[Den-O]

Henshin!

A long time coming, S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Hibiki finally makes his appearance! After many years of this line continuing without all the main riders, we're one step closer to having them all!

Released in the same premium style as the recent S.H. Figuarts Kabuto Renewal Hibiki aims to deliver an incredible product and for the most part it succeeds. Let's take a look at exactly what this figure is like.

Post #1 contains 40 images with over 30 more in post #2!

Packaging
S.H. Figuarts Hibiki comes in identical packaging to Renewal Kabuto. The exact same type of rectangular box, with stacked white plastic trays. It's a little odd that Hibiki would be given the same premium treatment Renewal Kabuto was, considering this is the first SHF Hibiki to be made. So far these two figures are the only ones to feature this packaging which seems odd, we'll see if it continues down the line.

Main Figure
First things first, Hibiki is drop dead GORGEOUS. The sculpting on this bad boy is absolutely perfect. In every way imaginable it captures the look of the on screen suit right down to the textured musculature. The details are near perfection. Seriously I can not say enough about the new sculpting process used for Hibiki that was first introduced on Kabuto Renewal. Like Kabuto we see from the included concept book that the sculpt for this figure began from the ground up with a skeletal inner frame. And that extra work really pays off, especially when compared to other main line S.H. Figuarts.

The only issue I really have with Hibiki, which is isolated to the one I have, is errant paint applications. Just above his belt on mine there are several significant splotches of silver. And there's another on his inner thigh. Based on how tight some of the joints are I think it's safe to say that the purple paint all over the figure may flake off over time as well. The thighs/hips and upper body were pretty darn tight too. The interesting new hip design makes me think they could break pretty easily as well. But that's just catious speculation on my part, it really feels like there could be issues with the figure down the line.

As is, the main body of the figure looks gorgeous. Again it really does look incredibly faithful to the onscreen counterpart. The articulation is pretty superb as well. The way the shoulder pads unhinge up and over the shoulders themselves, the innovative way the hips angle out with a filler piece that fills the gap (itself reminiscent of Toy Biz Marvel Legends joints), and the traditional peg style hands with pretty open wrist cuffs that won't hinder their movement.

It should be noted that Hibiki DOES NOT use the "figma style" wrist peg system that Kabuto Renewal does. It has the traditional ball jointed wrists that nearly all Figuarts do. So far the only releases that have featured this new system are Kabuto and the Anti-Piracy figures. I am hugely thankful of this. The peg system introduced with Kabuto is in my opinion pretty terrible. I'm very happy to see a return to standard ball joins again.

Accessories
S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Hibiki is fully loaded! Aside from the excellent sculpt of the figure it's also armed to the teeth with accessories. Including much more than the pre-requisites of more standard fair releases, the accessory count is what really bumps Hibiki into the premium SHF territory. Included with Hibiki are:

4 - sets of alternate hands. As usual this gives you all you need for nice static, dynamic, and signature poses, including the perfect pair for Hibiki to hold his weapons.
2 - different sets of Ongekikou Rekka. One set molded into a holster. This set can be plugged into the back of his belt in place of the standard "empty" holster pouch. The second set of Ongekikou Rekka are magnificent. These full fledged versions of the weapons slide into Hibiki's holding hands and actually looped around the forefingers just as the real rider himself would hold them. They really are excellent.
2 - flame effect parts for the Ongekikou. To use them you need to pop the head of each Ongekikou off and pop these on. These flame effects look fantastic and really help the figure pull off it's dynamic look even better. Great for dynamic shots and poses.
2 - different versions of the Onkaku Tuning Fork. One version is molded in a folded down position to be plugged onto the right side of the belt in the same manner the Ongekikou on the back. The second Onkaku is the proper unfolded version for the figure to hold in hand. Though I don't feel any of the included hands can really hold it that well.
1 - Disk Animal holster molded with the appearance of 3 discs in it. Again meant to be plugged onto the belt in place of the bare plug that's normally there.
3 - Disc Animals in disc form. Though they don't transform, at this scale I'm not sure that would be possible. They'd almost certainly break. As is they look really nice for their size/sculpt/Paint. The 3 you get are Steel hawk, Azure Wolf, & Green Ape.

So as you can see, Hibiki gets a boat LOAD of accessories. Seriously this is basically everything he could possibly need. These accessories really make it the premium release it should be. As a bonus the the Ongekikou Kaentsuzumi buckle on his belt can also be removed to replicate at least the first part of the Ongeki Da finisher. The figure should have included a giant version of this accessory but that's a bit of a dream honestly. You can always pick up the old Final Form Rider Hibiki to replicate it if you wish.

Final Thoughts
S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Hibiki really does feel like just as much of a Premium release as Kabuto Renewal did. Though mine suffers from some unfortunate QC issues, don't let that affect your opinion of it. It really is an excellent figure. It has the sculpt down perfectly, and for the most part the paint apps are incredible. It has a wealth of accessories that really are just incredible.

With Hibiki's release we are now officially 1 rider away from having ALL the Heisei riders up to current in SHF form. Drive being the exception as that show is about to air. We now only need Kamen Rider Kiva to have a full unbroken set of S.H. Figuarts Heisei Riders from Kuuga to Gaim. As for the future of Hibiki releases, I would hope they would maybe take a little more care with the QC on any further figures. I would think given the hype around this release, that more Hibiki riders are inevitable.

For now though enjoy over 70 images of S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider Hibiki!