Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Zero

Here's one that's going to be fun for the search engines - S.H. Figuarts Zero. No I'm not talking about the line of unarticulated statues (Figuarts Zero) or the recently released Lelouch from Code Geass (whose Figuart is in his "Zero" guise" - I'm talking about Rei Suzumura, the silver fanged knight from the Garo franchise. As one of only three characters from the series that made it into the Figuarts line (one of which is a repaint), Zero is rather unsurprisingly a Tamashii Web Exclusive and was originally released back in September 2011.

Zero has some rather basic S.H. Figuarts packaging, but the predominantly black box is very fitting of gritty-looking first season of Garo. The only real splashes of colour and are name, figure images and the Garo logo - which is mostly black itself. However these dark colours REALLY make the red eyes stand out on the front's headsculpt image, which is just lovely.

Getting him out of the package and one of the first things you'll notice is the cold feeling of a mostly lost Figuart trait - the diecast feet. Nice weighty feet to give the figure a bit more balance. The sculpt is hands down the best I've seen on a Figuart, with all the folds and detailing of the armour completely intact and accentuated by the blue/green highlights. Given his design, I was expecting the articulation to be somewhat limited but it's refreshing to say that Bandai have completely nailed it without having to compromise the armour's extravagant intricacies. As an older Figuart the hips don't swing down quite as much as I've been used to on the newer Sentai/Rider ones, but you can still get enough clearance for some great poses. The only thing I will warn buyers against is that the figure itself is pretty pointy - maybe not enough to draw blood, but enough for it to actually be noticeable. To be honest, I personally wouldn't expect any less from such a badass Makai Knight.

Zero's accessory count is a little lacking in comparison to his Makai Knight comrade, but unlike Garo (who was shafted a great accessory so the web exclusive Taiga could have it) he comes with pretty much everything you're going to want. Included are a total of 6 swappable hands (open palms, closed fists and grabbing hands) and his two signature Ginroken swords. Just to show that Bandai do every so often add a bit of extra play value to their toys, the swords can actually be combined rather than the twin-blade being a separate piece.

If you're a Garo fan and the over-stylised Makai Kadou line doesn't really do anything for you, the only thing preventing you from buying Zero should be the price. Even then, Zero isn't the most expensive Tamashii Web Exclusive around (I managed to pick mine up for 4000 yen). Garo is certainly a fun figure, but Zero is a perfect figure - an amazing sculpt, unhindered articulation and a small-but-reasonable amount of accessories. Handling this figure makes me sad that there will probably never be any more Garo Figuarts, because this has quickly become a firm favourite of mine.