"Kamen Rider The Next" was the sequel to the Movie "Kamen Rider The First". Both movies are a re-telling of the original Kamen Rider TV shows, set in a modern setting, for the modern audiences. The figure we are going to look at today is Hongo Takeshi from the film Kamen Rider the Next.
This figure is a Figure Oh Magazine mailaway exclusive, meaning it was only available in Japan and its gonna cost you quite alot to get your hands on it. Mailaway figures usually means you need to go through a few contacts, as one of the criteria is that they will only ship to a Japan address. In total, it cost me around $320 SGD (210 USD) inclusive of cost of item, tax, shipping in Japan & shipping to Singapore. So was the $320 SGD worth it? Well, we'll find out in awhile.
The box design is the standard design for all Kamen Rider The Next Figures. It comes with a flap that opens, which allows you to inspect the figure. The cover box art is rather plain with a white background and a picture of the figure, with the usual titles description etc.
The inner box art is nicer though, with a nice composite image of the figure.The figure is house in a blister package tray with a cover tray that secures everything nicely. Medicom's boxes are the most collector friendly boxes, their simplistic design allows you to remove the figure & put it back for storage with ease. There are no tapes or irritating twisty ties to stop you from playing with your figure, the moment you get it.
Included accessories are pair of relaxed hands, a pair of fists and a pair of holding hands designed to hold his jacket & shirt for that all important Henshin pose. They are all nicely scaled & sculpted with fine details like the veins on them. Also included is the top half of the Kamen Rider No.1's helmet, so you can pose him just like in the movie. Unfortunately the helmet can't fit onto the head, since you can't really flatten sculpted hair. Lastly, theres the henshin belt which fits nicely on the figure. It is exactly the same belt that came with the Kamen Rider The Next No.1 figure, so you can expect the usual details. I hoping one day they will eventually make a belt where the cyclone wheel can actually spin....ah well, one could only dream.
The figure is dressed exactly the same as how the actor Masaya Kikawada was in the movie, almost every part of his costume is replicated exactly right down to the belt. The black T-shirt is made of a nice soft material, Im guessing its made of cotton. The stripes shirt pattern looks exactly the same right down to the cutting of it, that gives it the slightly unbalanced look.
The Jacket looks good & hangs naturally on the figure without making the figure look too bulky, which is a problem most 1/6 clothes tend to have. To achieve this, Medicom used a rather thin type of leather, the only downside is that it feels a little low quality. The Jacket also comes with working zip pockets & the zips are nicely scaled too. His jeans are made of a nice denim material & they have given it the old washed look, which looks very good. But Im not really sure if the jeans had that old washed look in the movie, since the movie was kinda dark throughout and you never really see the jeans in detail. His boots are nicely sculpted and once again Im not sure if its what he wore in the movie, since you never really get to look at them properly in the movie. But considering the accurate stripes shirt & leather jacket, Im sure Medicom did enough research from the official source materials to replicate them as well.
Medicom's RAH 301 body is one of the most articulated body out there in the world of 1/6 action figures, the body hangs naturally and poses naturally. Whatever posing restriction there may be is purely down to costume restriction. For this figure, the joints are nice & tight and I was able to achieve lots of poses including flying kicks & splits (without splitting the jeans of course). At this point it is good to point out that, Medicom's body construction certainly feels better than previous releases, as the plastic used is definitely sturdier & better.
Medicom excels in armoured figures & anime characters and human head sculpts ain't exactly one of their strong points. In the case of this figure, Im glad to say that Medicom did a very good job on the headsculpt. It is a stunning likeness of the actor Masaya Kikawada, right down to the funky hair cut that he had in the movie. For the most part, the paint apps are very clean & nice. Except for the right sideburn, which is missing abit of paint on mine, but thankfully it's not very noticeble. Also of notable mention, this figure skin tone is cast in a more lively colour, unlike previous releases which are usually too fair & pale.
I have to say that I am very pleased with this figure, the stunning likeness is one of Medicom's best and that alone is worth the amount of money I spent on him. This figure is highly recommended for anyone who is a fan of Kamen Rider.
This figure deserves a score of 8/10, I would have given it a 9/10 but the high price deserves a deduction.
Note: Cyclone Motorcycle & Kamen Rider The Next No.1 costume are not included with the figure. For a bigger image, simply click on the image itself & click on all sizes
Review & Images by JuN
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