[Kamen Rider Die]

MASTERMIND CREATIONS OPTUS PEXUS: a.k.a. IDW Shadowplay Optimus Prime. This is a toy where nearly every (incredibly glowing!) review will talk about how articulated and poseable he is. And he is! To a baffling degree! I also sort of don't give a shit? What I want most of out of a Transformer isn't articulation or poseability, it's a fun transformation. In an effort to design the best ever Optimus Prime action figure (and it seriously is), this ended up being a really lackluster toy to transform. Not a perplexing hassle, but just kind of bland and perfunctory. It's a design where stuff extends out of housings, and that's its main moves. The MMC Chromedome was sublime; this one's obvious. Great action figure, but not a great Transformer.

S.H. FIGUARTS MASKED RIDER DELTA: Delta's so great, I paid full price for a version with only one kneepad! Not, uh, on purpose, though? Got a few bucks back from Jungle for pointing out that their listing never said he was missing a kneepad (his left), and it's honestly pretty easy to overlook. Besides that, great figure. Tons of presence, just like on the show. I'm pretty happy with my accidentally incomplete Delta!

S.H. FIGUARTS MASKED RIDER GARREN WITH RED RHOMBUS (NOT PICTURED): Everyone's favorite Dumpster Fire Who Walks Like A Man, it's Kamen Rider Garren. As long as he can stand there looking self-defeating and overwhelmed by the basic fact of his existence, I'm sold. Kind of hated having to buy a bike I'll never display (but now have to store) in order to get him, but Tachibana coming with baggage I resent and would prefer not to accomodate is so incredibly on-brand for Garren that I can't really get too mad. Well played, Bandai!

S.H. FIGUARTS KAMEN RIDER RYUGEN - BUDOU ARMS: So, Gaim. I honestly never liked the suit designs. It's all Japanese military stuff I don't have a cultural attachment to, didn't grow up with, not really dialed into. And Ryugen, Mitchi, definitely not my guy from Gaim. That arc was... problematic, and sort of not a fun place to spend time. (Nearly every character resolution related to Mai's story bummed me out.) BUT THIS FIGURE IS GORGEOUS. All of the Gaim figures I've gotten so far have been two to three times more lovely than I ever found the suits on the show, and Ryugen is in a class of his own. The metallic purple-and-green is eye-catching, the proportions are spot-on, and he's stunning from every angle. One of my favorite figures to date, and the one who convinced me to start going all-in on Gaim Figuarts.

S.H. FIGUARTS KAMEN RIDER ZANGETSU - MELON ARMS: I like him okay? The armor and weapons are beautiful, but the white undersuit is just distractingly dull. My eye keeps slipping off the gold and green to focus on the vaguely-pearl coloring of his torso, or how undetailed his thighs and upper arms look. It's the suit, Bandai nailed it, but it's not really a design that improves enough in figure form. It's better! But it's only good enough.