Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Gokai Red

Release Date: June 2023

RRP: 9350 yen

The return of Super Sentai S.H. Figuarts in 2023 was exciting enough, but the news that the franchise would also be joining the prestigious S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou range was proof enough that Bandai Tamashii Nations might be dedicated to bringing them back as a full-time thing (even if there's no sign of a full team in sight). While its release comes a little late to celebrate the show's 10th anniversary, given both the popularity of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger and its place within the franchise there seemed no better choice for Sentai's first Shinkocchou Seihou outing. S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Gokai Red was a mass release figure, initially teased back in 2021 when the line returned with the release of Zenkaizer.

As the first Super Sentai release in the Shinkocchou Seihou range, I was curious to see if Gokai Red's packaging would have its own little flare the same way the other series have – Kamen Rider releases have matte boxes with white lids, the Ultraman ones are matte black while the GARO ones have a glossy black finish instead. But alas no, S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Gokai Red goes for the standard Kamen Rider template – featuring a nice headshot of the figure on the top half of the box against a white background. The sides of the box are the usual black with "Gokai Red" written in silver foil lettering. The underside of the box features a range of images showing off the figure in various poses, including a rather snazzy one with a "Final Wave" backdrop. Open the box up and it's the usual Shinkocchou Seihou arrangement – the contents of the set are spread across two trays, one for the figure itself and a shallower one underneath for the accessories.

As the first (but hopefully not the last) of the Super Sentai S.H. Figuarts, Gokai Red likely offered some new challenges to the design team when it came to pulling off that striking pirate-themed design. In some ways I'd argue that Sentai Seihous will have more in common with Ultraman ones than they do Kamen Riders when it comes to execution, simply of the softer materials used in their design. As what has seemed to become the norm with this range Gokai Red's body has quite a few areas made of soft rubbery plastic - namely both parts of the torso (including the collar) and the tail pieces hanging underneath the belt. As usual how well these will hold up over time is a question that can only really be answered in the future. There have been cases of the paint from the collar sticking to the back of the helmet, but how widespread that is (as well as whether its affected by climate etc.) is undetermined. It certainly isn't as prevalent as some of the issues seen on Kamen Rider Black or Ultraman Tiga that's for sure. For now, just avoid having the head rest against the collar for long periods of time and hopefully that will keep it at bay. That aside though, this figure looks incredible. The more realistic sculpting the Shinkocchou Seihou line strives for is out in full force here, with visible body shaping as well as fabric folds all across the body. There's some incredible detailing going on here too, from the raised Gokaiger symbol on chest to the panel lining on the glove/boot cuffs and even the silver lining on the boots. The gold lining on the head sculpt is really pronounced, giving far more depth to the visor itself.

The original Gokai Red figure was extremely good for its time, and when it comes to accessory count the Gokaiger range in general remain some of Figuarts' best offerings. However as is the case with most figures time has not necessarily been kind to them – the hips especially are prone to degrading, resulting in either looseness or just outright breakage. 12 years later and as you can imagine the Shinkocchou Seihou is a significant improvement in all areas, particularly when it comes to both the sculpt and body proportions. It wasn't until I put the two figures side to side that I realised just how squished the visor shape was on the original figure, and now that I've seen just how inaccurate it is I can't un-see it. Of course these improvements (along with inflation in general) mean the Shinkocchou Seihou comes with a much heftier price tag, there is still some merit to the original. At the very least it scales better with the rest of the team, as well as the majority of the Super Sentai Figuarts. When it comes to overall quality though the original has nothing on this, and hopefully the slow resurgence of Super Sentai Figuarts means the scaling issues will be much less prevalent as more releases come.

Sculpt isn't the only thing that's been improved either, with the Shinkocchou Seihou figure benefitting from 12 years' advancement in articulation to provide what is easily the most poseable Super Sentai S.H. Figuarts release yet. Gokai Red features; 

- Ball jointed head, neck, torso, waist and wrists 

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles 

- Butterfly joint shoulders 

- Double hinge elbows and knees 

- Single hinge toe sections 

- Bicep, thigh and glove/boot cuff swivels 

There is perhaps an argument to be made at how the amount of articulation the figure features has an impact on how the sculpt looks. The arm and shoulder section in particular has been done in a way that make them look like separate parts as opposed the "complete" jacket the suit itself is. However this is an articulated action figure so it's all done for the good of poseability, and wow does this figure have a lot to show off. The movement on this figure is near flawless, with the combination of soft goods parts (because this is where they really show their benefit) and multiple joint cuts allow an incredible range of movement. Even just having that butterfly joint loaded into the shoulders makes a world of difference – that all important cross-armed pose able to be pulled off relatively easy. The whole "true bone carving" methodology of the Shinkocchou Seihou range is just as important to articulation as it is to sculpt – you'd never get the poses you can get out of this figure with the original release (and certainly not when the hips could break at any moment).

Accessories are generally pretty good in the Shinkocchou Seihou line but often aren't as all-inclusive as they could be, but Gokai Red has one of the best spreads of the line in some time. Altogether he comes with 13 additional hands, the Gokai Saber, Gokai Gun, two versions of the (opened) Mobirates (inactive and activated) and three versions of the Gokai Red Ranger key – the unflipped Ranger "figure", a flipped version with the key exposed and a second flipped version which can slot into both weapons AND both versions of the Mobirates. That's every accessory the original had with the exception of the folded arms piece and alternate Gokai Cylinders for the weapons – both of which are redundant on this release. The crossed arm piece isn't needed because the figure can do it with the articulated arms (one of the pairs of hands included is for exactly that pose), while alternate Cylinders aren't required because the Ranger Key can fit into the standard ones. The inactive Mobirates is a brand-new inclusion. Like the figure itself all the accessories are far better scaled, detailed and painted than their original counterparts – the Ranger Keys especially fitting tightly into their designated hands or accessories without any fear of falling out (it's still worth being careful though, they're still tiny!). Even the hand selection is fantastic, including a rollcall pose pair as well as the usual accessory holding and relaxed/posed hands.

This line (for the most part anyway) has gotten into the comfortable groove of delivering consistently excellent figures, but S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Gokai Red is one that manages to somehow raise the bar yet again. I can't deny that the increasing use of rubbery parts on these figures gives me some longevity concerns, but living in the now this figure ticks every box. The vastly improved sculpting and articulation, the wide array of detailed AND interactive accessories – it really feels like the definitive Gokai Red figure. The only real blow is that it doesn't feel all that likely that Bandai will deliver on the rest of the team, or even possibly just Gokai Silver (who feels like the next logical choice based on recent Super Sentai releases) for that matter. Thankfully, Marvelous has appeared so much elsewhere that there are plenty of more recent offerings he works well with if you feel the scale with the other Gokaigers is too off – Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Decade or Twokaizer being the optimal choices. Super Sentai feels right at home in the Shinkocchou Seihou range, so let's all just hope this isn't a one off.