Thanks again to NJ Croce for providing the samples included in this review and you can check out more of their ranges on their website; here!

Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s been a while since a Pokémon line has produced an articulated figure of a Trainer but Tomy seems to be remedying that with the introduction of a brand new subline. “Ash + Pikachu” equals a fairly cool little release. They’re packed in a similar window box to every other Pokémon figure pack in the XY line.

Ash Ketchum, primary protagonist of the Pokémon anime for going on… 18 YEARS (wow, I feel old now…) appears in his latest costume for the show which debuted with the XY anime. He’s been through a fair few looks over the… 18 years… but this looks pretty sharp! The figure conveys the clean lines and sharp colours of this outfit very nicely. Even the face printing is crisp!

The Ash figure has 13 points of articulation, which is a lot lower than I’m used to and even lower than Bandai’s Power Rangers figures but for some reason, I don’t hate it here. I LOVE to pose figures and take pictures so a lack of points means a lack of dynamic posing options but I think the reason I don’t mind it here is that you rarely see the Pokémon cast not standing up with both feet firmly on the floor. Would I like a waist swivel, ankle tilts and maybe some alternate hands? Sure, but for the constraints of the price point, I’m not unhappy with the articulation.

Pikachu, awesome yellow mascot that he is, accompanies his partner in this set and is slightly smaller than other versions meaning it is more in scale with Ash than other Pokémon figures which is a cause for concern really but the scale issues entirely depend on what scale of Pokémon figure you get so your mileage may vary.

Accessories-wise, all Ash is rocking is a backpack and nothing else and while I lament the lack of a Pokéball, the backpack is a nice addition. It’s made of a softer plastic and the straps can be unclipped to allow you to more easily add it to the figure too. There’s a hole near the shoulder strap to allow Pikachu to rest on Ash’s shoulder, with some careful balance.

One cool thing about the packaging that I didn’t notice until later was that the backing card is a diorama of Lumiose City, an iconic location for the XY games and show. It’s a nice little addition and adds a little more playability.

Overall, I’m pretty impressed with this figure. It’s not doing anything new or special but I’ve seen similar figures from a similar RRP of £9.99 be far more disappointing and I hope to see more Pokémon trainers get releases down the road!

We’re back with another Kamen Rider Gaim figure from the Arms Change line; this time is the man who will make the world strong, Kaito Kumon aka Kamen Rider Baron! The second protagonist of the show, Baron utilises the power of the Banana lockseed and, yes, that makes him my favourite Rider just for aesthetic alone!

Just like Kachidoki Arms, AC02 comes in a similar packaging but in delicious red and yellow hues and, again, highlights the core gimmick of the show and this toy line. It also features a cross-promotion with Kamen Rider Ryugen (who’s up for a third helping of fruit-themed warriors?). The inner tray is also very similar to other releases and includes everything you’d expect Baron to come with.

The Pre-Arms form shows a lot of differences to Gaim, apart from his legs. His under-armour is more like chain mail, which is befitting since he’s designed more like a European knight rather than a Japanese samurai (Gaim) or Chinese warrior (Ryugen). While paint is minimal, I do like the ornate detailing on the silver plate armour. It’s a nice touch that could have easily been left out.

The Banana armour in it’s fruit mode looks like a rather stunted banana but otherwise looks great. Most of the surface is coated with this lavish gold but stops just short of the full design, but you’ll never see the unpainted grey plastic when you switch to armour mode but enough stalling, Kaito is about to show you his true power! BANANA!

The core AC gimmick is as easy as you see in the pictures and damn if it’s not a ton of fun! I even made the henshin sounds because the utter ludicrousness of this transformation sequence makes me smile.

Baron can pull off some fairly decent posing options despite not being as poseable as a Figuart, and staying upright isn’t as much of a problem as you’d think because of the top heavy armour. His Banaspear (which is more of a lance…) is replicate very well, looking like the peeled-banana lance that it should be. It even features an extending tip!

Now that I have two of these AC figures, I can now show you how compatible to the figures are with each other. I can easily swap the Banana and Kachidoki armours between Baron and Gaim and both wear them with no problem at all. It’s a real testament to this line that this core feature of the show has so much cross-play in the actual toyline.

Kamen Rider Baron is one of my all time favourite Riders, both in character and design and I have to give a massive thank you to my reviewing comrade-in-arms-change, Josh Reed, the handsome toy reviewer of Collection DX. I’m impressed with this figure’s playability and super happy to have in my collection! I highly recommend picking up any AC figures you can get your mitts on because they are an absolute blast!