[Tokumonkey]

At first, I couldn't figure out the appeal of these, but then I realized that they're freed from the gimmicks of their individual toylines. Several recent gimmicks (Gamer armor in Ex-Aid, Ghost's hoodies, and Build's entire gimmick) had a significant negative impact on articulation. These figures appear to be free of that. On the other hand, they also follow the "it only looks good from the front" design aesthetic re: paint that I guess might be a leftover from Sofubi? Also, the thing about weapons and Drivers having minimal or no paint. The molding on the hands looks identical (with cheaper pastic) to the Figuarts, except it looks like this Build comes with holding-things hands the SHF release didn't have. The similarity is clearest on the Cross-Z fists. Wouldn't be surprised if these were based on the same digital models (in terms of proportion) as the SHFs.

These are kind of a compromise between the existing retail figures, SHF, and the candy toys. The candy toys at least strive to make the rear of the figures look good using stickers. I suspect the plastic quality will be the same as the retail lines, meaning more solid than recent Marvel Legends. On the other hand, recent Marvel Legends figures are significantly more thoroughly-painted than these.

More than anything, it seems like this line is attempting to put together an inexpensive way for people to put together a collection of Heisei Rider figures that are compatible with one another. I also suspect that the Rider Kicks line won't end when Zio does, given that they're at least floating doing secondary and tertiary Riders, villains, and form changes. Come to think of it, this lineup is probably a statement of intent, although whether they'll continue with the secondaries, villains, etc. will probably depend heavily on how this first wave sells.

I've got no idea. The basic retail figure for Ex-Aid was roughly equivalent to this, albeit not with the swappable hands. Well, and that release was more expensive, bundled with the Level 1 form. *thinky*