Toku Toy Box: S.H. Figuarts Machine Kivaa Options Parts Set Gallery

"Wake up!"

Wataru Kurenai was fated to be king. (No, not like you Zi-O!) As Kamen Rider Kiva, Wataru destroyed the Fangire's threatening humanity while still finding time to craft beautiful instruments as his father had before him. But what's a Kamen Rider without his well, ride? Overcoming his own fears and anxieties, Wataru discovered what real self reliance and confidence could do to transform a person. Though the whimsical talking belt certainly helps too! But what is a Kamen Rider without their, well, ride?

Only a few short months after releasing the long demanded Shinkocchou Seihou Kiva, Tamashii has satisfied collectors once again by releasing not only his Rider Machine the Machin Kivaa, but also his signature throne and the Bloody Rose violin he inherited form his father! This massive accessory set completes any Kiva collection, and today we're breaking down the whole thing for a full gallery/review.

Main Figure
The biggest item, and maybe the big draw of this set if of course the Machine Kivaa. As I mentioned above, and I've said many time before, what's a rider without their ride? I find myself almost compelled to buy every Kamen Rider's bike to accompany their figuart. So seeing the Kivaa happen so soon after Kiva himself was incredibly satisfying.

It's easy to look past bike and vehicle releases like this when they don't have transformations or action gimmicks as DX toy equivalents often do. We have to look more at the presentation and craftsmanship to get sense of value from these things. And in that regard, the Machine Kivaa is unmatched. Of the myriad number of S.H. Figuarts and accompanying vehicles I've handled in the last decade, the Kivaa is one of the most stunning.

Kiva's bike is a bit unique among Rider Machine in that it's a street style bike (ala Hibiki) rather than a dirt biks (ala nearly everyone else). Based on a Honda Shadow 750, the curvature of the original chasis and design shine through the additional elements. It's a gorgeous standard bike anyway, but this facelift it's gotten as Kivaa is something else. The Figuart is superbly detailed, right down to the tread on each tire. No detail appears to be missing. Even the Speedometer is present thanks to a very crisp and very tiny label permanently affixed to it. The grooves on the engine are well defined and have depth. That gorgeous blood red glossy paint reflects light like the real thing from any angle. And the silver chrome that marks the handlebars and mirrors as well as the exhaust system, is truly magnificent. If you zoom in and look closely, you can even see my camera staring back at you in the chrome. It's that good! When Tamashii gets a chrome application right boy do they ever get it right.

But more than just how it's detailed, this bike lives up to expectation as a magnificent vehicle for Kiva. It took 10 years of S.H. Figuarts to finally get Kiva himself, so when his bike arrived as well, it had to be a match made in heaven. And it is. Seihou molds are engineered so well, to function as closely to real people in actual suits as possible, that this figure looks natural and downright like a real person when seated on the bike. These two are a perfect pairing many years in the making in from Tamashii.

On a funnier note, it's interesting that in the context of the series itself, we know that the Machine Kivaa is both sentient and houses the brain of a horse (presumably Fangire-like) creature. But the bike is oh so clearly designed like a bat on wheels. The blood red coloring of the bike would even helps suggest that link, but hey it's a horse apparently.

Accessories
While the Machine Kivaa itself is definitely a huge draw, if you're a big fan of Kamen Rider Kiva there's a good chance that the included accessories are what really sold you on the set:

1 - clear pedestal. I was confused at first when I saw this thing, but it's a brilliant little part. Rather than going for the mostly standard wheel base, or even including an optional Tamashii Stage adapter, the Machine Kivaa comes with it's own unique part. This small rectangle with a single peg on it plugs directly into the undercarriage of the Kivaa, with a couple grooves cut into it to work around the exhaust pipes even. This little block provides the most stable and balanced way to display an SHF bike I've ever seen. It's so simple, but brilliant and unobtrusive.

1 - Throne. While throne may be a bit more generous than calling it what it actually is, a fancy chair, it certainly looks regal. And with Kiva seated in this throne, it's hard to imagine doing anything else with him when he's not on the Machine Kivaa instead. Much in the same way Kiva looks like a real person riding a real motorcycle while sat on the Kivaa, in the Throne he looks much like the king he is.

1 - Bloody Rose violin & bow. Absolutely the signature item needed for any Kiva collection. I was astounded that the Bloody Rose wasn't included with Kiva himself, but waiting until now to include it with the Machine Kivaa is pretty brilliant. While basically any 1/12 violin would work fine with the figure, including the real deal in vehicle/accessory pack like this is a brilliant selling point to most fans. A gorgeously detailed accessory, it feels right at home in Wataru's hands.

2 - sets of additional hands. While the Seihou Kiva Figuart itself came with 2.5 sets of hands, it didn't include any specific to the accessories in this set, which at the time hadn't even been announced yet. So the added value of the sets we get here is a bonus on top of the excellent main item.s We get one set of Machin Kivaa hands so that Kiva's fingers are extended to grip the handlebars properly. And we get one asymmetrical set for holding the Bloody Rose & bow. The left hand for the rose, the right for the bow. Be careful putting the rose in hand though, it's pretty thin plastic and the gap it goes in isn't very wide. Always best to be careful.

Considering this is a huge accessory set anyway, I can't imagine anything else necessary to Kiva needing to be included. The only way this could get better is if Tamashii included a pile of rose petals to go with it!

Final Thoughts
As accessory sets go, this one whipes the floor with most. I've reviewed a number in my time, most recently the Ridestriker Set, and before that the Machine Builder set. While both of those gave our figures much needed and demanded weapons, the Machine Kivva Option Parts set arms our rider with his most prized possession as well as a bike and a throne. Each set has it's own value and merits, but for me personally, this one is the more meaningful of the three. And it's downright perfect.

Part 2

This was my first Rider Machine and I actually could not be happier with it. It's just perfect. I really wanted Bloody Rose by any means necessary, but the bike itself also really impressed me. I think since it's not based on a dirt bike like so many others, which I've started to find kind of boring, it really has a nice presence to it with its bulkiness. And the stunning red paint helps too. Nevermind the throne, which to me was just a nice bonus, being a great way to make use of Kiva playing his violin.

Oh and I didn't even realize that clear stand was a new unique piece. Yeah, it's pretty darn great and unobtrusive for keeping the bike upright.

This optional accessory pack I'm a lot more fine with than the others, because that's what it is -- an optional accessory pack. It doesn't come with hands and weapons that really should have come with the Rider himself; the one you could most make a case for is the violin, but even then that doesn't feel quite as complete without the chair so this works well.

Talking of which. I need that chair. It's a shame I can't justify buying this because Kiva is... Kiva, but I've seen this accessory used for everything from Beast to Evol to Genm to Apollo Geist and it's just wonderful to see every time.

The accessories for the Kiva figuart looks amazing. I would love to own these someday.

After taking so long to release a Kiva figuart they do seem to be pushing it a lot with this set. Not that it's a bad thing, mind you. It does look very well done

how the hell did you do that moonlight effect?

I don't know if I wish they used a Harley again, but I miss when they used to mix up the bikes rather than use dirt bikes all the time

Well that Moon is a tiny rechargeable display toy I got on Amazon for like $5 earlier this year. It's got a couple lighting settings actually. So I turned off my normal photo lamps, turned the moon on in the background, and used a smaller handheld light to directly but softly light Kiva from the front.

Glad to see that Bloody Rose finally makes an appearance. Although I was just happy to see the Kiva figuart I did get a slight twinge of disappointment when it wasn't originally included.

As always; fantastic gallery.