S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Zangetsu Kachidoki Arms Gallery

"This ends today!"

An experiment. That's all that the desolate Torkia Republic was in the eyes of the massive Yggdrasill Corporation. Devastated by poverty, lack of resources, and economic support from it's neighbors, the fruits of this horrible labor was Project Ark. Lock Seeds, Sengoku Drivers..... Kamen Riders. Years have passed since the incidents with the Riders & Invess, and now Takatora Kureshima has been lead to Torkia once more to investigate strange occurrences among the nation's underground populace. Ambushed upon arrival, Takatora has lost his memories. Confronted with the tragic new reality of young men forced to fight to the death, will the sight of these Proto-Riders awaken Takatora's memories? Could a final gift from Kouta Kazuraba be the key to saving this nation, and Takatora? And what does Masahito have to do with all of it?


Packaging
It's honestly a little jarring to see this older style of packaging art return. Gaim series boxes were gorgeous, and I didn't realize how much i missed them before now. Whatever filter Tamashii uses on the stock photos for these releases, I absolutely love it.

Main Figure
It has been *quite* some time since I've revisited Kamen Rider Gaim. As releases from the series grew fewer and farther between, and distance from the show diminished my appreciation of it, I really fell off collecting Figuarts from the series. It was really going to take something wild to bring me back to the stage for this series. And what better way than a one-off form created exclusively for a theater play sequel to a show that had ended 5 years prior to it?? Sign me up!

Zangetsu Kachidoki Arms, it should come as no surprise, brings back elements of two very familiar figures for Kamen Rider Gaim collectors. Zangetsu Melon Arms & Gaim Kachidoki Arms. In practical terms, this figure is just the Kachidoki Arms Gaim figure painted in Zangetsu colors with a new head & chest emblem for physical changes as well. If you're familiar with the Gaim/Zangetsu body type, it was an incredibly solid and versatile figure for it's time, and still really holds up today. Gaim Orange Arms was the standard barer of the SHF line to me for quite some time, striking a wonderful balance of toy functionality and screen realization. But that doesn't mean this figure isn't without fault, especially looking at today's Figuarts by comparison. Zangetsu itself was a mere pallet swap of the base Gaim mold with new armor, and the same is true here.

Kachidoki Arms, is of course a super bulky form. Lot's of flaps and panels and hinges, laid on top of an otherwise very well articulated base figure. A number of Gaim release stood out to me for having some very solid ankles, without obstruction to the joints from the shin cuffs. But honestly the knee bends and rotating hip joints are the real winners. Gaim could get into such incredible poses as could Zangetsu, but both suffer in their Kachidoki forms because of the new front and side facing skirt armor. The shade of metallic green used this go around is just glorious on these parts, but nothing can really save the design aspect of this parts reuse. The figure can still move it's legs just as well as before, but you'll need to angle those panels out of the way to make use of the joints, and the panels are only single hinged. So they're gonna stick straight out and maybe look a bit awkward in most poses. You can work around them, but I do wish they had a midway hinge for some variety.

On Zangetu's waist is the ever reliable Sengoku Driver. Detailed & functional, this piece is pretty interactive for this scale. Each Sengoku Driver can accept open or unlocked Lock Seeds, the variety of which are already attached to a rider out of the box. Unopened or closed Lock Seeds can't quite fit because the shackle or looped section, isn't open. However the blade on the driver cant rotate to simulate the way Lock Seeds are "cut" open, which is perfect for the already attached open seeds. After 6 years this is still a pretty great design, and I'm always pleasantly surprised how good the faceplates on the left side look, as well as how nice the lock seeds are. In this case we have a new version of the Kachidoki Lock Seed. An apparent fusion of the Melon and Melon Energy Lock Seeds, this one is a gorgeous translucent green with a really great piece of artwork on the open portions. Obviously since these parts are reuses of the Gaim Kachidoki Arms mold, there's no holster on the left hip for the Musou Saber of previous releases. All good since this one doesn't have one.

The torso features the new exquisitely sculpted chest plate with the Zangetsu emblem in place of Gaim's. The rest of the armor is nigh identical, but the colors are just so striking on this release of the mold. The big detriment to the upper body however is the connection to the waist armor. The silver straps that run between the two neuter most of the side to side rotation. This was a problem I had with the first Kachidoki release as well. And while the tubing is made of a softer plastic, it just doesn't put enough play into the waist to accomplish much unfortunately. The arms are another familiar experience. Thankfully the shoulder pads are on great rotating joints so they can angle out as well as forward & back when posing the arms. So you don't lose much of any of the awesome visuals in the upper body like you tend to with the waist. My one big gripe with the Gaim style arms is that the wrist pegs are still very very difficult, exchanging hands is still frustrating. Even with the other Gaim & Zangetsu figures I busted out for this gallery, I was reminded of the hands being a tight fit on those joints.

And where Gaim got a rocking mustache on his helmet for Kachidoki, Zangetsu instead preserves more of the basic head sculpt and adds new ornamentation to the head crest. This new head for this release has Zangetu's exquisitely sculpted melon armor helm, and a face plate that seems to incorporate elements of both his previous forms. While I appreciate the new golden ring that complete's the helmet's look, I do wish this design had more of a horned look to compete with Gaim's decidedly more violent & aggressive looking headcrest in this form. Overall, it's remarkable how stylish this repaint/remold is. Zangetsu Kachidoki Arms succeeds in looking every bit as imposing as Gaim, but also looks far more regal and ornate. Zangetsu oozes authority and power, while Gaim looks like the battle hardened general he evokes. It's a stark contrast between 2 figures that are essentially the same. Well done on Tamashii Nations part for this one. It should be noted, that unlike the previous two releases, Zangetu Melon Arms & Shin Zangetsu, Zangetsu Kachidoki Arms is actually white. Where his predecessors were an odd off white cream color, Kachidoki is actually a true bright white, which I love.

Accessories:
As far as one-off theater play/stage show rider forms go, Zangetsu gets quite a lot:

1 - Closed Kachidoki Lock Seed. Cast in the same translucent green as the open one on the belt, the closed one can't quite plug onto the belt, but works well enough to replicate a henshin with your figures. It's identical to the Gaim version of the lock seed aside from the new letter designation on the front and color pallet.

2 - sets of additional hands. That's a fully splayed open pair and a pair to hold the included weapon.

1 - DJ Gun (Taiken Mode). This "great sword" form of the DJ Gun was originally a weapon of both Gaim's Kachidoki and later Kiwami forms. It's a combination of the standard DJ Gun as well as the Musou Saber. As was the case with Gaim Kachidoki, Zangetsu Kachidoki's version of the weapon is molded in one piece with the Saber permanently molded into the Gun. Gaim actually came with the individual gun mode as well, but since Zangetsu never used it in that form in the stage play, the figure doesn't come with it either. Regardless I must say that the weapon looks absolutely stylish in Zangetu's colors.

2 - Kachidoki Flags. Another carry over from Gaim, the flags this go around are emblazoned with Zangetsu's rider emblem and have an added textured application to them that really sets them apart from their mold mates. Zangetsu's flag come across as much more regal, much like the core figure does when compared to it's predecessor. Just remove the bottom pole section of each flag to attach it to Zangetu's backpack. They work great in this way or as handheld weapons. Even in the stage show, Takatora used these as weapons to great effect.

Final Thoughts
Kamen Rider Zangetsu Kachidoki Arms joins a pretty bizarrely exclusive club of weird one-off form releases. Joining the likes of Gokai X'Mas, Blade Broken Helmet, W Cyclone/Accel Xtreme, and other oddities, Zangetsu Kachidoki really stands out. While the Gaim Gaiden Zangetsu play is more of a true blue theater/stage production with some just lovely production values (particularly for the henshins!) it is techincally still a stage show. Making this figure the first instance of any stage show rider or form of this type getting a Figuart release. It's bizarre. Not to mention that Zangetsu Kachidoki also graced the big screen with a brief cameo in the Over Quartzer theatrical film. Could this be the start of a new trend? Perhaps time will tell. If this is the kind of thing we could maybe, hopefully, expect, then sign me up.

Part 2

This is still a very odd choice for a Figuarts, though it's certainly got value. I particularly like the picture of all the Zangetsu forms

Just how popular was this stage show?

I'm so thankful this is real. When it was revealed it took me straight back to the days when Gaim was airing and the Figuarts were released. So good. And the figure itself turned out beautifully.

Thanks for the amazing gallery Den-O!

Okay, I know I already love the henshin sequences you've been doing lately, but what you did with the belt in this one was truly next-level. Gorgeous figure, fun gallery.

Zangetsu Kachidoki may not have Gaim's molded moustache; but the colouring around his mouthplate clearly evokes a rockin' goatee. I guess that's why Gentoku doesn't have his anymore; Takatora stole it!

I'm a big fan of how this figure looks. I might have grown less fond of Gaim as time has gone on, but what has held up for me is the quality of the designs and how interesting Takatora and Kouta are as characters. I'm super interested in seeing this stage play and it doesn't surprise me that this is such a standout moment from it!

SO Gorgeous of a release that it's saddening that no one kinda cared for him and his price dropped. Eh, that just means I won't have problems getting him down the line.

I'm sure he'd look great in a final form shelf with Kiwami, Lord Baron, and Ryugen Yomi. Not that I own them...

It really caught me off guard that it was released. It's just so unusual to see a figure made from a play like this. I remember the piles of prototypes from Tamashii events that never saw the light of day again, but somehow this one made it
Thanks! The henshin bits have been really fun to throw into all my recent galleries. It's something I'll continue doing so long as I have the necessary stuff to make them half believable.
If you're interested in watching the stage show, it's been fansubbed. Look in the usual places and you can find it for sure. Twitter user @ErankedLuck did a great job with it.

goddamn the gaim suits are my favorite designs and this is excellent