Bandai Tamashii Nations seems to be doing its best to hold onto it as long as it can, but there aren't all that many Kamen Rider Gaim characters left to release in the S.H. Figuarts line. All the main characters will all be out by the end of the year, and from there it'll just be the case of the movie characters and alternate versions of already released ones (some being more important than others of course - here's looking at you Overlord Baron). However one of those variant suits surprisingly made it out before the last remnants of the main cast, which is pretty surprising when you consider that the suit only appeared in two episodes at the end of the show and then was never heard or seen from again. But at the same time, it isn't all that surprising when you consider that it's also one of the main four characters. After a few months break, the second Gaim release for 2015 is Kamen Rider Ryugen Yomi Yomotsuheguri Arms - the experimental and highly dangerous f...

That time has come once again where we say goodbye to a Kamen Rider  series, only to say hello to a brand new one in the following week. So just before we start our engines and "drive the Kamen Rider" , it's time to give one last hurrah to the fruity warlords of Kamen Rider Gaim  we've loved and followed for the last year. Written by anime hot topic Gen Urobuchi (who's had more than a few mentions on this blog recently) and his first foray into writing both Kamen Rider and tokusatsu as a whole, Gaim has been a hotly talked about series thanks to its imaginative gimmicks, multiple riders and multi-layered story - especially on this side of the pond. But of course, the question remains - is it actually any good?

After five impressive releases of original Sengoku Driver Armoured Riders, the Kamen Rider Gaim S.H. Figuarts line is now briefly turning its attention to towards the Genesis Driver wielding Energy Riders of the Yggdrasil Corporation. The first of this next generation of Riders to be released is Kamen Rider Zangetsu Shin Melon Energy Arms , a suit that had a much bigger impact in the series than the simple power-up many originally expected it to be. Starting out as an upgrade for original Zangetsu Takatora Kureshima , the Driver and its powers later moved on to his younger brother Mitsuzane , making it the only suit in the series (other than the Kurokage troopers) to have been used by more than one person.

Rounding off the four 'main' characters in Kamen Rider Gaim is the release of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Ryugen , moulded in his standard Budou Arms (or grape if you'd prefer). Despite being one of the less-seen suits in the series (replaced halfway through by the next Gaim figure due out), Ryugen is one of the earliest Riders to appear and the original suit of main character Mitsuzane "Micchy" Kureshima . And anyone who's watching Gaim will probably have quite a few words to say about that character.

Part three of my brief foray into the Kamen Rider Gaim  Arms Change line logically takes us to its third entry (designated AC03) - Kamen Rider Ryugen . This Armored Rider, whose real identity is Mitsuzane "Mitchy" Kureshima, is of particular interest because not only is he the second rider of Team Gaim, but he is also brother of Yggdrasil project leader Takatora - who we'll be hearing more about in the next post. Anyone watching Gaim will known Mitchy is proving to be a fascinating character, as his cheery exterior hides a pretty dark manipulative side.