S.H.Figuarts Kamen Rider Ryuki Review

Starting with the packaging.

The boxart does seem like the old-school S.H.F boxart,but it has it's own unique design to it. Notice the faint lines printed along the box?

Taking a look at the figure.

Beside the joints and the crotch section, the red on this figure is done in a beautiful matte finish, which is quite rare considering most Figuarts of the lead Rider in their default form are usually left with bare plastic appearance.

Taking a closer at the belt, and as you can see, not the QC for belt in terms of paint app. The Advent Deck do have details molded in, which is quite nice.

Now, this is what I like about the head. As you can see, the signature bug-eye are not visible as other KR Figuarts, which is a good thing because that's how it appears in the show. Don't believe me? Click here and see it for yourself.

Just some random posing before the real thing. ^_^

Kickin' like a BOSS!

In case you're wondering, the feet are die-cast, not the new ball-hinge ankle joint like New Den-O Trilogy ver. and Shadowmoon. After fiddling about with Shadowmoon, I personally prefer the new joint mainly because of it's greater range of articulation. Ryuki's die-cast feet isn't too bad actually. It's actually better than any other S.H.F KR that have die-cast feet in terms of aesthetic and articulation.

This is what you'll get with this figure. I'll show the cards later. I didn't show the action base that it comes with because I won't be using them. Instead, I'll be using the Stage Act 4 set that I already have.

You'll get:
. Dragreder with shields and sword attached.
. Dragvisor.
. Strike Vent.
. 2 Shield handle.

As for the hand, you'll get (left to right, top to bottom):
. A pair of relaxed palm.
. A pair of normal gripping hand.
. A card holding hand (right).
. A pair of special gripping hand.
. A Dragvisor hand (left).

Just so you know, the action that are included with S.H.F. Ryuki consist of:
. A base with Ryuki emblem.
. 1 Stage Act 3 stand (the one that separate at the joint).
. 2 Stage Act 4 stand (the non-separable one).
. 3 large body grip.

Now let's arm him up.

Start of with the Dragvisor. Just remove the hand and the hardpoint on the elbow.

Then attach the Dragvisor where the hardpoint use to be. Don't forget to use the Dragvisor hand.

As you can see, the Dragvisor looks great. The paint apps are simply nice. No QC problem that I could detect.

And yes, it can slide open. Just don't slide all the or it'll pop out.

The forearm rotate like so.

The right forearm also rotate, but for other purpose.

And here's all of the cards.

For it's size, the cards are quite detailed. Mind you, the card are VERY thin.

Now, let's equip Ryuki with his signature weapon, Drag Saber.

The sword looks OK here.

The detail of the emblem could have been refine.

Using the special gripping hand on this one. You'll notice the Ryuki holding the sword in a slight angle. that's quite helpful really.

Another close-up.

POSING PRON!

Now time to equip the shield

Mmm... Looks OK I guess. The best part about the shield is that you don't have to remove the entire arm to equip the shiled, unlike the Figma version. For the Figuarts, just remove the hard point on the black shoulder piece and attach the shield on to it via a peg under shield. Simple as that.

The peg under the shield are ball-jointed or posing convenience. It's also removable for a certain purpose.

The black shoulder piece can rotate so that you can do this.

And this.

Replace the peg under the shield with shield handle, and Ryuki will be able hold the shiel in his hand.

Now, moving on to Strike Vent.

Before attaching the Strike Vent, let's take a closer look at it.

Looks nice, except the unsightly nub on the mustache.

Well, it looks nice on the front, but on the back..... UGH.

Duoble UGH.

Well, I'll be damned.

Attaching the Strike Vent could not be any simpler. Remove the fist, put the gauntlet portion on the forearm, and insert the wrist joint into the head.

The weird part is that the gauntlet doesn't really attach on to the forearm. It just hang there while being held by the hardpoint. You don't have to remove the hardpoint since it sorta lock the gauntlet in place. And since the forearm can rotate, posing the figure is quite wondrous.

"HAAAAAA!!!"

Now, let's take a look at Dragreder himself.

Mind you, I didn't have a full shot of him posing due to him being LONG and the fact that he's kinda a b!@#h to pose.

The only full shot I could think of.^^;

Overkill much? Well, it did happen. Last time I remember was in KR Decade, where Decade do the Final Form Ride on Ryuki.

Now, for the Final Vent.

"Haaaa...."

"YAAAH!!"

I didn't have him in a jumping pose with Dragreder main because Dragreder can be a real PITA when posing.

Since I don't have the Figma version for a good comparison, here's an image by Hacchaka, who also did a review on S.H.F. Ryuki.

As you can see, the Figma version sports a more show-accurate look and score a greater point in terms of aesthetic. figuarts on the other hand feature a more sharper, dynamic and somewhat a more stylized design. Compared to other Figuarts, Ryuki appears more balanced in terms of the proportion. Not too skinny or not too chubby. The Figuarts of course wins against the Figma in term of articulation. I find the Figuarts Ryuki to be the most solid out of all the Figuarts that I have in terms of the joint construction. The joint a real tight.

That said, I don't think the Figma version are that bad. It's construction are not as promising as the Figuarts. I do have the Figma version of KR Wing Knight, so I'll be able to make a good comparison when my S.H.F. KR Knight arrives.

I give S.H.F. KR Ryuki a 4.5 out of 5.