RRP: 13,750 yen
Once upon a time Tamashii Nation event exclusives were reserved for the most unique of Kamen Rider forms - movie exclusives, one-off variants, that sort of thing. But when Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Diend was revealed as an event exclusive in 2019 it was a sign of things to come, and now its fair to say that anything outside of key characters and final forms could be an exclusive. So appears to be the case for Kamen Rider Gaim, with S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Jimber Lemon Arms selected as the Kamen Rider representative for 2025. With Bandai Tamashii Nations debuting the Gaim range in 2024 its selection as a series doesn't come as a huge surprise, but seeing a form that was once a Tamashii web exclusive back in 2014 reappear in an even more limited form just goes to show how the market has shifted.
It wouldn't be a Tamashii Nations event exclusive without a nice slipcover sleeve, and "red" is very much the theme of the 2025 exclusives. The front the sleeve features a nice big image of Gaim firing the Sonic Arrow, against a repeating background of the Tamashii Nations heart logo. The other sides are much less interesting, with one side completely plain other than the Tamashii Nation 2025 logo in the top corner and the other featuring all the consumer information in Japanese. The back of the sleeve again just features the Tamashii Nation 2025 logo along with the character name and the S.H. Figuarts, Shinkocchou Seihou and Kamen Rider Gaim series logos.
Remove the sleeve and things look a little more familiar, as we're treated to the usual two-piece Shinkocchou Seihou packaging. The top of the lid piece features a nice big bust image of Gaim Jimber Lemon Arms, while the sides have the character name printed in silver foil lettering. On the bottom half of the box there are a number of images showing the figure and it's accessories off in a variety of poses, and then inside all those parts are neatly laid out on a moulded plastic tray - one for the figure itself and then a shallower one underneath for the accessories. Interestingly, despite the added depth that usually comes from a Shinkocchou Seihou release, this figure's box is actually smaller than the original S.H. Figuarts version.
Jimber Lemon Arms is Gaim's first proper "power up" over the course of the series, wielding the power of two Lockseeds to create an alternative to the Energy Riders that appeared around the same time as it's introduction. The form sees Gaim's orange themed samurai armour become a little more traditionally inspired - becoming black in colour with silver accents. As well as adding new collar pieces the front of the armour becomes far more elaborate, adding long side panels with lemon slice printing. There are also slight changes to Gaim's base suit - the Musou Saber is removed entirely, the neckpiece and helmet "mouth" are coloured black, and the suit's signature asymmetrical crest becomes silver. While nowhere near as elaborate or extensive as the upgrade forms that follow, it's still quite the visual distinction from Gaim's base form. This figure reuses the base body from Gaim Orange Arms, adding the noted colour changes as well as a newly moulded Driver. Proportionally the body continues to be fantastic, and the slight colour changes to the helmet do a really good job of making it stand out from the base form. The new Jimber Arms armour also looks fantastic, the black being a stark contrast to Orange Arms' metallic finish but still working with the base suit colours just as well. The Lemon panels add a really nice splash of colour though, along with a sharp print emphasising the fruit motif in the place of fruit-shaped armour. It's not the most interesting of Gaim's alternate form, but it's one I have started to think of as somewhat underrated in the years since the show first aired.
Although functionally there's quite a few upgrades to the Shinkocchou Seihou as well as the obligatory sculpt/proportion changes, once again the original 2014 S.H. Figuarts release continues to fare pretty well all these years later. There's quite an obvious difference in size, but when it comes to detail and paintwork the original release comes pretty damn close. So as frustrating as it may be that the Shinkocchou Seihou version is an event exclusive, the original is still a great figure over a decade later and remains a decent alternative.
The Sengoku Driver has been given a little upgrade in the form of the Genesis Core, allowing Gaim to use an Energy Lockseed in addition to the Orange one. Functionally the Driver itself hasn't changed though, once again featuring a moveable Cutter Arm and removable Lockseeds. The Orange and Lemon Energy Lockseeds can be replaced with either the closed Pine and Ichigo Lockseeds attached to Gaim's belt, or the open Melon Energy, Cherry Energy and Peach Energy Lockseeds among the accessories. All of these Lockseeds can also be held in Gaim's designated hands, or inserted onto the Sonic Arrow for finishing attacks.
With no changes made to the base body other than colouring, Jimber Lemon Arms features exactly the same articulation as Orange Arms did. Altogether this includes;
- Ball jointed head, neck, torso, waist and wrists
- Swivel hinge shoulders, wrists and ankles
- Butterfly joint shoulders
- Double hinge elbows and knees
- Single hinge toe sections
- Bicep and thigh swivels
The Jimber armour also features all the same joints as the Orange armour too (hinged shoulder pads and back piece), with the addition of two extra hinged parts around the collar. Between those and the larger scale of the helmet on this version neck articulation does get a little more limited, but it's not so bad that Gaim can't turn his head at all. But undoubtedly the much bigger change with Jimber Arms (compared to the original S.H. Figuarts) is the implementation of ACTUAL hinge joints to the lower portions of the fruit panels. Together with the ball joints the panels connect onto the torso with, there's enough movement in them to move out of the way of the legs for crouched poses. Not to mention getting out of the way of the Sengoku Driver, which is even more bulky now thanks to the addition of the Genesis Core. Everything else is just as it was with the Orange Arms release, which turned out to be surprisingly poseable despite the bulky armour.
The figure's accessories are largely the same as the original release, with a few extras/alterations thrown in for good measure. Among the pieces specifically for the figure itself there's four additional pairs of hands, open Melon Energy, Cherry Energy and Peach Energy Lockseeds, swappable armour parts for the Melon/Cherry/Peach Energy configurations, the Sonic Arrow and finally an alternate string part for the weapon. This is our first look (and likely our only one for some time) at the Shinkocchou Seihou version of the Sonic Arrow, and while it still has the same great combination of glossy metallic red paint and transparent blue plastic as the original it also has some improvements. Whereas the original Figuarts releases had the standard and drawn versions of the weapon as two different accessories, the Shinkocchou Seihou streamlines it with removable string parts instead. Not only is switching the parts out really easy to do, but it also makes it much easier to pose the weapon in the hands without the string getting in the way. The hand selection here includes ones previously featured with Orange Arms, but replaces the some of the Musou Saber/Daidaimaru holding pairs with ones more suited to the Sonic Arrow.
The fun gimmick with Jimber Lemon Arms though is the ability to change it into different Energy Lockseed forms. While Jimber Cherry and Jimber Peach both appeared on the show, Jimber Melon remains exclusive toy-exclusive. Each pair of panels feature beautiful paintings of their respective fruits, with Gaim's insignia also located on the right panel. The panels attach to the chest piece via ball joints so are fairly easy to swap, however the left one of my copy was noticeably tighter than the right. Not so much that I couldn't take it off, but it did require more force than I'd usually like to apply. While the other forms don't quite have the same impact or in-show relevance as Jimber Lemon, it's a nice little gimmick that's good to see recreated once again on this figure.
The gimmicks don't just stop there either! Even though Jimber Arms isn't a fruit like the rest of the Gaim armours, it's still capable of the Arms Change gimmick that sets the Shinkocchou Seihou figures apart from the original Figuarts releases. And just to ensure full suit accuracy when mixing it up with other figures, Bandai have included an adapter piece for figures with standard Sengoku Drivers to give them the Genesis Core. Simply pop the adapter onto the Driver in the place of a Lockseed, and it provides two new slots to house standard and energy Lockseeds. Also included is an alternate orange visor piece to fit on Kamen Rider Baron (identical to the one included with Orange Arms). Presumably this is because it's considered that the most "accurate" version of Jimber Arms uses the Orange Lockseed (the armour is build upon the design of Orange Arms after all), but personally I find it more fun to mix the combos up with the Riders' own signature Lockseeds. None of appeared in the show anyway, and the armour pieces have Gaim's insignia anyway so accuracy is out the window. But combos like Ryugen Jimber Melon Arms and Baron Jimber Peach Arms (both of which feel particular appropriate to the characters) are really fun ones to conjure up, and it's great to finally be able to do with them with a toyline that's a little more premium than the old Arms Change gimmick figures.
While it is unfortunate that we now live in a world where main Rider power up forms can be event exclusives, there's no doubt that if any of Gaim's forms have to be assigned this fate then Jimber Lemon Arms is the most suitable. With that said and in mind, S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Gaim Jimber Lemon Arms continues the trend of still somehow managing to improve upon the already excellent Kamen Rider Gaim Figuarts. On top of the Arms Change gimmick being particularly fun with this release as it opens the other Riders up to more interesting forms, little playability improvements like using replacement parts with the Sonic Arrow help further set this new version apart. Though many may not see it as the most essential release in the Gaim roster thus far, rather surprisingly perhaps it is the most fun.
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