S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Brain Gallery

"This is the true evil my master would detest because of his virtues."

The evil organization MU wants to rewrite the world! Filling their ranks with revived brainwashed villains of Kamen Rider's past, their army grows each time they force Professor Crystal Peppler to perform this task. But to subvert their goals and weaken their forces, Professor Peppler has revived the weakest looking Kaijin he could think of, Brain, the Roidmude! Secretly though, the Professor knows one thing, how much Brain despises people like those in MU. Those who would crush individuality, who don't fight with all their hearts, the arrogant, the unpleasant. Those his master Heart would hate most. Mirroring the rebirth of Takeshi Hongo as the first Kamen Rider, Brain the Roidmude must become Brain the Kamen Rider!

Packaging
Weirdly enough, Brain doesn't have a "type". Drive's basic form is Type Speed, most of his forms have the "type" designation in them. Even Heart's two forms are called Type Speed/Wild/Technic & Type Miracle. But Brain is unique among the Drive/Banno/Brain Driver type riders in that he's just, Kamen Rider Brain. That may not be particularly relevant in terms of the packaging, it's just odd given my long relationship with releases from this series, that the designation isn't present on the box.

The fun difference in the packaging here is that Brain gets his own unique logo, in the same way that Banno/Gold Drive did. Otherwise it's pretty standard stuff. Kamen Rider Drive popularized and standardized the slim style boxes the line as a whole has largely transitioned to. So it's fairly basic, but pleasant none the less.

Main Figure
In previous years I'd have pegged this figure as a perfect example of something deserving the Toei Hero Net exclusive treatment. Like Blade Broken Head or Gokai X'mas. As is it's mind boggling that a rider who appears only in two mini episodes and has a brief cameo in the Zi-O Over Quartzer theatrical film, got a figure at all. Kamen Rider Brain was a joke. Seriously, it was originally a joke by the character Brain, at the end of the Kamen Rider Heart V-Cinema. Flash forward years later and Brain actually got a 2-episode mini special and officially became the last new Kamen Rider to debut in the Heisei Era! And that's pretty wild.

The entire backstory of this character, from a show that ended nearly 5 years ago, is wild. But the merits of the figure are what they are. Based around the always excellent Drive Type Speed mold that's been fielded numerous times for numerous forms and riders, Kamen Rider Brain is another true winner. It's been about 5 years or so since the mold's first outing and it's largely kept up with the times. It really still fits in well with more modern releases. Each time it's been repainted or remolded it's managed to look every bit as stylish as it did in a previous release.

The Drive leg design is still really solid even 5 years later. Wide type feet with nice tight toe bends give you lots of play for posing. But it's really the flexible knees and sturdy inset hips that given Brain a flair for the dramatic. The big changes here are the colors of course, Brain has a variety of neon and pastel greens adorning his suit, as well as those new lavish draping cape parts. The ones that come into play with the legs are the sort of loin cloth hanging in the front, and the long cape hanging down from the back. Thankfully each of these parts is made of a soft pseudo rubbery plastic. They aren't rigid at all, so they're easy to maneuver. I can see why they aren't fabric, but a part of me still wishes that's what they'd been made of. As is, for more extreme posing, these parts add extra stability the figure wouldn't otherwise have so you can get him in some unique poses. I do worry about their durability over time though.

Around the figure's waist is the aptly named Brain Driver. While of course it's based on the tried and true Drive Driver it largely borrows it's color scheme from the Banno Driver of Gold Drive. The read out plate can still be removed and swapped like any other Driver of the variety, though Brain's is unique and he wasn't shown to use any shift cars or powers in his brief appearances. Otherwise everything is physically identical, though there's obviously no Shift Car Holster this go around either. The upper torso features all the same armored components, unchanged from Zero-Drive, Proto-Drive, & Gold Drive. The chest armor is the same across all 4 as well as the Tire, which is a repaint of Proto-Drive's original Archetype Gear. Brain's tire is non-removable, and probably for good reason since his cape is attached to the back half, and it adds some weight to his frame. Again this is a soft rubbery material so luckily it can pose as needed. The torso as a whole still features some really great built in articulation that isn't really affected at all by the various new parts present.

The arms are a bit of a mixed bag this go around though. Each features the familiar Drive style shoulder pad, but has a new raised brain sculpture on the outer edge of it. More to the point though are the large cape appendages coming out of each of them, styled in the same way as Brain's Roidmude form. While made of the same soft like material as the other capes, these feel much less flexible, and look far more awkward when putting Brain in action poses. They do also interfere with the back mounted cape a bit presenting some posing issues. You can usually work each of these parts around one another, but on occasion it's a bit of a pain. As always the elbow could use slightly more flexibility, and the shoulders some more clearance, but the wrists are versatile as always. And as a vestigial carry over from the Type Speed mold, Brain has a wrist mounted Drive Brace that he doesn't need or really use, much like Gold Drive. Though it could still accept Shift Cars if so desired.

This figure culminates in an absolutely exquisite head sculpt. One that feels very very much in line with what Drive as a series has given us before, while still feeling new and different. It has elements of both Drive & Chaser in it's design, but feels uniquely it's own too. Those bright yellow compound eyes and the purple detailing go a long way to differentiate this helmet design but the protruding horns make him feel quite unique as well. It brings together what is otherwise a largely familiar figure and gives it a whole new feel that's very pleasing. This is such an out of left field release but one that's executed stupendously well.

Showing off my collection a bit, I've pulled a handful of evil riders for Brain to fight off in this gallery. Amazon Neo Alpha, Dark Kabuto, Gold Drive, Dark Drive, & Nega Den-O. On top of this, I've also lined up every individual Rider from the drive multimedia franchise that's gotten a figuart so far. Drive, Mach, Chaser, Gold Drive, Dark Drive, Heart, Brain, & Rider 3. That's 8 unique riders from this series. And I hadn't even considered that fact or begun to marvel at it until I took that line up shot. I've loved Drive for years, and seeing that for the first time on top of all the various alternate forms and vehicles we've gotten, put a huge smile on my face. I own them all already and I'd buy practically anything else Bandai throws our way from this series. And one final group shot, is the Zi-O Over Quartzer cameos. Zangetsu Kachidoki Arms, Brain, & Manga Kuuga! Using a mobile app filter and some photoshop I was able to cheat my way into splicing a couple images together to make this, though I'm particularly proud of how well it turned out ultimately. Maybe one day Bandai will give us a true blue Manga Kuuga from the Seihou mold? If we can get a Decade Version then, hey, why not?

Accessories
Brain comes only with the essentials:

4 - sets of additional hands. This is a pretty great variety for a fairly niche web exclusive release. A pair for holding the included weapon, a pair to use with other rider weapons or vehicles if you so choose, and a couple types of open style hands.

1 - Brain Eyeglass Blade. This is by far one of the funnier deep cuts from Brain's mini series special. Obviously a straight up repaint of the Sunglasseslasher from Kamen Rider Ghost Toucon Boost Damashii, in the special itself Dark Ghost even comments on this fact. In toy form the gun mode has been omitted, leaving only the sword, no alternate parts are included. A slight remold to the weapon is present as well though, the glasses panel can no longer open and accept Damashii. Which also makes sense given Brain neither uses eyecons nor a gun form for his weapon. Ultimately it's a genius weapon to include with Brain given his signature bespectacled look. And it looks glorious in these various shades of green.

The one thing I would have loved to have with Brain is a set of his poison handkerchiefs, or even a pair of hands dripping with poison. Both key elements of his fight against MU in the special. Absolutely there for comedic effect, they would have been really fun. For those curious, in the gallery below I cut up some fabric to use for handkerchiefs and actually had some Marvel Legends effect parts to stand in for dripping poison. Specifically the electric effects that came with Marvel Legends Eel.

Final Thoughts
Kamen Rider Drive is the ride that never ends. It's been nearly 5 years since the show ended, and yet a rider from a 2 episode mini spin off of that series that was originally a one line joke in another V-Cinema related to the show that came out long after it as well, has some how managed to see release. Of all the various unique riders in Drive, a full 8 of them have seen release, and that's not even remotely counting all the alternate forms & vehicles the line has seen. Of all the individuals who became Riders in Drive's TV show, specials, various films, etc, only Lupin, Jun & Rider 4 have not received figures. Rider 4 had a prototype displayed years ago but that's as close as he got. Still though, that's absolutely incredible that the gap has been narrowed that much in the 5 years since Drive premiered. S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Brain is a wonderful and welcome addition from a series I've loved dearly for all that time. Pairing him with his master Heart in my collection was an insanely satisfying feeling. I welcome any and all other releases from Drive that come down the pipe. Maybe I'm saying this for the last time, but who knows? "Nice Drive!"

Part 2

It's just so... funny that this exists. I don't think there's any other word that's more fitting.

Beautiful as always; especially loved the Ghost image and the glasses on body-kun

The man, the meme, the legend. Still can't entirely believe this happened.

this is a really magnificent suit design done incredibly well

The Drive body really is awesome

Oh thank god that you improvised for the handkerchiefs, I can't think of KR Brain without them what a wonderfully chaotic character

Odd they didn't include any handkerchiefs.
Anyway, I definitely love KR Brain's design more than Heart's, so I'm glad to see this got a figure.

And I'm loving the shot with Manga Kuuga and Katchidoki Zangetsu.

We've had Drive, now all we need is Kamen Rider Medic.

This is a really cool design

I loved the special, it was hilarious and i loved how the villains were pointing out the short comings of his suit and how he deflected. Really made it enjoyable. I hope the price comes down, your pics really make me want Brain more.