Toy Review: SH Figuarts Kamen Rider Kuuga Rising Mighty

Coined officially as the first Kamen Rider of the Heisei Era, Kamen Rider Kuuga, he shares a lot of similarities with Ichigo and Nigo - its like coming back to its roots of the Kamen Rider. This also paved the way on how the treatment should be for the next generation of riders - themed, human and with a lot of beautiful transformations and firepower! That's why Kuuga remains as one of the most memorable Hsieh riders to date, in my opinion.

To add, he is one of the most number of power ups in a single show, you might think its decade but he only has 11. I won't consider Kamen Rider OOOs because its like changing hats.

 Rising Mighty is Kuuga's first gold power up. In the SH Figuarts line, he is the first to be sold  Tamashii’s Feature event exclusive. In actuality, there is not much of a difference with Mighty Form except for some obvious things. First, people won't notice it at first but the red mettalic paint that is very evident in this figure is brighter than mighty form. Or it might be that the added gold apps highlight the red paint even more.

In this form, the collar, wrists, henshin belt and right shin guard are very golden and detailed. The most obvious are the Grongi symbols etched in these places which gives more of a history to Kuuga's origin. His eyes are in the shade between Amazing Mighty and Mighty Form.

Many would ponder if this exclusive figure is a catch. Rising Mighty accessories are remolded parts from Mighty form with of course the gold trims and Grongi marks across these. But still 7 pairs for hands are enough to make this first Tamashii exclusive a sight to behold. And perhaps add a little joy to collectors who wants to spot differences between other Kuuga forms.

Without an inclusive Tamashii stand you might think twice before getting this expensive and rare jewel. Unless you don't have Mighty Form in your possession this may be a good start to collect SHFs and use it with DX Beat Chaser. 

If you’re a completist, a huge fan of Kuuga, or even just this form in particular, that’s obviously a different story.