Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Shadowmoon

Release Date: April 2023

RRP: 8250 yen

With S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Black Sun releasing to coincide with the series debut on Amazon Prime back in November last year, the big question was how long it would take him to be joined by the other Century King. Shadow Moon received quite the overhaul for Kamen Rider Black Sun, most notably of all finally being recognised with the title of "Kamen Rider". Five lengthy months later, and S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Shadowmoon was released as a Tamashii web exclusive to usher in a new age for Gorgom and kaijin alike.

The second Kamen Rider Black Sun figure to be released in the line and the first Tamashii web exclusive, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Shadowmoon comes in similarly designed packaging to Black Sun - most significantly swapping out the window display on the back for a nice big image of him locked in combat with Black Sun. The overall colour scheme of the packaging has also changed slightly, swapping out the blue hue and orange highlights with a more fitting green glow. On the front of the box you'll find a nice big image of the figure in a crouching position (mirroring that of Black Sun's own packaging) alongside the Kamen Rider Black Sun, Bandai, Tamashii web and S.H. Figuarts logos. The sides feature further images of the figure, and then inside it (along with all its accessories) are laid out on the usual plastic tray. Like Black Sun, the back pieces of the torso-mounted grasshopper legs are separated from the main body and need to be attached.

Although Kamen Rider Black underwent quite the redesign for Black Sun, it's fair to say that Shadowmoon is an even more dramatic departure from the 1988 original. Gone are nearly all of the mechanical elements of the design, replaced with a completely organic monster very much intended to be the yang to Black Sun's yin. Several elements of the original Shadow Moon are still present though, most notably the silver and black colour scheme with bright green highlights. The only clue to his origins as a more mechanical Rider are in the darker grey straps running across his body, all of which have their own bolt-like detailing. The original design's spur-like heels have been mutated into jagged blade-like protuberances on his calves. Topping the design off however are the giant locust legs running around his torso and then acting as overhanging shoulder blades - similar to but significantly larger than those present on Black Sun. As far as redesigns go it works beautifully for Black Sun's overall aesthetic, and that's coming from someone who thinks the original Shadow Moon is one of the all time greatest Kamen Rider suit designs. As far as the figure itself goes Bandai have done a great job at shrinking down all the detail of the suit, and the silver paint job really helps bring it all out. Proportionally it does look and feel a little spindly compared to more recent S.H. Figuarts releases, but one could argue that it isn't quite as obvious on a wholly organic design like this. Plus it scales with Black Sun perfectly, them both being made from the same buck. Once again there are a couple of inaccuracies with the head sculpt (most notably the shape of the eyes), which is a little harder to overlook than it was on Black Sun given how this one wasn't as rushed out the door, but it's not enough to ruin the overall look. The head sculpt sports the default blue compound eyes rather than the lit-up green ones, which makes sense (the same was done for Black Sun) but doesn't quite have the same impact. It looks perfectly fine, but with the original Shadow Moon one of the key things that dragged you in were those piercing green eyes. The metallic green highlights across the body and Moon Driver help alleviate it somewhat, but not being quite as pronounced it just isn't the same.

Articulation is pretty much identical to that of Black Sun, which shouldn't be all that surprising given the two bodies are largely the same. Altogether Shadowmoon features;

- Ball jointed head and neck

- Swivel hinge shoulders, (drop-down) hips and ankles

- Butterfly joint shoulders

- Double hinge elbows and knees

- Single hinge toe sections

- Bicep and thigh swivels

The shoulder pads are all connected via raised pin-mounted balljoints to give them further articulation free from that of the arm itself. Overall it's pretty much what you'd expect from an S.H. Figuarts release - not really doing anything particularly surprising but at the same time giving you pretty much everything you could want. That said though the design of the hips on this guy aren't the best for a number of reasons. The most obvious of these being that those raised hip guards do impact on outward joint movement, even with the thigh swivel there to alleviate it a bit. More significantly though the drop-down part of the hips is very noticeable on this release, and without careful posing it's very easy to leave some pretty unsightly gaps between the crotch and leg pieces. It's straight because while technically it's no different to what's present on Black Sun, it does feel a lot more obvious - possibly because the silver colouring around the joints highlights it more? The knees are capable of a full bend, but there comes a point where they clash with the calf spikes. Luckily these are soft plastic and should just bend to the side without breakage. Everything else here is pretty good though, and again like Black Sun some really strong ankle joints do great work in helping the figure balance in all manner of action poses.

Again proving just how similar the two are, Kamen Rider Shadowmoon's accessory count is identical to that of Black Sun's. Altogether he comes with four additional pairs of hands (closed fists, weapon-holding and two pairs of open posed hands), the "Century King Shadow Blade" sword, an alternate grip for the sword with less spikes (making it easier to fit into the hands), and two alternate chest parts. As such you can have Shadowmoon displayed with both legs, one leg ripped off to create the sword (in terms of screen-accuracy it would be the right side to mirror Black Sun, but either are possible) or a clean look with both legs removed. Thanks to the purchase you can get on those giant shoulder legs swapping the chest parts is much easier here than it was on Black Sun, with the parts clipping on tightly but also being straightforward enough to remove.

As far as a standard accessory count goes that definitely covers all of the basics, but again it would have been nice to see a little more included here just so the release felt a little more "complete". The omission of the Satan Saber isn't really that big of a deal given it felt less important to specifically Shadowmoon in Black Sun, but I do really wish that alternate head with green eyes was included here rather than with the forthcoming Nobuhiko Akizuki figure. It especially stings since the preview photos for the head have the more screen-accurate eye shape as well. Accessory omissions were a bit more understandable with Black Sun given that his release coincided with the series itself, but Shadowmoon is coming nearly six months later. It's just another example of Bandai spreading accessories across multiple releases, which is something I've never been a fan of to begin with - even less so when it's multiple versions of the same character, no matter how different they might be. 

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Shadowmoon is an essential companion piece to Kamen Rider Black Sun, but for some reason I just didn't find myself enjoying the figure quite as much despite them being largely the same thing. Maybe it's partly the extra cost that comes from that Tamashii web exclusive status, but all the little flaws just seem to add up a bit more here. The thinner proportions, the problematic hips, the omission of accessories just to include them with other figures - none go so far as to spoil the release but they all contribute toward holding it back. However there's no denying he looks great with Black Sun, and there's definitely appeal to be found in that wonderfully organic design.