Release Date: November 2025
RRP: 13,200 yen
It's hard to believe that Super Sentai S.H. Figuarts have been back for a whole five years now, having previously made their return during the franchise's 45th anniversary with the release of Zenkaizer. From then the range has continued strong with a great selection of red and sixth heroes (sadly no more teams as of yet), as well as fan favourites like Gokai Red and Kyoryu Red joining the prestigious Shinkocchou Seihou line. For the 50th anniversary naturally we've seen Gozyu Wolf join the main line, but it wouldn't be a proper celebration without the original red also joining in on things. S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Akarenger (Super Sentai 50th Anniversary Ver.) is the third entry in the Sentai Shinkocchou Seihou range, and an extra special one at that.
50 years later and the Akarenger suit remains just as iconic. The template of everything that would follow, it embodies Super Sentai through and through whilst also subtly showing off it's retro spy thriller elements in a superhero motif. The suit really is timeless, and the Shinkocchou Seihou figure definitely does it justice. There's so much detail loaded in, from the billowing fabric of the suit to fine detailing of the belt. The yellow V on the front of the torso has been moulded as a separate piece on top of the body, with the tips at each end hanging over the shoulders to complete the look but also freeing the joints up for full arm movement. The Gorenger S symbol particularly stands out, both on the belt buckle and the printing on the sides of the boots. The bug-eyed visor of the helmet is quite different to the decades of helmets that would follow, but undoubtedly an integral part of the look with it's blue colouring and holed appearance. However the big draw here is the use of soft goods for the cape, which is wired about around the edges of the cape and the collar piece. The cape is affixed to the body straight out the box, connected towards the top of the back so that it has maximum poseability around the collar. Getting the collar to sit properly around the neck can be a little tricky at first, but it offers so many more posing possibilities than a static plastic piece. The fabric itself is also really nice - not too thick but sturdy enough to hold shape/not rip, with suit-accurate white lining on the inside.
One of the strangest things about comparing this new Akarenger with the original S.H. Figuarts release from 2014 is that it's the first time that a Shinkocchou Seihou is actually smaller than the previous figure. For whatever reason the original figure was noticeably oversized, towering over previous Super Sentai releases as well as fellow heroes from that era such as Rider 1. The Shinkocchou Seihou fixes that by making this new figure far more paletable scale-wise, as well as improving the proportions with a sculpt directly based on original Akarenger suit actor Kazuo Niibori. There are also naturally some articulation improvements, but the other huge change is of course the switch to a soft goods cape. While the original's plastic cape was okay for more vanilla poses, it did have its issues when it came to more action-orientated ones - particularly any that involved kicking the Gorenger Storm ball. To its credit though, the original figure still looks excellent and despite being slightly oversized remains one of the figures from the original wave of Super Sentai releases that has perhaps aged the best.
So just what is different when it comes to articulation? S.H. Figuarts have changed quite a bit in the last decade, especially while the Super Sentai range was on hiatus. Akarenger features;
- Ball jointed head, neck, torso, waist and wrists
- Butterfly joint shoulders
- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles
- Double hinge elbows and knees
- Single hinge toe sections
- Bicep, glove and thigh swivels
Arguably the biggest change between the two releases is the upgrade to the shoulder articulation, with the modern engineering providing far superior motion as well as a more aesthetically pleasing sculpt. Rather than simply having the arm attach to a really obvious joint, the shoulders themselves are separate to the torso which in turn connect to the top of the arms. With all the fabric billowing moulded in, the joint cuts are barely noticeable at all. Also improved are the hips, which again offer much smoother movement than the old drop-down ball jointed hips. But as previously mentioned, the improvements in poseability really shine thanks to the cape no longer being plastic. The old figure's cape draped just below the waistline so could impact articulation, but more importantly the ability to lift up and bend it makes poses feel that much more realistic and natural.
Akarenger features one of the largest selection of accessories seen on a Shinkocchou Seihou release in some time - most of which have been carried over (and improved upon) from the original release, but there are a few ones thrown in as well. Among the pieces are 18 swappable hands, Silver Shot pistol, a swappable holster strap, his signature Red Bute weapon in whip and "Spear Bute", Birdie rocket parks, "Gorenger Hurricane" End Ball parts and finally alternate base parts for the ball. The extremely generous hand selection includes all the essentials like closed fists, open and weapon holding hands, as well as pointing and signature poses hands. One additional left hand is even holding a secondary visor piece, which in the show would then transform into the individual weapons. Unlike the original release's Red Bute which was solid plastic, the Shinkocchou Seihou's is a length of actual rope. It's slightly disappointing it isn't a wired piece to allow for proper dynamic posing, but the rope texture definitely looks better than plastic. Meanwhile the Spear Bute has been given a significant upgrade in length compared to the original, as well as the red tip now being pointed instead of flat. It's a much better weapon for action posing than the whip, and can be held by the figure in one or two hands. The Silver Shot is slightly more detailed than the original's though not too dissimilar, however the belt holster now features removeable pieces rather than being switched outright. There's a top half to the pistol that needs to be removed when wielded (replaced by the alternate strap which plugs in in its place), as well as a tiny barrel piece poking out of the bottom). Functionally the Birdies are the same as the previous release but again considerably more detailed, plugging into either side of the belt once the side panels have been removed.
The major change here is the addition of the End Ball, replacing the fully-charged Storm Ball from the original release. This was a really good decision on Bandai's part, as the End Ball is undoubtedly more iconic and show's off the team's signature colours. The End Ball can be held by the figure inert with the leg pieces folded in, or the bottom half can be swapped out for an active version with the legs folded out (allowing to stand on its own). While sadly the End Ball doesn't have a stand port built into it or an adapter piece to make display either, it can be gripped by a Tamashii Stage (or similar articulated display arm) for mid-air poses. Something which are now considerably more dynamic and easier to do thanks to the addition of the soft goods cape. Overall it's a fantastic selection of accessories, giving you plenty of options when it comes to play and display.
The other hand in the set that doesn't come as part of a pair is an additional gripping right hand, which is meant to be used so that the figure can shake hands with S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider 1 (Legendary Masked Riders Showa Edition), which was released at the same time and comes with a corresponding hand. As these have been done as two separate hands rather than one single piece (like the similar shaking hands accessory that came with Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider 2) it can be a little difficult to angle the figures so they grip perfectly, but once you do so it does make for a pretty nice display. The original heroes and mascots of Toei's two major superhero franchises, united in their fight against evil.
Rounding off the accessories is a special bonus piece in celebration of Super Sentai's 50th anniversary - a special display base similar to the one included with the Showa Edition Rider 1. But whereas that simply features the standard Kamen Rider logo, Akarenger's sports the gorgeous Super Sentai 50th anniversary logo - featuring Akarenger and Gozyu Wolf's helmets alongside a five-colour explosion. Between the two helmets is the 50th anniversary text, with the 5 stylised as the Himitsu Sentai Gorenger S logo. It's a beautiful base, and the perfect piece to round off this already incredible release. As well as featuring room for multiple figures to be displayed on it (but undoubtedly looks best with both Akarenger and Gozyu Wolf), there are three Tamashii Stage sockets just above the logo allowing for mid-air poses as well.
Between celebrating its 50th anniversary and announcing its end (for the time being at least) it's been a big year for Super Sentai, and the very least it deserved was a fantastic figure to mark the occasion. Thankfully S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Akarenger (Super Sentai 50th Anniversary Ver.) is just a fantastic figure, it's also arguably the best Super Sentai Figuarts release we've ever had. Every aspect of the (already excellent) previous figure has been improved upon in the usual Shinkocchou Seihou way, with Bandai delivering a figure that both looks incredible and has more accessories than you could ever need. The only real disappointment here is that it's unlikely the Gorengers will follow, as this is the kind of quality release I would gladly experience another four times over. While Super Sentai toys certainly aren't going away anytime soon, it's hard to imagine how they can get better than this.
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