Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Gotchard Steamhopper

Release Date: February 2024

RRP: 7700 yen

Just when Bandai Tamashii Nations have settled into a predictable pattern with their releases, they'll go ahead and throw a curveball into the mix. For nearly a decade now the titular heroes from the latest Kamen Rider series have been what collectors would consider an "entry point" release – one with a cheaper price point and minimal accessories, so they can encourage collectors to purchase further figures that come with additional accessories for this one. In recent years they've become a little more generous with the accessories, but the prices have remained low. The same can't be said for S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Gotchard thought, who arrives as what one would argue as a more conventional retail release. That said, you only have to take one look at the figure to see that there's a good reason for this.

A new series means new packaging layout, and S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Gotchard Steamhopper comes in a rather stylish blue, grey, white and orange box that not only matches the suit's colour layout but also works with the alchemy/combining motif of the show. The front of the box is split into a clear window section on one side (giving you a reasonably good look at the figure itself), with the lower half taken up by a nice big image of the figure itself. This image slightly wraps around onto one side of the box, whereas the other features a smaller image of the figure alongside part of the window. On the back there are further images of the figure in various poses against a tri-coloured orange, grey and blue backdrop, and then inside the figure and accessories are neatly laid out on the usual plastic tray.

So why the standard pricing for Kamen Rider Gotchard? Well as you can see Tamashii Nations have gone for full screen-accuracy with this release, giving the figure a lavish vac-metal/chrome finish on all of the blue armour parts just like the suit itself. These parts run across the whole of Gotchard's body – predominantly the head and torso but also plenty of sections of the arms and legs too. The figure looks absolutely gorgeous, and while chrome sections on figures can often be a bit of a fingerprint magnet those parts not covering the whole body means it's easy enough to pose Gotchard without handling them too much. But though the blue might be the star attraction here, the rest of the paintwork on the figure is extremely impressive too. The silver is nice and vibrant, while the bright orange of the Driver and Gotchardraw Holder (as well as those unique arrow-shaped compound eyes) really stand out on the suit. Although disappointingly neither the Gotchardriver and Gotchardraw Holder are functional, the attention to detail on them is absolutely stunning – particularly the Driver with its brightly coloured display, complete with every bit of detail from the full-sized version. Even the soles of the feet feel a cut above the norm – Bandai have always paid careful attention to the grip detail on the Riders' feet, but here they're also fully painted with orange and silver detailing. Nearly every aspect of the sculpt and paint feels like a premium release figure, with perhaps the exception of the scarf which is a solid plastic piece. Take one look at Gotchard and you can see why he wasn't released with a 3000-4000 yen price tag, because if he had been there would have almost certainly been cutbacks.

There have been plenty of advancements in articulation over the years and right now the Kamen Rider line is in a really good place – offering a great range of motion that doesn't feel that far behind the more revered Shinkocchou Seihou range. Altogether Kamen Rider Gotchard features; 

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

- Swivel hinge shoulders and ankles 

- Butterfly joint shoulders Double hinge elbows and knees 

- Drop-down swivel hinge hips 

- Single hinge toe sections 

- Bicep and thigh swivel 

- Unlike most Kamen Rider scarf pieces which connect via a ball joint, Gotchard's simply plugs into the back of the figure and can rotate a full 360 degrees. Unfortunately the connection isn't the most secure, which results in it falling out a lot more that you'd usually find with pieces like this. The scarf is moulded in a fairly neutral position, but doesn't look too bad when rotated around to look windswept. One day Tamashii will do all Rider scarfs in pliable soft materials, but that day is yet to come. Moving onto the body itself Gotchard has plenty to boast about, but as tends to be the case with armoured characters he's not without restrictions either. The head/neck especially feels limited by the raised collar pieces at either side, and the shoulders feel similarly restricted by the shape of the torso armour and shoulder pads. Of course the problem here is also exacerbated by the presence of the chrome, as extra care has to be taken not to scuff it. This feels particularly true of the hip articulation, which to make full use of you have to pull the legs down and tuck the top parts under the crotch part precariously close to the chrome hip guards. It isn't that Gotchard isn't capable of all these dynamic poses (the box images are proof enough of that), it's just perhaps that little extra care is needed to get him into them.

In addition to a slightly more lavish presentation Gotchard also follows Geats' example in including a decent selection of accessories. Included here are four additional pairs of hands as well as the Gotcharge Gun. The hand selection here is very good, ranging from the usual (closed fists, open hands, weapon holding etc.) to specifically posed ones to recreate Gotchard's signature goggle-holding pose. The Gotcharge Gun is another nice bit of S.H. Figuarts moulding, cast in translucent orange plastic with a clear piece in the centre where the yellow arrows have been painted onto. Of course just because Tamashii have included a weapon here doesn't mean they've abandoned their "buy other characters from the series to get more accessories" strategy, with S.H. Figuarts Valvarad coming with the Gotchartornado. As it stands though, the Gotcharge Gun is the perfect choice for this release. The only thing it's really missing is a couple of Chemy cards for the figure to hold, which feel like a no-brainer given every other card-based Rider has had them in the past. Even if they aren't compatible with the Driver, simply having them for the figure to hold would have been enough.

It may be a little more expensive than your average new Kamen Rider series release but between the sculpting and of course that gorgeous chrome finish you can definitely see where that extra cost has gone into S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Gotchard Steamhopper. The longevity of the finish is always a bit of a concern, but for now there's no denying that this figure has some serious shelf-presence. Though there are a few articulation gripes here and there it's another great release in the growing range of Reiwa era Riders, with plenty to offer whether you plan to pick anything else from Gotchard up or not.