Release Date: September 2025
RRP: 8900 yen
Mahou Sentai Magiranger was a series with a lot of interesting ideas, and one of the most interesting of all was Wolzard - the dark magic knight who was eventually revealed to be Isamu Ozu, the father of the five Magirangers who fell to darkness during his battle with the Absolute God N Ma. Repeatedly battling against the Magirangers across the course of the series, the family were eventually able to return their father to the light - making him of the first Super Sentai villains to become an "extra" ranger. His impact on the series makes Shokugan Modeling Project Wolkaiser the perfect choice to continue Bandai's new range of Magiranger model kits - neatly coinciding with the show's 20th anniversary. Featuring both Wolzard and his horse Varikion, SMP Wolkaiser is a Premium Bandai exclusive and the second SMP release from Magiranger following on from Magiking.
As per the tradition of the SMP Super Sentai range since its very beginning, the Wolkaiser set comes in a large box directly inspired by the original DX toy packaging from 2005. The background, design layout and character/series logos are all exactly the same, with the only real differences being images of the model kit used in place of the DX (albeit in near-identical poses), and the addition of the Bandai Namco logo in the top right corner. On the front of the box are images of the model kit in Wolkaiser and Wolcentarus modes, with the back also then featuring additional images of the individual Wolzard and Varikion components. One side of the box shows off all the different modes/combinations of Wolzard and Varikion, whilst the other shows off how Varikion looks with Magiphoenix instead. Inside the parts needed to build the kit are spread across a number of purple, black, gold and silver runners along with a a selection of pre-painted parts. Also included are building instructions, combination instructions, a sticker sheet and a single piece of soda flavoured candy.
The first component of the set is a miniature Wolzard figure, based on the Dark Magic Knight's transformed appearance. The figure is made from primarily purple and black plastic, with an added bit of silver for the wolf shoulder pauldrons. Unfortunately much like the Magiking components it's also a bit of a nightmare when it comes to stickers, with nearly every detail on the suit requiring them. The only pre-painted part on the entire figure is the belt, which means even the head detailing is a sticker. While a lot of said detailing is moulded onto the figure so you can paint it on if you'd prefer, given how small some of it is (particularly the head) those without a steady hand will probably opt for the stickers. Though the use of stickers doesn't come as any big surprise, again it's the extensiveness of them that surprises with the Magiranger kits - Wolzard is a great looking figure, but some of these pieces definitely feel like they should have been pre-painted.
But while there are certainly issues when it comes to detailing, Wolzard does at least impress when it comes to articulation. With a joint layout that's pretty much identical to that of Magiphoenix, Wolzard features;
-Head, bicep, and waist swivel
- Swivel hinge shoulders and hips
- Butterfly joint shoulders
- Hinged elbows, knees and ankles
Even though they may be there primarily as part of the transformation, having butterfly joint movement on a model kit figure this small is heavenly. The feet movement is a bit rubbish as the ankles can only move forward/backward rather than side to side, but otherwise it's a nice array of movement that gives Wolzard plenty of personality even without the rest of the set to go alongside him. For accessories he includes both the Wolsaber and Jagun Shield, the latter of which features a sliding mechanism on the top so it can open and reveal a (fully painted) eye of N Ma. When not in use, the Wolsaber can be sheathed inside the Jagun Shield, though it needs to be broken down into two separate components.
The bulk of the model however is the Dark Magic Horse Varikion, Wolzard's personal steed. Varikion is a pretty straightforward built that uses a lot of larger parts for the body, so it's a good kit for beginner model builders to cut their teeth on. The larger parts also mean it's an easier kit to paint if you so desire, which I definitely recommend as a shinier gold and silver really make those parts pop. Unlike Wolzard it's also pretty good when it comes to sticker placement, with not a huge amount required for the detailing and what is required mostly straightforward to paint on instead. Much like the other Magiranger mecha Varikion is an interesting design that doesn't feel like your typical Super Sentai robot but at the same time doesn't function all that differently from it - a big black horse which fits Wolzard's dark knight theme wonderfully.
Varikion doesn't have a huge amount of articulation and what is there is more a by-product of the way it transforms/combines, but there's still a little bit of poseability that elevates it above being a complete brick. The front legs feature swivel hinges at the shoulder and then hinges at the knee and foot, as well as also having rotation at the knee. The back legs are a lot more simplified however, and can simple raise/lower at the hip. Finally the tail is both hinged and can rotate at the point it attaches to the body. Strangely the head doesn't really feature any proper articulation, which you'd think would be one of the most obvious points after the legs. So while you aren't going to get any crazy poses out of the kit, the ability to pose the legs at slightly different angles to make it look like it's trotting/galloping does make a difference. In addition to that, Wolzard can also ride Varikion with the help of an adaptor piece which helps clips the two figures together. Rather surprisingly this was never actually shown in Magiranger, so remains a feature unique to the toys.
In addition to simply riding Varikion, Wolzard can also directly combine with the horse to form Wolcentarus - something of an intermediary stage between the two individual components and the full Wolkaiser combination. Combining the two in this form simply requires removing Varikion's head and slotting the Wolzard figure in its place, with Wolzard's legs slotting into Varikion's hollow upper legs. In addition to the Jagun Shield, Wolcentaurus now also has a mighty lance comprised from Varikion's mane and head. The lance can be held either via the long handle that runs through the middle of it, or via a smaller one located just above - the latter being the much easier one for display and posing. In this form Wolcentaurus has all the body articulation of Varikion combined with the upper body movement of Wolzard, creating a slightly limited but still somewhat respectable range of movement for the model.
With their design layout and connection points being identical, Varikion can also combine with Magiphoenix the same way it can with Wolzard. This includes both riding the the Dark Magic Horse as well as the centaur mode, the latter of which was not featured on the show itself and instead just a feature of the DX toy. While neither quite have the same presence as the Wolzard versions, it's nevertheless a fun little bit of extra playability the kit has and ensures the the SMP version can effectively do everything the DX toy could. Though not pictured here, Wolzard can in turn also ride Magidragon in the same manner as Magiphoenix, further emphasising the cross-compatibility between the two kits.
The transformation into Wolkaiser isn't quite as unusual as Magiking, but it's another slightly unorthodox one in the grand scheme of Super Sentai. Though it does feature a little bit of parts removal/swapping, Varikion effectively transforms into a giant body which Wolzard sits inside of as the chest unit. To do this however Wolzard first needs to be split into two, with the waist and legs sitting inside the larger robot mode legs just as they did with the Centaur mode. Wolzard's torso however needs to be folded in, with the Jagun Shield pegged over the front of it. The torso then fits into the larger Wolkaiser chest cavity, with that previously mentioned adapter piece also fitting onto the bottom of the torso to fill the gap between the two halves of Wolzard. The bulk of the parts-swapping comes from the lower legs, which clip on to the frame rather than properly transforming. Finally Varikion's head plugs onto the top of the robot, with the underside rotating to reveal the robot mode face. The result is a very imposing-looking robot mode, with Wolzard's purple beautifully complimenting Varikion's already striking gold and black colour scheme. As has been the case with most SMP kits the upper body proportions can be slightly altered should you so desire - the standard transformation will give you a silhouette more akin to the suit/DX toy, but the shoulders can then be pulled away for a more dynamic interpretation.
As with the transformation Wolkaiser has interesting articulation, which extends the mobility of the design far beyond that of the original DX toy but also has its own drawbacks. Altogether it features;
- Head, waist, bicep, wrist gauntlet and knee swivel
- Butterfly joint shoulders
- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles
- Double hinge elbows
- Single hinge knees
- Ball jointed wrists
The skirt piece can also lift at the sides (as well as open at the front, although that's more to help fit Wolzard's legs in during transformation) to add extra clearance from the legs, and the wrist gauntlets can open outwards so they don't get in the way of the fists. For the most part it's a really good selection of articulation, and the way the shoulders can pull outward and twist make for excellent upper arm movement. There are some issues with the design though, starting with the arms. Although the wrist gauntlets can move out the way of the fists, getting Wolkaiser to hold the weapon can be quite difficult without twisting them out of the way as well. This is straightforward enough to do but the connection is quite stiff, and the slightest pressure in the wrong place can instead stress the elbows - two different coloured pieces held together by the tiniest of pegs. As such it is very easy to snap the elbow connection when trying to get Wolkaiser into more dynamic poses, and though it isn't too difficult to repair (gluing the two pieces may actually reinforce the joint a little more) the fact it can happen is still frustrating. The upper legs are a bit limited too because of the way Wolzard's legs fit inside them, meaning they have to move along with them. Nevertheless Wolkaiser is still perfectly capable of plenty of good looking poses, even if it manages to look suitably imposing in even the most vanilla of stances. 
Wolkaiser comes with a pair of additional open hands, and his weapon is a staff made from Varikion's mane and tail. The hands are posed with the fingers splayed, and connect to the wrists via ball joints so are easy to switch in and out as well as having plenty of mobility. Meanwhile the model can hold the staff by slipping the handle through the fists first and then attaching the tail piece afterwards. While the awkwardness of the arm articulation and wrist gauntlets does mean posing the figure dynamically does take a little bit of getting used to, the kit is capable of some good poses and the big weapon definitely makes the combination look even more fearsome.
Wolkaiser isn't the only robot mode this model kit has up its sleeve either, as Varikion can also be combined with Magiphoenix to form Firekaiser. The combination process is more or less the same, with Magiphoenix taking the place of Wolzard as the chest and inside the upper legs (the dummy chest piece is also required for this combination as well). The key difference is that Firekaiser uses Varikion's tail parts rather than the head, with the tail itself becoming the head whilst the piece it connects to fits between Magiphoenix's shoulders to fill in the chest. The Varikion head then attaches to the weapon in place of the tail to form Firekaiser's staff, which is the same formation as Wolcentaurus' lance. Firekaiser's new head sculpt is very different to that of Wolkaiser's - fully painted and sporting a flowing silver ponytail. The articulation and poseability of Firekaiser is exactly the same as Wolkaiser's so there isn't anything new here other than visuals, but it's a fun additional mode that adds to the overall playability of the Magiranger kits.
Villain mecha in Super Sentai are quite rare and SMP covering a series that has them even rarer, so Shokugan Modeling Project Wolkaiser is both the perfect next step for the Magiranger line and a great addition to the overall line. Like Magiking it perhaps doesn't feel quite as polished as SMP kits usually do due to the more unorthodox nature of the design/transformation, but remains a significant update to both the DX toy and original minipla release in terms of complexity. Though it's a bit of a shame that Magiranger is getting the Premium Bandai treatment already with only its second release, it also shouldn't be all that surprising given that seems to be the way things are these days. Magiranger fans should definitely seek this one out before prices start getting too crazy.
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