[TAO's Note: It wouldn't be an Updatedude review if I knew who the character was, and this follows suit. Whoever this IXA fellow may be, he still makes for one cool looking toy, so open your mind and keep reading for a fun look at a new toy.]
Name: Kamen Rider IXA
Line: S.H. Figuarts
Manufacturer: Bandai
Released: January 2010
Price: ~$30.00
Scale: 14.5 cm (5.7 inches)
Accessories: Alternate head, 2 pairs of hands, gunsword: gun mode, gunsword: sword form, knuckle buster, belt buckle, half a belt buckle, 2 trays of whistles and blindpacked display stand.
IXA (Interceptor X Attacker) is one of the more generically aesthetically pleasing designs in the Kamen Rider frenchise. And by that I mean he doesn't have buggy insectoid eyes, which let's face it, might be a turn off for some people. Instead, he's got a very fancy schmancy visor look atop a techno white knight motif. There's a lot going on with the sculpt, but at the same time, it's submerged by the colors and overall design of the toy so that it doesn't become too busy. He's clearly very high tech and detailed and such, but it's not overwhelming. I like that, I think he totally succeeds in looking dang cool, but at the same time, isn't so distinct from a franchise of insectoid bipeds that he can't mix with your other toy lines.
So yeah, the sculpt looks great and he comes with a load of accessories. The default head is actually one with the big round compound eyes that is so integral to the Kamen Rider aesthetic. But I prefer his alternate head with the visor, personally. He also comes with 2 extra pair of hands. In addition to his fists, he's got holding things hands and relaxed hands. In the show, his IXA Caliber/ur is able to switch between a gun mode (IXA Caliber) and a sword form (IXA Calibur, as in Excalibur), but here, you just get a gunsword and a swordgun instead. Both of which look great, esepcially the sword, as it's of a really impressive length that they couldn't do for the show or replicate in other toys. He comes with his belt buckle already on, however, you can remove the buckle and put one in where it's just half the buckle, with the other half having been transformed into a knuckle buster type dealie. IXA comes with 2 sets of whistles which are of no consequence, and finally, he comes with an articulated display stand that's actually blindpacked. The stand has one of 4 of IXA's well known phrases printed on it.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the one with his most famous catchprase, "Please return that (your) life to God".
IXA's a fantabulous sculpt, I find no fault with him. He's even got details I never noticed on the show. In fact, the numbers 1-9-3 are sculpted on the sole of his foot. This is awesome because it's something they didn't have to do, but they did it anyway. As for what 1-9-3 means, it's a phonetic/number pun on the Japanese pronounciation of the name IXA (Ee (1) - Ku (9) - Sa (3)).
If I have to nitpick it'd be that from certain angles/poses, you can tell that his (diecast) feet is made up of multiple pieces, and is therefore toyetic. Compared to the rest of his body, which hide his articulation really well, the feet are a tad obvious.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10
Usual stuff, he's very well painted with no paint bleeding or gobs of paint on the face. Naturally, being a mass produced figure, there are small imperfections and stuff. On mine, I think there's a line of blue somewhere that shouldn't be there. Alas, it's kinda so minor I can't even remember where the fault is. But it's there, so I won't give full marks here.
Other than that, it's all more or less perfect. The lines are crisp and there's actually quite a bit of painted white on IXA. You can tell that even teensy weensy details on the accessories have been painted.This is especially evident on the otherwise useless whistles.
Overall, an impressive paint job, but again, it's a mass produced toy, so there might be small variances in each individual. For the most part, I think you can expect a perfect paint job though.
Paint Score: 9 / 10
Articulation is good. He's got diecast legs, which help with the balance of the figure. I'm not inclined to list out all the PoA for a Figuarts figure, simply because of how well hidden yet plentiful they are. I mentioned the feet being obvious in the Sculpt category, so let's use them as an example. He's got hinged toes, side hinged ankles, hinged ankles for forward/back tilt and swivels above the ankles for horizontal movement. That's 4 points of articulation for each foot alone. Double hinged knees and elbows are also obvious, I have no idea what's in the torso, but the wrists and neck are all tripple jointed (swivel + hinge + ball). Trying to count them all up is a hassle. So I'll stop here.
A few points of note though. The hands are actually not as articulated as I'd like. Due to the design of IXA's hands/gloves, movement is restricted to just the swivel and only very limited curving inward movement of the wrists. There's not much side swinging movement either.
His hips are similar to DCUC hips, in that they're not ball joints, but swivel and hinge. However, as you might be able to tell from the pictures, it doesn't have the weakness that some DCUC figures have, in that if you spread the legs, you're left with a noticeable gap in the crotch. It's a fairly simple solution to the DCUC problem. The hips still swivel forward and back as normal, but the hinge simply moves the thigh portion outwards. It doesn't move the side of the legs/buttocks along with it. Coupled with a more rounded crotch/pelvis sculpt, it allows IXA to enjoy the DCUC hips without the crotch breakage issue. It could probably still use some refinement, I think it can be improved a bit more, but as is, it's still very effective.
But due to the wrists and the fact that there are other Figuarts who are slightly more articulated, I won't be giving IXA the full score here.
Articulation Score: 8 / 10
IXA is loads of fun, especially if you know the characters involved with the IXA suit. Even if you don't, he's still a cool looking techno white knight with lots of articulation and accessories. If you DO know the characters, then he's even better. Since the IXA suit is actually worn by multiple people through two time periods, 1986 and 2008. And this toy has the accessories to simulate any given version.
Fun Score: 10 / 10
Is it me or was the Yen weak when I got this guy? In fact, I saw one place where he's so cheap, I'm tempted to get me a second IXA. Anyway, online, you'll have to pay 3200 Yen for IXA, but that's not as bad as it sounds, since not only is IXA a solid figure with lots of paint and some diecast, but he's loaded with accessories. His unusually high accessory count for a Figuarts is what makes his price tag a lot more palatable. Like I said, I'm tempted to get a second IXA myself.
It also doesn't hurt that his aesthetics allow him to be displayed with your other non-Japanese Insect Guy toys as well. Like Spider-Man, or Ant-Man or the Beetle. Y'know, AMERICAN insectoid bipeds.
Value Score: 8 / 10
10 / 10 - Looks great, tastes better. He'll fit in well with your other toys as well.
9 / 10 - Nigh perfect, but can be subject to the usual, mass produced imperfections.
8 / 10 - Really good, just not as great as some Figuarts. You can still do pretty much anything you need though.
10 / 10 - Oh god, if only you're familiar with the character... Otherwise, good toy regardless.
8 / 10 - Lots of accessories soften the blow.
90 / 100 - This is a Wonderful Toy
If you want to try diving into the dark, dank world of articulated Japanese Imports, IXA's a good gateway. He's relatively new (though already sold out in most major online stores), he looks good regardless of your sensibilities and comes with lots of accessories. He's pricey, but if you wanna know what all the fuss with Figuarts is, IXA's the one you should go to, he's the safest bet of any Figuarts I can think of. If you're willing to take the plunge for MOTUC figures, I recommend you try this guy out.
-Updatedude
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