S.H.Figuarts – Kamen Rider Wizard Flame Style
Retail Release – February, 2013 – ¥3,500
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W had some floppy joints and large antennae. OOO had extremely loose legs. Fourze had some proportion issues, but was a really nice release. Base States was good, Wizard can’t be bad, right?! Well, all of our hopes and dreams were crushed with this figure. This figure alone sent millions of S.H.Figuarts collectors into dispair and…wait a minute, this figure was a Phantom plot! THAT HAS TO BE IT! Seriously though, this figure was released early February, 2013 for ¥3,500 at standard retail. I love Wizard’s design. The WAP! Series figure released back in October was great. As a “budget line” figure, it had a gimmick and lacked the full mobility of an S.H.Figuart, but the quality and detail were pretty great. The S.H.Figuarts release does top it in overal aesthetics. The head has a nice glossy finish to it, and the jewels on the chest share that same design. The WizarSwordGun and WizarDriver are great looking. He even comes with alternate robe pieces (one of which was a first release bonus) to create a better action effect. Now that we have the good, let us get to the bad. The figure is fairly short, being about the same height as Fourze, who was relatively short for an SHF. The head sculpt is too big for the incredibly small body. To top it off, the head sculpt is also inaccurate, and has a huge friggin chin. The ab crunch dominates what little area the chest takes up, creating a belly that’s so thin it looks like he’s trying to be a model. It basically looks awful. The Wizard Rings on his hands are huge. It works fine for the Transformation Rings, but the Magic Rings look like a giant shock ring is attached to his hand at all times. Finally the feet are huge and awfully disproportionate to the body. Oh yeah, the robe. His base robe has this huge bulge around the edges that make his robe look like a dress. It poofs out so it basically looks like he has a tiny chest and a huge butt. It’s also cut really strange, mostly to free up articulation, but it’s cut rather odd so it ends up looking rather awful too. As it stands, the WAP! Series figure is not only about $12 cheaper (or more, given you can often find the WAP! for ¥1,000 off), it is a figure that is far more accurate. Yes, you lose out on the detailed weapons, belt, and Wizard Rings, but you gain a figure that is proportionate, still emmensely detailed, has a fun gimmick, and at least looks like the suit in the show. While I applaude the SHF on their color choice and detail, the sculpt just flat out ruins this figure for me. If you have a choice, get the WAP! for sure. Given that the WAP! series has all four main Styles and all four Dragon Styles as retail releases, while the SHF line is only seeing Flame and Flame Dragon as retail releases (the rest being horribly expensive Tamashii Web Exclusives) the “ease of collecting” factor makes the WAP! an obvious choice. Sorry SHF. I love you, but you just fell flat on this one. Fail, PLEASE!
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