On January 2010 the worldwide leading toy manufacturer delighted us with Masked Rider Ixa followed by Rising Ixa. How appropriate it is to let the company that made me dig deeper into my pockets, end the year with another pair of great looking toys from the same series - SHF Masked Rider Dark Kiva and Emperor Form. But for now lets look at SHF Masked Rider Dark Kiva.
From the packaging you'll get a glimpse of what SHFs will be in 2011, thicker packaging, generous colors and meatier accessories. Kiva series was not the only line to step out of the old bland packaging. The popularity of Kamen Rider W in 2010 showered us with different box designs and tons of goodies aside from the usual tamashii stand or inch-thick card boards. W/Double first gave us Cyclone Joker in black box with green texts. Then came Fang Joker which sported in white - which is kind of obvious because color schemes are just the same with the figure. And the rest was consistent.
D. Kiva is almost an exact replica of the dark rider introduced in the series. The green or jade jewels from his head down to his body armor are well done. Absolutely no part unfinished. Though honestly as of this post I'm still watching Kamen Rider Kiva. The only source of comparison where the Kiva fan-made videos. But I was very keen...I kept on pausing on the video from time to time while looking at the figure. Why? Because I'm just weird like that.
D. Kiva comes with a pair of armaments - the similar looking zanbat sword and somewhat similar to Saga's Sagark blade. Both weapons are very well painted but I wished they put more paint on Sagark sword. Its a minor disappointment but this definitely be my base of comparison to Saga (Wait till we see Saga's arrival in 2011). Also, he comes with three pairs of extra hands, nicely detailed and tastefully done. What I'm bit surprised is that one pair has a horns-up sign, very unconventional unlike regular SHF figures (holding, open and relaxed hands).
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| I saw a similar sword but it was fashioned as a whip (Tamashii Nations 2010) http://www.1999.co.jp/blog/img/20101001t43.jpg |
Another cool accessory are the extended detachable capes to add drama (and copy what Kiva does in the series) which I managed to do (refer to my photos). Pegging those in might be a problem to those with large fingers because the gap between the pegs are tightly close to each other. You might have to bend the cape a bit to insert those extensions.
I absolutely have no qualms about the paint job. Clean, shinny, and spot on. Well this is one of the reasons why i like SHFs in the first place. Overall all the figure is a nice blend of red and black design that shouts "I'm badass".
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| Finally, I'm able to copy a pose similar to the photo at the back of the box |
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| Rock ON!!! |
If in some point I needed a bodyguard, I'll hire him in a heartbeat. But for now, my kung-fu skills will suffice. (I'm the intersect anyways) :P
Dark Kiva is a truly a must have and I'm glad he is not an exclusive (Bandai Collector's Shop). Nevertheless, its better to get this one while its still available than regret it when it already reaches its end of life.
note: For some reason, there's an irritating difference from the time you see the final cut of the video from the time it is being uploaded. My apologies to some skipping on the audio. Its not my fault. It's Youtube's. Enjoy.
Bought it from Robo Robo Singapore.
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