S.H. Figuarts Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider OOO TaToBa Combo Gallery

"Taka! Tora! Bata!"

Long ago the King, the first OOO, instructed 4 alchemists to create life. Made from Core Medals these creatures, the Greeed, were filled with immense craving, unable to fill the voids within. Incapable of processing human emotions and senses, the Greeeds sought to consume the world of man to fill their sense of craving, but before they could they were sealed away by OOO. 800 years later, Eiji Hino was minding his own business as a part time security guard when the seal on the Greeed was broken, releasing them once more into the human world. Still craving to be whole, nothing could stand in their way without the power of the King. But one of their number, Ankh, took it upon himself to steal the Core Medals of his kind. Intending to find a human pawn, Ankh stumbles upon Eiji and a bond is born. Handing the Driver of the king and the Core Medals over, Ankh allows Eiji to become Kamen Rider OOO! What began as a begrudging alliance would spawn one of the greatest and truest friendships in Kamen Rider history, as the Greeed Ankh supported Eiji in his quest to save people wherever he could. Anything goes it's coming up OOO!

Packaging
Obviously, Seihou OOO comes in that familiar and collector friendly packaging this line has come to be known for. And it's quite the departure from what the original OOO line featured. It's much more subdued, which bothers me slightly, but it feels much sturdier and fits right in with an ever growing collection of Shinkocchou Seihou releases. As you can see in the gallery below, the two packaging types are very different, each with it's merits, but I welcome the change.

Main Figure
It's been quite a journey from the early days of the S.H. Figuarts toyline. Back in the day (2011) the original SHF Kamen Rider OOO TaToBa Combo was released, followed along eventually by every one of OOO other combos, and a variety of his mixed combo forms as well. Honestly it's astonishing how many OOO forms got Figuarts, but the mere fact that the 10 Main Combos from TV & Films happened is incredible. Flash forward to 2019 (though I'm getting to this review in 2020) and we're back to square one. Tamashii is finally treating us to a do-over for OOO, and giving us the figure we always hoped for. The original line was plagued by loose joints, gummy parts, inaccuracies, and more. Now, the Shinkocchou Seihou line is here to set things right.

At a glance, there's no question, Shinkocchou Seihou OOO is absolutely an improvement in every single facet over the original figure. Let's start with the composition of the body. Seihou OOO goes the extra mile compared to the original by incorporating a Combo Change gimmick, hearkening back to the gimmick line of the show's day, aptly named Combo Change. Separating into Taka, Tora and Batta sections that means you'll be able to swap around the 3 components of the body between any of the current and future Seihou OOO releases. This is revolutionary, something I've always wanted to see Figuarts try more of. Though not as extensive as OOO, other recent releases have also begun to take on the form change aspect like Kamen Riders' Evol & Geiz Revive.

What's really striking about the general look of the figure is it's proper proportions compared to the lanky and thin look of the original. Seihou OOO has all the beef of the actual suit, and so much more articulation than the previous release could have dreamed of. Each ankle has all the range necessary for OOO to get into his trademark wide stances, but it's really the double jointed knees that do a ton of the work. It's all about flexibility in the legs to make a figure feel dynamic, and no rider should feel more like that than OOO. The hips have that same genius sort of in set design type that Seihou's tend to have. The difference with OOO is that the Batta green markings extend up from the thigh across the separated hip joint and onto the waist. Each part can move independently so they may not always line up perfectly, but the attention to detail here is glorious, and the functionality far exceeds the limited range of the original figure's drop down hips. The black detailing on the green parts of the legs is crisp as well, but just rough enough to give it that ancient look that feels appropriate enough to be something from 800 years ago. And of course I'm a sucker for properly sculpted butt plates on riders, so I appreciate how the leg design doesn't take away from some correct anatomy.

Around Eiji's waist, is the OOO Driver & Belt. I know the OOO Driver looks like it has a lot going on, but it's an incredibly well designed driver for this scale, even more so than some of my favorites like the Build Driver. The Driver in the center can accept the included 3 Core Medals or any other medals in the Seihou line, allowing you to fully and accurately recreate combo changes. A tool is included to remove and insert medals as you wish as well. The Driver can also tilt down to the figure's left accurately. On the left hip is a Cell Medal container, while the right hip has a holster for the included O Scanner. It's a bulky belt set up but one that feels undeniably perfect on a bulky body like OOO. Above the belt, at the point where OOO's chest emblem covers the torso, is where the figure can be taken apart. A firm plug holds the upper and lower torso together, but it's honestly the ingenious way the OOO emblem comes apart and un-pegs from the torso that blows my mind. While the head and neck can detached from the shoulders as one chunk. Even more astonishingly this entire gimmick doesn't impact the figure's design or articulation. Even the bottom section of the chest is hinged to move. It's just so satisfying all around. The emblem itself is exquisitely sculpted and painted as well.

The arms are also a big attraction this go around for OOO. Far less gummy than the originals, these feel solid and extremely flexible. And that's in large part thanks to the hybrid shoulder pad design that incorporates them onto the arms itself, as well as the arm swap gimmick. At the forearm, each of the Tora Arms can be removed and swapped out for included Tora Claws. *However*, and I cannot stress this enough, you must be extremely careful when swapping the arms out. A number of collectors, myself included, have broken this joint while applying little to no force. The forearms peg onto to a rather small peg on the bottom end of the elbow. The upside is that this peg system gives the arm an extra twist emulating just a little bit more human body movement, the downside is that the assembly is so thin it can shear off rather easily. I eventually got a free replacement for my OOO, but it took some time. Should you wind up with a similar issue, I encourage you to reach out to the retailer you purchased it through in hopes of getting the figure replaced as I did. Bluefin Brands was kind enough to get me a replacement. The gimmick itself is brilliant, but the execution leaves a bit to be desired unfortunately thanks to this flaw.

Finally we've come to OOO Taka helmet. Might I say this is one of the most on point head sculpts Tamashii has ever done? OOO looks like he's jumped right off the TV screen. In particular the compound eyes are just magnificent, they have so much depth to them and capture so much light that I almost can't believe they aren't back lit. With this head sitting on the shoulders of one hell of body, Shinkocchou Seihou OOO is an absolutely breathtaking figure. Please enjoy the wealth of cameos in the gallery below, such as all 10 of OOO main combos assembled together, as well as Birth Proto-Birth & the Birth CLAWS, Dr. Maki the Kyoryu Greeed, and even the first S.H. Figuarts Ankh release! I pulled out all the stops on this one, so I really hope you all enjoy the 100+ images below.


Accessories
Once again, Tamashii delivers on the do-over, giving OOO all the accessories he needs:

4.5 - set of hands. Far exceeding the versatility of the original release, this gives Eiji all the expressive and useful options he needs. Accenting and helping communicate his body language as well giving him what he needs to properly hold all his accessories.
0
1 - O Scanner. Normally slotted into the silver holster on OOO right hip, Eiji uses this item to transform by scanning the OOO Driver, or can use it to change forms, and charge weapons for attacks. Luckily this release comes with a pair of hands intended for holding it. When not in use it slots very securely into it's holster.

1 - set of Core Medals & tool. This trio includes the Taka, Tora, & Batta Core Medals. Located on a parts sprue, you'll have to physically cut these parts off the sprue and maybe clean up the nub marks on each, but I didn't have much trouble. I recommend holding them with tweezers while doing so however. They are extremely tiny and easily lost. These slot directly into the OOO and thankfully stay in very securely. So much so that a special tool is included in order to push them in or pop them out as needed.

1 - Medaljalibur. The signature weapon of OOO, this accessory far outclasses the original in proportionality and functionality. An alternate panel with sculpted Cell Medals is included in order to replicate Eiji's finishing move with this blade. I'm really glad these aren't separate Medals, because I for one know I'd lose them almost immediately. Funny enough, nearly every single OOO Combo from the original Figuarts run came with one of these things, even ones that couldn't hold them like SaGhoZho. It was funny but silly, but this go around I wouldn't mind an army of Seihou's equipped with these.

1 - Set of Tora Claws. These swappable forearms can replace the standard folded up claw forearms of the figure. Simply pop them off at the elbow and swap out. *Be careful though*. From more than one account, the elbow breaks rather easily when swapping this arm section. It personally happened to me as well when I began this shoot in December, hence why it's taken me til April to finish the shoot. The joint just sheared off when putting the regular arms back on. There's no word yet on whether the reissue slated for August will address this issue or not. So just be careful if you own this figure, I can't recommend swapping the arms often. the effect of the outstretched claws is very nice, but it may carry that price is all.

So really that's everything OOO could need right out the gate, and more essentials like Ankh, form their own full release. So really, they pretty much nailed the accessory count on this one. But then again, what Seihou has ever really failed to do that anyway?

Final Thoughts
It's been a long journey to get here. Nearly 9 years to get the OOO figure we really deserved, and a few extra months for me after a design flaw. But I am absolutely floored with by the attention to detail & accuracy, functionality, and gimmickry at work in Shinkocchou Seihou Kamen Rider OOO. The TaToBa Combo is such an interesting design anyway, and I've never seen it executed this well before. As Seihou releases march forward for OOO with GataKiriBa, LaTora,Tah, & TaJaDor, I welcome each and every one of them and the Combo Change possibilities they represent. And I want to give an extra special shout out to the folks at Bluefin Brands for taking care of replacing my OOO after it broke. It was worth the wait.

Part 2

Part 3

The only thing I dislike about the Seihou OOO line is that the aftermarket prices are absolutely bonkers.

Thank you for the pictures alongside Birth and Proto Birth! I have them arriving from a friend in a couple of weeks, and part of me was worried that they wouldn't look that good next to OOO either in terms of scale or looking outdated. But lo and behold, your gallery goes and shows that they look perfect! Even more excited now

I will disagree on one thing, though -- I don't think the hand selection is quite so perfect. It feels gree(e)dy asking for more when this set has so much; but Eiji really really needed a pair of calm, open hands in addition to the 'clawed' ones he comes with. It really would have rounded off the amount of expressions and poses he can do perfectly.

Still, that's one relatively small knock against what has otherwise been a phenomenal figure for me

SICs are much bigger than SHFs, though. Scaling would be off especially for Ankh.

Damn, sorry to hear about one breaking, Bluefin's service must be excellent