Many years ago, we were introduced to a Rider that would literally shape the future... and the past... and the present... and the past a few more times for good measure :P
At times he's a small boy, others a grown man with a phobia of people, then there are the times he's literally a man possessed... by four very unruly Imagin...
Momotaros
Urataros
Kintaros
Ryutaros
Together they make up Kamen Rider Den-O, Sword Form, Rod Form, Axe Form, Gun Form, and of course the base for them all, Plat Form.
Dun Dun DUUUUUUUNNNNNN!!! -Dramatic Music-
OK so maybe I'm over hyping things, these are the reviews of a mad man so you really shouldn't be expecting too much from this ;)
For your reading and viewing pleasure today, we have the Kamen Rider Den-O Souchaku Henshin Series Den-O 5 Form set!
Prepare yourself for awesomeness, jokes, actually funny jokes and glare... lots and lots of glare!
Seriously there is a lot of chrome and mirror like surfaces on this thing, the camera flash did NOT like it one bit :P So break out those sunglasses!
We're going to start where any good Henshin sequence starts, at the base, the under suit, so here we are, with Plat Form, cute name no? :D
But you can't do a Henshin sequence without a Liner Pass right?
This things tiny!
The weakest and most basic form that Den-O has, this one sports no bells, no whistles, and is literally a "platform" for the armor of the Imagin to latch on to!
With black armor, silver tracks, and a tiny profile, you really wouldn't think much of this form. And you're right to, the few times that this form was used to fight, his butt got whooped good!
Now you may not know this about the Souchaku series, but they have exceptional posing potential, enough to even rival Figuarts!
But I do think they have one big bonus over them, metal, lots, and lots, of metal.
From swiveled biceps and thighs to double hinged knees and elbows you can really reach any kind of pose with this. Though I do think the neck could have done with some more range, the forward and back is very limited.
Nearly all additional armor pieces are metal, some with plastic added on to them, others are solid pieces, and boy can you feel it.
Plat Form is basic, I really can't say that enough, plastic chest, plastic arms, plastic everything, except... The Driver and feet are metal, and they really add weight to it. And boy do those metal feet help out, because of them always holding this thing down, the balance is incredible.
Now skipping into the good stuff, or I'll just keep repeating how basic Plat Form feels :P
Sword Form!
The Mighty Momotaros given form, and a big pointy sword :P
Apologies for not doing the world famous Ore Sanjou pose, but these hands are a pain in the backside to get on and off, kept feeling I was going to break it! Believe me if you struggle or fear with SIC or Figuarts, you'd have a small heart attack with this :P
Side note for the hands, there are several hands available, from punching to grabbing, relaxed etc. But there are two variations of the hand molding, one set with a hinge going from the palm which gives a very nice reflex range, another set which are solid pieces with no additional movement past 360 spins at the wrist, these do make it easier for long term posing though as you don't have to worry about gravity pulling that extra joint down over time :)
But that doesn't stop it from looking coooooool :)
As you can see, the added armor parts are as follows, Driver face, chest, back, shoulder pads, thighs and face plate. Each part connects by a peg system, and a wraparound hinged section connecting the front and back under the arms, seamless :)
The shoulder pads are pegged to either the front or the back piece, depending on the Form you're setting up, they are also double hinged, where they join the armor, and again further into the pad itself, this is genius as it won't affect the mobility of the arms in the slightest. Apart from Urataros... but more on that later.
Once the armor pieces are connected, they are solid, absolutely solid, really had to pry these things off when changing out for the other Forms. I wouldn't normally say that's a bad thing, but with the painted metal and chrome pieces on the armor, you run the risk of scratches. Which when these are fancy pants display pieces, can be a real kicker...
Armored, this guy stands just a shade taller than a Figuart, but for those purists out there, just blame that on the pointy bits on the helmet putting it over ;)
Rod Form!
The ultimate ladies man... Urataros!
Another prime example of how you work metallic paint and chrome into a figure, while rocking shoulder pads that wouldn't be out of place in the 80's!
With his customary fishing rod, this guy really casts a shadow. Would you mind if he reeled you in?
Painted in a beautiful metallic blue with chrome and gold detailing, this guy stands out, I mean really, there just aren't enough Blue Riders in the franchise!
I've never actually been a big fan of Urataros, but I do confess, I love the paint scheme. The black, blue and white accents really stand out!
The only drawback I can find to this form is the prongs on the helmet, they seem like they're of the flexible kind, but if you try and bend them, you quickly reach a breaking point. If it's only for a moment, there is no apparent lasting damage or discoloration as the plastic stretches, but I wouldn't risk doing it too many times or you'll end up with a very sad looking Urataros... How will he get the ladies if his prongs are broken? :'(
Now as you'd expect from a form with shoulder pads so big you could use them as a football stadiums foundations, they do limit the movement of the arms somewhat. But as with Sword Forms shoulder pads, they have a double hinge, where they join the armor and slightly further in, so it is quite easy to move them out of the way, but they can look odd... So I'd recommend you do your best to keep the biceps down, and if you need a dancing Den-O Form, go for Sword or Gun :P
And now...
Goldmember!
er...
Midas!
wait...
The goldest chromiest (that's a word i swear!) Form I've ever seen!
Axe Form! The chosen colours of Kintaros, the Axe wielding brute!
To top things off, this guy has a HUGE blade on his helmet. I mean really, I don't actually recall it being this big in the series, but woah... would NOT like to get a headbutt from him!
What does surprise me a little is that there is no chrome on the helmet for him, instead it's more of a mustard yellow. The English kind, not French ;)
While still possessing oversized shoulder pads when compared to Sword or Gun, Kintaros here doesn't have a pair of pads that's overly cumbersome, they have minimal impact on the poses you can achieve. And he can still do a merry jig if the mood takes him :D
As before the shoulder pads share the double hinge system. The chest section in particular for Axe Form here was a pug to apply, probably because it was the first time being used, the pegs didn't want to fit into the holes for them. With any luck this will ease over time, but really I don't plan on changing forms every other day.
Even with his increased bulk (the chest piece is also huge to match the blade on the helmet!) Axe here shares the knack of incredible balance, I dare you to try and push him over! But if you do, he'll just make you cry ;)
And finally we have Gun Form!
Let's hear those cheers!
Speak up a bit, I don't think he can hear you.
Big surprise with this one... Minimal chrome and metallic paint! It's almost like no one would spring for metallic purple paint :P
Where the other Forms have metallic colouring on the chest areas, Gun Form only really has it on his back panel, the silvers on the chest are of the dulled Bandai Silver kind. Looks great, but makes it a step down from the others...
The raised panels on the chest, the signature chest piece of Gun Form are picked out in a very nice shade of purple, not quite metallic, not quite matte. These same panels are also separate pieces, at first it looks like they can be moved down into their original places on the chest plate, but the hinge that holds them up doesn't quite reach that far. You'd also expect the back of them, which is red, to be metallic to match Swords chest piece, but no, again this is a matte effect red, very out of character with the rest of the set.
Big improvement on the face plate compared to Urataros, the gold prongs coming from the "mouth" area are only connected at the bottom, so no fear of them snapping off if you press on them too hard, and the blades coming up from the eyes seem to be a little more forgiving when bending, but I still wouldn't risk it too much... Be warned.
Pros and Cons:
Pros are... weight, the heft of this thing in hand when it has armor on is really impressive, you really feel like you're handling something. Because of the weight in the feet, the balance is incredible, absolutely incredible, even with the top heaviness of it with armor on, you can get into some really imaginative free standing poses. That's right! Every pose shown in this review is unsupported in any way, it's just a case of getting the center of gravity right, shifting enough to the left or the right. That's something I've always struggled with with the Figuart and SIC series, there's just no weight to them, with the exception of some Figuarts having metal feet that is (See G3-X)
With the exception of the hips, which no matter the figure series, I've always found to be somewhat limiting in movement, you can achieve almost any pose! It's added bonus that these can be done without support, or with minimal support if you're being adventurous. But for the more dramatic ones, and one leg poses, I'd recommend a stand, just to be safe.
The versatility is impressive too, while it might seem obvious, you can mix and match the armor parts, while you may not see much point in this, for someone who prides himself on making jokes and setting scenes (more on that to come in another review/blog series :) ) it conjures up some really nice jokes! Imagine Climax Form without the cellphone... parts shifting all the time as the four of them argue... ah happy days :P
Cons... I'd love to say I didn't find any, I'm the Eternal (be honest, you heard that in your head like the Gaia Memory said it didn't you :P Comment on Facebook if you did!) optimist, but I wouldn't be doing my job here if I was 100% biased, so sadly...
Neck movement, as mentioned there is minimal back and forth movement which limits expression with some poses.
You can't do a super hero landing! (Watch Deadpool to get that reference)
Scratching is way too easy, particularly on the metal parts, which after a while will really ruin the look of this guy, unless you go for the worn battle weary look, in which case you might love it!
Some of the parts are a real pig to connect, this is especially true of the Axe Form chest piece, just did not want to go on, as a result, you really have to force it on, everything lines up, it was just really really tight, which also presented a problem when separating them.
The last con I'm going to mention is one that every figure lover has, wrists... some of them are alright, popping on and off no problem, not tight enough that you fear breaking it when putting them on or taking them off, or loose enough that they fall off as soon as you put a weapon in the hand, but others were just... I was honestly scared I was going to break a tab or yank off the elbow :/ But such is figure life!
This con is for me, I really think I over estimated how much I could ramble about this set before I bored people. After reviewing Plat Form and commenting on all the posability, balance etc, all that was really left was to comment on the way the armor looks when it's applied... And I really think that there are only so many times I can mention "shiny!" and "chrome!" :P
So I really do apologize for wasting your time.. I'll do better... I promise!
Overall I have to say, this thing is a beauty, really feels like there is something in hand and looks amazing on display. I'd definitely recommend picking up something from this series.
Though I'd suggest not getting one with a bare head option, they... they don't look right... Two of those to come later.
If you made it this far, you have my congratulations, my thanks, and my sympathy for sitting through this :P
Many thanks to the Toku Dealer for his sponsorship!
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