Toybox REVIEW: Bandai Super Robot Chogokin ShinkenOh

My second SRC purchase is yet another in my current Power Rangers/Super Sentai phase - the mighty ShinkenOh from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger (or the Samurai Megazord from Power Rangers Samurai if you'd prefer). I'd been holding off on this figure for a while due to its pretty hefty price for what it is, but after seeing it on AmiAmi at a 60% reduction I just couldn't say no.

The first thing to note about this figure is that its a non-transformable version of ShinkenOh. This is a shame, because the origami transformations would have been relatively simple for Bandai to pull off despite the figure being relatively small, and the figure would instantly win a lot more points with me. Instead, Bandai went for maximum posability with ShinkenOh and it really shows, with the mecha being able to pull off poses that its Power Rangers retrofire counterparts could only dream of. A nice little touch is that the Ryu origami also has a moveable jaw. ShinkenOh's legs also have a fair amount of diecast to them, to give the figure a nice weighty feel.

Accessories include the sword and shield, multiple pairs of hands (open, closed fist and holding fists) and effect parts for ShinkenOh's finishing move - the DaiShinken slash. The sword is especially nice - it's pretty darn long and has the kanji (?) carved into it for that show accurate touch. The shield has a pretty nifty plug system on the handle so that it can be attached to the back and shoulders of ShinkenOh as well as be placed in its hands. The DaiShinken slash effect consists of a symbol that can be split in two via a hinged stand. While the slash is a nice touch, I feel there are better choices for extra parts out there. A non-helmeted alternate head would have been nice, and this leads me on what else I feel the figure should have come with - Samurai artillery parts. Given that there are already plugs all over ShinkenOh for the shield, the Kabuto, Kajiki and Ebi formations are definitely possible, and I'd think the rest are possible too. It'd be nice to see these come out as extras down the line (ala Mazinger's scrander/rocket punch) but I'm not holding my breath for them.

ShinkenOh is a good figure, but there was so much more that could have been done with it (particularly separate transformations). I wouldn't say it's worth its full price, but if you can grab one at a reduction (much like I did) you won't be disappointed with him. And at the very least he's likely to be leaps and bounds better than the Power Rangers retrofire figure that's slated to come out soon. With GokaiOh also getting SRC treatment, hopefully this bodes well for some other Sentai mecha getting some recognition, particularly the pre-Power Rangers ones.