Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Saga

Release Date: June 2024

RRP: 11,000 yen

Tamashii Nations purgatory is a place well known to collectors of Bandai's various toy lines, where numerous figures are revealed at events only to never see the light of day. There have been countless examples over the years, but one of the oldest cases is that of Kamen Rider Saga. With Kamen Rider Kiva being one of the series that helped kickstart the S.H. Figuarts line, Saga's original prototype dates back to well over a decade ago. But while the wait has been a bit of a saga in itself, the Fangire ruler and half-brother of Wataru Kurenai has finally arrived in 2024. That original figure will never see the light of day, but its spirit lives on in S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Saga – a newly tooled Tamashii Web exclusive figure that continues Kiva's strong place in the "true bone carving" line.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Dark Kiva

Release Date: August 2021

RRP: 8800 yen

Given that the same can be said of the original release all the way back in 2010, it shouldn't be all that surprising that S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Dark Kiva is a retail release. But then again, when far more prominent characters like Kamen Rider Ixa are web exclusive releases, you tend to expect the obligatory "Dark Rider" character with less screen time to get similar treatment. But as far as dark Riders go Dark Kiva is one of the most important ones of all, and Bandai Tamashii Nations have recognised this with another retail release from Kamen Rider Kiva. A powerful armour worn by the lord of all Fangires, much like IXA Dark Kiva had numerous users over the course of the series - first the Fangire lord King, followed by Otoya Kurenai and then later Taiga Noburi.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Ixa Save Mode/Burst Mode

Release Date: November 2020

RRP: 8800 yen

When S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Kiva was finally released back in 2019, Kamen Rider fans breathed a collective sigh of relief as they crossed off the figure that had been at the top of wish lists for the best part of a decade. But with a new Kiva on the market, that of course means that the previous figures released from the series don’t quite stack up. And what can you expect - the original S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Ixa was released all the way back in 2010. But Bandai Tamashii Nations are back with a brand new S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider Ixa Save Mode/Burst Mode figure, bringing the show’s secondary Rider firmly in the modern S.H. Figuarts era. Though Ixa may have been a Tamashii web exclusive release, like the original release it covers both Save and Burst modes of the standard Ixa suit - making it the ideal display piece for both the 1986 and 2008 versions of the character and any of the nine users it had. The Ixa System got around a lot.

Series REVIEW: Kamen Rider Kiva

How do you follow on from a smash hit like Kamen Rider Den-O? This is the exact problem Toei faced in 2008, when the time-travelling train series was about to make its final stop (that is until the deluge of sequel films of course). Their answer was to go a little bit horror with Kamen Rider Kiva – bringing in veteran writer Toshiki Inoue (Kamen Rider Agito, Kamen Rider 555) once more to spearhead the series. The 48-episode series served as the ninth entry in the Heisei series (and 18th Kamen Rider series overall), starring actor Koji Seto in the lead role of Wataru Kurenai. Seto would go on to immediately reprise his role at the beginning of the following series, helping to set in motion the events of the world-hopping anniversary series Kamen Rider Decade.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Kiva (Kiva Form)

Release Date: April 2019 

RRP: 7560 yen 

In February 2008 Bandai Tamashii Nations first launched S.H. Figuarts, a toy line over the past 11 years has covered tokusatsu properties, anime, Hollywood movies and so much more. However its success and longevity is definitely mostly thanks to Kamen Rider, and in that time the line has released a substantial number of characters and forms from across the franchise's long history. But there's always been someone missing. 2008 was also the year Kamen Rider Kiva aired, and with the titular character's base form appearing in the Souchaku Henshin (something of a precursor to Figuarts) line he was initially omitted from release to make way for other characters. However as time went on and more and more Riders were released, Kiva remained absent. Fast forward to 2019, and S.H. Figuarts -Shinkocchou Seihou- Kamen Rider Kiva (Kiva Form) has finally arrived. The final Heisei era Rider as well as lead Rider overall to be released, Kiva's release coincides with the 20 Rider Kicks anniversary celebration of 20 Heisei era series. For Figuarts collectors this is a monumental moment in the line's history, and a day many were beginning to thing was never going to come.

Wishlist: Top 5 Most Wanted Kamen Rider S.H. Figuarts

Some time ago I wrote a small feature on the top five tokusatsu figures I’d like to see made in the S.H. Figuarts line. Since then a whopping ZERO of those characters has been produced, which just goes to show that Bandai Tamashii Nations’ priorities obviously aren’t quite the same as mine. But due to my love of lists like this I thought I’d have another stab at one, this time focusing specifically on the Kamen Rider franchise. After all, while the line may have expanded exponentially in the last few years Figuarts always comes back to Kamen Rider to provide the heavy hitters. This time I’ve also set myself out a few rules to make things more interesting, which are; 

• No “renewal” figures
• Nothing that’s already been on display at an event
• Nothing from the most current series (since we don’t know what’s already planned) 

Now I’m not going to argue that my choices are particularly “deserving” of figures over others, but these are the ones I would absolutely 100% drop money on in an instant. So if you’re interested to see what my choices are, please read on!

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Kiva-la

S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Kiva-la is perhaps one of the most surprising offers from Tamashii Nations yet. As a movie-exclusive rider from five years ago with a total screen time of about 10-15 minutes, the character has somehow defied all odds to not only come out before the main series Rider her design is based on (Kamen Rider Kiva) but also be the first female character from the franchise to receive a mass release figure. Quite unexpected, but when you consider that Kamen Rider Abyss managed to do a similar thing a few years back it just goes to show that Bandai/Japan really love Kamen Rider Decade. Kamen Rider Kiva-la appeared in the movie Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010 as the Rider form of series regular Natsumi Hikari, as she uses the power of Kiva-la to fulfil her role as the one to defeat the Destroyer of Worlds.