Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Den-O Rod Form & Ax Form

Release Date: February 2022

RRP: 9350 yen

When Bandai Tamashii Nations revealed that their first S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Den-O release would be a combination of both Sword and Gun Forms, it was immediately clear that a Rod and Ax Form figure would eventually follow. But Bandai being Bandai they certainly took their sweet time on this, and nearly two years and multiple other Den-O releases later S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Den-O Rod Form & Ax Form finally made its long-awaited debut. Unlike the other half of Den-O's core forms this was a Tamashii web exclusive release and coincided with a second release of Kamen Rider Den-O Plat Form figure – reworked to be compatible with the Rod/Ax parts much like the original was with the Sword/Gun parts.

The S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Den-O Rod & Ax Form set comes in identical packaging to the Sword & Gun Form set – a slightly larger box than you tend to see for the range, but matching the other releases that come with more parts than usual. The lid of the box features images of the two modes in their signature poses, which not only looks great but gives the box far more personality than the usual headshots they usually have. The matte black sides of the lid feature the character name in silver foil lettering, although each form name is written in its respective colour. The bottom half of the box sports further images of the figure in both modes, showing off some of the poses and features it has to offer. Inside the figure and pieces are spread across two plastic trays – the main tray has the figure and replacement body parts, while the thinner tray underneath contains the hands and weapons.

Rod Form is the form Kamen Rider Den-O takes when Ryotaro is possessed by the manipulative Urataros, adopting a blue colour scheme as well as his sea turtle motif. This is most noticeable in the segmented design of the armour, with the orange gaps between the blue creating a pattern similar to that of a turtle's shell. It's a fantastic design with some really vibrant colours, which have naturally been recreated flawlessly by Tamashii Nations here. In some ways the helmet design feels the most conventionally "Kamen Rider" of all Den-O's forms, with those red compound eyes taking a more conventional ovular shape that fits in well with the turtle motif. On the back you can see what would be the chest plate of Sword Form, nicely showing off that the four forms are all derived from the same armour despite being quite different in design.

As with before, when not being wielded by Den-O the Dengasher splits down into four separate components – each of which are included here as accessories and can be clipped onto the four slots on Den-O's belt holsters. Each on has a tiny circular tab on it, which slots into the holster to keep it firmly in place. Once connected each piece can be angled as you please, while the holsters themselves can also swing back and forth to ensure they don't get in the way of the hips whilst posing.

Built off of the same body as the other Shinkocchou Seihou Den-O figures (with the exception of Momotaros), the Rod/Ax Form figure sports the following articulation; 

- Ball jointed head, neck and wrists 

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips, and ankles 

- Butterfly joint shoulders 

- Double hinge/swivel combo elbows and knees 

- Bicep and thigh swivels 

- Single hinge toe sections 

The impressive double hinge/swivel combo elbows and knees first introduced on the Kamen Rider OOO range are back once more, becoming a regular in the Shinkocchou Seihou line as it continues to try and add that little bit extra in comparison to the standard S.H. Figuarts line. As with previous releases this does add an extra level of fragility to the joints, but that seems slight as they hold up well with repeated movement. One I noticed on this figure is that the legs are a little stiff (and that goes for both copies I have), but they seem to ease up a bit after some working. The chunky torso and large shoulder pads do lead to some restriction in the shoulder area, but otherwise it's another highly poseable release from the line that will comfortably pull off anything it's required to.

The Rod & Ax Form accessories are largely similar to that of the Sword & Gun Form release, albeit with a few key differences. In addition to the four Dengasher pieces the set includes the same two Den-Liner passes as the previous release – one with the ticket printed under a transparent window and another with it painted on the black plastic for better visibility. This set also has the same huge variety when it comes to alternate hands, including a whopping seven additional pairs in total. What's particularly neat is that not all of them are the same as the ones included with Sword & Gun either, and since all four forms the same hands it gives you an even wider variety at your disposal if you own both figures. The most significant accessory for Rod Form though is of course the Dengasher in rod mode, which sees the four pieces extend out into a staff that's roughly as long as Den-O himself. The accessory itself looks fantastic, though sadly it has only been included here in spear mode – the fishing rod mode that sees the blade detach on a wire has been curiously omitted. While it's not uncommon for Figuarts to leave accessories or weapon variations now and again, it's only strange because it's something that was represented on the original figure.

Possibly because Bandai Tamashii Nations don't know the meaning of "if it isn't broken don't fix it", the parts swapping between Rod and Ax Forms is slightly different to that of Sword and Gun Form. Whereas the previous figure involved splitting the torso and replacing the head and front piece, this one features a whole replacement torso for Ax Form. So instead you need to pull the whole body off at the waist joint, which thankfully isn't all that difficult thanks to the large peg it uses to connect. The more dubious element here is that alternate arms haven't been included, requiring you to pull them off the Rod Form torso at the bicep and then reattach them to the Ax Form body. The pegs that hold the arms to the shoulders are long and thin, so could very easily snap if you aren't careful. When pegging them into the Ax Form body there should be a small click to confirm their locked into place, but I only noticed this on one of the arms on my copy – the other remained frustratingly loose throughout. Swapping the leg plates and Set Touch emblem remains the same as the previous release though – a simple case of pegging and unpegging, although in the case of the Set Touch piece hasn't got any easier. Thanks to needing to remove the whole torso now though you can take the whole belt off the body a lot easier, which might make it a little easier to get the purchase to pull the piece off.

Ax Mode sees Kintaros possessing Ryotaro's body, with Den-O adopting an axe-theme and golden yellow colour scheme. Though Kintaros' own design is loosely based on a bear you don't have to look far to see the axe motif here, particularly with the blade piece protruding from the middle of the helmet. Ax Form might seem rather simple in design compared to the other Den-O forms, but there's definitely an elegance to that simplicity which makes the great design of the helmet stand out all the more. While the shift between these forms isn't quite as clean as Sword/Gun Form in that the transformation feels like it could feasibly work without any loss of function or proportion, it doesn't make seeing the elements of the other forms in the overall design any less cool. As usual for the Shinkocchou Seihou line the moulding and colours of the figure are perfect, and it also helps that this is a design that looks as if it features fewer fragile parts than the others. The blade on the helmet is a little pointy though – it is based on an axe after all.

Despite a few part changes it's still the same body at work here, so there's little to no change between the two forms in regards to articulation. The joint count itself remains exactly the same, but what is worth mentioning is that the smaller shoulder pads mean the arms are much more manageable to work with here. The pads themselves are connected via tiny ball joints in the usual Figuarts construction, allowing them to float just above the arms as well as rotate along with the shoulder itself. While there's no requirement for wild breakdancing poses like there is with Gun Form, there's more than enough here to give Ax Mode all the movement it needs to recreate Kintaros' sumo-based combat stances. The legs also have enough movement to pull off convincing splits for his mid-air finishing move, so at the very least all the iconic poses are covered off nicely.

In addition to all of the accessories mentioned earlier in the review (the open hands are particularly great for recreating the sumo poses), Ax Mode of course has its own specific accessory to enjoy as well – the Dengasher in axe Mode. While combining parts would have been near-impossible to recreate at this scale given the amount of size changing they go through between modes, each of the Dengasher weapons look fantastic as solid pieces and it's still very clear that all four unique weapons are made up of the same parts. Rather curiously though the blade piece of the axe is a removable piece – though probably not intentional as it isn't advertised in the instructions. While perhaps not quite as flashy as the lengthy rod mode, the axe is still a great looking weapon – perfectly suited for Kintaros and similarly unique among the Den-O forms.

S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Den-O Rod Form & Ax Form is another fantastic release that continues to push what collectors previously expected from the line, but I'm unconvinced that the changes made between this and the Sword & Gun Form release are necessarily for the better. The parts-swapping on the previous figure were daunting but largely manageable, however here they feel like they're far more prone to breakage. Swapping the torsos around may be straightforward enough, but that arm swapping just feels like an accident waiting to happen. While I bought two copies of the figure so can avoid repeated swapping, those who want to repeatedly change between the two modes (as the gimmick invites) may be playing a dangerous game.