-opaque. I'm not sure why that is, but it looks really cool, and hey, isn't that what matters most in the end?

The weapons are all spot-on, and as mentioned can be stored in both their inactive modes either on the Riders or in the briefcases, or they can be wielded the way they were meant to be in the Riders' hands. And speaking of hands, each figure has 3 sets; closed fists, open hands, and "grabbing" hands to hold the accessories. The latter are slightly on the stiff side and might require a little warming up (with a hairdryer or hot water) to grasp the weapons more properly, or you can do what I do and use the open hands, which I think are better suited for holding some of the smaller weapons such as the phones.

Being S.I.C., these bad boys have their share of die-cast parts, of special note the Kaixa Driver & Delta Drive buckles, which are removable, so you can almost recreate any of the belt-losing scenes the show is so famous for. Naturally, the figures also highly articulated, and are capable of many different cool poses. Just be careful of the shoulder armor, which has a habit of popping off (but it can be reattached with no real problems.)

One other thing: watch out for those Mission Memories! They're small and easy to lose, and I've already thought I lost Kaixa's once (it turned out to be on the Blay-Gun...whoops.)

Final Vent: The S.I.C. Kamen Rider Faiz commands a high price these days (over $100 in some places) but the Kaixa & Delta two-pack can usually be had for much less. Emphasis on "usually". Kaixa & Delta are worth picking up if you like S.I.C. figures, the characters, or just cool toys in general. You get two neat figures with plenty of things and pieces to play around with or display, and really, what more could you want? Wait, don't tell me...

Where to get them: Unfortunately, you're on your own for this one; HLJ doesn't carry it anymore. So unless you're in Japan or going there real soon, or lucky enough to have a place that carries S.I.C. figures near you, I'd try ebay.

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