[Den-O]

Melon Energy Arms!

Time for another winner from Bandai's Kamen Rider Gaim Arms Change line!

**Post #2 features additional images of alternate Arms Changes.

AC08 Shin Zangetsu is at a basic level, an easy repaint, and slight retool of the standard AC05 Zangetsu figure. The base body is nearly identical to Zangetsu, itself a repaint of Gaim. The head has been remolded and the Sengoku Driver replaced by a Genesis Driver. The peg hole to accommodate the Musou Saber holster is also absent from this version of the mold. Aside from these three physical changes the rest of the body is differentiated only by paint applications.

The Melon Energy Arms themselves are radically different from the standard Melon Arms. At first glance they do share the same hue of green as well as the same fruit engraving/detailing. However the Melon Energy Arms is far more complex than simply folding out symmetrically. The Energy Riders have begun a trend of new radical asymmetrical transformations for their arms. What began with Baron's Banana Arms has carried over to these newer releases in fantastic fashion.

The only downside is that even in his Energy Form, Zangetsu still has half the Melon hanging off his back. But in this case it remains useful as storage for the Sonic Arrow weapon. On that subject the arrow is amazingly nice. The bowstring is actually hinged so that it can be pulled backward and forward as needed. However this feature is almost entirely wasted since the figure can just barely hold the Sonic Arrow in the first place. The handle, much like the Dragon Shot and Kiwi Gekirin, is simply too thick for an effective grip. And attempting to reach either arm across the chest to pull the string results in some infuriating clearance issues.

Of course the Energy Riders are a new breed entirely for this series. Their powers aren't capable of interacting with the basic Armored Riders without the aid of a Genesis Core or an entire Genesis Driver. But with Arms Change being what it is you can totally slap the energy arms onto the previous releases in the line. Unfortunately it looks quite bad on just about everyone. The Melon Energy Arms is far too specific to Shin Zangetsu for proper use with anyone else aside from the original release of Zangetsu. Similarly to the original Zangetsu, Shin looks pretty good with most other Arms. Though Orange and Budou simply look terrible on him.

As a stand alone figure Shin Zangetsu is still excellent. In all honesty it feels like an improvement on the original figure. As the first of the energy riders it seems to miss the mark ever so slightly in the form & functionality departments, but it's still a really nice looking figure and a welcome addition to any Arms Change collection.