Wednesday 29 January 2020

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Beast

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Release Date: November 2019
RRP: 7700 yen

The release pattern of the S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou line isn’t quite as easy to predict as it was a few years ago, but there’s still some framework there that Bandai Tamashii Nations seems to follow. For the most part when a main Rider is released the secondary will eventually follow, and these days they’re also almost certainly a Tamashii web exclusive. Given that Kamen Rider Wizard came out all the way back in November 2018 Bandai have taken their time to get to him, but 2019 featured some pretty big releases for the line so S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Beast was a good way to ring the year out. The latest Rider to be revitalised in Bandai’s premium Figuarts range, Kousuke Nitoh is also it’s second Kamen Rider Wizard release. With no sign of Haruto’s other forms it could also be its last for some time, but at least with Flame Style it is in excellent company.

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The two-piece S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou packaging works just as great as ever here, with the image chosen for the top lid doing a particularly great job of showing off some of finer helmet detailing Kamen Rider Beast has. It's also interesting to see how the pictures they've used on these boxes began as simple profile shots, and have slowly developed to be close ups of what are clearly more action-orientated shots – Beast's even has his sword popping up in it. But if you'd like to get a look at fuller shots of the figure without that grainy filter then just turn the box over to the back, where you'll find the usual image's from Bandai's own photo shoots. Inside the figure and accessories are spread across two moulded plastic trays – the deeper top one holding the figure itself, and the shallower one underneath reserved solely for those extra pieces.

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As usual the Shinkocchou Seihou line really doesn’t disappoint when it comes to sculpt and detailing. A far better suit to toy conversion than the original figure, Shinkocchou Seihou Beast is an visually pleasing palette of black and gold. This figure has given the Beast Driver a huge overhaul - not only adding working doors but also realising both the Liberations Doors and Chimera Author (don’t you just love the utterly ridiculous names Toei come up with for the individual parts of suits and equipment?) in chrome gold and silver. It’s not enough to worry about it getting scratched or smudged, but enough to really give the figure that extra premium look. The swathes of gold paint look striking on that matte black body, especially on the lion shoulder pad and the ornately detailed wrist and ankle gauntlets. Lastly we come to the head sculpt, capturing all the helmet’s feline detail and pulling off some especially vibrant compound eyes. Black and gold is a winning combination, but it’s that added bit of green that really makes the whole ensemble sparkle.

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Like Wizard himself Shinkocchou Seihou Beast features removeable rings, which can be attached to both the hands themselves and the holster on the figure’s left side. While there’s no getting around the fact that these rings really are tiny and very easily to lose, you should at least feel assured in the fact that they attach to the figure really well. In fact, I’d go as far as to say they fix better to Beast than they did Wizard, as while shooting this review I never once had any issue of any suddenly fallen off from either the hands or the holster. Swappable rings aren’t going to be to everyone’s taste, but if you want the figure to be as accurate as possible then there isn’t really any getting around it. It’s a very nice touch.

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Unlike the majority of other Kamen Riders who've received "upgrades" as part of the Shinkocchou Seihou line, the original Beast isn't a figure that immediately springs to mind as desperately needing one. The original Wizard may have been considerably flawed, but Beast was a solid figure with an extremely impressive accessory account. But time goes by awfully quickly and you only need to put these two figures side by side to see just how dated the original has become. The price has most certainly gone up by in turn so has the scale, with the original Beast looking practically pint-sized compared to the far more defined Shinkocchou Seihou version. The better proportions have also provided a better canvas to work on, with all the detailing far more crisp. Gimmicks like the opening belt and removable rings also allow these pieces to be bigger and better detailed. The original Kamen Rider Beast is still a solid figure and a perfectly acceptable alternative if this new one feels a little too pricey (and between being both a Shinkocchou Seihou and an exclusive, that’s perfectly understandable), but alongside Shinkocchou Seihou Wizard it really doesn't measure up. A new version was definitely in order.

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And also unlike his co-star Kamen Rider Beast's design doesn't involve any free-flowing fabric (not without the mantles at least anyway), so the updates in terms of articulation are more a case of bringing the figure in line with current standards rather than fixing that was anything notably wrong with the original. Shinkocchou Seihou Beast has a ball jointed head and neck section, swivel hinge and butterfly shoulder joints, double hinged elbows, ball jointed wrists, torso, waist and hips, swivel hinge ankle rocker joints and a hinged toe cap at the end of each foot. Both shoulder pads are attached to raised moving pieces via ball joints to give the arms more freedom when posing. It's a little more constricting on the left arm because of the giant lion head, but on the upside it does a great job of hiding the joint so whatever pose you put that arm in looks fairly natural. Really the only big upgrade from the original are the hips, swapping out those dated (but still often used) swing-down joints for fixed balls that provide just as much articulation without breaking up the sculpt.

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This new version of Kamen Rider Beast does come with some bad news though, and it's something that will surely affect many collectors deeply – the mayonnaise bottle is gone. The scaled down version of Nitoh's favourite condiment has been removed from this release entirely, which is a real shame since you don't really get these kind of "fun" accessories with S.H. Figuarts releases anymore. But while when comparing both the old and new Beast figures it might seem like the Shinkocchou Seihou comes with a lot less, a closer inspection of the accessories and how they work reveals that isn't really the case at all. Altogether he comes with four additional pairs of hands, eight Wizard rings (Beast, Driver On, Falco, Chameleo, Buffa, Dolphi, Griffin and Chimarise), the Dice Saber and its extended blade piece. In-package the original's Dice Saber might seem a lot more impressive because it also has five additional die faces, but the Shinkocchou Seihou version wins out not just because it looks better – because that function is already built in. Just like on the toy, spinning the circular part of the hilt will move the die inside – giving you the ability to take the weapon to a power level of your choosing without constantly having to disassemble it. The original may still win on total hand count, but it doesn't feel like you're losing as much here as you might think. The joined hand piece is the obvious loss, but it's nothing you can't effectively recreate with the two open hands included.

It does of course however go without saying that this, much like the original Kamen Rider Beast, does not come with any of the four mantle powers. These are bundled into a separate Tamashii web exclusive release, leaving the buyer to decide just how "complete" they want their figure to be. I'll freely admit that this did bother me at first with the original figure, but years of collecting later and personally I'd rather things be this way. To me they'd just be pieces mostly kept in the packaging (you can't have one figure wearing all four at once after all), and thus not worth driving the price up further for collectors who want the base figure but aren't so fussed about those parts. Not to mention the fact that Tamashii Nations have been pretty strict about keeping all the Shinkocchou Seihou boxes the same shape and size, so throwing four big pieces like those in is definitely out of the picture. It's not going to please everyone, but if you need the mantles the option is always there and presumably the aftermarket price won't inflate the same way the base figure already has. What you do get in the box is definitely worth the (original) asking price.

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After taking a moment to mourn the loss of our forgotten mayonnaise bottle, it’s fair to crown S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Beast as another winner for the line. Sometimes it takes a new figure being produced to highlight just how dated an older version is, and as good as the previous Beast may be it just doesn’t feel right alongside Bandai’s latest and greatest. This has everything you need for a solid base Beast figure, with gimmicks beautifully implemented and the option for more if you really do want those mantles. The biggest problem is just how sought after these figures are, so if you do want to add him to your collection get on it as soon as you can.

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