A fine blend of all things Nuts: Multimedia Collections, Toys, Foods, Concerts, Occasional Petting Zoo Visits, etc.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

DX Samurai Gattai Shinken-Oh (2009)


The main Shinkengers’ robo pulls triple-duty, as it manages to function as a complete set of role-play toys, in the form of its five emblem modes, on top of being able to perform many things it’s shown to do on-screen, both united, and as individual animals. While Shishi Origami’s legs cannot rotate to emulate the Gokaku Daikaen, you can holster the Daishinken on either hip, and affix the shield disc to Saru Origami, or store it on Shinken-Oh’s back. One side of the Daishinken is hollowed, but it's hard to complain about two small shortcomings given the many things this had to accomplish simultaneously, and did with excessive precision.

Comparisons between the various releases can be found below the cut.

4½ Sun Kings Sanjou out of 5

The Bandai Asia release seems to be identical to the original, as well as the import version that Bandai of America put on store shelves, in the US. The Samurai Megazord, however, is quite different as it utilizes a completely different mold. While it is comparable in size, it completely precludes the emblem modes, outside of the turtle zord's (Kame Origami's), whose engineering requires every joint to be in place, even with the downgrade in functionality in mind. There is less paint and no chrome on the helmet or kneecaps.

There was a premium Bandai re-release with diecast parts a while back and it included plastic bracers to let you do the oden stacking formation seen in Act 2. You actually can manage that with the original, if you're into perilously balancing your expensive toys.

If you only collect primary mecha, or display your mecha individually, Shinken-Oh in any of its releases is what I recommend. If you want to display it combined with DaiKai-Oh, go with the Bandai of America release and the Samurai Clawzord, as the connection between their torsos is far more secure than on the Japanese originals.

If you’re out to build Samurai Ha-Oh, take a look at both interpretations (while also considering your budget and available space) and decide which line you want to invest in, as no molds are shared between them, and they are actually quite comparable in terms of aesthetics and execution. You should be happy with either Samurai Military King/Throne combo, as additional support is given to the connection between the torsos of Shinken-Oh and DaiKai-Oh when connected to Ushi Origami/Mougyuu Dai-Oh.

It should also be noted that if you’re absolutely dead-set on having a Shishi origami executing the Gokaku Daikaen on your shelf, there is one version that is capable of doing it. I can no longer recommend it, however.

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