My Shiny Toy Robots

Now that I've settled myself in for a long stay with the Figuarts toyline, it's time to venture back into some of its older releases. The first figure I decided on was also the first full Kamen Rider series I watched (and will be re-watching for a review on this blog sometime in the near future) and star of the upcoming Kamen Rider X Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen movie. He of course is none other than Kamen Rider Decade, star of the 10th anniversary Heisei Rider series of the same name. The "Violent Emotion" version of the figure is the second release of the character, to tie in with "Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider & Decade: Movie War 2010" and sporting brand new headsculpts. While the Decade figure still boasts an impressive sculpt, the figure isn't quite as flawless as some of the later ones I've bought from the line. It sports different hip joints which are not quite as versatile as the newer ones, the shoulders feel a bit more restrictiv...

For the first time my Super Sentai viewing has taken me back to the days before Power Rangers adaptations, all the way back to 1988-89 when Choujuu Sentai Liveman was on Japanese television screens. Although officially the 12th entry in the Super Sentai franchise (sandwiched between Maskman and Turboranger), the series was also celebrated as the 10th anniversary of Super Sentai as Goranger and J.A.K.Q. would not be officially considered part of the franchise until later. The series ran for a total of 49 episodes. Academia Island is an elite school where gifted students gather from around the world to enhance their knowledge. Among them are Yusuke Amamiya, Joh Ohara and Megumi Misaki. Along with Takuji Yano and Mari Aikawa, the five aim to create a suit strong enough for space exploration. However three other Academia students - Kenji Tsukigata, Rui Senda, and Goh Omura, believe their talents are being wasted and are invited by the mysterious Great Professor Bias to join the evil o...

2011 saw Toei celebrate the 35th anniversary of their Super Sentai franchise, and boy did they do it in style. Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger is a 51-episode series that aired between February 2011 and February 2012, along with three cinematic releases. Not only did it feature an all new Sentai team, but also gave them the ability to transform into members of the other 35 Sentai teams via Ranger keys and saw guest appearances from the franchise's 35 year history. Following the "Legendary War", in which the 34 past Super Sentai teams gave up their powers in order to protect the Earth from invasion from the Zangyack Empire, a group of space pirates come to the planet in search of "The Greatest Treasure in the Universe", which can only be acquired after obtaining the "greater powers" of the 34 Super Sentai teams. Having acquired the powers of the former teams in the form of ranger keys, these pirates are able to use their abilities as well as become the 35t...

Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, the 35th anniversary Super Sentai, draws to a close this Sunday, and thus the merchandising for the series will slowly draw to close (well, ranger keys are probably going to be around for a while yet!). Gokai Pink (or Ahim de Famille if you'd prefer) is one of the final two S.H. Figuarts to be released, however much like Gokai Yellow she was a Tamashii Web exclusive, thus was only available to those outside Japan via eBay and middlemen services. The first thing to say about Gokai Pink is that she's pink...REALLY pink. I wasn't quite expecting the colour to be quite so vibrant on the figure, but it certainly suits the figure and looks fantastic combined with the black, gold and silver details. The sculpt really gives a defined female form to the suit, and like Yellow is shorted than her male crew mates. To compensate for the limitations of the skirt, the three-piece skirt seen with the rest of the female Sentai figuarts is also included. To ch...

As the Gokaiger series draws to a close in Japan the sixth member of the pirate crew, Gokai Silver, sees his turn to be immortalised in Bandai's S.H. Figuarts line! While one of the last to be released (alongside Pink), Silver is in the fourth of six to be a mass release - the two girls being relegated to Tamashii web exclusive status. As is the usual standard with Super Sentai's "extra" heroes, Gokai Silver sports a slightly different aesthetic to the other five...and a shinier paint job to boot. The visor area is a bit dark, but other than that the helmet is excellent. The shiny silver and gold paint on the jacket and cuffs compliment the matte black finish of the jumpsuit part nicely, and certainly make Silver stand out in a display with his crew mates. As usual the level of posability is superb, which suits the ever excitable Gai Ikari perfectly. Gokai Silver is packaged with a total of 11 additional hands (including ones to replicate his roll ...

The S.H. Figuarts line is largely dominated by Kamen Riders spanning the franchise's 40 year history. As I'm yet to start properly watching Kamen Rider, I've avoided falling down the rabbit hole of Kamen Rider figures as much as I possibly can - but this has ended with the release of Kamen Rider Fourze. As the current airing Kamen Rider series, I've been watching this show alongside Gokaiger (soon to be Gobuster) and have found it extremely enjoyable. The first release of the character is of the "base states" (ie the normal version), with figures of the Elek , Fire and Magnet states to follow in the coming months. The sculpt and articulation are to the usual Figuarts quality, with Fourze able to put into many different poses - including both his henshin stance and of course his "UCHU KITAAAAA" pose. The paint detailing is superb, with the sculpt and panel lining combo bringing out all the tiny details in Fourze's astronaut lik...