“Blade!”
It took a mighty 4-player Co-Op effort to initially defeat the powerful Bugster Graphite. Using the Level 5 Gashat Drago Knight Hunter Z, Ex-Aid and his allies were each granted a portion of it’s power and a piece of it’s armor. Thus the Dragon Blade was inherited by Kamen Rider Brave! Eventually though Hiro would come master the powers of this Gashat on his own. For now we see how well Tamashii Nations has tamed this wild power with a new gallery of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Brave Hunter Quest Gamer Level 5!
Brave Level 5 is a mold you’ve seen before. Largely unchanged from the original Brave Level 2 Quest Gamer release, Level 5 swaps out the right side limbs for the Drago Knight Hunter Z armor, granting Brave the large Dragon Blade. While these parts are largely unchanged from their outing with Ex-Aid Level 5, Brave can make full use of this arms articulation unlike Ex-Aid. This go around we also have the inclusion of 7 unique word bubble effect parts to spruce up your Ex-Aid display or a battle scene!
We’ve attached the full 60+ image gallery to this post, but you can also read up on our full review of this figure by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post. We’ll be back soon with another new figure from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid as well as a long awaited renewal from Kamen Rider W!
"Blade!"
When 1 Player alone couldn't defeat the powered up Bugster, Graphite, it took 4-Player co-op to bring him down! Using the Level 5 Gashat Drago Knight Hunter Z Ex-Aid and his allies were each granted a portion of it's power and a piece of it's armor. In Hiro's case he inherited the power of the Dragon Blade, fitting his knight theme perfectly. In co-op form Brave only gained this piece of the Hunter Gamer powers but would eventually come to master this Gashat's power completely. Now it's time to take a look at how well his Figuart has inherited the Dragon's Blade with our review of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Brave Hunter Quest Gamer Level 5!
Packaging
As with the first web exclusive in this line, Lazer Level 2, Brave features a bright and standout box. With no packaging window as all web exclusives are these days. As with Lazer the colors really pop and I like the character portrait on the front, despite it's rather misleading positioning of the figures arms. More on that later.
Main Figure
Seeing as this figure features components from two others we've seen previously, Brave Level 2 & Ex-Aid Level 5, you'll notice a lot of my review is very similar.
Most of Brave Level 5's body is reused from the Level 2 release. While the right side of the body reuses components from the Level 5 Ex-Aid body. The Level 2 Ex-Aid riders themselves all share a great many number of parts as is. Each suit has it's own unique detailing and colors, but at a basic level they feature the same mold. Sporty type shoes, the bike shorts look, the driver, the chest plate. You see what I mean. This release of Brave is still as lavish as the first.
From the Ground up the Ex-Aid type body is pretty solidly built. Though the ankles are still a huge fault for me. They don't have the full range of motion they need for Brave to assume many of the dynamic poses he's known for. You'll find that wide stances are just really really difficult to achieve, which means he's always gonna be a bit off balance. Sadly my Level 5 Brave also appears to have one leg longer than the other making it difficult to get him in a normal standing pose. The knees have a great bend that helps improve some of the articulation. And I would say that the bulkier right leg helps a bit with weight and stability. All that being said, the paint apps for the legs are exquisite. Luckily the white paint apps are so much better this go around. My Level 2 Brave had very spotty QC there.
As with previous releases, Gamer Driver is still my favorite thing about the figure. This entire device is extraordinarily detailed for something at this scale. The Driver handle can flip shut. The functionality it features still astounds me. Changes to this release include a new "dummy" Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat, which is removable as you can see in my pictures below. You can insert it as with any other Gashat into the Critical Finish slot on the Gashat Holster. Speaking of there's also what is meant to be the Level 3 DoReMiFa Beat Gashat in the holster. As with Ex-Aid Level 5's Gekitotsu Robots Gashat, DoReMiFa Beat is sparsely detailed and permanently fixed to the holster.
Brave's upper body, left arm and head are unchanged. Brave is absolutely breathtaking but his chest detailing is something I still just cannot get over. The paint apps on the outer layer are crisp and clear, but I'm so impressed by the Rider Gauge label within his chest. On the flip side of the torso is the deactivated Level 1 head we've seen before. The left arm still has that pesky issue with the shoulder pad. Every time I try to stretch the arms out it's like rather than sliding out properly the pads just pop off again. Still a minor issue but one that bugs me. Looking up to the head, if you were irked by the lack of a white collar on the Level 2 releases then feel free to be irked again. It's an inconsequential detail to me. It's silver this go around too and that doesn't really bother me.
Before we finish up with the main body, Brave's right arm has been replaced by the Level 5 Dragon Gun arm. Surprisingly, or maybe it shouldn't be, this arm isn't impaired at all like it was with Ex-Aid Level 5. With Ex-Aid the bulky shoulder pad was attached directly to the main body via the new chest plate on the torso. With Brave thankfully this pad is just attached to the arm and it really frees up the movement. Sadly the elbow is still neutered, being unable to achieve even a decent 90 degree angle. Exchanging hands on this arm is also a nightmare. The wrist pegs are rather tight on this release and difficult to replace thanks to the dragon claws on the wrist. Just as they were with Ex-Aid
Physical shortcomings aside, this release still fills out my display quite well. But the real point of it is the accessories it includes.
Accessories
4 - sets of hands. These are identical to those that came with Level 2 Brave. Straight re-packs with no additions or subtractions at all.
7 - "word bubble" effect parts. These clear thin plastic sheets were the big selling point for both Brave & Snipe Level 5. Each replicates an effect a battle action or outcome from the show. Included are:
These world bubbles are really great, and the biggest reason I wanted to buy this figure. However the accessories needed to utilize them are lacking.
4 - effect part holders/arms. Each of the word effect parts can only be used thanks to these. And it's pitiful. The word effects themselves are actually really cool. However, of everything included, there's only 1 small flat clip that can actually hold them. The other 3 parts consist of a couple wrist mounts that are intended to go around a Rider's wrist. But you still need the small elbow shape piece as a go between from the wrist piece to the flat clip. SO it takes 3 of these four parts to use even one word bubble. And those wrist mounts? They're incredibly weak. I used one of them for literally 3 photos in this gallery and there are already stress marks on it. They are very poorly designed and not flexible at all.
I wish they'd at least re-packed the Gashacon Sword as well. I borrowed the one from my Level 2 Brave for a few pics. It's just really dumb to include the hands that can hold it, without actually including the weapon they're meant to hold. And while I love the word bubbles, I'm fairly upset at the poor execution for the parts to hold them. Only 1 small clip to hold 1 of 7 parts at a time is disastrous.
Final Thoughts
I'll give the figure high marks for quality control, and for taking the best parts of two figures and making them work together. But it's hard to excuse the way the effect part accessories were handled. As cool the word bubbles are they simply can't be used very effectively. S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Brave Hunter Quest Gamer Level 5 is a mixed bag of a release. One that I wanted for very specific reasons, sadly reasons that didn't pan out well. If you're a huge fan of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid as I am, then pick this guy up. But if you feel you can live without it, I'd do so. There's every chance in the world that this figure will wind up cheaper down the road.
Part 2
- Group Shots
- Effect Parts
- Gamer Clear!
Next time, Snipe Level 5!
Great review and gallery as always Den-O. The figure looks amazing, but is one of those releases that can be skipped
An okay suit, but great shots
The first Brave figure was already excellent so this is a downgrade. Still very nice though
I love the care that was put into turning several of these into an action sequence. Nevertheless, it stings that this is the early upgrade figure we got for Brave, rather than the delightfully wacky DoReMiFa Beat Gamer.
Could be nice if he gets really cheap one day
Great shots Den-O!
The word bubbles are great, the rest is good... Not really much else for me to say here.
I've been resistant to Ex-Aid, I'll have to give it another try, since these figures turned out so well.
Keep reading: S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Brave Hunter Quest Gamer Level 5 Gallery - Page 2
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