S.H. Figuarts Gorisaki Banana Gallery 2.0

Continuing my retrospective look back at the figures released for Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters we've got another gallery 2.0 for you. Recently we caught up with a look back at S.H. Figuarts Blue Buster. Today we're taking a look at his robotic partner, his buddy, S.H. Figuarts Gorisaki Banana!

Packaging
As I mentioned the last few times, Go-Busters figuarts featured some really creative packaging. And I still think that's true. Gorisaki's box is basically a copy & paste of Blue Busters' box. Same trademark logos and coloring, same awesome "shades", it's all there. Both of these figures were Tamashii Web Exclusives as well. A trend you'll notice affects 4 out of 5 Go-Busters figuarts.

Main Figure
Gorisaki is the 2nd of the 3 companion Buddyroids released for the team. Each of them are quite different from one another and Gorisaki is by far the most substantial size-wise of the trio. Much like Nick Cheeda, Gorisaki shares no similar parts with the 3 Go-Busters figuarts which predate him. Most of the time when a figuarts subline begins you get several figures with similar design and new tooling. But because of how radically different each of the Buddyroids are, their molding is totally unique to them. This probably explains why all 3 became Web Exclusives, but then again so were Blue & Yellow Busters. In any case Gorisaki is another refresher after handling the tried & true Buster mold with Blue Buster. That's not to say that Gorisaki is without fault though.

This figures' design is pretty faithful, though the proportions do feel a little more streamlined than they should. Unlike Nick though I do feel like Gorisaki has articulation that emulates what a person wearing a suit would really experience. The arms in particular speak to this point, even if the figure suffers for it. But for starters Gorisaki has a pretty good range of movement in his legs all things considered. Despite bulky ankles, knees, and thighs he really can move. One of the limitations however of the bulk on the legs is that Gorisaki can't quite get down on his knees, or even one knee, though he never did much of that in the show. Perhaps because of the bulk on them or in spite of it, Gorisaki can balance like a master. Seriously he can even pull off a one legged pose with his arms splayed out. He's a downright gorilla ballerina! It really helps that Gorisaki also has an amazing floating ab and torso joint. There's a lot of play in that area that's useful.

Now sadly Gorisakis' arms leave MUCH to be desired. Despite their size his hands can rotate inside those giant arm cuffs. Which helps him be a bit more expressive. The elbows could be better but you can get plenty of movement out of them, around 45 degrees. Now sadly the shoulders are kind of a mess. To maintain the look of them and keep them in place the shoulder pads are attached on a rotational joint just above the shoulder itself. However they can only rotate about 30 degrees forward. The arms themselves have so much potential in them. But because of how restrictive the pad is, Gorisaki just looks like he's desperately trying to gesture sometimes rather than doing an actual lifelike pose. You'd think the rubber hosing on the elbows would be a problem, but honestly they don't cause any real issues that I can tell.

The best part of this figure by far though is his head. The sphere the face is on actually can hinge up slightly for Gorisaki to "look up". the Steering Wheel face portion however can spin 360 degrees to replicate all of those "Ryuji!!!!!" moments we love the big ape for. And of course I have to mention the excellent detailing on the back of this figuart. Much like Nick, Gorisaki features molded in detail on his back to simulate his larger Buster Vehicle counterparts' Gorilla head. I've included some comparisons with the DX Buster Vehicle Gorilla just to illustrate how awesome this is.

Accessories
Well? Nothing. Gorisaki came with exactly no accessories. Which was a pretty big disappointment at the time of his release. And it does still kind of burn, but with time has come understanding. Gorisaki never had open palmed hands in the show, just big monkey fists. So he wouldn't need extra hands. He also doesn't have any weapons so he wouldn't need those. And there's no real applicable effect part that I can think of for him either. About the only things I could think of that would have truly been appropriate for him were ice packs to use with Blue Buster, and maybe a damaged helmet for him as well. In retrospect Gorisaki coming with no accessories really isn't that big of a deal to me anymore, it makes sense. But I do wish he'd come with something.

Final Thoughts
S.H. Figuarts Gorisaki Banana, much like Nick Cheeda, is a wonderful departure from the Go-Buster mold. While it does have it's issues it's still a really fun figure, with lots of personality. Even without accessories Gorisaki is another great addition to the Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters lineup. I'll be back next month with my final gallery 2.0 from this series, the S.H. Figuarts Yellow Buster & Usada Lettuce 2-pack!

Those shots with Kamen Rider Baron are love. Thanks for putting together another cool gallery!