Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Majade SunUnicorn

Release Date: September 2024

RRP: 8250 yen

The Reiwa era of Kamen Rider has been doing great things to improve the prominence of women Riders in the shows, but it was only last year with Kamen Rider Gotchard that one officially attained the (often much debated) position of "secondary Rider". Said Rider is of course Rinne Kudo aka Kamen Rider Majade, who first debuted as a Rider in the Gotchard/Geats crossover movie before becoming a regular in the show shortly afterwards. But despite being the secondary Rider, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Majade SunUnicorn on the other hand is the fourth release in the line's Gotchard range, as well as its third Tamashii web exclusive.

As a Tamashii web exclusive release Kamen Rider Majade comes in windowless packaging, however the general design of the box remains the same as it did for the retail release Gotchard figures. The only difference is that the window section is simply replaced with a block of grey where the S.H. Figuarts logo sits, and then to the side of it is a nice big image of the figure. The box uses orange as a secondary colour to go with the standard white, which of course fits in rather nicely with Majade SunUnicorn's colour scheme. The sides and back of the box feature further images of the figure in a variety of different poses, and then inside both Majade and her accessories are neatly laid out on a moulded plastic tray.

It only really takes one look at this figure to see that it's main selling point is definitely looks. Kamen Rider Majade SunUnicorn is a particularly ornate suit and Bandai have translated this beautifully to figure form, both in the overall sculpting and the paintwork. First off you have the undersuit in a rich metallic blue, and then on top of that the contrast of the bright white armour with metallic orange and silver accents. The chest piece is particularly impressive, with the sun emblem peering behind a plate of clear orange plastic. Below that is the similarly impressive Alchemisdriver, with its own (painted) clear plastic piece at the front. The finally you have the helmet, with the unicorn head (and impressively sized horn) coming down over those orange compound eyes. It's one of those suits where having it in your hands you get to appreciate some of the finer details you might have missed on the show, and even without being covered in chrome parts still manages to look impressive alongside Kamen Rider Gotchard.

Poseability was a little bit of a sore point with Gotchard thanks to the combination of awkward armour pieces and the fear of scuffing his chrome finish, and although Majade doesn't have the latter to worry about the former still proves to be a bit of an issue. Altogether she 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, forearm and thigh swivels 

On paper that seems like a really good range of movement, even slightly above your average Figuarts thanks to the forearm swivels. But unfortunately parts of the suit design do prove to be a bit of a nightmare. The shoulder pads are connected via a small ball joint located behind the shoulder, with the soft plastic cape pieces draped down in a fixed position. The lack of posing options for the cape pieces is disappointing but not unsurprising (as much as we'd all like poseable soft goods its not something Bandai dabble with much in the mainline Kamen Rider Figuarts), but to have that on top of barely moveable shoulder pads makes it a lot more frustrating. The shoulders have a very limited circle of movement, and pushing the arms outside of that quickly leads to the shoulder pads popping off (though they are easy to reattach) The hair and "skirt" pieces on the suit are also made of soft plastic, but thankfully don't restrict the head or hip articulation anywhere near as much. It might have been nice if the hair was attached via a ball joint to give it a little bit of poseability, but it doesn't make a big difference overall. Moving down the body everything is great until you get to the ankles, which lack any sort of tilt movement and little forward/backward movement either. Despite those high heels she still balances surprisingly well, but it can make for action poses not looking quite as flat-footed as they should. Overall Majade is far from a terrible figure when it comes to poseability, but there are a few areas that do feel like they could have done with a little more work.

Articulation isn't the only area that Majade feels a little short-changed either, as she doesn't have much in the way of accessories either. The figure comes with four additional pairs of hands, which her a nice range of closed fists, open and specifically posed hands. Now granted Majade doesn't use physical weapons in the same way Gotchard or Valvarad do (and Bandai for the most part doesn't seem to do effect part pieces for Kamen Rider figures) so there wasn't a whole lot for her to come with in the first place, but the issue here becomes much more apparent when you take a look at what else is in the box. As it stands though, this is a nice selection of hands that gives Majade some good range even with her restricted poseability.

In the grand tradition of "all subsequent figures from a series must come with an accessory for the titular character" that Bandai Tamashii Nations has largely imposed on the Kamen Rider and Ultraman lines for some time now, Majade also comes packaged with both a Chemy Riser and alternate right hand for Gotchard to hold it with. The accessory itself is small but very nicely moulded with accurate detailing, silver paint and clear orange plastic for the front section. The issue lies in the fact that there is absolutely no reason why this could have been an accessory for Majade as well. She even HAS a folded, removable version of the alchemy tool attached to her belt – but lacks a designated pair of hands to properly hold the accessory. So in essence, Bandai have supplied an accessory that both Riders use but the means for only one of them to use it. A completely baffling decision that almost makes Majade feel like something of an afterthought.

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Majade SunUnicorn had every potential to be a fantastic figure, but there are a number of little issues here and there that when added up feel harder to overlook. The poseability issues are somewhat understandable even if Bandai should just start using soft goods on mainline Kamen Rider Figuarts when its needed (or at the very least just joint the parts a little better), but adding an accessory suitable for two figures and then not giving the figure it comes with the means to use it is just plain stupid. Kamen Rider Majade is another entry in the fantastic lineage of female Riders in the Reiwa era, so it's a little sad that the figure doesn't quite live up to the same standard as previous releases.