Mint in Box revisits Zawame City for a bite of this delectable forbidden fruit! Oren Pierre Alfonzo is one of the many Armoured Riders who star in Kamen Rider Gaim but unlike many others, this effeminate man mountain has no ties to the Invess game; in fact, he hates it. A former soldier turned pastry shop owner, Oren demands the very best in every field and this leads him to clash swords with the young Beat Riders using the Durian lockseed and becoming Kamen Rider Bravo!

Kamen Rider Bravo was a Tamashii Web Exclusive, befitting of a man who is to extravagance what Mitsuzane is to betrayal, meaning he’s a little tougher to find and demands a high price on the secondary market (but not as much as Gaim’s secondary Rider oddly…). This premium feel extends to his box which, while stylistically similar to Gaim’s, foregoes the window box for a glossy photo image. His packaging even comes in a custom brown box for extra protection!

Mister Dangerous is damned impressive right out of the packaging. Four pairs of interchangeable hands, a special holding hand, a closed Durian lockseed, his signature Duri Noko chain swords and, to top it all off, a tiny wine glass! Truly, a man of exceptional accessories.

The figure itself builds on the already amazing frame that Gaim had but casts it in rich metallic greens, purples and silver. The paint is astounding as usual but if there’s a downside, it’s the plain green joints that stand out against the metallic lime-green of Bravo’s limbs. It’s a very minor nit-pick on an otherwise astonishing visual treat! (And yes, he’s missing a back spike from his right pauldron. I did buy him third-hand.)

Bravo’s accessories give him a wealth of personality, which is perfect for the larger than life Oren. As a natural showman and a fair maiden at heart, his hands and articulation allow you to make the figure excessively expressive. Whether it’s the shy demeanour reserved for his beloved Melon (Kamen Rider Zangetsu), the showmanship of a gladiator or even the distinguished mannerisms of a renaissance man; Bravo will look fantastic no matter how you pose him.

His tiny lockseed is just as minuscule as Gaim’s and will never leave the packaging again after this review. His wine glass on the other hand will see lots of play because just look at him! He exudes class and respect despite the inherent stupidity of trying to drink wine through a helmet!

Size-wise, it feels like Bravo is a little smaller than Gaim and that’s just wrong, not only because their respective actors are on opposite ends of the height scale but because Bravo should feel like a bigger figure. He should be a brute! Until it’s time to sexually harass the others — then the size would only make the kabe-don even better!

Finally; we come to the Duri Noko, Bravo’s signature twin chain swords. They’re cool enough and certainly fit with his aesthetic but are ultimately just props. It’s a shame they don’t connect into one weapon like the show and like Gaim’s naginata weapon mode.

Overall, I love having Bravo in my collection. He’s a fantastic character and all that awesome translates to his toy well! If you can put up with the minor colour discrepancies on his joints and your fingers feeling like you’ve pleasured a porcupine after prolonged posing — Pick him up! I can guarantee you will not be disappointed!

Shinnosuke Tomari is a former elite police officer in the Metropolitan Police, who, after an event that traumatized one of his colleagues, has been “demoted” into the Special Investigations Division. This division looks into the stranger happenings in the city, particularly the recent “Heavy Acceleration” events. These events, termed “Slowdown” by the public, leave people unable to move. When he is chosen by the Drive Driver and Tridoron, Shinnosuke transforms into Kamen Rider Drive and is tasked with battling the Roidmudes who plan to rise against humanity and take over the world.

While the main Type Speed release is a little lacking in accessories, the First Run Bonus parts more than make up for this deficit.

One thing I love about the packaging for this figure is that the window motif mimics the given fruit theme of the Rider, in this case, having a segmented orange pattern while the back has a very ornate, Japanese theme to it.

The tray inside houses five pairs of interchangeable hands, a closed Orange Lockseed, a Musous Saber and Orange Arms’ signature weapon, the Daidaimaru.

Kamen Rider Gaim is my favourite S.H. Figuarts release to date, and that just by messing with him straight out of the packaging. This is a brand new style of figure with a fantastic detailing, gorgeous paint and some new quirks to the articulation. His hips are more akin to Marvel Legends and the posts for his interchangeable hands are smaller yet feel much sturdier. Unfortunately, the holster for his Musou Saber isn’t as sturdy and is prone to popping off the belt.

Accessories-wise, I better talk about the smallest first with the Orange Lockseed. Gaim’s ‘open’ hands can hold it comfortably with a little coercing or it can be stored on the Lockseed holster on his right side. There’s an open version on his Sengoku Driver, which features tons of detail and chopping action with the knife, allowing you to replicate actions from the show.

The Musou Saber is the standard side-arm weapon for a quartet of Riders on the show and has some great paint apps. It’s a combination sword/pistol, much like the Ixa Calibur from Kamen Rider Kiva. The Daidaimaru is the signature weapon for Orange Arms, looking like a segmented orange slice as a blade.

You can combine the Musou Saber and Daidaimaru into its Naginata Mode by plugging one into the hilt of the other. This combined weapon can be further added to by plugging the Orange Lockseed into the blade’s cross guard.

Compared to the Arms Change line, the S.H. Figuarts release is a gorgeus delight which is superior in all but one way, the AC gimmick. Yup, no swapping armours between figures but you know what? I can live without it when they look THIS good!

As a whole, I LOVE Kamen Rider Gaim and having a Figuarts this gorgeous and this poseable is the cherry on the cake and this release gets a massive recommendation!

The packaging for this S.H. Figuarts release harkens back to older figures, with a more basic package but the reverse is undeniably a Ryuki design, with the shattered mirror motif and bold text declaring “ADVENT”.

The inside tray has a ton of accessories! Along with FIVE pairs of interchangeable hands, you get a card-holding right hand, the Abyss Visor, Strike Vent, the twin Sword Vent, and his four TEENY-TINY Advent cards. Also included is an awesome Tamashii stage with his logo and name printed on it.

The Advent cards (L-R: Final Vent, Sword Vent, Advent and Strike Vent) are incredibly small, only a few millimetres in size but feature very detail printing and I’m going to keep them in their designated baggy because you could lose these as easily as you could lose Kyoryu Red’s beast battery. Interestingly, his Advent deck is removable from his belt but cannot store cards.

Out of the package and equipped with his Abyss Visor, Kamen Rider Abyss looks astounding! His shark motif is cast in a gorgeous metallic blue. One nice thing I like is that unlike the plain black legs that most Ryuki Riders have, Abyss adds lots of colourful details to the undersuit. Like older KR Figuarts, Abyss has die-cast feet, helping posing options and giving some much needed heft, especially considering that Abyss is pretty short compared to other Figuarts I have. He’s a right shorty shark.

Sliding Advent cards into their Visors, Ryuki Riders can access the weapons and abilities associated with their Contract Beasts and Abyss is no different. His visor opens and has room for a card to be placed.

Strike Vent is Abysssmash, a huge blunt force weapon for his right hand, giving him sharky boxing gloves.

Sword Vent calls forth one or two Abyss Sabers, which are awesome serrated blades that look as mean as you’d expect a shark man to use.

Kamen Rider Abyss is a fantastic design that I’ve always wanted a figure of and having him in hand, I can happily report that I’m pretty chuffed. He might be small but he’s got tons of personality and I welcome him into my S.H. Figuarts collection. Some might not be as happy by his arrival in Sharp-O’s World…