Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Gridman

Release Date: January 2025

RRP: 11,000 yen

Although for the majority of its lifespan the S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou line has remained fairly Kamen Rider-exclusive, the last couple of years particularly have seen it branch out into a number of other tokusatsu franchises. First there was a brief foray into GARO, eventually followed by the line expanding into both Ultraman and Super Sentai. 2025 is set to see the line expand even more – most surprisingly with Wingman later in the year, but first with something else Ultra-adjacent. S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Gridman sees the Hyper Agent make his long-awaited return to a Bandai Tamashii Nations line – his first since his Ultra-Act figure all the way back in 2012. The figure is a Tamashii web exclusive, adding to the renaissance of Gridman merchandise there's been since the release of the anime series SSSS.Gridman and its subsequent sequels/spin-offs. This figure is of course based on his appearance in the original 1993 series, later adapted in the West as Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad.

Though Gridman isn't technically counted as an Ultra Series, the similarities plus the fact it's made by Tsuburaya Productions are more than enough reasons for the packaging of this figure to match the Ultraman Shinkocchou Seihou releases. However while the top of the two-piece box has the same matte black finish as the Ultra releases, the bottom half is standard white rather than foil silver. The layout remains the same as all Shinkocchou Seihou releases though, with a nice big headshot of the figure on the top half as well as the character name (fully written as "Gridman the Hyper Agent" here) in silver foil lettering. The underside of the box features a number of images showing the figure of in various poses, and then inside both the figure and accessories are neatly stored across two plastic trays. A paper leaflet has also been included laying out both the full table of contents and how to pose/transform the accessories.

Not only has it been a good while since 2012, but S.H. Figuarts has a slightly different way of doing things than Ultra-Act. Whereas Ultra-Act (at the time) excelled at sculpts that looked both dynamic and toyetic, S.H. Figuarts has always opted for a more screen-accurate look that mirrors the onscreen suits. This is doubly so for Shinkocchou Seihou, with Gridman proving to be a particularly strong entry to the "True Bone Carving" range in terms of look. While the similarities to the Ultraman franchise may be there, the more armoured look also makes for a totally different kind of hero. Though there are plenty of folds moulded into the red body suit and white leg guards to give the impression of fabric, on top of that you have that armoured torso – smoother in design and realised with silver metallic paint. The same can also be said for the head sculpt, which also features translucent yellow eyes and a translucent blue forehead "jewel". The centrepiece of the torso is also realised in translucent yellow plastic. Not only does the sculpt perfectly capture all the intricacies of the design, it also emulates the actual bulk of the suit. Much like the Ultraman releases, certain parts of Gridman have been done using rubbery material to enhance articulation – namely the abdomen and crotch sections. There's debate among collectors about how well these parts will hold up over time, but for now they certainly seem to get the job done – and without any obvious QC issues like Ultraman Tiga as well.

To its credit, the Ultra-Act still looks pretty great given its age. That said, there are pretty significant differences between it and the Shinkocchou Seihou release. The Ultra-Act may be ever-so-slightly taller, but the Shinkocchou Seihou has far more natural and realistic proportions. This is most noticeable with the head, which seems positively huge compared to the one on the Ultra-Act figure. Given both its age and the frequent issue with snapping wrist joints the Ultra-Act seemed to have, as tends to be the case with Shinkocchou Seihous Gridman is well worth the upgrade. Interestingly there are some minor things the Ultra-Act has that the Seihou doesn't however, such as a chromed blade on the sword.

And to its credit, articulation wasn't bad on the old Ultra-Act release either. However age has not been especially kind to it, and 13 years later it's more an issue of the thing having really loose joints than not being especially poseable. Enter the Shinkocchou Seihou figure, which brings the usual high standard of; - - 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, wrist gauntlet and thigh swivels

The shoulder pads are not only attached via raised hinge piece that lets them sit clear of the arms, but the two pieces that make them up are clipped on in a way that allows them to expand and contract depending on how you wish to pose the arms. Given that these are pretty hefty shoulder pads, it’s a nice little bit of engineering that really helps improve movement. That said, there's still plenty else to love about this figure when it comes to poseability anyway. Even discounting the shoulder pad articulation there's some fantastic butterfly movement on this release, and the addition of wrist gauntlet swivels on top of the usual bicep movement makes that signature Grid Beam pose easy to manoeuvre. Leg articulation is to the usual high S.H. Figuarts standards, leaving the only place that can be a bit tricky to work with is the torso and waist. It's not so much that the joints don't work, but more that the rubbery material around them can make them feel a little bit sticky at first. Arguably Gridman isn’t the most acrobatic of tokusatsu heroes (and can you blame the actors with suits like these), but this figure is more than capable of handling anything you have in mind for it.

The release only gets better with its great array of accessories, starting with an impressive 14 (seven pairs) additional hands. Among these include all your essentials like weapon-holding, grappling, pointing and knife-strike hands, but there are also some variants among those to make things a little more interesting. There are two pairs of weapon-holding hands for example, one of which has the wrist angled downwards. Moving on from there we have Gridman's arsenal of melee weapons, mainly comprised of the Plasma Sword and Barrier Shield. The Plasma Sword is a simple design but fits very nicely into Gridman's hands, while the Barrier Shield is an impressive looking piece with plenty of paint apps. It gets more exciting however as these weapons are also able to transform and combine! The first of these two combinations is the Thunder Axe, where the front two halves of the shield fold forward to form an axe blade, while the tip of the sword sits atop the weapon. This can be achieved through a combination of parts-swapping and actual transformation, with the central piece of the shield flipping a full 180 degrees so that the two halves can form the axe. The sword tip is a separate piece that plugs into the top of the shield, and the grip can also be switched out for a longer one. The fact it has some transformation elements to it really enhances the playability, and the axe itself is a nice alternative to the sword. For something even more heavy duty though the weapons can also form the signature Gridman Sword, where the axe becomes a larger hilt piece for the sword and the blade is fully extended at the top. All three formations have great display presence, and with swapping between them so easy it you don't ever have worry about simply settling for your favourite.

Of course an Ultraman-adjacent character like Gridman wouldn’t be complete without a beam effect part, and the Shinkocchou Seihou is only happy to oblige with a fantastic translucent yellow Grid Beam effect. As was the case with the Ultra-Act figure, the beam is attached to an alternate Gran Acceptor which can be swapped with the default version. It's worth noting that this is significantly easier to do on the Shinkocchou Seihou release as well. While ultimately the effect part may not be all that different than what comes with most Ultraman releases, the Grid Beam really stands out thanks the flashy "burst" piece that connects the Acceptor to the beam itself. Pretty much the perfect way to round out a fantastic selection of accessories.

The Gridman renaissance has brought with it a lot of collector-focussed releases, from the likes of Good Smile Company and ThreeZero to Evolution-Toy. While Bandai's Super Mini-Pla releases ensured their toes weren't completely dipped out of the Gridman pool, S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Gridman is their proper return – and it's a release that's here to blow the competition away. Some may be able to compete it comes to sculpt and poseability, but few will also manage size and affordability on top of that as well. This is the Shinkocchou Seihou line firing on all cylinders, providing fans with a near-perfect representation of the Hyper Agent in his original 1993 form.