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

Kamen Rider releases in the S.H. Figuarts line might not be as frequent or as plenty as they once were, but the Shinkocchou Seihou sub-line releases have ensured that they're still the ones everyone still talks about. Despite only a handful of releases in the past three years, Shinkocchou Seihou offers the very best Bandai Tamashii Nations have to offer - combining the usual Figuarts quality with improved sculpting and accuracy to create perfect replicas of the onscreen suits. With the exception of Kamen Rider Hibiki (who was a brand new entry), the releases have all followed a specific pattern as well - mirroring the release of the main Riders as they originally debuted in the S.H. Figuarts line. First came Kabuto, followed by Kuuga and then Agito - and now it's the time of the Destroyer of Worlds and tenth Heisei era Kamen Rider - Kamen Rider Decade.

Movie REVIEW: Kamen Rider x Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen

It finally happened. After 40 years of Kamen Rider and 35 years of Super Sentai, with only a few fleeting crossovers in between, the two franchises have collided for one big movie event.  The film was released cinematically back in April, and heavily promoted between the two currently airing shows Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters and Kamen Rider Fourze. It also saw the return of the casts of both Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger and Kamen Rider Decade, two series which shared very similar motifs.

The film sees Captain Marvelous/Gokai Red taking control of the DaiZangyack fleet, a crew made up of previous villains in the Super Sentai franchise. In order to seek out the ultimate treasure, Gokai Red has proclaimed war on the Kamen Riders and vowed to eliminate them all. On the other side, Tsukasa Kadoya/Kamen Rider Decade has once again taken his place at the head of DaiShocker, and in turn plans to destroy all of the Super Sentai. As the legendary seven Riders, the Gorangers and many more fall at the hands of both Gokai Red and Decade, the two's former friends wonder what has happened to the heroes they once knew and why the Super Sentai and Kamen Riders have suddenly turned on each other.

Marvelous is back as the leader of the Zangyack...

Of course, in true crossover style the hostilities don't last very long and the climax of the film sees an army of Super Sentai and Kamen Riders take on the enemies of their previous franchises in an all-out costume clad battle.

As is Tsukasa with DaiShocker, looking even sillier than ever.

So with all the hype surrounding Super Hero Taisen, the question that has been on the tongues of many for a good while is whether the film is any good? And at last the answer can safely be said that "no, it really isn't." The opening scene sees Gokai Red single-handedly take out the seven legendary riders (that's Riders 1, 2, V3, Riderman, X, Amazon and Stronger) in under two minutes, which already gives you an idea of how unbalanced some of these battles are. What follows is Gokai Red struggling against Fourze, and then Decade struggling against the Go-Busters. While the Gokaigers (well, Marvelous, Joe and Don anyway) and Decade (along with Kaito and Hina from OOO who decided to tag along) are at the forefront of the film, it often doesn't really know what it should be advertising itself as. Sometimes its a Gokaiger/Decade movie, others it feels like a Fourze/Go-Busters movie, and then an extremely pointless scene involving the Den Liner is thrown in just to remind you that Kamen Rider Den-O is still around.

The source of most of this film's angst

Next comes just how out of character some of the cast are in comparison to their depictions in their respective series, and that's ignoring Gokai Red's sudden turn to evil (Decade has done it before, so that's a little more bearable). The worst offender is Joe Gibken/Gokai Blue, who's gone from being the mostly calm/collected pirate he was into an emotional mess who would have been useless had Don or Hina not be around. The comes Diend's sudden turn to villainy at the very end of the film, which would be fine had he done it for his usual reasons of "treasure" and not "Decade pretended not to be friends with me so I'm going to throw a hissy fit".

Oh, and we still have no idea who or what the hell Narutaki is.

So many colours!

But getting past the obvious plot holes and the fact that a large portion of the film is flat out boring, the are some pretty good moments. The battles between Gokai Red and Kamen Rider Decade have some nice choreography, and are well thought out too (Space Ace vs. Blade Battle Japan vs. Hibiki changes). Then later on, the all rider/all sentai battles have some great moments, with characters like Kamen Rider Black and Shadow Moon receiving little character moments in the dialogue and riders and sentai teaming up corresponding to their respective years. The Gokaigers finally use the long teased OOO keys...and then use them to fire a Gokai Galleon buster. On the humour side of things, we have Yoko calling the Shocker grunts dated and Tsukasa calling the Goseigers boring.

TAJADOR CHARGE!!

The big CGI centrepiece of the film sees Go-BusterOh face off against the DaiShocker/Zangyack alliance's "Big Machine" (a combination of the Gigant Horse and the Crisis Fortress), with Fourze piloting in the place of Yellow Buster and using the Super Drill and Rocket switches. It works well as a flashy action sequence, and breathes life into the usually lacklustre Go-BusterOh.

Go-BusterOh: Now with added rocket drills

What you'll get out of Super Hero Taisen is honestly going to depend on what you go into watching it looking for. If you're expecting a coherent plot, people to actually stay in character and a reasonable premise and resolution, you're going to be sorely disappointed. If however you go in looking forward to a bit of fun, great fight sequences, cameos, hilarious Tsukasa hair/make-up and the chance to finally see your favourites from both franchises on screen together then the film might not feel like a complete waste of 90 minutes.

Admittedly it isn't the worst crossover film we could have got, but its far from the best either.

Series REVIEW: Kamen Rider Decade

Before the Gokaiger came about with their ranger keys and ability to transform into previous rangers, one pink-clad hero was able to do it years before. Kamen Rider Decade was the tenth anniversary celebration of the Heisei Kamen Rider series, which started back in 2000 with Kamen Rider Kuuga. It ran for 31 episodes (the shortest of any Heisei Rider series), between January and August 2009.

The story revolves around Tsukasa Kadoya, a mysterious man who appeared to the Hikari photo studio one day without any memory of his past. When the world turns to chaos, he draws power from a strange belt that grants him the power of various Kamen Riders through the power of cards. Later Tsukasa is told by a mysterious man than he is Kamen Rider Decade - the Destroyer of Worlds. His task is to travel to the nine AR (Another Rider/Alternate Reality) worlds and destroy them in order to prevent the worlds from merging into one. Travelling with Natsumi Hikari and her grandfather Eijiro, Tsukasa aids the nine worlds' riders to complete what he believes to be his mission. Along the way they are joined on their travels by Yusuke Onodera of the World of Kuuga and Kivala of the World of Kiva. Tsukasa is also confronted by a thief named Daiki Kaito, who is able to transform into Kamen Rider Diend and seems to know of Tsukasa's past.

As their journey through the nine worlds comes to close, the group discover there are more worlds to explore. Worlds without riders, revelations of Tsukasa's past and a multi-world threat await them, but how long can Tsukasa outrun his title as the Destroyer of Worlds?

It's not pink, it's magenta

Tsukasa is an interesting character, without any memories or place to call home he's often quick to jump on the identity each world gives him. He's probably best described as a dick with a heart of gold, given how cold he is to everyone around him yet always seems to come through for them in a pinch. These qualities make him both amusing and enjoyable, but the writing often leans toward making him too perfect. However I have much less praise for Natsumi and Yusuke, who constantly think the best of Tsukasa and defend him despite how badly he seems to treat them. Yusuke, who also remains Kamen Rider Kuuga throughout the show, is a terrible character, childishly naive and pretty insulting to his namesake.

Tsukasa Kadoya, Destroyer of Worlds

Kaito provides a much needed burst of life into the cast dynamic, particularly his relationship with Tsukasa. It fluctuates between antagonism, rivalry and eventually friendship, but does so in an interesting fashion that isn't particularly lineal and changes depending on Diend's goals in that world. He is also fun to watch in fight sequences - despite being obviously powerful when he chooses to fight himself, he often prefers to sit back and let his summoned minions do the job while he sneaks around invisible. Quite the troll. Finally there's Narutaki, a strange prophet-like man who follows Decade through the world's blaming him for pretty much everything. Narutaki at no point has any real explanation in the series, nor does his mysterious relationship with Kivala. What could have been an interesting character simply comes across as a crazy man in a trench coat and funny hat shouting "ONORE DECADE" ("Damn you Decade") at anything and everything.

Kamen Rider Diend, treasure sniper and master troll

Following the journey through the nine worlds (which in show order are Kuuga, Kiva, Ryuki, Blade, Faiz, Agito, Den-O, Kabuto and Hibiki), the show moves into creating its own original worlds. The show does take a nosedive in terms of plot structure around this time, but it does have some good ideas. Two episodes are also dedicated to a crossover with Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, which was also airing at the time and marks the first proper crossover between Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. Finally there is the return of some old Showa-era favourites, in the form of Black/Black RX and Amazon worlds.

Some may put forward the notion that Decade is a great introduction to the Kamen Rider franchise, as it features all of the Heisei Riders (and some of the Showa era too) which gives the viewer a good mind to see which series they may enjoy next. While this is somewhat true, it's also arguable that Decade is also a pretty poor introduction to the franchise. Aside from its convoluted plot, the show actually tells you very little about the Heisei riders themselves given that all of the ones featured are actually AU versions (bar Den-O, but his actor doesn't appear anyway). It doesn't even clarify that they are AU versions properly to begin with, which could lead to some confusion given the appearances of the real Kiva and Blade during the course of the show. The AU riders are very pale imitations of their real-series counterparts, and two episode arcs gives you very little to work with other than appreciating the aesthetic and fighting styles of the riders. Think of it this way - Decade is a sampling platter of nine fine foods, but they each come in smaller portions and have been cooked by an inferior chef. You're getting a good idea of the taste, but nothing that could be held in comparison to the full dish.

Awesome.

Kamen Rider Decade also has three movies on top of its 31 episodes, however none of them are particularly worth raving about. The first, Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations: The Onigashima Warship, is very much a Cho Den-O film and features very little of Decade himself. The second film, the 10th anniversary All Riders vs. Dai Shocker is a lot more interesting, but arguably a far worse film. The plot reveals the details of Tsukasa's past and his connections with the multi-world evil organisation Dai-Shocker, changing the basis of his character from a loveable dick with a heart of gold to someone completely unlikeable who just seems to use everyone and everything around him. The multi-rider team up moments are excellent, but it doesn't stop it from being an anticlimactic mess that struggles to fit in with the series' established storyline. Finally there was Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010, which aired as a finale after the series ended on a rather unsatisfying cliffhanger. While easily the strongest of the three Decade films, Movie War 2010 is still fraught with pacing problems, unexplained identities and ridiculous resolutions. In some ways its quite a fitting end to a show that got more and more convoluted as it went on, but it doesn't make it any less unsatisfying.

The merging of the worlds will result in the Rider War

In conclusion, I wouldn't say Kamen Rider Decade is a bad series. It's one that's plagued with badly written characters, pacing problems and story issues. But at the same time some of those characters are extremely likeable, the show itself certainly has an anniversary flare to it and is chock full of special moments. There are no other series that will give you a rider that can transform into past riders, an epic Super Sentai team up or seeing Black and Black RX team up together onscreen. If you can ignore the story issues and simply enjoy what's on screen without thinking too hard about it, then Decade is a series I highly recommend. However if you're someone that doesn't like Mary Sue characters and parallel world confusion, then your viewing experience also might be summed up as "Onore Decade!"

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Decade Violent Emotion

Now that I've settled myself in for a long stay with the Figuarts toyline, it's time to venture back into some of its older releases. The first figure I decided on was also the first full Kamen Rider series I watched (and will be re-watching for a review on this blog sometime in the near future) and star of the upcoming Kamen Rider X Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen movie. He of course is none other than Kamen Rider Decade, star of the 10th anniversary Heisei Rider series of the same name. The "Violent Emotion" version of the figure is the second release of the character, to tie in with "Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider & Decade: Movie War 2010" and sporting brand new headsculpts.

While the Decade figure still boasts an impressive sculpt, the figure isn't quite as flawless as some of the later ones I've bought from the line. It sports different hip joints which are not quite as versatile as the newer ones, the shoulders feel a bit more restrictive and the hands are much larger than perhaps they should be (this is particularly noticable on the open hands). Regardless, Decade has one thing the newer figures don't, and that is the inclusion of die-cast feet. While it may seem like an odd choice, it adds a lot more weight to the figure making balancing during poses a lot less of a chore. While there might be a few things Bandai did differently back then, Decade could certainly still hold his own.

Before I talk about accessories, perhaps the first and foremost thing to discuss is the two different headsculpts. The one attached to the figure in the packaging is the "evil Decade" version from the aforementioned movie, in which Tsukasa (aka Decade) accepts his role as the destroyer of worlds and hunts down the remaining riders. The second head is a more accurate version of his standard helmet used on the TV show/the latter part of the film. From what I can gather the original release of Figuarts Decade (now dubbed the "State Passion" version by fans/sellers) had lesser quality sculpt, and the difference between the two can be seen here (Violent Emotion version is on the right). To be honest the difference of the two heads included here is minute - the crests are different colour and the eyes are slightly different, but its nice to have the option.

Other accessories include 3 other pairs of hands (totalling in 1 open pair, 1 card holding pair, 1 open fist pair and 1 closed fist pair), a pointing hand (which I assume is intended for the K-Touch included with Kamen Rider Decade Complete Form) and 3 versions of the Rider Booker - standard, gun mode and sword mode. The standard Rider Booker opens and can attach to the figure via a peg hole, but that's about as far as extra playability goes. Its a shame that the figure doesn't include the set of rider cards that were included with the first release (especially when a set of card holding hands was included), but it reality they probably would have amounted to small pieces that would have spent most of their time in the box anyway. A quick google search will provide you with a PDF of printable cards if you're really that interested.

Kamen Rider Decade isn't a perfect figure, but he's still a very good one. A choice of heads is a very nice addition and the design is quite appealing even with the generous use of pink (but if any Rider was going to be able to pull it off, it'd be Tsukasa). Whatever your thoughts on the Kamen Rider Decade series was, as a main Rider Decade comes as a recommended purchase.

Super Hero Taisen: Which side are you on?